Chapter 68: Heaven and Earth Sword: A Young Man's Death (XI) Then,…

"Brother!"

Mingche stood beneath a tall Koelreuteria tree, cradling a long, pale gold box.

The doors and windows were open. Inside, Tian Jin, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, paced back and forth in front of the mirror like a proud, multicolored rooster. Hearing a sound outside, he opened the door.

"Junior brother?" Tian Jin walked quickly to the tree. "Why are you standing here? Just knock and come in."

Ming Che examined him from head to toe before smiling and saying, "Tomorrow is Senior Brother's wedding day. Junior Brother won't bother you any longer today. I'll give you the gift and leave."

Tian Jin held his head high, his face flushed with pride. He gazed at the box in his hands with a mixture of bashfulness and anticipation. "We've been brothers for a long time, so I won't be polite with you." He raised an eyebrow and looked up at Ming Che. "Is this the treasure you've waited so hard for five years?"

Now it was Ming Che's turn to be proud. He puffed out his chest, bowed respectfully as if presenting a treasure, and presented the long box with both hands. "Yes."

"Then you won't be polite." Tian Jin eagerly opened the box, and a long, silver sword came into view.

The edge was exposed, and the brilliance was dazzling.

Tian Jin had waited five years for this sword, and Ming Che had spent three years meticulously forging and polishing it.

Tian Jin pulled the sword from the box, his heart and eyes filled with admiration. "Junior brother, you're truly a swordsmithing genius! This sword is just what I wanted! I've waited all these years for it."

As he finished speaking, Ming Che's heart surged with emotion, as if he were floating on a cloud, feeling elated.

The word "genius" was commonplace among the various sects, but it was rare for him.

No one had ever used such a term to describe him.

"Can you have a good fight with me now?"

Tian Xue's voice echoed from the tree. A girl in red sat leaning against a branch, arms folded, looking at the two people beneath.

"Tianxue, come down quickly. What if you fall if you sit so high?" Tian Jin put the sword back into the box and opened his arms. "Just jump down. Don't worry, I can catch you."

The girl in red rolled her eyes at him and jumped down from the tree. She knocked Tian Jin's forehead hard with her fingers, pretending to be angry. "You don't even call me senior sister."

Tian Jin covered his head and muttered softly, "We'll get married tomorrow. I'll be your husband and you'll be my wife. Why call me senior sister anymore? I just want to--" The words he wanted to say most came to an abrupt end when he saw Tianxue swinging a long whip from her sleeve.

Tianxue swung the whip hard, rolled up the long sword in the box and threw it into Tianjin's arms, "Who said I agreed to marry you? If you can't beat me today, tomorrow's wedding will be cancelled!"

Then she turned to Mingche and said, "Junior brother, your sword is really well made. There is actually a sword-making genius among a group of sword cultivators in our academy. The first sword he made is so dazzling."

Mingche's face turned pink and he stammered, "Senior brother hasn't even used it yet, so senior sister, don't praise him."

"If he still can't beat me today, it means he is not as skilled as others. After years of practice, if he can't tell the quality of a sword, what's the point of being a sword cultivator? The sword forged by junior brother is really excellent."

As soon as the words fell, Mingche's face turned redder than a maple leaf.

Tian Jin, standing by, grew anxious. "Senior Sister, are you breaking off the engagement? You can't do that! You've already put on your wedding attire and promised to marry me and live with me as a companion. How can you go back on your word? If you do that, I'll make a scene and complain to Master!"

The young man crouched on the ground, sword in hand, pouting, leaving a mournful back to the two behind him.

The long whip in his hand blew with the wind, then straightened and transformed in the blink of an eye into a soft sword with a faint orchid sheen. Tian Xue turned, her hair like a waterfall. "Stop talking nonsense, watch out for the sword!" The

sword energy from behind struck, forcing Tian Jin to rise. He then faced the attack with a smile uglier than tears. The swords clashed, their eyes blazing, but it couldn't hide the determination in the young man's eyes: "Tian Xue, I will definitely marry you!"

Ming Che wisely stepped back, making room for the two bride and groom, clad in their wedding attire.

The swords clashed, the air overwhelming.

The leaves of the Luan tree overhead fell to the ground.

Two-colored petals flew to the shoulders of the young man under the tree, and were blown by the wind, falling down his chest and meeting the tears on his cheeks.

He was smiling, so why were there tears?

Mingche couldn't hold back the tears on his face, and let them flow alone, fearing that the moment he wiped away the tears, they would cover up the dream scene that he would never see again.

He had already become a ghost, so how could he dream? The

two people sitting in the hidden barrier on the courtyard wall looked at each other, jumped off the wall, and came to Mingche's side.

Ye Qingzhan asked: "All your knots should be untied."

The knot in the heart of the young man next to him was to take another look at the two people who were very good to him, and then keep his promise, give the forged sword, and congratulate them on their wedding.

Mingche nodded, watching the two fighting before him as his figure slowly dissipated into the wind. He smiled and said, "After Dr. Fox sent me to Wuya Academy, I was bullied by my fellow disciples for a long time because I was too dumb. I was always stuck in the early stages of foundation building, and I couldn't seem to learn anything." He glanced down at the sword box in his arms, "Even with the sword, I can't use it well."

"There aren't many spots to study and cultivate at the academy. Even the children of noble families scramble for admission, and yet someone as clumsy as me is occupying a spot. How can this not cause resentment?"

Ye Qingzhan looked at Wen Gu, remembering Ziyuan's words: In Changluo, where Wuya Academy is located, noble families all want their children to cultivate here, ensuring good fortune and continued blessings.

And here, there are many young nobles with gifted spiritual roots.

When these people learned that Mingche had been admitted, but they hadn't had the opportunity, they inevitably felt resentment.

But... this was too strange.

In the fantasy realm, parents of children born in Zhuxi all hope to obtain blessed water, hoping that their children will be intelligent and smart, and grow up to be outstanding talents. Meanwhile, the wealthy families in Changluo all want to send their children to Wuya Academy to help them rise to prominence.

The customs of the two places are all too similar.

And both places are related to the Taoist fox who has not been seen for a long time.

He brought Mingche to the academy, but where did he go? What did he do after learning of Mingche's death? Confused

, Ye Qingzhan listened to Mingche continue: "Every time they bullied me, my brothers and sisters would stand up to protect me. I thought that after my mother passed away and Dr. Fox left, my life would be like this. It didn't matter if I was beaten or scolded. Living under their protection was not bad, until the sect conference three years ago."

"Three years ago, hundreds of sects gathered at Yudie Peak to discuss Taoism and compete in martial arts."

Yudie Peak? This place again. Ye Qingzhan was stunned.

Mingche looked at her. "That's where the Snow Maiden is." He had also seen Shanniang's vision in the Red Dust Inn. At that time, he hadn't remembered anything about his past life. Only after walking through his own vision did he finally remember everything. By

then, the name of the Snow Maiden of Jade Butterfly Peak had spread throughout the sects. Cultivators yearned to see her, and even more so, to capture this supreme being, whom they considered the greatest of all monsters.

At the same time, rumors circulated among the sects that, in addition to the Snow Maiden, Jade Butterfly Peak also boasted numerous rare and exotic beasts hidden within a newly discovered secret realm.

Some say this secret realm was created by someone from the Boundless Strange Realm, using his own ghostly power. He tossed monster spirits caught from the deep sea into it, and when enraged, he'd kill several. It's also said that when the ghostly young man is in a good mood, he'll capture humans to feed the beasts in the secret realm.

Ming Che wiped his tears and glanced at Wen Gu, "It seems they're talking about you."

The rumored evil young man from the Strange Realm, his eyes covered with a piece of black silk, his expression unchanged, as if nothing had happened.

Ye Qingzhan glanced at Wen Gu and blinked, his eyes filled with curiosity, not a trace of fear.

Ming Che feared Wen Gu would be angry; after all, such a legendary figure sounded terrifying. But Wen Gu seemed unfazed, so he continued, "Later, everyone from the sect, led by Dr. Fox, went to Jade Butterfly Peak."

That day, they didn't find the Snow Girl on Jade Butterfly Peak, but they detected an unusual aura deep within the peaks, entering a secret realm they had never explored before.

Meanwhile, many cultivators within the sect achieved breakthroughs in their cultivation and obtained supreme treasures.

Tianxue, the chief disciple of Wuya Academy, shouldered a heavy responsibility. At that critical stage of her breakthrough, she obtained a spiritual weapon capable of transforming into a chain whip and a sword. Her cultivation surged, and she successfully broke through to the realm of strength, becoming the most dazzling figure among the younger generation within Wuya Academy.

"Like Senior Sister Tianxue, Senior Brother Tianjin, at the critical stage of his breakthrough, also traveled to that secret realm. He excelled among the other disciples, yet voluntarily gave up the precious sword he had obtained there."

Mingche observed the gradually collapsing illusion, his gaze returning to the box in his arms. He continued, "Senior Brother said he'd wait for me to forge his first sword after he officially came of age." "

Senior Brother said he believed in me and that I could forge the finest sword in the world," Mingche said with a smile. "From that moment on, I resolved to forge the finest sword in the world."

For three years, he resided in the Spiritual Weapon Pavilion, immersed in the vast sea of tomes, his hearth burning day and night. Tianxue knew his aspirations first, and went all over the world to find raw materials for making swords for him.

Touched by his heart, Ye Qingzhan knew that his two older brothers and sisters were supporting and encouraging their junior brother in their own ways.

Unfortunately... things did not go as planned.

All that needed to be said had been said. Mingche looked at the fragmented scene in front of him and waved goodbye.

The fragments of the illusion fell to the ground, gathered together to form another scene. Ye Qingzhan recognized that this was her and Wen Gu's room.

Knock, knock, knock -

someone knocked on the door. Mingche went to open it first, sensing something in his heart. After the door opened, he saw who was coming and hugged them both.

"Brother! Sister!"

The two people who were hugged were a little confused for a moment, looking at each other. After a moment, Tianjin pushed him away and said, "You can hug me as much as you want, but isn't it too frivolous to hug a girl?" As he said that, he knocked away Mingche's hand on Tianxue's arm.

Mingche stepped back, laughing and crying at the same time. "It's my fault, Senior Brother, but it's Junior Brother's fault. Junior Brother apologizes to Senior Sister."

Seeing the boy's face covered in tears, yet his smile remained, Tianxue pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and said gently, "It's okay, wipe it."

Mingche sighed and hurriedly took it. He saw Qinghuai leaning against the railing and remembered that he had also appeared in his fantasy. He had saved Tianxue and Ziyuan.

So why was he seeing him at the gates of hell... Mingche's smile faded and he looked at Qinghuai in confusion.

Qinghuai walked over to the others, glanced at the two still in the room, and hurriedly said, "Let's talk downstairs." With that, he led them downstairs.

The moment the ghosts left, the wing door slammed shut.

Ye Qingzhan leaned against the door, watching the boy approaching him.

Just then, as Mingche spoke to Tianjin and Tianxue, who had appeared from nowhere, a dark aura began to emanate from Wen Gu. In an instant, the diffused black fog seemed to swallow up the inn.

Wen Gu stood in the center of the inky fog and walked slowly.

He lost control again.

The palms of his hands, which were holding the door behind his back, were sweating. Ye Qingzhan's heart was beating wildly. She didn't understand why he was so easy to lose control recently.

The black satin covering his eyes was pulled off by Wen Gu, revealing the red iris between his eyebrows. A pair of red eyes met hers.

Ye Qingzhan's heart choked, as if she saw an endless fire in Wen Gu's eyes.

Wen Gu met her trembling pupils, suddenly raised his hand, held her chin, and asked: "Are you afraid of those rumors?"

It turned out that he lost control because of this.

He actually cared so much about what she thought of him?

His heart suddenly ached. Ye Qingzhan held his hands and said seriously, "Don't be afraid. I don't believe a word they say..."

"It's all true."

"It's all true." The

boy's voice was filled with unprecedented anxiety and helplessness. What followed was an eager and passionate kiss.