5th December, silver snow blanketed North River Pass.
Meng Chuan stood in his yard and continued cultivating the core move of his saber art—Heart Saber Stance! Every time he unsheathed his saber, he would deliver a dozen or more strikes before sheathing the saber. With his perception domain, he could accurately pinpoint the speed and flaws of every strike.
Since he had obtained the Heart Intent Saber legacy and had seen Senior Guo Ke demonstrate the Heart Saber Stance’s five variations, he knew which direction his saber art should go. Cultivation was a long road. If one didn’t have a goal, they would end up wasting decades of cultivation time.
It was completely different when one had a cultivation goal. This was one of the reasons why many Archean Mountain disciples gave up on mastering Black Metal Sutras. This was because they might not obtain the intent legacy for their entire lives if they did so. If they pursued mastery of a Black Metal Sutra, they might never become a Great Solar Godfiend.
Even with the intent legacy and perception domain, my saber art is improving at an ever-decreasing pace. I haven’t reached the peak of Saber Soul despite a year passing. However, I’m indeed improving. If one year isn’t enough, I’ll spend another two to three years. As long as I keep improving, I’ll eventually achieve Saber Dao. Once I achieve Saber Dao, I can reach the Darkstar realm.
Cultivation also trained one’s heart. If one were to grow anxious due to their slow cultivation progress and end up depressed and hopeless, the effects of their cultivation would only worsen. Therefore, one’s willpower also determined how far they could go on the path of cultivation! Every Marquis and Regis Godfiend had extraordinary willpower.
...
The Godfiends at North River Pass were mostly cultivating. The mortal soldiers trained at the outer city pass. The snow on the vast city walls had long been cleared away. The soldiers were split into platoons and trained together.
“Put in more effort! By practicing more often and cooperating together, you might survive on the battlefield.” The veterans berated the inexperienced soldiers. Many of these veterans had been at North River Pass for six to seven years. Some had been here for more than ten years. All of them volunteered to stay. These veterans no longer needed to undergo basic training. They just needed to cultivate occasionally.
“The sun really warms us up. Old Zhang, I’m starting to miss home.” A veteran sat on the city wall and looked at the white snow below. The reflected sunlight was a little blinding.
“You’ve been here for 13 years. It’s time you return,” another veteran said. This veteran had lost one ear and had a scar on his face.
“My younger brother is taking care of my parents back home, so I’m not in a hurry to return. Look at these foolish young ones. Without us leading them, most of them will die. I’ll stay here for two more years. I’ll return after I’ve served 15 years. I miss the river and the old willow tree back home... I don’t even know how my peers are doing.”
“You are making me miss home,” said the earless veteran. “However, I have no family. When the demons invaded Jadedusk Prefecture, my entire family was killed. I’ll be staying at North River Pass for the rest of my life. The more I kill, the better.”
“Since you are staying in North River Pass for the rest of your life. You might as well get a wife and have a few children here.”
“I can die on the battlefield anytime, so it’s best I don’t add grief to others.”
These veterans at North River Pass were used to being here. They had long finished their conscription period, but they chose to remain. A small number wanted to accumulate credit so they could become Godfiends. Most veterans didn’t have a chance of becoming Godfiends. Some were used to life at North River Pass, while others just wanted to fight it out with the demons.
General Zhang Yunhu and the other Godfiends placed great importance on these veteran soldiers. Occasionally, they would guide them.
Suddenly—
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Anxious drumming sounded from the inner city pass.
The veterans immediately stood up. Their Quintessential Energy circulated as their blood boiled. They instantly reached peak fighting states.
“The demons are about to attack the city. Prepare yourselves,” shouted the veteran soldiers. All the soldiers followed their training and quickly prepared all sorts of equipment and machinery.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Lightning, streams of light, and shadows rushed to the inner city wall.
The soldiers knew that those were Godfiends!
Godfiends mainy defended the dangerous inner city.
...
“Be careful,” instructed Liu Qiyue.
“Don’t worry.” Meng Chuan immediately leaped down from the city wall with Zhang Yunhu, Yu Chiyan, Yang Xingwu, Shi Xiu, and Mu Qing. Twenty-five Godfiends remained on top of the city wall.
The battlefield below the inner city walls was the most dangerous because it was the closest to the World Entrance! Meng Chuan and company were all peak Great Solar Godfiends. Without such strength, entering this battlefield would be suicidal.
“These demon monarchs have finally attacked again at the end of the year.” Zhang Yunhu looked at the stable World Entrance and smiled. “Junior Brother Meng, you caused these demon monarchs to suffer previously. I reckon they have a way to deal with you since they’ve come back after half a year.”
“I’ll need your help if I can’t hold them off, Senior Brother Zhang,” said Meng Chuan with a smile.
“Don’t be in a hurry to counterattack. Focus on defense first and see what are up these demon monarchs’ sleeves,” said Zhang Yunhu. “When we figure what they are capable of, we’ll attack with all our might! It’s fine if we can’t kill the demon monarchs. Our primary mission is to protect North River Pass.”
“Senior Brother Zhang, how many times have you said this?” Shi Xiu laughed.
Zhang Yunhu’s eyes widened. “I’m directing this at you! Don’t always take risks just because you have a Sanguine Divine Body!”
“It’s trivial if two or three holes are stabbed into my Sanguine Divine Body. I have to use this against the enemies,” Shi Xiu said. “Don’t worry. I’m experienced here. I know my limits.”
“I worry about you the most.” Zhang Yunhu glared but didn’t argue further. Shi Xiu had such a personality.
“They are here,” Mu Qing said coldly.
Thirty-five third Firmament demon monarchs walked out of the World Entrance at the same time. Once they exited the World Entrance, they began casting various defensive domains.
Liu Qiyue shot five arrows. Every arrow burned with blinding flames, threatening the demon monarchs.
Zhang Yunhu held a short spear in each hand in search of an opportunity to attack. But this time, the demon monarchs were very prepared. They did not give Zhang Yunhu a chance to attack.
“There are eight unfamiliar demon monarchs this time.” Zhang Yunhu frowned. “Furthermore, I have a bad feeling about them. I’m quite certain that more than one of these eight unknown demon monarchs are elites.”
“I also feel that there are a few elite demon monarchs,” said Meng Chuan.
In reality, it wasn’t a feeling. He could sense all auras within a kilometer of him. Three of the eight unfamiliar demon monarchs had extremely powerful auras. They were elite demon monarchs. The dark-red-haired lion demon monarch was especially strong. His aura was of similar strength to the black-robed demoness’s.
Amongst these demon monarchs, the black-robed demoness and the lion demon were the strongest.
Whoosh!
The demon monarchs suppressed Meng Chuan and company when it came to domains.
Only Yang Xingwu was capable of casting a domain that spanned a large area. Five demon monarchs were led by the black-robed demoness as they cast domains simultaneously, unleashing an intense chill.
The chill quickly spread across the battlefield. Originally, the battle was a lake; the snow had been melted by the Godfiends. However, this chill permeated the battlefield, turning the water within 1.5 kilometers of the demon monarchs’ domains to freeze completely.
“How cautious.” Meng Chuan and Zhang Yunhu were very calm. They knew that the demon monarchs would not allow them to kill over 30,000 demons with lightning again.
With the water completely frozen, the lightning could no longer use it as a medium. It was better for the lightning to strike at the demons directly using the air as a medium. It was very difficult to do such a thing, and the lightning’s strength would be reduced greatly. Fewer demons would be killed as a result.
“He’s Meng Chuan?” Demon Monarch Lion looked at Meng Chuan. “Sister Sijia, watch me. I’ll eat him up.”
“He is extremely fast, and he’s very crafty. Brother, don’t be careless,” said the black-robed demoness.
“No matter how crafty he is, it’s useless.” Demon Monarch Lion was ready to pounce.