Death… and me

"Brothers…" Tan Tan clasped his head, and suddenly murmured this word. The pitch of his voice had seemingly varied as he had said this. It hadn't sounded anything like his unique voice. Instead, it was full of sentiments, full of sadness, and longings… It seemed as if he felt emotional…

Extreme grief!

It seemed as if this word had come straight from his heart. It contained all his emotions, and it had turned into a shout that sounded like a groan… It seemed as if this shout had spanned through tens of thousands of years, and had spanned across the various transformations of the world through the ages… as if this call had come from the entirety of his very being…

"Bro… thers…" Tan Tan again called out in a low voice as a sudden and crazy explosion occurred in his head. Then, his mind went blank…

He wanted to say, [I'm ashamed that I couldn't be a true King to you all. Ah… have you guys been blaming me for all these years?]

However, he still hadn't spoken out when those anxious faces of his brothers disappeared with a flash… They had disappeared in an instant… as if they had faded away in the sky like the clouds…

Suddenly, Tan Tan let out a big shout, and spouted a mouthful of blood. The world turned dark before his eyes, and he lost consciousness…

…

Seven days after that fight…

There was absolute silence late at night. Only the cicadas could be heard singing. This entire setting had a dream-like silence to it. One would feel as if their fickle and impatient heart had turned peaceful. Their mind's chatter had silenced down… and had left them to feel blissful…

A life-force suddenly exploded amidst this intense darkness. It then slowly filled the air. An aura of breakthrough also burst out along with the explosion of this life-force.

Chu Yang walked out of the tent while carrying his hands behind his back. Then, he started to stroll under the starry sky…

It was precisely on this evening that Chu Yang had risen by four grades in succession, and had broken through to the Ninth Grade Sword King level in one go! In fact, there was still room for further promotion; thanks to the suppression of these past days. However, Chu Yang had decidedly halted.

[It would be unwise to promote my cultivation to the Emperor Level before I've found the fourth fragment of the Nine Tribulations Sword. Moreover, it would be far more difficult if I were to try coordinating with the Nine Tribulations Sword before having consolidated my current cultivation level. In fact, it would be detrimental.]

Chu Yang's mind was in chaos. [Tan Tan has been sitting inside his tent ever since that day he fell into that coma-like state. He doesn't say a word. It's like he's a puppet.]

[His physical state doesn't help in guessing as to what has happened to him.]

Chu Yang was very worried. [Strange things have been happening with Tan Tan's body of late. First, he suddenly ate the core of a ninth grade spirit beast. Then, he got a high fever. Then, he stopped eating normal food, and started to eat beast cores instead… Now, something inexplicable has happened again…]

[What's going on?]

Chu Yang was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. He was constantly thinking about this matter, [What outcome would Tan Tan's current situation bring about?]

…

It wasn't long when a breakthrough aura erupted. Then, a vast and mighty saber energy surged in all directions. It went straight into the sky, and smashed the clouds!

The Saber Emperor's domain-field dispersed the clouds, and the sky became clear.

Then, Dong Wu Shang calmly walked over.

"Big Brother," Dong Wu Shang's physical appearance looked even more burly and tall now. One could tell that his usual bold and majestic aura had turned somewhat elegant and profound.

Traces of his overwhelming power and grandeur could still be found in his movements. However, those traces were very faint. Instead, the embryonic form of an unparalleled expert had already appeared in him to some extent! Anyone would immediately imagine a bewildering scene when they'd see the current Dong Wu Shang — One person is going against all the heroes of the world with his saber! It would be a type of heroic and blood-boiling scene that was so incredible that it could make one go nuts!

That sort of grandiose was as imposing as a mountain, and vast like the ocean!

Saber Emperor! The Emperor of sabers!

Ten-thousand sabers would bow before him!

The first purest Saber Emperor to appear in the Middle Three Heavens in the last 300 years!

The first Saber Emperor under the age of twenty to appear in the Nine Heavens over the past thousand years… a merely nineteen-years-old Saber Emperor!

"You broke through?" Chu Yang didn't turn his head. He slowly kept moving forward as he asked in a soft voice.

"Yes!" Dong Wu Shang nodded without hurt, and followed beside him whilst stepping on the dark-green grass. He walked onward in silence at first. Then, he deeply sighed and said, "Big Brother, my dream was to make a breakthrough into the King Level before I had met you. I could only use my clan's secret Black Saber Cultivation Method back then, and continue to practice and fight.

"I experienced a change for the first time after I met you. You made Second Brother help me realize that there are countless saber-ways out there. This opened a road of saber cultivation in front of me. And, my journey has been very smooth as a result of that.

"However, I've experienced my happiest breakthrough tonight!" Dong Wu Shang smiled gently. He shook his head and said, "It's because this breakthrough belongs to me; and me alone. My predecessors have had this kind of epiphany in the past. However, this epiphany has resulted entirely from my own contemplation.

"Therefore, I'm very happy!" Dong Wu Shang revealed a blade-like sharp flash in his eyes, "This is Dong Wu Shang's saber way! The Saber Way of No Injuries! First grade Saber Emperor!"

"Excellent!" Chu Yang praised him. Then, he asked, "The Saber Way of No Injuries…? What is this The Saber Way of No Injuries?"

"A saber that causes no injuries!" Dong Wu Shang said proudly, "It straight-up causes death; that's all!"

"The Saber Way of No Injuries huh…" Chu Yang smiled softly, but didn't speak anything.

[The Saber Way of No Injuries is obviously not for the purpose of death! And, it certainly isn't a saber-cultivation for the purpose of slaughtering! Dong Wu Shang might be aware of this point, but he doesn't understand it. He will be able to comprehend it on his own only when he reaches a different realm!]

[And, Dong Wu Shang's Saber Way of No Injuries would be far from being a small achievement when that happens.]

However, Chu Yang didn't explain this to him. After all, he wanted Dong Wu Shang to realize this on his own… so that he could comprehend the true Saber Way of No Injuries!

"Du Xing is about to break through!" Chu Yang took a deep breath and said, "It can be said that we brothers have become capable-enough of defending ourselves in the Middle Three Heavens!"

"This capability has come entirely because of you, Big Brother!" Dong Wu Shang stopped his footsteps, and looked at Chu Yang's back profile. An unconcealed look of gratitude and admiration had appeared in his eyes.

"I wish to take you all to a magnificent future!" Chu Yang mildly said, "In addition… you guys must have confidence in yourselves. You must have the spirit to keep striving for self-improvement. You guys can rise to the top of the Nine Heavens even if there's no Chu Yang in this world someday! This is my desire…"

"Even if there is no Chu Yang…? Big Brother, what do you mean by that?" The look in Dong Wu Shang's eyes turned cold. He narrowed his eyes, and an intense light suddenly condensed in them. A faint but dangerous aura also emerged from his body.

Saber Energy filled the entire sky!

"It's only a notion; that's all. There's no need to get worked up." Chu Yang chuckled and said, "I should have said it like this… Each one of us must be capable of reaching the top of the Nine Heavens… even if the others have left this world! Then, he must write down the saga of our current adventures after he has reached the summit!"

It was hard to say why Chu Yang had been experiencing an inexplicable feeling ever since his last breakthrough. He felt as if a mass of dense fog had formed in front of him. He couldn't see where he was headed. And, he didn't understand why this was happening…

Dong Wu Shang raised his brows at once. It seemed as if two peerless and precious sabers had suddenly leapt up into the sky. His voice sounded dull, "Big Brother, this Dong Wu Shang would have nothing left to cherish his life if something were to happen to you."

He had said these words lightly. But, they had contained an intense brotherly affection. In fact, it seemed as if this brotherly love had instantly filled the grassland that was spread in a range of thousands of miles.

The two looked up at the same time, and raised their heads to look towards the sky. Many stars were twinkling in the sky.

Chu Yang's heart felt touched by this sight. He couldn't help but sigh softly. He then said, "I wonder what kind of world is hidden beyond this starry sky…"

Someone replied in a soft voice, "We brothers will gladly accompany you if you've set your aspirations towards the sky, Big Brother. What do you say?"

This had been said in a rather cold voice, but there was a strong sense of uncontainable excitement in this voice. It was the sort of infinite excitement that one would have when their long-cherished desire had finally been fulfilled.

Both of them looked back at the same time. And, they saw Gu Du Xing's black robe fluttering under the starry sky. His tall and straight figure was walking over. His figure was like an elusive divine sword. He was still giving off the same old cold and lonely vibe. There was still a sort of aloofness about him. However, there was now an insane addition of the Emperor's aura to all of it!

It seemed as if all the swords in the world must bow before him!

First Grade Sword Emperor!

[I must rush toward my goal of becoming a Sword Emperor. Then, I will get Sister Xiao Miao out of imprisonment so that I can marry her!]

This had been Gu Du Xing's lifelong goal! Even Chu Yang hadn't expected that Gu Du Xing would be able to achieve this level of cultivation at such a young age.

The gazes of Dong Wu Shang and Gu Du Xing bumped. And, there was an invisible flicker of electric light between them.

It seemed as if a peerless saber had suddenly clashed with a matchless sword! Brilliant sparks had been issued in that moment!

"Congratulations, Second Brother. You've become the first pure Sword Emperor in the Middle Three Heavens in the last three hundred years!" A boundless fighting intention erupted in Dong Wu Shang's eyes, "Wanna fight me?"

Gu Du Xing smiled gently. He then shot a cold glance at Dong Wu Shang's face. And, Dong Wu Shang immediately felt an acute pain… as if his face was being pierced by a sharp needle.

Gu Du Xing's eyes gradually became as cold as ice. Then, he lightly said, "A fight… that's fine with me!"

The sword energy stormed to the heavens in the wilderness as soon as he said this.

Dong Wu Shang issued a stuffy bellow from his throat. He took a quick step back to evade the attack, and brandished the big saber in his hand. And, the saber energy covered everything!

The ripples of sword energy and saber light clashed heavily into each other. A collision between their invisible imposing auras also occurred as this happened. A collision between their cold and murderous energies was next to follow! And, it suddenly seemed as if the sounds of these collisions would cut-apart the silent night into pieces!

Chu Yang was observing his two brothers battling to their heart's content from the sidelines with his hands crossed behind his back. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, [This pair of Saber Emperor and Sword Emperor is indeed different from ordinary Martial Emperors! There are too different!]

[An ordinary First Grade Martial Emperor would lose within a stroke when going up against a Saber Emperor of the same level!]

Dong Wu Shang's Saber Emperor was somewhat different from Ye Clan's Saber Emperors who were present in Chu Yang's recollection.

Those people were at higher grades than Dong Wu Shang. However, they lacked very significantly when it came to the purity of saber way. This was because those people had begun to give importance to the 'way of the saber' once they had reached a certain point in their cultivation journey.

However, Dong Wu Shang had kept the 'way of the saber' on his mind since his childhood. There was no other thing for him except the 'way of the saber'! Therefore, he had focused the entirety of his mental and physical efforts on mastering the way of the saber since his childhood. And, the same could be said for his wisdom, and his strategies!

Therefore, Dong Wu Shang's was a very pure Saber Emperor!

And, the same was true for Gu Du Xing!

Chu Yang still remembered how fanatic Gu Du Xing had seemed when he had seen his sword after arriving at the Heaven Armament Pavilion.

And, this kind of fanatical nature could be clearly seen in Dong Wu Shang as well.

The two people had already brandished their saber and sword respectively. However, Chu Yang was still lost in his thoughts.

Their shadows crisscrossed everywhere. The saber light and the sword shadows filled the night sky!

It wasn't known when Luo Ke Di and Ji Mo had come out. They were also watching the battle between Dong Wu Shang and Gu Du Xing with admiration.