Shi Shenzong did not tremble and did not pant. He had nearly exhausted his lifeforce and his body stiffened, unable to move anymore.
He could not look up and see Zhou Xuanji’s expression.
He said with great difficulty, “I’m not done yet.”
Zhou Xuanji frowned; this fellow seemed unable to accept his loss.
“Since it was just a spar, and there’s no enmity between us, why are you unwilling to give up unless I kill you?” Zhou Xuanji said coldly. Seeing Shi Shenzong like this made him feel quite disappointed.
After all, he was a Grandmaster of the Way of the Sword and should be able to meet victories and defeats with equanimity.
As long as the mountain remained, one did not have to worry about not having firewood.
“I was already a dead person,” Shi Shenzong said emotionlessly as he closed his eyes.
After losing to a member of the later generation, how could he still have the face to continue walking on this world.
He had already died once, so it was not a big deal for him to die again.
Sand was blown about by the wind, and the two of them looked as if they were within the primal chaos. They could not see others, and the spectators could not see them.
“Don’t you have any regrets?” Zhou Xuanji asked. Shi Shenzong was very powerful, and if an expert like him died just like that, he would have one less rival.
In the current age, there were already very few people who could become his rival.
Shi Shenzong did not reply.
Zhou Xuanji frowned. You’re not going to speak? I’ll talk you to death.
“Do you know what later generations’ biggest regret towards you was?” He slowly asked, sounding pained.
Shi Shenzong asked incuriosity, “What is it?”
Zhou Xuanji sighed and said, “Your disciple, the Hegemon Sword Emperor, became a Great Emperor, but you were a single step away. As for this biggest regret, it’s not that we don’t believe in you but that we believe that you could definitely become a Great Emperor.
“Did you not have this kind of regret before dying?
“As a man, knowing there are greater heights, don’t you want to see what it’s like?
“Also, even though you lost to me, don’t you want to defeat me in the future?”
Zhou Xuanji’s tone rose and fell, and he sounded incredibly persuasive.
Shi Shenzong’s head hung downwards, making it impossible to see his expression.
“I don’t know what you’ve gone through, but the path that I’ve walked has been filled with failure. There were many times that I was homeless and on the run, and many times I barely ran away with my life. In fact, I can say that the moment I was born was when my failure began.
“If I was like you and could not accept losing, perhaps it would not have been you who lost here.” At the end, Zhou Xuanji’s tone became calm.
Of course, he knew that he had won more than he had lost.
In one-on-one fights, unless his opponent’s cultivation far exceeded his, he had never really lost before.
Shi Shenzong slowly stood up.
Zhou Xuanji’s expression fell. Fudge, this fellow was recovering his strength and had been listening to his nonsense on purpose.
Shi Shenzong looked up, his gaze just as sharp as when he was fighting.
Seeing this, Zhou Xuanji’s heart thumped.
Crap, he was about to experience another intense battle.
Even though Zhou Xuanji felt quite panicked, he outwardly looked calm.
Since he could defeat Shi Shenzong once, he would be able to do it again.
He was just worried that he would be heavily injured, giving those who had ill intentions an opportunity to act against him.
“I’ll wait for you in the Upper Realm,” Shi Shenzong said in a low voice as he stared at Zhou Xuanji, causing Zhou Xuanji to feel quite startled.
Upper Realm?
Boom!
A pillar of light blasted through the billowing dust and sand, landing on Shi Shenzong’s body, and he started to rise up.
Ascension.
Zhou Xuanji frowned; Shi Shenzong ascended just like that?
He had thought that maybe he could take this fellow as his sword slave.
He was about to say something but stopped himself; he was about to ask, “Can’t you give me a chance?”
“Zhou Xuanji, you’re indeed stronger than me and I wholeheartedly accept my defeat. From now on, I will take you as my greatest rival. I await you in the Upper Realm, and next time we will have another grand battle.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Shi Shenzong looked down at him and said slowly and clearly.
The wind blew berserkly, lifting up the sand and dust in the surroundings. The two people were separated, one in the sky and one on the ground. Both of them were covered with wounds and blood.
They only had each other in their eyes, and both could sense a wave of battle intent from the other.
Zhou Xuanji shook his head and laughed as he muttered, “This is good as well; this is the best outcome.”
There were not many experts who could gain his acknowledgement, and Shi Shenzong was one of them.
At that moment, Shi Shenzong’s voice suddenly sounded out, domineering and proud.
“Today, I, Shi Shenzong, have lost wholeheartedly to Zhou Xuanji. In my heart, he is the Sword Emperor and will become the most powerful Sword Emperor. I will wait for him in the Upper Realm, and one day, I will defeat him.
“Because I am the Sword Saint.”
Rumble…
Everyone looked up, and despite the billowing dust and sand, they could see the Ascension Light.
Everyone all had expressions of shock and reverence on their faces.
They were shocked by Zhou Xuanji’s victory and felt reverence towards Shi Shenzong’s free and easy manner.
A Sword Saint like this was completely worthy of his title.
Baihao Yixin blocked the wind and sand for his beauties while muttering, “Shi Shenzong, interesting. Looks like you’re going to turn the Upper Realm upside down.”
As for Zhou Xuanji, he did not want to evaluate him.
He felt that he kept running into bad luck because of him.
Yang Xindi also felt quite awed and said, “I’m afraid that we’ve all greatly underestimated the Sword Emperor.”
He could not help but think about the World Hero Conference back then. Looking back, he realized how wise he had been.
His words with Zhou Xuanji back then could bring about peace and stability for Great Shang.
The other spectators also came back to their senses.
“That was too spectacular.”
“This battle can be recorded in the records of history. The Sword Saint’s strength lost, not his name.”
“I really want to go to the Upper Realm and see their next battle.”
“Given how young he is, Zhou Xuanji will not ascend for thousands of years. Let’s all wait and see how long it will take him to become number one in the world.”
“This isn’t enough for him to become number one in the world? You think Yang Di can defeat the Sword Saint?”
After everyone expressed their admiration towards the Sword Saint, they started to imagine Zhou Xuanji’s future.
As long as Zhou Xuanji did not die prematurely, his future was limitless.
Elsewhere, Zhou Xuanji sat down on the ground and started to circulate qi and recover from his injuries.
The Ascension Light still covered the dark heavens and earth, and even though Shi Shenzong could no longer see Zhou Xuanji, his gaze did not move.
“Zhou Xuanji, perhaps you’re the person he talked about.”
Shi Shenzong’s mouth curved upwards. After he figured things out, he no longer felt depressed and instead felt quite happy.
He would never forget this battle for the rest of his life.
Pa! Pa!
A wave of applause sounded out, causing Zhou Xuanji to open his eyes and look over.
A boy hopped and skipped over while clapping, an incredibly innocent smile on his face.
Zhou Xuanji frowned, and his legendary swords appeared in the air, guarding his surroundings.
Everyone who was able to come to Sword Emperor Canyon was not simple, and for this boy to dare to come and find him at such a moment, he definitely did not have good intentions.
Zhou Xuanji thought seriously and immediately thought of a person.
Lin Changge had said that there was a boy by Yang Di’s side, whose strength was incredibly deep and unfathomable.
Could it be this boy?
“Sword Emperor, you’re truly powerful—you even defeated the Sword Saint. If you continue to grow, perhaps the human race’s Fate will always prosper and never wane,” Fu Hao said as he gigged, his eyes becoming two arches.
He flipped his right hand and a dark green dagger appeared in his hand, while the innocent smile remained on his face.
Zhou Xuanji said disdainfully, “Even the person by Yang Di’s side is so despicable; looks like Yang Di is not some hero either.”
No matter if Fu Hao represented Yang Di or himself, Zhou Xuanji felt condescension towards both of them.
