Chapter 140: Dust Desires to Stand Alongside the Stars

The autumn harvest.

It was after Xu Xi led the "Sinners" out of the borderlands.

Step by step.

With one heart and one strength.

Using their hands to grip hoes, tilling the land and sowing rice seeds, under a yellow sky stained by the soil, these were the fruits of labor obtained through their identity as human beings.

Sweat transformed into real, tangible hope.

Illuminating every pair of dim eyes.

Xu Xi knew that those who had once "died" had begun to come back to life.

What they had to face next was the world itself, terminally ill, hiding all truths in the shadows, filled with Death Qi.

"Yingxue, let's set off."

"Yes, Master!"

The young girl picked up her spear and jogged lightly behind Xu Xi.

…

[Simulation Year Nine, Autumn]

[You and the impoverished commoners witnessed a great harvest together]

[Although the rice grains distributed to everyone were pitifully few, this was the first harvest that completely belonged to them]

[Some wept, some laughed wildly]

[The commoners followed behind you, no longer in a daze, and you saw light in their eyes]

[Winter arrived quietly, and the earth was once again covered in ice and snow]

[You practiced Persistence by throwing punches every day; in your ordinary fists, every strike unleashed the roar of the heaven and earth within your Qi and blood]

[You practiced Persistence by wielding your blade every day; your simple, unadorned strikes tore through the white clouds in the sky with every swing]

[You practiced Persistence by Observing Principles every day, long-term use of the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye to observe and imitate the workings of the world, further perfecting the heaven and earth within your Qi and blood]

[Heavenly Dao rewards diligence; for every bit of effort, there is a harvest]

[Your tireless, day-and-night Cultivation and your Persistence through heat and cold alike pushed your strength further]

[You did not deliberately engage in Martial Arts Evolution, but throughout your long-term Persistence, time itself evolved a miracle that transcended the ordinary; your martial arts began to converge in a profound and mysterious way, resonating with the heaven and earth of Qi and blood within your body]

[When not Cultivating, you remained constantly vigilant of the Xuanqi Province government, worried that they might launch troops while the heavy snow fell]

…

[Your worries did not come true]

[This winter was as peaceful as the last]

[The commoners celebrated the New Year lively, celebrating the joy of this year's harvest; amidst the rising flames, you gave a New Year's gift to Wu Yingxue]

[It was not gold or silver; in the current Qiuhuo Army, gold and silver were far less precious than food]

[It was not jewelry; the girl, with her carefree personality, had never been interested in such things]

[What you gave the girl was a bunch of "precious" grass spikes]

[You remembered very clearly that the girl particularly liked to eat this]

Another New Year's Eve.

Wu Yingxue took the grass spikes from Xu Xi's hand.

Her expression was full of astonishment.

"Master, who gives this as a gift for the New Year!"

The girl shouted, "Master is a total fool!"

After saying this, she huffed and put the grass spike in her mouth; after chewing it twice, a familiar sweetness spread through her mouth.

"Haha, sorry, there is too little sugar in the city, I can only afford to give you this."

Xu Xi laughed loudly.

He also held a grass spike in his mouth, savoring that hard-won sweetness under the starlit night sky.

…

[Simulation Year Ten, you are 25, Wu Yingxue is 19]

[After winter, the scale of the Qiuhuo Army grew even larger]

[More and more refugees, unable to bear the taxes of the Great Qian, voluntarily joined the ranks of the Qiuhuo Army, becoming one fool after another]

[Wu Yingxue expressed her concern to you]

[She felt that the wanton spread of the Fools Art would also strengthen the Great Qian]

[You smiled and told the girl not to worry]

[Because those high and mighty people are unwilling to Cultivate the Fools Art, and the fools created by force will eventually become members of the Qiuhuo Army]

[Simply because they also want to live, and want to become people with choices]

[In the summer, the Qiuhuo Army led by you swept through Xuanqi Province with an even more fierce posture, and more than half of the province was captured by you]

[The Xuanqi Province government finally made a move]

[From the intelligence brought back by the scouts, you learned that the enemy had not only mobilized the provincial troops but also called up border troops from several checkpoints; the number of Xiantian Martial Artists alone exceeded eight]

[You knew this battle would be difficult and that many people were destined to die; you allowed the timid to stay in the county town, after all, your original intention was not to let the commoners die in vain]

[But no one was willing to leave]

"Xi-geer is good at everything, except he's too honest. If we aren't there, what will he do if he gets bullied!"

"That's right, that's right, I want to protect Brother Xu!"

"If Grand Master Xu and Little Master Wu aren't leaving, we aren't leaving either!"

Riding donkeys, riding mules.

Holding hoes, wielding kitchen knives.

The undisciplined commoners, in such a chaotic manner, formed an even larger Qiuhuo Army before Xu Xi's eyes, claiming they wanted to advance and retreat with Xu Xi.

Xu Xi looked up at the sun.

He only felt that today's sunlight was exceptionally dazzling.

Causing his eyes to ache.

…

[The war began; it was an incredibly bloody war that destroyed all vitality and peace]

[Facing the armored Great Qian elite cavalry, the fools of the Qiuhuo Army could only adopt the simplest human-wave tactics, each of them acting like lunatics, desperately blocking the advance of the horses]

[They hacked, hacking until their hoes and kitchen knives snapped]

[They bit, biting until their own teeth shattered]

[Countless Qiuhuo members showed no fear of death at this moment, blocking those figures attempting sneak attacks for you, turning into an indestructible human wall]

[You fought against the Xiantian Martial Artists of the Great Qian, and the young girl guarded your flanks]

[You worked together to cope, sometimes fists roaring against mountains and rivers, sometimes spears shattering the sky, using all your strength to suppress all the enemy Xiantian Martial Artists]

[This was the only thing you could do for the fools]

[Without the entry of Xiantian Martial Generals, it was difficult for regular Great Qian soldiers to defeat the mud-legged folks who viewed death as a return to life]

[You won]

[The Qiuhuo Army won]

[Although the victory was tragic]

The scene of the battlefield was like an unfolding scroll of blood.

It was covered in mutilated corpses and twisted pools of blood, with weapons and severed limbs submerged within, exposing a slight layer on the surface.

Those who died died forever.

Those who lived could hardly stand up.

In every sense, every bit of essence and Qi in their bodies had been squeezed dry.

"Hoo—," Xu Xi sat, leaning on his blade, panting heavily, the scene of blood and carnage behind him even more tragic.

"Master, let me carry you."

Even though she herself was standing with extreme difficulty.

Wu Yingxue still walked to Xu Xi, trembling as she reached out, wanting to carry Xu Xi on her back.

She succeeded in lifting him.

But she fell at the first step.

Taking Xu Xi with her, the two of them fell into a pool of blood, their entire bodies becoming incredibly disheveled.

"Let me do it," Xu Xi gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his body, and stood up from the ground.

This time, it was his turn to carry the young girl.

Thump—

Xu Xi also failed.

The battle had been so intense that even the heaven and earth within their Qi and blood had been overdrawn and exhausted, causing them to fall again, their faces covered in blood and mud.

In a sorry state, looking utterly wretched.

After a moment of daze.

The two of them burst into laughter together.

"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"

For the last attempt, neither Xu Xi nor Wu Yingxue carried the other; instead, they supported each other, moving forward slowly with staggering steps.

Together, they walked toward the Xuanqi Province government.

Behind them, in the brilliant sunlight, were countless people of different heights, also enduring pain as they paced forward, the people of the Qiuhuo Army.

The wind picked up.

Humble dust desires to fly up to the high heavens.

To stand alongside the brilliant stars.