All of us are one

Chapter 139 The End of the Old Era

In Jiang Yanming's memory, Senior Liang had a ruddy complexion, white hair and beard, and while not exactly burly, he was well-proportioned.

Even just looking at his back, one could tell that Senior Liang was nearing the end of his life, as if he were about to die at any moment...

"Senior Liang." Jiang Yanming stepped forward a few steps and bowed respectfully at the edge of the stone pavilion.

"Come and sit down." Senior Liang's hoarse and weak voice rang out, and he slightly raised his skinny hand, gesturing for Jiang Yanming to sit opposite him.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yanming stepped into the stone pavilion, came to the stone table, saw Senior Liang's profile, paused for a moment, and then sat down at the stone table.

He noticed that Senior Liang's skin was covered with age spots, his cheeks were thin and his eye sockets were sunken, giving off a sense of decay, and his eyes were cloudy and lacked any vitality.

"I thought Alliance Leader Jiang would come back to see me one last time." Senior Liang sighed in a hoarse voice as Jiang Yanming sat down. "It's better that he didn't come back. It seems he's close to reaching that point. It's a pity I was born at the wrong time... I won't be able to see it."

"I have come on behalf of my father to pay my respects to you, senior." Jiang Yanming said after a moment of silence, "It has only been a few months since we last met, and I did not expect to see you in this state."

"I didn't expect this either." Senior Liang smiled slightly. "I only had two or three years left to live, so I thought I would travel around the Divine Martial Kingdom and take another look at the world I once protected. I never expected to run into the Thousand Machines Sect Master."

"Senior was injured by the Thousand Machines Sect Master?" Jiang Yanming's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That's not it. The Thousand Machines Sect Master is not weak among the top-tier warriors, but he still can't hurt me," Senior Liang said with a sigh. "I don't know how the Thousand Machines Sect managed to create a puppet that can be controlled by multiple Condensation Realm Fourth Stage warriors. Apart from being a bit less agile, its strength is not much weaker than that of an ordinary top-tier warrior. In addition, it also raises a top-tier level exotic beast."

"Top-tier puppets and strange beasts?" Jiang Yanming was shocked upon hearing this.

"Heh, I didn't expect the Thousand Machines Sect to come up with these things," Senior Liang said softly. "But whether it's puppets or strange beasts, they are not good for the Divine Martial Kingdom, so I destroyed the puppets and killed the strange beasts."

"That Thousand Machines Sect Master was decisive, abandoning his puppets and beasts early on, and managed to escape after taking a single blow from Liang."

Jiang Yanming slightly opened his eyes.

Good heavens, no wonder he is a powerhouse above the pinnacle. Even with his life force depleted, he can still kill top-level puppets and strange beasts.

"I originally wanted to kill the Thousand Machines Sect Master and end it all," Senior Liang sighed. "Alas, my body won't allow it, and I can only watch him escape."

"Senior Liang has already done enough for the Divine Martial Kingdom." Jiang Yanming bowed respectfully.

"Hehe." Senior Liang smiled and shook his head upon hearing this. "Since you represent your father, what did your father say?"

Jiang Yanming immediately pondered. His father hadn't explicitly stated anything, but when he sent him to Shenwu Kingdom, he made Li Kun undergo an investigation, which clearly indicated his stance.

Jiang Yanming then cupped his hands and said, "My father said that he will be in charge of the Shenwu Kingdom from now on, and he will renegotiate the agreement that Senior Liang previously made with the four-nation alliance."

"Haha! Good! Excellent!" Senior Liang laughed heartily upon hearing this, his face flushing slightly. "With Alliance Leader Jiang in charge of the Divine Martial Kingdom from now on, I can finally rest easy!"

Jiang Yanming looked at Senior Liang with some surprise, noticing the significant changes in his appearance and even his physique.

As the age spots on Senior Liang's skin gradually disappeared, his complexion became rosy at a visible speed, his thin cheeks became fuller, his eyes were no longer cloudy but bright and piercing, his hair and beard were shiny and no longer like withered grass, and his skin and bones appeared out of nowhere with muscles and fat, filling out his loose white clothes.

In just a few breaths, Senior Liang reverted to the appearance Jiang Yanming remembered.

Senior Liang slowly got up, strolled over to the large tree whose canopy covered the stone pavilion, and placed his hand on the thick trunk.

"This tree was planted by Mr. Liang's wife herself." Senior Liang stroked the trunk, his eyes filled with tenderness, and looked up at the huge canopy, saying, "It's been more than two hundred years. It's truly remarkable that it has grown from a small tree to this size."

Senior Liang withdrew his hand, gently smoothing his clothes. He sat cross-legged facing the large tree, and a murmur emanated from it, "I hope it can accompany the Liang family, the Wang family, and the Zhen family for another two hundred years..."

Jiang Yanming watched quietly, and when he saw the figure sitting cross-legged in front of the tree with his hands hanging limply at his sides, he realized that Senior Liang, who had guarded the Divine Martial Kingdom for more than two hundred years, had passed away.

Jiang Yanming then rose and went outside the stone pavilion, where he respectfully bowed to the seated figure, saying, "Respectfully seeing off Senior."

"Respectfully bidding farewell to the Ancestor." Liang Qingteng's voice choked with emotion, his eyes moist, as he respectfully bowed to the figure sitting cross-legged under the big tree, his words filled with unconcealed grief.

The second most powerful person, the pillar of the three great families of Jiangnan, has passed away today!

call!

A gust of wind blew by, the leaves rustled softly, and a person appeared not far from the stone pavilion.

"Senior Liang has passed away..." The man's voice was quite authoritative, deep and somewhat weathered.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yanming looked over and saw an elderly man with gray hair dressed in a purple robe bowing to the remains of Senior Liang.

"Senior Ye." Liang Qingteng wiped his cheeks and bowed respectfully to the visitor.

"Senior Ye?" Upon hearing this, Jiang Yanming understood immediately. This person must be Ye Bei, the pinnacle of Beiliu City!

"Is this Alliance Leader Jiang's son?" The gray-haired elder, Ye Bei, stood with his hands behind his back, his dignified eyes fixed on Jiang Yanming.

"Jiang Yanming of the Great River Alliance greets Senior Ye." Jiang Yanming bowed respectfully.

"Young Alliance Leader, you're too kind." Ye Bei nodded slightly, then looked at Senior Liang's body and sighed, "Senior Liang longed to see Alliance Leader Jiang again, but he didn't want to die in the Four Kingdoms Alliance, so he forcibly prolonged his life until now."

"It's a pity that Alliance Leader Jiang didn't return," Ye Bei said with some emotion. "But judging from Senior Liang's laughter earlier, he probably didn't leave with many regrets."

"Does Young Master Jiang know about Senior Liang's arrangements before his death?" Ye Bei asked, turning his head.

"I know a little bit," Jiang Yanming nodded.

"I promised Senior Liang that I would protect the three major families for thirty years," Ye Bei said softly. "So I will be staying in Bihai City for a while. I doubt the Great River Alliance would take advantage of my presence in Jiangnan to head north and deal with the Ghost Shadow Sect, would they?"

"If the Great River Alliance were to launch an expedition, it certainly wouldn't choose the Ghost Shadow Faction," Jiang Yanming replied calmly.

The reason is simple: the Ghost Shadow Sect serves as a buffer zone between the two top powers, the Great River Alliance and Beiliu City. Without the Alliance Leader's return, the Great River Alliance will not proactively invade the Ghost Shadow Sect.

"That's good then." Ye Bei nodded slightly, then looked at Liang Qingteng and said, "It's time to arrange for Senior Liang's remains."

"Yes," Liang Qingteng replied, then turned to Jiang Yanming and cupped his hands in greeting, "Please, Young Alliance Leader Jiang, take a step forward."

Jiang Yanming turned and left the courtyard, knowing in his heart that with the passing of Senior Liang, the Divine Martial Kingdom would usher in a new era.

When news of Senior Liang's death spreads, the Divine Martial Kingdom may fall into a brief period of peace, but war is inevitable in the end, because chaos is the ladder to progress!