In the war preparations pavilion of the Jing Kingdom, the valiant Cavalry Grand Commander, Xia Hou Lie, pressed his forehead, sighed, and lamented, “This child truly takes after her father! How can she not cause worry? It’s already the semi-finals, and her mind is still wandering, who knows where!”

Murong Long Xu’s expression remained as cold and severe as ever. “What she’s thinking isn’t important, even what she’s doing isn’t important. Whether she can win, that is the only thing that matters. If she wins, it will be called ‘not minding minor details, naturally unrestrained.’ If she loses, it will be called ‘arrogantly self-important, bringing trouble upon herself.'”

Xia Hou Lie’s hand, pressing against his forehead, pressed down even harder.

This Murong Long Xu was good in every aspect, but he took everything too seriously. I just made a casual complaint, you could have just listened and been done with it, why do you have to analyze it for me?

While watching the river platform was indeed like a national war, demanding seriousness and desperation, it wasn’t *so* serious… You’re just watching the time right now, and we’re just making idle chat!

Today’s young generation, they are all so rigid and proper, quite boring. The old fellows are much more interesting. If Yellow Monk were here, perhaps…

Thinking of ‘Yellow Monk’, Xia Hou Lie lowered the hand pressing his forehead, shook his head, and refuted, “Wrong, with Yellow Monk around, if She Li wins, it will be called ‘a stronger demeanor, a nature of a heavenly pride.’ If she loses, it will be called ‘she already did her best, what more do you want?'”

Murong Long Xu quietly pondered for a moment, and indeed, he could not disagree. The Grand Commander’s insight was still superior!

The two chatted spiritedly.

Beside them, Zhongshan Wei Sun remained silently, not speaking.

Although under the most lavish treatment, his injuries had already healed.

But his heart still throbbed with a dull ache…

Every single sentence felt like a knife twisting in his heart.

Why is it that for the same people, their fates are so different!

The Jing and Mu Kingdoms had been neighbors for many years. Throughout history, there were periods of ‘stationing troops at the border, forcing the collapse of the other country,’ and also times of ‘mutual in-laws, brothers amicably neighbors.’

Cooperation and confrontation had never ceased; the relationship was quite complex.

Due to the existence of the desert and the threat of the ‘demons,’ the long death line required coordinated defense. A great war could not be fought, but being in the same northern domain and both being overlord nations, conflicts of interest were unavoidable.

Of course, most of the fighting occurred among the vassal states below, reaching a fever pitch, while the Jing and Mu Kingdoms themselves maintained great restraint.

However, on the river platform, mutual displays of strength were only to be expected.

Normally, there were no open and aboveboard opportunities for conflict.

For this battle, the people of both nations held high expectations. Who exactly was the strongest in the northern domain had been debated for so many years, and some actual records were needed to support the claims.

While the Yellow River meeting could not entirely represent the national power of each country, to a certain extent, it was indeed an embodiment of future potential.

The heavenly prides of each country first came here to compete. They represented not only themselves but also the young people of their generation who stood behind them, those whom they had defeated.

He Lian Yun Yun looked at Huang She Li on the martial arts platform. She held a very low opinion of this foreign beauty with ancient bronze skin. Although the two on the platform were confronting each other, no matter how she looked, she felt that Mu Country’s Huang She Li’s eyes actually looked like she wanted to devour Tu Cheng!

Detestable, there are always mischievous people trying to steal Tu Cheng from me!

She sat there, her face unmoved by the eight winds, but her inner heart was overturning rivers and seas.

The black-clothed female nun sitting beside her spoke at this moment, asking, “Your Highness Yun, may I ask who this Deng Qi is? His methods seem so abundant; he should be from a famous sect, but this little nun has never heard of him before.”

He Lian Yun Yun considered herself an ambitious woman who clearly separated emotions from her career.

Thus, the Jianghai in her heart immediately calmed down.

Her gaze did not shift, only her voice lightly asked, “Why, does the Wash Moon Nunnery have an interest in him?”

Yu Wen Duo, who was sitting a distance away, had a blank expression but pricked up his ears. As Zhao Tu Cheng’s good friend, he naturally wanted to hear how His Highness Yun and her close confidante in the boudoir discussed Zhao Tu Cheng.

Tu Cheng, his friend, didn’t understand romance. He, Yu Wen Duo, had to shoulder the responsibility of helping his friend Tu Cheng maintain this relationship. Once he discovered any problems, it would be good to quickly remedy them… In short, he had to help his friend Tu Cheng cook this bowl of soft rice until it was ripe!

So this female nun was actually from the Wash Moon Nunnery! No wonder she could chat with His Highness Yun and had the qualifications to sit beside His Highness Yun.

Looking across the Buddhist sects of the world, besides the two great holy lands of the Hanging Temple and Mount Sumeru in the East and West, only the Wash Moon Nunnery had the deepest foundation. It was indeed a first-rate sect power.

Only, she didn’t know how the nun from the Wash Moon Nunnery knew His Highness Yun, and what their relationship was.

Hearing He Lian Yun Yun’s question, the black-clothed female nun was silent for a moment, then said, “Your Highness Yun, please rest assured, the Wash Moon Nunnery does not accept male disciples.”

Her voice was holy and warm, but when it reached Yu Wen Duo’s ears, it was like ‘thud, thud, thud,’ a series of dull wooden fish sounds.

Yu Wen Duo’s heart jolted. He knew his eavesdropping had been discovered.

He quickly retracted his hearing and seriously looked back at the martial arts field.

After the black-clothed female nun explained, He Lian Yun Yun not only did not ‘rest assured,’ but her gaze became even more vigilant. “True Jade Master, I remember that all disciples of your Wash Moon Nunnery are not allowed to marry, correct?”

The black-clothed female nun with the Dharma name “True Jade” was speechless for a moment. Finally, she couldn’t help but say, “Your Highness Yun, this little nun was indeed only curious. You don’t need to be too guarded. This little nun is an outsider!”

“That should be the case!” He Lian Yun Yun said with a smile and squinted eyes, “As the saying goes, men down the mountain are tigers. Master, you must not disturb your Buddha heart!”

True Jade did not reply, but the black veil on her hood lightly fluttered, clearly indicating that her mood was not calm.

He Lian Yun Yun laughed again, “Speaking of which, Master, why are you interested in the Yellow River meeting? Jade Hua mentioned in her letter that a junior sister wanted to come and observe the ceremony, and I was quite surprised. She is a figure as calm as a mirror, and I once thought that all people from the Wash Moon Nunnery were like this.”

From the address, it was clear that “Jade Hua” was an old acquaintance of He Lian Yun Yun, and this True Jade Master was only newly acquainted.

And He Lian Yun Yun did not hide her doubts. Although it was their first meeting, she had clearly already determined that True Jade, like Jade Hua, were two completely different people.

The black hood covered all colors. True Jade, the female nun, only softly said, “Experiencing the red dust is also cultivation. On this river platform are heroes of the world, common people of a hundred states, story after story, rising and falling. For this little nun to come and observe, it is greatly beneficial to her cultivation. Speaking of which, I still trouble Your Highness Yun for her care.”

“A minor effort, not worth mentioning?”

He Lian Yun Yun waved her hand boldly, showing considerable momentum.

But suddenly, she lowered her voice again, “Your red dust experience does not include romantic love between men and women, correct?”

True Jade: ……

People outside the field had their own stories.

People on the field had their own beginnings.

Huang She Li angrily stared at Zhao Tu Cheng, and of course, could only see the carvings on that heavy bronze mask. The opponent’s expression was deeply hidden beneath the mask. Even the eye area only exposed a small round hole, making it impossible to see fully.

Her weapon was held in her hand.

This was a demon-subduing pestle, three feet and three inches long.

One end was a Buddha’s head, the other was a three-edged sharp awl.

The reliefs on the pestle body depicted a set of pilgrimage scenes.

The ‘saint’ they were pilgrimaging to was the Buddha’s head at the end.

The entire pestle body was the pilgrimage road.

There were a total of three pilgrims: a beggar, a commoner, and a noble.

This set of metal reliefs covered the entire pestle body, leaving only two positions for the handles.

The two handle positions separated the three segments of the pilgrimage picture, also dividing the demon-subduing pestle into three sections.

It was worth mentioning that the Buddha’s head at the end was not any Buddha worshipped by mainstream Buddhist sects.

It was carved as the “Yellow Face Buddha.”

This venerable Buddha, of course, had never been seen in any legends or Buddhist scriptures, because this was a Buddha created by the Yellow Dragon Guard’s great general, Huang Fu himself.

The Yellow Dragon Guard and the Jing Kingdom were thus not welcomed by orthodox Buddhism, which was understandable.

This pestle was named “Universal Salvation.”

It was originally Huang Fu’s personal weapon, which had accompanied him in many battles. On Huang She Li’s tenth birthday, he gave it to Huang She Li. He himself then commissioned another demon-subduing pestle to be forged, which he had been making do with ever since.

In the Jing Kingdom, there was a widely spread saying: “Rather provoke the killing god than provoke Universal Salvation.”

The killing god was the matched weapon of the Eagle Yang Guard’s great general, Zhongshan Yan Wen. Among the seven guards of the Jing Kingdom, the Eagle Yang Guard was the first.

Zhongshan Yan Wen’s strength was beyond doubt.

Just from the name “killing god,” one could sense how fierce Zhongshan Yan Wen’s weapon was.

But despite this.

In people’s hearts, as a weapon, it was not as fierce as “Universal Salvation.”

Now, such a fierce weapon.

Held by Huang She Li in one hand, it didn’t give a feeling of fierceness, but rather a kind of compassion.

Even the fierce look in Huang She Li’s eyes seemed like a little girl pouting.

And standing opposite Huang She Li, Zhao Tu Cheng did not speak, nor did his eyes respond. Only under his slightly bent five fingers, black-gold sword qi was moving.

The sword qi was like a dragon or a snake, roaming between his five fingers.

He seemed to be practicing swordsmanship.

As if born to.

As if he needed to restrain it with force, otherwise it would easily become powerful.

Even in his most depressed, most indulgent days, he still grinned and wanted to learn Jiang San Ge’s Purple Qi East Come Sword Canon.

The Geng Metal sword qi roaming between his five fingers at this moment was one of the many secret methods passed down from previous generations.

It sounded funny.

Those previous generations built a treasury, passing it down from generation to generation… Their sole intention was to restore the country.

One wonders how severe their brain damage was.

In this boundless vast present world, only six great overlord nations stood side by side. They were called world strong countries, overlooking the world.

How many heroes, wise rulers, world-class heroes, were all unable to replace them.

You have no people if you want people, no soldiers if you want soldiers. Relying on a single mouth, you just want to restore the country?

That treasury was also funny enough. The cultivation world is ever-changing. Which strong country’s secret technique library isn’t updated with each generation?

You all stockpiled so many secret methods, half of them are already outdated, right? And a small portion will not persist for many years either. Only a few can be made do with —

Only after starting to learn did he know. Like the Great Five Elements Mixed Heaven Step, this required extremely complex broken techniques. If it wasn’t eliminated, there was a ghost. Another hundred years, and it would likely be absolutely impossible to practice.

Today, where could one find pure Great Five Elements Wind? If it weren’t for Uncle Deng…

Only making it hard for Uncle Deng.

You died and left a will, saying, “Don’t forget the ambitions of your fathers.” I have to give up my life to courting death.

Before courting death myself, I still have to have a child, leave behind a bloodline, and let my descendants continue to court death.

Like you, like your father, like your grandfather.

Go to hell!

I haven’t even seen what you look like!

Until he saw that broken finger, Zhao Tu Cheng always told himself this in his heart. With this, he fought against that inexplicable bloodline tie, that so-called “ancestral hatred, five generations of blood feud” binding.

He was born smart, unwilling to continue the hopeless so-called “career,” and even less willing to become the continuation of dead wills.

He wanted to live his own life, even if it was a “meaningless” life.

Why did life need meaning?

He had no future. The more flamboyant he died, the faster he would die. He might as well just muddle through, enjoying one day at a time.

Uncle Deng also never demanded anything of him, respecting all his choices…

But after seeing that broken finger, everything was already different.

He was too smart, thus unable to believe himself.

Unable to be like those “fools,” forever embracing hope.

But he finally realized so profoundly—

Escaping was useless.

At this moment, the black-gold sword qi roaming between his fingers had an extremely beautiful luster.

In the vast majority of people in the field, they only recognized it as a unique use of Geng Metal sword qi, but they could not see its root.

It actually had a beautiful name, named…

“Magpie Bridge Immortal.”

The fight with Yin Wen Hua did not force out the true face of this technique at all.

Only an overlord nation’s heavenly pride like Huang She Li could receive the treatment of investigating its root.

Now, he wanted to let the world know.

The clear light covering the martial arts platform scattered like water. Yu Xi had already announced the start of the fight.

Zhao Tu Cheng immediately raised his hand and pushed forward!

When strong individuals compete, they compete in an instant.

Huang She Li had already begun to build momentum, but Zhao Tu Cheng’s Geng Metal sword qi had already arrived!

Thousands of black-gold sword qi, after leaving his hand, turned into sword magpies. Each sword magpie bit the tail of the sword magpie in front of it. Each bite caused a sudden acceleration.

So, connecting head to tail, the sword magpies formed a bridge.

This black-gold sword magpie bridge, almost as soon as it left Zhao Tu Cheng’s hand, had already fallen on Huang She Li’s body. It was that fast!

So-called sword qi transforming into silk, sword qi condensing into a sword, sword qi like flying needles and a rain of arrows, these were all just simple uses.

The true wonder of the Magpie Bridge Immortal Geng Metal sword qi lay in this style of “Magpie Bridge”!

This style had a name, called “Meeting on the Magpie Bridge once a year, seeing this move once in a lifetime.”

Because after seeing this move, the so-called “one lifetime” was no more.

How fast was this one sword?

Under the platform, Jiang Wang thought to himself, even with the Flattened Step Blue Cloud, even with the late-in-life Vertical Sword Old General, they were not as fast as this sword!

This one sword was so fast that…

Huang She Li had just barely lifted her hand. The demon-subduing pestle in her hand, named Universal Salvation, had just raised one head.

The Magpie Bridge had already arrived.

It pierced through not only distance, but also the qi machine covering Huang She Li’s front, it was the space she had to react!

The audience almost stopped breathing.

The Mu Country’s heavenly pride wanted to defeat her opponent in one strike!!

And this…

Of course, it was impossible.

Almost simultaneously with seeing the Magpie Bridge.

A verdant, dripping, oval, gem-like object appeared in the pupils of Huang She Li’s black and bright eyes.

It flashed and was gone.

It was a divine ability, Bodhi.

Many people in the Jing Kingdom knew about Huang She Li’s divine ability, and of course, this information was not strange to the heavenly prides of other countries.

The effect of this divine ability lay in —

“Opening the enlightenment state.”

It could be used for cultivation, and it could also be used for battle.

What was “enlightenment”?

Always awake, having new awareness of all things.

More intuitively, under the Bodhi divine ability, Huang She Li’s reaction in battle, understanding of battle, grasp of opportunities in battle… all would be comprehensively enhanced!

Magpie Bridge was seen once, and had already fallen before her body.

And as Bodhi appeared, all things became clear.

Huang She Li flipped the demon-subduing pestle, grasped the handle with both hands, and without hesitation, stabbed the three-edged awl tip down before her body!

Too fast, too decisive!

Almost simultaneously with the extension of the sword magpie bridge, her Universal Salvation demon-subduing pestle had already stabbed down.

And that sharp pestle tip accurately stabbed a sword magpie three feet in front of her body, shattering it into pieces, breaking it back into scattered, masterless sword qi.

Why say this stab was accurate?

Because this one sword magpie was exactly the core of the entire sword magpie bridge, and also the trigger point for the next wave of offense that Zhao Tu Cheng had brewed. That is to say, the next segment of the Magpie Bridge style’s change was stillborn.

People could clearly see that magnificent and wonderful sword magpie bridge spanning the void.

Her bright yellow long robe fluttered behind her. Huang She Li grasped the demon-subduing pestle with both hands, stabbing directly onto that sword magpie bridge, displaying an extremely healthy and beautiful figure.

The black-gold sword magpie bridge reflected and shone with her ancient bronze skin color.

And the entire beautiful and dazzling sword magpie bridge collapsed successively in front of her.

Beauty shattered before beauty.

With just one stab, the Magpie Bridge was aborted!

Zhao Tu Cheng seemed not surprised.

He grasped with his left hand and drew with his right, drawing out a black-gold long sword entwined with Geng Metal sword qi. Then, he stepped onto the collapsing sword magpie bridge.

Stepping on the bridge, he came.

Before the sword magpie bridge completely collapsed, he arrived before Huang She Li’s body, and the Geng Metal sword in his hand was already horizontal at her neck!

Under the platform, Jiang Wang’s eyes moved slightly.

This person’s horizontal swipe with this one sword actually had a bit of the charm of a down-and-out scholar, a life-and-death enmity!

Of course, the actual usage method and the technique of applying force were all different.

It was just like how he learned Chao Yu’s ten years of hiding a knife for one kill; he also learned the intent.

Facing this one sword, Huang She Li, under the Bodhi state, directly pulled back the demon-subduing pestle. Her left hand loosened顺势, and her right hand single-handedly grasped the demon-subduing pestle. Using the Buddha head position, she accurately struck the sword coming horizontally from her opponent!

This series of actions was simple, direct, and naturally formed, possessing a beauty that was almost on the verge of entering the Dao.

And Zhao Tu Cheng’s Geng Metal sword was directly knocked scattered, exploding into a sky full of black-gold sword qi!