Chapter 119 - Dignity Only Exists on the Edge of a Sword!
HUM! A sharp, jarring ring echoed as the azure Sword Soul once again punctured its way through countless walls of the Forbidden Tower, hurtling diagonally upward.
RIP! It burst through the heavens, puncturing a gaping hole right through the fluffy clouds!
THUD! Xiao Changtian, rushing forward, came to an abrupt halt. His head exploded, showering Lin Qingfeng in gore!
BOOM! Xiao Changtian's lifeless body slumped to its knees right before Yun Xiao, motionless. Blood cascaded in torrents.
"Uh..." Lin Qingfeng's eyes bulged in horror. He slowly sank to the ground, trembling eyes fixated on Xiao Changtian. His mouth gaped, tongue curling, but no words came out. Only tears, tinged with blood, flowed freely.
Outside the Forbidden Arena, tens of thousands stood as statues, staring in stunned silence at this once paramount champion of the Forbidden Tower now sprawled before Yun Xiao. His soul had already departed for the great beyond.
A deafening silence prevailed.
This prolonged quietude lingered just before dawn, as the horizon faintly glowed a deep shade of red. The sun was about to rise, marking the end of this blood-soaked, interminable night. The atmosphere was palpable.
Tens of thousands of quivering gazes turned to the young man in white, their minds blank, searching for words of praise but finding none. Because this youth didn't just inspire awe; he evoked fear and reverence. Their legs felt like jelly, and they clung to their neighbors for support, lest they'd drop to their knees on instinct.
"Sword Lord." After what felt like an eternity, the youth spoke first.
"No more words," the Sword Lord replied, taking a deep breath. "Victors are crowned; losers condemned. Fate has played a cruel joke on me. I thought I was dealing with a mere lab rat, only to discover a monstrous freak."
He suddenly erupted in laughter. A hearty, boisterous laugh! Pulling a massive jug of wine from his small Pouch of Holding, he smiled and made a toast, "Safe travels, Brother Tian!"
He first poured half for Xiao Changtian and gulped down the rest with a resounding slurp. Whatever he couldn't swallow, he doused over his head, neck, and body.
The Sword Lord cast a glance back at the Forbidden Tower. "Think you can handle Ye Guying?" he asked.
"Wait a tad longer on your journey to the underworld, and you'll soon discover who accompanies you there," Yun Xiao replied.
"Touche!" The Sword Lord gave him a thumbs-up and moved beside Xiao Changtian. Taking a seat, with a casual swipe of his sword, he decapitated himself. Enough of this! Having been tormented for a decade, he was fed up. Knowing that no matter how the fight progressed, death was the ultimate outcome, he chose an honorable exit.
THUD! The Sword Lord's body crumpled.
Two dominant figures of the Sea of Swords perished right before Yun Xiao's eyes. Behind them lay thousands of headless Sword Cultivators, a gruesome landscape marred by spilled blood.
Such a sight was truly hair-raising.
"Just ten days ago, Sword Heaven and Forbidden Tower were thriving, with Ye Guying's First Sword Peak on the verge of uniting the Azure Spirit Sword Sect."
"Yet today, all have perished.
The young man in white robes, dripping with murderous intent, made his way to the so-called Sword Immortal of Cloud Nation.
Ye Guying was about to unlock the heavenly gate. A surprise attack was already in the works...
Yun Xiao, standing amidst a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood, slowly turned around. Outside the Forbidden Arena, tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators, eyes wide in terror, gazed at him.
Just then, both Ancestor Ning and Ning Que exchanged glances and knelt before Yun Xiao.
"Sword Heaven, kneel!" Ancestor Ning bellowed. The remaining four thousand Sword Cultivators went pale, hurriedly kneeling, prostrating themselves before Yun Xiao. Shortly after, the rest of the Sea of Swords' Sword Cultivators looked at each other. With reverence and submission in their hearts, they too knelt before Yun Xiao.
Before Yun Xiao could even utter a word, tens of thousands knelt. Such a sight was bound for the annals of the Sea of Swords' history. For neither the Sword Lord nor the Tower Lord had ever commanded such awe.
"I present myself before the Lord of the Sword Realm!" Ancestor Ning was a sharp one. He had seen the light! With the ties between Ning Yan and Zhao Xuanran, he knew the Ning Family would be spared. Since their safety was secured, he wholly dismissed the death of Ning Bei and devoted himself to Yun Xiao.
Lord of the Sword Realm! It was a title he conjured in his mind. A title so grand that even the Grand Wastelands Demon Lord would be insignificant in its presence! It was audacious! Certainly, the demons would not be pleased.
Yet, amusingly, the tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators earnestly and genuinely cried out the title. "Lord of the Sword Realm!" For a moment, their resounding cries reverberated throughout the Forbidden Tower.
One could only wonder if the person about to emerge from within the tower felt anything amiss. Ten days of seclusion, and then the return of the war god to Azure Spirit Sword Sect? How laughable.
In the wave of popular acclaim, Yun Xiao's face remained impassive. He had seen through it all. Power spoke for itself! "Dignity exists on the edge of my sword, and the truth within the range of my Flying Sword! After conquering the Sword Realm, I am undeniably its dominant force!"
He took a light breath, a smirk playing on his lips. "Gentlemen, you might be jumping the gun. My fated rival hasn't made his grand entrance or shocked the world yet. Who's to say the Lord of the Sword Realm isn't surnamed Ye?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Que solemnly replied, "Fated rival? Is Ye Guying even worthy?"
Ancestor Ning added, "Indeed! We know the strength of both the Sword Lord and Tower Lord. Yet you, at a mere age of sixteen, defeated both. How awe-inspiring! Ye Guying might be impressive, but compared to you? Merely a speck."
The facts spoke for themselves.
Conquering the Azure Kite Sea, toying with the Sword Lord, slaughtering five thousand with a single stroke, and finally vanquishing the two overlords of the Sea of Swords! Could Ye Guying even compare? They, in fact, knew little because Yun Xiao's essence was far more terrifying than they realized.
"Victory is still undecided. Let me keep a low profile for a bit longer," Yun Xiao said, looking up at the Forbidden Tower, a cold smirk on his lips.
"Ye Guying truly isn't up to par."
"Upon reflection, not even close."
"He thought ten days of seclusion would let him skyrocket to the heavens? I can't wait to see the clown's face when the doors swing open," the crowd jeered, tickled pink at the thought.
Yun Xiao remained silent, but his disdainful gaze spoke volumes. A rival predestined by fate? he thought. Is there anyone in this world truly worthy of being my rival?
Off in the distance, atop a towering structure, stood a girl draped in a white dress, her form shrouded in mist, like a dream just out of reach. "The descended Divine Dawn Empress?" Yun Xiao mused. She was intriguing. He had anticipated her silent observation, but he also knew she wouldn't interfere. From her lofty vantage point among the clouds, she was merely appraising him.
"Time for a little surprise," Yun Xiao muttered with an internal chuckle, approaching the bodies of Xiao Changtian and Lin Qingfeng. First, he removed the two five-thousand-year-old Sword Rings. "Senior Sister Zhao is nearing the Origin Core Realm. She'll make good use of these rings."
With a swift motion, his blade pierced the two fallen lords. Four Blood Crystal Sword Rings transferred from their sword bones to Yun Xiao's Sword Soul. As for the Sword Aura, their mere sixty layers were not enough to enhance Yun Xiao's prowess.
Water, fire, wind, lightning! Four nine-thousand-year-old Sword Rings—Heavenly Tempest, White Abyssal Flame, Violet Lightning Seal, and Earthly Ocean Surge! These four majestic Sword Rings orbited Yun Xiao's azure Sword Soul. The sight when he lifted his sword was breathtaking.
When the tens of thousands of people saw the four Sword Rings, their hearts started pounding uncontrollably. "He's not human... he's a deity!" they murmured in awe.
In that instant, both Ancestor Ning and Ning Que transformed into devout believers. "He wields four Sword Rings! A legend from the Heavenly Realm's Big Dipper Emperor—Galaxy grade!"
With a series of explosive thuds, the masses were shaken. To the ordinary folks, the Sea of Swords was as mystical as the heavens themselves. The Sea of Swords hailed Yun Xiao as an Immortal!
"A true immortal graces our world!" The entire Sea of Swords erupted in astonishment. At that moment, atop a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood, Yun Xiao stood, appearing as if a genuine Immortal had descended. The masses bowed in reverence.
On a distant tower, the eyes behind the mask of the girl in white trembled sharply. Yun Xiao couldn’t discern her expression, but predictably, she was spellbound.
"It seems these four Sword Rings will make the ruler of the Heavenly Realm value me even more," Yun Xiao remarked.
"Weren't you going to play it cool and lie low?" Blue Star, with a smirk, asked.
"Why bother? I have you guys as backup," Yun Xiao grinned.
"Darn it!" Blue Star and Red Moon exchanged a wide-eyed look.
"Don't tell me you can't handle it," Yun Xiao teased.
"We originally couldn't, but since you swallowed all the treasures of Sword Heaven and the Forbidden Tower, we're good to go," Blue Star cackled.
Yun Xiao laughed. He knew the capabilities of these two mischiefs. And truth be told, he was now swimming in riches. Sword Tempering Pills? Check. Heavenly Origin Pills? Double-check. Every store and mine controlled by the Forbidden Tower and Sword Heaven filled his coffers. With so much wealth, their plans took flight. With their combined strengths, what was there to fear?
But killing was always an option.
"However, whether I can claim all the wealth of the Sea of Swords depends on this final battle," Yun Xiao mused, glancing once again at the Forbidden Tower.
"Damn so-called destined nemesis! It's not just an insult to Creator, but it belittles us too!" Blue Star howled in laughter.
At that moment, Zhao Xuanran approached Yun Xiao. The morning sun cast its golden glow upon her. Although her black gown bore bloodstains and her face showed traces of dirt, nothing could diminish her inherent beauty. Even amidst the grandeur of the Sea of Swords, she stood out—pristine and elegant, her fair skin gleaming, her stature both graceful and curvaceous.
She was nothing like the ethereal Chen Xi, who seemed to drift above worldly concerns. She possessed the warmth of the mortal coil, the same love for wine as Yun Xiao. Candid and free-spirited, her simplicity and clarity were refreshing. In Yun Xiao's eyes, she was never some unreachable fairy, but a genuine soul of this world, just like him.
Even now, as Yun Xiao took on an almost divine appearance, women like her, to him, felt more real. Holding her close, he could feel the burning passion of her heart. That night they rode on a sword together, the scent of her hair became the most intoxicating aroma he had ever known.
When Yun Xiao first stepped onto the path of the Immortals, it was her gentle affection that paved the way. If not for her, his journey from Azure Spirit Sword Sect to Sea of Swords might have only been painted in the red of bloodshed, devoid of warmth.
Now, as the morning sun broke through, casting its brilliant glow, they stood in the Forbidden Tower's arena, amidst fallen foes. Both their white and black robes stained in blood, yet they shared a tender smile, eyes locked without a need for words, warmth radiating in their hearts.
"With all this romantic tension, don't tell me you're going to go at it like rabbits right now?" Blue Star suddenly quipped.
"..." Yun Xiao rolled his eyes in speechlessness.
BOOM! Suddenly, the Forbidden Tower quaked. Everyone jumped, then looked up with a mix of surprise and amusement, eyes trained on the top of the tower. "The genius of the Forbidden Tower has emerged, ascending in a single leap!"
Normally, people would have been clamoring over talents, power, status, followers, showing off, women, and so forth. But now, tens of thousands remained on their knees, gazing up at the young man in white, barely suppressing their laughter.
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