Silence fell over everyone the moment they heard the news.
Li Guanqi turned to look at the shattered walls and rubble beside him, complex emotions surging in his chest.
The mountain gate that once stood so magnificent and imposing was now reduced to ruins.
The vast square of Tianjian Peak was completely pulverized, and half of the mountain itself had collapsed.
Yet compared to the deaths of their fellow disciples, none of these losses mattered in the least.
Walking over the sect's bluestone tiles and staring at the bloodstains soaking the ground, not a single person uttered a word.
Every disciple had changed into black mourning robes, silently and slowly making their way toward the rear mountain.
There lay the resting place of all who were counted among the heroic spirits of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
Soon, the disciples reached the Sect Cemetery.
A sea of black-robed disciples filled nearly the entire mountain.
Even so, not one person took to the air; they simply stood where they were in solemn silence.
Lu Kangnian, whose face had been paper-white, clearly looked somewhat better now.
He walked slowly to the very front of the crowd, his gaze heavy with sorrow as he looked at the dozens of newly dug graves before him.
A tear splashed down against the stone.
He was unfamiliar with even some of the names etched into those tombstones.
Leading all the disciples, Lu Kangnian bowed in silent reverence.
Three bows, followed by quietly planting sticks of fine landscape incense before each of the markers.
Qin Xian barked in a deep, gravelly voice, "Blades to chest! Bow in silence!"
*Clang! Clatter!*
The sword hums that should have been sharp and crisp now sounded heavy and muffled.
Every disciple drew their sword and pressed the flat of the blade against their chest.
Heads lowered in silent mourning.
*Boom!*
After a long time, the silent Lu Kangnian snapped his head up!
"Disciples of all peaks, hear my command!"
"Today, Ziyang Palace has pushed us too far! How can we allow them to trample us at will?!"
"In one hour, our swords point to Ziyang Palace!!"
"Since this war must be fought, we will beat them until they submit completely!"
"Perhaps we will lose; perhaps some of us will die."
"Yet today, we will show all the heroes of the Northern Region the unyielding Great Xia Sword Sect!"
"Before dawn breaks, the banner of the Great Xia Sword Sect must be planted upon the ruins of Ziyang Palace!"
Infused with powerful origin energy, his voice shook the hearts of all who heard it!
The disciples, whose fury had been simmering through the mourning, stiffened with grim resolve.
Stirred by raw emotion, Li Guanqi began to murmur in an impassioned, low voice:
"With my flesh, I forge unyielding bone!
"With my blood, I engrave the sect's will!
"With my sword, I vow to slay all foes!
"Baptized in the fires of war, we shall forever be bound to the Great Xia Sword Sect.
"All that we do today, when looked back upon tomorrow, will be... supreme... glory!"
The resounding words spread outward, traveling farther and farther.
Born straight from the heart, the chant swept through every disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect in an instant.
It was as though everything they had endured today had forged an earth-shattering transformation within them.
In this moment, every heart beat as one.
Perhaps there had been squabbles and friction between the peaks in the past.
Yet today, they were ready to bare their backs and fight side by side for their fellow brothers and sisters.
It was like a bickering family: we may fight among ourselves, but if an outsider dares to point fingers, we unite against the world.
Gradually, the murmurs swelled into an unstoppable torrent of steel!
Countless voices roared at the absolute limit of their lungs!
At this very moment, the spine and soul of the sect awakened completely within the hearts of every peak's disciples!
Since Lu Kangnian had chosen to launch a counterattack on Ziyang Palace before dawn, he had already prepared himself to die in battle!
Sweeping his sharp gaze across the crowd, he asked softly, "Do you know why I made this decision?
"We clearly won already. We repelled Ziyang Palace, an enemy the outside world considers many times stronger than us.
"So why do I still risk heavier casualties to launch a counterattack?"
The disciples answered with silence, though many indeed harbored that very question.
"Elder Ling asked me the same thing when I first woke up—why do this?
"I told him: merely repelling Ziyang Palace is not enough!
"Not satisfying enough! Not ruthless enough! Not painful enough!
"I want to make it hurt! I want them to submit! I want to break them completely!!
"I want the banner of the Great Xia Sword Sect planted upon the ruins of Ziyang Palace!!
"Tell me!! Can we do it?!"
In an instant, an answering roar shook the heavens!
"We can!"
Lu Kangnian waved his broad sleeve, and tens of thousands of jade slips rose to hover above his head!
Standing at the front, Li Guanqi looked up, bewilderment flickering in his eyes.
He did not understand why the Sect Master would bring out so many disciple jade slips at a time like this.
Yet the elders beside Li Guanqi flushed with visible excitement.
Li Nanting stared up at the jade slips suspended in the sky and said softly, "Those jade slips belong to disciples who left the sect over the past hundred years.
"For disciples who have been gone for more than a century, the sect no longer meddles in their affairs.
"When the sect is in peril, all disciples are recalled!
"This is an unwritten law of the Great Xia Sword Sect, passed down quietly for more than five thousand years!"
*Boom!*
A wild, torrential aura shook the void. A rare, overwhelming majesty settled over Lu Kangnian's resolute face.
In a sonorous, solemn tone, he barked, "In the name of the thirty-eighth Sect Master, I summon all disciples abroad to return!"
As he spoke, a faint glimmer trembled in his eyes.
Pausing for a single breath, he roared, "Flatten! Ziyang! Palace!"
*Boom!*
In an instant, thousands of spiritual rays of origin energy shot into the jade slips!
Yet the dense expanse of sect jade slips remained completely dim.
One breath... two breaths... three breaths...
Suddenly!
One of the jade slips burst into dazzling radiance!
A steady voice rang out from within it:
"Tianjin Peak disciple, Ji Hua. Sword raised against Ziyang Palace!"
Immediately after, the dim slips began flashing to life one after another!
"Tianmu Peak traveling disciple, Duan Chunqiu, returning with all haste!"
"Great Xia Sword Sect disciple, Lü Yiyao, returning at once!"
"Disciple Zong Hui, returning at once!"
"Tianlei Peak traveling disciple, Ding Yang. Sword raised against Ziyang Palace!"
"..."
Voice after voice echoed without end!
Among the dense sea of jade slips, many remained dark and lifeless.
Yet everyone knew those silent disciples stayed quiet not because they refused to answer.
Perhaps... they simply had no way left to reply.
Tears welled in the eyes of everyone witnessing the scene.
Li Nanting turned back toward Li Guanqi and the others, speaking softly:
"Do you understand now? This is why you must protect your identity jade slips.
"Not only so the sect can find you when danger strikes,
"but so that whenever you suffer grievances out in the world, the sect will stand as your most unyielding shield!"
His own eyes rimmed with red, Lu Kangnian slowly retrieved all the jade slips.
Then, in a deep voice, he commanded, "Bring forth the Eight Gods Formation-Breaking Ballistae!"
Chapter 175