Chapter 721: Chapter 283: The Sun Soars in the Sky, My Path Is Not Alone (Part 2)

Li Yuan squinted open his eyes and saw Fan Wubing holding the unconscious Luo Qingyao standing in front.

He rubbed his messy-bearded chin, eyes sharp,

"One sword, you killed a Celestial Being with just one sword, using my ’Great Sun Soaring Sword’. You only glanced at it and learned it. And you say you’re not a sword dao genius!"

Fan Wubing laughed, "It’s not my skill, it’s the senior’s sword technique, and the sword in my hand, that’s formidable."

Li Yuan examined his two swords.

One had a very simple form, like a practice sword, known as Yue Zhi,

The other had a bloodline down the center of the blade, known as Peach Blossoms.

"One is a body sword, the other a Lifebound Flying Sword. If the sword is formidable, then you are formidable."

Fan Wubing looked toward the distant hillside, where many extremely excited swordsmen stood, and said with a smile,

"In real history, it was the senior who killed that Celestial Being, right?"

Li Yuan said, "That’s true. However, I used two swords, and you only needed one. So, you are more suitable for practicing the sword. But unfortunately, you don’t like swords."

Fan Wubing glanced at the Luo Qingyao in his arms. Her brows were tightly furrowed, her body constantly curling in on itself.

"This is the senior’s dreamscape, isn’t it?"

Li Yuan burped, "Have you ever seen such a real dream?"

Fan Wubing chuckled without saying a word. He walked under a tree to sit down, using his thigh as a pillow for Luo Qingyao, silently operating the ’Great Oblivion Heart-Burning Technique’ to calm her restless heart.

Li Yuan stood by, reciting, "Lost deep in the woods, drunk, unaware of the way back."

Fan Wubing asked, "Is the senior talking about himself?"

Li Yuan rolled his eyes, "I’m talking about her!" He got off the back of a goat and lay on the grass, leisurely humming an unknown folk song, "How many springs in a lifetime~ Good time blows night wind..."

Fan Wubing asked, "Why did the senior open the heavens back then?"

Li Yuan said, "Because I had lived enough, I wanted to have some fun."

"I heard that the place where you opened the heavens was at Sun-shooting Pass. Why choose here?"

Li Yuan said, "Perhaps out of nostalgia."

"Then this place must hold special meaning for the senior."

Li Yuan laughed, "Back then, everyone said that my sword dao had gone too far, beyond anyone before and perhaps after. At that time, I simultaneously wielded nineteen flying swords."

"Nineteen?"

"You’re right. I made a flying sword whenever I visited one of the Nineteen Continents of the World. Everyone wondered how many flying swords I could handle. Twenty, twenty-two, twenty-four... Back then, I was full of spirit, thinking that none of their guesses were my limit." Li Yuan’s gaze grew distant, "But when facing a Celestial Being, I realized that my nineteen flying swords were useless, let alone nineteen; even a thousand or ten thousand such flying swords would be of no use."

"What did the senior do then?"

"I... feel ashamed before the world’s swordsmen."

"Why do you say that?"

Li Yuan closed his eyes, "I broke all my flying swords, forcefully gathered the fortune of the world’s swordsmen and forged the World Sword. It was with that World Sword that I killed the Celestial Being."

"That’s a good thing, gathering everyone’s power."

Li Yuan said, "But that World Sword broke when opening the heavens. Since then, the sword dao fortune of the world has reduced by thirty percent, and it has become extremely rare for a Great Sword Immortal to emerge afterward."

"I see," said Fan Wubing, "Was it the sword shadow we saw when we just entered Sun-shooting Pass?"

Li Yuan didn’t answer this question, his expression dazed.

Fan Wubing thought for a moment and asked again,

"Did the senior think that Qingyao might take your old path, so you brought her here?"

Li Yuan said quietly, "You truly are a smart person. If I didn’t confine her here, satisfying her desire for battle, she would sooner or later become the Great Demon in the eyes of everyone."

Li Yuan’s tone shifted, sighing, "This child is just like I was back then, obsessed with swords, constantly trying to wield more flying swords. I believe with her talent, not to mention twenty-four now, she could easily handle twice as much. But in the end, there will definitely be a day when she encounters an opponent, and in front of this opponent, even if she wields ten thousand flying swords, she won’t win, or even have the qualification to fight."

"Is that her predicament?"

Li Yuan asked, "Who do you think will be that opponent who makes her despair?"

Fan Wubing said, "How can one say? The future is—" Suddenly, he froze, his lips trembling slightly, "Could it be... me?"

Li Yuan got up and rode off on the goat,

"Think carefully, young man."

The goat bleated as if dissatisfied with the stinky old man on its back.

...

The three of them with a donkey.

"Master... amazing! With just one sword, killed a Celestial Being!"

Zhuge Hong’s eyes were sparkling, filled with admiration.

Fu Manman took a deep breath. She knew Fan Wubing was strong, but didn’t expect him to be so strong, beyond estimation. At least, none of the Little Freedom Officials she had met in White Jade Capital gave her that feeling. Perhaps, the Zizai Ancestor...

Li Yuan on the donkey nodded with satisfaction,

"Worthy of someone I value. Solved it with one sword! I needed two back then."

Fu Manman said, "So this is definitely an illusion created by the senior."

Li Yuan shook his head, "This isn’t an illusion, nor a dream, but a real place."

"But in history, wasn’t it you who killed that Celestial Being?"

"You are correct, but that was in history, and here, the Celestial Being was slain by your little lover."

Fu Manman was a bit embarrassed, "Please don’t call him that."

Li Yuan laughed heartily, "Still shy. Don’t tell me, you haven’t been honest with each other yet."

Fu Manman fell silent.

Li Yuan froze, gulped, and began to doubt himself, "Could it be that young people nowadays are getting more conservative?"

Fu Manman had always been bothered by this matter, inevitably showing some disappointment.

Seeing the situation wasn’t good, Li Yuan suddenly slapped the donkey’s rear, making a quick escape,

"I can’t sort out emotional matters, don’t come find me! I’m out, I’m out!"

The donkey wasn’t big but ran quite fast, disappearing in a flash.

"Hey, you haven’t told me what I should do next!" Zhuge Hong shouted.

No person in sight, only Li Yuan’s voice remained,

"Do whatever you want! It’s up to you!"

Zhuge Hong pouted, "What a strange old man."

Fu Manman took a deep breath, "Come on, let’s go find your master."

"Okay."

...

Li Yuan riding the goat and Li Yuan riding the donkey met on a shaded forest path.

They brushed past each other and disappeared, leaving only the bleating goat and the snorting donkey.

In Changsheng Continent, Immortal City Yuliang was hosting a drinking contest.

Luo Tianyuan was also at the competition. Even though the Everlasting Realm was still in recovery, he squeezed out some time to participate in this drinking contest. The reason being that the old drunkard who stopped him from winning three hundred consecutive championships during the last drinking contest was also there.

At this moment, after a hundred and eighty-nine rounds of drinking, only Luo Tianyuan and the old drunkard remained on stage.

The crowd below was intensely discussing who would take the lead this time, and some gamblers even opened bets.

The odds between Luo Tianyuan and the old drunkard were comparable.

On stage, Luo Tianyuan was nearly at his limit, glaring angrily at the sloppy old drunkard beside him, thinking, what kind of person is this guy! How can he drink so much? Judging by his state, he might lose to him again!

Luo Tianyuan was dizzy, his consciousness fading, ready to fall at any moment.

Yet at that moment, the old drunkard suddenly laughed loudly and shouted,

"Good sword, good sword! What a great Great Sun Soaring Sword! I am not alone in my way..."

Having shouted, he collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again.

The host beside him was initially stunned, then excitedly grabbed Luo Tianyuan’s hand and raised it,

"The winner of this drinking contest is Luo Tianyuan!"

Below, the winners cheered.

Luo Tianyuan was utterly bewildered. He desperately tried to think of what the Great Sun Soaring Sword was...

He suddenly became incredibly clear-headed, striving to find this term in the experiences of his life. Until, from deep in his memory, he unearthed the story of the Great Sword Immortal Li Yuan... Li Yuan’s story had been interrupted seven thousand years ago, a time when he hadn’t even been born.

"Great Sun Soaring Sword... Great Sword Immortal Li Yuan!"

Luo Tianyuan had once competed in a drinking contest with the sloppy old drunkard and lost, and had also compared swords, but lost even more miserably.

"Could it be..."

He suddenly turned to look beside him.

However, the sloppy old drunkard who had just collapsed drunkenly on the ground was nowhere to be found.