Sword light crashed down like a sea, two massive hands looming, poised to seize the heavens.

The Perfect Harmony Duo of Pingxi and the Sea-Subduing Hand worked together flawlessly, their combined power terrifying.

Jiang Wang charged into the sea of blades with unwavering resolve, like a moth drawn to a flame.

It seemed a suicidal act.

But within that sea of blades, a burst of sword light erupted!

This sword light rose like the dawning moon, serene, cold… yet eternally unchanging!

It rose decisively from the surface of the “sea”, shattering the blade light.

And the Sea-Subduing Hand, descending fiercely, found itself unable to grasp the moonlight.

The bright moon illuminated the sky. Jiang Wang, wielding his sword, shattered the palm attack and leaped upwards.

With a single strike, he broke through the combined attacks of the twin blades, then shattered Yan Er’s palm technique.

This was no moth to a flame, but an enraged dragon overturning the sea!

Yan Er, the Sea-Subduing Hand, was known as the foremost cultivator in the Ascending Dragon realm of Linhai Prefecture.

The Perfect Harmony Duo of Pingxi, with their blades capable of felling cultivators in the Inner Mansion realm, were undoubtedly top-tier Ascending Dragon cultivators in Pingxi Prefecture.

In their respective prefectural cities, they were among the best of their peers, possessing a strong foundation of confidence.

Yet a mere retainer of the Chongxuan family had shattered their combined assault.

Only then did they realize they were in Linzi, the imperial capital of Great Qi, the foremost city of the Eastern Region. Experts were as plentiful as rain, and the strong as common as clouds.

Their horizons had been broadened.

Meanwhile, in mid-air, Jiang Wang’s fingers danced like butterflies flitting among flowers, changing with incredible speed. A Crown of Thorns flashed briefly above his head.

Immediately afterwards, blossoms of all kinds fluttered in the air, swaying gracefully, a beautiful and enchanting sight.

A sea of Flame Flowers unfurled!

Illusory flowers and Flame Flowers intertwined, some obscuring vision, others burning the body. Empowered by the Crown of Thorns, their power increased dramatically.

Yan Er, who had been hunched over while driving the carriage, now straightened up significantly, his physique seemingly “expanding.” This was, of course, merely a visual illusion, but as his aura was unleashed, people were startled to realize he was a burly man over eight feet tall.

His hands, with their unusually large knuckles, moved very slowly, as if… enduring immense pressure, churning within the deep sea.

However, aside from the gatekeeper of the Remnant Cloud Mountain estate, everyone present was a powerful cultivator, and they could see that Yan Er’s hands were clearly churning the surrounding air, Dao essence, and even the ambient energies.

Those hands were worthy of the name Sea-Subduing, truly fearsome.

Many private residences of powerful figures were located near Remnant Cloud Mountain, and few would fail to pay attention to Chongxuan Sheng’s estate. This disturbance attracted onlookers, who, upon seeing that the opposing sides were the Bao family and the Chongxuan family, kept their distance.

These observers found it difficult to fully understand the battle. However, Yan Er’s momentum was overwhelming, like a giant uprooting a city, a sight that made them uneasy.

They watched as his massive hands “churned” with a deceptive slowness, then suddenly tore outwards!

The sea of flowers swayed, then split open from the center.

At that moment, two streaks of blade light simultaneously erupted from the gap, like silver fish leaping from the water, widening the gap and lunging towards Jiang Wang.

This coordination was seamless.

It required both perfect understanding and the power to achieve such understanding.

The Perfect Harmony Duo of Pingxi, their blades aligned in the air, following a mysterious trajectory, like two arcs of light hanging upside down.

Only two arcs of light.

An expression of blade light compressed to its limit.

Concise, dangerous.

Sharp, ruthless.

Their lifetime’s worth of killing power.

With the Flame Flower Sea enhanced by the Crown of Thorns, Jiang Wang had ample time to prepare a powerful Dao technique, perhaps to end the battle with a single Eight-Sound Flame Sparrow.

But instead, he merely hovered in the sky, his sword still.

He even closed his eyes.

As if he were arrogant enough to give his opponents a head start in the fight.

As if he were foolish enough to wait for his opponents to break through the Flame Flower Sea before launching a counterattack.

This was especially ridiculous, especially infuriating.

Bao Zhongqing watched coldly, intentionally positioning himself between Chongxuan Sheng and Shisi, ready to prevent them from intervening at the first sign of movement.

However, both Chongxuan Sheng and Shisi remained calm.

As if they acknowledged Jiang Wang’s right to be so “arrogant.”

On what basis?

Both were in the Ascending Dragon realm, yet he was facing the strongest Ascending Dragon experts from an entire prefecture.

He was even fighting three opponents simultaneously!

Even the spectators couldn’t help but harbor a hope for a good show – they wanted to see the miserable spectacle of this man’s overconfidence backfiring.

This indignation and expectation lasted only a brief moment.

Because the Flame Flower Sea had been torn open.

Because the two arcs of light had arrived.

Because Jiang Wang… had opened his eyes!

What kind of eyes were those?

Weary, aged, powerless, tormented… yet resolute, intense, spirited, proud!

Those should not have been Jiang Wang’s eyes.

If Chongxuan Sheng were to speak, he would blurt out a name – Ji Cheng.

Cultivating one’s cultivation is cultivating one’s heart. After one’s Dao heart becomes clearer and firmer, the benefits manifest in every aspect.

First and foremost, swordsmanship.

After traveling tens of thousands of miles, integrating his own cultivation, Jiang Wang had summarized the three swords of heaven, earth, and man. This had allowed him to stand among the strongest in the Connecting Heaven realm.

These three swords were vast in scope, and their strength lay in that “vastness,” but also their weakness.

Taking only the sword of man’s vastness as an example, a single sword strike, man’s vastness already faded, was naturally tinged with regret.

However, how much understanding did he truly have of “humanity,” or further, of “man”?

The myriad aspects of the world, the tens of thousands of people.

Although Jiang Wang had experienced much, he was not yet twenty years old, his footsteps had not traversed the three mountains and five peaks, the nine lakes and eight rivers. Could he confidently claim to fully understand the word “man”?

Just as after arriving in Linzi, he saw a truly meaningful “sea of people,” the sword of man’s vastness had slightly improved.

It was also after experiencing many things that he finally saw the magnificent waves of a single drop of water in that vast sea of people.

That magnificence had always existed.

But only after his Dao heart had been cleansed could he fully reflect it.

Jiang Wang’s sword moved.

His sword stance could be described as weak and slow, yet it gave a feeling of grandeur and strength!

This sword was named: Twilight of the Old General!

Though old, the general still gave his life for his country!

Grant me a longbow, for my country… grant this broken body!

When the country was on the verge of collapse, the old general single-handedly tried to avert the disaster. Although the state ultimately fell, the old general died bearing that burden.

But that spirit, so high and magnificent!

Chang Xiangsi approached the two incoming arcs of light with an almost frail stance.

But at the moment of impact, its aura soared into the clouds, overwhelming!

Those two extremely condensed streams of blade light, focused all their killing power into a single line. It could be said to be the Perfect Harmony Duo of Pingxi’s peak strike.

But it collapsed at a single touch!

Like a mountain collapsing, this sword propped up the mountain.

Like a flood raging, this sword stemmed the flood.

Achieving the impossible.

A hero in life, a hero in old age.

A hero in success, a hero in defeat.

This sword was the twilight of the old general, this sword was also a generation’s hero.

Blade light shattered, palm force broken, people flew through the air.

What Perfect Harmony Duo of Pingxi capable of breaking the Inner Mansion realm? They were as fragile as clay chickens and earthen dogs, their blade light shattered by a single sword.

What Linhai’s foremost Ascending Dragon expert, Yan Er? He was like an ant trying to shake a tree, sent flying by the sword.

Jiang Wang landed, directly sheathing his sword.

All aura and light disappeared. In front of the Remnant Cloud Mountain estate, all was silent, as if nothing had happened – if not for the three people lying at Bao Zhongqing’s feet!