When midnight came, a hundred or so disciples gathered in the Sect Hall and stood in the center of what they were told was a formation. They had expected glittering gold, scriptures, array banners, and all manners of things, but as far as they could tell, there was no formation here. They sensed sword force, but beyond that, they were merely waiting to go to the real formation.
Not everyone had this reaction, of course. Other than Tian Li, Mu Jingyu, and Sun Yongzheng who possessed enough sword attainment to see the absurdity of this formation, only the two elders seemed aware of the same.
In between stunned looks toward the formation nodes and grateful glances to Zhu Xuelian, they also looked at each other with silent wonder and pride. This was Zhu Xuelian; the person they betrayed. At this point, perhaps the only worthwhile thing in their life they have done was give Zhu Xuelian just enough reason to do this for them, and looking at it like this, evident by their demeanor, they did not think they lived their life in vain.
If Zhu Xuelian took the reins of the Galaxy Sword sect, not only would they continue to exist, but the sect would reach heights it never could in the past.
Unfortunately, it didn’t look like Zhu Xuelian had any such intentions. She even named Ning Meiying the successor. Who was Ning Meiying compared to Zhu Xuelian? Before countless disciples died, Ning Meiying wasn’t even ranked. Even now, with only one hundred disciples remaining — the weakest — Ning Meiying wasn’t even the best among them.
But these two elders did not regret this. It was as Zhu Xuelian said earlier: whether they could or couldn’t rise from these ashes, they could not afford to think about.
The common people did not come to the Sect Hall, even though Zhu Xuelian’s invitation was extended to them as well. A few did come, with intentions to join the Galaxy Sword sect — most likely for revenge — but for the most part, the people decided not to come.
With family still scattered in the world, most of them went to seek the refugees and reunite with them in other places. Some stayed to rebuild the city, even though there would be no Galaxy Sword anymore to protect them from demonic beasts, though they did not seem to care.
When the time came, Zhu Xuelian powered the formation with what little spirit stones she had left — less than two hundred — and with the help of Xiang Liling and Ren Weisheng’s Profound Spirit Talismans, which could enhance and focus ambient qi briefly.
[ Commencing Chaos Translocate. ]
[ Target: Lower Boundary (Sect Gate) ]
[ Cost: 34,652,833 energy. ]
Zhu Xuelian nodded — she didn’t know if that part was necessary or not — and in a flash, everyone disappeared, and the majority of the energy that was left in reserve after the brutal training everyone went through.
Thinking back on it, it was almost a miracle that they had enough energy to use the spell the first time. Of course, Zhu Xuelian couldn’t have known that generating energy was the primary purpose of Epsilon’s awakening — by turning Zhu Xuelian and Wu Yulan into weapons of war that generated endless energy.
When everyone was gone, Zhu Xuelian sighed and let her facade of cold demeanor slip. She chewed on her lower lip and stared blankly in front of herself.
She knew what it was like to lose one’s home. She knew what it was like to wake from a false, fabricated dream. But she didn’t know what it felt like to have one’s brothers and sisters slaughtered like dogs. She didn’t know what it was like to see a friend, standing proudly, even after death.
She knew that this was unavoidable. She knew that there was nothing she could’ve done. But she couldn’t forget the lies she told the Sect Master — that the Galaxy Sword would stand forever; that he was just a senile old man worrying over nothing.
They both knew it was a lie and still they laughed. They pretended — going through the motions of normalcy — even though they both hardened their hearts for this day. And now that the day had come, Zhu Xuelian learned that no amount of hardening could spare her heart from the pain.
Everyone was dead.
Elder Huang. Ancestor Yang. The old Sect Master. Her mountain peak. The past she cherished only lived on in her memories and would become warped in time, then forgotten.
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Everything was gone.
Wu Yulan came to Zhu Xuelian’s side and casually took her hand, squeezing her fingers. Mu Jingyu stood nearby, uncertain if she should also approach or not. In the end, Mu Jingyu decided to stand next to Zhu Xuelian, on the other side from Wu Yulan, and just remained there.
Zhu Xuelian wasn’t alone in this. Many felt the same way, even those who had no relation to the Galaxy Sect. Their homes likely did not fare any better.
“Yulan, do you have any good news?” Zhu Xuelian asked.
Wu Yulan nodded. “I heard from the people that my mother was heavily injured, but that Lady Yue treated her and took her away.”
Zhu Xuelian sighed, then nodded. “That is good. We should go look for her, then.”
Wu Yulan shook her head. “I don’t know where they went. They could be anywhere.” After a pause, Wu Yulan wet her lips with her tongue and said, “Besides, she is with Lady Yue, so she should be fine.”
Zhu Xuelian nodded again. She noticed the forced tone of hope in Wu Yulan’s voice. “What about the rest of your Wu clan?”
Wu Yulan shook her head and did not say anything.
At this, Yun Fei leaned her head on Wu Yulan’s shoulder and tried to comfort her friend. Yun Fei was always skittish and shy around them, and Zhu Xuelian knew that this wasn’t merely because of her personality. There was more to it.
Yun Fei always acted like she wasn’t a part of the group — she was always alone, suffering in silence. Zhu Xuelian knew this for a long time, but never had an opportunity to speak to her.
At this time, Ren Jinhai stepped forward. “We checked the vault, but it was all looted. Only some random, low-grade treasures remained. No spirit stones either.”
Zhu Xuelian nodded. She had expected this.
The force that conquered the Galaxy Sword was tens of times larger than the one that remained behind. Zhu Xuelian didn’t know if she was fortunate or unfortunate to arrive late.
Naturally, they took everything that was of value before they left.
“Zhu Xuelian, this guardian sect you mentioned once… shouldn’t we go and inform them of what happened? Maybe they can help?” Yuan Qiuyue suggested.
Zhu Xuelian shook her head. “Who do you think propped up this Galaxy Sword? It was the guardian sect. But they watched it get obliterated for an entire year. If they, ancestors of the Galaxy Sword, wouldn’t move a finger to help their own, why would they do anything for anyone else?”
The way Zhu Xuelian spoke incited an ember of anger and disgust in everyone, and they found her opinion to be correct.
Was there more to it than just indifference, Zhu Xuelian wondered. Would an ancestor sect really let its offspring die? Even Ancestor Yang kowtowed to an enemy in order to spare the roots of the new generation.
It wasn’t that strange for an ancestor sect, out of touch, to blindly believe that just one True Sun Temple wouldn’t have the guts to destroy the sect — maybe they were right — but they would never know now that Zhu Xuelian intervened.
“If we go to the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion next, I am only going with the intention to burn it to the ground,” Lei Yangming said, looking toward the future.
Ren Jinhai nodded in agreement with his brother from their former sect.
“If you want resources, that is likely the best place to go next,” Lei Yangming concluded. “If it has any left.”
Zhu Xuelian nodded thoughtfully but remained quiet.
“We cannot cross paths with the main force of the True Sun Kingdom. If they are also headed there, then we won’t have a good outcome,” Wu Yulan pointed out.
“Are they really that tough?” Ren Jinhai asked. “We can kill five thousand demonic beasts — just the eight of us. With all of us, even an army would have to think twice.”
Zhu Xuelian shook her head. “Fighting beasts with no martial arts or intelligence is different from fighting cultivators.”
“I know that,” Ren Jinhai said. “But…”
Wu Yulan rolled her shoulder. “They’re tough,” she said. “That guy crossed the boundary — he was a step above Nihility.”
Zhu Xuelian looked at Wu Yulan, then stared at the spot where the villain’s corpse was.
“Even those cultivators you chased down and killed were all in the Nascent Soul realm. And you saw how they move — you fought together as a unit for a year, but they likely trained together their entire lives. We cannot compare with their military strength,” Wu Yulan explained.
“Sister Wu is correct on all points,” Lei Yangming said.
Ren Jinhai sighed. “I know… but…”
Lei Yangming laughed darkly. “You just want to fight them, don’t you?”
Ren Jinhai shrugged. “I want to kill them.”
“You are dreaming,” Lei Yangming said and slapped his brother on the shoulder. “Maybe in a year or two, you can be their daddy.”
“As if I want some scum to call me father,” Ren Jinhai replied coldly.
They all looked at Zhu Xuelian next.
“Sister Zhu, what are your thoughts on this situation?” Sun Yongzheng asked.
Zhu Xuelian sighed again, then turned around and began walking toward the doors.
“Well, that princess was looking for a bachelor…” Zhu Xuelian said. “And we have bachelors…”
“You must be joking…” Tian Li whispered.
“I won’t marry an enemy princess…” Lei Yangming said.
Ren Jinhai scowled, and with his prior determination to fight the entire army of the True Sun Kingdom, one could easily guess his thoughts on the matter.
Zhu Xuelian jumped on her sword and launched in the direction of the Frozen Peak Palace.
“Then we’ll have to kill them all,” Zhu Xuelian said casually.
They jumped on their swords and followed Zhu Xuelian.
“Are we heading to the Frozen Peak Palace?” Sun Yongzheng asked.
Zhu Xuelian nodded. “I heard it is an impenetrable fortress, so it won’t fall as easily as the Galaxy Sword," she said. "We need friends.”
