Chapter 808: The Barbarian King's Absolute Vow, A Single Blade to Protect the Nation (6000)

In the coalition camp composed of the Northern Barbarian King's personal guard and the Fire Qilin, Flame Heart, and Green Ember tribes.

When that golden dragon of national destiny descended, Bo'erhu immediately felt a sensation.

Although he had not yet completely unified the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes, after gaining the allegiance of eleven, Bo'erhu, as the "Northern Barbarian King," could at least be considered the master of more than half of the North.

He could already sense the destiny of the Northern Barbarians; he only needed to fully unify them to integrate this destiny, giving him a chance to go further and step onto the pinnacle!

Therefore, when the destiny of a foreign nation invaded, he, as the Northern Barbarian King, was the first to perceive it.

The hair all over his body stood on end, as if facing a formidable enemy!

A figure rose into the air from the central camp and reached a high altitude.

Bo'erhu gazed into the distance, his eyes profound.

A few seconds later, three more figures rose into the air; they were the chieftains of the Fire Qilin, Flame Heart, and Green Ember tribes.

These three tribes all held their Great Elders in high esteem; except for the Fire Qilin tribe, the Great Elders of the other two tribes remained to guard their home bases, while the chieftains led the army in person.

This was already a tremendous show of support for Bo'erhu.

"Your Majesty, what has happened?"

The Flame Heart chieftain, Chiletuge, asked.

All three were experts of the Hegemon Realm and could not yet sense the movement in the distance.

"The Great Lan Dynasty is invading the Northern Barbarians with its national destiny, launching a heavenly punishment from afar."

Bo'erhu said in a deep voice.

"Invasion of national destiny? Heavenly punishment? Who is it aimed at?"

Chiletuge asked.

Bo'erhu: "The only one worth the Great Lan Dynasty sparing no cost in national destiny to launch a heavenly punishment against is that President of the New Heaven Society."

"Qiming?"

The three chieftains looked at each other, their expressions complex.

They already knew that at the most critical moment yesterday, it was Qiming who acted to break the Great Lan Dynasty's military formation, not only saving Bo'erhu but also severely damaging the Barbarian-Slaying Army.

Speaking of which, the Northern Barbarians could be said to owe Qiming a massive favor.

But all along, the Northern Barbarians had been full of hostility and hatred toward the people of the Central Plains, and many tribes would even eat Central Plains people during the worst famines!

Under these circumstances, suddenly owing a favor to a Central Plains person left them with very complicated feelings.

"From so far away, consuming national destiny to launch a heavenly punishment, can it kill a Heaven Realm expert?"

The Fire Qilin chieftain, Nuomumeng'er, suddenly asked.

If that were truly the case, couldn't the Great Lan Dynasty also "snipe" Bo'erhu from afar?

Bo'erhu: "The Great Lan Dynasty would not do something foolish, which means this heavenly punishment has a special lethality against Qiming."

"Does Your Majesty wish to help Qiming?"

Chiletuge saw Bo'erhu's intention and asked.

Bo'erhu nodded: "Only if Qiming helps us hold back the Great Lan Dynasty's pinnacle experts will we have a chance to truly unify the Northern Barbarians."

"But you are already injured, and now, with such a great distance between us..."

"Activating the Guardian Array can interfere with the Great Lan Dynasty's invading national destiny!"

Bo'erhu said directly.

"This..."

The three chieftains were all silent.

Unless faced with a crisis of annihilation, the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes would not use their Guardian Arrays.

The military formation consumes the evil-warding artifact itself; using it once requires repairs to the artifact, and if the damage is severe, a new one must be replaced.

And for the fixed arrays used by the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes, every activation consumes heavenly treasures and various formation materials, and even the destiny of a tribe!

The Northern Barbarians are located in harsh and desolate lands, far less rich in resources than the Central Plains; various heavenly treasures and formation materials are scarce, and what has been saved is the foundation accumulated by the seventeen tribes over a thousand years.

Once used, it is gone, and it is very difficult to replenish.

Therefore, using the Guardian Array made the three chieftains hesitate.

"Your Majesty, our tribe's Great Elder has already sacrificed himself; my Fire Qilin tribe cannot use the Guardian Array again."

The Fire Qilin chieftain, Nuomumeng'er, decisively refused.

The death of Nuomuhan had dealt him a heavy blow!

The other party had not yet had time to pass down the power of the inheritance before suddenly falling, which almost severed the Fire Qilin tribe's lineage.

After losing Nuomuhan, the Fire Qilin tribe's Guardian Array was their final trump card, so no matter how much he supported Bo'erhu, Nuomumeng'er would not agree to use it.

Seeing Nuomumeng'er take the lead in refusing, the remaining two chieftains also lowered their heads in silence, unwilling to agree to Bo'erhu's request.

Bo'erhu sighed in his heart.

Although that Emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty was revered as the Son of Heaven and everyone submitted to him, he could not mobilize all the power of the country to crusade against the Northern Barbarians.

He, the Northern Barbarian King, also found it difficult to mobilize the power of the entire North to resist the Great Lan Dynasty.

"Nana, send word back to the Wuri tribe to activate the Guardian Array immediately!"

Bo'erhu suddenly said in a loud voice.

In the camp below, his wife, Wuri Nana, received the order and immediately took out a long-distance communication artifact to communicate with her father, the chieftain of the Wuri tribe.

"I, Bo'erhu, in the name of the Northern Barbarian King, command all tribes to immediately activate their Guardian Arrays to jointly resist the Great Lan Dynasty's invasion of national destiny—"

Bo'erhu formally issued the order.

Soon, his order spread through the long-distance communication artifact to all seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes.

No, after the home base of the Dream Lion tribe was wiped out, there were now only sixteen tribes left that could activate their Guardian Arrays.

The Green Phoenix tribe.

As one of the four powerful Northern Barbarian tribes, the Green Phoenix tribe had two Heaven Realm experts!

Besides that, they were allied with two other tribes.

Currently, there were six tribes in the North that had not pledged allegiance to Bo'erhu, and the three tribes led by the Green Phoenix tribe were the most hardline alliance among them.

Bo'erhu's message was not only sent to the tribes that pledged allegiance to him but also to the six tribes that did not, and he explained the situation.

The Green Phoenix tribe had its Council of Elders as the core of power; after receiving Bo'erhu's message, the Green Phoenix chieftain, Qingfeng Changhao, immediately convened a council of elders.

At the meeting, Qingfeng Changhao proposed something that surprised all the elders.

"Why? Why should we help Bo'erhu?"

"Chieftain, Bo'erhu is our enemy!"

"He delusions of making the great Green Phoenix tribe submit to him; that is impossible!"

"..."

Inside a wooden house, more than half of the elders were fiercely opposed.

Because Qingfeng Changhao had actually proposed activating the Guardian Array!

Qingfeng Changhao was one hundred and twenty-seven years old this year; as a Grandmaster, he was in his "prime."

He had long, pale green hair, a slender and powerful build, and the phoenix feather pattern on his forehead made him look as if he had grown a third eye.

After no one spoke, he slowly said:

"We are not helping Bo'erhu, we are helping the Northern Barbarians."

"Even if Qiming dies, what does that have to do with us? At most, it just means Bo'erhu is out of luck!"

An elder couldn't help but speak up.

Qingfeng Changhao looked at the other party with a calm gaze, and the elder immediately shut his mouth.

"The Dream Lion tribe's home base has been breached, and the tribe's experts, including the chieftain, have all been killed. From now on, there are no longer seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes."

Qingfeng Changhao said every word clearly.

"..."

The wooden house fell silent, and everyone felt a sense of sorrow.

The seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes had existed for over a thousand years, and yet, suddenly, one tribe had been wiped out!

"A thousand years have passed, and the dynasties of the Central Plains have changed several times, yet we have remained trapped in the wild jungles. Limited by resources, we have never been able to develop well. Conversely, look at the Central Plains people; their evil-warding artifacts are becoming more numerous, their firearms more advanced. Their martial arts and techniques are also constantly improving, and the number of their experts is growing."

Qingfeng Changhao continued:

"If this continues, perhaps in the next thousand years, several more Northern Barbarian tribes will be wiped out! Sooner or later, the Northern Barbarians will be completely conquered by the Central Plains!"

If he had said such things before the Dream Lion tribe was wiped out, many elders present would have thought he was fear-mongering.

But the tragic state of the Dream Lion tribe's destruction was right before their eyes, forcing the elders present to consider the possibility Qingfeng Changhao spoke of.

"But Chieftain, if we help Bo'erhu get through this, he will still lead his army to attack us afterward."

An elder said.

This was the main reason they were unwilling to help.

If they helped Bo'erhu, Bo'erhu would turn around and attack them.

Then why help? Isn't that insane?

"Bo'erhu said in his message that if he can truly unify the Northern Barbarians in the future, the throne will not remain with the Wuri tribe forever, but will allow people from all tribes the opportunity to sit on the throne."

Qingfeng Changhao said with burning eyes.

"What?!"

These words were earth-shattering, shocking everyone present.

"Did Bo'erhu really say that?"

"Is what he says credible?"

"If he were to become King, would he not want to pass it on to his own descendants? These words are not to be trusted!"

"."

The Elders remained skeptical.

Qingfeng Changhao: "Bo'erhu says he can swear by the spirits of his ancestors and reach a mutual covenant with all tribes. Furthermore, he can forgo having descendants."

"What?!!"

Everyone was shocked once again.

Swearing in the name of the ancestral spirits is the most solemn oath in the Northern Barbarians; if broken, the credibility of this person and the tribe behind him would be considered 'bankrupt' from then on.

Yet Bo'erhu was even more ruthless, claiming he could forgo having descendants!

From ancient times to the present, who among those who sat on the throne did not think of their legacy for a thousand generations?

How many people would rather see their dynasty destroyed in their own hands than accept it falling into the hands of those with a different surname.

And yet, after finally becoming the Northern Barbarian King, Bo'erhu actually said he didn't want descendants?

This oath was too ruthless!

Such determination finally moved these Elders.

If the Northern Barbarians could be unified, stand united against outsiders, and the throne could be rotated among everyone.

Then, in the long run, this was indeed something beneficial to everyone.

"It is merely opening the Guardian Array once. Even if we lose this gamble, it is only the consumption of one Guardian Array; my Qingfeng Tribe can afford to lose! Why are you all unwilling to take this risk for the future of my Northern Barbarians?"

Qingfeng Changhao delivered the final verdict.

As one of the four powerful tribes, with the foundation of the Qingfeng Tribe, they were indeed qualified to say this.

A few minutes later, a Qingfeng with a wingspan exceeding eight hundred meters spread its wings and flew high, straight into the clouds.

The Qingfeng Tribe was the first to open their Guardian Array!

Not long after the Qingfeng Tribe opened their Guardian Array, a golden sun rose from the main camp of the Wuri Tribe.

The Wuri Tribe also opened their Guardian Array.

Following them were the other five tribes allied with these two great tribes, opening their Guardian Arrays one after another!

If the Mengshi Tribe had not been annihilated, this call by Bo'erhu might not have had much effect.

Even if they couldn't defeat the Central Plains Dynasty, they could just continue staying in the wild jungles as before.

But the annihilation of the Mengshi Tribe truly made the remaining Northern Barbarian tribes feel a crisis!

Coupled with the 'rotating throne' promised by Bo'erhu, tribes began to open their Guardian Arrays one after another.

On the battlefield where the Giant Python and the Golden Dragon were fighting.

The two behemoths had already been fighting in the air for over ten minutes.

During this process, bolts of heavenly lightning continuously struck the Giant Python, shattering its body inch by inch and leaving it a bloody mess!

But those broken body parts would reintegrate into the Giant Python's body, and the splattered flesh and blood would corrode the vegetation and various wild beasts and exotic beasts below, then absorb their life force.

In just over ten minutes, the area within a thousand meters had turned into scorched earth, with no signs of life left.

Although the Giant Python's body shattered and healed time and again, its total volume had shrunk by half compared to when it started.

As for that Golden Dragon of National Fortune, its body had also shrunk by a third, with a large amount of flesh and blood swallowed by the Giant Python; that flesh and blood eventually turned into national fortune, wreaking havoc inside the Giant Python!

According to this current trend, in at most another ten minutes, Qiming's life-bound magic treasure would completely disintegrate.

By then, even if he didn't die, he would fall in his cultivation realm!

Suddenly, a cyan light appeared out of thin air like a sharp sword, piercing into the body of the Golden Dragon of National Fortune!

This was exactly when the Qingfeng Tribe opened their Guardian Array.

Immediately following, a golden light also transformed into a sharp sword, piercing into the Golden Dragon of National Fortune.

Then came red light, black light...

In a few minutes, seven 'sharp swords' of different colors were inserted into the Golden Dragon of National Fortune.

Seven tribes had started their Guardian Arrays, thereby triggering the Northern Barbarian's destiny to spontaneously launch a counterattack against the invading Great Lan Dynasty's national fortune!

With its body pierced by seven 'sharp swords', the power of the Golden Dragon of National Fortune was clearly affected, and the portion of national fortune swallowed into the Giant Python's body also weakened accordingly.

"Hahahahaha—"

Standing on top of the Giant Python's head, Qiming laughed loudly, "Yunshu, how is it?"

"A trapped beast still fights."

Yunshu's voice sounded very calm from beginning to end, as if everything was under control.

Qiming was bleeding from his seven orifices at this moment, but there was a smile on his face.

The Northern Barbarians' intervention was like sending charcoal in snowy weather for him!

As long as the Northern Barbarians could help him contain the power of the national fortune, he would have a chance to break and swallow the national fortune within his body!

Taking a step back, even if he couldn't succeed, at least this time the Great Lan Dynasty wanted to use 'Heavenly Punishment' to knock him down a realm or even kill him, it would be unlikely.

And as long as he could survive this 'Heavenly Punishment', the same means would be difficult to cause him such high damage in the future.

If the Great Lan Dynasty wanted to kill him with 'Heavenly Punishment' again, they would need to pay a greater price in the future!

"Damn, the situation looks bad."

More than three thousand meters away, Qiu Zi'an and Li Fei stood on a mountain peak watching the 'air battle' in the distance, and Qiu Zi'an couldn't help but curse.

"How is it?"

Li Fei asked.

Regarding the battle between top-tier powerhouses, Qiu Zi'an, as a Grandmaster of the Divine Derivation Realm, naturally saw it more clearly than him, so he asked.

Qiu Zi'an's face was pale, the blood at the corner of her mouth not yet dry, and she gritted her teeth:

"The Northern Barbarians don't know what means they used, but they have caused an impact on the Golden Dragon of National Fortune of His Majesty and the State Preceptor. It was originally suppressing Qiming, but now it has given Qiming a chance."

Li Fei was also a bit nervous upon hearing this: "Will they lose?"

If they couldn't win, he and Qiu Zi'an would have to consider running away early; otherwise, once Qiming won, even in a poor state, wouldn't killing the two of them be easy?

"I don't know either."

Qiu Zi'an shook her head, "His Majesty and the State Preceptor might still have backup plans."

She hesitated for a moment, finally showing a resolute expression, and turned to look at Li Fei:

"If the situation goes wrong in a moment, don't worry about me, just run for your life."

Li Fei was startled, and a bad premonition immediately arose:

"What does Principal Qiu intend to do?"

A heroic smile appeared on Qiu Zi's face as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth:

"I have practiced martial arts all my life; how could I miss such a scene when I finally encounter it?"

"You want to join the battle?"

Li Fei was shocked and subconsciously wanted to persuade her.

Qiu Zi'an had already fought the Northern Barbarian King Bo'erhu and was already seriously injured, and then she broke Qi Zhou's Martial Dao Domain, which had exhausted all her strength.

Now, in this state of being nearly drained, she still wanted to intervene in the battle between top-tier powerhouses.

Isn't this just going up to throw her life away?

"You also use a saber, but it's a pity you are not a student of my Changping University, otherwise you could have learned saber techniques from me."

Qiu Zi'an did not answer Li Fei's question, but suddenly spoke of saber techniques:

"Master's martial arts are naturally powerful, but he uses a sword, not a saber. If I were to teach you, I guarantee you would be stronger than you are now!"

"Principal Qiu..."

Li Fei saw the resolution in her eyes.

"It's fortunate that there is still a chance to teach you one last time."

Qiu Zi'an smiled, "Watch this next saber strike carefully!"

"Principal Qiu!"

Li Fei subconsciously wanted to stop her, but he grabbed at empty air.

Qiu Zi'an had already soared into the air, turning into a purple meteor rushing toward the distant battlefield!

While soaring, her whole body ignited with purple flames.

After the blessing of five divine abilities, there were many things her purple flames could ignite, including the Martial Dao Domain!

But others' Martial Dao Domains could suppress her five divine abilities, so it was difficult to use purple flames to burn others' Martial Dao Domains.

However, there was one kind of Martial Dao Domain she could easily ignite.

That was her own Martial Dao Domain.

At this moment, Qiu Zi'an used purple flames to ignite her own Martial Dao Domain!

The ignited Martial Dao Domain erupted with powerful force, continuously pouring into her body.

Her speed became faster and faster, soon breaking through three times the speed of sound, leaving a series of sonic boom rings in the air!

The distance of more than three thousand meters passed in a flash, and she was soon less than five hundred meters away from the fighting Golden Dragon and Giant Python.

That suffocating, terrifying majesty rushed toward her!

"Qiming—"

Qiu Zi'an's voice resounded through the sky, "Die!!!"

Her eyes were burning, and the purple flames on her body became more and more intense, finally turning into a huge saber aura over three hundred meters long and fifty meters wide, slashing toward the head of the Giant Python!

Even though the Golden Dragon and the Giant Python had astonishing momentum, this saber strike still occupied its own unique brilliance—

A touch of purple appeared between heaven and earth, and the golden plaque of 'As if I were personally present' in the air once again blasted out a bolt of lightning.

But this time, the thunder did not land on the giant python, but instead landed on the purple blade aura.

This thunder was not attacking the blade aura, but crowning it!

Changping University motto:

Sharpen learning to revitalize the nation, protect the country with Changping.

As the president of Changping University, this blade of Qiu Zi'an's, which burned her very self away, is a blade of national protection worthy of the name!

Rumble—

Golden thunder coiled around the blade aura, eventually turning it into a purple-gold blade aura.

Heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, farmers tilling, fishermen casting nets, woodcutters chopping wood—various scenes of the human world appeared in the sky.

This blade protects the country, and it also protects the long-lasting peace of all living beings!

The purple flames were originally a domineering fire that burned everything to ash, yet in the intent of this blade, they were stained with the mundane smoke and fire of the human world.

Both clamorous and peaceful.

The blade aura broke through the surrounding monstrous curse power, dissolved the ferocity of the human world with the smoke and fire of the human world, and finally slashed into the head of the giant python.

After the blade, a thin line of blood appeared on the giant python's head, then it exploded with a bang, splashing out a large amount of black blood!

Taking this opportunity, the five-clawed golden dragon bit down on this wound, actually biting the entire snake head off and holding it in its mouth!

On the other side, Qiu Zi'an, who had unleashed the blade, looked up to the sky and spat out a mouthful of blood, then fell powerlessly downward.

The next instant, Li Fei appeared before her, slashed away the incoming fierce wind with his blade, and then turned to carry her as he flew toward the distance.

"President Qiu, are you alright?"

As he flew, Li Fei channeled "Green God" to heal her wounds.

The injuries Qiu Zi'an had sustained previously were mainly damage to her martial domain, while Li Fei's "Green God" targeted injuries to the mind and body and could not heal a martial domain; that required a healing-type divine ability.

That was why Li Fei had not used "Green God" on Qiu Zi'an before.

Using "Green God" now was to keep Qiu Zi'an from dying right then and there, to save her life.

Qiu Zi'an was bleeding from her seven orifices, her internal organs were all shattered, and even her implants had suffered heavy damage!

Under the healing of "Green God," the injuries finally stopped worsening.

"Pfft—"

Qiu Zi'an could not help but spit out another mouthful of blood, her expression somewhat dejected.

She was only forty years old this year.

A forty-year-old Grandmaster of the Divine Derivation Realm could be said to have a boundless future!

With her talent and the resources she could obtain, she had hopes of breaking through to the Establishing Dao Realm within ten years, and after that, she would have plenty of time to charge toward the peak realm.

"Under Heaven" had a famous "Sixty-Year Gambit," which was to bet on which Grandmasters could break through to become Martial Saints within sixty years.

Qiu Zi'an's name was prominently featured in the "Sixty-Year Gambit," and many people were optimistic that she could become the second female Martial Saint!

Qiu Zi'an herself was also full of confidence regarding the peak of the martial path, believing that she would stand there sooner or later.

But with that protective blade just now, she had completely burned away her martial domain; although she was barely kept alive by Li Fei now, her realm had fallen directly from the Divine Derivation Realm to the realm of a Martial Master.

Furthermore, several of her implants for divine abilities were severely damaged, and it was likely difficult for her to even maintain the realm of a five-ability Martial Master, let alone return to her peak.

The realm of a Martial Saint was hopeless in this lifetime.

"President Qiu, are you still alright?"

Li Fei looked at the dejected Qiu Zi'an and asked with concern.

Qiu Zi'an looked back at the giant python whose head was bitten by the golden dragon, a smile blooming on her face:

"Screw the Martial Saint; anyway, this old lady had a blast with that blade!"

Li Fei understood the implication of her words and felt very regretful for her in his heart:

"It was truly powerful; this junior admires you!"

"Did you understand that blade just now?"

"I barely understood it."

"Can you learn it?"

"... his junior will certainly do my best!"

"Hahahaha—"

Qiu Zi'an laughed heartily:

"I'm done for, so I'll have to rely on you from now on."

Rely on you to protect the country!

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(End of chapter)