87: Chapter 87 Final Preparations

"Three days left."

Mo Wentian stood on the city wall, gazing at the pitch-black sky in the distance, his voice as heavy as a stone.

I knew what he was talking about—the Shadow Pavilion Master's Shadow World-Destroying Formation would be complete in three days. By then, Tianqi City would be reduced to ashes, and everyone would have to be buried with it.

"Three days is three days; it's enough time for us to prepare." I patted the old man on the shoulder. "Don't you worry, with me here, Tianqi City won't fall."

Mo Wentian looked back at me and smiled bitterly, "Young Hero Chen, you are certainly optimistic."

"That's a must; optimism is my motto." I grinned and raised the apocalypse holy sword. "Besides, I'm someone with a divine artifact now, what is there to fear?"

The apocalypse holy sword shimmered with a dazzling light in the sunlight, as if responding to my confidence.

In the time that followed, the entire Tianqi City entered a state of emergency preparations. The disciples of the Sword Pavilion, the Dawn Guild, the Dragon God Temple, and all other players willing to defend Tianqi City were all mobilized.

Using the power of the apocalypse holy sword, I set up a "Holy Light Barrier" on the city wall. This thing was incredibly powerful; it was specifically designed to counter shadow-type attacks, and those crooked paths of the Shadow Pavilion would be finished the moment they touched this barrier.

"Brother Chen, is this barrier reliable?" Qin Wuji stood beside me, looking suspicious.

"Nonsense, anything I produce is a masterpiece." I rolled my eyes at him. "If you don't believe me, when the Shadow Pavilion attacks later, you can be the first to rush out and test it."

"I'll pass on that." Qin Wuji shrank his neck.

After setting up the Holy Light Barrier, I began to work on completing the second trial of the apocalypse holy sword.

"The second trial—Wisdom." Mo Wentian said, "You need to solve a puzzle regarding the Dao of the Sword."

"What puzzle?" I asked.

Mo Wentian cleared his throat and said solemnly, "What is the highest realm of the sword?"

I was stunned: "Just this?"

"Just this." Mo Wentian nodded. "But this seemingly simple question contains the ultimate truth of the Dao of the Sword. For hundreds of years, countless people have tried to answer this question, but none have gained the approval of the holy sword."

I rubbed my chin and fell into deep thought.

What is the highest realm of the sword?

Is it the sharpness that can cut through anything? Is it the speed as fast as lightning? Or is it the unpredictable moves?

I shook my head; none of these were it.

I remembered the story of the Tianqi Venerable using the apocalypse holy sword to kill the first Shadow Pavilion Master. In that battle, the Tianqi Venerable didn't rely on the sharpness of the sword, nor the sophistication of the moves, but rather...

"I've got it!" I suddenly raised my head, my eyes shining with light.

"Oh?" Mo Wentian raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."

I took a deep breath and said slowly, "The highest realm of the sword is No Sword."

"No Sword?" Mo Wentian and the people around were stunned.

"Yes, No Sword." I nodded. "No sword in the heart, no sword in the hand, but everything can be a sword. When the sword and the person become one, the sword is no longer a sword, but the person themselves. At that realm, every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, and every leaf can become a weapon of slaughter."

After I finished speaking, I waited quietly for the system prompt.

[System Prompt: Answer correct! Congratulations to player Chen Ergou for completing the second trial—Wisdom! The apocalypse holy sword unlock progress has increased to 60%!]

"It worked!" I excitedly waved the apocalypse holy sword. The light on the sword flared, and I could feel a powerful force awakening within it.

Mo Wentian nodded with satisfaction. "Good! A wonderful 'No Sword'! Young Hero Chen, your comprehension far exceeds that of ordinary people."

"That's right, I'm a genius." I said triumphantly.

With the apocalypse holy sword's unlock progress reaching 60%, I felt that my connection with the holy sword had deepened. Before, when I swung the sword, it always felt a bit stiff, but now it was as fluid as moving my own arm, as if the holy sword were a part of my body.

"There is still one final trial left." Mo Wentian said. "Sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" I frowned. "What does that mean?"

"The specific details will only be revealed to you by the holy sword when you are ready." Mo Wentian said. "But I can warn you that this trial might be very dangerous."

"Dangerous?" I curled my lip. "The one thing I've never lacked in this life is danger."

Although I said that, I was still a little uneasy in my heart. The word "sacrifice" just didn't sound very auspicious.

That night, I sat alone on the city wall, staring blankly at the stars in the sky. The night view of Tianqi City was beautiful, with ten thousand lights glowing, peaceful and harmonious. But no one knew if all of this would still exist in three days.

"What are you thinking about?"

A gentle voice sounded behind me. I turned around and saw it was Ye Liuli.

"Nothing much, just spacing out." I smiled and moved to the side, making room for her.

Ye Liuli sat beside me, hugging her knees with both hands, and also looked up at the starry sky.

"Ergou." She said softly. "The third trial... you must be careful."

"Do you know what the third trial is?" I asked.

"I don't know." Ye Liuli shook her head. "But I can feel that the trial is very dangerous. You..."

She paused, turned her head to look at me, her eyes filled with worry. "Please don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

I looked into her eyes, and my heart warmed. This girl, she's usually cold, but she really does care about me at critical moments.

"Don't worry." I reached out and ruffled her hair. "My life is tough; even the King of Hell won't take me."

"You..." Ye Liuli blushed and slapped my hand away. "Be serious!"

"I am being serious." I chuckled. "Seriously though, after this great battle ends, let's go somewhere in reality together."

"What place?" Ye Liuli asked curiously.

"A secret." I said mysteriously. "You'll know when the time comes."

Ye Liuli rolled her eyes at me, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "Alright, I'll be waiting."

The two of us sat on the city wall like this, gazing at the starry sky, neither of us speaking. But this silence wasn't awkward; instead, there was an indescribable warmth to it.

"Ergou." Ye Liuli suddenly spoke.

"Hm?"

"Thank you." She said softly. "Thank you for everything you've done for the Dawn Guild, and thank you for everything you've done for Tianqi City."

"What's there to thank? We're family, after all." I said casually.

Ye Liuli was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Yes, family."

At that moment, I felt that the distance between us seemed to have closed a little more.