The sun was setting in the west.
"Dong!"
The bell of Green Valley Town rang out, just once. Everyone in Green Valley Town froze, their movements halting as they looked up.
This was the alarm bell of Green Valley Town!
One ring meant the entire town was on alert. Three rings meant all doors were to be shut tight, a curfew was imposed. Six rings meant it was time to take up arms.
And now...
Nine rings!
"The alarm bell has rung nine times... nine times!"
On the street, Li Sigou, who had once fought for the Li family, was now old and frail. He was hauling goods for the Wu Clan when he suddenly stopped, the handles of his wooden cart falling to the ground. His eyes filled with tears as he gazed towards the inner city.
A Wu Clan overseer standing nearby glared at him, "What alarm bell ringing nine times? That's..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the old man in front of him. He clutched at his neck, where a sharp dagger was embedded. The body of Liu Sigou, who had always been helping the Wu Clan with their work, was trembling. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the overseer.
"The alarm bell has rung nine times. Fight alongside the Li, exterminate all outside enemies!"
"From the moment your Wu Clan entered our Green Valley Town, I've been waiting for these nine bell tolls, waiting for over thirty years. I'm old, but I've finally waited long enough."
"The Li family is still the same Li family of old."
The sharp blade was pulled out from the Wu clansman's neck, and blood splattered onto Liu Sigou's face. He laughed wildly.
"I've waited long enough!"
Shouts and the sounds of battle filled the air. He saw it, all the people of Green Valley Town had taken up their weapons and were killing these Wu Clan members who had attempted to steal their homes. He looked into the distance, towards his house. Running out from his house were his wife and his children. They were also fighting for their lives!
And there were many, many others he knew, people from this street. He saw fear and terror on the faces of the Wu Clan members. These bastards who had once been so arrogant, now could only fight back desperately to survive!
"Pfft—"
A stone spike pierced through Li Sigou's abdomen, but he acted as if he hadn't even noticed it. Roaring madly, he pulled his body off the spike and charged towards the nearest Wu clansman. Another Wu clansman died at his hands.
He also fell to the ground.
Thirty years had passed. He felt like he was back in the old days. In his vision, under the setting sun's afterglow, figures of Li family swordsmen appeared in the sky. He clearly recognized those Li family members. His ears were filled with shouts and the sounds of battle, the kind of battle cries that had not been forgotten with the passage of time.
He knew that the Li family had come out. All these Wu Clan members would die. This land, where generations of them had taken root, would still belong to their descendants.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he gazed deeply at the setting sun's afterglow.
"I've waited long enough... for the most beautiful sunset."
"Can the dawn be far behind?"
.....
"Kill!"
In the inner city, in the residence, and even outside the city walls, shouts of battle filled the air. On this day, the Li family forces, after thirty years of silence, took up their weapons and began a purge of all Wu Clan members within the Li family's residence!
Kill them all.
Chop them to pieces!
"What's happening..."
The Wu Clan chieftain in the Li family's residence frantically emerged from his closed-door cultivation. He liked this place. The head of the Li family, Li Kuangtu, was extremely obedient, and every so often he would receive offerings from the Li family, which had allowed him to grow stronger step by step. He had even been preparing to break through to the Nascent Soul stage within the Li family's residence.
And then...
He never reached his Nascent Soul stage. A terrifying aura swept through the Li family's residence, and a figure appeared before him. All his hopes were shattered, his body frozen in place, his pupils dilating!
"First one."
Mad Blood Demon Lord!
This individual, who had been guarding the Li family's residence all along, began to carry out the Li family's mission after the bell tolled: to kill all members of the Wu Clan within the residence who were above the Golden Core stage.
His hand pierced through the chieftain's chest, crushing his heart. Blood flowed along the Demon Lord's demonic markings and into his body!
"Second, third..."
He mercilessly killed all the Wu Clan experts above the Golden Core stage. It seemed as if their lives were mere numbers to him.
Having completed his mission, the Mad Blood Demon Lord vanished from the spot like a bloody mist with his hands behind his back. Over the years, the Li family had continuously educated him, and his intelligence had grown increasingly complete. Apart from sensing that he and the Seven Ironclad shared a common origin, he had also grown accustomed to being with the Li family, fighting alongside them, and cultivating with them.
"They've gone mad... they've truly gone mad!"
Beside a chieftain, a Wu Clan member, who had not been deemed worthy of the Mad Blood Demon Lord's attention, had a deathly pale face. He stared at the sky in terror.
There were countless spirit boats, almost covering the entire sky, emerging from the inner city that they had never set foot in. The demon cultivators on them were cheering and shouting.
Under the setting sun, the assassins of Dawn cut through the red clouds like a meteor shower, disappearing over the horizon at their fastest speed!
"Rumble!"
That was the sound of the Silver Iron Forest, the most dangerous place after Green Valley Town, stirring!
Rumor had it that powerful demonic beasts, and even countless demon kings, resided within. It was also the place most feared by the Wu Clan members stationed in Green Valley Town, as any of them who approached would become food for the beasts.
Now...
As the shadows of the trees swayed, demonic beasts from within the Silver Iron Forest emerged and lingered within Green Valley Town. Many of Green Valley Town's experts seemed to have been expecting this day.
They laughed heartily, calling out "Old friends!" to the demonic beasts as they leaped onto their backs.
These overwhelming numbers of demonic beasts charged in a single direction!
The irascible weaponsmiths...
The refined alchemists, apothecaries, and talisman masters...
The steel beasts...
The Wu Clan member who was watching everything that was happening in the Li family's residence felt a deep sense of despair. For thirty years, he had stayed in Green Valley Town. He had heard the rumors of the Giant Rock Spirit Jade clan's annihilation, but he had remained unafraid, because Green Valley Town was full of cowards, the Li family were cowards.
But now he finally understood. They were not cowards. They were a group of terrifying beasts lying in wait.
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