Chapter 418: Chapter 418 Tasked with Saving the World, But I Can’t Even Save for Retirement

In the old man’s hand, he held a sword.

But rather than a weapon, he used it as a crutch leaning heavily on it as he dragged himself forward, the blade scraping faintly against the ground with each step.

Yet despite his frail appearance, the dense death qi surrounding him churned violently, as if drawn to his very existence.

The death qi was so abundant that even Lin Feng was surprised this old man was still drawing breath.

It seemed he was only standing there because of his great dao heart and sheer, extreme will.

This was one very stubborn old man.

"You’ve got quite the sharp tongue, boy..."

The old man’s lips stretched into a crooked grin as he let out another series of dry, broken chuckles.

"Hak... hak..."

His gaze shifted, landing briefly on Shi Hanfeng.

"Well now... who have you brought with you this time, Hanfeng?"

There was a strange familiarity in his tone, as though the two had known each other for far too long.

His cloudy eyes drifted back to Lin Feng, sizing him up slowly like a starving beast inspecting a piece of meat.

"Is this your disciple?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Before Shi Hanfeng could respond, the old man waved a bony hand dismissively.

"If he’s here to sit and ask for a painting with me, then I’m afraid I’ll have to decline..." he said, his voice dripping with mock disappointment.

A pause.

Then his grin widened, revealing a set of yellowed, uneven teeth.

"But..." His eyes gleamed with a twisted light. "If you had brought a beautiful woman instead..."

He let out another round of that disturbing laughter.

"Hak hak hak! Then perhaps I’d be willing to reconsider."

"You should be resting, Senior Xiao," Shi Hanfeng said as he bowed deeply, his posture respectful to the extreme.

The usual arrogance he carried as a Medicine King had completely vanished.

In its place was genuine reverence and even a trace of awe.

It was clear that, in front of this frail, dying old man, Shi Hanfeng did not dare show the slightest disrespect.

"I’ll have all the time in the world to rest once I’m dead," Senior Xiao replied casually, as if speaking of something trivial.

Then he let out another string of dry laughter.

"Hak... hak..."

Ignoring them afterward, he resumed what he had been doing before their arrival. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Leaning on his sword like a cane, he began to slowly circle the room.

Each step was unsteady, his frail body trembling slightly, yet there was a strange persistence in his movements as though he refused to let even death dictate his actions.

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize... He was exercising.

Even in such a broken state, he continued to move, to endure, to exist on his own terms.

Shi Hanfeng straightened and turned slightly toward Lin Feng.

"Lin Feng," he said in a lower tone, "this senior is Xiao Yan. You should have heard of him."

Lin Feng’s eyes flickered. And indeed he had.

Or rather, the memories of the original Lin Feng surged within him like a rising tide.

There was no one on the Azure Heaven Continent who did not know that name.

Xiao Yan. The Asura Sword Sovereign. A legend among legends.

A man who had lived for over a million years.

A cultivator who once stood at the absolute peak of this world.

One hundred thousand years ago, when the southern regions were overrun by an endless demon horde, when countless sects fell and rivers of blood stained the land...

It was this very man who stepped forward alone. With a single sword, he held back the tide.

With a single will, he turned the heavens.

He fought until the skies split and the earth shattered, until the demonic invasion was completely driven back.

And then... He disappeared. No one knew where he went. No one knew whether he lived or died.

But everyone knew one thing... That victory had come at a price.

A price so great that even a being like Xiao Yan could not escape its consequences.

Now, standing before Lin Feng... There was no trace of that invincible figure from legend.

Only a dying old man remained.

Yet... Even so...

The faint, almost imperceptible aura surrounding him still carried a pressure that made one’s soul tremble.

It was the remnant of a peak existence. A being who had once stood above all.

Shi Hanfeng’s voice grew solemn.

"Senior Xiao... is at the true pinnacle of power in this world," he said quietly. "Or at least... he once was."

His gaze lingered on the old man’s frail figure, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

Silence fell over the room.

Only the slow, dragging steps of Xiao Yan’s sword echoed faintly against the ground.

Step.

Scrape.

Step.

Scrape.

Life and death seemed to hang in that fragile rhythm.

Shi Hanfeng stepped forward slightly and cupped his fists toward Xiao Yan once more before speaking.

"Senior Xiao," he said respectfully, "this young man claims that he can heal even those whom I, a Medicine King, cannot."

His words were steady, but there was a faint undertone within them half testing, half expectant.

At that, Xiao Yan’s steps came to a halt.

The scraping of his sword against the ground ceased.

For a brief moment, the room fell completely silent.

"Hak... hak... hak!"

A burst of dry laughter erupted from his mouth, echoing harshly through the chamber.

His frail shoulders trembled slightly as he laughed, as if the very act strained his failing body.

"I’ve lost count... of how many so-called divine physicians have stood before me," he said, his voice hoarse yet laced with amusement.

"Each one more confident than the last... each one promising miracles."

He slowly turned his head, his dim yet piercing gaze landing squarely on Lin Feng.

"And now... another young man steps forward, claiming he can cure me?"

A crooked smile spread across his sunken face.