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

In the wild and untamed world, in the heart of the demon race.

There is no sunlight here.

The sky is forever covered by thick, dark red clouds, like congealed blood. The earth is black, barren, with only endless wasteland and scattered bones.

The wind blew from the north, carrying the stench of decay and blood, howling and wailing like the cries of countless dead souls.

Deep within this desolate land stands an ancient palace, constructed of massive black stones, enormous and rugged, like a colossal beast crouching on the ground. Ancient runes are carved into the stone pillars before the palace, gleaming eerily in the dark red light of the sky, as if they were breathing.

This is the palace of Zhou Mi, the war god of the demon race.

Deep within the palace, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes sat at a desk reviewing military reports.

He had a handsome face and fair skin, quite different from the rugged demons. His eyes were deep, like an ancient well with no bottom, calm and still.

His fingers were long and slender, holding a wolf-hair brush, annotating something on the military report with unhurried movements, as if he were doing something very ordinary.

careful.

The Demon God of War, the true mastermind behind the barbaric world.

Zhou Mi put down his pen, raised his head, and looked into the distance.

His gaze pierced through the stone walls of the palace, through the dark red clouds, through the endless wilderness between the barbaric wilderness and the Great Wall of Sword Qi, and landed in a very distant place.

There is a city there, and a person stands on the city wall.

A swordsman in a green robe, with a wine gourd hanging from his waist, was gazing towards the desolate wilderness.

Zhou Mi's fingers tapped lightly on the table.

"The sword intent of life and death reincarnation." He murmured to himself, a playful smile appearing on his lips.

He raised his hand and drew a talisman in the air. The talisman was composed of countless fine lines, each line emitting a faint glow.

After the talisman took shape, it transformed into a stream of light and flew out of the hall.

A moment later, a woman dressed in black appeared in the hall.

She was tall and slender with a cold and beautiful face. She was dressed in a black outfit with two short swords hanging at her waist. She knelt on one knee, bowed her head, and said respectfully, "Lord War God."

Zhou Mi did not look at her, but continued to gaze into the distance.

His voice was calm, as if he were talking about something trivial: "Investigate someone, the owner of the Sword Qi Great Wall tavern, who knows the Reincarnation Sword Dao."

The woman in black raised her head, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, but she didn't ask any further questions.

"Your subordinate obeys."

Zhou Mi continued, "Don't alert him. First, find out his background, cultivation level, swordsmanship, and purpose—we can't leave anything out."

"Yes."

The woman in black stood up, preparing to leave.

"Wait a minute," Zhou Mi suddenly called out to her.

The woman in black stopped in her tracks.

Zhou Mi picked up an old copper coin from the table and fiddled with it between his fingers.

The copper coin was badly worn, and the writing on it was somewhat blurred.

Zhou Mi said, "This person is not simple. His swordsmanship seems to be from another world. You must keep a close eye on him."

The woman in black glanced at the copper coin, her pupils contracting slightly.

"Understood." The woman in black turned and disappeared into the darkness outside the hall.

Zhou Mi stood up and walked to the window.

The sky outside the window was still dark red, with low-hanging clouds that seemed to press down. In the distance, on the wasteland, a few eerie green flames drifted by, like the eyes of ghosts.

He gazed in the direction of the vast world, his eyes deep and profound.

"I never imagined there would be such a variable in this world. Could he be the one?"

He took the copper coin out of his sleeve and placed it in his palm. The coin gleamed faintly in the dark red sunlight. Zhou Mi looked down at the coin, a smile playing on his lips.

He murmured, "This person has a scent that fascinates me; perhaps he has seen that person before."

He didn't continue speaking, but simply put the copper coin into his sleeve, turned around and walked back to the desk, continuing to look at the book in his hands.

Outside the palace, dark red clouds moved slowly, as if something was moving through them.

Sword Qi Great Wall.

Ye Yun practiced his sword in the backyard of the tavern.

It was already dark. The moon hung over the city wall, and its light spilled into the courtyard, gilding the wine jars with a silvery sheen.

With his eyes closed, four natal flying swords slowly swirled around him, their light flowing like water, silent and still.

His mind was not at peace.

I can't explain why.

After returning from the city wall, he had a strange feeling, as if something was watching him from a great distance, passing through the wilderness, through the city walls, and through the defenses of those sword cultivators, and landing on him.

The gaze was not malicious, not even hostile. It was simply an observation, like someone looking at an interesting toy, pondering its use, and considering whether to take it in their hands.

Ye Yun opened his eyes and sheathed his sword.

The four flying swords returned to their sheaths, and their sword light dissipated.

He stood in the courtyard, looking up towards the wilderness. The moon was full, the moonlight was bright, and the distant wilderness was just pitch black under the moonlight; nothing could be seen.

Someone is watching him over there.

Ye Yun frowned.

Is it thorough?

The wind blew down from the city walls, carrying the pungent, untamed smell of the wilderness. He stood in the moonlight for a long time, then turned and walked back to the tavern.

The tavern was quiet.

Dong had already gone back, and Qian Shouxin had also left, leaving only an oil lamp still burning on the counter, its dim light illuminating the empty tables and chairs.

Ye Yun sat down behind the counter, took out the guest elder token from his pocket, and placed it on the table. The token gleamed faintly under the lamplight, and the sword mark was deep, like a wound.

He then took out another token from his pocket, the one that Old Man Yang had given him.

The two tokens were placed side by side, one from the Sword Qi Great Wall and the other from the Lizhu Cave Heaven. They came from two different worlds, but both pointed in the same direction.

His path.

Ye Yun carefully put away the two tokens, picked up the wine pot on the counter, poured himself a cup, and found that there wasn't much wine left, only a small half pot remained.

"Zhou Mi has his eye on me, but your enemy isn't me. Chen Ping'an is your enemy, but I think I'll help you."

He seemed to hear a soft laugh echoing in his heart.

He walked to the door, pushed it open, and the moonlight shone on him, casting a long shadow. He gazed towards the city wall, where torches flickered in the wind, swordsmen patrolled, and countless people guarded the city.

In the distance, deep in the wilderness.

A dark figure silently infiltrated the outer perimeter of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The dark figure moved with incredible speed and silence, becoming part of the night itself. She stopped amidst a pile of rocks outside the city wall, crouched down, and took a talisman from her robes, affixing it to a stone. The talisman glowed briefly, then dimmed, blending into the stone.

After doing all this, she turned and disappeared into the night.

Inside the tavern, Ye Yun suddenly felt a strange unease.

He frowned, walked out of the tavern, stood on the street, and looked towards the outskirts of the city. There was nothing there, only moonlight and wind.

But he always felt something was wrong, as if someone had come and gone.

He stood there for a long time, then turned around, walked back to the tavern, and closed the door.

Outside the window, the moon slowly moved westward.

The Great Wall of Sword Qi slumbered in the moonlight, like a weary giant beast, curled up on the edge of the wilderness, awaiting the next battle.

In the distance, deep within the wilderness, in that palace, Zhou Mi stood by the window, gazing towards the vast world. In his hand, the copper coin engraved with "—" gleamed faintly in the dark red light of the sky.

He murmured the name, a slight smile playing on his lips: "So your name is Ye Yun. We'll meet soon."