Nightfall

The Coalition Army’s great tent was really big. Hundreds of people were sitting inside, but it did not seem cramped at all. The people inside were all very silent, so the large empty tent felt even quieter.

“This is an order from the Great Divine Priest.”

Bai Haixin looked at the people protesting with silence. He said indifferently, “Don’t think about the glory and respect that you normally enjoy in your own sects. You should know that we are now in the army and that we are fighting against Tang, acting under orders of Heaven. We are carrying out the will of Haotian.”

A powerhouse in the Seethrough Realm stared at him and said sternly, “There is no way for the armored cavalry to rush over. What can we do? Who can fight against the sounds of the zither and flute?”

Bai Haixin said, “Since you want to abandon your horses and fight, then you need not worry about the cavalry. As for the sounds of the zither and flute… The Divine Hall of Revelation is making a talisman now and will distribute them to you later.”

“I don’t want to hear more questions. What you need to do now is to accept.”

Without waiting for the prideful cultivators to speak, he continued with a straight face, “Of course, it is up to you to carry out what ordinary soldiers cannot do. Otherwise, why would the Haotian Taoism keep you around for?”

There was an angry voice behind the crowd, “Aren’t you sending us to our deaths?”

Bai Haixin’s expression turned cold and looked toward the direction where the voice came from and said, “Who’s talking?”

Nobody answered as they did not dare to. And no one dared to speak again.

There were hundreds of powerhouses from the military and cultivators from various sects of various countries in the great tent. Even though Bai Haixin was a general of the South Jin Kingdom, he would not have cowed them into silence. However, in the Coalition Army of the Divine Hall, everyone knew that he represented the West-Hill Divine Palace.

However, not daring to speak did not mean they weren’t thinking. The cultivators all shared a disgusted look. They all knew that the man who spoke up was right. The West-Hill Divine Palace wanted to have its smaller vassal sects head to their deaths. They would, through their deaths, whittle down the Academy’s disciples’ Psyche Power, energy and physical strength…

“Think about your sects, whether they want to live and prosper or disappear like fireworks. Think about your relatives and fellow disciples in your hometown, and think about the great one existing in the Firmament.”

With that, Bai Haixin turned and left the great tent.

All were silent in the great tent; the silence represented acceptance as they were forced to do so.

Compared with the warm atmosphere in the Verdant Canyon, it was very cold here.

With green hills blocking the warm mist in the southern Great Lake, Qinghe County had always been famous for its spring-like seasons. However, it was late autumn after all, so after nightfall, the temperature of the plains gradually fell.

Campfires were lit in the Military camp.

The stars in the Night Dome were dim and hard to see by the bright moon’s silver glow. The reflection of the countless bonfires between the plains caused them to dim even more. If one did not look carefully, they might even think that it was a starless night.

There were more than 20 people sitting around a bonfire.

They were all disciples of the Sword Garret of the South Jin Kingdom.

The disciples respectfully sat around a man.

The man was dressed in linen and wore a simple bun. His face was ordinary and the only special part about him was his eyebrows which were so thick they seemed to be drawn with ink.

There was an old golden crown on the ground beside him.

Only Emperors could wear golden crowns.

But this man was not the Emperor of any country.

He was the Emperor of Sword Taoism. He was the sage of Sword Taoism.

He was Liu Bai, which was why he had a golden crown.

“The Divine Hall’s idea will not be effective.”

Liu Bai looked at the moon in the Night Dome and remained silent for a long time.

His disciples did not dare ask and waited for their teacher to continue.

“There are but a few people in the Academy, but yet, they have come to stop troops of tens and thousands. It might seem foolish, but they are no fools. That’s why the Divine Hall’s idea of sending troops there to waste Jun Mo’s energy will not be effective.”

Liu Yiqing coughed painfully and said, “Although Mr. Second is mighty, he will grow weak. Furthermore, his arrogant and domineering tactics will not hold for too long.”

He was defeated again in the hands of the Academy’s disciples and was severely injured. However, he was not as angry or sad as before and was able to analyze the situation calmly.

“The Divine Hall thinks like that too, which is why they will make the same mistake.”

Liu Bai said, “You all think that Jun Mo is prideful and that his tactics are arrogant. That is why he has to use more Psyche Power and energy with every strike of his sword, which cannot last for long. However, this is a ridiculous thought.”

“It might seem more laborious for Jun Mo to smash down or hit with his sword compared to just a swift cut. However, this is because you do not understand that cuts are made with strength and will damage blades. But his smashing and tapping use the Qi of Heaven and Earth. That thick iron sword of his will never be damaged until the end of the world.”

Having said that, the world’s most powerful man in Sword Taoism pulled out an unlit twig from the bonfire. He slowly lifted it up until it was a foot away from his eyes and then waved it downward casually.

The aura of heaven and earth near the bonfire moved with the swing of the twig. Several light and ethereal aura adhered to the twig and thickened, gathering into a ball as the twig waved.

Liu Bai’s twig landed in the bonfire.

The gathered ball of aura dispersed in the fire.

There was a sudden explosion of flames as the flame rocketed into the night sky, lighting up the Military camp.

Shouts rang in all directions before tapering down.

Liu Yiqing looked down and considered silently for a long while.

He could not see, but his Psyche Power could clearly sense what the twig had done.

“Mr. Second does not need energy to wave his sword around, he is using the aura of Heaven and Earth to move the sword and uses it to help power it. This is not a Martial Arts cultivation or Dark Methods. But…their origins are the same.”

He suddenly looked up at the Verdant Canyon that he could not see. His voice trembled slightly as he said, “This kind of Sword Taoism consumes the least amount of Psyche Power and physical strength. He can continue to kill!”

“You are both right and wrong.”

Liu Bai threw the broken half of the twig in his hand into the bonfire and said, “You are right about what kind of method Jun Mo is using. But you are wrong because you still have not understood that he is not using heaven and earth to move the sword…”

“He is using heaven and earth to attack.”

All was silent beside the bonfire.

The Sword Garret disciples were silent and each had his own thoughts. They studied under the world’s most powerful cultivator and practiced the art of the sword diligently. They had pride in their work, which is why they refused to bow to the Academy and were unimpressed by Mr. Second’s pride. However, they had finally realized that Mr. Second had his own reasons to be proud.

Liu Bai asked, “Where has the iron sword of Jun Mo been?”

A disciple thought and said uncertainly, “The sword is in front of him when he does not hold it.”

Liu Bai asked, “How far away is it from him?”

Nobody had noticed this detail.

Liu Bai said, “I was the only one who noticed this because this was what Jun Mo showed to me. The sword had always been… one and a half feet in front of him.”

Everyone was shocked.

Because everyone knew that the Sword Sage, Liu Bai’s, most famous concept was that the sword should be no more than one foot in front of a person.

One and a half feet was further than one foot.

Then was it more powerful?

Liu Bai knew how his disciples were feeling and he smiled and said, “The cultivator must be confident, so pride is the most common outward manifestation of it. I have seen many proud people in my life. For example, Ye Su, or the old Priest of Judgement. But I have never seen a man prouder than Jun Mo.”

All his disciples remained silent.

“And pride will kill him.” Liu Bai stopped smiling and said nonchalantly, “Because pride is an emotion, and a true swordsman cannot have any extra emotions.”

Finally, a disciple could not bear it any longer, he asked, “When are you going to attack?”

“While the Divine Hall might be worrying, I am not. The destruction of the Tang Empire is not something that can be done in just a single battle.”

Liu Bai said, “This battle of the Verdant Canyon is a great opportunity for you to learn from the Academy. Jun Mo is also my favorite opponent. Just as I have said earlier in the day, I will definitely wait until he is at his strongest before I strike.”

The disciples thought to themselves that Mr. Second had already caused blood to flow through the plains with his sword, and he had not retreated a single step. It was evident that he was very strong and seemed almost invincible. Could he become even stronger?

Liu Yiqing asked, “When will he reach his strongest?”

“Jun Mo is an ordinary person, so he would act like an ordinary person. That is why he let you all live today. But when he holds his sword, he will no longer be ordinary. When he starts getting injured and tired, and when he discovers that his pride is being challenged and becomes truly angry… and when everyone thinks he is about to fail— that is when he will be strongest.”

Liu Bai stood up and looked at the quiet Verdant Canyon on the other side of the plains. He felt the warm aura coming from there, and slowly placed his hands behind his back, not speaking for a long time.

All the disciples of the Sword Garret stood up and looked at the place, not knowing what he was looking at.

“The army is mighty and the powerhouses have gathered. Yet they are still in the mood to cook carefully even faced with danger. Well, some of the rice is burnt, but the pickled vegetables smell really good.”

Liu Bai inhaled the scents brought by the night breeze and lamented, “This is life. It is a process that cannot be affected by war or deaths.”

“Why can the disciples of the Academy be so calm? It is not because they are confident, but because they are doing what they want to do and doing what makes them happy, so that is why they have done it so confidently.”

“My sword can be like them too, but I cannot.”

Liu Bai looked at the Verdant Canyon with a smile and said, “The Academy is really magical. It is a pity that the teacher is no longer there, otherwise I would really want to live in it for a few years.”

On the second day of the battle of Verdant Canyon.

It was gloomy and looked as if it was about to rain.

The stench of blood on the plains thickened.

The scent of millet porridge in the pot grew thicker too.

Everyone praised the pickles that Sangsang made back then at the back of the mountain, and began to slurp up their porridge.

They drank it loudly and well.

After finishing their porridge, they helped Second Brother into his armor.

Second Brother held his iron sword and walked out into the plains.

Seventh Sister did not sleep well last night. She rubbed her slightly sore eyes and said, “Be careful.”

He was well fed and well rested today.

Everyting was going on well.