Chapter 1003 Change of the Flag
Every time the people of later generations read descriptions about the days after the opening of the first new s.p.a.ce gate in books, they felt like they were seeing a chaotic world of fighting and killing where blood flowed like rivers, bones piled up like hills, and people were killed without mercy.
In a very short time, the major forces on the Land of Infinity faced dramatic changes.
Many ancient sects ceased to exist after being attacked and uprooted overnight by invaders from the Land of Divine Grace. A considerable number of powerful forces with a long history escaped from extinction, but they suffered heavy losses, and it was difficult for them to restore their former glory.
It was a chaotic, dark world beyond description.
However, for many ambitious and power-hungry people, it was more like a prosperous world.
When the old order was destroyed, everything dissolved into chaos, and moral standards collapsed instantly upon the arrival of chaos. The chaotic state threw countless people into confusion. Many martial artists with magical power began to relinquish their moral integrity and change from guardians to looters.
More and more martial artists joined forces for self-protection and fought against the invaders from the Land of Divine Grace. As time went by, the forces of varying sizes began to change. They became the emerging forces on the land and began to plunder and control the fate of others while trying to preserve themselves.
In such a chaotic world, countless unknown people stood out.
New overlords and masters emerged.
In the past, they might be the disciples of unfavored collateral branches of some sect, city lords who had been struggling and enduring, armed escorts working with Escort Agencies, children of lowly concubines in aristocratic families, and even roadside beggars…
Later, they rose up by chance and saw the hope of replacing old sects and becoming new rulers.
When the invaders from the Land of Divine Grace, especially those ambitious mercenaries who were eager to plunder resources, martial arts scrolls, wealth and mines, encountered strong resistance and paid a huge price or suffered heavy losses, they began to change their strategy and seek cooperation with some local forces of the Land of Infinity.
As a result, more and more local forces emerged like bamboo shoots after the rain.
Various large and small forces kept fighting and killing each other. The whole world was instantly shrouded in darkness, and gloomy dark clouds covered the sky.
In a short period of time, at least several hundred forces of varying sizes emerged in the Snow Province.
The entire Northern Region was plunged into a more chaotic state.
For some reason, the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost in the Northern Region didn’t send any martial arts masters to suppress the invading forces or maintain order. Rumor had it that a large mercenary troop from the Land of Divine Grace once besieged and attacked the holy mountain of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost, but they were all killed by the new lord of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost. Since that battle, the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost in the Northern Region had basically been in a state of closure. It no longer interfered with the affairs in the outside world and even pulled back the Mysterious Frost Inspectors that had been dispatched to various places…
Without the suppression of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost, the major forces became more rampant.
It would be fair to say that the flag of the ruler of the Northern Region had changed.
For the Snow Province, the arrival of the first wars.h.i.+p of the Black-blood Dragon Mercenary Troop meant the arrival of disaster and death. Many people got used to reaping benefits amidst the chaos and many martial artists with sharp weapons began to indulge their desires after restrictions were removed by the chaos.
Various forces kept fighting against each other, and blood was flowing all the time.
In such chaos, innocent civilians suffered the most. They were weak and helpless and could neither resist nor fight back. They used to live a hard life under the protection of their protective sects, but at least their lives were not in danger at that time. Now, amidst the chaos began, they faced the risk of being killed at any time or sold as slaves and sent to mines to labor like animals.
The former nine major sects in the Snow Province had become history.
The Chopping Sun City, the Bright Mind Sect, the Leiyin Sect, and the Heavenly Sound Valley had gone extinct in a very short time!
Dao Qingcheng, the lord of Chopping Sun City, broke out of the encirclement with a few trusted followers on the day of the city’s fall. The base of a major saber sect with a history of several thousand years in the Snow Province was reduced to ashes amidst the flames of war. The Bright Mind Sect and the Leiyin Sect ended up worse. Almost all the people of these two clans had been killed, and their premises had become the bases of some new forces…
The glory of the nine major sects in the Snow Province had also become history. Only three sects survived in a strange way.
The first sect that survived the war was the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect. Legend had it that Ding Hao had moved to the immortal land together with all other members of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect, and the sect’s original base had become a place where almost everyone could set foot. However, after chaos broke out, the empty base became a forbidden place for martial arts in the Snow Province.
Countless large and small forces once attempted to take possession of the base that was once run by the most powerful force of martial arts in the Snow Province, but they all failed and returned in low spirits in the end. Both emerging local forces and invaders from the Land of Divine Grace suffered thunderous blows when they got within a hundred miles of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect’s base on the mountain…
It was rumored that a supreme master was guarding the base and no one dared to provoke him.
Countless civilians and ordinary people rushed to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain for protection. That mysterious supreme master acquiesced in this matter. As a result, at least five million people had come to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain in a couple of months…
The second sect that survived was the Tranquility Academy.
The Tranquility Academy was once a martial arts overlord in the Snow Province. After Ding Hao’s rise, it changed its operating style and became a holy land of martial arts second only to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect in the eyes of countless young people in the Snow Province. Since Ding Hao and other members of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect left, the Tranquility Academy had attracted countless talented young martial artists in the Snow Province…
When the chaos just began, some people fixed their eyes on this ancient sect. The scripture library of the academy had collected countless secret books and precious materials. Moreover, the academy had acc.u.mulated a large amount of wealth over the years, and the young disciples were also its precious wealth. A new force called the “Temple of G.o.ds” joined forces with a mercenary troop from the Land of Divine Grace to seize the academy…
On that day, the situation was very critical. Seeing that the Tranquility Academy was about to be seized, president Kong Yiru and the female literary master named Ji Yingqi got ready to die for the academy.
Right at that moment, countless streams of light and swords fell from the sky, followed by dense wisps of red mist. In just a few seconds, all the masters from the Temple of G.o.ds and the mercenary troop had been killed.
Since then, almost no force dared to covet the Tranquility Academy.
No one knew who was protecting the Tranquility Academy. However, everyone was sure that the protector was a supreme master because the DemiG.o.d-level master in the mercenary troop was killed before he could react or resist…
The third sect that survived was the Zero Thought Sect, which was a Buddhist force.
The Zero Thought Sect was not the top one among the nine major sects in the Snow Province. However, it was said a supreme master from the Great Leiyin Monastery in the Western Desert was supporting the Zero Thought Sect. For some time, the Zero Thought Snow Mountain remained as strong as steel.
Except for these three major sects, the original sects and forces in the Snow Province had all experienced turmoil and disasters.
…
One day, the wind was mild, and the sun was bright.
In the base area of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect.
The ground was covered with large and small tents and thatched huts, and wisps of smoke were rising up from the chimneys. It was mid-spring already, but in the Snow Province, it was still a little cold. Ice and snow melt.w.a.ter surged and rushed in streams across the gra.s.sland. On the gra.s.sland, there was still snow that hadn’t melted yet.
There were refugees everywhere.
Song Guang was one of the refugees.
Before the war broke out, he was only six years old. His father was a merchant named Song Qiyi, who ran a small stall in the market by the Mirror Lake to sustain the family.
However, when the Black-blood Dragon Mercenary Troop attacked the Mirror Lake region, the small business of the Song Family was destroyed. Song Qiyi was injured, and his house was destroyed. The homeless family didn’t even have enough food to eat, and the situation was getting worse.
As the chaos continued, a ruthless new force took control of the Mirror Lake region.
One day, Song Qiyi was forced to repair some defensive structures. He had a flare-up while working, got beaten up by several martial artists of the new force, and died in the end.
His death was a bolt from the blue for his sun Song Guang and his wife Yin Wantong. Having lost the mainstay of the family, the mother and his son could barely survive. Just then, the Mirror Lake region was thrown into the chaos of war again. In the end, Yin Wantong escaped with her son and came to the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain through many hards.h.i.+ps. Along the way, they almost got killed several times!
Under the protection of that mysterious supreme master of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect, the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain was the only safe place for civilians within the range of thousands of miles.
Song Guang would stare blankly in the direction of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain every day.
“Mother, I want to go up to the mountain. If I could become a disciple of that mysterious supreme master of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect, I would definitely avenge my father’s death,” he said, clenching his small fist.
Yin Wantong took her son into her arms and nodded.
However, she knew it was impossible.
She heard that the gate of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Sect’s base had been closed, and even those masters of martial arts couldn’t get into the base, not to mention ordinary people like her and her son. The road to the mountain had been cut off, and even flying birds couldn’t get in there.
Recently, countless people went to the foot of the mountain and asked the supreme master to accept them as his disciples. Some even waited ten days and ten nights on their knees by the Sword-cleansing Pond at the foot of the mountain. However, the mysterious supreme master on the mountain never showed up or made any response.
Obviously, the supreme master didn’t want to accept disciples at all.
“Mom, look at the light over there,” Song Guang suddenly shouted.
The people around them burst into an uproar. Countless refugees who had gathered here looked in the direction of the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain in shock. A huge silver halo suddenly appeared in the sky above the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain and ripped through the air, and numerous vague figures appeared…
“That’s the s.p.a.ce gate of the Land of Divine Grace…” someone shouted. The refugees had seen many scenes like that these days. They knew that many invading mercenaries descended from the sky just like that.
“Are the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the Land of Divine Grace going to attack the Swordsmans.h.i.+p-seeking Mountain?”
“What are we supposed to do? Can that supreme master withstand it?”
The refugees grew anxious. This place was the last pure land for them. If the invaders from the Land of Divine Grace seized this place, they would lose all hope and have no choice but to wait to be killed.