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

As dawn broke, the bugle sounded.

Ye Yun flipped himself up from the second floor of the tavern, grabbed the four flying swords on the table, and pushed open the door to find the street already full of people.

No.

They were all sword cultivators.

Some people were tying sword tassels, some were wiping sword blades, and some were squatting by the roadside stuffing dry food into their mouths, chewing until their cheeks were bulging out. No one spoke.

Throughout the streets of the Sword Qi Great Wall, only the sounds of footsteps and the metallic clang of armor could be heard.

The bugle calls came from outside the city, one after another, deep and muffled like thunder, shaking the ground.

As Ye Yunfei ascended the city wall, the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Then he saw it.

Covering the mountains and plains.

He had read this word countless times, in books, and in the mouths of storytellers. But only when he stood on the city wall and looked down did he understand the weight of this word. From the foot of the city wall all the way to the horizon, there was a dark mass of demons.

It wasn't just densely packed; the ground was completely obscured. The backs, scales, and wings of the monsters were piled up together, like a tide, like a swarm of locusts, like a black curtain that had collapsed from the sky.

Leading the group were three enormous creatures.

On the left is a tiger-headed human-bodied creature, about three zhang tall, covered in black fur like steel needles, with a pair of amber eyes staring at the city wall, its mouth grinning to reveal gleaming white fangs. On the right is a snake-bodied woman, with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a python, coiled on a boulder, flicking her tongue, surrounded by a green poisonous mist. The most terrifying one is the one in the middle, a hawk, its wingspan covering half the sky, each feather gleaming with a metallic sheen, its eyes like lightning, overlooking the entire Sword Qi Great Wall.

Peak of the Immortal Realm.

All three are powerful demons at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

Behind them were dozens of Jade Purity Realm demons, hundreds of Nascent Soul Realm demons, and countless Golden Core Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm demons.

The alarm bells on the city walls continue to ring.

"Clang—clang—clang—" Each clang grew more urgent than the last.

All the sword cultivators were in position. Some were holding their swords with trembling hands, and some were pale-faced, but no one retreated.

Far behind them were even stronger demons, who, like great sword immortals like Chen Qingdu, would not easily make a move.

This is a tacit understanding between the two parties.

Once completely broken, the Wilderness World will be at war with the Righteous World.

Ning Yao stood atop the highest point of the city wall, dressed in white as snow, her long hair blowing in the morning breeze.

She drew her sword, its blade pointing out of the city; her voice was soft, yet it carried clearly to everyone's ears.

"Sword Qi forms a Great Wall; we will fight to the death!"

The sword cultivators on the city wall responded in unison, their voices soaring to the heavens and their sword energy reaching the sky.

Ye Yun stood beside the battlements, his four natal flying swords ready to kill enemies at any moment.

The first wave of attacks has begun.

It wasn't a charge, it was a tsunami.

The demon army surged towards the city wall like a burst dam, those in front pushed forward by those behind, trampling, howling, and roaring all mixed together. Some demon beasts crashed directly into the city wall, their heads shattered and brains splattered, but those behind them climbed up over their corpses.

Ye Yun unleashed all four of his swords simultaneously.

The golden light split into countless beams, pouring down like a torrential rain, each beam precisely striking the head of a Golden Core Realm demon. The tiger demon roared, the sound waves causing the golden light to veer off course, but "Purple Cloud" had already summoned heavenly lightning, a bolt of purple lightning striking the tiger demon, tearing its skin and flesh apart.

Ye Yun ignored them and focused on killing the smaller ones.

Just as a fox demon in the Golden Core realm leaped onto the city wall, its throat was pierced by "golden light"; three wolf demons in the Nascent Soul realm formed a formation and pounced, but the "cage" transformed into black chains that bound them, and the "Sword of Law" slashed horizontally, sending the three heads flying.

In just half an incense stick's time, he killed more than a dozen.

But the demon race's attacks grew fiercer with each wave, and casualties began to appear on the city walls. A young swordsman had his chest torn open by a demon beast's claws, but even in his dying moments, he clung tightly to his sword and plunged it into the beast's belly. Another middle-aged swordsman, shrouded in poisonous mist and covered in festering sores, still swung his sword, felling the demons around him.

Suddenly, there was another person beside Ye Yun.

Dong Bude.

The old man carried the "Winter Plum" sword, its light as white as snow. With each thrust, a demon fell. His attacks were no longer as fast as in his youth, but they were more accurate and ruthless, each strike hitting a vital point without wasting a single ounce of strength.

"Old Dong, are you still up to the task?" Ye Yun shouted as he turned around after killing a Nascent Soul Realm snake demon with a single sword strike.

Dong ignored him.

The old man was covered in blood, his white beard stained red, but a fire burned in his eyes. Ye Yun saw it clearly—it was the light of the young swordsman from six hundred years ago. Back then, Dong Bude wasn't the tavern owner yet, Mei Ruoxue was still alive, and he charged into the demon army with his sword, his eyes gleaming with that same light.

Six hundred years have passed, and this light has been extinguished for six hundred years, but it shines again today.

Dong Bu pierced the throat of a Jade Purity Realm bear demon with his sword, blood splattering all over his face. He wiped his face, grinned, and said, "That felt good!"

Ye Yun smiled too.

The two stood side by side atop the city wall, one wielding four swords simultaneously, the other's sword light as white as snow, slaughtering so many demons that their corpses piled up like mountains. A sword cultivator who witnessed this scene from afar later boasted to someone in a tavern: "That day, Boss Ye and Old Man Dong were like two killing gods. One radiated golden light, the other swept across the sky with icy snow; no matter how many demons came, they all died."

But Ye Yun knew that this was just the beginning.

He was covered in blood, his clothes unrecognizable. On his arm was a deep, bone-revealing wound, slashed by the blade of a Jade Purity Realm mantis demon. His left shoulder was corroded by poisonous mist, the flesh turning black and purple. He used "Purple Cloud" to summon heavenly lightning to burn away the rotting flesh, the pain nearly crushing his teeth.

Dong Bude wasn't in much better shape. The old man had a chunk of flesh bitten off his left arm and two ribs broken; every breath felt like a knife cutting through him. But he refused to retreat, standing in the most dangerous spot on the city wall, killing again and again with his sword.

"Old Dong, go down and rest!" Ye Yun called out.

"Stop resting my ass!" Dong Bude slashed down a Golden Core Realm demon beast with a single sword stroke. "I haven't had this much fun killing in six hundred years, and you want me to rest?"

Ye Yun stopped trying to persuade him.

The bloody battle on the city walls lasted for a full two hours. They fought from dawn until midday, and from midday until noon. The walls were covered in blood, indistinguishable between human and demon blood. The corpses piled higher than the walls themselves, and later demons climbed over them, without needing ladders.

Finally, the first wave of attacks was over.

It wasn't that the demons were merciful; it was that too many of them had died. Bodies piled up like mountains beneath the city walls, blood flowed like rivers, and the air was thick with the pungent stench of blood, making even breathing feel sticky.

Corpses littered the city walls. The bodies of sword cultivators and demons were intertwined, inseparable. Some were searching for their fallen comrades, some were closing the eyes of their fallen comrades, and some knelt on the ground, silently weeping while clutching their broken swords.

Ye Yun leaned against the battlement, panting heavily. Four flying swords hovered beside him, their blades covered in blood, dripping down.

Dong Bu walked over and plopped down next to him.

The old man was covered in blood; his white hair and beard were completely red, and blood was still seeping from the wound on his left arm, where a lump had bulged where his ribs had broken. But he smiled like a child, his eyes shining frighteningly bright.

"Six hundred years have passed," Dong said, "and it still tastes the same."

Ye Yun didn't say anything, but took out a gourd from his pocket, uncorked it, and handed it to him.

Dong took it, tilted his head back, and gulped down a large mouthful, choking and coughing up bloody foam. But he still laughed, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

"Young Master Ye," he said, "this wine is far inferior to your 'Reincarnation'."

"Nonsense," Ye Yun said, "I drank it myself, I didn't sell it."

Dong burst into laughter, then coughed, and after coughing, he took another swig of wine.

On the city wall, the surviving sword cultivators were counting the casualties. Ning Yao's voice came from afar, hoarse but firm: "Those who can still stand, gather over here. Those who can't stand, carry them away and treat them. The dead... write down their names."

Ye Yun looked at the demon army outside the city. They were regrouping, and the second wave of attack would come soon.

He turned to look at Dong Bude.

The old man had fallen asleep leaning against the battlements, still holding the "Winter Plum" wine bottle in his hand, his wine gourd lying askew to one side.

Ye Yun didn't wake him. He took the wine gourd from Dong Bude's hand, took a swig, then closed his eyes to conserve his energy.

The next battle is probably coming soon.