The flag on the city walls changed. Now, the flag of the scarlet tiger flew instead. It was rather tattered, but it only seemed more valiant now that it was drenched in blood.
The reeking of blood within the city gates was so heavy that it refused to disperse as the ground soaked up the blood and turned to mud. The soldiers cleaned up the battlefield, finishing off any surviving enemies they encountered.
They had not noticed it during the intense battle earlier, but now that they looked at this corpse-ridden land where blood trickled as streams, it basically seemed like the lowest level of hell. Many people collapsed on the ground and vomited, but they continued with cleaning up the battlefield when they stood up again, gradually growing accustomed to it.
Following this battle, they were no longer new recruits.
Gu Yanying could clearly sense that their numbers had diminished and their morale had plummeted with the end of the battle, but their quality had reached a whole new level. Perhaps there were more ingenious ways to take the city, but this was not personal grievances, but full-blown war. Only through trials of blood and fire could this army develop their worth.
The crows refused to return to their nests, flapping around and feasting off the corpses.
Li Qingshan led the people to take down the inner city, which was the main estate of the Ma family. They extinguished the flames that were about to develop out of control and conveniently cleaned up a few remaining forces. They even finished off a few people of the martial arts community who tried to take advantage of the situation. Only then did they stabilise the overall situation.
Worried about Gu Yanying, he returned to the city gates again, only to see everyone by his side exhausted. Even the two protectors were no exception. After all, not everyone possessed the endless support of the earth. He smiled. “You’ve had it tough, everyone! Let’s sit down and get some rest!”
He tossed aside the two ruined blades and sat down on a corpse. When everyone heard him, they all seemed to lose their bones, flopping down on any corpse they could find. The protectors no longer cared about their identities as great swordsmen either, each leaning against a wall to rest as they clutched their swords.
Only the young, skinny man arrived before Li Qingshan, kneeling down and lowering his head deeply without any regard for the bloody mess on the ground.
“Kid, what’s up with you?” Li Qingshan asked with a smile.
“Hero king, please accept me as your disciple!”
“And I had thought you were inspired by my great cause. Turns out you’re thinking of something like this.” Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, but he was not angered. Seeing how the young man’s black blade was in perfect condition even after a battle, he said, “Your bladesmanship is a little shabby, but your blade is not bad!”
Noticing how Li Qingshan had praised his blade twice, the young man became conflicted inside. He made his decision and suddenly offered up the blade. “Lei Lie is willing to offer the blade to the king as a gift of accepting him as a disciple!”
“Is this the Demonic Blade of Seven Slaughters?” Cold light flashed through the eyes of the protector of the left.
“Are you the disciple of the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters?” The protector of the right questioned closely.
“I am the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters’ son!” Lei Lie said boldly, leading to a series of gasps.
“The Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters!” Li Qingshan only understood this title after learning everything about the daemon star. He was the lucky bastard who had obtained powers from the daemon star, which was no wonder the aura from the blade was so familiar. It had probably been forged from the metal contained within the daemon star, so it came with the aura of the Asura realm naturally. However, he shook his head with a smile. “It just reminded me of my blade. Why would I want your blade? Since your father gave it to you, you better keep it for yourself!”
Lei Lie eased up slightly. This blade was his family heirloom, and it bore great significance to him. However, he also felt deeply disappointed. Compared to his unrivalled bladesmanship, how important could a blade like this be? He refused to simply accept this. “May I ask what kind of blade your blade is? I can say with confidence that there is no other blade in the world that can match this blade.”
“You’re still too young.” Li Qingshan laughed aloud. How could a blade like that compare to the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End?
“Don’t tell me you’re worried that my identity will cause you trouble? If that’s the case, I’ll take my leave right now!” Lei Lie’s pale face reddened.
“Lei Lie, have you ever committed any evil deeds?”
“I began practising the blade at the age of three without ever missing a day, so how could I ever get the opportunity to do anything evil? Even when it comes to my father, that’s all slander from others…”
“I don’t care what kind of person your father is. Just understanding you is enough. From today onwards, you are a member of my World’s society!”
“Yes!”
“However, it’s inconvenient for me to take on any disciples. You’re not suited to use the blade either, so set the blade aside and switch over to the sword from now on!”
Li Qingshan swung his hand in a dramatic manner. The two protectors exchanged glances and nodded. Just like that, he could hide the identity of the son of the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters. Even if his identity was exposed, he could say he had changed his ways by joining the society, which would not damage the reputation of the World’s society.
That was not what Li Qingshan had been thinking about at all. He had never taken the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters seriously. Instead, he had managed to see through Lei Lie’s foundations with his insight.
The sword was believed to be superior in the world, viewed as the gentlemen of all weapons, while blades would even be used by regular farmers to cut down firewood and cut up meat. It did not require a lot of practice. All this time, only the path of the sword existed. There was no so-called path of the blade. At most, it was just bladesmanship.
The blade never had a path. There was nothing honourable about it either. However, in the Asura realm, the blade held an extremely great status. If weapons were said to be created for the sake of slaughter, then blades were the embodiment of the limit of this killing intent, except it made them difficult to wield. They were almost mediocre due to their simplicity, such that it was difficult to unleash their specialty. As a result, not a lot of asura actually wielded blades.
Blades were the courage of all weapons. Li Qingshan’s initial comprehension had come from the blade too.
“What!” Lei Lie was both surprised and furious. He had basically begun practising the blade from the moment he was born, swinging it thousands of times each day, yet someone actually told him that he was not suited to use the blade today.
“You are filled with hatred, such that the blade controls you. If you continue like this, you’ll only end up becoming a madman.”
“He’s right. If you don’t believe him, you’re welcome to leave this blade for a period of time, and the killing intent within you will naturally disperse. Not everyone is as battle-hungry and bloodthirsty as him.” Gu Yanying rode over on her horse. Even with her silver hawk mask, her voice brought warmth to those who heard it.
Li Qingshan licked his lips and grinned. “Sometimes, I really do want to know how it feels to cut you down in a single stroke.”
“Others all swing their swords to cut through their emotions. What’re you wielding the blade for?” Gu Yanying made fun of him.
“Haha, swords cut through emotions, and blades cut down people. The effect is basically the same.”
Lei Lie tightened his grip around the hilt as his expression changed in uncertainty.
At this moment, there was a swish, and the crows all flew up in alarm and cried out.
Suddenly, Li Qingshan hunched over with his fingers splayed out, like a wild beast that had sensed danger.
However, a lazy yawn rang out from behind him, and a child walked out. His face bore a sense of deprivation and depression that conflicted with his age. He glanced at Li Qingshan. “Thanks for the sleepy bug. I slept so deeply. Uhh, where is this place?”
“Xiaoming!?”
Li Qingshan was surprised, as this child of a god with an unknown identity had become even younger. He seemed only three or four years old, and his aura had declined to below the first heavenly tribulation. However, Li Qingshan had no idea how he had emerged from the Asura Field that was sealed up by the world.
Rāhu Xiaoming gazed at the stars with his hands on his hips as if he managed to tell this was a miniature world. He said in disdain, “You sure have regressed.”
“You sure are shameless to say that to me.” Li Qingshan laughed. He thought of something. “You’ve only thanked me verbally. Do you have any gifts of thanks?”
“Here, it insisted on me bringing it out.”
With a wave of his hand, a huge, flagrant blade was planted in the ground right in front of Li Qingshan. It was the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End!
