Martial Cultivator

The scene before the city wall was absolutely unprecedented in history.

Whether it was several sword immortals drawing their swords at the same time, or the fact that none of these sword immortals had previously belonged to the Great Liang Dynasty, both were without precedent.

For a time, sword light filled the sky. Streak after streak of differently colored sword light continuously appeared across the heavens, while vast clouds of demonic qi rose at the same time, only to be shattered one after another by those streaks of sword light. As a result, the sky was filled with a magnificent spectacle unlike anything seen before, and unlikely ever to be seen again.

The old sword immortal Gan Tang, flying sword in hand, closed in on a great demon and thrust out a sword. That sword drew upon the surrounding qi, striking from an angle almost impossible to imagine. More importantly, Gan Tang’s sword had been incomparably well concealed before it was unleashed, so much so that it was almost impossible to detect. Yet after it had traveled forward for only a moment, its boundless sword qi erupted from something as tiny as a mustard seed, instantly spreading across the entire sky.

To call Gan Tang the number one swordsman beneath great sword immortals was no exaggeration.

This old sword immortal’s attainments in sword dao were simply too solid.

After reacting, the great demon gathered vast amounts of demonic qi into his palm, while several dharma idols instantly appeared before him, each in a different posture, all taking human form from ancient exotic beasts.

Every one of those beasts wore a ferocious expression and wielded a different weapon. Coupled with the demonic qi they radiated, they looked like the ghostly enforcers of the underworld from ancient legends.

But it was obvious that, in front of this old sword immortal Gan Tang who had already resolved to seize the first victory, no matter what technique it was, it would be difficult to shake this old sword immortal’s resolve.

Only after making all these preparations did the great demon say in a muffled voice, ”You’re Gan Tang, the one who killed Liu Xiang?”

The old sword immortal did not answer. He replied only by sending out another sword strike. But after this sword strike swept across, it drew a brilliant, dazzling line through the entire sky.

The flying sword in the old sword immortal’s hand cried without end.

In front of that sword strike, all of those exotic beasts shattered one after another, like wheat in a field bending under the sweep of a mighty wind.

The great demon’s expression changed as he retreated, wanting to evade the sword strike he had underestimated from beginning to end.

But there were some decisions became too late to make afterward if not decided when the time came.

The old sword immortal’s sword had already arrived. After it locked onto the great demon, that great demon could no longer escape Gan Tang’s dao domain.

The other great demons frowned. Sensing their companion’s peril, they moved to assist, but although the surrounding sword immortals did not often join hands to fight, they had already reached an understanding before drawing their swords. At this moment, with only a glance exchanged, they all struck, separating out a world of sword qi for Gan Tang.

For a brief time, within that world of sword qi, only the two of them could fight.

The old sword immortal smiled faintly without offering any words of thanks. At this point, whether such words were spoken or not made no difference. On top of the city wall, sending out a fine sword strike was what mattered most.

Gan Tang disappeared into that world of sword qi, while the other sword immortals each drew their swords and sought out opponents of their own.

In the distant sky, more and more great demons were arriving.

The evenly matched situation would soon be broken, but that had always been the case over the years. Most of the time, there simply wasn’t any way around it.

However, after several minutes, the old sword immortal Gan Tang emerged from that world of sword qi, carrying a demon’s severed head in one hand. He casually threw it down below the city wall, then looked toward the city wall and nodded.

The old sword immortal Gan Tang had slain another great demon!

”Sword Immortal Gan, I won’t compete with you for the first demon’s head. Whether it was killing Liu Xiang back then or now becoming the first to behead a great demon with your sword, your reputation speaks for itself. But after this, I won’t give way anymore!”

One sword immortal forced back a great demon with a single sword strike and said with a smile, ”The second demon’s head will definitely fall beneath my sword!”

The other sword immortals merely smiled faintly and did not argue, but from then on, each of them struck noticeably faster than before.

Who would claim the second demon’s head would not be decided by who spoke more impressively, but by whose sword was sharper. It was such an obvious truth that none of them could even be bothered to say it.

As for Gan Tang, after catching his breath only briefly, he engaged another great demon. The old sword immortal had clearly resolved to kill as many demons as possible today.

Watching this scene, the generals of the Northern Frontier all stood there somewhat absentmindedly.

Especially Li Changling, the commander of the cavalry. This famed one-man army of the Northern Frontier Army actually had tears welling up in his eyes.

The Great Liang Dynasty had been established for more than two hundred years, and the Northern Frontier Great Wall had existed for more than two hundred years. Even Li Changling himself had spent several decades atop these city walls, yet he had never witnessed a scene like this.

Although whether the cultivators of the foreign lands came or not never affected the fact that they would lay down their lives in this bitterly cold place. But...during those occasional days without war, whether it was Li Changling or the other soldiers of Great Liang, they would always think about a question.

A simple question that had an answer, yet no conclusion.

Was the world only the world of the Liang people?

Or was it only martial artists like them who regarded themselves as Liang people? And did those lofty cultivators of the foreign lands simply never regard themselves as Liang people?

They asked themselves that question again and again, yet had never gotten an answer.

Questions without answers could be set aside. Even without those answers, it did not matter. They would still stand upon the city wall, not retreating a single step.

But that did not mean they did not want an answer, or that they did not hope that one day they would see those cultivators of the foreign lands standing upon these city walls.

We have defended you for more than two hundred years. Were you truly unmoved?

Now, at last, something had changed.

Earlier, those cultivators had already come to the Northern Frontier and had already fought.

But to disregard life and death as they did today, fighting with all their strength, even heroically slaying great demons with their swords, truly gave people a unique feeling.

Ning Ping turned to glance at Li Changling and noticed his eyes had already turned red. Teasing him, he said, ”Li Changling, are you itching to go kill a great demon yourself?”

Li Changling rubbed his eyes and merely chuckled, saying nothing.

Compared to those cultivators of the foreign lands, as a soldier of the Northern Frontier, he was bound by military orders far more often. So even if he truly wanted to fight now, it could remain only a thought.

Ning Ping said calmly, ”For the sword immortals of the Sword Sect to come here, that Lord Warden Commander of ours deserves half the credit. But if you think that simply offering up cultivation resources like mines would be enough to persuade a group of sword immortals to abandon their peaceful lives and come here to die, then that makes no sense at all.”

Hearing the Great General say this, Li Changling finally realized that without the Lord Warden Commander, who had never appeared in the Northern Frontier but had truly done so much for it, none of this would have happened.

”In the past, saying that the Northern Frontier and the warden faction were as incompatible as fire and water might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but it was true that they didn’t get along. Now, with you first, Great General, and the Lord Warden Commander following after, the entire Northern Frontier and the warden faction have become as close as one family.”

It was truly rare for an uncouth fellow like Li Changling to say something like that.

Ning Ping ignored the remark and merely said, ”Go to Moon Viewing Terrace. Gao Xuan has already gone ahead of you. General Xie and this general are enough here.”

Li Changling was taken aback, then cupped his fists. ”This subordinate obeys.”

Ning Ping pressed down on his hands, stopping him from turning around, and reminded him, ”Although Gao Xuan’s military rank is below yours, I hope you’ll listen to him more. That fellow may be young, but when it comes to commanding troops and battlefield strategy, you...”

Ning Ping left the sentence unfinished, sparing Li Changling some face. In truth, if Gao Xuan had accumulated enough military merit, then with his ability, he could already have been appointed a much higher-ranking general.

Lowering his voice, Li Changling laughed. ”Great General, don’t you know what kind of person I, Old Li, am? This subordinate has always respected those with real ability. I’ve seen that brat Gao’s capabilities with my own eyes. At Moon Viewing Terrace, whatever that brat Gao says goes!”

Ning Ping said with satisfaction. ”That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. If you hadn’t said that, you’d have had to wait here obediently.”

Li Changling chuckled.

”Oh, right. A group of cultivators has already gone to Moon Viewing Terrace. I have nothing else to say, only this: the General’s Office must not fall, and neither can Moon Viewing Terrace.”

Ning Ping looked calmly at Li Changling and said evenly, ”If Moon Viewing Terrace is lost, you’ll answer to military law.”

Li Changling cupped his fists heavily without saying a word.

He turned and left, accompanied only by the sound of the plates of his armor clashing together.

......

......

Atop the city wall, as the great demons joined the battle, quite a few demons finally broke through the coverage of the divine crossbows and reached the city wall.

The accompanying cultivators were long accustomed to such situations. Without needing anyone to remind them, they had already joined the battle.

Overall, the situation on the city wall was still under control. Most of the powerful demons who made it onto the wall were already exhausted. Facing the cultivators on the wall, who were waiting in fresh condition, most of them ended up being surrounded and killed.

But there would always be some powerful demons that took a few human lives with them.

As such incidents became more frequent, they naturally sounded the alarm for the General’s Office.

Moreover, once more and more powerful demons reached the city wall, the ordinary demon soldiers would also begin climbing the walls one after another.

When that happened, it would truly be the moment when the full-scale war began, when both sides started measuring the depth of their foundations.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield outside the city wall, after the old sword immortal Gan Tang slew a second great demon, he too suffered grievous injuries. This sword immortal, who had once been renowned throughout the world, had been pierced by a demon just an inch from his heart, and blood continuously poured from his body.

On such a battlefield, with such grievous wounds, Gan Tang’s life had already entered its final journey.

At about the same time, among the sword immortals who had left the city wall alongside him, some had already fallen.

One of them was a sword immortal who had risen to fame somewhat later than Gan Tang. His flying sword was broken, and his body was torn apart by a great demon before falling from the sky, separated from the living forever.

Gan Tang glanced over. There was a trace of sorrow in his eyes, but it soon faded away. In truth, there was nothing to grieve over. Whoever went first and whoever went later, they would all leave eventually.

At most, they would simply travel the road to the Yellow Springs together.

While the battle here raged fiercely, the demon lords in the distance also arrived at the edge of the battlefield.

Since Demon Lord Redsleeve had decided to wage this battle, it was never meant to be a mere skirmish. Nor would it end after only a few great demons of the demon race and a few Nepenthe cultivators of the human race had died.

Even if they could not break through here at the outset, this great battle had to at least greatly deplete the Northern Frontier Army’s remaining strength.

The demon lords hovered in the distance, looking down upon the city wall.

From within the gate tower, a somewhat languid swordsman in green robes walked out.

Yu Xiyi raised an eyebrow at the figures in the distance and laughed loudly. ”That woman didn’t come? Is she afraid Your Father will cut her down with a single sword?”

The demon lords looked at Yu Xiyi indifferently, but they remained cautious. Among the human experts, this young great sword immortal before them was at the height of his fame.

Before leaving the city wall, Yu Xiyi took a deep breath, glanced toward Gan Tang not far away, and laughed. ”Martial Uncle, how about I kill a demon lord for you to see?”

Gan Tang merely replied calmly, ”Just don’t leave your disciple without a master.”

Yu Xiyi burst into laughter and immediately transformed into a streak of sword light that shot toward the battlefield, leaving behind an exceedingly arrogant declaration.

”Come, come, don’t just stand there! Send seven, eight, or nine demon lords, lest Your Father run out of demons to kill before I’ve even swung my sword a few times!”