Chapter 077 - If You Ride a Tiger, It's Hard to Get Off!
The Sea of Swords, the Forbidden Tower. A black tower pierced the clouds, its body adorned with various runes, emanating a chilling and solemn aura that kept ordinary folk at a respectable distance. Surrounding the dark tower, numerous palace courtyards and pavilions lay scattered.
"Yun Xiao!" Holy Son Chu, gritted through those words, fists tightly clenched, eyes brimming with malice, as he marched forward, head bowed. A strip of white cloth was bound around his head, swathing the bloody holes that were once his ears. Even after half a day, the pain from the wounds twisted his features.
"Chu Yan." Ahead, a middle-aged man in a black robe stood outside a hall, waving toward the Holy Son, "Where have you been? Come here at once!"
"Master Xiao...!" Holy Son Chu’s heart skipped a beat. Subconsciously adjusting the bandage on his head, he then advanced toward the black-robed man.
Xiao He did not scrutinize him closely, instead turning and entering the hall while remarking, "That girl Lin Lin from Sword Heaven was looking for you. She’s been waiting quite a while."
"Lin Lin?" Holy Son Chu's expression tightened abruptly upon hearing the name.
"Brother Chu!" Hardly setting foot in the courtyard, a charming young girl dressed in a short, goose-yellow skirt dashed over. Delightfully cute with cherry lips, a sculpted nose, bright eyes, and radiant teeth, she was utterly captivating.
The moment Holy Son Chu returned, she naturally took his hand, complaining, "You promised to go to the painting exhibition with me today. How could you stand me up? Ugh! I’m mad!"
Her words broke off suddenly, and with a soft "Eh," her lovely face tensed slightly. "Brother Chu, why is your head wrapped in a bandage? Are you hurt?"
"Chu Yan, you're bleeding?" Master Xiao He, too, noticed. From his perspective, he could faintly see blood seeping through the bandage.
Holy Son Chu offered an awkward smile, shaking his head in dismissal. "It’s nothing, just a minor injury!"
"It looks like your ear is hurt?" Lin Lin frowned slightly, her face painted with concern.
"It's fine, it's fine... they’re still there!" Holy Son Chu replied through gritted teeth, but uttering those words felt like bleeding inwardly. How could he admit in front of this girl that admired him that his ears were gone? Wouldn’t his majestic Holy Son image collapse instantly? A man without ears, what elegance and gallantry could he talk about?
"Chu Yan, who did you fight with?" Xiao He’s gaze cooled.
"Yeah, Brother Chu, who dared to cross you? We’ll mobilize the Forbidden Tower and Sword Heaven to hunt him down together!" Lin Lin, hands curled into small fists, spoke with a hint of fury.
"This..." Holy Son Chu found himself in a quandary.
Xiao He's gaze grew colder, his voice grave. "Who dares lay a hand on my protégé, Chu Yan? Just name them, and I'll extinguish them! If they have a protector, I'll destroy them too!"
"No need!" Holy Son Chu offered a sheepish smile, saying, "He's just a waste. If Ning Yan weren't shielding him, I would've slaughtered him already!"
"Ning Yan?" Xiao He frowned, puzzled. "Does that woman have a sick mind, daring to oppose you?"
"Auntie Ning?" Lin Lin’s eyes flashed a sliver of disgust. "Who is she protecting?"
Both stared solemnly at Holy Son Chu as he clenched his teeth for a lengthy moment.
"Is he someone from my Sword Heaven, Brother Chu? Tell me quickly, I'll punish him for you!" Lin Lin, holding onto Chu Yan’s hand, pouted.
Finding himself between a rock and a hard place, Holy Son Chu, stiffening his resolve, began with a cold laugh, "It’s a young man from the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, named Yun Xiao. He once shattered the Rank Two Sword Inheritance Stone with his Sword Soul, hailed as a prodigy that defies the heavens. Ning Yan has taken a liking to him and wants to bring him back to Sword Heaven."
"He's already in Sword Heaven? I’ll go slaughter him now!" Lin Lin spoke fiercely.
"No need." Holy Son Chu chuckled, saying, "He’s merely waste. I’ve taught him a lesson, nearly crippled him."
"Your injuries..." Lin Lin gazed at him, her heart aching visibly.
"This cheeky lad has quite the audacity. I let my guard down for just a moment, and he landed a sneaky strike," Holy Son Chu spoke, his voice a low rumble.
"How disgraceful! Attacking sneakily because he lacks genuine strength?" Lin Lin’s eyes flashed disdainfully, "Auntie Ning is such a wicked woman, and the so-called genius she's taken a liking to has a character as lowly as hers! It seems like this supposed genius is to my Brother Chu as a mouse is to a true dragon."
"Absolutely! Once I made my move, this alleged prodigy couldn’t even handle a single strike of mine. Heh," Holy Son Chu smirked, although his laughter hitched when a twinge of pain flickered through his ear. The emptiness there was both literal and throbbing.
"He couldn’t handle even one strike?" Xiao He shook his head, addressing Holy Son Chu, "You must've practiced the Dao incorrectly in your early stages, falling somewhat short of the other Forbidden Tower geniuses. If this person can't even handle a single sword strike from you, he indeed is not worth mentioning."
"It seems Aunt Ning has picked up trash and is treating it like a treasure," Lin Lin laughed in disbelief. She knew it. That woman was simply a disgrace! A disgrace in story and action alike!
"Heh," Holy Son Chu continued to chuckle, fists tightly clenched, his gaze unwavering upon Lin Lin. "Lin’er, if not for Ning Yan's favor, I'd have slain such a despicable man with a single stroke... However, your Sword Heaven has always been a place of purity and nobility, detesting defilement. I worry this rat droppings, sheltered by Ning Yan, will tarnish your parents’ reputation."
"Brother Chu, worry not!" Lin Lin huffed coldly. "I will return now and speak to my parents, ensuring this person is expelled, forbidden even half a step into my Sword Heaven!"
Upon finishing, seeing the bandage on Holy Son Chu's head, recalling that despicable person daring to ambush the Forbidden Tower's Holy Son, she clenched her teeth in anger, adding, "No, I’ll have my father execute him directly, preventing him from harming others in the future!"
"Forget it, just prevent him from entering Sword Heaven. If I see him again without anyone to protect him, I’ll effortlessly execute him," Holy Son Chu responded.
"No! A mere Azure Spirit Sword Cultivator is hardly worth the Forbidden Tower's Holy Son taking action twice, right?" Lin Lin held Holy Son Chu's hand, her voice gentle and sweet: "Brother Chu, let me share your burden this time, alright?"
"Alright then!" Holy Son Chu indulged her with a doting smile.
"Yun Xiao, you think you’ve arrived in Sword Heaven, about to soar to new heights? Sorry, I’ve dug your pitfall... The moment you die, and after I slaughter the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, who would know I was once defeated by you? Would Ning Yan dare speak? Even if she did, who would believe her?" Holy Son Chu coldly sneered in his heart.
The journey back from the Northern Wastelands was a continuous internal torment.
His reputation, his prestige, how could it crumble so easily?
The illustrious Forbidden Tower's Holy Son, obliterated by an Azure Spirit Sword Cultivator!
If the word spread, the entire Forbidden Tower would be shamed!
"When you are dead, dispersed like smoke in the wind, who will care about your dry bones as I ascend through the heavens?" Holy Son Chu’s eyes harbored a chilling darkness.
"Brother Chu, I'm going back right now!" Her words lingered as her elegant, light-yellow silhouette vanished from Holy Son Chu’s sight.
"Chu Yan," Xiao He spoke solemnly after Lin Lin left, "Did you say, Azure Spirit Sword Sect?"
"Yes," Holy Son Chu nodded.
"Isn’t that the sect of Ye Guying, the peerless genius?" Xiao He asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Master Xiao!" Beads of sweat formed on Holy Son Chu’s forehead.
"Within Ye Guying's sect, are there other talents? Even if they barely qualify, why hasn’t he introduced them to the Forbidden Tower?" Xiao He queried curiously.
Seeing that he couldn't hide it, Holy Son Chu relayed the information Elder Fan had shared with him.
"He exterminated Ye Guying's Family?" Xiao He uttered in shock.
"Yes! By the time I arrived, it was already too late! Even now, the souls of Ye Guying’s elder brother and father remain in the Bluedrop Flag," Holy Son Chu ground his teeth.
"This is significant! Ye Tiance is so crucial to the Forbidden Tower! I’ve heard he is a man of deep loyalty!" Xiao He's voice sharpened.
"Yes! Hence, I am considering reporting this to the Tower Lord," Holy Son Chu spoke coldly.
"Why would Ning Yan dare to bring people into Sword Heaven, knowing the animosity between Ye Guying and Yun Xiao?" Xiao He inquired, an eyebrow cocked in curiosity.
A sly, cold chuckle slipped from Holy Son Chu’s lips. "Clearly, she's oblivious. I purposefully kept her in the dark, sending her to make a fool of herself in Sword Heaven!"
This wasn’t merely a matter of disgrace. Xiao He intoned, his voice slicing through the still air like a dagger, "This could bring about her own demise!"
"Yes! All part of the plan!" The light of murderous intent flickered in Holy Son Chu's eyes. With Ning Yan dead, no one would speak of the disgrace.
The folks of Sea of Swords held no trust for the words of an Azure Spirit Sword Cultivator.
"I daresay, the Tower Lord regards Ye Guying as even more precious than his own life! We must report this promptly!" Urgency bled through Xiao He’s voice.
"Indeed!"
The pair hastened toward the Forbidden Tower.
"You mentioned Yun Xiao shattered the Rank Two Sword Inheritance Stone?" Xiao He queried as they trotted.
Holy Son Chu snorted, nonchalant. "I could break it too, hardly noteworthy! With Sword Heaven and the Forbidden Tower allied in fury, he's as good as dead. Does the rank of his Sword Soul even matter?"
"Well, yes!" Xiao He scoffed, "Unless he also manages to blow up the Rank Four Sword Inheritance Sword Stone!"
"And if he does?" Holy Son Chu paused, puzzled.
"Well, I wouldn't know, for throughout the history of the Sea of Swords, no Star grade Sword Soul has ever arisen!"
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Azure Spirit, Sword Pavilion. As dusk draped its gentle shroud over the land, three thousand Sword Cultivators returned, an illustrious homecoming that beckoned jubilant cheers and a spectacle that hadn’t graced these grounds in a millennium!
There, amidst the throng, a young man in white became faith personified to the onlooking multitude.
Ultimately, tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators gathered in front of the graves of the Seven Prodigies of the Sword Pavilion, raising their swords, pouring out libations, and paying heartfelt respects.
"May your souls finally find peace and rejoin the cycle of reincarnation," they whispered, a collective murmur that danced with the wind.
"Senior brothers and sisters... if fate allows, may we meet again in the next life," Zhao Xuanran, kneeling before the graves, tears jeweling her eyes, whispered her farewell.
Seven serene spirits, faces painted with tranquil smiles, dissipated into the ethereal embrace of the mountains and rivers of Azure Spirit...
"Brother!" Cai Maomao, after chasing for what seemed an eternity, collapsed to the ground, his tears falling like relentless rain.
Death was immutable. Except for Yun Xiao.
After the sacrificial toasting, Zhao Xuanran stood, her eyes, gleaming with unwavering resolve, swept across the tens of thousands of Azure Spirit Sword Cultivators.
"For three years, Azure Spirit has failed the people of the thousand mortal nations. When mortals are in distress, it is our unshirkable duty as Sword Cultivators to lend aid. Henceforth, in accordance with the will of our predecessors, I decide to utilize the full strength of Azure Spirit, leaving no one behind, to enter the mortal realm and eradicate demons!" Her sword lifted, pointed to the heavens with determination gleaming in her eyes.
"We will not return to Azure Spirit until the demons are annihilated!"
Tens of thousands of Sword Cultivators, swords raised, united in resolve, shared a singular creed. Entering the mortal realm to eliminate demons, they could not wait a moment longer! This, this was the true spirit of Azure Spirit! A moment of undeniable righteousness enveloped them!
"Junior Brother Yun! Take care..." The woman in the black gown soared upwards on her Sovereign Sword, her figure dancing in the wind, her skirt and long hair twirling in tandem. Her luminous skin and bright eyes shone equally under the moonlight, and her delicate form seemed a dream in the lunar glow. The fluttering strands of her hair brushed past her cheeks, prompting Yun Xiao to involuntarily savor the lingering fragrance they left behind.
The path of immortality was vast and surreal like a dream. Yet Zhao Xuanran was so achingly real! Her strong liquor, her gentleness, her delicate scent...
"Take care!" A trace of a smile lingered perpetually at the corner of Yun Xiao's mouth, immortalized in that moment.
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