Chapter 919: Facing North, Backing South

The rain fell softly, like a graceful woman slowly weaving a curtain of beads.

In the young eunuch’s palm, a dark blue sphere of water, condensed from rain, hovered, gently rising and falling. Faint flashes of lightning appeared within it, resembling a fire dragon swimming.

Xu Fengnian, gripping his saber’s hilt, felt his pupils contract.

Heavenly thunder.

A mortal wielding heavenly thunder?

Yet, for this eunuch, who had mastered the art of preserving youth, such an occurrence was not surprising.

At this moment, the young eunuch shed his previous mild demeanor. Facing Xu Fengnian, who stood a short distance away with his hand on his saber, his expression was solemn, and his eyes were as black as ink.

He looked at Xu Fengnian as a flood dragon might view a python, with both condescension and a thunderous rage.

Before this, when the two were discussing philosophical principles, the young eunuch didn't seem like a martial arts grandmaster who could make the martial world tremble with a single stomp. Instead, he resembled a young private tutor: strict, reserved, rigid, and solitary. Yet, in his interactions, he was a true gentleman, with his sharp edge concealed.

But the more one was this kind of person, the more terrifying they became when they acted abnormally.

This was like Wang Xianzhi, who once claimed to be second only to the greatest under heaven, but suddenly one day declared he would be the first. During those sixty years, anyone who stood in his way would naturally die. It was likely that all future martial world luminaries, including Deng Tai'a and Cao Changqing, would have died prematurely.

Or, for example, what would it be like if Hong Xixiang truly lost his temper after descending the mountain? That would surely be unimaginable.

Perhaps Xu Fengnian, with his resolute intent to kill, also counted; that's why Hong Jingyan died right under Tuoba Pusa's nose.

This unnamed Liyang eunuch before him was exactly like that.

He contracted his five fingers slightly. The heavenly thunder in his palm instantly seeped into his skin and vanished, but his entire arm immediately took on the bizarre appearance of fire dragons swirling around it.

The young eunuch's breathing was long and deep. Faintly, seven thin strands of white qi moved in and out of his seven orifices, appearing like seven inverted white snakes on his fair face, as white as mutton-fat jade.

Simultaneously, Xu Fengnian not only drew his saber but also spun forward in an instant. His feet left the ground, his sleeves fluttered, and with a simple rolling slash, he struck towards the young eunuch.

The eunuch merely raised the arm that had "consumed" a heavenly thunder and used two fingers to clamp the Liang saber, which contained Xu Fengnian's abundant spiritual energy.

Two fingers clamped the gleaming blade.

Between his fingers, sparks and lightning wildly scattered, illuminating the young eunuch's face with a brilliant glow.

Xu Fengnian, whose brow seemed to open like a third eye, silently murmured, "Shu Style, activate."

The tip of the saber, pointed at the young eunuch's glabella, suddenly unleashed a powerful blast of *gangqi*, as thick as an arm.

The young eunuch tilted his head. Though the *gangqi* was extremely close and its power was equivalent to a ballista shot from a hundred *zhang* away, he still dodged it with ease.

Only a few strands of hair at his temples, severed by the fierce energy, slowly drifted down into the rain.

As the young eunuch turned his head away, his free left hand swiftly, like striking thunder, swept towards Xu Fengnian's chest.

He had once heard learned scholars in the Diligent Study Chamber of the palace say, "Every year, great winds blow from the southeast, toppling peaks, uprooting mountains, and shaking city towers."

Xu Fengnian was struck in the chest by a punch. Although he appeared motionless, the purplish-red mark on his glabella rippled and wavered, revealing that this punch did not harm the body but wounded the spirit.

The young eunuch, having landed his punch, softly commanded, "Discard your saber."

As these words left his mouth, he changed his fist into a palm and struck Xu Fengnian's chest.

Under that palm strike, Xu Fengnian's entire robe violently vibrated, and the jade pendant hanging from his waist suddenly shattered into dust.

Xu Fengnian remained firm and motionless, gripping the Liang saber tightly in his left hand.

The young eunuch frowned slightly. His arm, still clamping the Liang saber with two fingers, moved outwards. He took two steps forward, then struck Xu Fengnian's forehead with his palm.

Xu Fengnian slid backward.

His feet ploughed a furrow more than ten *zhang* long on the bluestone street, cracking the paving stones. The furrow grew shallower the further he moved from the young eunuch. The rain behind Xu Fengnian, compressed by the immense *qi*, hung suspended at an angle, clearly visible.

Xu Fengnian stabilized himself, taking one step back with one foot and one step forward with the other.

His feet lightly pressed on the bluestone street, as if two lotus flowers had bloomed on a pond.

The young eunuch was slightly surprised, but then understood.

The young feudal lord had still pulled the ordinary Liang saber from between his two fingers.

The battle between the two in the rain tonight was a contest of elevated spiritual will and realm. The presence or absence of weapons was not crucial to victory, especially since this Liang saber was no divine weapon and might even be a hindrance.

But the young feudal lord was so insistent on not abandoning his saber, likely because some deeply rooted belief in his heart was anchored in it.

Perhaps this specific Liang saber in his hand held extraordinary significance, or perhaps it was simply the act of holding any Northern Liang saber.

To discern which it was, one simply needed to break the Liang saber in his hand.

The young eunuch raised his arm and casually swiped it.

Raindrops connected into lines, eventually condensing to form a three-foot-long sword of spiritual will.

Xu Fengnian, who had once fully grasped the essence of Li Chungang, was no stranger to "borrowing a sword." On the contrary, he was the grandmaster in the current martial world most skilled at it. If Xu Fengnian claimed to be second, even Deng Tai'a, the Peach Blossom Sword God who achieved enlightenment through swordsmanship, would likely be too embarrassed to claim first.

But at this moment, after Xu Fengnian saw this scene, it was as if an unfamiliar picture he had never seen before unfolded before his eyes.

It wasn't necessarily that the young eunuch's move demonstrated a higher realm; both were heaven-humans, with no discernible difference in superiority. But the young eunuch's technique was remarkably grand in spirit, and even with their current adversarial relationship, one couldn't help but genuinely admire it.

If Li Chungang, the old man in sheepskin, when "borrowing a sword"—whether borrowing a physical sword from someone or borrowing sword intent from heaven and earth—always had an aura that declared, "If I, Li Chungang, want to return it, I will; if I don't, I won't, and even the heavens can't make me."

In contrast, this young eunuch took a different path, saying, "I don't contend with heaven and earth; I only create my own destiny within it."

It was as if Li Chungang wasn't incapable of doing so, but his talent and aptitude were so extraordinary that he was simply lazy, whereas the young eunuch possessed that diligence.

The rain around Xu Fengnian seemed to pause for a moment, then his figure flashed and vanished.

The young eunuch closed his eyes, as if listening to the sound of rain.

Then he casually swung a sword behind him.

The three-foot rain-sword vanished after the swing.

The young eunuch again conjured a sword from the rain, this time swinging it to his left side.

Sword after sword.

The rain didn't lessen, nor did it stop, and the three-foot sword in the young eunuch's hand had been conjured and vanished sixty times.

Xu Fengnian never appeared. If the young eunuch had not continuously brandished his sword in all directions, Mi Fengjie and Fan Xiaochai might have thought the young feudal lord had retreated from the small street.

The young eunuch was relaxed, still having the leisure to speak while striking with his sword: "In my opinion, putting aside Lu Dongxuan, whose very existence symbolized the pinnacle of humanity, Gao Shulu, Li Chungang, and Wang Xianzhi—these three, at the peak of their spiritual prowess, were truly invincible in the world. It wasn't that they were unparalleled at all times. For example, when Li Chungang re-emerged into the martial world by the Guangling River, or when Wang Xianzhi remained in Wudi City in the East Sea instead of being in Northern Liang—at those times, even I, while in Tai'an City, was no match for them. Perhaps only Ancestor Lu could contend with them, and both sides would surely fight exhilaratingly, each having a chance to win."

"As for you, Xu Fengnian, you are still somewhat lacking after all. Actually, if you hadn't abandoned your previous life and incarnation, you could also reach that height. It's just that you were unwilling to be beholden to others and ruined this fortune yourself. Otherwise, in this vast world, who could stop Xu Fengnian from doing as he pleased? How difficult would it be to kill Emperor Zhao Zhuan and then roam freely in the martial world? Whether Northern Liang could withstand Northern Mang's million cavalry, what does that have to do with you alone enjoying the carefree bliss of a heaven-human?"

The young feudal lord never appeared nor responded.

This majestic young eunuch didn't mind and gently waved his sleeve.

Heaven and earth fell silent.

The overwhelming curtain of rain on the small street completely froze.

On the bluestones, the rainwater no longer flowed downwards.

With nowhere to hide, Xu Fengnian was revealed standing under the eaves at the end of the small street, like a passerby sheltering from the rain.

The young eunuch extended his hand, bent his index finger, and lightly flicked a drop of rainwater suspended above his head.

The anomaly shattered.

The rain continued to pour.

He looked towards the young feudal lord in the distance, who also appeared serene. His Liang saber was already shattered, merely held together by sheer spiritual will.

He asked curiously, "Possessing the profound cultivation of a Land Immortal and commanding thirty thousand iron cavalry, why do you choose to be so troubled in your resolve?"

Xu Fengnian slowly sheathed his saber.

Everyone on Qingliang Mountain knew that no matter when or where this feudal lord appeared, he almost always wore his Liang saber.

Many had not deeply pondered the reason.

After the Battle of Dragon's Eye Plain, after Qi Dangguo's death.

Xu Fengnian only removed his saber when he slept.

He didn't want to be empty-handed the next time someone needed him.

Perhaps at his current realm, having a saber at his waist made no difference.

But Xu Fengnian still insisted.

Under the eaves, the young feudal lord stepped down and finally spoke, "If a person lives their life doing everything only according to their true self and intentions, how are they different from unfeeling plants that grow towards the sun?

"To not be complacent for the sake of those you care about, to live not as freely, seemingly stifled—in fact, isn't that also a kind of happiness? At least there's someone worth sacrificing for.

"Zhang Julu for the common people, Cao Changqing for the woman in his heart, my master Li Yishan for the people of Northern Liang, Xu Xiao for his children..."

Xu Fengnian finally asked with a smile, "Do you have anyone like that?"

The young eunuch's expression changed slightly, as if his most sensitive spot had been touched. His gaze turned icy, he stomped his foot heavily, and deeply commanded, "Dragon, emerge!"

From inside the well, a water dragon, as thick as the well's mouth, violently burst forth.

Charging directly at Xu Fengnian.

The young eunuch, most familiar with the workings of heaven and earth's destiny, knew very well: Ancestor Lu's reincarnation was still young, Wang Xianzhi had already ascended, and Li Chungang had become a tale of the martial world's past. Since Xu Fengnian was far from returning to his peak, then he himself was truly the foremost person in the human world. He certainly wouldn't, as Xu Fengnian jokingly said, encounter a child eating candied haws on the street who could become his bane.

His enemies were only in heaven, not among mortals.

Xu Fengnian lowered his head and glanced at the Liang saber at his waist, took a light breath, squatted down, and placed his palm on the street.

He closed his eyes, for reasons unknown.

Then he stood up, and Xu Fengnian began to run forward.

Rainwater splashed up, and with each step, it was as if a lotus bloomed.

The young eunuch suddenly roared furiously, "Xu Fengnian, how dare you?!"

Xu Fengnian charged forward without hesitation.

Behind him, cavalry on iron-clad warhorses, and the heroic martyrs of Northern Liang, one by one.

Though dead, their spirits remained!

"You want to use the imperial Zhao clan's destiny to diminish Northern Liang's destiny.

"Then come!"

On the battlefield, the heroic spirits of Northern Liang who died in battle all faced north, their backs to the south.