Chapter 1: Already Famous

  Tang An was laughing loudly, but tears kept welling up in his eyes. The people below the stage saw Tang An's strange appearance and felt a sense of inexplicable confusion. Only a few people understood.

  Tang An is smiling because he won. He shed tears, also because he won. Because winning was too difficult, winning was too hard. Only, he finally won!

  Unfortunately, most people only saw his shocking sword that shook the nine heavens, but few understood what that one sword represented!

  A decade of sharpening a sword, today I'll test its might. The sword flashes, wind and clouds stir, one angry cry shocks the world!

  Nine years of hard practice, all for this moment, one sword move and fame will spread throughout the world!

  Tang An was in tears, but his heart was filled with joy. For nine years, he had not relaxed for a single day, practicing diligently day and night without rest. He had given up all pleasures and abandoned the life of an ordinary person. In these nine years, his hands held only swords, his heart focused solely on cultivating his skills, cultivating, ceaselessly cultivating! For nine years, he had never once asked himself if he was tired of this life.

  No!

  I don't have the right to be tired! If I take a step back, I'll die! Just like nine years ago, being hunted down relentlessly like a wild dog.

  But from today on, who dares to be like this under heaven?

  "Nobody can!"

  Tang An was crying, and he was also laughing. The tears were streaming down fiercely, and the laughter was becoming more and more hysterical. Crying and laughing, these two emotions that are normally contradictory to the extreme, but at this moment, neither of them could be missing.

  He can be as crazy and reckless as he wants, but with a sword in his hand, he is the Heavenly Sword!

  …………

  Yu Wanli finally revealed a relieved smile after seeing Tang An's last sword. He patted the shoulders of his three subordinates and said, "He has found his own way. Although this road is full of thorns, he has finally walked out of a bright path. Perhaps in the future, this road will still be full of thorns. But at least he has understood that the end of this road is not a grave! Do you understand?"

  The three of them shook their heads and remained silent, all lowering their heads with furrowed brows, pondering the elegance of Tang An's sword.

  Yu Wanli smiled and said: "Tianjing, those who only rely on cultivating the secret books left behind by their predecessors will never be able to understand. Just remember this point, that's enough."

  They saw that they were still thinking, and didn't say much more. Everyone's understanding is different, and it can't be forced. All he could do was to slightly point them in the right direction when they got lost, playing the role of a guide. However, he only showed them the direction, but the road itself had to be paved by themselves!

  Yuan Wanli walked a few steps, suddenly patted his head, and then shouted loudly: "Military doctor, military doctor, where did the military doctor go? Can't you see that our brave warriors are injured and bleeding? What's wrong with him, hurry up and treat the wound!"

  The military doctor was originally arranged to be on one side of the arena. It's inevitable that there will be casualties in a fierce battle, and their task is to try to rescue these masters as much as possible. However, when the masters exchange blows, if they really fight to the point of shocking heaven and earth, one move can cause the body to shatter, and it's impossible to save them. But if the gap between them is too great, one move, the weak side will retreat without resistance and won't get hurt either. So in general, they don't need to appear. And his place was gradually occupied by others as Tang An and Duoluo's battle became more intense and fierce. He had also been submerged in the crowd long ago.

  At this moment, hearing the roar of the commander-in-chief, the military doctor suddenly jumped up from the crowd and also shouted: "Make way! I'm going to treat our hero's wounds! You bunch of bastards, who just stepped on my shoes?" The Tiger Leopard soldiers were stunned for a moment, then quickly made way for a path, letting this small soldier-like military doctor swagger through.

  And just as he walked away, someone suddenly exclaimed: "Isn't that little devil a disciple of Dr. Zhou Jun...?"

  Others also recognized him and suddenly shouted: "Wow... that kid is pretending to be Dr. Zhou, he must be looking for Tianjian to curry favor with him! A master of the Heavenly Realm only needs to want to harm nothing, under the true yuan flow, the wound will heal in an instant, where do you need a military doctor? I'm so angry, I actually gave way to a little devil just now!"

  …………

  On the high platform, Yue Wu, Qin Qing and King Jin of Jin had different expressions on their faces. However, they were all thinking of one thing.

  "Jiulong Qianyuan Gong, this is a divine technique that only the direct descendants of the imperial family can cultivate. How did Tang An manage to do it? And he even cultivated the Azure Dragon's aura, this is simply too unbelievable!"

  This Nine Dragons Qi Refining Technique is extremely difficult to cultivate and is a secret that has never been passed down outside of the imperial family. Only the most direct descendants of the emperor have ever been able to cultivate it.

  The Nine Dragons Qigong has a total of nine true dragon essences. Among them, eight dragons merge with the eight directions of heaven and earth, and one dragon is the central unmoving golden divine dragon. These nine true intentions are also the essence of the five elements, four images, and two instruments of heaven and earth.

  But compared to other paths, it is even more difficult to cultivate. Each of the Nine Dragon True Intentions is extremely difficult to comprehend. However, once cultivation is successful and the Nine Dragon Divine Thoughts are grasped, entering the Heavenly Realm, its power is fundamentally not comparable to that of ordinary Heavenly Realm experts.

  As soon as he thought that Tang An had actually grasped the true meaning of Qinglong, Jin Wang's face turned somewhat unsightly. Although he didn't like martial arts, being born into an imperial family meant he had very little freedom to speak of. He had been cultivating the Jiulong Dry Sky Technique for nearly 20 years now and was currently stuck at the fifth level of the Tianren realm. However, he knew that relying solely on himself would definitely not be enough to break through into the Tian realm. The power of the Jiulong Dry Sky Technique lay in the true meaning of the nine dragons; without grasping the divine intention, this technique was merely a type of internal energy heart method and didn't amount to much.

  Unfortunately, as a prince, he cannot recruit Tang An. Recruiting top-notch experts from the Tianyu realm would make his father emperor remember him.

  Qin Qing didn't understand all that, he just felt that his face had been thoroughly swept away today. Moreover, his first general under him was killed without a complete corpse, not even a single drop of blood or flesh could be found. In his heart, he had an intense hatred for Tang An.

  But his face still wore a warm smile, and he bowed to Yue Wu: "Congratulations, Duke Guo. Heroes emerge in their youth, that Tianjian Tang An is indeed not simple. The Western slave under my command today has lost face. Indeed, the heroes of this world are still the mighty Great Yan!"

  Yue Wu was slightly thoughtful about Tang An's previous sword move.

  "They all only saw his Green Dragon aura, but didn't realize that the truly formidable one wasn't Tang An's elusive and mysterious footsteps, but rather the sword he thrust out at the end. That one sword clearly contained infinite killing intent within it. This sword, he had been holding back his breath, brewing for a long time, and what was rare was that this killing aura actually condensed without being released, until finally bursting out in the end, with boundless power. It seems that he has already grasped his own path. As for that Green Dragon intent, is it only allowed for the Nine Dragons Dry Sky Merit to appear with the true intent of the nine dragons? Hmph! Truly a rare sight!"

  Yue Wu thought to this point, suddenly frowned: "But in this way, Tang An can't enter Hu Bao again. A Tianjing master, being a hundred soldiers in the Hu Bao army is really too humble. But letting him be Wanli's deputy doesn't seem appropriate either. Just now, Wanli seemed to appreciate Tang An very much. If he's not allowed to enter Hu Bao, Wanli might want to fight me to the death. The war in the north has temporarily subsided, and the treacherous heart of the Southeastern Jun Tian Sect is already well-known to everyone, but it can't be left unattended. His Majesty doesn't give a clear order, and this minister can't openly lead the army southward, which is troublesome. Alas, this matter still needs to use Tianjian Tang An. It seems that this matter still needs to be carefully planned."

  …………

  The wound on Tang An's chest had stopped bleeding, leaving a long black blood scab. The golden true energy of the Qinglong Jin had also been exhausted. If Tang An's original dantian was a full moon well, then now, the bottom of the well had dried up. Only a few wet mosses remained to indicate that this was originally a water well.

  He wandered aimlessly on the outskirts of the road. The Tiger and Leopard Army's camp was set up ten miles north of the city, and further north was a high mountain that blocked the wind and sand from the north. From the Tiger and Leopard Camp to the Yanjing City, it was a smooth journey with many people. On this road, there was also a tea house. Today, as it had already darkened, the tea house was not doing business, but when Tang An approached, he suddenly heard a faint erhu sound coming from inside the tea house.

  Lad's tune, Tang An couldn't make out, he was a pure Jianghu person, didn't understand music, didn't understand poetry, except for the sword in his hand, actually, he couldn't do anything else. It seemed that besides killing people, he couldn't do anything else either.

  It's a very sad thing.

  The sound of the erhu is inherently melancholic, and within this melancholy, there is a hint of sorrow. Within this sorrow, there is also a strong sense of homesickness.

  Tang An suddenly froze, standing still in his tracks. He gazed up at the bright moon in the sky, its radiance as pure as it was on the day he left home nine years ago. Suddenly, his throat constricted with emotion. "Mother, wait a little longer, I'll be back home soon..."

  "My son has made a name for himself! When one becomes famous, he should return home; how can brocade clothes be worn at night?"

  "Five-flower horse, thousand-golden fur coat, attendants as numerous as clouds...... Do you remember these, son?"

  Tang An muttered to himself, and just then, with a creak, someone in the teahouse suddenly opened a window, and the dim, gloomy light of the candles inside poured out through the window. Faintly visible, Tang An saw that it was an emaciated old man inside, his erhu still on the edge of the table, and a jug of wine on the table as well; perhaps he felt the summer night was stifling and opened the window to get some air.

  He opened the window, but suddenly saw a figure covered in blood standing not far away, and was startled. When he looked clearly, he found that it was just a young man with only a hint of whiskers on his lips. He suddenly sighed, didn't say anything, and quietly picked up the erhu again.

  The melody has changed, with an inexplicable sense of oppression... That melody seems to be played for the dead.

  He pulled it off and saw that Tang An was still there, but he didn't care about him, closed the window by himself, and when he blew out a breath, the candlelight on the table also went out, and the world became pitch black again.

  Tang An set off again, silently walking forward...

  In the darkness, he was alone. The road beneath his feet was indistinguishable as to whether it was left by others or created by himself.

  ===========

  Hmmm... Is it somewhat stream-of-consciousness?

  ;