Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 152: The Twilight of a Hero? To Hell With That!

Swish!

A saber light carrying a speed and power that far surpassed what Zhao Changhe could usually display swept toward the old man with overwhelming might.

The old man swiftly dodged and repositioned himself behind Zhao Changhe in an instant. From that position, he immediately thrust his sword at Zhao Changhe’s neck.

In his madness, Zhao Changhe did not care whether his neck would be pierced or not. He immediately twisted his upper body and spun around, as if intending to cleave the old man in half at the waist!

The old man did not dare to forcefully block the attack and quickly withdrew to make it easier to deflect the strike.

His swordsmanship was indeed exquisite. In the process of withdrawing to dampen the force of the attack, the tip of his sword also managed to graze Zhao Changhe’s hand. Normally, if an opponent had been hit by this counterattack, they would have lost the grip of their weapon, but Zhao Changhe, who was oblivious to pain at the moment, continued his relentless assault, swinging his broad saber like a windmill, taking up much more space than a single weapon should’ve been able to.

The old man did not dare to confront the saber head-on and retreated once more, feeling somewhat despondent now.

He had weakened too much from when he was at his peak; he was no longer the powerhouse of the ninth layer he had once been. Despite his profound internal cultivation, he was still mortal, after all. His aging body could not keep up. The fierce battle had already taken its toll on him.

Even before entering this place, the two exchanges that he had had earlier with Zhao Changhe, despite seeming simple, had actually already been too intense for him. Otherwise, he would have tried to finish the youngsters off long ago... but the fact was, he couldn’t.

Upon entering this place, with countless streams of sword qi relentlessly assaulting him, his blood and qi had weakened and his combat power had diminished long before he arrived at the gate of the main tomb. While his internal cultivation was at the ninth layer, his body at the moment could perhaps even be worse than that of an untrained weakling. With the state he was in, how much of his true combat power could he really unleash?

In contrast, the power boost that Zhao Changhe gained from using No Man’s Land was simply outrageous.

How can someone at the fifth layer of the Profound Gate unleash such incredible might? Nobody would bat an eye if he said he was at the sixth or seventh layer. Even if I encountered someone at this level outside, I would have a hard time, not to mention in this environment where sword qi is flying all over the place. How is this guy able to just let these qi blades strike him like that?!

Even though he could still rely on his agility to barely dodge and evade Zhao Changhe’s attacks, the space where he could dodge had been largely restricted. He had to constantly divide his attention to simultaneously deal with the storm of sword qi.

The old man sadly realized that not only was he barely a little stronger than the lunatic he was fighting, but the longer they fought, the weaker he became. Eventually, he would fall into a disadvantage.

The twilight of a hero. This phrase suddenly appeared in his mind.

I cannot spare any more time here. I need to do something quickly!

A fierce light flashed in the old man’s eyes, and he suddenly made a move that Sisi, who was watching the battle from the side, could not understand.

The old man actually took the initiative to approach the point where Zhao Changhe’s saber strike was at its strongest rather than avoiding it to find a weakness.

As Dragon Bird swooped toward his head, the old man raised his sword to parry it. Clearly unable to withstand the ferocious might, his sword was bent out of shape and sent straight toward the gate of the main tomb.

In the midst of his frenzy, Zhao Changhe did not have the capacity to think and instinctively continued his onslaught, exerting all his might to defeat the enemy before him in one final strike!

“Oh no!” Sisi suddenly realized that the old man had simply been interrupted earlier on his mission to provoke the main tomb. It looked like he no longer wanted to continue fighting them and was using himself as bait to draw Zhao Changhe’s frenzied power to strike down the gate!

Sisi did not have the time to alert Zhao Changhe as his saber was already at the gate. She stomped her foot in frustration, but she also felt a sense of admiration in her heart. The dying old man who sacrificed so much for his family had gained her respect.

However, just as this mixed feeling of anger and admiration rose within her, she could not help but be stunned by what she saw next.

Zhao Changhe’s saber did not hit the gate at all. Instead, as if he had anticipated the old man’s move, his saber automatically followed the old man as he dodged.

The old man: “?”

Sisi: “?”

Having completely misjudged the trajectory of the saber, how could he dodge at the last moment?

The old man forcibly blocked with his sword as Dragon Bird struck down with a loud clang, finally splitting the sword into two. The old man seized the opportunity to retreat, but his chest was drenched in blood from the exchange.

Now, it became even more difficult for him to evade the sword qi. The sound of wind swept past, and the old man was left covered in wounds in just a few moments.

“You...” He clutched his chest and looked at Zhao Changhe in disbelief. “You’ve still got your rationality! The madness just now was all fake!”

Zhao Changhe grinned, “What? Your grandson or great-grandson can pretend to go mad and I can’t?”

The blood-red tint of his eyes still remained. With a ferocious expression on his face, he shouted, “Your sacrifice for your family may be respectable, but is it only your sacrifice?! The greater the accomplishment, the greater the harm! Never mind whether or not the Sword Emperor is awakened, just the destruction that the vicious qi can cause in Gusu is ridiculous. Do you not care for the countless innocent people that will die from that? The only thing you care about is your Lu Clan making use of the catastrophe to dominate Gusu! You think you’re some kind of hero? Go to hell!”

With a thunderous roar, he raised Dragon Bird once again and struck down directly at the old man’s chest!

The old man was about to retreat and dodge when a strong gust of wind suddenly came from behind him. Sisi, who had been watching the battle, confirmed that Zhao Changhe was actually sane and finally joined the fight!

With the injuries that had accumulated on his body, the old man no longer had the strength to avoid the pincer attack. He no longer dodged, allowing Dragon Bird to strike his chest and the dagger to stab his back. At the same time, he threw his broken sword directly at the tomb gate!

“Fuck!” Zhao Changhe did not anticipate this, and he could not intercept the broken sword in time.

The old man’s eyes flashed with jubilation, but it abruptly stopped.

Meanwhile, Sisi had somehow managed to swoop in, and right when the broken sword was about to reach the gate, she managed to grab its hilt with her delicate hand.

The air seemed to have stopped for a moment. Zhao Changhe’s saber had already cut into the old man’s chest, breaking several ribs and nearly splitting the old man in half.

Despite being on the brink of death, the old man’s eyes remained fixed on the gate.

In fact, he had no idea how close he actually was to triggering the rampant vicious qi within the main tomb. Regardless of whether it was Zhao Changhe’s earlier attack that he had tried to guide to hit the gate or his last throw, he had no idea if he would succeed in his goal with just that last bit of disturbance. But when the situation had reached such a point, everyone subconsciously felt as if success was just within reach...

The old man murmured to himself, “Just a bit more... Just a bit more... You guys...”

Zhao Changhe and Sisi exchanged a wordless glance.

But at that moment, the main tomb’s gate suddenly began to vibrate violently. The vague feeling of seismic activity became more pronounced, almost causing them to lose their footing. The surrounding sword qi no longer attacked them but gathered together and formed a vortex.

The old man burst into manic laughter. “I did it! I succeeded! Victory belongs to my family in the end, haha... Hahaha!”

Amidst his crazed laughter, he breathed his last.

Zhao Changhe lowered his saber and looked up at the swirling mass of sword qi that was gradually converging into the shape of an ancient sword. It exuded a majestic and daunting aura as it was surrounded by a vortex of vicious qi. It looked like it could soar into the sky at any moment.

He stabbed his saber into the ground, then leaned on it with his bloodied chest. He sighed and said, “Did he really succeed? Did we do all that for nothing...”

Sisi said softly, “Don’t worry, the interruption we caused led to a far different outcome... At least there is no sign of the Sword Emperor’s revival.”

Zhao Changhe sensed around for a moment and nodded. “I can sense the emotions in the vicious qi here. It was the old man’s intrusion that angered the vicious qi. But there is also some kind of external attraction, causing the vicious qi to find an outlet and surge upward. The space has not collapsed, so our efforts weren’t in vain.”

Sisi added, “Well, that does seem somewhat better. At least we won’t be blown up by the collapsing space.”

Zhao Changhe said, “With the vicious qi and sword qi condensing into a single mass, it doesn’t seem like it will spread and engulf Gusu. At most, it will surge toward the sword pond. As long as those outside can contain this sword qi...”

Sisi sighed, “That is true, but there are two problems.”

“What?”

“First, if Maitreya has arrived, the Tang Clan may be doomed. Who will contain the sword qi, Maitreya?”

“...”

“Second...” Sisi’s voice seemed to squeeze out from between her teeth. “Since the space has not collapsed and it’s just the sword qi surging out... How are we supposed to leave this place?”

Zhao Changhe slowly straightened his body and took a deep breath. “Since the vicious qi is merely surrounding a sword formation...when it rushes up, can’t we just hitch a ride?”

Sisi’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?! While the sword qi at the core is indeed the worst part, even just the surrounding vicious qi can make any nearby living creatures... Ugh...”

“Yes, ordinary creatures may not be able to approach such a rich and concentrated vicious qi, but that’s what I’ve been practicing.” Zhao Changhe opened his arms. “As long as you dare to hide in my embrace, I dare to take you out. “

Sisi felt like the biggest sucker she had ever been in her entire life at this moment... She had originally come here to look for a so-called treasure of vicious qi, only to end up being brought to a dead end where she could not get out. Then, she had to fight someone, got nothing out of the fight, and now she had to place herself in someone’s embrace.

Where is the treasure that I came here for?

Zhao Changhe seemed to know what she was thinking and said softly, “We know where the entrance is, and now an exit may be opened up by this sword qi... As long as we don’t die this time, can’t we come back in the future?”

Sisi said, “In the future, either the Maitreya Cult will wreak havoc here, or you and the Tang Clan will control this place and kick me out.”

Zhao Changhe smiled slightly. “Half of this place belongs to you. Even if Tang Wanzhuang comes, I’ll make sure she doesn’t exclude you. I’ll even fall out with her if he dares.”

“What’s the use of you falling out with them? Who do you think you are... The Tang Clan might kick you out too, you idiot...” Sisi muttered under her breath. However, she did not say anything else. She cautiously approached him and nestled herself in his blood-soaked embrace.

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky, and the simple sword shape finally solidified completely. It then rose toward the sky amidst the swirling vicious qi.

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