A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

Sunlight shone on the Sword Qi Great Wall, making the golden walls appear as quiet as a golden tomb.

Ye Yun didn't sleep. He sat behind the counter in the tavern, holding the wine jug in his hand, slowly sipping it.

It was still dark outside the window. The moon had already set, and the stars had gone out. Only the torches on the city wall were still swaying in the wind, like a few eyes that refused to close.

During his five years at the Sword Qi Great Wall, he grew accustomed to being awakened by the sound of swords in the middle of the night, and to the old customers who would suddenly fall silent while drinking, gazing out the window in a daze.

Tonight is different.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, but he felt a vague unease, like a needle pricking him—it didn't hurt, but it made him restless.

Ye Yun put down the wine pot, stood up, walked to the door, and pushed it open.

The night wind blew in, carrying the pungent smell unique to the wilderness. He looked up at the city wall; the torches were still lit, and the swordsmen on night watch were still patrolling—everything seemed normal.

The fishy smell was stronger than usual.

He frowned slightly, about to carefully sense the ground, when the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.

It's so light, as light as a heartbeat.

Ye Yun sensed it; it wasn't an earthquake, but footsteps.

Countless heavy, orderly, and murderous footsteps echoed from the depths of the wilderness, approaching the city walls.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

The next second, deafening shouts of battle erupted from outside the city.

The sound was like a tsunami, like a mountain collapsing, like ten thousand war drums beating at the same time.

The sound surged from the depths of the wilderness, overwhelming everything and shaking the city walls. Then came a dense, foul, and suffocating demonic aura, surging in from all directions like a black tide, sweeping across the wasteland, over the scattered white bones, and over everything.

Ye Yun rode his sword to the top of the city wall.

He landed on the rampart and looked out, only to see a massive, dark army of demons attacking the city.

The number of demons was as numerous as ants, stretching from the horizon to the end of the field of vision. Demon generals rode demonic beasts, wielding bone spears, and charged at the forefront.

Fighting has already broken out on the city walls.

Sword cultivators rushed in from all directions, their sword energy crisscrossing, their battle cries deafening. Some roared, some screamed, and some detonated their golden cores before dying, perishing together with the demons around them.

The city walls were covered in blood, indistinguishable between human and demon blood.

Ye Yun found Dong Bude in the crowd.

The old man, wielding an old sword, was fighting on the city wall. His movements were no longer as fast as when he was young; each strike was delivered with all his might, yet each was precise and deadly.

A demon at the Golden Core stage lunged at him, and he severed its head with a single sword stroke; then another demon at the Nascent Soul stage charged forward, and he dodged its claws by sidestepping and pierced its throat with a backhand strike.

His left arm was bleeding.

A deep, bone-revealing wound stretched from the shoulder to the elbow, with flesh torn open and bone exposed.

He didn't know when he was injured, and he didn't even have time to bandage himself. He just tore off a piece of his sleeve, wrapped it around his arm a few times, and continued killing.

Ye Yun leaped down from the city wall and landed beside him.

"Old Dong, get down!" he shouted.

With a single sword stroke, he cleaved away a powerful demon that lunged at him.

Without turning his head, Dong Bude pierced the chest of another demon with his sword: "I'm not dead yet! I can continue to kill demons."

Ye Yun stopped trying to persuade him.

He turned around, facing the dark, overwhelming army of demons, and took a deep breath.

He fully activated his cultivation level.

All four of his natal flying swords were unleashed simultaneously.

A golden light burst forth from the sea of ​​consciousness, transforming into countless golden sword beams that poured down like a torrential rain.

Each of those sword beams carried a sharp sword intent, piercing through the bodies of countless demons. Demons below the Golden Core realm died instantly upon contact. Dozens of Golden Core realm demons struggled in the rain of swords, only to be instantly slaughtered.

The sword "Zixiao" hung overhead, its blade shrouded in purple mist, attracting heavenly lightning. A purple lightning bolt struck down from the sky, slamming into a Nascent Soul Realm demon.

The great demon's primordial spirit shattered in the lightning, turning into a pile of charred remains before it could even let out a scream.

The "cage" unfolded, and the invisible sword intent transformed into a prison, trapping a great demon at the Jade Purity Realm within.

The great demon struggled desperately, its claws tearing at the walls of the cage, but it couldn't break free. Ye Yun flew over and slashed down with his sword, and the great demon's head rolled to the ground.

With three swords drawn simultaneously, a swarm of demons fell before Ye Yun.

But even more demons surged up.

Ye Yun's gaze passed over the low-level demons and landed deep within the demon army, where a gigantic figure stood several meters tall, covered in jet-black scales, with blood-red eyes, radiating a suffocating pressure.

A powerful demon at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

That was the commander of this demon army.

Ye Yun took a deep breath, and the fourth natal flying sword in his body began to tremble.

The Sword of Law.

He hadn't used the sword until now, not because he didn't want to, but because its power was too unique, requiring immense mental effort to use each time. But now, he had no other choice.

Ye Yun leaped into the air, soaring over the heads of countless demons, and charged straight at the great demon in the Immortal Realm.

The great demon sensed his presence and looked up. A hint of disdain flashed in its blood-red eyes. A human sword cultivator dared to challenge him?

It opened its enormous mouth and spewed out a stream of black flame. The flame carried a power that corroded everything, and wherever it passed, even the air itself was distorted by the heat.

Ye Yun did not dodge.

He raised his hand, and the sword of law swept out from his body.

That sword was formless, colorless, and odorless, like a wisp of wind, a ray of light, or the most subtle law in the universe.

It passed through the black flames, through the protective demonic aura of the great demon, through its scales, flesh, and bones, and went straight into the depths of its soul.

The great demon's pupils suddenly contracted.

It sensed it; the sword was cutting something.

It is not its physical body, nor its soul, but something upon which it depends for survival.

Its "immortality" principle.

The reason this powerful demon at the Immortal Realm could live for thousands of years and survive countless battles was due to this law of "immortality."

As long as the laws remain unbroken, it will never die; wounds will heal, severed limbs will regenerate, and even a shattered soul can be reassembled.

But at this moment, it sensed that the law was breaking.

"No!" it roared in defiance, trying to struggle and resist, but it was too late.

The Sword of Laws severed its connection with "immortality".

The great demon's body began to disintegrate. Scales peeled off, flesh melted away, and bones turned to dust.

Its eyes widened in disbelief, even in its dying moments, that someone could break its immortality.

Ye Yun landed in front of it, covered in blood, panting heavily.

Behind them, the enormous body of the Ascended Realm demon crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

The city wall was quiet for a moment.

All the sword cultivators saw the sword light rise from the city wall, soaring straight into the sky and illuminating half of it. In that instant, all the light in the world paled in comparison, except for that sword light, which, like a sun, hung above the Great Wall of Sword Qi.

Someone exclaimed, "Who is that?!"

Someone recognized the blood-soaked figure, their voice trembling: "It's...it's the tavern owner!"

"Owner Ye of the Forget-Worry Tavern!"

"He killed a peak-level immortal demon!"

Exclamations rose and fell, but Ye Yun could no longer hear them.

All he could hear was the sound of the wind and his own heartbeat; all he could see was the dark, overwhelming army of demons.

But the demon race had already begun to collapse. Their leader had been killed, and the army had lost its backbone. The lower-ranking demons began to scatter and flee.

The sword cultivators pressed their advantage, slaughtering the demon race until their corpses littered the ground.

The sky gradually brightened.

The first ray of sunlight rose from the east, shining on the walls of the Sword Qi Great Wall, on the mottled sword marks, and also on Ye Yun.

He stood atop the city wall, covered in blood, indistinguishable as to whether it was his own or that of the demon race.

His clothes were tattered, and there was a deep, bone-revealing wound on his left shoulder, left by some unknown demon during the chaotic battle.

His four natal flying swords had been sheathed and were slowly circulating within his body, tired but even more solid.

Unexpectedly, a major battle brought him a great deal of luck.

The Great Wall of Sword Qi is still the best place to collect luck and hone his sword intent by slaying demons.

The sounds of fighting on the city walls gradually subsided.

The demon army retreated, leaving behind only corpses and the stench of blood throughout the city. The sword cultivators slumped on the city walls.

Dong was forced to walk over.

He was covered in blood, his left arm was still bleeding from a wound, and his right leg had also been injured, causing him to walk with a limp.

But his eyes were bright, as bright as they were when he was young.

He walked up to Ye Yun, looked him up and down, and then slapped Ye Yun on the shoulder.

"You brat, when did you become so amazing?"

Ye Yun smiled slyly, raised his head, and looked at Dong Bude's face, which was covered in blood and wrinkles.

"You've always been this good, you just haven't noticed."

Dong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Let's go back and have a drink, it's on you."

Ye Yun nodded and followed him down from the city wall.

The Great Wall of Sword Qi has experienced countless such great battles.