Chapter 697: Land Rolling Blue Thunder

A streak of azure light erupted from the land, its sword energy awe-inspiring and devastating everything in its path. It hurtled directly towards Xu Longxiang.

The young man stood beside the black tiger that served Qi Xuanzhen. Instead of drawing his Frost Blade to face the enemy, he plunged his battle blade into the ground.

Three years had passed, transforming the stubborn child who once refused to study martial arts and cultivation on Dragon Tiger Mountain with the old immortal of the Celestial Master's Mansion into the commander of a crucial border army in Beiliang. In the eyes of the world, this young man was unlike his elder brother, who often idled away his time roaming the jianghu. Instead, he more closely resembled Xu Xiao, the Butcher of Men. He disliked extravagance, was not skilled in romance, but, like his father, made his name on the battlefield, earning the title "Enemy of Ten Thousand" soon after his debut. The only minor flaw was that he had never battled a grandmaster-level expert head-on. However, unlike Xu Fengnian, who stumbled his way from crown prince to King of Beiliang, Xu Longxiang faced almost no dissent. Even though he was exceptionally young to command the Dragon Elephant Iron Cavalry, he quickly won over his subordinates. In fact, a quiet storm had once brewed within Beiliang's officialdom, with whispers wondering why the astonishing Xu Longxiang was not chosen to inherit Xu Xiao's title.

Under Zhao Xituan's meticulous tutelage on Dragon Tiger Mountain, Xu Longxiang was taught the "Great Dream of Spring and Autumn" and gradually achieved enlightenment. The "Yellow Brute" was no longer the foolish boy he once was; his mind was now indistinguishable from an ordinary person's, yet he retained a pure, innocent heart. While "pure heart" is a Confucian sage's concept, it is, in essence, identical to the "untainted by karma, called a Buddhist son" and "undisturbed by worldly dust, called a Daoist embryo" described in ancient texts. All can be considered the qualifications for achieving immortality and sainthood across the three religions. Xu Longxiang ignored the formidable, thick streak of sword energy. Instead, he turned and grinned at the black tiger. To an outsider, this spiritual creature, which had spent decades by Grand Master Qi's side listening to the words of sages and attaining enlightenment, seemed to have met an unfortunate fate after encountering this young man. The black tiger, more than twice the size of an ordinary forest king, returned an incredibly human-like expression, devoid of any ferocity. It lowered its massive head and gently nudged Xu Longxiang's forehead.

Xu Longxiang reached out, stroking the black tiger's head, and murmured to himself, "When I was little, my mother often made my brother memorize texts. Back then, I didn't understand anything and would forget it even if I heard it. I just thought my brother looked..." As he spoke, Xu Longxiang mimicked young Xu Fengnian's head-shaking gesture, adding, "...really good."

A smile touched the young man's face. "Later, my father often said privately that our Xu family's ancestral graves must have been smoking with good fortune, for we finally produced a scholar."

The black tiger suddenly lay down, and upon hearing the words "scholar," a profound sense of remembrance welled up within it. Once, on the Demon-Slaying Platform of Lotus Peak, the True Master—whom ordinary people revered as someone who subsisted on vital energy and achieved immortality—would recite scriptures daily from sunrise to sunset. Occasionally, visitors would ascend to meet and discuss the Dao with Qi Xuanzhen, their profound words echoing like spring thunder and causing continuous auspicious phenomena. What a magnificent scene that was! Having long accompanied Qi Xuanzhen, the reincarnation of Patriarch Lü, the black tiger had been greatly blessed with immense fortune. Even the high-ranking officials of the Celestial Master's Mansion had to treat it with respect, never daring to regard it as a mere beast.

The streak of azure light was now less than ten li away from the man and the tiger.

Xu Longxiang smiled faintly. "When we were little, my eldest sister was lazy. She didn't want to learn to read or even do needlework. The only thing she liked was listening to my brother tell her stories of immortals and strange creatures. Whenever she couldn't sleep, she'd drag him to sit by her bed and tell her stories, only letting him leave after she'd fallen asleep. No matter how tired my brother was during the day, he would never refuse. And my eldest sister always left things scattered around her room, but my brother would always tidy them up for her whenever he had a moment. Later, when she married far away to Jiangnan, she kept everything perfectly in its place. My brother, who should have felt relieved, was instead always very..."

Perhaps not knowing how to describe his elder brother, the young man scratched his head, then simply furrowed his brow and kept the thought to himself.

Xu Longxiang forcefully exhaled, looked forward, his gaze hardening, and said in a deep voice: "My father is a coarse man, and with the immense burden of border affairs, he had the will but not the ability to know how to get along with us children. It was always my brother who looked after my two sisters and me, his foolish younger brother. I don't understand much, but since someone has come knocking at our door, and since I was born with some strength, I can't keep letting my brother bear everything alone like when we were little. Before I joined the Dragon Elephant Army, my second sister told me that some qi practitioners in the Beiliang army are skilled in 'qi-gazing' and specifically target top experts in the Beiliang army to plan their moves. She also said that Beiliang's 'Spiderweb' secretly formulated a series of 'Dragon-Slaying Plans,' placing my brother at the top, and me in the top five. That's why my second sister wouldn't let me harbor any killing intent or attack with full force, to prevent the leakage of my qi. But I thought, instead of letting them sneakily plot against my brother, it's better for me to act as bait and disrupt their plans!"

Xu Longxiang pointed at the rapidly approaching azure streak of light, and said with a happy laugh, "Look, hasn't someone taken the bait?"

This time, Xu Longxiang had defied military orders by secretly leading troops to intercept the Qiang cavalry. He was not wearing his indestructible runic armor, nor had he even brought it; it remained in the commander's main tent outside Qingcang City.

From childhood to adulthood, his elder brother Xu Fengnian had always given him the best things, as had Xu Zhihu and Xu Weixiong.

It had always been this way.

Xu Longxiang clenched his fists and struck his chest hard.

Across the vast expanse of yellow sand, it was as if a massive bell had rung out.

With him at the center, countless grains of yellow sand rapidly rolled outwards and scattered.

At the same time, though the azure light had not yet arrived, its sword energy had.

In the distance, Huang Qing, the swordsman of Chess, Sword, and Music Pavilion, glided forward with his eyes closed. The ancient sword "Wind Calmer" at his waist was still unsheathed by less than two inches.

As the two sides engaged, no one else was observing the battle except for the black tiger. The Copper Man Patriarch, hundreds of li away, had also inexplicably hurried eastward, drawn by a purple aura.

However, if anyone were to witness this scene—even a minor Grandmaster of the Second Rank, unaware of Huang Qing's true identity as "Sword Qi Near"—they would lament such an extravagant display of sword energy by the swordsman. When experts face an enemy, it's not about flashy moves; rather, it's about concealing one's power while building momentum, then striking lethally with a single blow once the move is initiated. For a swordsman in azure like this to exude such an overwhelming aura even before engaging in combat was truly overconfident. Only peak experts who had reached the First Rank of the "Profound Insight" realm could discern the truth: this swordsman's actions were not a deliberate display of arrogance like a street thug, nor a pre-battle show of force like drums thundering before an army. Rather, the sheer intensity of this person, who wore a sword yet had not drawn it, was simply too immense!

As the moon waxes full only to wane, and water fills a vessel only to overflow.

Huang Qing's sword energy was so powerful that he had to consciously suppress it at all times to avoid harming others.

Huang Qing of Chess, Sword, and Music Pavilion indeed lived up to the name "Sword Qi Near."

Since his power was already boundless, akin to a nation's wealth, what was the harm in squandering a thousand gold?

Huang Qing, who had been gliding forward with his eyes closed, murmured inwardly: "'A Measure of Pearls,' a salute to the Vajra Realm."

The sword in its scabbard extended from two inches to three inches.

A 'hu' is equivalent to one hundred sheng or ten dou.

How heavy is a single pearl in this world, and how many pearls would a 'hu' of pearls contain?

The three-inch sword light suddenly flared, instantly releasing hundreds of thousands of azure pearls condensed from sword energy.

Azure sword qi pearls of varying sizes rolled forward.

Like countless azure thunders rolling across the earth, they sped directly towards Xu Longxiang.

In the distance, Xu Longxiang, who could already witness this magnificent phenomenon, merely twitched the corner of his mouth, a hint of disdain in his expression.

The young man lightly raised one arm, then heavily punched the ground with his fist.

The first time Xu Fengnian appeared in a grand military review of the Beiliang border army, young Xu Longxiang had personally beaten the drum.

The next moment, between the young man and "Sword Qi Near," sand dunes continuously exploded, earthen dragons arched their backs and rose, and yellow sand filled the sky, as if the very earth itself was churning.

The young man, born into the Vajra Realm with the strength of dragon elephants, and "Sword Qi Near." Their battle might be an unprecedented and unparalleled contest of strength.