Chapter 1 Thunderous Blow

*Bang!*

A hammer striking a drum!

Amidst the frantic cries of Xue Tinglin and Mu Qianren, their eyes bloodshot and about to burst, An Qisheng’s seemingly weightless palm descended, obliterating Yang Ling’s head into his chest.

"Pfft!"

Their auras intertwined, Xue Tinglin and Mu Qianren were struck as if by lightning, momentarily frozen in place.

Then, the massive headless body erupted like a water bag suddenly punctured, the gushing blood staining their eyes crimson.

"You fiend, may you die a horrible death!"

Xue Tinglin and Mu Qianren roared in unison, summoning their remaining strength, raising their sabers and swords, and launching a desperate attack.

The saber light flashed like thunder, swift and merciless, the saber's hum a furious howl.

The sword light cleaved the air, whistling as it went, severing the very atmosphere.

Their suicidal strikes were executed with exceptional skill and power.

Alas, both An Qisheng and they themselves knew this was a futile struggle.

Merely a final act of defiance.

"Seeking benevolence and obtaining it, one could say you died in the right place."

An Qisheng remained still, his fingers flicking, his hand like lightning plunging into the saber and sword lights.

*Bang!*

Two sounds merged into one as Mu Qianren and Xue Tinglin flew back dozens of feet, crashing into the earth like cannonballs, sending up layers of dust.

After a few struggles, they breathed their last.

In the span of a few moments, six Qi Meridian experts had been nearly annihilated.

Nearly, because one person still lived.

Tong Luyang trembled like a snake with its head severed. He could feel that his famed Yang Extremity Golden Body had been completely shattered.

His zhenqi, meridians, bones, internal organs, and even his spine, were all fractured.

Yet, he lived.

Bearing the brunt of An Qisheng's full force, he still lived.

Yang Ling's saber strike, from shoulder to hip, had nearly cleaved him in two, but he still lived.

Streams of blood flowed from his eye sockets like bloody tears, but Tong Luyang seemed oblivious, gazing up at the sky, murmuring:

"What is the name... of that palm?"

In the howling night wind, a ripple passed through An Qisheng’s eyes:

"South Heaven Gate."

"South Heaven Gate..."

Tong Luyang repeated to himself. He had never heard the name before, yet from An Qisheng's words, he felt a presence as high and vast as the sky.

In a daze, he seemed to see a celestial palace, infinitely vast, situated in the clouds.

And in a flash, he saw a towering gate standing majestically in the clouds, sacred beyond description.

"Thank... you..."

The last breath in his chest escaped through his mangled throat.

Tong Luyang's life was extinguished.

Thus, the imperial court's six Qi Meridian experts were utterly destroyed in this desolate wasteland.

No one was around, only the howling night wind as witness.

.........

In the days that followed, news of the battle before the Righteous Alliance spread like wildfire through the martial world, carried by scattered martial artists.

Instantly,

Central Province was shaken!

The world was shocked!

The name of the Blood Demon An Qisheng echoed throughout the land in a matter of months, soaring to the top of the Earthly Rankings, becoming recognized as the strongest below the Divine Meridian!

His deeds were unearthed at a speed that defied imagination.

From Feng Province, Nanliang County, such a remote little place, an old Daoist priest in his nineties, about to be buried in the earth.

In a single year, he had broken through multiple major barriers – Blood Exchange, Qi Gathering, Meridian Condensation – leaping to become the number one on the Earthly Rankings, nearly reaching the Divine Meridian!

All the way north, he had killed more than ten Qi Meridian experts, and hundreds upon hundreds of martial artists.

What is a legend?

What is a myth?

This is a legend, this is a myth!

This wasn't just a late bloomer; this was a fight for survival from the brink of death!

With the Divine Meridian, one's lifespan extends to three hundred years!

This was defying the heavens, borrowing two hundred years more from the sky!

Some even adapted his story into tales and storytelling performances, spreading his name even faster in various taverns.

For a time, he was famous throughout the land!

........

Central Province, Fengdu City!

The premier location of Da Feng.

The mighty Great River stretched for tens of thousands of miles, flowing along the well-maintained and wide river channel, irrigating millions of acres of farmland.

Fengdu City was situated in the very center of Central Province.

This city was the most ancient city in Da Feng, and even in the entire world.

Throughout the history of the Ever Floating World, more than thirty dynasties had established their capitals here. With countless years of repairs, it had become increasingly magnificent and grand, a true marvel of a city.

Its city walls were thirty zhang high, towering into the clouds, made from the hardest rocks in the world, chiseled and polished. The city walls stretched hundreds of miles east to west.

Like a giant beast lying across the plains, its mouths open on all sides, swallowing millions of people, vehicles, and boats every day.

The population residing here alone exceeded fifty million.

Every day, the task of transporting waste alone required more than ten thousand people.

*Scree!*

An urgent eagle cry echoed in the sky, three short and two long, followed by a prolonged cry that lingered, flying past like a secret signal.

In fact, it was a signal.

Elite soldiers stationed along the hundreds of miles of city walls, hearing the signal, did not turn their crossbows.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard's Golden Feather Eagle..."

A captain, gazing up at the sky, saw a flash of gold and muttered to himself:

"What major event has occurred?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had many methods of transmitting messages, the slowest being people.

Next were pigeons, then Gray Feather Eagles, and the highest level was the Golden Feather Eagle.

Golden Feather Eagles flew year-round in the sky above fifteen hundred zhang. Because of their extreme speed and fierce nature, they had almost no natural enemies.

Even among Divine Meridian experts, only a few could kill such spirit beasts.

However, Golden Feather Eagles were too difficult to capture and train. Even the imperial court had fewer than a hundred of them.

Of course, the main reason they were rarely used was that the eagles were too proud. Each time they delivered a message, they required at least one Lesser Reversion Pill as food, or they might even become so angry that they would crash into a wall and die.

This high cost was why the imperial court rarely used Golden Feather Eagles.

But once they were used, it meant that something major had happened.

*Boom!*

The golden light streaked across the sky, shimmering with scorching air currents, breaking the sound barrier, and landed in the backyard of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's command post outside the Fengdu Imperial City amidst a thunderous sonic boom.

"A Golden Feather Eagle?"

A young man in the backyard, training his strength, suddenly stood up, his expression slightly changing.

*Boom!*

The Golden Feather Eagle landed in the backyard, the resulting air currents stirring up dust.

*Scree!*

With a flap of its wings, the young man was knocked to the ground by the Golden Feather Eagle.

"Here, here, here!"

Caught off guard, the young man's shoulder was almost crushed. He hurriedly shouted, taking out a medicinal pill from his chest and tossing it into the air.

The Golden Feather Eagle soared into the air, swallowed the pill in one gulp, let out a long cry, and shot into the sky.

"What happened?"

The young man picked up the letter on the ground, curious, but dared not open it himself.

He took two steps forward and hurriedly knocked on the door:

"Teacher, a Golden Feather Eagle has brought a letter."

*Whoosh~*

The door opened without wind.

The young man stepped inside. The dim room seemed empty.

But a detached voice sounded:

"Read it to me."

"Yes!"

The young man did not dare to delay, bowing and tearing open the letter.

After reading only a single line, his body trembled, his expression changed drastically, and he felt his scalp crawl.

"T-teacher."

The young man's hand trembled slightly:

"Vice Commander Yang Ling, along with Associate Commanders Xue Tinglin and Mu Qianren, are... are dead!"

*Boom!*

In the dim room, it was as if lightning flashed and vanished. The young man felt his mind sway, as if the earth was about to turn upside down.

In the darkness, a pair of eyes opened and closed:

"Continue reading."

The young man felt a chill in his heart, knowing that his teacher was angry. He quickly composed himself and began to recite:

"Vice Commander Yang Ling led the two Associate Commanders in pursuit of the Blood Demon An Qisheng, accompanied by the Six Doors' Tong Luyang and Fang Yuhong, and the East Depot's Three Leaders Zhao Changying...

Before the Righteous Alliance, the Blood Demon An Qisheng first killed the Six Hells Demon Sect's Saint Feng Qingxuan and a red-clothed woman suspected to be a White Lotus Demon Sect successor, then killed Cold Peak and other masters on the Earthly Rankings, and hundreds of martial artists..."

The letter contained only a few hundred words, with the final section recording various pieces of information about An Qisheng, his background, birthplace, relatives, and friends, etc.

The young man read slowly, his heart filled with disbelief.

In a single day, he had killed ten Qi Meridian experts. Could the Blood Demon An Qisheng's martial arts really be this high?

What shocked him even more was that this old Daoist priest had been an ordinary martial artist who hadn't even cultivated his internal organs until he was ninety years old. In just one year, such a tremendous change had occurred, beyond description.

"What a bloodthirsty nature!"

The voice in the room wavered, with a hint of surprise:

"Xuan'er, make three copies of this letter. One to the palace, two to the East Depot, and three to the Six Doors..."

In the dim room, it seemed as if a flame was burning, and a sense of impending storminess filled the young man's heart.

"Yes!"

Yang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to retreat.

When he heard another voice from the room:

"Add a sentence: This matter is entrusted to me. No need for them to intervene."

Yang Xuan's heart leaped, and he exclaimed:

"Teacher, are you going to take action personally? But the experts from the Golden Wolf Court and the Reincarnation Temple..."

"Why take action?"

A chuckle came from the room:

"How can such a bloodthirsty blade be broken so easily?"

"Teacher, do you mean?"

Yang Xuan composed himself, understanding somewhat, but unsure.

"The King wants us to collect all weapons within five years. It's almost been two years now, we need to accelerate the process..."

In the darkness, a pair of unfathomable eyes revealed a ripple:

"Since this person is so bloodthirsty, he is much more useful than the court's many wastes..."

*Whoosh!*

It was as if a gale howled in the room:

"Pass down my order: Raise An Qisheng to the top of the Earthly Rankings and, furthermore, issue an arrest warrant! Anyone who kills An Qisheng will receive ten pills equivalent to the Great Reversion Pill and the Zenith Divine Pill!

A Divine Meridian manual, and, a Divine Weapon, custom-made for them!"

After a pause, he added:

"Even those who only land one blow on him will receive one Lesser Reversion Pill!"

Yang Xuan's body shook, then he asked in surprise:

"If these words are released, I'm afraid the martial world will fall into chaos! But Teacher, that man's martial arts are so high, if he were to break through to the Divine Meridian..."

In the darkness, a thunderbolt flashed in the deep eyes:

"A lone individual has no chance!"