Heike raised his massive cruciform sword, nearly taller than a man, as a milky white, sacred Yuan force surged around his body, densely covering the blade.
An oppressive aura that pierced the soul made the surrounding nobles barely dare to breathe. “Divine Retribution!” Heike roared, and a white beam of light poured forth from his sword like a tidal wave.
With a thunderous boom, the Chun Pharmacy shop was nearly cut in half by this single strike. The lofty signboard of the Danding Group finally swayed a few times before crashing down in splinters.
“Hmph!” A collective gasp echoed around. Even nobles seldom had the chance to witness the团长 of the Divine Retribution Sword Corps in action. Seeing him bring down a high-rise building with a single strike was truly an extraordinary display of power.
Even stranger, there wasn’t a sound coming from within the Danding Chun pharmacy. The people who had earlier peeked outside had fallen into complete silence. This was simply unbelievable, as everyone knew that Yang Hao’s men were notorious for fiercely retaliating against even the slightest provocation.
Yet now, with Yang Hao captured, the sword sect was crumbling, and not a single person dared to step forward to resist.
Heike was satisfied; his hand gripping the sword seemed to smile along with him. Back at the central plaza, his Divine Retribution Sword Corps had been driven back by Yang Hao’s forces, and he himself had suffered a humiliating defeat, earning him a scolding from the elders upon his return. At that moment, Heike had resolved to reclaim everything he had lost from Yang Hao.
And today was the perfect opportunity.
Smirking coldly, Heike turned to the nobles still shrinking in fear around him and declared, “Yang Hao of the Danding Sect has been charged with treason and will be executed immediately. All shops under the Danding Group will now be taken over by the Ten Sword Streams.”
Heike didn’t need anyone’s approval, not even the Merchant Guild’s opinion. This was a display of power. With Yang Hao captured and the Danding Sect on the verge of collapse, the elders’ influence would rise to unprecedented heights. Heike’s strength lay in his sword and the swordsmen behind him.
He gazed at the nobles’ fearful eyes with satisfaction, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
But no matter what, Heike decided from today onward, everyone facing the Divine Retribution Sword Corps should wear this expression of fear.
“Fire!!” someone shouted from among the nobles.
“Fire!!!”
The swordsmen behind Heike noticed the anomaly as well, drawing their cruciform swords, pointing them at the half-collapsed shop, but there was no opponent in sight.
Deep within the shop, a small red dot emerged, rapidly growing into a fireball. The raging flames engulfed everything around them, spreading at a speed several times faster than usual.
Even more bizarre was the fact that there was a person in the center of the flames.
It seemed as though the flames were burning directly from this person’s body.
“No one can take everything from the Danding Sect,” the person said calmly, his body emitting the stench of charred flesh and boiling blood, yet his expression remained serene, showing no sign of pain.
The nobles recognized the young man in the flames as the boy who had peeked out from the window earlier, now resembling a knight forged in fire.
This young man from the Danding Sword Sect was one of the orphans Yang Hao had brought from the planet Remon, an ordinary swordsman who had followed Yang Hao through countless battles, dedicating his life to the sect.
At this critical moment, with his meager strength, he could do nothing, let alone stop the Divine Retribution Sword Corps from seizing the shop.
But when a person fears no death, anything becomes possible.
This unknown youth, who had been obscure within the Sword Corps, had already swallowed nearly fifty Fire Pill capsules, newly refined yet not meant for him to consume.
The fierce flames of the Fire Pill erupted from the boy’s dantian, shooting in all directions at his will, like streams of molten lava engulfing the entire street in roaring fire.
Heike was furious, watching his prize being destroyed before his eyes. He raised his sword fiercely, “Kill him! Kill him now!!”
The boy smiled, “When Yang Hao returns, you will have no grave to die in!”
The flames had already burned through his dantian, even consuming his body. It wouldn’t be long before he turned to ashes, but managing to hold this place today was already all he could do.
“Yang Hao is doomed to die! And so are you!” Heike roared furiously, raising his sword high, channeling all his strength into the blade, “Divine Retribution! Divine Retribution!!”
A milky white sword beam, like snowflakes, surged toward the boy. Heike wanted to cut the youth into a thousand pieces.
The sword beam struck the boy, but instead of pain, he wore a strange smile.
Boom!!!
Red flames erupted from the boy’s split body like a volcanic eruption, endless fire turning the sky red, swallowing the snow, and scorching everything around until it was searing hot.
Even the people nearby couldn’t escape the flames.
Heike desperately dodged, barely managing to escape. He lay panting on the snow-covered roof several streets away, watching the twisted bodies at the Danding shop entrance—his Divine Retribution Sword Corps swordsmen, who had just moments ago been arrogant and invincible, now reduced to ashes in the boy’s self-destruction.
The flames, like divine dragons, continued to spread slowly but steadily.
A fear unlike any he had ever felt before surged in Heike’s heart. He felt as though he was no longer facing just Yang Hao. If everyone under Yang Hao’s command possessed such courage, could the Elder Council truly achieve victory?
Who could answer this question?
The sky was blanketed in snow, the cold wind like knives slicing into the hearts of those below.
For the Danding Sect, caught in the eye of the storm, this crisis was but a mere leaf among countless raging waves.
Within a week, the capital was thrown into turmoil. When news broke that Yang Hao had stormed the Elder Mountain to assassinate the emperor, it first sparked widespread disbelief. The nobles couldn’t fathom how Yang Hao, a rising star in the capital’s elite circles, could commit such an act.
But when the Nine Elder Councilors personally confirmed the event, people finally understood what had happened. In an instant, the once bustling Danding Sword Sect became deserted, with noble disciples fearing any association with the sect and fleeing back home.
Amidst this upheaval, the one at the eye of the storm, Yang Hao, was surprisingly at ease.
At this moment, Yang Hao was staying in the Imperial Guard’s barracks, a residential area within the palace complex. The swordsmen and grand swordsmen of the Imperial Guard were stationed throughout the area, both for guarding and for their daily lives.
Yang Hao was right in the middle of this section of houses.
Tai Feng had determined that Yang Hao had lost all his martial prowess, so he wasn’t thrown into prison but instead placed in this square courtyard. Within this courtyard were three rooms, two of which were occupied by the grand swordsmen guards, while Yang Hao was free to move around the courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard was a skylight. Snowflakes, like petals, drifted slowly into the courtyard, swirling occasionally with the air currents or colliding with other snowflakes.
But eventually, all the snow would settle on a snowman that was more than half a person tall.
The dense snow had already piled up into a mountain around this snowman. If you looked closely, you would notice a faint flow of energy within this small snow mountain, occasionally causing eyelashes to flutter, scattering the snow covering it.
The snowman was indeed alive, but so much snow covered it that it looked just like a snowman.
Only Yang Hao, with such leisure and whimsy to play with snowmen, could be the one doing this. He had fallen into the hands of the Imperial Guard but had not found any way to escape. The only thing Feng Feng could tell him was that the Elder Council had already set a trial date. And this so-called trial was merely a formality; Yang Hao, already condemned for grave crimes, would be executed on that day.
The Elder Council would personally carry out the execution, ensuring that Yang Hao’s spirit and soul were completely destroyed, leaving no chance of rebirth.
So Yang Hao stayed here, idle except for waiting for death, trying to absorb the natural energies to recover his martial prowess as quickly as possible.
But reality was always harsh. Yang Hao tried his best to connect with nature, drawing power from the universe and stars, but the Milky Way had long since died, leaving only a trace of stellar energy. Yang Hao spent half the day absorbing it, but only managed to gather a tiny bit of power, barely enough to keep his body from freezing in the snow.
With a long sigh, Yang Hao shook his body forcefully, causing the small snow mountain around him to collapse instantly. The steam rising from his body, Yang Hao looked up with a sense of loss. The sky was oppressively overcast, and his contact with the outside world had long been severed. His yuan spirit couldn’t escape, and the five divine rings had been taken by Qin Feng. Even Maya couldn’t be summoned, and he had no idea how the others were faring.
As Yang Hao faced his impending death, he was not worried about his own fate but rather the uncertain fates of his subordinates.
Knowing his subordinates as he did, he was sure they would not easily abandon him.
But he didn’t know that he was already a bait in a trap. Anyone attempting to rescue him would fall into the Elder Council’s snare. The Ten Sword Streams and the Elder Council were waiting for this opportunity to eliminate all of Yang Hao’s forces.
The blizzard in the capital was already fierce enough to cause despair.
But when would another slaughter begin?
Yang Hao’s guess was correct; his subordinates had never given up.
Although the Danding Sword Sect was no longer as busy as before, the courtyard was still orderly, with the occasional disciple passing by with red-rimmed eyes, exchanging glances before returning to their tasks.
The core disciples of the Danding Sword Sect knew that the sect’s leaders were in the White Building, urgently discussing how to rescue Yang Hao. Perhaps in a few days, a real battle would erupt.
The White Building, the focus of the disciples’ attention, was now truly white under the snow.
But inside, the atmosphere was heated, with occasional outbursts of anger.
Long Yun was sitting at the table, looking at the three-dimensional topographical map of the imperial palace. This was something that was usually forbidden, but for those preparing to rescue a condemned prisoner, it was hardly a concern.
“According to the information from the inner sect disciples, Yang Hao will be tried here the day after tomorrow,” Long Yun’s thick fingers jabbed into the three-dimensional image of the imperial palace’s main hall. “The trial is just a formality; the Elder Council has already decided on the death penalty. At least three Elder Councilors will be present that day, and the guards will include no fewer than ten elders. The Ten Sword Streams will also dispatch eight sword groups to assist the Imperial Guard in defense.”
“What do you mean by ‘assist’? They’re just there to monitor us,” Zhuge Jian stopped fanning himself, his voice filled with anger. “The Imperial Palace has always been the domain of the Imperial Guard. The Elder Council’s military forces are not even allowed to enter. This time, for the sake of monitoring and killing Yang Hao, even three Elder Councilors have come.”
In the room, besides Long Yun and Zhuge Jian, Maya, XII, and Xie Fengmo of the Merchant Guild were also present.
Xie Fengmo kept his head down, playing with the small divine sword in his palm, his voice heavy: “How many people do we have now?”
This simple question made everyone in the room fall silent. Just a few days ago, the Danding Sword Sect could proudly claim to be the number one sword sect in the universe, with tens of thousands of disciples. But once Yang Hao got into trouble, all the outer sect disciples fled, not even daring to admit they had ever studied at the Danding Sect. How could they be expected to help now?
Long Yun did a quick calculation: “At least a hundred people in the Hao Sword Group are combat-ready, barely able to hold their own against a sword group. The inner sect disciples of the Danding Sword Sect have not defected, but these more than five hundred have weak combat strength and can only serve as a distraction.”
“These people’s strength isn’t even enough to match a single sword group. We’re going to storm a dragon’s den and tiger’s lair, and rely on these novices? It won’t work,” Xie Fengmo shook his head.
“I have a sword group,” Zhuge Jian revealed his trump card. “After Yang Hao was captured, I closed all the group’s stores and used a fortune to hire desperate men. I paid ten times the price to recruit over two hundred sword masters with combat strength, all retired from the imperial army, quite good fighters.”
Long Yun turned his head toward XII, who had been in constant contact with the Shen Yu Autonomous Territory. He was the one who knew the situation there best.
XII’s unique electronic voice buzzed: “The Shen Yu Autonomous Territory has been in chaos recently. A month ago, Hude launched a coup with the leaders of dozens of star systems, which had been secretly planned with Yang Hao long before. The resistance groups from the outer regions have all gone into hiding in the Sanjing Sea, finally managing to suppress the forces of Steve, the governor of the Sanjing Sea.
Hude said he still needs two more days to fully control the situation there and cannot come over for now. However, he has already sent the Demon Bear Group, which should arrive in a week.”
“A week?” Long Yun sighed deeply. “By then, the Demon Bear Group will only be able to collect Yang Hao’s remains.”
“Even with two sword groups and four more dragons, it’s still not enough to break through the Ten Sword Streams’ defenses,” Xie Fengmo said with a bitter smile. “Let alone rescuing him. You wouldn’t even be able to protect yourselves.”
“That’s why we invited you here,” Long Yun got to the point, looking seriously at Xie Fengmo. “Yang Hao once said that the Merchant Guild isn’t as simple as it seems on the surface. There’s a powerful force hidden within the Guild. You have forty sword groups and a group of powerful experts. If the Guild is willing to bring them out, we can definitely rescue Yang Hao.”
Xie Fengmo ran his fingers over the mask on his face, suddenly stood up, and slowly paced to the window. The glass was covered with water droplets from the condensation. Looking out the window, he could see the snowy landscape outside, like a fairy tale world.
“Forty sword groups sound like a lot, enough to rival even the Ten Sword Streams,” Xie Fengmo said each word, his breath fogging the glass, obscuring his reflection, making him feel blurred. “But these are already the accumulated capital of the Merchant Guild over decades, the total stakes of the merchants. Forty sword groups… will they be useful? Even if we double that number, we can’t withstand a full-scale attack from the Elder Council. Even if we manage a mutually destructive outcome, the Elder Council still has the Elder Councilors and the Supreme backing them up. What about the Merchant Guild? We have no other support and will be at the mercy of others in the Empire.”
Xie Fengmo’s words were as cold as the wind outside, each word striking the hearts of those present, like his breath fogging his own reflection on the glass.
“The Merchant Guild cannot invest all its capital into a gamble that is sure to lose,” Xie Fengmo’s face behind the mask was pale. “Assassinating the emperor is a grave crime that could completely destroy both the Danding Sword Sect and the Merchant Guild. The Elder Council is waiting for us to rescue Yang Hao. Sacrificing all the merchants’ interests in the Guild to save him? Yang Hao isn’t that important.”
“But to us,” Long Yun said calmly, “Yang Hao is already that important. He and we are in this together.”
“No matter what the cost, we will save him,” Zhuge Jian’s eyes were filled with unwavering belief.
Xie Fengmo took a deep breath and lightly wiped the fog on the window with his finger:
“I heard that Yang Hao had already arranged an escape route for you before the assassination. Why didn’t you leave?”
“That was his arrangement,” Long Yun shook his head. “Not ours.”
“Do you know what you’re up against?” Xie Fengmo said in a daze. “The Ten Sword Streams have deployed eight sword groups, their strongest force. Even Yang Hao might not be able to defeat them. Ten Elders, three Elder Councilors, these are upper-level experts you can’t even begin to match. Any one of them could kill you all. Not to mention the formidable Imperial Guard system. The strength of Qin Feng and his disciples is something no one has even seen. You’re going to rescue Yang Hao, but you’re just falling into the trap set to eliminate the Danding Sword Sect. Are you really going to do this?”
“The seeds of the Danding Sword Sect, fifty men and women who can concoct pills, have already set out. They will take root in the Shen Yu Autonomous Territory. It won’t be long before the Danding Sword Sect revives,” Zhuge Jian, who was in charge of everything, said. “As for those of us who stayed behind, we’re just going to die.”
“What’s the point of dying?”
“The meaning of dying is relative to not dying,” Zhuge Jian, who had spent a lifetime in business, said this was probably the biggest loss he had ever made. “If we go, Yang Hao still has hope. But if we don’t go, he’s really doomed.”
Xie Fengmo sighed deeply, but this sigh was not for the people in the room, but for himself. In Xie Fengmo’s entire life, there had been too much betrayal and distrust. As the most outstanding disciple of the Light Sword Stream and even designated by the elders as the heir to the Light Sword Stream, Xie Fengmo had been injured in the sect’s internal strife and expelled.
Even during his time in the Merchant Guild, Xie Fengmo had seen too much infighting and deals, never once experiencing anything like the Danding Sword Sect, where everyone was united in their willingness to die.
A group of people willing to die for others was, in Xie Fengmo’s memory, a myth. Yet it was happening right before his eyes.
Xie Fengmo felt something in his blood burning. He seemed to see his younger self again, that hot-blooded, reckless youth who was willing to stand up for his sect.
Time passes, and the youth now wears a mask, never daring to reveal his identity as a Light Sword Stream disciple. But in these snowy days, Xie Fengmo felt his blood warming again. He felt warm.
“The Merchant Guild will definitely not provide assistance; this is the unanimous decision of the Nine Councilors, the final resolution,” Xie Fengmo turned around, finally able to face the people in the room. “The only thing I can do is accompany you. Even if this is a gamble destined to lose, I will gamble with you.”
Long Yun smiled.
Zhuge Jian smiled.
Everyone laughed as if they had been reborn, who could have imagined that these were people about to face death.
Even if the wind and snow outside were fierce, they could not freeze the hearts of these people.
The day of judgment was like a grim banquet, with the air itself filled with the scent of blood.
All eyes in the capital were fixed on the solemn Imperial Palace, especially the grand hall with ten thousand steps, almost reaching the clouds. This was the most sacred hall where the emperor usually issued commands. Today, it had been completely handed over to the Elder Council and the Imperial Guard for Yang Hao’s trial.
And as the center of the event, the emperor himself was said to have been injured during the assassination attempt and did not appear. The news of the emperor’s injury further convinced people that Yang Hao deserved to die.
The Galactic Empire’s palace was built in a way that resembled stars surrounding the moon. The outer area was where the Imperial Guard was stationed, the largest in area, with the mysterious Imperial Guard almost entirely stationed here.
The palaces where ministers conducted their daily affairs were two hundred meters higher, almost skyscraper height, where various ministers handled the empire’s affairs.
Higher still were five independent palace complexes, these were the emperor’s harem, housing the royal family. The palace complexes, over six hundred meters high, were already out of reach for ordinary people.
And at the very center of all this, the moon surrounded by stars, was the grand palace at the top. This solemn palace was magnificent, entirely built of huge stones, almost reaching into the clouds.
To reach the grand palace, one had to climb ten thousand steps. This long, seemingly endless staircase was something many people in the empire could never hope to tread.
But what left an even deeper impression on people was that some officials who managed to enter the grand palace would be beheaded for poor performance. The bloody heads would be thrown from the grand palace, rolling down the steps. Before even reaching halfway, the blood would have drained, and the heads would be unrecognizable.
By the time they reached the bottom of the steps, the Imperial Guard could often only collect broken flesh and skin.
When Yang Hao was brought before the ten-thousand-step staircase, the few Imperial Guard swordsmen looked at him as if he were a headless corpse.
Lower-ranking swordsmen could only escort Yang Hao to the foot of the steps, then higher-ranking officers would lead him to the grand palace at the very top.
Yang Hao looked up and saw the person who had come to guide him to his trial, and couldn’t help but smile: “So it’s you.”
The person didn’t think there was anything amusing about it. She wore white clothes and pants, holding a silver spear. Her black hair cascaded like waves over her white coat. Her eyes held a faint sadness, her bangs lightly resting on her forehead. Her face seemed to be veiled in a mist, making her appear unclear.
Lan Ling sat on her Snow Night Star Lion. The lion had already spread its wings and, without flapping them, could produce a strange force that kept its massive body floating in the air.
“Are you ready?” Lan Ling returned to her usual icy beauty, making it hard to believe that she had once cried her eyes out on the Intelligence Planet.
“Ready for what?” Yang Hao asked.
“To die.” Lan Ling’s voice seemed emotionless, but her gaze at Yang Hao betrayed some fluctuation in her icy heart. “The Elder Council is already prepared to execute you. The only thing left is to announce your crime of treason to the people of the Empire. Once you step onto these ten thousand steps and enter the grand palace, there will be no chance of coming out again.”
“Good.” Yang Hao straightened his chest. “I’m ready.”
Lan Ling’s lips trembled, and she couldn’t help but say, “The Elder Council won’t kill you easily. The Elder Councilors know what you cultivate. They will destroy your physical body and then put your yuan-essence into the refining fire. Finally, the weapon-forging Elder Councilor will forge a soul-imbued weapon. All your spiritual thoughts and strength will be sealed within a weapon, never to be reborn.”
Lan Ling’s voice trembled as she spoke, because she had witnessed how the Elder Councilors treated rebels. That eternal confinement, neither alive nor dead, was the most painful thing in the world.
Lan Ling thought that by saying this, she would see fear on Yang Hao’s face.
Because fear is innate to people, but she was disappointed.
Yang Hao still smiled, even looking at her with star-like eyes: “If I die, will you be sad?”
Lan Ling lowered her head, closed her eyes, and tightly gripped the silver spear with her fingers, almost drawing blood. Only by exerting such effort could she勉强force herself to say: “No.”
Yang Hao narrowed his eyes, looking at the grand palace hidden in the clouds. The tense atmosphere around him made his smile bitter: “Return my master’s sword to me. Let the feelings of a thousand years accompany me and my master in death.”
That sword was a gift from Hunyuanzi to his wife. Yang Hao had found it in the sword grave and lent it to Lan Ling to fix her broken bones. Actually, Yang Hao himself didn’t know why he asked Lan Ling for the sword back. Perhaps at this final moment, he no longer wanted Lan Ling to shed more tears for him.
Lan Ling’s breathing became heavier, her already prominent chest rising and falling dramatically. Suddenly, she shoved something into Yang Hao’s hand: “I’m returning your things.”
Yang Hao looked down and saw several Lingxiao Pills in his palm. Back on the Intelligence Planet, when Yang Hao thought he couldn’t escape the Star Transformation Great Art, he had given these few Lingxiao Pills to Lan Ling for her escape.
But who would have thought this woman never left, and naturally never used the Lingxiao Pills.
Back then, the two had embraced the idea of dying together, but today, at the foot of the ten thousand steps of the grand palace, Lan Ling was leading Yang Hao to his death. This change made Yang Hao忍不住let out a light laugh.
Lan Ling didn’t take out the sword. She just pretended to be cold and asked, “The palace today has several times more forces than usual, not just the Imperial Guards, but also the Ten Sword Streams and the Elder Council. You should know that many people will die for you. The Elders have arranged this trial to eliminate everyone in one fell swoop.
“Do you think they will come to rescue me?”
“Isn’t that so?” Lan Ling was puzzled.
“Maybe.” Yang Hao nodded, without showing too much excitement.
“Then why don’t you die?” Lan Ling finally couldn’t help but ask. “As long as you die, all those people outside can live. They won’t have to sacrifice themselves in vain.”
Yang Hao laughed out loud. He had thought about this question countless times. During his house arrest by the Imperial Guards, buried in the snow, Yang Hao’s mind was filled with this seemingly simple question.
But was death really the best solution?
He shook his head: “You’re wrong. I can’t die.”
“Why?”
“Because this is a gamble, a high-stakes bet with someone. The Ten Sword Streams are the stakes, the Elder Council is the stakes, the Danding Sword Sect is the stakes, and even my friends have volunteered to be the stakes.”
Lan Ling was cold: “You’ve already lost this gamble. Why keep betting?”
“If I die, the gamble is over, and all the stakes will be sacrificed in vain, and no one will survive.” Yang Hao spoke as if narrating a calm story, “But as long as I’m still alive, the gamble continues,
and I still have a chance for a final push.”
“I don’t see any hope.”
“There will be.” Yang Hao began to sound confident, “I’m taking this gamble, and I still have a few hidden cards.”
Lan Ling’s voice trembled again: “Whether you win or lose, you won’t survive the day. Even Elder Wu Yi has come, showing how determined the Elder Council is to have you dead.
“Even Elder Wu Yi has come?” Yang Hao was not surprised, “But what does it matter if I die? After all, you won’t be sad anyway.”
After saying this, Yang Hao laughed out loud and walked up the steps on his own.
Ten thousand steps lay cold and unyielding before him. Behind Yang Hao, Lan Ling stood dazed, her eyes reddening. She murmured something in a low voice, but no one could hear what she was saying.
But no matter what, the trial had already begun the moment Yang Hao stepped onto the steps.
Elder Wu Yi stood in the grand palace, he was the main figure of today’s trial. Elder Wu Yi looked down at the lowest of the nine golden steps beneath his feet, where the high-ranking noble officials of the empire stood respectfully with their heads bowed. Almost all the chief officials had arrived today. The highest foreign affairs minister, the highest domestic affairs minister, and even the chief minister of the Privy Council were dressed formally, their faces solemn.
Near Elder Wu Yi was the emperor’s high throne. Elder Wu Yi sneered inwardly. Although he couldn’t sit on the throne now, the true master of the Galactic Empire was the Elder Council. Even the person on the throne had to listen to him.
Elder Wu Yi, Elder Hei Feng, and Elder Rong Zhe, the three Elder Councilors, were satisfied with today’s arrangement. The emperor had excused himself due to illness, but had handed over the grand palace, which was tantamount to tacit approval of the Elder Council’s trial. All the chief officials were present, making this trial legitimate. And Elder Wu Yi and the others believed that as long as the three of them stood here, Old Feng would have no choice but to obey, and the Imperial Guard system would not dare to play any tricks.
Not to mention the ten elders and the eight sword groups’ combat strength.
Now, what was being anticipated was not just the trial, but the upcoming slaughter, a bloody massacre in the snowstorm.
So when Yang Hao was brought into the palace by the person on the Snow Night Star Lion, Elder Wu Yi still smiled. This smile startled the other two Elder Councilors. They couldn’t remember when Elder Wu Yi had last smiled—perhaps it was years ago when he repelled the combined attack of two sword saints with a single finger, or perhaps it was twenty years ago during the night he killed thirty-six branches of the royal family.
But this smile definitely carried great meaning. Elder Wu Yi’s ability to become the chief summoner of the Nine Elder Councilors was due to his surpassing wisdom and decisive ruthlessness, so this smile made people’s hearts tremble.
In this grand palace, only Yang Hao understood the meaning of this smile. But he was not afraid; he even felt it was only natural, and thus became proud.
When a person has spent thousands of years in loneliness and solitude, drifting through the universe filled with hatred, he understands what loneliness is. And when a person sits in snow deep enough to cover his entire body in meditation, feeling the piercing cold and the emptiness within, he also understands that life is lonely like snow.
Yang Hao understood that Elder Wu Yi’s smile was a recognition of him as an opponent. In Elder Wu Yi’s loneliness like snow, finally, there was a touch of Yang Hao’s color.
For a high-level expert like Elder Wu Yi, who had been at the peak of the universe for centuries, his greatest loneliness was the lack of an opponent. Twenty years ago, there was still the rebellion of the thirty-six royal branches to challenge him, but in recent years, there had only been the insignificant challenge of the two sword saints.
When Elder Wu Yi repelled the two sword saints with a single finger, the sorrow in his heart was something others could hardly understand. Until today, this high-ranking Elder Councilor could finally smile again.
Because he recognized that Yang Hao was a true opponent.
Perhaps in terms of strength, Yang Hao was hardly worth mentioning; even a single Elder could kill him on the spot. But Yang Hao’s value was not in this. In just one year, he had risen from an unknown commoner student to gather unimaginable forces. This was an incredible feat.
He was the leader of the Resistance Alliance, the lord of the Shen Yu Autonomous Territory, the owner of the top hundred merchant groups in the universe, the Danding Group, one of the ten councilors of the Merchant Guild, and the leader of the number one sword sect in the universe. He could defeat the Ten Sword Streams and even gain the favor of the gods.
Such a person was undeniably an opponent. Irrespective of age or strength, someone who could make Elder Wu Yi smile was already the brightest star in the universe.
But today was the day to destroy this star. Elder Wu Yi thought about Yang Hao soon becoming his new divine weapon, and all of Yang Hao’s forces being uprooted today. He couldn’t help but smile again.
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