Song Juyao and the Ghost King fought fiercely, their battle raging from the ground to the sky, causing the winds and clouds to change color. Their speed was so fast that it was difficult to see with the naked eye. They clashed and parted rapidly, exchanging hundreds of blows in mere moments.
Song Juyao's ponytail whipped through the air, her spiritual power scattering like countless glittering stars. It made her look like she was radiating light in the dark, holy and incomparable. Occasionally, she and the Ghost King slowed their pace, their swords locked together, their faces mere inches apart. Song Juyao's eyes shone with a fierce, unwavering determination, a righteous coldness that pierced the very soul.
Everyone watched in awe, never having witnessed such a spectacular battle, never having felt the allure of a master swordsmen in this way.
……
Over the past decade, in those places that outsiders couldn't see, Song Juyao swung her sword with both hands at least thirty thousand times a day, ensuring that every strike was precise in force and angle. If she aimed to cut one centimeter, she would not exceed it even by a millimeter. This practice became ingrained in her bones, becoming instinctive, enabling her to execute it effortlessly.
Though her sword appeared delicate and lightweight it was actually a heavy sword. The added weight amplified her striking power, compensating for the inherent disadvantage of her female physique. Of course, the strength in her wrists to wield such a weapon had been forged through countless days of grueling practice.
With enough determination, even a porcelain doll could be transformed into a strong man.
Day after day, the skin on her hands was torn repeatedly, blood dripped, the hilt of her practice sword stained crimson with her blood. Despite washing it off time and time again, the blood had seeped in, dyeing the handle a permanent shade of red. Eventually, her hands were covered in thick calluses that would no longer be torn.
"Why do you keep doing these basic exercises? It's enough already. What's important is swordsmanship, not these simple strikes and slashes." Her second senior brother couldn't understand. They only did such basic training during the first year of their apprenticeship, wielding a sword merely to learn the proper grip and stance, to find the right feel for the sword.
Moreover, as sword cultivators, what was important wasn't swordsmanship but the cultivation of spiritual power. Without the support of spiritual energy, the sword would be blunt and worse than a hatchet when striking at ghosts and monsters.
And yet, Song Juyao had insisted on practicing these basic exercises every morning for three years.
Song Juyao didn't reply, she simply said, "Second senior brother, come and have a couple of moves."
"Very well," he chuckled, feeling that the little girl in front of him was in need of a good beating.
At the time, the second senior brother was 24 years old and had been a sword cultivator for a decade. His swordsmanship and combat experience far surpassed Song Juyao's, and he indeed held the upper hand at first. Song Juyao was sent flying several times, but each time, she picked herself up and once again attacked towards him.
In the courtyard, the clashing of swords echoed continuously. The other senior brothers gathered around, and even the third martial uncle came to watch.
The second senior brother toyed with the child, his fox-like eyes crinkled in amusement, a stark contrast to Song Juyao's serious expression.
It was under such contempt that a heavy, sweeping strike suddenly came at him. He raised his sword to block it, but his wrist immediately went numb. In the next second, his sword was knocked out of his grasp, soaring through the air before plunging deep into the ground.
The second senior brother stood stunned, and so were the onlooking senior brothers.
Song Juyao sheathed her sword. "Second senior brother, you lost."
"...You've developed your strength well." The second senior brother rubbed his numb wrist, feeling that it was because he had underestimated Song Juyao's strength that gave her an opening.
"It's not about strength." The third martial uncle interjected, "You’ve got too many useless tricks while every one of her strikes was precise and accurate. You still underestimated her, and didn't even notice the excessive strain on your wrist. If you don't lose, even the heavens will not tolerate it."
Since most ghosts or demons did not engage in close combat with humans, especially not with swords, the swords had become more of an ornament, a mere symbol for sword cultivators rather than practical tools. Although they studied swordsmanship, it wasn't primarily for fighting against others.
Song Juyao was different. Her swordsmanship wasn’t just for dealing with ghosts and demons of this world; she wanted to be able to use it in other worlds and in the real world as well. She was incredibly smart, when playing tennis, she knew to calculate the angle to increase the wear and tear of the opponent's knees, which would naturally reduce her own loss of stamina and muscle damage to defeat the enemy.
Thus, each of her sword strikes was filled with aggression and had to be accurate.
After defeating her second senior brother, Song Juyao remained composed and carried on with her daily training routine without any arrogance or impatience. She was under the tutelage of the third master, who taught her swordsmanship, then she further adjusted and improved it to suit herself best.
Influenced by her, gradually, the little girl was joined by the fifteenth and sixteenth senior brothers, and then Seventeenth, Eighteenth... and finally, even the second senior brother also joined the group.
As winters gave way to springs and summers yielded to autumns, the figures in the courtyard grew taller and more skilled, each becoming a capable sword cultivator who could hold their own.
…...
"Clang—"
The battle between Song Juyao and the Ghost King continued.
On the ground, the masters and senior brothers had already dealt with the deputy generals. However, the evil energy, momentarily cleared by Song Juyao, began to spread again. They helped the fallen masters to their feet and carried them away on their swords.
The masters, drained of every last drop of spiritual energy and gravely injured, could no longer resist the corrupting influence of the evil energy. If they were exposed to it for a while longer, they would be dead.
……
In the serene courtyard with flowing water under a small bridge, a middle-aged man looked up at the stars and suddenly his expression changed.
"No, something's wrong. There's an evil star blocking our way. The situation in B City has changed, and our grand plan is in jeopardy. What's going on?... No, I can't figure it out. I need to inform the master!"
……
The battle stretched on, the evil energy churned up like the waves of a stormy sea. The darkest hour before dawn had arrived. The sword cultivators of the Tai Chu Sword Sect had evacuated the masters from the Ling Wang's Tomb, and the government helicopters had been sent to pick them up.
Now, they were just waiting for the final outcome.
The Ghost King didn't expect Song Juyao to be so difficult to deal with. He had been trying to deplete her spiritual energy, yet her spiritual energy seemed inexhaustible, he couldn't drain it at all. In contrast, his own spiritual body had been injured by her over and over again.
These minor wounds went unnoticed until they accumulated to the point where his body was gradually being consumed, like a frog being boiled slowly. Only then did he realize that the trap he thought he set to deplete Song Juyao's spiritual power was actually a trap she used to wear him down.
He finally lost his patience and began to feel a strong sense of crisis.
He descended from the sky, plunging into the evil energy that swirled below. Then as if drawn to him, the dark energy converged, forming a huge sphere with the Ghost King at its center. He wrapped himself in this sphere of evil energy and charged towards Song Juyao, who fearlessly charged to meet him head-on.
Both the Ghost King and Song Juyao were engulfed within the enormous, dark cloud-like ball in the inky night sky.
The darkness was so profound that even the audience in the Judgment Show live stream could see nothing but an all-consuming darkness, and couldn’t spot Song Juyao.
【Ahhh, we can’t see anything!!!】
【This is so nerve-wracking!!!】
【If Song Juyao dies again this time, won't the third episode have to restart for the tenth time?】
【No, she won't die, Yaoyao, keep going!!!】
Liang Qiao stared intently at the livestream, secretly hoping for Song Juyao's death. If she were to fall, he could arrange a different script. This time, he would definitely watch her closely and not allow her to deviate from the script even a step!
…...
In the virtual world, the horizon was already showing the first light of dawn, indicating that the darkest hour before dawn had passed.
Inside the military command center, everyone watched the massive sphere of evil energy with bated breath.
At that moment, the door swung open, and a man in a wheelchair was pushed into the room.
They turned their heads and immediately stood up. "Master Guoshi." (National Teacher)
The man appeared young, looking like he was not even thirty years old. He wore a white silk tai chi suit and had a handsome and gentle face. His eyes, filled with melancholy and compassion, seemed to carry the weight of the world's sorrows. His bearing was pure and noble, akin to a snow lotus blooming in the heavenly mountains.
"I heard there was an unexpected situation in City B, so I came to take a look."
A general personally walked over and took hold of the wheelchair handles, pushing him towards the screen.
On the display, the ball of evil energy continued to grow, drawing in more and more of the dark aura. The observers, desperate to check Song Juyao's condition inside, repeatedly adjusted the satellite's focus, zooming in as much as possible.
"What’s the situation?" the National Teacher asked.
"It's a sword cultivator from the Tai Chu Sword Sect. She's very powerful, and now she's fighting the Ghost King." The situation was too complex to explain in detail, so the general gave a simple explanation.
"A sword cultivator?" He showed a surprised expression as he fixed his gaze upon the ball of evil energy, his eyes narrowing slightly.
A sword cultivator... Though he didn't know the specifics, it seemed impossible for anyone to win inside such a concentrated mass of evil energy. That dark energy would seep into the person's marrow, the bone-chilling cold and pain robbing anyone of the strength to fight back, just like the more than eight million people in City B at this moment.
Suddenly, he frowned slightly.
A sharp, unwilling, ear-splitting howl of an evil ghost suddenly came out from the ball of evil aura, piercing the air, and then vanished.
"This is..."
A blinding ray of light slashed through the darkness, its brilliance was so intense that everyone—the members of the Xuanling Sect, those in the command center, and the audience of the Judgment Show livestream—instinctively turned their faces away or raised their arms to shield their eyes.
After a while, the light faded, and when they opened their eyes, they saw that the darkness had shattered, struggling in vain as it gradually dissipated. The red morning sun rose, its radiance piercing through the gloom. Between the stark contrast of black and red, a slender figure stood suspended in the air, facing the sun with her back to everyone, her high ponytail swaying in the wind.
Then she turned around, and the sun became a mere backdrop in her presence.
In that moment, she was as dazzling and radiant as hope itself, causing everyone to involuntarily submit.
The National Teacher's world fell silent, the sounds around him fading away as he stared transfixed at the screen. The world was quiet, only his thunderous heartbeat pounded in his ears, piercing his eardrums.
The Judgment Show livestream was quiet for a long moment before erupting into a frenzy of screams once again.
【Ahhhhhh!!!】
【So cool, my god!!!】
【What heavenly deity has descended upon us!!! What a top-tier Alpha!!!】
【Screenshot, screenshot! This is totally going to be my desktop wallpaper!!】
【Ahhh Yaoyao, take me!!!】
Song Juyao turned her head, her gaze falling upon B City that was drowned by evil qi and shrouded in darkness.
…...
In the real world. The palace.
The King fixedly stared at Song Juyao and suddenly clutched his chest. His silver eyes locked onto her figure.
…...
Inside B City.
The sun had risen, but its rays couldn’t penetrate the thick, mud-like evil qi. The entire city had become a dead zone; all the flowers, plants, and trees had withered. Fragile fish, birds and other small creatures died foaming from their mouth, and even larger animals with more resilient life forces, such as dogs, cattle, sheep and so on were convulsing and were not far from death.
People lay sprawled on the ground, their cries of pain and fear filling the air.
The pain was excruciating as the malevolent energy wormed its way into the crevices of their bones, permeating their very marrow, leaving them in a state worse than death.
It hurt so much, the evil air was drilling into the crevices of their bones, into the bone marrow, and the pain was worse than death.
But even in this state, they wanted to live. Will we die? When will the government come to rescue us? What has happened? Is it the end of the world?
Some reached for their phones and wanted to check the network.
But the network in B City had been cut off. They were isolated and unable to contact the outside world.
Luo Ping collapsed on the balcony and suddenly thought of something. He was interested in metaphysics and had discussed with enthusiasts about things that ordinary people didn't know, so he suddenly understood.
This was not the end of the world, but rather the work of an Evil Qi bomb. Otherwise, there couldn't be such a massive outbreak of evil energy. There must have been an issue with the Ling Wang's Tomb, and the government had abandoned them to protect other cities.
They were abandoned.
At the most conservative estimate, government aid would not arrive for at least five days. The protective suits that could block evil energy were expensive and heavy, and only specially trained personnel could wear them. With B City being so big and having millions of population, the rescue process would undoubtedly be slow. How many people would die in these five days? From illness, hunger, thirst…
He would also die here.
Luo Ping wept in despair and anger. Why were they the ones abandoned? Why did they have to suffer all this?
At that moment, a beam of white light appeared. Luo Ping, raised his tear-streaked face and saw a path being cut through the darkness by a single ray. He was stunned, watching as beam after beam of white light sliced through, splitting the darkness again and again. The evil energy resisted in vain, with no power to fight back, and eventually torn like pieces of paper.
More and more light entered the city, dispelling the despair and darkness that had shrouded everyone's hearts. Luo Ping looked up and saw a figure descending like a hero. He was stunned, and unconsciously tears rolled down from his eyes.
In the military command center, the general suddenly snapped back to his senses. "Quick! Immediately start the rescue operation for B City!"
Song Juyao landed on the ground, stood straight, and took a deep breath. Feeling the gazes of admiration from all directions, she slightly lowered her eyes to hide the fleeting light in them.
Arriving at the right time is better than arriving early. This incident at the Ling Wang's Tomb has helped me a lot. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll soon be able to see Aqi.