Chapter 1421: Broken Blade, Severed Edge

"Why must we remember each other's faces? On the battlefield, situations change in an instant; wouldn't it be easier to recognize voices or clothing?" a young Yankang divine arts master asked.

The scarred veteran looked at the youth's still-naive face and smiled, "It's not for distinguishing friend from foe on the battlefield. It's for after the battle."

He didn't elaborate.

Qin Mu, however, understood his unspoken meaning. Comrades remembered each other's faces so they could clear the battlefield after the fighting, searching for bodies.

That truth was too horrifying to state explicitly, which was why the old soldier didn't elaborate.

The war in the Southern Land was already critical. Normally, new recruits like them would undergo three to five months of training, growing familiar with each other, before being sent to the front lines.

However, Fire Celestial Venerable's forces had occupied the Southern Land, and their offensive was too relentless, leading to a shortage of soldiers in Yankang. Many scholars and students rushed to enlist. The front lines suffered immense casualties, and these recruits were sent to the battlefield without sufficient preparation.

Compared to Southern Heaven under Fire Celestial Venerable's rule, Yankang still had too few divine arts masters and gods; each soldier was expected to perform the work of ten.

Flags fluttered in the sky. Soldiers rose, gazing at the banners. The clanking of armor had just ceased; now, only the sound of the great flags whipping through the sky could be heard. All other sounds had vanished.

After a moment, the first drumbeat sounded. Warships ascended into the air, their bronze beast-shaped undersides spewing torrents of flame. Flying chariots also raced across the ground, and the clamor immediately grew louder.

Those flying chariots sped across the ground for hundreds of feet, then their wheels gradually lifted off, and the chariots rose into the air. The divine arts masters on them were energetic, and before each of them lay sword pills and blade pills of various sizes.

"Don't move yet; that's not our infantry's signal," the scarred veteran said, a hint of tension in his voice.

His gaze remained fixed on the main force in the sky. The tens of thousands of warships and flying chariots moved slowly in the air. Yet, facing them, Southern Heaven's army was already surging forward like a tide.

Southern Heaven's human divine arts masters, gods, and demi-gods were divided into two factions. The humans charged at the forefront, followed by the demi-god army.

The demi-gods were tall and powerfully built, naturally exhibiting various supernatural phenomena. At the front of their army were Southern Heaven's warships, which were more numerous and larger, made entirely of divine metal. Their prows were shaped like Vermilion Birds or nine-headed phoenixes.

Those were old-model Heavenly Court warships.

Southern Heaven's army had no flying chariots.

When the two armies were still three hundred *li* apart, the Yankang army from the north opened fire first. Primordial Qi cannons on the warships gathered energy, and beams of light shot through the sky, cutting brilliant paths and instantly darkening the battlefield!

The cannon light was so bright that it overshadowed the sun, making other areas seem dim.

Behind them, a restless commotion spread through the infantry.

Suddenly, the infantry drums began to beat. The vanguard had already started to move. As the drumbeats grew more rapid, the divine arts masters in the vanguard began to run furiously, covering ten steps with each beat of the drum!

This commotion quickly reached Qin Mu's unit. The old soldier shouted, "Everyone, don't run around! Don't crowd together! Try to spread out! Remember, don't stray too far from our squad—thirty *zhang*, thirty *zhang* at most!"

They started running.

Ahead, warships trailing flames fell from the sky, crashing to the ground and erupting in huge fireballs, followed by immense waves of sound and air surging in all directions!

The leading warships had already engaged in close combat. Although Southern Heaven's large warships had a shorter firing range than Yankang's, they were made of divine metal, indicating vast resources. Warships withstood cannon bombardments, and while many were shot down, they pushed through the fire to reach firing range, then immediately opened fire!

The Southern Land remained dim. Both sides' warships turned and sped through the air, weaving up and down. Yankang's warships had slightly thinner hulls and lacked the same immense resources, so many were also shot down.

At this point, flying chariots wove through from behind the warships, speeding into the battlefield, nimbly dodging the enemy warships' cannon fire, and charging towards the enemy camp.

Suddenly, a mighty divine sense burst forth: "Flying swords, scour the ground!"

Qin Mu and the others, running in the rear, looked up to see millions of flying swords pouring down from the flying chariots, forming a torrential rain of slanting sword light that instantly scoured the ground for over a hundred *li*!

Gods erupted from Southern Heaven's warships, attacking the flying chariots. Yankang's divine beings also flew forward to intercept them. Divine arts from gods occasionally struck, causing chaos and casualties wherever they landed.

Against gods, the divine arts masters were still too weak and insignificant, relying entirely on luck.

Both sides' infantry continued to run. At this point, the infantry had not yet entered direct combat, but the ground was already covered with corpses.

Someone next to Qin Mu suddenly tripped over a corpse on the battlefield. Qin Mu was about to stop, but saw that person had already been submerged by the torrent of divine arts masters.

"Watch out for stray swords!" the scarred veteran shouted.

*Whoosh—*

A beam of sword light shot from ahead, whistling past them. Someone in the rear, unable to dodge in time, was immediately pierced, their body flying high into the air.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—*

The beams of sword light gradually grew denser. The front line of the battlefield was reached. Qin Mu's squad was still relatively intact; only the young scholar who had fallen behind earlier was missing. Nine people desperately charged forward, suddenly feeling as if they had crashed into a dense forest of flesh and blood—enemies were everywhere!

"Get fired up, charge forward and kill!" the old soldier shouted.

Each divine arts master activated their sword pills, which buzzed as they fragmented into numerous agile flying swords. The old soldier loudly commanded, "Maintain your distance from each other! Sword moves have a power range of fifteen *zhang*! Don't exceed that distance!"

They charged forward. Qin Mu held only a single blade, but his footwork was incredibly fast, moving like wind and lightning. His blade rose and fell simply and decisively, effortlessly breaking through enemy formations and neutralizing enemy divine arts.

The old soldier, seeing him wield the blade by hand, was slightly surprised. "He's a master of combat techniques."

He shouted, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Southern Heaven's little brats' sword arts and divine arts are no match for ours! Our sword arts and divine arts were developed by two generations of Imperial Preceptors! The sword arts and divine arts you've learned are all top-tier!"

The battlefield grew darker, and enemies became more numerous. Qin Mu moved back and forth with his blade, now left, now right, dominating an area of fifteen *zhang* in any direction, invincible within that range.

He could even support others in his squad, helping them slay powerful enemies.

They plunged into the encirclement, yet they moved like a sail cutting through waves, leading more Yankang divine arts masters forward.

Flags fluttered in the sky. The Yankang general overseeing this sector of the battle noticed their squad's spearhead momentum and immediately signaled, deploying several flying chariots for aerial support.

The flying chariots roared in, and countless beams of sword light pierced the enemies surging from all directions.

Qin Mu and his comrades pushed forward, the pressure growing. They had killed countless enemies. Suddenly, they felt the pressure lighten significantly. They looked around, surprised and delighted to find that they had broken through the encirclement, cutting the enemy force in two!

Behind them were countless Yankang divine arts masters who had followed them, breaking through and cutting off Southern Heaven's human army.

The Southern Heaven army they had cut through was already showing signs of disorder, which spread like a plague. Once an enemy army is fragmented, it can be encircled and annihilated.

"Look ahead!"

A young divine arts master suddenly said, his voice trembling, "What's that ahead...?"

Everyone looked up, their blood-streaked smiles freezing. Before them, an army of countless Southern Heaven demi-gods stretched for thousands of *li*, with numerous colossal ancient beasts appearing silently among their ranks.

Their golden armor gleamed blindingly. These Southern Heaven demi-gods were far stronger than the Southern Heaven human army they had just faced.

Around Qin Mu and his comrades, more and more Yankang divine arts masters broke through the enemy lines and gathered nearby, their numbers steadily increasing. However, everyone fell silent, frozen in place, not daring to charge forward.

They were awestruck.

"Bring forth the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon!"

Suddenly, a deep voice came from the demi-god formation opposite. Two colossal beasts roared, straining their thick legs to pull a massive divine chariot toward the front line. On the chariot was a colossal pagoda, nine stories high, radiating flames.

The Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon.

The Northern Emperor's Divine Weapon was the Five Thunders Pot; the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon was the Blazing Flame Pagoda.

This pagoda was forged from the Southern Emperor's ancestral land, a nine-layered sacred fire altar, created by gathering all the fires of the world. Before the Yankang Catastrophe, a Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon had fallen into Yankang's possession.

When this divine weapon's power erupted, its flames would spread for thousands of *li*. It was capable of refining anything.

"Retreat!" someone stammered.

At that moment, no retreat signal was sounded; instead, the drums vibrated with an increasingly rapid beat. Yet, no Yankang divine arts masters stepped forward.

Facing the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon, everyone was terrified.

The drumbeats grew even faster.

In Qin Mu's squad, all eyes fell on the scarred veteran, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to give the order to retreat.

If he fled, everyone would flee.

The old soldier looked at their hopeful faces, then suddenly grinned, his scar looking fierce. He chuckled, "Brothers, behind us is Yankang!"

"Behind us is damned Yankang! Behind us are your wives, your children, your parents—the parents who raised you!"

"Follow me, let's fight them! We can't let them reach our homes!"

He charged out. Ahead, countless spirit weapons flew towards them. The old soldier roared, desperately resisting and pushing forward.

*Whiz, whiz, whiz.*

He was struck by dozens of spirit weapons but still struggled forward.

*Whoosh—*

Countless spirit weapons engulfed him.

When the spirit weapons withdrew, no trace of his body remained on the battlefield.

Silence fell all around.

No one dared to take another step forward.

The colossal beasts pulled the Blazing Flame Pagoda closer. Behind and in front of Qin Mu, soldiers were retreating.

Suddenly, someone else charged forward, but was immediately swallowed by countless spirit weapons.

Then, more people charged. Before one fell, ten more rushed forward, attempting to block the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon.

Batch after batch of people fell, but still, more continued to rush forward.

"Yankang people have never lost their spirit!"

A flame ignited within Qin Mu's heart. He raised his blade and roared, stepping forward, his pace gradually quickening. Behind him, the remaining seven members of his squad followed him, charging forward, their voices rising in unison: "Behind us is Yankang!"

"Behind us are our parents, our wives and children!"

"The Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon cannot take another step into Yankang!"

"Our corpses will be unscalable peaks, blocking the enemy before the mountains!"

More Yankang soldiers surged forward, their shouts filling the sky. Opposite, Southern Heaven's demi-god army stirred, rested and ready, and charged towards them. Qin Mu wielded his iron blade, fending off countless incoming spirit weapons, but still, his comrades fell one by one beside him.

However, others immediately filled the fallen comrades' positions, pressing him forward.

"Behind us is Yankang!"

He charged forward desperately. His comrades shielded him from blades and enemy attacks, falling one by one in the struggle.

He forgot he was a Celestial Venerable, forgot he possessed the power to change heaven and earth, forgot the divine arts he had learned, forgot the cultivation sealed within his body.

He had only a single blade, but countless comrades by his side.

Countless people protected him, pressed him, charging towards the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon!

People continually fell, and continually others replaced them, but their numbers still dwindled. Finally, they broke through the encirclement and reached the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon.

Qin Mu pushed off with both feet, leaping into the air, his body soaring over the two colossal beasts. His iron blade struck the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon fiercely!

"Let him be," a demi-god general suddenly stopped the surrounding demi-gods, sneering.

Qin Mu's iron blade struck the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon. The blade broke, shattering into countless fragments.

He landed, holding only the hilt of the blade.

Qin Mu looked around blankly. His comrades were all around him, protecting him in a circle. Beyond them, countless demi-gods watched them with sneering gazes.

"Behind us is Yankang!" his comrades still shouted loudly, stepping forward one after another, trying to cleave this world-destroying weapon.

The demi-gods watched them coldly, not intervening.

"Behind us is Yankang..."

Qin Mu gripped the broken blade. This was a blade of protection, a blade of slaughter on the battlefield, embodying great deeds and great evil, but also great good.

"Enough. Kill them," the demi-god general spoke, indifferently.

Suddenly, Qin Mu raised his broken blade, roaring furiously, his muscles bulging. A terrifying blade light instantly swept across the battlefield!

His broken blade, though lacking an edge, radiated a terrifying aura. Divine light, brilliant divine light, surged from this ordinary iron blade.

Countless spirit weapons vibrated within the blade light and aura, whistling into the air. Even the demi-gods, those powerful divine arts masters, found it difficult to control their spirit weapons at this moment.

Their spirit weapons seemed to be performing a pilgrimage, submitting to the spirit, submitting to the Grand Dao.

The power of the spirit weapons surged and converged, rushing towards the broken blade.

That was the spirit of the blade, the Grand Dao of the blade, the responsibility and burden of the blade!

"Behind us, is Yankang!"

Qin Mu brought down his blade light.

*Crack.*

A crack appeared on the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon, growing larger and larger.

A broken blade, a fractured edge, wielded by a mortal, cut open the Southern Emperor's Divine Weapon.