NOVPUB"If you leave now, I can pretend nothing has happened," Lan Juntian said indifferently, turning his back.
"I just can’t understand, I am the Demon Slaying Warrior of this generation, but for what reason do I fight?" Lan Ke’er raised her head, looking directly at Lan Juntian, and asked.
"Ke’er, did someone say something to you?" Lan Juntian furrowed his brows slightly and asked.
"How could you suddenly speak of these matters?"
"Father, I don’t want to be a Demon Slaying Warrior anymore," Lan Ke’er stated calmly.
"I won’t interfere with your decision, but tomorrow’s Demon Slaying Gathering will be held as scheduled,"
Lan Juntian said indifferently.
"Seven Elders have emerged, extending invitations to all the powers around the world, do you want to make our Lan Family the laughing stock?
Or do you want to see the perseverance of tens of thousands of years of our Lan Family turn to ashes?"
"What if this persistence leads to the destruction of our Lan Family?" Lan Ke’er asked out loud.
"Ke’er, don’t you understand yet? From the moment our Lan Family chose to become a Demon-Slaying Family, there was no turning back,"
Lan Juntian shook his head and said: "In our Lan Family, there are no cowards who fear death. The moment we made our choice, we were prepared to face death."
"Is there really no possibility left?" Lan Ke’er fell silent for a long while, finally asking in agony.
"You have disappointed your father," Lan Juntian waved his hand and said nothing more.
Lan Ke’er slowly walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.
She looked up at the glittering stars in the sky, feeling as if fate had split before her into two straight paths, utterly unrelated to each other.
Eventually, her figure vanished into the dense darkness of the night.
......
A silent night passed, with the pale light of dawn flickering in the east.
The first ray of light between heaven and earth shone towards the direction of Heaven Blue City.
That night, many did not sleep soundly, and from time to time, roaring sounds came from the horizon.
Demonic Qi, mixed with vast golden light, kept rolling and undulating at the edge of the sky.
Even without seeing it in person, many could sense the power and danger within.
As the sky brightened, the Lan Family had already prepared breakfast for everyone.
The drums of demon suppression stretched from the east of Heaven Blue City, displayed far and wide.
Disciples clad in blue robes stood with chests out and heads high in front of the war drums, exuding a spirited presence.
They gazed into the distance, towards the Firmament.
The breeze was so tranquil.
Elders from various powers and the younger generation were having breakfast, while Xu Zimei made his way to the inner courtyard of the Lan Residence.
The place where he had encountered Lan Ke’er the day before.
The Qingfeng wind was gentle, the trees lightly swaying, and the person appeared haggard.
Lan Ke’er stood under the Demon Vanquishing Tree, her slender figure waiting there.
Some strands of hair on top of her head were disheveled, her face slightly paler than usual, a sickly pale unlike her fair skin.
"Ke’er," Xu Zimei spoke softly.
His voice brought Lan Ke’er back from her daze.
Lan Ke’er looked at Xu Zimei, and then tears fell like rain.
She threw herself into Xu Zimei’s arms, crying bitterly, "I won’t be a Demon Slaying Warrior anymore.
You shouldn’t go either. Our seven Elders from the Lan Family and a few others from the Imperial Rule Immortal Sect are there.
You will die if you go."
Xu Zimei gently stroked the girl’s hair, not answering, merely smiling tenderly.
"Promise me, okay?" Lan Ke’er looked up, her eyes like clear pools.
She said: "Just like the stories you used to tell me, let’s leave this place and find a haven to live in seclusion, never venturing out again.
We’ll live out the rest of our lives in obscurity, okay?"
In that moment, Xu Zimei gazed at the girl in his arms, his memory seeming to be dragged back to that spring in bygone years.
Petals fell like rain, that small village in Zixun Village, and under the setting sun, it was as if the same scene reappeared.
"Back then, I thought my future on the Martial Path was promising, and I wanted revenge, unwilling to be tied down by anything," Xu Zimei said with a light chuckle.
"But this time, believe me, I will remove every obstacle, definitely," he continued.
"But what if you die?" Lan Ke’er asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
"It’s not death I fear but living a life that is not fulfilling or brilliant enough.
Heaven Beyond Heavens, my origins, there are still many things worth exploring," Xu Zimei replied with a gentle laugh.
"Like father, like son," Lan Ke’er said, looking at the man before her with a sense of loss.
"Father said he wasn’t afraid of dying, that he had contemplated the end from the moment he chose this path.
You say you’re not afraid of dying either, that the world is fascinating enough.
But what am I to do? Watch father die with my own eyes? Or watch you die?
Is a simple and warm life really that hard to attain?"
"I’m sorry," Xu Zimei said earnestly as he looked at Lan Ke’er, "but this is a path I must take."
In his life, he had let down four people: his parents—in a previous life his mother had fallen into the Demonic Path, his father had aged overnight.
Lin Ruhu, the good brother who had blocked a lethal strike for him.
And the girl before him, whom he had disappointed and hurt time and again.
Xu Zimei had been indifferent to life, having killed countless people, but in the end, he was still human, with Seven Emotions and Six Desires.
Without the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, how could he be considered human?
Xu Zimei, too, felt pain!
...…
"Go then," Lan Ke’er slowly released Xu Zimei’s waist, stood up, and looked at the man before her, saying.
"Go, I’ll watch you go."
"If you want to blame me, then blame me," Xu Zimei sighed softly.
Eventually, he turned and left without any hesitation, resolute and determined.
His Blade Qi dominated tens of thousands of miles, his Blade Intent piercing the heavens.
His purple robe danced with the wind, his hair moved without a breeze, his silhouette as steadfast as rock.
He seemed to gradually overlap with the figure of his past self.
Only back then, the sunset was like dusk, but today the sun was blazing like an arrogant sun.
Today’s breeze is so serene!
Today’s breeze is damn noisy!
...…
"Ready for battle?" The Divine Emperor’s figure appeared beside him out of nowhere, asking softly.
"Battle!"
A single word ’battle’ with an intent that shot straight to the heavens, an endless fighting spirit echoing, the Mad Wind roaring and raging all around, the sun hanging like a fiery ball in the Firmament under the arrogant sun.
The youth held his head high, arrogantly striding forward.
"I am set on destroying the Lan Family. Not even the Great Emperor can stop me, these are my words, Xu Zimei," he proclaimed.
...
The noonday sun shone on the northern gate of Heaven Blue City.
The gate, made of Extraterritorial Meteor Iron, was scorching hot to the touch.
The gate was marked with countless imprints: handprints, sword, and blade marks.
These were the scars left by the Lan Family over tens of thousands of years in their stand against the Heavenly Demon, a testament to their brilliance and honor.
It was also the witness to everything over those tens of thousands of years.
As the heavy gates opened, Lan Juntian, clad in deep blue robes, walked to the forefront.
The moment the gates opened, the war drums arranged on both sides immediately sounded.
Their thunderous beats soared to the heavens, shaking the entire Firmament.
With a supreme force, they stirred the blood to boiling.
