The Fall of Southern Iron Wall

In the middle of the endless desert, the Central Continent, the Southern Iron Wall.

Thick, black smoke billowed into the sky. Thousands of warriors surged toward the crumbling fortress, its once-solid walls now reduced to rubble. Inside, the defenders fought valiantly to hold off the enemy, but despite their desperate efforts, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

The sea of cultivators swarmed like tiny ants, easily crushed beneath the footsteps of a god in the sky. The air was filled with the screams of the dying, echoing from every corner.

One thing was certain: the cultivators of the Southern Iron Wall were being relentlessly pushed back, losing ground with every passing moment.

"Li Fang! Today is the day you die! Dig a grave for yourself and your men!" A voice boomed across the camp, sending chills down the spines of everyone who heard it.

Meanwhile, inside the main building of the Southern Iron Wall, Li Fang hurriedly carried his son down a dimly lit corridor. Although he was the camp commander, not a single soldier escorted him. Li Fang trusted no one, even his own soldiers.

"Dad, why are we going to the cellar?" his son whispered, eyes wide with fear.

Li Yun was only ten years old, but he had something special in his brain. He knows that something big is happening in his father's camp. Looking into his father's eyes, he sensed anger and disappointment.

"Yun, you are a smart boy. You must know what's happening here even if I say nothing." Li Fang didn't answer his son's question directly but instead spoke softly, a surprising gentleness in his smile despite the dire situation. "I'll entrust your mother and sister to you."

"Alright, but what about you?" Li Yun asked, his voice tinged with anxiety.

"Yun, you already know the answer," Li Fang said bitterly, unable to deceive his son. "I'll never step out from my land, even if death was a price."

"Father!" Li Yun shouted. "I am a man of the Southern Iron Wall. Let me lay down my life to defend this wall with you!"

Li Yun spoke with unwavering resolve. He understood his father's willingness to sacrifice everything for the camp, and as a young man, he felt compelled to mirror that commitment.

"I disagree. If something happens to you, the Li Clan will lose its influence in the Central Continent. In times of war like this, even the elderly take up arms, and opportunists will seize upon the fall of the Southern Iron Wall to annihilate our clan. You must stay alive and ensure the safety of everyone in the Li Clan, do you understand?"

"But, I--"

"I wish no words from your mouth," cut Li Fang.

Li Yun can't help but nod his head. Understood.

Long ago, the Central Continent was a bastion of peace and prosperity. For over five hundred years, kingdoms and clans coexisted without conflict. 

However, everything shifted when the Southern Continent, traditional adversary of the Central Continent, harnessed magical powers from meteorite rocks that mysteriously collided with the earth.

Since then, they launched a relentless campaign to invade the North, plunging it into unimaginable chaos.

Through decades of relentless and unwavering struggle, their ancestors successfully repelled the Southern Continent's invading forces. To preempt any potential retaliation, Li Fang's grandfather constructed a formidable defensive fortress on the southern coast of the Central Continent, later known as the Southern Iron Wall.

The camp united forces from all clans and the kingdom's army across the continent, alongside warriors from independent martial arts schools. This collaboration made the Southern Iron Wall the most formidable fortress in the entire Central Continent.

The enemy troops recognized that breaking through the Southern Iron Wall with sheer force was futile. However, they devised a strategy of divide and conquer to undermine its defenses.

The Southern Continent infiltrated some of the most beautiful women in their territory to incite the kings of the Central Continent.

It may be hard to believe, but that childish plan actually worked.

The Southern Iron Wall was not spared either, and Li Fang was accused of collaborating with the enemy to open his fortress' gate and take control of all of the Central Continent.

The accusation was confirmed by the treacherous camp officials, and today the Southern Iron Wall has been invaded by the combined forces of many clans and kingdoms existing in the Central Continent.

Li Fang could only restrain his tears as he watched most of the warriors depart from the Southern Iron Wall, leaving the fortress severely weakened.

"Father, why did those warriors betray us?" Li Yun asked sadly. He had considered the camp officials as his uncles, finding it difficult to comprehend their betrayal.

"Jewel, women, and dominion. These three things can lead people astray from reason," his father replied as they descended further down the stairs.

After a while, they entered a hall lined with a thousand identical doors, each indistinguishable from the next.

"This is the Hall of a Thousand Doors, son," Li Fang said gravely. "Among these thousand doors, 999 are rigged with traps. Only I know the one door that is safe—a path for you to escape this camp."

Li Fang withdrew his sword and drove it into the floor of the hall. Instantly, radiant magic patterns appeared, signaling that the magical trap had been temporarily deactivated.

Li Fang had not only rigged 999 doors in the hall with traps but also set up defenses throughout.

He dashed towards one door among the hundreds, sword in hand. Upon opening it, Li Yun's sister and mother were inside, visibly frightened yet determined to remain resolute.

"Yun'er!" His mother, Li Zun, embraced him tightly.

Li Fang embraced his wife tightly, whispering, "Zun, please take care of our children."

When Li Zun heard this, she sensed her husband's intentions and couldn't suppress her tears. "Fang, where are you planning to go?"

Li Fang, not wanting to show tears when his family needed his strength, replied, "I entrust our children to you, Zun."

He returned to Li Yun, drawing his sword from his waist.

"Yun, I have always used this Flying Jade Sword to protect the precious people in my life. Will you carry on the duties of this sword?"

Li Yun tried to appear strong, not wanting his father to see him as just a boy. With both hands, he accepted the sword. "Yes, Father," he said firmly.

Li Fang turned back and closed the secret room door. That was the last time Li Yun saw his father.

"Come on, we need to go quickly!" Li Zun urged, brushing away her tears as she rose to her feet.

But just as they were about to run, the door suddenly slipped out of its place and shattered into pieces. A person with a black sword walked in while chuckling.

"Uncle Wang Hao." Li Yun hissed while pulling out his father's sword. He stood right before his mother and sister.

Wang Hao, once a trusted warrior of the Southern Iron Wall, had often taken Li Yun to visit cities in the heart of the continent before the era of war, serving as one of his mentors. However, after Wang Hao's betrayal, Li Yun no longer regarded him as family.

"Yun'er, why did you point that sword at me?" Wang Hao asked, his voice carrying a hint of sadness, but Li Yun sensed it was just a small part of his deceit."Yun, why did you point your sword at me?" Wang Hao asked, his voice carrying a hint of sadness, but Li Yun sensed it was just a small part of his deceit.

"This sword is meant for the traitors' head," Li Yun said coldly, his words carrying a chilling weight for a child his age.

"Hahaha!" Wang Hao burst into laughter. "Poor Yun'er, do you really think you have any talent in martial arts? You dare to raise that sword against me and act like a champ? Your father spent so much of the camp's resources just to open your meridian path, but he doesn't realize that trash can never turn into gold."

Li Yun clenched his jaw tightly. He knew he lacked martial talent; his meridians were barely open at all despite his father's tireless efforts and the camp's extensive resources.

Li Yun's status as a failure was an open secret within the Southern Iron Wall.

Wang Hao spoke again, "I'll be kind enough to make this easy and painless. Now put down your sword."

However, Li Zun drew a long dagger from beneath her robe and pointed it at Wang Hao, who was still grinning.

"Yun, Xuan, go away! Let me deal with this bastard!" Li Zun said without releasing her sharp gaze on Wang Hao.

Li Yun hardened his resolve, maintaining his stance. "Mother, Sister, just go. I'll handle this. Let's hope we meet again in heaven."

Wang Hao chuckled and shook his head. "It's a pity, I don't have time to waste. If I'm even a little late, the rest of the camp's resources will be taken by the others."

Wang Hao lunged forward, swinging his sword. His first target was Li Zun, a woman of modest martial skill. 

Defenseless against Wang Hao's attack, Li Zun could do nothing with her dagger.

SPLASH!

"MOM!"

Li Yun shouted in anguish as he watched his mother fall, a stab wound piercing her chest. Fueled by rage, he impulsively lunged at Wang Hao.

"YOU BASTARD!" Li Yun shouted, swinging his sword with all his might.

"Stupid kid," Wang Hao sneered, his grin spreading as he swung his sword again.

Li Yun was knocked down as Wang Hao's sword cut through his chest. He slumped against the wall, blood cascading like a waterfall. Through blurred vision, he witnessed his sister Li Xuan meet the same fate at the tip of Wang Hao's sword.

"Can't... can't be forgiven," Li Yun whispered with his last breath. "In my next life, I will avenge everyone involved in this. I swire..."

As he muttered his last words, Li Yun's consciousness faded, his vision darkening. Shortly after, his breathing ceased.

Wang Hao was the sole living person in the room. He sighed heavily, gazing at his sword with a trace of guilt.

"Yun, I'm sorry, but even with the Southern Iron Wall standing, we can't hold back the enemy's power. And... if I still want to continue on the martial path, joining the enemy troops is the only option. Please forgive me once more."

Right after saying that, Wang Hao hurriedly fled the room. Unaware, he didn't notice Li Yun's chest rise and fall again, nor did the boy's fingers twitch. Remarkably, even the wound on his chest had simply vanished.

The boy opened his eyes and found something extraordinary happening inside him.

"I'm… not dead yet?"