Chapter 622: Who is the Dragon Slayer

Chapter 622: Who Is the Dragon Slayer

Bo E never imagined anyone could be so tedious—remaining utterly silent throughout a complex, fierce battle, enduring it all! And when he finally appeared, it wasn’t to join the fight, but merely to steal something!

A thief more patient than the deadliest assassin... His sole purpose in existence was to steal; to get what he wanted, he could crouch until the end of time, caring not a whit who won or lost the battle.

Originally, Ye Wuzong’s target for theft should have been Xia Longyuan; the underwear was just a jest to mask his true aim, which was surely the Heavenly Book... But then Bo E himself stepped into the trap, and the thrill of stealing from the second-ranked on the Heavenly List was no less than from a fallen first, and the value of the stolen Eternal Heaven Divine Axe was no less than the Heavenly Book. In the martial world, it also carried the weight of righteousness—truly a bargain...

If Bo E hadn’t shown up, Ye Wuzong would certainly have tried to get to Xia Longyuan. So what was Bo E doing by appearing? Acting as a decoy?

This realization made Bo E’s frustration a hundred times more nauseating than being robbed normally. Furious and enraged, before he even flew back to his own territory, he spat another mouthful of blood in midair, nearly crashing to his death.

Fortunately, Bo E’s will was as firm as any man’s. He suppressed his rage, and on his way back, he pondered how to reclaim the divine axe—that was far more important.

Bo E knew his intervention was not in vain. If Xia Longyuan had still had a chance to recover after cleaning up the mess, then after being forced into a “final radiance” that burned his remaining potential, he should be beyond recovery. Even if he didn’t die, he likely couldn’t hold onto his Imperial Realm. And once he lost that, his age alone would make him no longer a threat.

The greatest threat to the Divine Land was gone! The next step was to sweep through the Central Plains. They had stolen the axe—would they live to spend it?

Unfortunately, now it was a frozen wasteland of wind and snow; launching a siege was clearly unwise. Not freezing the troops to death would be a blessing... But now that the northwest passes were open, they no longer needed to stubbornly hold the Yanmen line. Charging straight into the Guanzhong region would be much easier. Should they seize this opportunity? There was also the problem of Batu standing firm in the northern deserts and southern steppes. Batu had to be removed, or this path would be hard to bypass... These matters must be discussed with Temur, the military commander.

In truth, in earlier years, Bo E and Temur were not close at all. The second and third on the Heavenly List, divine authority versus military power—how could they be close?

The Eternal Heaven Divine Temple had mostly been subtly suppressing Temur. Batu’s rise was, in a sense, the temple’s tacit approval. Back then, Zhao Changhe had noticed that the temple didn’t care about internal strife among the tribes. Even if Batu had already established a foothold, Bo E could have taken his head without Temur’s help. But the old Bo E would never kill Batu for Temur’s sake; tribal divisions served his authority...

Now the situation was different. Pressure from the Great Xia had forced the grasslands to unite—a fact the Xia people had never fully considered. In this state, the grasslands might be an even greater threat than before.

Bo E pondered all this as his light vanished into the frozen sky. In the east, the sky began to pale.

Dawn had come.

At this moment, deep beneath the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Li Shen Tong had taken two blows from Bo E for Xia Longyuan. Now he sat silently with his eyes closed, cross-legged, no longer paying attention to the other events on the scene.

Ying Wu was beating Li Gongsi—or rather, humiliating him one-sidedly. He trapped Li Gongsi in a spatial bind, where chaotic spatial currents slashed and pierced, creating a gruesome scene of slow dismemberment. Yet not a single scream escaped; the scene was eerily silent.

Yang Jingxiu, who had long prepared to flee, truly took advantage of the moment when the divine fists clashed and escaped. At such a time, no one could stop him.

Opportunity only favors those prepared...

When Wang Daoning also tried to flee, a broad blade blocked his path: “This road is closed.”

Zhao Changhe had been watching Wang Daoning from the moment he reacted; how could he let him escape?

“Swoosh!” Wang Daoning wasted no words. If Xia Longyuan recovered his breath, it would be over. A torrential palm wind surged forward, and in theory, Zhao Changhe could not hold him back for even a moment.

But Zhuque followed like a shadow—or rather, they moved as one. When Zhao Changhe moved, she moved too.

As Zhao Changhe crossed his blade to block Wang Daoning’s strike and was sent flying back with blood, Zhuque’s demonic claws had already grabbed Wang Daoning’s back. Not only did she restrain him, but surging demonic flames blazed, instantly turning Wang Daoning into a human torch.

Wang Daoning used his qi to isolate the demonic fire and quickly shook off Zhuque’s grip. But from Xia Longyuan’s direction came a loud “clang!”

Wang Daoning’s heart shook violently. Forgetting even his own danger, he blurted out: “Xia Longyuan! You!”

Xia Longyuan was regulating his injuries. In this brief window before his superhuman strength faded, the first thing he did was not to stop Wang Daoning... but to grab the Four Spirit Swords.

Li Gongsi, trapped in Ying Wu’s spatial prison and being tortured, widened his eyes and screamed madly, but no one could hear him.

With a loud “clang,” Xia Longyuan viciously struck the four swords against each other.

The first strike didn’t break them. Xia Longyuan’s strength wasn’t enough—not only that, but the backlash from the Four Spirit Swords forced blood from his lips, and the rampant sword qi pierced his body, causing a torment no less than Li Gongsi’s.

But Wang Daoning was even more frantic than the blood-soaked Xia Longyuan, shouting: “Stop! The sword spirits will defend themselves; you’ll die too!”

Xia Longyuan ignored him and struck again.

“Clang!” Cracks appeared on all four swords. Violent sword qi tore into Xia Longyuan’s chest.

Even Zhao Changhe and Zhuque, who were attacking Wang Daoning, stopped, staring dumbfounded at the suddenly deranged Xia Longyuan. Li Shen Tong, still sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes. Ying Wu, controlling Li Gongsi, turned his head.

The aura around Xia Longyuan rapidly weakened, growing fainter, until he was white-haired, stooped, and frail.

“These four swords were meant to be swords of the human world and rivers and mountains. But once they had masters, they ceased to be that...” Xia Longyuan spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse and aged: “No matter how they were designed, no matter how they defined themselves, they always became private possessions of clans, family heirlooms... I once dared not go too far for the support of the great families... Now I have nothing to fear... While I still have the strength to destroy them, let me finish it, so I don’t leave it for later generations.”

With these words, he struck the final blow.

“Clang!” The four swords shattered. The sword spirits fell silent.

Wang Daoning opened his mouth. He suddenly felt a hollow emptiness in his heart. He turned dazedly to look at Li Gongsi, who, bathed in blood, stared blankly at his broken swords, his mind blank. Then it became truly blank, as if watching the meaning of his life vanish, the future of his lineage shattered. With extreme terror and unease, he breathed his last.

Far away in Qinghe, Cui Wenjing spat a mouthful of blood and sighed softly: “It is over. Qinghe.”

Yang Jingxiu, still fleeing, also spat blood. He turned his head northward, lost and speechless.

Wang Daoning felt the world spin. His voice trembled: “You... how dare you... Though they were private, they did indeed guard these rivers and mountains...”

“Like the great families and me?” Xia Longyuan casually tossed away the four broken swords, turned, and slowly walked toward his high platform, laughing up at the sky: “For this realm, I deserve to die, and so do you. Then my final act, to rid the Divine Land of these two plagues—isn’t that joyful?”

His steps up the platform were already weak and faltering. The platform he once mounted in a single leap now took him a long time to climb, step by step, until he finally reached the top and sat cross-legged.

“I... I didn’t read many books. I didn’t even finish nine years of compulsory education... I learned all that classical nonsense here.” Xia Longyuan suddenly spoke in a dialect only Zhao Changhe could understand, then continued: “But I still know some history. Earlier, Li Shen Tong said, ‘A commoner’s rage, blood splatters five steps.’ That phrase I once liked, now applied to me... All the heroes of the realm, whether from great families or the wilds, good or bad, have turned against me... I suddenly wonder, am I like Emperor Yang of Sui?”

No one answered.

Thinking back, after Li Shen Tong said those words, Xia Longyuan had grown rather silent. He was always a lively man, but in this battle, he spoke little. Only when the tide turned did he say a few more words, as if struck by that remark.

“I think carefully. I wasn’t as cruel as Emperor Yang, but in essence, it’s not much different. After all... I never really treated you as people.” Xia Longyuan said calmly: “But when the game ends and the score is given, being called Emperor Yang is still unpleasant. Who doesn’t want a perfect ending? I think I got one thing wrong—what a true emperor should do. Challenging gods and demons sounds lofty, but for the profession of emperor, isn’t it essentially no different from seeking immortality?”

Zhao Changhe finally spoke: “Yes.”

Xia Longyuan said: “So if you want to play the game of gods and demons, don’t be emperor. If you want to be emperor, do what an emperor should do, right? Is that what you mean, Changhe?”

Zhao Changhe said: “Yes.”

“So will you be emperor?”

“No. You have a daughter.”

“Hmph. She may not be able to command obedience. If you can support her, do so. If not, act as you see fit.”

Zhao Changhe said simply: “Good.”

“Then back to what an emperor should do.” Xia Longyuan didn’t dwell on that, turning instead: “Daoning... You all thought you were slaying a dragon, didn’t you? But for a long time, the dragon in my heart was you.”

Wang Daoning stared at him, saying nothing.

“Since everyone wants to slay the dragon, let’s slay it cleanly. Daoning, you once read with me. Remember this line? ‘I will cut the dragon’s feet, chew its flesh, so that it cannot return by dawn, nor rest by night.’ I imagine when you acted, that line echoed in your mind. Well, coincidentally, it echoed in mine too. But unfortunately, you didn’t become the dragon slayer. I did. Now you... can you return by dawn? Can you rest by night?”

Wang Daoning’s expression was extremely ugly.

Xia Longyuan pointed at Ying Wu and Li Shen Tong: “Neither of you succeeded in slaying the dragon either. Only I can kill myself. Isn’t that right?”

Li Shen Tong said nothing. Ying Wu replied frankly: “Yes.”

Xia Longyuan knew in his heart that the root of his death was the backlash of the world, but even now he refused to admit it—so stubborn.

Hearing Ying Wu’s agreement, Xia Longyuan laughed heartily: “Then this level is cleared.”

No one answered. Xia Longyuan laughed for a while, then suddenly said: “Actually... there’s something I want to say, even if it ruins my image. The reason I didn’t handle affairs or govern, leaving it all to a fake fool, is because it’s too damn hard. I don’t know how! If I did it myself, I might be even more foolish than him.”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

Li Shen Tong: “?”

“There’s a page in my bosom. It’s a dowry for you...” Xia Longyuan’s laughter grew fainter, until it was barely audible: “In the end, I didn’t even want to see Chichi. Am I really that cold-blooded?”

A ray of dawn light spilled into the underground chamber. Zhao Changhe looked up. Xia Chichi stood quietly above, having watched for who knows how long.