# 2001
# Chapter 1985: The Final Sword
Battlefield.
A black-clad figure stood on the surging gray mist, eyes slightly narrowed...
The past, present, and future were all reflected in those pale eyes. He was like a sage who saw through everything, calmly gazing down at the seven figures flying toward him.
"Trying to rely on Zhou Ping to kill Nicholas..."
【Key to the Gate】 sighed.
Countless starlight tentacles surged down, engulfing the seven figures. The next moment, a blade burning with malevolent aura slashed out from the tentacles, forcibly carving a bloody path through for the group!
Darkness once again shrouded the world. Immediately after, a divine manifestation rose from between the tentacles, a blade cutting through light and shadow, heading straight for 【Key to the Gate】's face!
【Key to the Gate】 raised a finger lightly, and the space before Him instantly collapsed. Thousands of kilometers were compressed into a void rift no thicker than paper. When that Straight Blade that cut through light and shadow slashed down upon it, it sank deep into the rift, unable to harm 【Key to the Gate】 at all.
*Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!*
The other crimson figures flashed to various positions around 【Key to the Gate】, launching simultaneous attacks!
An Qingyu directly stepped onto that grand Gate of Truth, one palm slamming heavily onto its surface, and similar gray mist surged forth!
In just half a second, the group had surrounded 【Key to the Gate】 in place!
*Ding—!!!*
At the same time, a crisp sword cry echoed from the void. The distant sky was torn open by a jagged rift, and a figure in black stepped out slowly...
The moment this figure emerged, a powerful sword intent swept across every corner of the battlefield like a tide. He simply stood there, and the sword intent leaking from his cracks was enough to make all creatures feel fear. As the cracks on his body multiplied, the sword intent filling the heavens and earth grew increasingly dense!
When Zhou Ping stepped out of the Sword Hut and stood here, the sharpest blade on Earth had been unsheathed...
He was the final sword.
The tens of thousands of young Black Goat paused simultaneously, their bodies rigid as they turned to look in the black-clad figure's direction. Their crimson eyes were filled with unprecedented terror!
As for the 【Black Goat】 emerging from the sword scar abyss, struggling to flee the battlefield, it panicked even more. It could clearly sense the terrifying aura emanating from that person. The previous strike had left it on the brink of death, and if this current sword fell, it would be utterly destroyed!
The creature's torn, bloody form tumbled frantically toward the distance, letting out sharp, desperate cries as if calling for 【Key to the Gate】 to rescue it.
But 【Key to the Gate】 remained trapped in Lin Qiye's encirclement, watching Zhou Ping's figure with an unreadable expression, lost in thought...
"It's the Great Xia Sword Immortal!"
Upon seeing the black-clad figure, the defenders at the three S-rank passes were equally stunned.
The final sword of Great Xia had been unsheathed... Whom did its edge point toward? The 【Black Goat】, or... 【Key to the Gate】?
At this moment, all eyes on the battlefield gathered here. That unremarkable-looking man in black, like a nuclear weapon in modern warfare, could change the entire war's outcome just by existing!
Finally, under everyone's gaze, he moved.
Zhou Ping glanced at 【Key to the Gate】, then took a step forward, walking toward where the 【Black Goat】 was located...
Sensing Zhou Ping's killing intent approaching, the 【Black Goat】 crawling with difficulty through the sword scar abyss let out increasingly frantic screams. Countless crimson eyes burst open from within its body, glaring at 【Key to the Gate】 in the sky above, as if pleading for something.
After a moment, 【Key to the Gate】 ultimately sighed helplessly, its form descending toward the creature's direction!
But the moment it took half a step, a blade burning with malevolent aura cleaved downward. A colossal figure loomed like a mountain range, blocking its path. The other members of the 【Night Watch】 squad struck simultaneously, continuously obstructing its advance.
Under An Qingyu's power, the open Gate of Truth was closing at an extremely slow pace... The number of starlight tentacles was also rapidly diminishing!
Lin Qiye's strategy was simple—to block 【Key to the Gate】 from rescuing the 【Black Goat】 at all costs!
"Lin Qiye, your tricks might be troublesome to others... but to me, they are nothing." 【Key to the Gate】 spoke calmly. "This farce of memories should come to an end."
【Key to the Gate】 raised its right hand and lightly snapped its fingers.
*Snap—!*
The next moment, time on this battlefield abruptly accelerated!
Centered on 【Key to the Gate】, everything around was as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button. Dust raged through the air, the thundering battlefield sounds intertwined chaotically. Even the rotating pale blue 【Star Coin】 in the void accelerated its process of coming to rest...
That 【Star Coin】 already on the verge of stopping instantly froze in place, then began slowly rotating in the opposite direction.
Lin Qiye's pupils contracted!
【Key to the Gate】 was time itself; accelerating or stopping time was by no means difficult for Him... And the 【Star Coin】's ability to materialize memories was directly tied to time. By accelerating the 【Star Coin】's time flow, He naturally controlled the duration of the memory materialization.
As the 【Star Coin】 stopped, the crimson figures surrounding 【Key to the Gate】 began fading from view at a visible rate...
They ceased their attacks on 【Key to the Gate】, but instead一震, their eyes suddenly flashing with extraordinary brilliance!
They turned to look at Lin Qiye, about to say something, when their forms dissolved completely into reality... Only half a sentence lingered faintly in Lin Qiye's ears...
"Seven Nights... hold on... we're almost finding you..."
Lin Qiye stood frozen in place.
The voice was too quiet for him to identify who was speaking... but from the tone, it sounded like a male voice.
But there was no time for Lin Qiye to think more on it. Having lost the encirclement of the 【Night Watch】 members, only he and Nyx remained before 【Key to the Gate】.
Nyx's brow was tightly knit. Just as she was about to strike, an enormous hollow eye was sketched out from within that grand Gate of Truth, as if a giant crouched behind the portal, staring directly at her... In the next instant, countless truths were contained within that gaze, rushing into Nyx's mind from afar!
*Boom—!!*
Nyx felt as if her spirit had been struck by a massive hammer. She spat out a mouthful of blood and stumbled to the side!
As the effect of the 【Star Coin】 vanished, Lin Qiye's mind plunged into Chaos, as if something important had been forgotten. Before him, 【Key to the Gate】's unfamiliar face was gradually drawing closer...