Hundreds of thousands of rebel troops stood outside Martial Alliance City, practically surrounding this city that had towered in the world for decades.

Among the rebels, a man on a tall horse slowly stepped out—he was Yun Tianyang.

"Tell Qin Yuezhi to come out!" Although Yun Tianyang was visiting Martial Alliance City for the first time, he didn’t hold the slightest respect for this city that symbolized the holy land of martial arts.

In response to such a remark, someone on the city wall naturally countered, "Impertinent heretic! Alliance Leader Qin rules over the world's martial artists. Is he someone you can just casually meet?”

The corners of Yun Tianyang's mouth curved into a cold smile. It actually looked a bit scary when placed on his noseless face.

"Attack the city." He didn’t even deign to respond and directly ordered his troops to attack the city with a wave of his hand.

"Wait!" A loud voice came from the city; it was Qin Yuezhi who spoke. "Yun Tianyang, do you dare to fight with me?"

Yun Tianyang laughed heartily, but then his smile faded and he answered icily, "Come!"

....historical

When Ah Xiu rushed to the battlefield, Yun Tianyang and Qin Yuezhi were in the middle of a full-blown battle. The two of them were fighting with true fury, attacking each other without holding back in the slightest and hardly caring about their own defense.

Yun Tianyang had already received several punches to his chest that almost made him cough up blood, and Qin Yuezhi's arms were full of wounds, all inflicted by swords.

Ah Xiu sighed in relief when she saw Yun Tianyang still alive and well upon her arrival, but then she felt like something was wrong.

"Watch out!" Her voice didn’t have time to travel across the battlefield before a ray of light shot towards them directly from Martial Alliance City and precisely struck Yun Tianyang in the heart.

The scene seemed to freeze at this second; even Qin Yuezhi was a bit dazed. It was only when Yun Tianyang's figure slowly collapsed that he finally came back to his senses.

A cold glint flashed through Alliance Leader Qin’s eyes. He was just about to go up and deal the final blow when a silhouette flashed across his eyes, and a woman had already appeared, propping Yun Tianyang up.

"Master, in the end, I still let you down." Yun Tianyang covered his chest with one hand and strained to speak, "I originally wanted to kill Qin Yuezhi and force that person to fight me. Then Master would be able to wait for an opportunity to strike, but I didn't expect.."

At this point, Yun Tianyang could no longer continue. He didn't expect that even when he risked his life to fight, ultimately, he couldn't even see the final opponent's face..

"Why are you so stupid?" Ah Xiu propped him up, a few ripples appearing in her otherwise calm gaze.

Yun Tianyang coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood and suddenly pulled himself together, his voice rising a few notches.

"Master, look behind us! The Martial Arts Alliance is bringing the world great suffering. It’s tyrannical, domineering, and not supported by popular sentiment! As martial artists, if we don’t fight to protect the people’s lives, then how are we any different from countryside farmers?”

Ah Xiu turned her head back in a daze. She saw the hundreds of thousands of troops from the Northwestern Army; she saw pair after pair of eyes filled with an unwillingness to resign themselves to their fate, yet they also contained hopeful longing for the future.

"Fighting to protect the people's lives?" Ah Xiu murmured softly, "You're right."

She slowly stood up and drew the sword she’d been nurturing for twenty years out of its scabbard. That sword nurturing technique she carefully prepared for a powerful enemy also seemed to dissipate as she unsheathed it.

But Ah Xiu didn't feel the slightest ounce of regret, because she knew that she no longer needed that kind of thing.

The sword nurturing technique nurtured the momentum of her sword, continuously accumulating power over many years to finally unleash a single world-shaking blow. But she already had the great momentum of the world behind her.

Such a momentum was irreversible!

And in the eyes of Red Tail and the others inside Martial Alliance City, the already dense Qi surrounding Ah Xiu was fiercely released but immediately pulled back inside her body, seemingly absorbing the destiny of the entire Northwestern Army.

At this moment, Ah Xiu seemed to have become the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao. Every single movement of hers possessed an unstoppable majesty.

Qin Yuezhi, who was standing in front of her, couldn’t even speak anymore. In fact, he couldn’t even escape as his whole body was instantly sliced in half.

Unsheathing her sword and killing the enemy—everything seemed so natural, as if it was only right and proper. It almost seemed like Qin Yuezhi was born to die at this moment.

"Master?!" Yun Tianyang was startled. The terrifying power of this sword had completely surpassed his imagination.

But a burst of joy surged up in his heart immediately afterwards. Yun Tianyang finally realized what happened: ‘She broke through! Master finally achieved a breakthrough!’

Yun Tianyang, who was extremely familiar with his master’s frightening power, could scarcely imagine what kind of realm she could reach after successfully taking this last step.

‘It doesn’t matter whether Master has reached that legendary realm capable of shattering space. She’s absolutely not someone a ragtag group like the Martial Arts Alliance can stop!’

However, just as Yun Tianyang was overwhelmed by emotions, an unhurried voice rang out in front of them:

"Ready your sword. Don't disappoint me."

Yun Tianyang turned his head and saw the silver-robed man on his mind day and night just standing calmly in front of them.

His tone, which seemed eager to fight Ah Xiu, perplexed Yun Tianyang. ‘My master has stepped into the realm of legends, so shouldn't he be appalled or even fearful?’

Ah Xiu held her sword in one hand and asked lightly, "Senior has already entered this realm twenty years ago. To arrange this situation so painstakingly—could Senior be using a fight with Ah Xiu to reach further enlightenment in martial arts?"

Ah Xiu could only think of one possibility behind this mysterious person’s actions: he was deliberately raising her—raising a battle-worthy opponent!

Yun Tianyang was also a very smart person and instantly understood what his master meant. For a while, he felt like he’d plunged into an icy abyss.

‘All of this—was it all part of this person's plan?’

However, the silver-robed man shook his head slightly. "I simply want to help you, that’s all."

Ah Xiu snorted coldly and valiantly attacked with her sword without another word.

This ethereal strike was far more terrifying and unpredictable than the previous one.

This instant, Ah Xiu's attack finally managed to create the power of laws. It was entirely different from this world’s martial arts, yet it represented the essence of the world!

At this moment, Yun Tianyang was the strongest martial artist who was the closest to this attack. Thus, he became the representative of the world, feeling the wondrous power from this sword.

‘This is not a power that a mortal can grasp..’ For some reason, such a thought crossed Yun Tianyang's mind.

Under his expectant gaze, this sword finally stabbed the silver-robed man—to be exact, it stabbed a finger extended by the other party.

The sword collided with the fingertip with a palpitating muffled sound, and then Yun Tianyang saw Ah Xiu's sword break, starting from the middle.

The sword broke!

Yun Tianyang was slightly shocked, and he hurriedly looked up, only to see a few drops of blood flow out from the silver-robed person’s outstretched finger.

"After all, it’s a Void Cutter that broke through by herself. It can actually hurt me?" The silver-robed man stared at Ah Xiu with interest, while the injury on his hand recovered in the blink of an eye.

Yun Tianyang's face paled as he fell into deep despair. He didn’t know how they’d be able to kill such an opponent.

On the other hand, Ah Xiu's gaze remained firm as she turned to Yun Tianyang and said, "Watch carefully—Master will teach you the last sword art."

Yun Tianyang was slightly taken aback, but then he saw Ah Xiu place her right index and middle fingers together, pointing at the silver-robed man.

Yun Tianyang felt a strong sword intent gather on Ah Xiu’s two fingers. Hope rekindled in his heart. "Could this be the legendary having a sword in one’s heart.."

Ah Xiu fixed her gaze on her fingertips and said softly, "This sword—"

Bam!

A silver figure flashed by; the silver-robed man had punched Ah Xiu in the back of her head, directly knocking her out.

"You can come with me now that you’ve broken through," a calm voice sounded beside Yun Tianyang's ears.