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

Before dawn, the war drums sounded.

These were not the horns of the demon race, but the war drums of the Sword Qi Great Wall itself. A hundred large drums were set up on the city wall, and the drummers, bare-chested, swung their arms wide to strike them, the sound shaking the dust off the city wall. Interspersed with the drumming was the sound of bells; the thousand-year-old bronze bell on the city wall was being struck, its hum carrying for dozens of miles.

Everyone knows that today is different.

Ye Yun stood at the tavern entrance, taking one last look at the portrait behind the counter. Nangong Pushe still had that cold expression, his lips slightly pursed, as if to say, "You're dawdling again." He hovered the four flying swords at his sides, pushed open the door, and went out. The street was full of people, all sword cultivators, no one spoke, all walking towards the city wall. The sounds of armor, footsteps, and the clinking of sword sheaths blended together, like a great river flowing.

Ye Yun joined the crowd and followed them towards the city wall. After a few steps, someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Chen Ping'an. Two flying swords, the First and Fifteenth of the Month, hung at his waist. His expression was calm, but his eyes shone.

"Boss Ye," Chen Ping'an said.

"Um."

The two walked side by side onto the city wall.

The scene outside the city made Ye Yun's fingers tighten slightly.

It wasn't just a dense, dark mass. It was a swarm of demons, obscuring the ground entirely. From the base of the city walls to the horizon, it was all demons. The backs, scales, wings, banners, and chariots of these beasts were piled together, like a black ocean. Above, avian demons swarmed, densely packed, blocking out the sky and preventing even moonlight from penetrating. In the distance stood twelve enormous figures, each over ten zhang tall, standing there like twelve mountains.

The Demon Ancestor's personal guard, the twelve Beast Gods.

Twelve peak-level demons in the Ascension Realm.

Behind them stretched an army of millions of demons. Their camps stretched for miles, their campfires like countless stars on the ground.

Ye Yun took a deep breath. The air was filled with the stench of demons, so strong it felt like you could chew on it.

At the highest point of the city wall, Chen Qingdu stood. His white hair was disheveled by the morning breeze, his old robe was patched and worn, but his back was ramrod straight. His left hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his right hand raised. Silence fell over the city wall; even the drums stopped.

Chen Qingdu's voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it clearly: "Sword Qi Great Wall, fight to the death!"

He drew his sword. A chorus of swords rang out.

Thousands of swords were drawn simultaneously from the city wall, their sword energy converging into a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky. The clouds in the sky were dispersed, revealing a small patch of deep blue dome. Ye Yun's four flying swords hummed at the same time, their blades shining like four small suns. He turned to look at Chen Ping'an, who had also drawn his swords, Chu Yi and Chu Shi Wu, the two flying swords hovering at his sides, their sword light flowing like dragons.

The first wave of attacks has begun.

It wasn't a charge, it was a tsunami. The demon army, like a black wall, pressed in from outside the city, the ground trembled, and the city walls shook. The roars of demonic beasts, the rumble of war chariots, and the fluttering of banners blended together, making one's eardrums ache.

Ye Yun unleashed four swords simultaneously. "Golden Light" multiplied into countless beams, pouring down like a torrential rain, each strike precisely hitting the head of a Golden Core realm demon. "Purple Cloud" summoned heavenly thunder, unleashing bolts of purple lightning that blasted the demons to shreds. "Cage" transformed into black chains, weaving a defensive line along the city walls; charging demons crashed into it and were shredded to pieces. The "Sword of Law" hovered above his head, ready to sever any attack based on the laws of nature.

He instantly cleared out the first wave of monsters that charged onto the city wall. But the ones that followed surged up, stepping over the corpses of their companions, and he couldn't kill them all.

Chen Ping'an was not far to his left. The two flying swords, Chu Yi and Shi Wu, whirled like dragons, one attacking and the other defending, their movements perfectly coordinated. Chu Yi was fast, so fast the naked eye couldn't see it; each strike felled a demonic beast. Shi Wu was steady, as steady as a mountain, its defenses impenetrable to any demonic beast. Chen Ping'an stood on the battlement, covered in blood, but his eyes were calm, as if he were doing something very ordinary.

A Nascent Soul Realm bear demon lunged at Chen Ping'an, who dodged to the side. Chu Yi stabbed into the bear demon's eye socket, while Shi Wu simultaneously severed its throat. The bear demon crashed to the ground, smashing through a section of the city wall's crenellations.

Ye Yun killed a Golden Core Realm wolf demon with a single sword strike, then glanced back at Chen Ping'an, who was also looking over. They exchanged a glance, nodded simultaneously, and said nothing more.

Fighting side by side, no words are needed.

The battle on the city walls grew increasingly fierce. Sword cultivators were dragged off the walls by powerful demons, their screams quickly drowned out. Others were corroded by the poisonous mist, their bodies festering and collapsing. Still others were snatched up by flying beasts, thrown down, and smashed into a bloody pulp. But no one retreated. When someone died, someone else stepped in. Swords broke, so they fought with their fists. When their fists couldn't break, they bit with their teeth.

Ye Yun was covered in blood from the fight, his clothes no longer recognizable as their original color. A deep, bone-revealing wound ripped his left arm from the blade of a Jade Purity Realm mantis demon. His right 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 causing veins to bulge on his forehead.

Chen Ping'an wasn't in much better shape. Five gashes were torn open on his back, and blood stained his clothes. A chunk of flesh was bitten off his left leg, making him limp, but he still continued to kill, sword by sword.

Ah Liang was on the other side of the city wall, his blue robe now red, a blade of grass he'd picked up from somewhere dangling from his mouth, cursing as he slew demons. Left and right were in the most dangerous positions, each taking one down with a single sword strike, the flashes of his blades so fast they were invisible.

Ning Yao stood beside the sword left by her father, her white clothes stained with blood, the sword light as white as snow, as she slaughtered the demons, leaving their corpses piled up like mountains.

Chen Qing didn't make a move. He stood atop the highest point of the city wall, like a statue, watching the entire battlefield. He was waiting, waiting for the real big fish.

The first wave of attacks lasted for a full two hours. They fought from dawn until sunrise, and from sunrise until the sun was high in the sky. The corpses piled up on the city walls were higher than the walls themselves, and the later-arriving demons climbed up by stepping on the corpses, without needing ladders at all.

Finally, the demon race sounded their horns. The first wave of attacks was repelled.

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. Chen Ping'an walked over and sat down next to him, Chu Yi and Shi Wu hovering above his head, their blades also dripping blood.

Neither of them spoke.

After a while, Ye Yun took out a gourd of wine from his pocket, uncorked it, and handed it to Chen Ping'an. Chen Ping'an took it, took a swig, and choked, coughing violently. His cough tasted of blood. He returned the gourd to Ye Yun, who also took a swig. He swallowed the wine mixed with blood and foam, and the burning sensation made him squint.

"Boss Ye," Chen Ping'an suddenly said.

"Um?"

"Your swordsmanship is faster than I expected."

Ye Yun's lips twitched slightly: "Yours isn't slow either."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

The smile was brief, like a fleeting glimmer of light. But both of them remembered it.

In the distance, the demon race's horns sounded again. The second wave of attack was about to begin.

Chen Ping'an stood up, returned the wine gourd to Ye Yun, and dusted off his clothes. Ye Yun also stood up, tucked the wine gourd back into his waistband, and the four flying swords hovered at his sides once more.

The two stood side by side behind the battlements, looking out at the boundless black sea beyond the city walls.

In the distance, the twelve Beast Gods moved. Twelve mountain-like figures began to move towards the city wall, each step causing the ground to tremble.

Ye Yun glanced at Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an also glanced at him.

"Boss Ye," Chen Ping'an said, "if I die today, I'll treat you to drinks in my next life."

Ye Yun smiled: "Okay. It's a deal."

On the city wall, the war drums sounded once more.

The second wave of the offensive has begun.