Chapter 663: That Which Is Sung

And perhaps this unconscious arrogance was the very reason why the Divine Woods in so many myths ultimately met unpleasant ends.

‘…I’m more or less done with everything I needed to do in this world. I’ve seen my old friend, confirmed the state of the Divine Wood, and the Blade of Annihilation is about to advance. I even tested my own cultivation in my fight with Zhou Buyi and made some progress. Not to mention all the technology and information I’ve gathered—that was a massive haul.’

Zhou Buyi’s figure had already receded into the distance, likely off to find his advisors and astronomers to calculate basic information like the Moon’s orbit. Atop the Divine Wood, after boasting to Shao Qiming, “This is the very spot where I pinned the Demon Emperor to a pillar with my spear!” he then stood with his friend at the edge, gazing down upon the vast world around them.

Clouds drifted about. The weather in the Southern Celestial Capital had been good recently, and from time to time, clouds as white as snow would surge toward the top of the Divine Wood like ocean waves. Some couldn’t reach the summit, merely skimming past below, but other, larger cloud banks could swallow the towering peak entirely. Combined with the Strong Wind howling at high altitudes, it truly felt as if one were standing amidst the crashing waves of a sea of clouds.

After reminiscing for a moment about the passion of those days, Su Zhou sighed. He turned his head wistfully toward the nearby Victory Memorial Hall, then slowly began to walk in that direction. ‘It’ll be time to head back soon.’

Shao Qiming followed behind Su Zhou. At first, he couldn’t figure out what his friend intended to do, but when Su Zhou reached into his clothes and took out the photo of himself and Zhou Buyi, he began to have an inkling.

‘Even if their paths crossed only for a moment, even if they fought side-by-side only briefly, friendship is friendship. It doesn’t fade with the passage of time, nor does it tarnish when one of them dies.’

He followed Su Zhou and watched him step into the Victory Memorial Hall. This was the final resting place for the ashes of the pioneers of the Hundred Schools, the most famous and celebrated heroes in the entire Divine Wood World. They had all participated in the resistance against the Demon Dynasty and fought against the Demon Emperor and his Demon Generals. Inside, stone tablets stood in rows, each inscribed with the life stories of the fallen, as if narrating that history and their tales to every visitor.

Su Zhou walked past all the stone tablets and tombstones. He remembered most of their names, and he remembered their faces—Grand Master, Mo Ganxiu, Li Daoran, Weilie, Fang Hui, Liuu Xizhao… Su Zhou remembered them all clearly. His Gale Armor, Bow Technique, and Thunder Technique all came from this world, and the National Preceptor had indeed been the first formidable enemy he ever encountered.

Of course, this was no cause for sadness. Everyone here was a Hero. They had achieved success and fame, and their ideals had been realized. Their accomplishments were sung by the world, immortalized for all time.

So, Su Zhou simply smiled and nodded to each stone tablet in turn, then walked to the center of the innermost row of stone statues in the memorial hall.

He found his own name.

[Kunlun Martial Saint – Su Zhou]

[——In the first month of winter, New Era First Year, in the New Southern Celestial Capital, Kunlun Martial Saint Su Zhou, wielding the Divine Blade, fought the Demon Emperor alone at the Yongning Celestial Palace atop the Immortal Tree in a bitter struggle.]

[——The Martial Saint summoned lightning with a Secret Technique to strike the Demon Emperor, smiting him from the heavens. He then dismembered the Emperor with the Divine Blade and took his head for display.]

[——The Demon Emperor was slain, and the Demon Dynasty fell.]

[——And the world knew Taiping.]

[Dates of birth and death unknown. Appearance unknown. This tablet is erected to commemorate him.]

Next to this stone tablet was an empty space. Su Zhou knew very well that it was the spot Zhou Buyi had saved for him—if he were to die one day, his own tablet would be erected here, allowing him to rest eternally with his old friends.

Standing before his own tablet, Su Zhou pondered for a moment. Then, he turned and looked out at all the stone tablets in the memorial hall.

He tossed the photo he held—a picture of himself and Zhou Buyi, the only two ‘not yet dead’—behind him. The drifting photo fell in a slow arc, then ignited in mid-air with a violet-green flame, slowly turning to ash that scattered across the ground.

“I’ve come back to see you all—and I hope that the next time I return, you’ll still be here, with your legends still being sung.”

He said this calmly, then began to walk again, leaving the memorial hall together with Shao Qiming.

‘Those things that should not be forgotten… are what become legends.’

「Two days later. Evening.」

The Blade of Annihilation’s advancement was complete.