Chapter 710: Forward, Forward
The river was filled with drifting shards of ice. Iron Tree floated among them, his eyes open, already dead.
His pupils reflected the gloomy sky, just like the fragments and the water's surface around his body.
There was a wound on his chest and abdomen, very straight, very deep, directly severing the Netherworld and all his apertures, cutting off his life force.
From this wound, one could see Wang Po's earlier slash.
His saber was still as it had always been, yet it subtly contained many more changes, a deeper realm of meaning.
The moment the iron saber left its sheath, he had successfully broken through to the next realm.
The prerequisite for achieving this was that he had removed the shadow that Zhou Dufu had left on his mind.
Faced with a towering mountain ahead, some people choose to go around it, some choose to retreat, and some choose to climb.
Wang Po had always been advancing toward that towering mountain. The summit was always right before his eyes, yet he could never reach it.
Until that moment, he had broken his own inner demon, and then established his own Saber Dao.
Iron Tree died in his battle to establish his Dao, and it was not unjust.
But he had just broken through; his foundation was not yet sufficient. To slay a Sacred Domain powerhouse, he would inevitably have to pay a tremendous price.
He had lost an arm, and the injuries more terrifying than the lost arm were inside his body, constantly ravaging his meridians and his will.
The cold winter wind emerged from the willows on both banks of the Luo River, gently brushing the broken ice on the water's surface and everything within it.
Although the wind was cold, it was not actually strong. Yet, Iron Tree's corpse among the broken ice turned into a wisp of light smoke with the wind and vanished.
Then, the wind stirred Wang Po's robes, pulling the tears in the fabric wider. Blood immediately gushed out like a waterfall.
Countless faint, intangible auras left his body along with the blood.
Wang Po's face was devoid of any color, whiter than the snow on the river embankment.
His body became incredibly heavy, devoid of any strength.
He walked towards the shore.
The river water, mixed with broken ice, seemed to have become much thicker, making it difficult to walk through.
A straight line of blood appeared in the river, then spread outwards to both sides. The edges froze, becoming something like blood coral.
He didn't know where he should go at this moment. He just saw the eastern embankment of the Luo River before him, so he walked towards it.
He was used to moving forward.
But this time, it seemed he had chosen wrong.
The heavy, cold willows were blown by the wind, and many figures appeared.
The first to arrive at the banks of the Luo River was the Second Master of the Tang Clan. Behind him were hundreds of Imperial Guard cavalry and two Great Zhou Divine Generals.
His face was covered in tiny wounds, making him look very disheveled.
Those were the injuries he had sustained when Wang Po and Iron Tree first clashed on the snowy street earlier.
Looking at Wang Po in the Luo River, the shock and anger in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by coldness.
Then, he smiled silently, a smile filled with indescribable mockery, contempt, and pity.
Yes, you have successfully broken through and become a Sacred Domain powerhouse revered by the world.
However, in the very next moment, you will die.
What a sorrowful fact this is, and what a cause for celebration this story is?
The Second Master of the Tang Clan withdrew his smile, raised his right hand, and waved it expressionlessly.
Hundreds of sharp arrows, carrying dazzling streaks of light, left the banks of the Luo River and fell towards the center of the water.
……
……
The Li Palace was dead silent, the atmosphere extremely tense. The snow on the eaves melted silently, not even having time to fall, turning into ice beads in the air.
Time moved slowly. No one appeared.
Madam Mu looked at the snow clouds in the sky, slightly raising her eyebrows, somewhat surprised.
Who had kept Shang Xingzhou inside the Imperial Palace?
And who had caused such a commotion on the streets of the capital?
Iron Tree? No, if it were just him alone, this thunderclap wouldn't have been so clear.
That thunderclap finally landed on the Luo River.
The laws of heaven and earth above the Luo River changed.
An invisible flower descended from the sky.
A will of the iron saber shot up to the heavens.
Madam Mu's expression finally changed.
Wang Po had broken through!
Iron Tree was dead!
This surprised her greatly, then she fell silent, and then a chill ran down her spine.
The words Zhu Luo had spoken at the Mausoleum of Books before his death were meant not only for Shang Xingzhou but also for her and her husband.
If it were any other time, she would have personally acted and killed Wang Po.
But right now, she needed to be in the Li Palace, tending to the snow clouds in the sky, temporarily resisting the will of the entire National Religion, and couldn't leave.
Fortunately, she could clearly sense that after defeating Iron Tree, Wang Po had no strength left to fight.
In the capital, if he couldn't fight, then he would die.
If he died, could Chen Changsheng still live?
……
……
All around were assassins, killers, and experts of profound realms.
Xiao De stood before him.
Chen Changsheng was not surprised by the current situation.
He knew his teacher wanted to kill him; he had always known.
It was related to the position of the Pope, but the more important reason was something else—the overly close relationship between him and his senior brother.
He had never mentioned this to anyone, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of it.
He had always thought his teacher would choose the day the Pope, his teacher-uncle, returned to the Starry Sea to make his move.
So he had to finish everything he needed to do before that day arrived.
Amidst the falling yellow leaves, he had gone to Beixin Bridge, exhausting his heart's blood to make arrangements for Little Black Dragon's escape two years later.
Amidst the wind and snow, he had come to the North Bingmasi Hutong to kill Zhou Tong.
He hadn't expected his teacher to be so eager for his death.
Perhaps it would be today.
Yes, there had been no sound from the long street all along.
So it was today.
The last leaf still clung to the bare branches of the crabapple tree. As that assassin crashed into the courtyard wall, that leaf also fell, silently landing on the snow, right before those leather boots.
Chen Changsheng's gaze moved upward, landing on Xiao De's face.
This foremost expert of the younger generation of the Demon race appearing in the North Bingmasi Hutong today was naturally the intention of White Emperor City, or at least tacitly approved by that sage couple.
In the past two years, many gifts, greetings, and honors had come from White Emperor City to the National Academy. Thinking back now, it all seemed meaningless. He didn't ask for the reasons or logic, because when you traced all the reasons and logic in the world to their end, they often boiled down to the word 'interest'. The White Emperor and his wife had to consider the interests of the Demon race. Even if they had once held some fondness for Chen Changsheng, it wouldn't affect their cold judgment. Xiao De had to consider his own interests, and he held no goodwill towards Chen Changsheng. For the sake of the Eight Hundred Mile Red River and Luoluo, he was very willing for Chen Changsheng to die.
"I must ask you to die."
Xiao De looked at him seriously, then threw a punch.
This punch seemed simple, but it was actually terrifyingly powerful. The vast, profound demonic true essence, carrying the aura of heaven and earth, came directly before his eyes.
At the same time, the swords of over a dozen Star Gathering Realm assassins emerged from the wind and snow, sealing off all his escape routes.
If Chen Changsheng forcefully retreated, he would have to face these dozen terrifying swords simultaneously, and also face Xiao De's even more terrifying fist.
If he chose to advance, he would inevitably be stopped by Xiao De's fist, and those dozen swords would unleash their most terrifying power at that moment.
Now, no matter how he chose, it seemed he would die.
Perhaps it was for this reason that he chose to advance.
Whether advancing or retreating, death was certain. Why not advance? Of course, he would advance.
He broke through the wind and snow, thrusting his sword.
His movement was even faster than Xiao De's fist.
His sword intent was like a wildfire.
No, it should be a heavenly fire.
Fire descending from the heavens is lightning.
His sword, like a bolt of lightning, pierced into Xiao De's body.
Xiao De's fist also reached his body at the same time.
……
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(Returned home at nine in the evening after going to the hospital at noon. Truly exhausted and didn't want to write, but as I wrote, I found the strength again. Writing this chapter's 'Forward, Forward', I remembered Xu Le constantly moving forward on the spaceship back then, and the soundtrack in my head was all marches, especially majestic and powerful.)