Chapter 754: Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword, Shangmang Divine Spear

The Great Qian Dynasty is prosperous and flourishing, with vast lands and abundant resources, stretching wide and far, with a population of hundreds of millions; it is a supreme celestial empire.

It is now the forty-fourth year since the founding of the nation, and the four generations of emperors of the Great Qian Dynasty have striven to govern well; in particular, the destruction of the martial arts holy land, the Great Zen Temple, several years ago, further revealed the strength and hegemony of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Yujing, the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The Imperial Palace, this behemoth, is situated on the north-south central axis of Yujing City.

The Imperial Palace can be called the largest palace complex in the world, having been repaired and expanded over hundreds of dynasties, and rebuilt after being destroyed in the flames of war.

The massive walls and towers of the Imperial City are several dozen zhang high, all vermilion lacquer and yellow tiles; looking upward, one's hat would fall to the ground.

Outside are the patrolling Imperial Guards, rotating shifts day and night without pause.

These Imperial Guards, each clad in iron armor, riding horses with swords at their waists, bows on their backs, and quivers behind them, are like iron-cast Demon kings, circling the Imperial City and casting cold, undisguised killing intent at anyone who attempts to approach the Imperial City.

And within the Imperial City, it is even more layered and complex, with palaces and houses numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands; the experts hidden in plain sight or in the shadows are countless. The strictness of the defense is staggering.

The sky gradually grew dark, and many palaces were cold and desolate.

"Waa!!" In a remote palace, the cry of a newborn infant rang out.

Yet the entire palace remained extremely oppressive, devoid of the joy of a child's birth. A man wearing a nine-dragon golden crown took the infant from the palace maid; those eyes, containing immense penetrating power and intimidation, looked down at his own flesh and blood, yet they were so indifferent, so cold.

"All of you, leave." Qian Emperor Yang Pan waved his hand casually, and the palace maid retreated in a panic; apart from him and the infant, only the woman who had just given birth to the child remained.

The woman's cultivation was extremely high, and she had not rested at all after childbirth; although her complexion was slightly pale, it was still evident that she was a peerless beauty of breathtaking appearance. In particular, she carried a strange, intoxicating fragrance that could make men and women alike sink into it, unable to extricate themselves.

"Yang Pan, you are the supreme ruler of the Great Qian Dynasty, and I am the Sheng Nü of the Heavenly Fragrance Sect. I have given birth to a child for you, and the fate between us is now completely Liaojie."

The woman's aura suddenly became very weak and aged, as if she were an octogenarian, or like a candle about to be lit, ready to run out of oil and lamp dry at any moment, burning away her last bit of light and heat.

"I depart through corpse-dissolution; as for this child, there is a great conspiracy and a great secret behind him. Whether he lives or dies depends on your Dixin, Qian Emperor." When these words were finished, the woman had not a shred of life left. At the same time, a gust of Yin wind, invisible to the naked eye, sped away toward the far distance. From beginning to end, she never looked at the child once.

It seemed as if this child had nothing to do with her at all.

And it could indeed be said that when she reincarnated, she had already severed all past grievances.

Qian Emperor Yang Pan watched the woman's corpse-dissolution, and after a long while, he moved his gaze back to his own flesh and blood, his brows slightly furrowed.

From this child, he felt the aura of the Heaven Beyond Heaven, and although he had just been born, he possessed a domineering, arrogant, and all-encompassing momentum.

"Go call the Wuwen Marquis." Yang Pan said in a low voice; although there was no movement in the surroundings, he knew that Wuwen Marquis Hong Xuanji would soon arrive from his mansion.

"This child carries a great secret and great fortune; he can practice martial arts, but he cannot practice Daoist Canon. His name shall be An; as for his 'surname', we shall see if he has the ability to earn it back."

……

Five years later.

Rouran Grassland.

The boundless Rouran Grassland connects to the Western Regions; the vastness of this region exceeds human imagination, with deserts, grasslands, oases, huge mountain ranges, continuous rivers, fertile land, glaciers, snow-capped mountains... This area also contains many large and small countries, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, with merchants traveling back and forth, countless in number.

Since there are merchants, there are naturally horse bandits.

Boom—! Boom—!!

The earth trembled, like the sound of beating ox-hide drums; horse hooves trampled on the green grass like a rapid drumbeat, and a group of over a hundred horse bandits appeared on the grassland. The burly man who looked like the leader had a gray beard, eyes like a wolf, and held a long saber in his hand, his face fierce.

And the target being chased by these hundred-plus horse bandits was merely a child riding a horse.

The child was skilled in archery and horsemanship, man and horse as one; while riding, he kept drawing his bow and nocking arrows, shooting and killing the horse bandits behind him. Every arrow could precisely pierce the vital point of a horse bandit.

However, the child was only one person after all, and too young; in the process of being chased by the horse bandits, his strength gradually exhausted, and the horse's speed also slowed down.

"Haha, brat, you dare to ambush my, Hui Lang's, brothers? Today I will hack you to death with my blade." The leader with the gray beard was grinning hideously.

Just as the delicate, jade-like child was about to be surrounded and killed, ripples suddenly appeared in the void, and a sword appeared out of thin air beside the child.

The child did not even think, reaching out his small hand to grab this sword of mysterious origin; with one swing, he immediately drew a sword light several dozen zhang long, and the mighty Sword Qi poured out like a waterfall. Anything standing in front of the Sword Qi, no matter who it was or what their cultivation was, was instantly torn in two, blood rain scattering.

Swish swish swish swish swish!!!

After five consecutive strikes, the horse bandits before him were mostly dead, blood covering the ground, and the remaining horse bandits were completely terrified, screaming as they fled.

"Haha, good sword, truly a good sword."

The child's tender, cute face was still stained with blood, murderous, yet he felt not the slightest discomfort. He raised his arm, looking at this sword that had fallen from the sky under the sunlight.

This precious Sword was different from other swords; it was actually square-shaped, extremely straight, much straighter than a ruler, as if it were the most upright precious Sword between heaven and earth.

On the four sides of this sword, patterns were carved, each side different.

One side was mountains, rivers, grass, and trees; one side was the sun, moon, and stars; one side was human civilization; and one side was fish, fields, and farming.

The child's mind was immersed in the square sword, and he immediately felt four vast, Yang-heavy, and majestic auras like the great sun hanging in the sky: courage, benevolence, Zhihui, and uprightness.

"Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword!!"

The child blurted out unconsciously.

The Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword, one of the strongest divine artifacts of the ancient times.

It was the personal sword forged by the first generation Saint Emperor, Pan Emperor, who slaughtered countless Demons and commanded all living things in the world, using courage, benevolence, Zhihui, and uprightness.

The number one divine weapon of the ancient times.

Legend has it that whoever can obtain this sword will immediately possess the power of the ancient Saint Emperor and control all living things in the world.

The seemingly powerful Sword Qi from before had not actually exerted even one-hundred-thousandth of the power of this sword.

"Haha, good sword; with the Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword in my hand, I will be the eternal protagonist of history, I will be the master of all living beings. All who do not submit to me, just like this group of horse bandits, kill them, kill them all."

This child called "An", though only five years old, carried an intense, domineering arrogance.

All beautiful things should be possessed by me.

Everyone must obey my orders, without the slightest resistance.

It was as if he were born to dominate everything, to lead everything.

Hum hum hum!!

Just at this moment, the Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword trembled, slipped from "An"'s hand, flew into the void, and disappeared.

"Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword, you are not allowed to leave, damn it!" The child frowned and cursed.

Although he was young, he possessed Zhihui beyond human imagination, and he quickly understood the reason for the Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword's departure.

"The Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword is the weapon of the Pan Emperor. To make it acknowledge a master, one must possess the qualities of courage, benevolence, wisdom, and integrity. Do I possess these qualities?"

The child began to ponder, and soon his expression grew firm.

"Hmph, I have traveled deep into the grasslands alone and slaughtered horse bandits; do courage, benevolence, wisdom, and integrity not manifest in me to the fullest? Although this Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword is a divine artifact, it lacks discerning eyes; it only sees my dominance and fails to see the benevolence and courage within me."

The child let out a cold snort, his gaze carrying an unparalleled dominance and an air of disdain: "Since you refuse to acknowledge me as your master, when I become a Human Immortal, I will refine you alive."

The child, An, cast a deep glance into the void, then spurred his horse and left without the slightest hesitation.

An was ten years old.

In this tenth year, his Martial Dao cultivation had already reached the level of a 'Refining Marrow' Grandmaster.

The cultivation methods of the Great Qian Dynasty, and indeed the entire world, all originated from the primordial era.

The path of martial arts is a path of strengthening the physical body to transcend life and death. The world is like a bitter sea, and the physical body is like a raft for crossing it; if the physical body is sturdy, it can carry one to the other shore of the bitter sea, achieving eternal life.

The foundation of martial arts cultivation is divided into seven realms: Martial Student, Martial Disciple, Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Innate Martial Master, Grandmaster, and Martial Saint.

These correspond respectively to the physical body's Refining Flesh, Refining Tendons, Refining Membranes, Refining Bones, Refining Viscera, Refining Marrow, and Changing Blood, seeking to temper the physical body to its ultimate limit.

Of course, in Martial Dao cultivation, the Martial Saint is not the limit. Beyond flesh, tendons, membranes, internal organs, marrow, and blood, the human body also contains numerous acupoints, like the stars in the sky, with gods residing within them. After cultivating these acupoints, every movement possesses the infinite power to Move Mountains and fill seas; when the physical body becomes immortal, it is a Human Immortal.

And beyond the Human Immortal, one can regenerate flesh and blood, transform in a thousand ways, and reach the level of Shattering the Vacuum, breaking through all shackles and restraints. In the world today, there are no longer any experts at this level.

Besides Martial Dao, there is also the Immortal Dao cultivation system, and the two complement each other.

Martial Dao focuses on the physical body, while Immortal Dao focuses on the soul, consisting of nine major realms: Settling Spirit, Exiting Aperture, Night Wandering, Day Wandering, Object Manipulation, Manifestation, Possession, Ghost Immortal, and Yang God.

Yet regardless of whether it is Martial Dao or Immortal Dao, the ultimate foundation of cultivation is to reach the other shore.

On this day, by chance, An entered a Xiaoqian Shijie.

While wandering aimlessly through this Xiaoqian Shijie, after crossing a stretch of mountainous terrain, An saw a tombstone.

The characters on the tombstone seemed to have been carved with a spear, filled with boundless fighting intent.

——Shang!

Upon seeing this character 'Shang', a War God who fought the heavens and earth and never admitted defeat emerged within An's soul. That vast and majestic fighting intent seemed to transform the world into a boundless battlefield. Ten-year-old An, because of this single character 'Shang', felt his blood boil, wishing to fight on the spot and spill his blood across the sky.

Beside the tombstone lay a deep purple long spear.

Under the sunlight, the long spear shone as if it were purple gold.

And upon the entire body of the spear, there were actually over a hundred eyes, appearing like brands, yet also seeming real, constantly rotating as if they were living existences, eerie to the extreme.

Yet the fighting intent on this spear was not in the least inferior to the 'Shang' tombstone.

"This is... the Shangmang Divine Spear!?"

An's heart skipped a beat.

From childhood, he had encountered constant fortuitous events; he might even pick up treasures while walking on the road. He was a true master of great Luck, favored by heaven and earth.

But apart from the Pan Emperor Life-Spirit Sword he encountered at age five, no other treasure could compare to this Shangmang Divine Spear; it was a true killing weapon.

At the same time, he understood that he had arrived at the tomb of the War God Shang.

It was rumored that three thousand years ago, the War God Shang and the Dark Emperor Daoist fought a great battle and perished together.

He had not expected that today, by coincidence, he would arrive at the tomb of Shang.

"Haha, Shangmang Divine Spear, follow me, and I will bring you endless battle and glory." Ten-year-old An was excited, radiating an incomparable, dominant fighting intent as he stepped forward and grasped the Shangmang Divine Spear.

In an instant, the hundred-plus eyes on the spear body opened simultaneously, and a Martial Dao will condensed into substance rushed over.

Within this will was an indomitable fighting spirit, without a shred of benevolence, taking joy in battle, fighting the heavens and the earth.

If one could not withstand this intent, the heavy consequence would be the head exploding and death, while the light consequence would be becoming a puppet of battle, knowing only slaughter from then on.

"Haha, battle, I love battle. If this is your intent, I will satisfy you: slaughter, battle, endless battle."

An laughed aloud, reaching out to grip the spear shaft tightly, while at the same time, images of battles from his birth until now flashed through his mind.

Although his level was a hundred and eight thousand miles behind the former master of the 'Shangmang Divine Spear', the War God Shang, the powerful fighting intent in every one of his battles was undoubtedly revealed.

Vaguely, some memory images that did not belong to 'An' also appeared.

In those memories, there were also life-and-death battles, but the level of the battles was very profound.

Even fighting against the heavens.

Fighting against Gods and Demons!

Hum hum hum!!

The Shangmang Divine Spear emitted an excited emotion, and as An pulled with force, the Shangmang Divine Spear was mastered by him.

At the same time, a massive amount of information radiated from the spear body and flooded into An's mind.

The Shangmang Divine Spear, seven killing moves.

——Heaven Collapsing and Earth Splitting, Long Sky Blazing Flame, Fire Dance Bright Sun, Long Rainbow Piercing Sun, Heavenly Moat Divine Radiance, Jade Falling Nine Netherworlds, Avici Killing Path.

These were the most essential killing moves of the War God Shang; once these seven killing moves were accepted, one could immediately become a top-tier expert in spear techniques.

An only pondered slightly, then a burst of brilliant light exploded from his eyes; his body moved with the spear, the spear thrust out like a dragon, and every strike he unleashed blasted a small mountain to pieces.

Four years later.

The Great Qian Dynasty produced a young general who was victorious in every battle and was enfeoffed as the Champion Marquis.

The Champion Marquis, An.