The Sky Curtain appeared once again over Xindu City.
It was like a massive mirror.
However, it did not reflect Xindu City; instead, it revealed a scene from another place.
That grayish-white space was filled with ink-like foul energy and terrifying monsters—eyeless, covered in writhing tentacles—that made one’s skin crawl.
“Mon… monsters…”
“Help… the monsters are eating people…”
The commoners of Xindu City screamed in terror at the sights on the Sky Curtain. It was only when they saw the figures fighting bloodily that they suppressed the urge to turn and flee.
“Look, quickly! It’s General Shen and the others!”
“I see my son!”
“It’s big brother! Mother, look, it’s big brother!”
Everyone stared at the Sky Curtain, unable to look away, especially the friends and relatives of the two hundred righteous souls.
Feng’s mother stood at the very front of the crowd, her hands pressed tightly over her mouth, tears falling like pearls from a broken string.
She saw her daughter’s arm bleeding, her face smeared with black, filthy blood. She saw her daughter being knocked back, only to stand up again, charge forward, and cleave a monster’s body in two with a single strike.
Similarly, she saw her husband, hacking at those monsters with a desperate ferocity.
Subconsciously, she wanted to scream, to call the father and daughter back from that hellish place.
But she was afraid that her voice would distract them. She covered her mouth even tighter, and the only sound that escaped her fingers was a suppressed, almost broken sob.
Her palms were soaked with tears.
A person beside her comforted her, “Sister, don’t be sad. Brother-in-law and Chunya will surely return safely.”
Feng’s mother leaned on her sister’s shoulder, choking out, “That useless husband of mine… he doesn’t even know how to protect Chunya. Letting a young girl like her charge so far ahead… seeing her bitten by those monsters, my heart aches!”
The sister’s eyes were also brimming with tears. “Sister, you should be proud. Our Chunya is truly formidable.”
Elsewhere.
A pregnant young woman sat under a tea stall holding her child, looking up at her husband’s figure on the Sky Curtain.
“Mother, it’s Father! Father is so amazing!” The child’s eyes were bright and dark like shiny grapes.
Zhao Chunniang turned her head and used a free hand to messily wipe away her tears behind the child’s back.
However, wiping them away was futile; her eyes were already red from crying.
“A’le, Mother sees him. Your father is very amazing. He is killing monsters and protecting us.”
“He is a great hero,” she murmured softly.
The child turned to look at his mother and said seriously in his high-pitched voice, “Mother, when I grow up, I want to be a great hero like Father.”
He flashed a toothless smile, innocent and pure.
Zhao Chunniang pulled her son into her arms. “A’le, Mother only wants you and your sister to grow up safe and sound. I don’t want you to learn from your father and be some great hero…”
The four or five-year-old child could not understand why his mother was opposed to it, but he was well-behaved. He didn't make a fuss; he just stared at the Sky Curtain without blinking.
His father’s figure suddenly became very tall in his heart, perhaps even taller than the mountain outside their door.
An old couple stood beneath an old locust tree nearby.
“Old man, my eyes aren’t good. I can’t see clearly. Quickly, look and see how our son is doing!” The white-haired old woman anxiously nudged the old man beside her.
“I’m looking, don’t rush me.” The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, standing on his tiptoes and straining his neck to find his son’s figure on the Sky Curtain. “Old woman, I found him! I found him! Our son is still alive!”
“As long as he’s alive, as long as he’s alive…”
As the old woman spoke, she couldn't help but burst into tears again.
The old man said, “Alright, stop crying. Our son is doing something meaningful. Even Scholar Chen said this is… establishing a legacy or something? I couldn't remember it exactly, but it’s a good thing regardless.”
The old woman replied, “Don’t just talk to me! Keep an eye on our son and tell me, how is he?”
“I’m watching! Our son is truly capable; he can even fight monsters…”
“Really?”
“Really! I can see it clearly!” The old man’s voice was filled with pride.
Not far away, Shen Yu and Pei Du stood at the city gate, looking up at everything happening on the Sky Curtain.
Pei Du’s eyes were red as he spoke. “Fuyan, this time, that kid Lu Buyan really did become a great hero.”
He stared intently at the green-clad figure on the Sky Curtain who was fighting without regard for his own safety, watching him use a longsword to repel those terrifying monsters time and time again.
A sense of shared honor could not help but surface in his eyes.
In the face of national righteousness, even the children of the nobility could risk their lives; they were not cowards who feared death.
At this moment, he only regretted that he had never properly studied swordsmanship.
Shen Yu said word by word, “They are all warriors protecting Xindu City. They deserve the respect of every one of us.”
He could feel his neck becoming sore and aching from looking up for so long, but he remained in that position, unwilling to miss a single scene unfolding on the Sky Curtain.
An unknown amount of time passed before the last monster on the Sky Curtain was slain. Although the two hundred righteous souls were in various states of disarray and covered in wounds, fortunately, they were all safe.
The group huddled together, weeping with joy.
Some were even laughing and crying at the same time, their tears and snot a messy blur, but no one thought it was embarrassing.
Because they had escaped death; they were all alive.
Two hundred people—not a single one missing—all alive.
Meanwhile, beneath the Sky Curtain.
Xindu City also erupted into thunderous cheers.
“We won! We won!”
“They are truly incredible!”
“If one has a daughter, she should be like Lady Feng!”
Just as everyone was looking toward the city gates in eager anticipation, a pillar of white light descended from the sky once more.
Two hundred figures stepped out from the light.
They were covered in blood.
It was impossible to tell what was the monsters’ and what was their own.
Some had injuries on their hands, some on their legs, and some needed to lean on a companion’s shoulder just to stand steady.
But they were all smiling—the smile of victory.
The commoners at the city gates instinctively moved to both sides, clearing a wide path into the city.
“Mother, Father and I are both back!” Feng Chunya threw herself into her mother’s arms without a second thought.
Feng’s mother had tears in her eyes. “It’s good that you’re back…”
The other volunteers also found their families.
For a time, the sounds of crying and laughter were constant.
The Divine Lady stood atop a spirit sword, suspended in mid-air. Her moon-white daoist robe fluttered slightly in the wind as her gaze slowly swept across the two hundred blood-stained faces.
“Today, you have sacrificed yourselves for righteousness to assist me in slaying the evil dragon. This grand feat shall be praised for a thousand years, and your fame shall endure for ten thousand ages.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Xindu City fell into an uproar.
Praised for a thousand years, eternal fame for ten thousand ages.
And it was spoken by a deity herself.
What an honor! What an incredible honor!
The two hundred volunteers knelt toward the sky in unison. “To be able to serve the Divine Lady is our honor!”
The Divine Lady said unhurriedly, “Now that the foul energy has been greatly diminished, I shall fulfill my promise and slay this evil dragon.”
Her indifferent gaze fell upon the black dragon.
“Taixu Demon-Suppressing Sword.”
As her voice fell, a longsword shimmering with flowing light flew in from the horizon.
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