Volcanic Age

Chapter 276: The Return of the Sword God (1)

The war ended, and peace came.

Although it was only an uneasy peace that could be broken at any moment, it was still a precious moment to catch one's breath. Due to the scale of the war, one could hear discussions about the Great War of Good and Demonic everywhere.

Moreover, the hottest topic of conversation was definitely the news of Zhou Xuchuan's survival, whom everyone had presumed to be dead.

"They say that the Sword Dragon is alive."

"What? Is that really true?"

At first, people dismissed it as a rumor.

Rumors were going around that the Martial Alliance was trying to raise support using the name of the Righteous Faction's hero. It seemed as though the alliance was trying to create false hopes to rally morale during the war.

However, there were more than one or two witnesses, and because of the decisive battle with the Heavenly Demon, they eventually had no choice but to believe it.

"Not only that, but apparently, the Heavenly Demon Lost to the Sword Dragon!"

"Or, maybe he won this fight by chance, too, like with the Blood Demon?"

As expected, the battle was just as unbelievable as the Sword Dragon's return.

Even if they were to take the fact that someone whom they had thought to be dead had returned as true, it would be impossible for a thirty-year-old, no, in fact, a young man barely out of his early twenties, to defeat one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords in a head-on confrontation.

Just like before, however, there were too many witnesses for it to be a lie. The witnesses involved hundreds of warriors from the Martial Alliance and thousands of demon cultists.

The rumors were true, and they shocked the murim.

Everyone doubted their ears and wondered exactly what had happened.

It was shocking news. The news was so shocking that many couldn't quite believe it. Even the Frontier was shaken by the news as well. Moreover, the aftermath of the matter was quite massive, too.

The Righteous Faction murim was in a truly festive mood.

Not only had they defeated the Blood Cult and the Demon Cult, but Zhou Xuchuan, their hero and their hope for the future, had returned as an Absolute Master.

The Righteous Faction members cheered with smiles and their arms wide open.

"Long live the Martial Alliance!"

"Long live Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan! Long live the Mount Hua Sect!"

"Long live Sword God Zhou Xuchuan!"

***

Shaanxi, the Mount Hua Sect

"I knew he was alive!" Zheng Huilian shouted, slapping his knee at the news of Zhou Xuchuan's survival.

The Sect Master forgot about his dignity and leaped up from his seat, rejoicing like a child.

"Yes, of course. That brat wouldn't die so easily!" Pill Apothecary Ling Zhen said as he cackled with glee.

The other Five High Elders of Mount Hua all breathed a sigh of relief.

"It really is a relief."

"Senior Brother Liu, congratulations."

"You must feel so relieved, Junior Brother Liu."

The disciples of Mount Hua went to Zhou Xuchuan's master, the Gentle Smiling Swordsman, Liu Zhengmu, to congratulate him.

"Thank you," Liu Zhengmu responded with a faint smile.

Truthfully, he wasn't as overjoyed as everyone else. After all, he already vaguely knew that his disciple was alive. To be precise, he had faith in his disciple.

He's not a child who's going to die so easily.

Zhou Xuchuan had been extraordinary since childhood. Moreover, he had turned up alive and well when he went missing during the battle with the Watertop Spearman and the Nine Water Gangs.

Furthermore, the fact that his disciple had fallen off a cliff and his body was never found made Liu Zhengmu feel even more convinced that his disciple was still alive.

"Whew, what a relief." Even Sage Sword Xue Song was relieved, saying that it truly was a great blessing. After all, hadn't the former Sect Master died an untimely death?

It was only in the aftermath of that horrid news that they heard the news about Zhou Xuchuan's death. Zhou Xuchuan was their future and their hope, so they were left scrambling about what to do next.

Zhou Xuchuan's "death" had a considerable ripple effect.

The long lines of guests and visitors in front of their sect had decreased significantly, and there were even extreme cases of parents—after entrusting their children to Mount Hua while claiming it was the best—turning around to protest.

The situation was so bad that they had to cut off support to the lay disciples for a while.

Moreover, everyone was on edge and blinded by revenge.

Fortunately, Zhou Xuchuan had finally returned, calming everyone down.

Xue Song had been so nervous about this incident that his hair had fallen out.

The best part of it all was the birth of the new Sword God.

The birth of an Absolute Master of the Seven Empyrean Overlords was, for all intents and purposes, a direct measure of a sect's power and influence.

No matter how lauded they were for being the strongest of sects, without the presence of an Absolute Master, such heyday would inevitably end.

This fact was no different, even for one of the Nine Sects and One Gang, so it as even more applicable to a great sect that boasted a long history like the Mount Hua Sect.

Fortunately, they could continue their heyday thanks to the peerless genius named Zhou Xuchuan.

***

Anhui, Martial Alliance headquarters.

"Good!"

Nangong Weiwu also forgot about his pride and celebrated without care. The upper echelons of the Martial Alliance were the same.

Everyone was in a festive mood.

They had been gloomy since hearing the bad results from the first clash. The strategists had stayed up all night discussing how to break the loss streak, but there had been no signs of improvement at all.

Nangong Weiwu was ready to step forward, but unfortunately, he had to remain behind as the last bastion. The Evil Valley was also a concern, as Domination God Monarch had just become the Evil Valley's ally.

Thus, they had no choice but to wait for news with unsteady legs.

Not long after, they were informed of Exalted Shang Ming's death, and Nangong Weiwu's face turned especially pale when he heard that his precious grandson, Boundless Dragon Nangong Shanxu, was on the verge of death.

While he was stewing in helplessness and grumbling to himself about what good his position as the Martial Alliance Leader could bring to him, he suddenly heard that piece of unbelievable news.

The Sword Dragon—no, the Sword God and the Heavenly Demon had a decisive battle.

At the critical juncture, Zhou Xuchuan appeared and saved everyone.

"Yes, yes! There's no way that brat will die so easily!" Nangong Weiwu also doubted Zhou Xuchuan's death.

It wasn't as if the term "Coruscant" was something one would give to the dog next door, so there was no way that Zhou Xuchuan would die so easily.

Even though it was said that the Demon Cult's Four Great Guardians and their squadrons had joined forces, there were still more than a few things that made him feel uneasy.

Great Hero Zhou… he truly is amazing. Zhuge Xiang couldn't help but feel astonished and amazed. When he closed his eyes, he was reminded of the Zhou Xuchuan of his childhood.

Even back then, he could already feel something extraordinary from Zhou Xuchuan. However, he never could have expected that the boy back then would ascend to an Empyrean Overlord before he even turned thirty.

Thanks to you, Xiuluan managed to survive. I must thank you later.

As an older brother, he couldn't help but worry about his younger sister. They were exceptionally close as well. He hadn't wanted to send her to the dangerous front lines, but the situation hadn't allowed him to stop it.

Zhuge Xiang rubbed his chest in relief and turned to the Martial Alliance Leader to sort things out.

***

"What?" The Evil Valley Master was dumbfounded. "Say that again. What?"

"Zhou Xuchuan has returned; he's alive."

"Ha, wow. What a tenacious brat."

The Evil Valley Master never really liked Zhou Xuchuan much. Of course, he was one of those who would froth at the mouth if he ended up finding out the Domination God Monarch's true identity.

While it was quite some time ago, their horrid relationship started in Guizhou.

The diversionary operation that the Evil Valley Master had personally prepared ended up failing because of Zhou Xuchuan. He suffered a crushing defeat at the time, so he had been nursing a grudge against Zhou Xuchuan since then.

After that, he attempted to kill the boy somehow using the Nine Water Gangs, but it also failed.

To make matters worse, assassinating the boy became even more difficult as the boy grew up. The difficulty increased drastically as the boy would hide whenever something major happened.

Afterward, many things happened in the Evil Valley, so he stopped caring about it altogether.

Although the brat had been getting on his nerves, the Valley Master had no choice but to leave him alone. When he heard the news of the brat's death one day, he clapped his hands and rejoiced.

However, to think that brat would come back intact without losing even a single limb! Moreover, he had even become an Absolute Master. The Evil Valley Master couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Could he really have achieved the Manifestation of One's Path at such a young age?!

The annoyance welling up in his heart was one thing, but he couldn't help but wonder whether Zhou Xuchuan had truly reached Manifestation of One's Path.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand how Zhou Xuchuan managed to do what the other Empyrean Overlords had done.

However, there were more than one or two witnesses, and the brat had also fought on equal terms with the Heavenly Demon in front of thousands of people, so he had no choice but to believe it.

"I should have trampled on the buds back then to prevent him from blooming, but alas…" The Evil Valley Master licked his lips, seemingly regretting his inaction.

***

The rumors about the Great War of Good and Demonic were endless, like a spring that would never dry up. There were so many rumors that it seemed like there was a boundless ocean of it.

After all, wasn't there a saying about how a word without legs could travel a thousand miles?[1]

The rumors proliferated was so fast that it traveled around the murim several times. Of course, not all of the rumors were true. Most rumors in the gangho were distorted or exaggerated. More than half of them were false, and not many of the remaining half were true.

"Have you heard about Wu Qu of the Gold Will Merchants?"

"A little. Isn't he the warrior backed by the Sword God, Zhou Xuchuan?"

"I heard that he struck down the Vice Cult Leader War Tiger Demon and the Northern Death Guardian Yan Qiuyou with a single sword…"

Among those rare true rumors, the rumor about Wu Qu was one of the few true ones. He quickly attracted attention because two Great Demon Heads had fallen at his hands. His previous title, the Money-Crazed Sword Ghost, became a thing of the past.

Since he had been working for the Gold Will Merchants for quite a while now and was affiliated with them, it had seemed as though he would never lose that title.

However, he had been very active this time, and the Sword God had praised him as well, so it was natural for him to be reevaluated. The fact that he had killed most of his enemies with a single sword was pretty impressive, earning him a new title—Sword Demon.

They called him "Sword Demon' because of the fact that he constantly polished his sword.

"I heard that the Head Merchant of the Gold Will Merchants was worried about the peace of the murim, so he sent out the Sword Demon…"

"That golden bug… No, the Merchant King did?"

Even Li Yicai was now being called the Merchant King.

The merchant company had grown in size, and he had succeeded in many various business ventures, even acquiring a famous merchant company as well as gaining recognition for his abilities.

Thanks to the Gold Will Sword Sect—cultivated by Zhou Xuchuan and Wu Qu—there was no loss of goods and damage to the company were reduced to a minimum. On top of it all, there was no need to hire guards, meaning that expenses were reduced.

In addition, Wu Qu occasionally took care of the merchant company's enemies and troublemakers, which meant that there were no particular problems for them either.

After the Great War of Good and Blood, he and the Gold Will Merchants helped the Martial Alliance in their need for free or at low prices, which helped them gain the favor of the Righteous Faction.

"I thought he was just a greedy person, but he seems to be a better person than I thought."

"Yeah. He always helps the Martial Alliance whenever they're in trouble."

The Gold Will Merchants had recently been gaining support from the Righteous Faction murim, and the Sword Demon's activities were like giving wings to a tiger. This was all happening without any external help.

The Gold Will Sword Sect also saw a surge in visitors after rumors spread that Zhou Xuchuan and Wu Qu had visited and were acting as temporary instructors.

In addition, the actions of Zhi Yiguang, who had risked his life to buy time, were revealed to the general public, and his reputation grew immensely as a result.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xuchuan, who was at the center of the uproar within the murim, was resting in the barracks.

After defeating the Heavenly Demon, he fell into a deep sleep due to the side effects of Regression, making those around him feel worried about him. However, he woke up after a good night's sleep and was in perfect health.

After the Great War of Good and Demonic, he gathered the wounded, paid a fair price, and rented a nearby village to rest in. Even after several days, however, Zhou Xuchuan remained locked in his room, severely restricting visitors.

"Is Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan okay?"

"I brought medicine for the Great Hero."

"Please let me see him once."

"What should we do about our Great Hero…"

"Who's the Great Hero again?"

"Sob, Zhou Gege!"[2]

"Gege? How dare you call him that?!"

Hundreds of people gathered in front of Zhou Xuchuan's residence. This wasn't an exaggeration; hundreds of people would indeed gather in front of Zhou Xuchuan's residence every day.

When the Demon Cult's defeat and the Martial Alliance's victory were cemented, those who had been waiting for an opportunity came from all over to congratulate Zhou Xuchuan.

Their intentions were obvious.

However, since they had also brought relief supplies, he couldn't openly chide them.

"Now that I've become an Empyream Overlord, the attention I can gather has become extraordinary."

While acting as the Domination God Monarch, he had a fierce appearance, and he was giving off an air that made it difficult to approach him. However, as the Sword God admired and respected by many people, he couldn't quite do that.

In the past, he used to envy this position, but now that he was actually in this position, he realized that it wasn't really that great.

There's a lot to do, too. Zhou Xuchuan recalled that conversation with the Heavenly Demon. Before his death, the Heavenly Demon gave a brief explanation of the Dark Heavens Association, saying that it was a reward for the winner.

Since it was information personally given to him by Warped Valor, one of the seven executives, the quality of the information was extraordinary.

While taking down the Dark Heavens Association is the most important task, other things also need to be prioritized. Zhou Xuchuan's eyes narrowed.

1. This is impossible to translate properly. The Joke stems from the word for horse, and the word for word being the same in Korean, Mal. So it's a Mal (Horse/Word) without legs that could travel a hundred miles. ☜

2. The Chinese version of oppa, and one of the reasons we stick to using Korean honorifics even though the names are in Chinese. While Oppa in murim novels is older brother in a familial sense, Gege is older brother in a romantic sense. ☜