Chapter 92: Hundred-Day War Preparation, the Human Realm as a Sword

When the Immortal Dynasty World-Annihilation Decree came down, the Human Realm did not collapse.

Fear, of course, was there.

So were sobs.

Some spent the nights clutching their children, trembling.

Some wrote their last letters.

Some sat in Wenxin Hall until dawn, saying they were afraid of death, of defeat, of the Human Realm turning to ash.

Wenxin Hall did not scold them.

It only served hot tea.

Because Jiang Che had once said: fear is fine, but the sword must stay steady.

The Hundred-Day War Preparation began.

For the first time, the Human Realm truly operated as one whole.

The Council Hall took charge of overall coordination.

The Anti-Heaven Bureau laid out the arrays.

The Sword Pavilion trained Sword Cultivators.

The Northern Garrison Army, the Wen Jun Army, and the Local Army were reorganized into the Human Army.

The Wan Tong Merchant Association opened all its hidden storehouses, and Shen Wanjin tore up half the debt ledgers before the Council Hall.

The crowd was stunned.

Shen Wanjin's face twisted in agony, yet he said:

"If the world's being extinguished, what's the point of paying back debts?"

"The remaining half — pay it back after we win."

Qin Su led the Medical Camp in making pills day and night.

She proposed establishing a battlefield rescue line: whenever cultivators and mortal soldiers were mixed into units, a physician had to be assigned.

Jiangnan craftsmen forged Sky-Breaking Crossbows.

East Sea fishermen built Floating Boats.

The Southern Border Wu Tribe used bamboo from the Green Bamboo Well to make Vitality Talismans.

The Western Desert people sent Poplar Wood to make Array Piles.

The children of the Luo'an Orphanage also wanted to join the fight, but Jiang Che strictly forbade it.

The children were unconvinced.

An old man of Luo'an, leaning on his staff, said:

"You study."

"If we all die, you must know why we died."

History Camp expanded its ranks.

Lin Xiaoman was no longer the boy he once was.

He stood before the new recruits and said:

"The pen is also a battlefield."

"Record merit, and record mistakes."

"Record courage, and record fear."

"If the Human Realm falls, at least let those who come after know we did not die on our knees."

Kunlun, Tian Duan Cliff, Han Zhou, Luo'an, and the Capital City — these five places were designated as the Five Great Array Eyes of the Human World Array.

The Old Prisoners played a tremendous role.

They knew the Upper Realm's arts and understood how the Immortal Dynasty World-Annihilation Decree was carried out.

Lao Chai had not returned, but his companions brought back the Heavenly Patrol Prison Runes.

Based on the runes, Xie Wuya deduced the "Heaven-Defying Lock Array."

This array was not meant to lock the Human Realm.

It was meant to lock the Upper Realm's descent passage.

Jiang Che, meanwhile, entered Seven-Day Seclusion.

When he emerged, he brought a new sword technique.

It was not Sword of Establishing the Human Realm.

It was "Open Human World."

Xie Tingxue asked: "How is it different?"

Jiang Che said:

"Establishing the Human Realm tells those above that we stand upright."

"Opening the Human Realm tells those who come after that there is more than one path."

Xie Tingxue looked at him.

"What dangerous thing are you planning to do this time?"

Jiang Che smiled: "Haven't decided yet."

Xie Tingxue said coldly: "You'd better not."

The hundred days passed swiftly.

The day of Sky-Breaking.

The sky split open.

This time, there was no Gate.

Instead, an entire sky curtain was torn open.

The battle formation of the Upper Realm Immortal Dynasty stretched across the void beyond the sky.

Ten thousand Immortal Boats.

Countless figures in Golden Armor.

Dao Officials like clouds.

That massive golden shadow sat upon the Immortal Dynasty Throne, looking down upon the Human Realm.

"Lower Realm."

"The final question."

"Will you surrender?"

The five major array nodes of the Human Realm lit up simultaneously.

Chen Shanhe of Han Zhou raised his blade:

"We will not surrender!"

The old man of Luo'an supported the stele:

"We will not surrender!"

Xiao Cheng'an of the Western Desert stood before the Poplar Array:

"We will not surrender!"

The old woman of the Southern Border raised her staff:

"We will not surrender!"

Fishermen of the East Sea, scholars of Jiangnan, the Capital Council Hall, and Sword Cultivators of Tian Duan Cliff, ten thousand voices spoke as one:

"We will not surrender!"

Upon the Immortal Dynasty Throne, the golden shadow raised a hand.

"Extinguish."

The Immortal Boats moved in unison.

Ten thousand beams of golden light descended.

The Human World Array roared as it met them head-on.

The Sword Vein of Tian Duan Cliff rose like a Green Dragon into the sky.

The Old Stele of Kunlun transformed into the Confession Stele Array.

The Unwilling Light rose from the Altar Site of Luo'an.

The Poplar Array of the Western Desert held open the rain clouds.

The Green Bamboo Forest of the Southern Border turned into a Vitality Sea.

Beside the cracked Dragon Throne in the Capital, the people of the Council Hall pressed down the Human Seal together.

The Human Realm became a sword.

Jiang Che stood at the highest point, the Green Bamboo Sword drawn from its sheath.

Xie Tingxue stood at his side.

Ten thousand swords rang out in unison.

The first wave of World-Extinguishing golden light was blocked by the Human World Array.

The second wave descended, and the East Sea array line shattered.

The third wave descended, and the Poplar Array of the Western Desert burned.

The fourth wave descended, and the old man of Luo'an fell before the stele, yet still clung tightly to the two characters "Unwilling."

Jiang Che's eyes turned red.

But he did not lose his composure.

The golden shadow of the Immortal Dynasty spoke coldly:

"How long can a mortal array hold?"

Jiang Che looked up.

"Hold until I draw my sword."

He stepped one stride into Heaven.

Behind him, the light from every array node of the Human Realm converged.

It was not just power.

It was also the truth from Wenxin Hall.

The records of the History Camp.

The arguments of the Council Hall.

The tears of the families of the fallen.

The sound of children reading.

The account books of merchants.

The blades of veteran soldiers.

The medicines of healers.

The swords of Sword Cultivators.

The people's single phrase: "Fearful yet resisting."

Jiang Che raised his sword.

"This sword."

"Open Human World."

The blade's light did not strike the Immortal Dynasty's battle formation.

It struck the ancient Shepherding the People line between Human Realm and Upper Realm.

That line was formless.

Yet it had existed for countless years.

The Immortal Dynasty used it to look down upon all worlds.

Heavenly Gate used it to shepherd the people's sacrifices.

The Emperor used it to claim his Heavenly Fate.

Jiang Che's sword strike was not aimed at any one person.

It was aimed at Heaven's ownership over Human Realm.

The sword fell.

Heaven and earth fell silent.

Then, a soft sound.

Like a rope snapping.

The Immortal Dynasty's golden shadow stood for the first time.

"You dare sever the World-Contract!"

Jiang Che's body cracked open, blood misting, yet he smiled.

"From today on."

"Human Realm does not belong to Heaven."

The World-Contract snapped.

The Immortal Dynasty's battle formation instantly lost its suppression of Human Realm's Legal Principle.

Human Realm's barrier surged upward.

The Immortal Boat trembled.

The Golden Armor shattered.

The World Extermination Token turned against the Immortal Dynasty.

The golden shadow roared, raising its palm to kill Jiang Che.

Xie Tingxue thrust her sword before Jiang Che.

Chen Shanhe roared.

Xie Wuya drew his sword.

The Old Prisoners drew their swords.

The People's Array drew their swords.

Finally, Jiang Che delivered one more sword.

The Green Bamboo Sword pierced the golden shadow's palm.

The Immortal Dynasty Throne cracked.

The Upper Realm's sky collapsed.

The World Extermination Token, broken.