Chapter 159 Why Are You Crying

"Pay close attention."

As the words fell, the man's spiritual energy condensed into a fiery red broadsword in his hand, the sword qi tightening with a resonant hum.

Sword qi thunder, a nascent phenomenon of stepping into the path of the sword. Now, she too was capable of this.

Even so, Ji Jiuxuan watched with utmost concentration.

Wielding the broadsword, the man began to practice his swordsmanship within the void. From his bold and unrestrained movements, Ji Jiuxuan perceived an unbridled freedom alongside supreme majesty.

As she watched, it seemed to Ji Jiuxuan as though tens of thousands of troops stood before the man, and he was an invincible general, every single strike unstoppable and profoundly majestic.

Only then did she recall a record in the *Book of Divination*: ever since the founding Prince of Jingbei, each generation had been fierce warriors on the battlefield. Relying on sheer capability, they rose rapidly to become powerful nobles of the imperial court, highly trusted by the emperors.

Through countless years and the shifting of countless noble houses, the Prince of Jingbei's estate remained steadfast, its power growing even greater.

Thinking of the origins of the Prince of Jingbei's estate, she finally understood why their sword intent carried the overwhelming momentum of thousands of troops.

Unlike the swords used in ordinary duels, this was the sword of slaughter and warfare.

After completing the set of sword techniques, the man stood still and looked at Ji Jiuxuan. "Your turn."

Ji Jiuxuan was greatly surprised. Did he truly exist? Originally, she had assumed this was like any other inheritance, where the sword techniques were simply taught and then vanished.

"He is a residual clone of divine consciousness. You can only see him if your bloodline concentration reaches a specific threshold," the phantom consoled her at that moment. "Study well under him. This is a void world he condensed. Once you master it here, the results will be even better when you go outside."

After thanking the phantom, Ji Jiuxuan bowed to the man and, imitating his previous posture, condensed a sword made of spiritual energy.

Though the spiritual energy sword was slightly lacking, it was quite a commendable feat for a first attempt. Closing her eyes, she replayed the sword techniques she had just witnessed countless times in her mind.

This had become a habit of hers when practicing the sword. The moment she opened her eyes, the entire set of techniques flowed with absolute smoothness, bringing a look of pleasant surprise to the man's eyes.

Replaying it in her mind was entirely different from executing it in reality. With every single sword strike, Ji Jiuxuan felt as though thousands of troops were gathered before her, the sounds of battle cries on the field endlessly echoing.

Yet, even though she could execute the entire set of sword techniques, for some reason, she always felt something was missing.

Finally, she stood still, looked at the man, bowed, and asked, "Ancestor, for some reason I always feel something is lacking in my execution. Is there something amiss with this junior?"

The phantom had said the entity was a residual clone of divine consciousness, which meant communication was possible.

"The battlefield. Those who have never truly experienced that place cannot forge true momentum."

He had never expected the descendant arriving this time to possess such exceptional aptitude. The young fellow who came last time had failed to perceive this.

However, before leaving, he had given a hint, telling him to seek tempering on the battlefield—it all depended on that young fellow's comprehension.

With a single hand seal, the surrounding space transformed completely.

She stood before towering city walls, gazing at the sweeping armies ahead and the soldiers stationed behind her.

At this moment, the peril of her country was right before her eyes, and the collective morale of the army solidified. Standing among the crowd, Ji Jiuxuan perceived that fierce resolve.

War drums thundered as the battle hovered on the verge of eruption. With armored horses and clashing weapons, the scene of warfare was exceptionally tragic.

Standing amidst it all, her gaze was complex. This resolute devotion to family and country was something she had never experienced before.

She knew not how long she remained on the battlefield when the man appeared beside her. "Do you wish to save them? Your comrades-in-arms. Perhaps with your joining, they might escape death, and the city behind you will not fall."

Ji Jiuxuan turned her head. The scene shifted to ordinary citizens hiding away in terror. At that exact moment, the enemy breached the city, and the populace was brutally slaughtered. Gold and silver, women, children, the elderly, and men—though their fates varied, how utterly tragic they all were.

At this moment, tears spilled uncontrollably from Ji Jiuxuan's eyes.

"I will join." At this instant, her expression grew exceptionally resolute, the spiritual energy sword in her hand becoming far more solid, her momentum entirely transforming.

Wielding her sword, Ji Jiuxuan charged toward the enemy forces, subconsciously executing the sword techniques she had just learned.

Blood dripped from the tip of her sword as countless enemy heads fell to the ground. The young girl who had once feared taking a life even in mortal duels now raised her blade and brought it down without hesitation for the sake of the bullied citizens behind her, exhibiting a striking ruthlessness.

Gradually, the enemy forces were defeated. With fallen banners, corpses blanketing the fields, and soldiers wrapped in horse hides upon their death, a profound desolation gripped Ji Jiuxuan's heart.

"Why weep?" The man appeared beside her once more, his voice calm, as if all of this were entirely commonplace to him.

"Turn your head and look again." He understood Ji Jiuxuan's state of mind at present.

Obediently, Ji Jiuxuan turned her head. At this moment, the desolation behind her was gone, replaced by the hard-won survival in the aftermath of war.

Expressions of gratitude from the townspeople—thanks to the soldiers who fought desperately for everyone, thanks to their presence keeping their homeland safe from disaster.

The man did not turn around; instead, looking out over the desolate landscape, he spoke in a lingering, distant tone: "Standing on the battlefield, they were afraid too. Everyone has the right to fear death. But the moment they picked up their weapons, it was for their country, and for the families and loved ones behind them."

"No matter how long the lives of those who cultivate the Dao may be, they still have those they care about. Even if they have not a single person left to care for, they cannot defy the heavenly rules and the will of all living beings."

Immersed in the experience, Ji Jiuxuan seemed to understand something at this moment, and her aura underwent a drastic transformation.

The momentum forged from the crucible of the battlefield flickered vaguely around her.

Wielding a sword, some fought for protection, while others favored slaughter. But in her heart, slaughter could also be a means of protection.

Previously, it had been a vague concept, but now, her heart was entirely resolute: she would use the sword of slaughter to protect.

The surrounding city vanished, and the fields of corpses disappeared. Only rolling yellow sand remained, desolate yet brimming with the tragic grandeur of the aftermath of war.

"Try again?"

The man spoke at this moment. Ji Jiuxuan nodded solemnly. This time, she no longer relied on mental replays; instead, riding the wave of that profound emotion, every single strike of the sword in her hand carried that absolute momentum.

In the end, flashes of sword light even appeared. With every movement, deep scars were carved into the ground by her sword qi, the aura of slaughter fully manifested.

Putting away her sword, Ji Jiuxuan remained somewhat lost in thought.

"Watch closely." A sword materialized once more in the man's hand. This time, the sword suspended itself before him before splitting into numerous blades. As spiritual energy flowed, the man pushed his hand forward, and all the swords flew outward. A deep crater appeared on the ground, displaying overwhelming destructive power.

Following that, he fully demonstrated the advanced stages of swordsmanship: sword qi condensing into threads, the sword generating ten thousand methods, and the sword extinguishing ten thousand methods.

At this moment, for the very first time, Ji Jiuxuan meticulously perceived the distinctions between the various levels of sword technique. Though differences existed, the initial aura of slaughter and protection forged on the battlefield remained unwavering, its might even greater than before.

"Have you understood it?" How much she could comprehend depended entirely on the young girl herself. Having weathered the ages, the person before him possessed the finest aptitude he had seen in many years.

Slaughter and protection—even when personally entering a battlefield, some might never fully grasp the meaning contained within.

"I have remembered it." Every time the scene replayed in her mind, her insights grew completely different.

Presently, her own mastery in the path of the sword extended at most to the division of sword light; the subsequent stages of condensing sword qi into threads, generating ten thousand methods, and extinguishing ten thousand methods still required gradual refinement.

Hearing Ji Jiuxuan's response, the man nodded in deep satisfaction.

With a light wave of his hand, a fiery red pool appeared before them.

"Go! Await your rebirth through shedding your mortal shell." With another gentle wave of the man's hand, Ji Jiuxuan's entire body lifted into the air, flying straight down into the fiery red pool.

(End of this chapter)