677: Chapter 777 Commander

The root of all this ultimately came down to one point—the Human Race had too few top-tier combatants.

To what extent?

To the extent that Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya had guarded Yuyao Pass alone for thousands of years, not even daring to hope for a single complete period of closed-door cultivation.

Every time he went into closed-door cultivation, he had to divert thirty percent of his mental focus to sense any movement outside the pass; every time he sought a Breakthrough, he had to forcibly suppress the urge for his Realm to rise, fearing that while he was deep in meditation, the Yao Race would suddenly assault the pass.

He had spent three thousand years Cultivating, and three thousand years living in constant anxiety.

To the extent that every time a Primordial Secret Realm or ancient ruin opened, the Human Race had to act like gamblers betting their entire fortune, desperately throwing their most excellent and talented sprouts inside.

It was a path with a nine-in-ten chance of death, but the Human Race had no other choice. Because every Opportunity could potentially create one more powerhouse, and every powerhouse could potentially allow the Human Race to hold on for another hundred or a thousand years.

To the extent that today—at this very moment—the Yao Race army was pressing against the border, black clouds crushing the city, millions of the Yao Race army flooding the sky, the soaring Demonic Qi almost dyeing the entire firmament of Yuyao Pass ink-black.

And he, Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya, the old man hailed among the Human Race as the "Eternal First Pillar," stood on the city wall, looking at the Yao Race shadows covering the mountains and plains, with a thought surging in his heart—

"If I die in battle here today..."

"...will there still be anyone in the Human Race capable of carrying this banner?"

This thought was like an ice-cold needle, piercing the deepest part of his heart. He did not fear death; what he feared was that after he died, the Human Race would no longer have anyone to hold up the sky.

But now, there was someone standing in front of him.

An Earth Immortal of the Human Race itself.

A Late Stage Earth Immortal so young that even he found it somewhat absurd.

Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya looked at Chu Changsheng for a long time, suddenly feeling a soreness in his nose.

He remembered his own equally young self three thousand years ago, the way he looked when he first stepped onto this city wall.

At that time, he had been just as high-spirited, just as full of hot-blooded passion, and had secretly sworn in his heart: In this lifetime, I must defend this pass and protect the billions of ordinary people behind me.

But three thousand years had passed. The brothers who had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him back then—some had died in battle outside the pass, their remains lost.

Some had passed away in their Immortal Cave, their oil exhausted and lamps dried up.

Some had suffered Qi Deviation, their Divine Soul utterly destroyed... Those old friends who had once raised cups to drink heartily and bathed in blood fighting alongside him were all gone, one by one.

He was the only one left.

For three full thousand years, he had guarded this pass alone, carried this banner alone, and faced that endless tide of the Yao Race alone.

In the dead of night, he often sat alone on the city wall, looking at the land outside the pass soaked in blood, wondering—when, when would there be someone who could help him bear even a little bit of the weight?

And now, that person had finally arrived.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya said the word "Good" three times in a row, his voice growing more resonant and fervent with each utterance.

The first "Good" was like a sigh suppressed for a thousand years finally being exhaled; the second "Good" was like long-accumulated power suddenly erupting; the third "Good"—that was roared with almost every ounce of his remaining strength!

His voice, carrying the heroism and tragedy accumulated over three thousand years, and carrying all the expectations of a twilight-aged old man for the future, exploded like a thunderclap over Yuyao Pass.

The bricks on the city wall trembled slightly, and among the Yao Race army outside the pass, several low-ranking Yao Beasts were even cowed by this Aura, their legs going weak and collapsing to the ground.

Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya strode forward and grabbed Chu Changsheng's shoulder.

This hand was aged yet powerful, with thick knuckles and palms covered in thick calluses—this was a hand that had gripped weapons for three thousand years and fought battles for three thousand years.

He patted Chu Changsheng's shoulder forcefully—once, twice, three times—as if he wanted to transmit all the strength, all the expectations, and all the burdens accumulated over these three thousand years to the young man in front of him through this action.

He wanted to turn the loneliness and fatigue of guarding the isolated city for three thousand years into the warmth in his palms at this moment. He wanted to personally hand this banner, which he had carried for three thousand years, to this person.

"Good lad..."

His voice trembled slightly, his throat feeling as if it were blocked by something, and in those eyes that had been clouded for three thousand years, a crystalline light flickered. "Good lad!"

Chu Changsheng's body swayed slightly from the pats, but he remained standing firmly, as immovable as a mountain. He smiled, a clean and warm smile, like the first ray of sunlight piercing through the clouds in spring: "Junior merely obtained some fortuitous Opportunity by luck; Senior is the true pillar of the Human Race."

"Pillar, my foot!"

Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya waved his hand, laughing until deep wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes.

On this weathered face, every wrinkle looked like a knife scar carved by time, but at this moment, they all smoothed out, revealing an unprecedented sense of relief—the release after three thousand years of suppression, the letting go after carrying a heavy burden for too long.

"How many years has this old bag of bones been propping up this Yuyao Pass—"

He stretched out a finger and pointed at the city wall beneath his feet, his knuckles covered in calluses and old scars: "There is my blood in the cracks of these bricks! There are my footprints on this wall! I have long wanted to find someone to help me carry some of the load!"

He said this casually, his tone as light as if he were talking about the weather today, as if he were making a harmless joke.

But when the next sentence came out—everyone was stunned.

"Today, I, in front of everyone here at Yuyao Pass—"

Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya's voice suddenly rose, no longer in that casual tone.

The True Qi within him, vast as the sea, suddenly erupted, carrying his voice like rolling thunder, crushing over every inch of the city wall and every corner of Yuyao Pass, entering everyone's ears, making their eardrums ache and their hearts and minds sway!

"In front of all Fellow Daoists from the five regions of the Human Race present here—"

His gaze swept across the crowd.

In those eyes that had been clouded for three thousand years, brilliant light now exploded, as if two flames were burning within!

This firelight was intense and resolute, as if to ignite all the persistence and expectations of these three thousand years at this moment, transforming them into a raging inferno capable of illuminating eternity!

"I announce one thing—"

Everyone subconsciously held their breath.

Those Cultivators who had been whispering closed their mouths; those generals who had been questioning put away their expressions; those Loose Cultivators who had been watching raised their heads; those with clenched fists, furrowed brows, suspicious faces, and hidden dissatisfaction—at this moment, they all stopped their thoughts and looked up at the old figure standing high on the city wall.

The entire Yuyao Pass, with hundreds of thousands of Human Race Cultivators, was silent at this moment.

Only the sound of the wind whistled over the city wall.

Only Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya's voice, like thunder from the Nine Heavens, crashed down, word by word—

"From this day forth, Chu Changsheng is the Supreme Commander of Yuyao Pass!"

"All military forces and all defense affairs belonging to Yuyao Pass shall be under the command of Chu Changsheng!"

"Anyone, or any faction, that dares to disobey the Commander's orders—"

Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya's gaze suddenly became as sharp as a knife. It was a sharpness that could only be tempered by three thousand years of slaughter; these were eyes that had seen too much life and death, too much betrayal, and too many rises and falls.

At this moment, these eyes swept across the crowd, and wherever they passed, no one dared to meet his gaze.

He said word by word:

"Shall be considered an enemy of me, Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya!"

Once these words were spoken, the entire Yuyao Pass went quiet for a moment.

This kind of quiet was not ordinary quiet, but a silence as if time itself had been frozen.

The wind stopped, the flags no longer fluttered, and even the roars of the Yao Race army in the distance seemed to be suppressed by this Aura; between heaven and earth, only the echoes of those few sentences remained, reverberating in everyone's heart over and over again.

Then—

Boom!

The entire Yuyao Pass exploded into an uproar!

"What?!"

"Commander?! Supreme Commander?!"

"Senior Jiang Wuya... he... is he going to hand over the entire Yuyao Pass, the entire Human Race... to a young man?!"

"Although this Chu Changsheng has reached the Late Stage of the Earth Immortal Realm, how old is he? Just over two hundred? Less than three hundred? With such qualifications, how can he convince the masses?!"

"You can't say it like that! Yuyao Pass has always been held by the capable! Since Chu Changsheng has the cultivation of the Late Stage Earth Immortal Realm, why can't such a figure be this Commander?!"

"But this is too fast! Senior Jiang Wuya has been in power for three thousand years, and he just hands it over like that? Without even a transition period?"

"What do you know! Senior Jiang Wuya is leaving a way out for our Human Race! Didn't you see those Yao Race outside the pass? In case something really happens to Senior Jiang Wuya, who will command Yuyao Pass? Who will lead the overall situation?!"

The discussions surged like a tide, one wave after another, layered upon layer.

Some were so shocked they opened their mouths wide and couldn't speak; some frowned with questioning expressions; some stroked their chins in thought; and some had eyes flashing with admiration, nodding incessantly.