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

The second wave of attack was not as overwhelming as the first. There were no tidal waves of demonic beasts, no sky-covering birds. Only twelve figures emerged from the ranks of the demon army, walking step by step toward the city wall.

Each step felt like a footstep striking the ground, creating a crack in the earth. Each step felt like a blow to the heart of every swordsman on the city wall.

The Demon Ancestor's personal guard consists of twelve peak-ascension realm demons. Each one has lived for at least five thousand years, and each has killed countless human sword cultivators. They are not ordinary demons; they are killing machines personally selected by the Demon Ancestor.

Leading the procession was the Tiger Beast God. Three zhang tall, with a tiger's head and a human body, its body covered in black fur like steel needles. Its amber eyes stared intently at the city wall, and its mouth twisted in a grin, revealing gleaming white fangs. Behind it was the Snake Beast God, its upper body a beautiful woman, its lower body a python, its scales a bluish-green, its tongue flicking, its vertical pupils filled with chilling coldness. Further back was the Eagle Beast God, humanoid in form, but with a pair of iron wings on its back, each feather gleaming with metallic luster, its eyes like lightning.

Behind them were nine more, each with a different shape—a cow, a horse, a monkey, a dog, a pig, a sheep, a deer, a wolf, and a rat. The twelve were lined up in a row, like twelve black lightning bolts.

A gasp went up in shock on the city wall. These twelve peak-stage Ascension Realm demons were each far stronger than the three that had attacked the city last time. This wasn't a war; it was a massacre.

Chen Qingdu stood atop the highest point of the city wall, his white hair flying, squinting at the twelve figures. His hand rested on his sword hilt, but he didn't draw it. He was waiting, waiting for them to approach.

The twelve beast gods leaped up simultaneously.

Twelve dark figures rose into the air from outside the city, crossed the city wall, and landed on the city wall.

The Tiger Beast God was the first to land, its footsteps shattering the city wall bricks and creating a large crater. Looking up, it saw an old swordsman before it, white-haired, wielding a long sword, his eyes calm. The old swordsman drew his sword, its blade flashing like a rainbow, aiming for the Tiger Beast God's throat.

The tiger-beast god neither dodged nor evaded, but opened its massive jaws and bit down on half of the old swordsman's body. Its teeth snapped shut, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. The old swordsman's scream was cut short, barely audible. The tiger-beast god chewed twice, swallowed, licked its lips, and its amber eyes swept across the city walls.

The serpent god was the second to land. It didn't pounce on anyone, but instead coiled itself atop the city wall, opening its maw and spewing out a cloud of green poisonous mist. The mist spread, and wherever it passed, the sword cultivators' skin began to fester, and their eyes began to bleed. Several young sword cultivators, unable to dodge in time, were enveloped by the poisonous mist, screaming as they collapsed to the ground, turning into pools of pus within moments.

The Eagle Beast God swooped down from the sky, moving so fast that it was just a black shadow. It swept over the city wall, stretched out its iron claws, grabbed two sword cultivators who were fighting, and flew into the sky before releasing its grip. The two sword cultivators fell from a hundred feet in the air, crashing onto the city wall, their bones shattered and their flesh mangled.

The other nine-headed beast gods also attacked simultaneously. The bull beast god rammed into the city wall, collapsing a section of the crenellations and burying three swordsmen under the rubble. The horse beast god's hooves pounded the ground, causing the earth to shake violently; several swordsmen who lost their footing fell, their skulls crushed by its stomping. The monkey beast god was as agile as the wind, weaving through the crowd, and with each person it passed, a head fell to the ground.

Chaos reigned on the city walls.

Some shouted, "Stop them!" Others shouted, "Retreat!" Still others shouted, "Boss Sword Immortal!" The voices mingled together, and no one could understand what anyone was saying. The sword cultivators' formation was broken, and they fought individually, being harvested one by one by the beast gods.

Chen Qingdu finally drew his sword.

The sound of the sword being drawn was like a dragon's roar, and a white light flashed from the highest point of the city wall. The head of the Bull Beast God flew up, its eyes still open and its mouth still agape, as if it hadn't yet realized what had happened. Its body stood still for two breaths before crashing to the ground.

He killed a peak Ascension Realm demon with a single sword strike.

The swordsmen on the city walls cheered, but their cheers were quickly drowned out by fear. The remaining eleven beast gods became even more frenzied, as if enraged by the blood of their comrades. The tiger beast god roared to the sky, the sound waves shaking the city walls. The snake beast god's poisonous mist thickened, shrouding half of the city walls in green fog. The eagle beast god circled in the sky, ready to swoop down again at any moment.

Chen Qingdu was about to draw his sword again, but the remaining eleven beast gods scattered, not giving him the chance to kill multiple of them with one strike. He slashed out, severing only one arm of the monkey beast god. The monkey beast god screamed and retreated, but was not killed.

Ye Yun watched all this from the other side of the city wall. He knew that if these beast gods weren't stopped, the Sword Qi Great Wall wouldn't last until today.

He moved.

Four flying swords shot out simultaneously, heading towards the nearest three-headed beast gods—a tiger, a snake, and an eagle.

The golden light transformed into hundreds of thin threads, coiling towards the Tiger Beast God. The Tiger Beast God swung its claws, shattering a patch of golden light, but the light scattered and then coalesced again, like countless golden snakes, binding its limbs and neck. The Tiger Beast God roared and struggled, but could not break free for the time being.

"Purple Cloud" summoned nine bolts of heavenly lightning, which struck the Serpent Beast God one after another. The Serpent Beast God spewed out poisonous mist to defend itself, but the lightning bolts struck into the mist, causing it to explode and burst into flames, green flames leaping in the air. The Serpent Beast God was forced to retreat repeatedly, its vertical pupils filled with terror.

The "cage" transformed into black chains, shooting towards the Eagle Beast God from all directions. The Eagle Beast God flapped its wings, trying to fly away, but the chains had already wrapped around its ankles and the base of its wings. It struggled desperately, its iron wings flapping, the resulting wind making the surrounding sword cultivators unsteady, but it could not break free.

Ye Yun stood on the battlement, his four flying swords operating at full power. Veins bulged on his forehead, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He was simultaneously entangled with three peak Ascension Realm demons. His spiritual power was rapidly depleting, and the luck value in his sea of ​​consciousness was dropping like flowing water.

"The Sword of Laws." He gritted his teeth, the transparent blade hovering above his head, tip pointing downwards, slowly rotating.

He was searching. Searching for the laws of the Eagle Beast God.

Each great demon possesses its own innate law, which is the foundation upon which they stand in the Ascension Realm. The Tiger Beast God's law is "Power," the Snake Beast God's law is "Poison," and the Eagle Beast God's law is—"Flight."

found it.

Ye Yun's pupils contracted as the "Sword of Law" fell. Silent and invisible, its light was transparent, yet it severed something.

The eagle-beast god suddenly sensed something was wrong. It tried to flap its wings and fly, but even though it flapped its wings, its body didn't leave the ground. It flapped again, but still couldn't take off. It looked down at its wings; the wings were still there, the feathers were still there, but it just couldn't fly.

The laws of "flight" have been severed.

For the first time, fear appeared in the eyes of the Eagle Beast God. Having lived for eight thousand years, it had never encountered anything like this. It opened its mouth to cry out, but Ye Yun didn't give it the chance.

The "golden light" withdrew from the Tiger Beast God, transforming into a golden pillar that pierced through the Eagle Beast God's chest. The Eagle Beast God looked down at the hole in its chest, blood gushing out. It reached out to cover it, but its strength gave out halfway through raising its hand.

Its body plummeted from the city wall, crashing down below and creating a large crater. Its wings twitched twice, then it remained still.

The first of the twelve Beast Gods to be killed.

A voice from the city wall cried out in alarm, "Boss Ye killed the Eagle Beast God!"

The Tiger Beast God broke free from the golden light's embrace and, upon seeing the Eagle Beast God's corpse, its amber eyes blazed with fury. Abandoning its other targets, it charged straight at Ye Yun. The Snake Beast God also escaped the bombardment of heavenly lightning, its vertical pupils fixed on Ye Yun, its tongue flicking, poisonous mist gathering around it.

The two beast gods pounced on Ye Yun at the same time.

Ye Yun no longer had the strength to hold both ends at the same time. His spiritual power was almost exhausted, his luck value was at its limit, and "Nirvana" was still cooling down. He gritted his teeth, gripped the "Sword of Law," and prepared to take the hit head-on.

A sword light flew in from the side, too fast to see. The tiger beast god was forced back three steps, and the snake beast god had half its tail severed by the sword light, screaming as it shrank back.

The two figures landed beside Ye Yun, dressed in snow-white robes with cold, stern faces. His sword was already sheathed, as if nothing had happened. But the Tiger Beast God had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest, blood flowing down.

"You killed the Eagle Beast God?" Zuo You asked, his voice flat.

Ye Yun nodded.

He glanced at him from side to side: "Not bad. But you're about to die."

Ye Yun didn't speak. He knew Zuo You was right. He was covered in wounds, his left arm was too heavy to lift, his right leg was trembling, and his vision was blurring. But he didn't fall. He stood against the battlement, four flying swords hovering beside him, their light much dimmer.

In the distance, Chen Ping'an was locked in combat with the Monkey Beast God and the Wolf Beast God, his two flying swords, Chu Yi and Shi Wu, spinning like dragons, barely managing to hold them off. A Liang was fighting alone against the Horse Beast God and the Sheep Beast God, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, cursing as he fought. He looked relaxed, but he already had several wounds on his body. Ning Yao was exchanging sword blows with the Deer Beast God, her white robes stained with blood, the sword light as white as snow, but she was clearly at a disadvantage.

He glanced around the battlefield and drew his sword.

A flash of sword light.

It wasn't aimed at the beast god, but at the ground atop the city wall. The sword energy carved a deep trench in the ground, splitting the entire city wall in two from left to right.

"Back behind this line." The voices on either side weren't loud, but everyone heard them.

The sword cultivators fought and retreated, withdrawing behind the ravine. One stood in front of the ravine, the other facing the remaining ten beast gods.

He drew his sword. The sword light was like a rainbow, and with one strike, all ten beast gods took a step back.

Chen Qingdu stood atop the highest point of the city wall, looking left and right, and nodded. He didn't make a move; he was waiting. Waiting for the Demon Ancestor.

Ye Yun leaned against the battlement, panting heavily. He looked at the figures on his left and right, at the ravine, at the beast gods who had been forced back, and a slight movement appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Excellent swordsmanship," he said softly.

Chen Ping'an retreated to his side, covered in blood, the blades of Chu Yi and Shi Wu riddled with nicks. He reached out and supported Ye Yun's shoulder: "Boss Ye, hang in there."

Ye Yun nodded: "We can manage."

In the distance, the ten beast gods regrouped and approached once more. Chen Qingdu tightened his grip on his sword, his hands also resting on the hilt.

The second wave of the offensive is not over yet.