xymnovel Chapter 76: A Sigh for the Past, The Great War Ends
Chapter 76: A Sigh for the Past, The Great War Ends
He obtained everything he had ever dreamed of: the peerless divine weapon, the Silver Moon Snow Kirin Spear; the sacred beast of the Eastern Barbarians, the Snow Jade Kirin Steed; the noble status of being the adopted son of the Eastern Barbarian General; and the supreme power to command the Sun Chasing Guard.
He enjoyed the awe and worship of the Dongyi people, and used the spearhead that had once been pointed at foreign enemies to repeatedly point at his own compatriots.
The agility of the Yang family spear and the ferocity of the Luo family spear were honed to become even more ruthless and efficient through their exploits in slaughtering Xia people and defeating border troops.
When the news reached the Great Xia Dynasty, the entire nation was outraged, and the military families regarded it as a great disgrace.
The last fig leaf of the Yang family was completely torn off. The father received a double blow of being questioned by the court and despised by his colleagues. His already depressed heart disease broke out, and medicine was ineffective. On a cold winter night, he coughed up blood and died.
Overwhelmed by the dual anguish of losing her husband and the betrayal of her son, Wang, the mother, also passed away a few days later, leaving behind only a tearful murmur: "My son... turn back..."
When the news reached Hulü Changsheng, who was already a general of the Eastern Barbarians, he was sitting on a tiger-skin chair that symbolized power, receiving compliments from his subordinates.
The golden cup in his hand paused slightly, and a sharp, subtle pain seemed to prick a corner of his heart.
But soon, he downed the strong liquor in his glass, the pain drowned out by the spicy liquid and the deafening roar of the generals around him.
"Nonsense! Cowardice!"
He said to himself in his heart,
"They just don't understand! Once I kill Huangfu Tianyang and become the true number one in the world, everyone will realize that my choice was right!"
His obsession with Huangfu Tianyang had become a demon in his heart. He knew that he still couldn't defeat that man who was like a god of war on his own.
Therefore, he used the power of the Dongyi people to meticulously plan a shocking conspiracy that lasted for several years and exhausted countless resources.
On that day, yellow sand filled the sky, blood stained the setting sun, and after three days and three nights of fierce fighting, seven generals of the Eastern Barbarians, fifty generals, and countless soldiers were killed by spear, until finally they were exhausted.
At the last moment, Huli Changsheng made his move, unleashing the "Mysterious Heaven Deadly Spear," a technique that combined all his life's learning with endless resentment, piercing through the legendary figure's chest.
Huangfu Tianyang, leaning on his spear, slowly knelt down, his gaze passing over the ferocious and smug Hulü Changsheng, looking towards the direction of Great Xia. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, yet carrying a desolate and regretful understanding of everything:
"Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years... It's a pity... In the end, it's just... a pity..."
At that moment, the anticipated pleasure of revenge did not come.
Holding the blood-dripping silver spear, Huli Changsheng stood before Huangfu Tianyang's gradually cooling corpse, gazing at the swirling yellow sand, his heart filled with boundless emptiness and bewilderment.
He won? He killed his lifelong nemesis? Why... does it feel like he lost something more important?
Now, he wields this divine spear stained with legendary blood, rides the sacred beast of the Eastern Barbarians, and stands at the pinnacle of Eastern Barbarian warriors, yet he has been defeated.
He was defeated by a general from the Great Xia Dynasty who was even younger than himself when he was just starting out.
The defeat was so complete, so predictable.
All the struggles, scheming, betrayals, and killings that built up the seemingly solid power and prestige crumbled and shattered into rubble before this golden halberd burning with blood flames.
He struggled to lift his head, his unfocused gaze straining to focus on Xuan Yuan Tian Shang's cold face.
Blood continued to spill from the corner of his mouth. He opened his mouth, emitting a broken, hoarse sound, like sandpaper rubbing together.
"I... am not reconciled... I am Yang Ning of Youzhou... I have mastered the spear techniques of both Yang and Luo... I killed Huangfu Tianyang... I possess divine weapons... divine steeds... Why... why did I lose... to you..."
"Huangfu Tianyang...he said at the end...'The country...is constantly producing talented people...'"
In his clouded eyes, madness, resentment, and bitterness receded like the tide, leaving only endless emptiness and a heart-wrenching regret that came decades too late.
That cry of regret resounded like thunder deep within his soul.
He finally understood.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that he failed to surpass Huangfu Tianyang, but that Yang Ning, who could have become a brilliant talent alongside Huangfu Tianyang, illuminating an era, personally severed this righteous path and fell into an abyss of no return.
"...So...he wasn't talking about me at all..."
"...Father...Mother...your child...was wrong...really...wrong..."
Before he could finish speaking, a mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs suddenly gushed out, taking away his remaining words and life force.
The last glimmer of light in his eyes faded completely.
Xuanyuan Tianshang listened to his dying ramblings with a blank expression.
He had heard of Huangfu Tianyang since childhood; he was an immortal monument in the hearts of all Xia Kingdom warriors.
The man before him was none other than the mastermind behind the murder of the legendary figure and the betrayal of his country. He felt little emotion, only the cold indifference of someone carrying out a verdict.
He slightly adjusted the angle of the Golden Phoenix World-Burning Halberd in his hand, aiming the tip at Hulü Changsheng's chest, which had already lost its luster.
"In this world, the new generation always surpasses the old."
Xuanyuan Tianshang's voice, like a judgment from the depths of hell, was clear and distinct, striking the silent battlefield.
"What is tragic is not old age, but losing the backbone of a warrior at a young age and severing the roots of one's family and country. Your path was already crooked from the moment you killed your friend and stole the manual, and it was already severed from the moment you knelt before foreign races."
Today's consequences are the result of the seeds you sowed in the past. Murdering relatives, betraying the country, harming the virtuous... each and every one of these acts is intolerable to Heaven.
Your death was deserved, and it brought a long-overdue end to your misguided and defiled life.
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in his eyes!
"Pfft!"
The Golden Phoenix World-Burning Halberd pierced down cleanly, penetrating the tattered silver armor and piercing through the already riddled chest.
Dark golden flames spread along the halberd's shaft, instantly surging into Hulü Changsheng's body, completely burning and purifying the last trace of coldness and life force within him. There was no earth-shattering resistance, only the faint sizzling sound of flesh being burned by the high temperature.
Hulü Changsheng's body convulsed violently, then stiffened completely.
In a daze, the last thing he saw was not the golden banner of the Eastern Barbarian king, nor the battlefield of battle, but his hometown in Youzhou many years ago, on a sunny afternoon.
The boy practiced shooting in the courtyard, his sweat glistening, the gun whistling through the air.
The father sat on the stone bench, watching with a smile, while the mother stood on the veranda with a bowl of warm water, softly calling, "Ning'er, take a rest..."
And then there was Huangfu Tianyang's gaze as he fell, looking into the distance. There was no hatred in his eyes, only a calm as clear as the autumn sky, and a faint trace of regret that he had spent his entire life trying to understand before death arrived.
"Hmm..."
A very faint, almost sigh-like sound escaped from his throat.
Then, everything fell silent.
The fiercest general of the Eastern Barbarians, the silver wolf of the grasslands, Hulü Changsheng, who once killed the legendary Huangfu Tianyang! Dead!
Xuanyuan Tianshang flicked his wrist and withdrew the golden halberd.
Huli Changsheng's body lost its support and slid down the body of the dying Snow Jade Qilin beast beside him, crashing heavily onto the cold, blood-stained ground, where it remained silent.
Gazing at its tragically deceased master, the Snowfield Qilin shed two tears, then made an unexpected move: it twisted its neck, suffocating itself to death, thus joining its master in death.
The Silver Moon Snowscale Spear, which once terrified countless people, now stood alone in the distance, its luster faded and riddled with wounds, as if it too had fallen into a deep slumber with the death of its master.
In one corner of the battlefield, after a brief silence, a deafening cheer erupted from the Xia army! Meanwhile, the direction of the Dongyi army was deathly silent, followed by an uncontrollable panic and commotion! The god of war had fallen, and the spirit of the army had dissipated!