“You insolent youth, how dare you!” Elder Zhao was shocked and furious.

The wind and snow formed a cage. His unique escape technique was neutralized by the formation’s talisman power, forcing him to turn back and deploy the Starry River Curtain to meet the Spring Autumn sword head-on.

Thin snowflakes fell on the spring-autumn sword, coating the blade with a bright silver radiance.

The sword energy materialized, a giant sword shadow rising from before Song Qian Ji, ready to sweep across the six directions and cleave the starry river with a single strike.

Xian Jian Chen laughed heartily: “Good disciple! You now possess the aura of a king. The ‘Spring Autumn Sword’ has become yours to command!”

His laughter was bold and uninhibited, yet in the wind and snow, it carried a sense of desolation and vicissitude.

The giant sword shadow pressed down like a towering mountain. Meteorite fragments continuously fell from the sky as the Starry River Curtain gradually dimmed.

Elder Zhao’s face turned pale. He suddenly realized his mistake.

He had thought his opponent in this battle was Xian Jian Chen and had made various calculations and plans targeting him.

And no matter how formidable Song Qian Ji might be, he was still just a junior.

Who could have known that with this “Spring Autumn Sword,” Song Qian Ji would become more terrifying than Xian Jian Chen!

What makes a king?

Deep cultivation doesn’t make a king, longevity doesn’t make a king—having tens of thousands of people willing to sacrifice themselves to follow you makes a king.

Xian Jian Chen’s sword had aged, and his kingly aura had weakened with the years like the sun setting in the west.

Song Qian Ji, however, was a rising new king in his prime, carrying the profound fortune of Thousand Canals, making him the most suitable person in the cultivation world for the Spring Autumn Sword!

Thousand Canals, always Thousand Canals.

Elder Zhao flew downward, plunging into the Flowing Sand River to escape the Spring Autumn Sword’s edge: “What use is showing your might here! After dawn, the Righteous Immortal Alliance will mobilize together to encircle Thousand Canals County. Your nest is about to be ransacked!”

Song Qian Ji followed closely, his face like still water as if he hadn’t heard.

Elder Zhao shouted curses loudly, describing the tragic scene of Thousand Canals soon to be flowing with blood and piled with corpses.

“My disciple’s heart is like solid rock, immovable as a mountain. Do you think your words can shake him?” Xian Jian Chen’s indifferent voice came from above. “Zhao Wu, you won’t escape this snowfall. Even if you could, this Master is still here. This Master still has seven swords and wouldn’t let you go. You thousand-year turtle that pulls in its head, you don’t understand battle at all.”

“Ah!” A miserable, angry shout rang out, filled with despair and unwillingness.

The meteorites were shattered by the Spring Autumn Sword, with yellow sand and thin snow flying everywhere.

A powerful enemy cornered like a trapped beast is most terrifying.

Desperate to the point of madness, angry to the point of losing reason, they will play all their trump cards and use every last resort.

Not to mention this was an elder ancestor deeply revered by his family with profound foundations.

Song Qian Ji suddenly felt the pressure, fortunately, the formation’s talisman power in the wind and snow specifically countered his opponent.

Elder Zhao’s eyes turned crimson, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood: “Even if this old one must die, you master and disciple must stay behind! Tomorrow when Thousand Canals’ gates break, sacrificing this old one’s entire body will exchange for the family’s prosperity for a thousand years to come.”

He opened his mouth, and a crimson round pearl emerged.

The pearl was only the size of a fist but was wrapped in golden-red flames. The desert temperature suddenly soared, and the yellow sand became unbearably hot in the firelight.

The snowflakes around Elder Zhao rapidly melted, as if a corner of the impenetrable cage had been torn open by the firelight.

“That’s the core fragment of his Starry River Banner, be careful!” Xian Jian Chen shouted.

Without needing to be told, Song Qian Ji made a swift decision and hurled the Spring Autumn Sword!

“Boom!” The Spring Autumn Sword, like a heavy shield, collided with the fire-red pearl, which exploded in mid-air.

The strong wind created a tornado over the Flowing Sand River, with a sandstorm reaching the sky.

“Go!” Elder Zhao shouted.

Meteorite fragments fell like torrential rain, attacking Song Qian Ji’s face.

At this moment, the Spring Autumn Sword hadn’t returned, leaving Song Qian Ji empty-handed.

Xian Jian Chen shouted: “Take another sword!”

“Slap!” Song Qian Ji extended his palm and grasped a long sword flying through the air, ready to counterattack.

Unexpectedly, this sword had no edge, its tip smooth and rounded. Holding it, Song Qian Ji felt as if he were wielding an iron rod or a large stick, extremely unwieldy.

Xian Jian Chen said: “This sword is named ‘Wait,’ not good for killing, not good for attacking, not good for defense, not good for guarding…”

As meteorite fragments exploded one after another and the enemy’s attacks grew increasingly frenzied with the intention of mutual destruction, Song Qian Ji could only defend with the edgeless long rod, temporarily at a disadvantage. Amidst the chaos, he angrily shouted:

“If it’s no good for attack or defense, why bring it out now?!”

“It excels at ‘interruption,'” Xian Jian Chen added.

Interruption?

To contain a raging river or extinguish exploding gunpowder, one cannot use the same water or fire to counter-attack—one can only “interrupt.”

Song Qian Ji’s thoughts shifted: “Thanks!”

Xian Jian Chen continued: “Only when the sword wielder is extremely calm can they master this sword. Your Master will now pass on a set of incantations to help you calm your mind and clear your thoughts! You must remember: the benevolent are invincible.”

Following Xian Jian Chen’s words, Song Qian Ji recited loudly, engraving the incantation word by word into his mind.

In the boundless night, cold snow, scorching flames, and endless yellow sand facing a powerful enemy, he had already been fighting until his eyes turned red. Yet the “Wait Sword” was like a gentle, clear spring slowly flowing into his heart.

Elder Zhao, trapped again in a desperate situation, laughed madly: “Xian Jian Chen, you want to use me as a whetstone for your disciple, but you won’t succeed! Song Qian Ji, if you perish with me today, Thousand Canals’ city walls will surely fall tomorrow!”

Though wounded, his aura rapidly increased, reaching its peak with unstoppable momentum!

At this moment, Song Qian Ji chopped with his sword and shouted: “Wait!”

The great shout was like a blow to the head.

“Bang!”

The mad laughter stopped abruptly. The self-destruction was interrupted by the Wait Sword like a giant hand extinguishing a bomb’s fuse.

“How… how could…”

In Elder Zhao’s incredulous eyes, the Spring Autumn Sword rapidly enlarged.

One sword through the heart.

Elder Zhao’s body split apart like a clay figure, collapsing with a rumble, his ashes mixing with the yellow sand.

The Spring Autumn Sword flew back, hovering before Song Qian Ji.

Only then did Xian Jian Chen descend from mid-air on the Shadowless Sword, saying leisurely: “You have mastered the ‘Wait Sword.’ From now on, you need not fear any cultivator’s self-destruction.”

Song Qian Ji calmed his breathing and exclaimed: “Good sword!”

If the “Spring Autumn Sword” was a majestic ruler dominating in all directions, the “Wait Sword” was a compassionate high monk persuading people to turn back.

Song Qian Ji stroked the smooth sword’s body, thinking: “To think such a sword exists in the world. If I had obtained this sword in my previous life, I wouldn’t have had to suffer so many injuries.”

Half of the enemies he encountered in his previous life were powerful and fierce. When such people were driven to the brink, they would risk destruction of both form and soul, unable to possess another body, just to perish together with him.

“No, the ‘Wait Sword’ has a peaceful and righteous aura. If a person’s killing intent is too heavy or swordsmanship too merciless, even possessing this sword, they could not master it. Even if I had obtained it before, it would have been useless,” Song Qian Ji realized. “A good sword comes at just the right time.”

By now, of the Sword Immortal’s nine swords, he had obtained three.

Xian Jian Chen kicked at the sand pile with his foot, suddenly sighing: “You shouldn’t have killed him.”

“Why?” Song Qian Ji wiped the sword clean.

“Letting him go severely wounded would have shaken the morale of their alliance, causing internal chaos. Now both the enemy and we are in the dark. If they became chaotic first, our chances of escape would greatly increase.”

Song Qian Ji shook his head: “In the past, to break through, he drained Thousand Canals’ spiritual energy, turning it into a barren wasteland where not a blade of grass grew—that’s an old grudge. Tonight, he brought out the Starry River Curtain to kill me—that’s a new enmity. For both new and old grudges, I had to kill him. Besides, we’re not escaping.”

Xian Jian Chen pulled him onto the Shadowless Sword, continuing to fly westward: “Then what is it?”

“It’s a breakthrough.”

The snow weakened gradually, with snowflakes becoming almost transparent. Song Qian Ji looked back.

The night wind blew through his tattered clothes as he saw the wisps of purple smoke rising from Purple Cloud Temple.

“I’ve changed my mind,” he said.

Xian Jian Chen sat lazily on the back of the sword, instructing his junior to control the Shadowless Sword: “Oh? You want to change routes?”

Song Qian Ji shook his head: “I want the whole world to know how you and I will proceed to the end of the great road.”

Xian Jian Chen jumped up: “Are you mad? Do you know how many people will come to kill us? Even to divert fire from Thousand Canals, you can’t push this Master onto a path of death.”

“Why must it be a death path? Perhaps we can reach the continent’s end faster and more smoothly. Want to bet?”

“You don’t even know how to play dominoes, and now you’re feeling like gambling?” Xian Jian Chen found it absurd. “Are you asking this Master to risk his life?”

“Isn’t this King also risking his life?!”

Although people called Song Qian Ji the Thousand Canals King or Song King, Xian Jian Chen observed that Song Qian Ji wasn’t particularly fond of these titles and even felt somewhat awkward about them.

This was the first time Xian Jian Chen heard Song Qian Ji refer to himself as “this King,” leaving him momentarily stunned: “Well, well, your wings have hardened. I really shouldn’t have given you the Spring Autumn Sword.”

“Are you afraid?” Song Qian Ji said calmly. There was no mockery in his tone, but his gaze revealed contempt.

“Ridiculous, would this Master be afraid? What do you want to bet on?”

“People’s hearts,” Song Qian Ji said.

At the edge of the night, dawn was gradually breaking.