# 542
**Chapter 543: The Gods Make Way**
The dark sky trembled.
Fierce winds howled through the city.
Amid swirling clouds of dust, Zhou Ping walked forward step by step, his hands empty.
Those rising and falling cries pierced through the wailing wind and reached his ears.
"Slay a god... huh..."
He murmured to himself.
He raised his right hand and gently placed it on his chest.
There, a luster like colored glass flowed across the surface of his skin, growing brighter and brighter.
Within his heart, some long-buried emotion was stirring restlessly, as if about to break free of its shackles and surge out.
That emotion was called love.
When had he lost hope in this world?
When had he stopped loving this world?
When had he begun to reject this world?
Zhou Ping didn’t know, nor did he want to recall. He chose to seal those memories deep inside, letting them fade into the past.
But now, the fire in his heart burned hotter than ever.
In the past, though he had acted many times to save Great Xia from disaster, it had mostly been driven by the chivalrous spirit he admired.
He believed a Sword Saint should protect the people—so he did.
It was duty, not desire.
But this time was different.
This time, he truly heard their voices.
Those two Night Watch members, those three children, the tens of thousands asleep in the city—it was as if they were all saying:
“—Great Xia Sword Saint, please slay the god!”
That voice, like a temple bell, drowned out all others, echoing in Zhou Ping’s mind. Within his heart, the nearly withered sword intent surged at an astonishing speed!
Someone admired him. Someone trusted him. Someone needed him.
Wasn’t this the very hero he had always aspired to be?
The heavy chains binding his heart had been pried open by Lin Qiye and the others. Now, they burned hot beneath the rekindled fire within him, trembling violently!
His aura climbed steadily. His injured, slightly hunched back slowly straightened.
Around him, the sound of swords rang out!
It was as if countless swords circled him, humming in unison with his steps, growing louder and clearer, like the cry of a phoenix piercing the heavens.
Colored light flowed across his skin like glass.
His eyes were as clear as mirrors.
When Zhou Ping took his final step, a low rumble echoed from within his body, like a hammer striking an ancient bronze bell, reverberating through the air.
Almost...
He was just a step away from breaking through that barrier...
Zhou Ping frowned slightly, looked down at his glass-colored palm, and sighed helplessly.
The fire in his heart had burned out, but he was still half a step from breaking through the ceiling...
He had no more time.
Zhou Ping raised his head, looked beyond the dark sky at the three gods relentlessly striking the Fengdu Law, and stepped forward.
His figure vanished from where he stood.
...
Above the clouds.
Set, the God of Desert; Shu, the God of Wind; and Amun looked down at the city glowing with a faint light, their brows furrowed.
“This Great Xia Law is truly troublesome,” Amun said, narrowing his eyes as a flash of purple light passed through them.
“Even with the three of us working together, we won’t be able to break the Great Xia Law in a short time,” said Shu, still injured. “The priority now is to bring this city back to the Sun City.”
Set, clad in a yellow cloak, scanned the city and raised an eyebrow.
“Shu, where’s that powerful human you mentioned? We’ve been here so long—why hasn’t he shown up? Don’t tell me you made him up?”
Shu frowned. “I had no reason to lie.”
His gaze fell on the glowing city, confusion creeping into his expression.
“Strange... with all this commotion, there’s no way he hasn’t sensed it...”
Could the injuries I left him with have been fatal?
Set turned to Amun. “Can you use your curse through the Fengdu Law?”
“I can,” Amun nodded. “Fate isn’t something laws can block. With this dragon vein as a guide, I can curse the entire land of Great Xia.”
“Then begin.”
Amun slowly raised his hands. In his right hand, he held a black scepter; his left formed a strange gesture. Dark, sinister light bloomed from his body, and an evil aura spread through the air.
*Ding—!!*
At that moment, a figure appeared before them out of thin air.
The man wore a bloodstained black shirt and empty hands.
His eyes were calm as water, clear as swords.
The moment he appeared, the swirling vortex of clouds in the sky froze. Countless sword cries rang out from the void, echoing across the heavens.
His gaze swept calmly over the three gods.
He spoke slowly:
“Great Xia Sword Saint Zhou Ping—requests the gods make way!”
It’s him!
At that moment, Shu felt a strange sense of relief.
He had appeared. That proved everything Shu had said was true. Once Set experienced this human’s sword, he would understand why Shu had been forced to retreat...
Wait—
Where’s his sword?
Shu stared at Zhou Ping’s empty hands, stunned.
Above the clouds, Set frowned at the sudden appearance of this man.
“Ask us to make way? A mere human—such arrogance!” He sneered.
*Boom—!!*
With a flick of his hand, endless sand surged from beneath his yellow cloak, instantly blotting out most of the sky.
Each grain of dark yellow sand emitted a terrifying aura—capable of piercing half a city. Mixed with the howling wind, they created deafening explosions.
Sand filled the sky!
Zhou Ping raised two fingers like a sword and lightly tapped the air.
Vast sword energy swirled around him. Each strand shattered a grain of sand that came near. No matter how much sand filled the sky, none could come within three feet of him.
Surprise flashed in Set’s eyes.
After the sand passed Zhou Ping, it rapidly gathered, forming a desert suspended in the clouds—five times the size of the city below. Sunlight cast a massive shadow over the ground, blotting out the sky.
At the same time, within this vast desert, a massive dark yellow tower rose into the air—over nine hundred meters tall, as if trying to pierce the heavens, standing tall and imposing.
Set’s body turned into a cloud of sand and vanished, reappearing at the top of the tower.
“Vast Desert Sand Realm.”
He spread his arms, his yellow cloak fluttering in the wind, as if embracing the suspended desert.
Before the tower beneath his feet, Zhou Ping’s figure looked as small as an ant.
*Boom—!!!*
The sand around Zhou Ping suddenly exploded. A massive hand of sand, nearly a hundred meters tall, formed in an instant and slammed down toward him!