Chapter Eighty-Nine: Preparations for the Press Conference

Lin Fan’s heartfelt words may not have had the soaring ambition or blood-stirring force of those written by professional speechwriters.

But at that moment, the Slaying God Army was utterly of one mind.

No one hesitated. No one needed Lin Fan to urge them on; they returned to training of their own accord, and even worked harder than usual.

Because

their forebears had trusted them.

At half past two in the afternoon, Lin Fan was in the drill field sparring with Xingye in blade combat.

As a former God of Asura, Lin Fan’s saber technique was fierce and domineering, steeped in killing intent, all about sweeping offense and defense in vast, open strokes.

Now, with the equally mighty and overbearing Azure Dragon Crescent Blade in hand, his combat strength had surged. As the blade flashed, its energy howled through the air.

Xingye, by contrast, was entirely different. Born into the assassin lineage of the Dark Shadow and Falling Star Sect, the fishgut dagger in her hand moved without a sound. Her style was icy and sinister; the curved blade was like a viper flicking its tongue. She struck rarely, but when she did, every move was vicious, aimed straight at vital points.

Clang!

Lin Fan pivoted and blocked the Fishgut Dagger stabbing at him from behind with a single swing, not even turning his head, and immediately spun again.

Whoosh!

The Azure Dragon Crescent Blade left a trail of afterimages, and with a roar like a dragon tearing through the sky, it slashed straight at Xingye, who had suddenly appeared behind Lin Fan.

Xingye’s pupils contracted. She tried to evade, but it was already too late.

Hum.

The blade’s radiance trembled.

The descending edge froze in an instant, hovering three inches from Xingye’s neck.

If Lin Fan had intended to kill, Xingye would already be a corpse, and a headless one at that.

Looking at the blade light halted before her throat, then at a single strand of hair severed by the blade wind as it drifted away, Xingye’s voice trembled. How... how is this possible...

“Your Dark Shadow movement art is already quite good. Even I can’t catch you,” Lin Fan said evenly. “And you know the vulnerable points of the human body very well, too. Your timing is excellent.”

“But remember this.”

“As an assassin, you must strike from the unexpected, not appear behind your opponent every time. Just now, I didn’t see you at all, but I knew you would definitely appear behind me.”

“You mean...” Xingye blinked, startled.

“I deliberately left that opening behind me.” Lin Fan nodded.

Understanding dawned on Xingye at once.

Lin Fan said in a grave voice, “From now on, before every strike, think carefully: is this truly a flaw your enemy has intentionally exposed, or a chance you have really seized?”

“Your assassination technique is already perfect. What’s still lacking is a real understanding of combat.”

“Of course, when an opportunity comes, it vanishes in an instant. There isn’t much time for you to think.” Lin Fan patted Xingye on the shoulder. “So you can only train more, until that judgment becomes instinct.”

Xingye nodded.

Just then—

“Lin Fan.” Elder Chen strode over quickly.

“Elder Chen,” Lin Fan said, startled. “Did you come looking for me for something?”

“Nonsense!” Elder Chen looked at him with exasperation. “The National Seat told you himself yesterday. You forgot?”

Lin Fan froze slightly, his eyes blank with confusion.

Seeing his expression, Elder Chen grew irritated. “At three this afternoon, the first conversation with the gods!”

“Oh!” Lin Fan’s face cleared at once. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “I was too busy today—waking ancient artifacts, organizing training—I forgot...”

“No more nonsense. Come with me now.” Elder Chen grabbed Lin Fan and led him out of the drill field, saying as they walked, “There’s only half an hour left. Everything’s ready over there. The staff and equipment are in place, and the reporters have already been let in... and the one person responsible for the conversation was missing!”

“Come on, hurry up. The speech the National Seat prepared for you to represent Great Xia is ready.”

Carrying the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, Lin Fan was dragged away by Elder Chen, who was defenseless as a newborn lamb, in full view of more than a hundred members of the Slaying God Army.

As he was hauled along, Lin Fan sighed regretfully, unwilling to leave.

What a pity.

He still hadn’t found a chance to cut off Xingye’s veil with the dragon blade...

She must be a beauty, right? Judging by her figure and bearing, Xingye must be a beauty, right?

...

At ten to three in the afternoon, at the Great Xia Supreme Hall.

A large number of reporters from home and abroad had already taken their places. Elders of Great Xia’s central academies, as well as the heads of each major district and the commanders of the military regions, had also arrived and were seated.

Every face was filled with tension.

A conversation with the gods!

This was Great Xia’s first conversation with the gods!

What manner of beings they were, no one had known before this; all that was known was that they possessed extraordinarily formidable power.

A dialogue with an entirely unknown existence... was worthy of being recorded in history.

More than that, the content of this conversation would influence Great Xia’s decisions going forward: war or peace!

At the same time, this press conference would also be broadcast live on television stations and online platforms both at home and abroad.

At that moment, everyone’s attention was fixed on a small box atop the podium.

It was a sound-frequency converter developed by Elder Chen and the research staff through countless experiments. Only with this device could humanity conduct its first exchange with the gods.

“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly,” said Elder Jin, seated nearby, as he turned to look at Bai Zhan, the commander of the Chuan Province Military Region. His old face was complex. “Bai Zhan, you know this too. I may always have been a hard-line advocate for war, but if you ask who least wants war in all of Great Xia, it’s me.”

“I’m not like you young people. These old bones of mine were truly forged in heaps of corpses. I’ve been to border clashes. I’ve seen comrades die before my eyes. And that year’s...”

“Ah.” Bai Zhan sighed as well. “Who wants war? If none of this had happened, my son would be in college right now. Instead, he’s gone off to that Slaying God Army, and I’m not even allowed to say a word, much less ask the chief commander to look after him.”

As he spoke, worry colored Bai Zhan’s face.

He worried whether his child ate or slept well, whether his child was being bullied in the Slaying God Army, whether in the future, if war really came...

Everyone knew why the Slaying God Army had been formed!

When the gods descended, it would be the most dangerous force of all!

Elder Jin was hearing this for the first time and froze for a moment, then said quietly, “If it really comes to that, I’ll talk to Lin Fan and get your boy transferred out...”

“Don’t start trouble!” Bai Zhan shot him an exasperated look and rubbed his face. “If you really did that, that kid would come after me with a gun sooner or later. Sigh... young people these days... haha. Still, I guess it’s fine. My son turned out to be a man with some backbone.”

Bai Zhan laughed.

Elder Jin also burst out laughing.

But in the next moment, Elder Jin sensed that something was off and asked suspiciously, “Where’s Lin Fan? Didn’t Chen Yan go get him? Why hasn’t he arrived yet?”

“By rights, he should already be here!”