The Dugu Sword Saint shattered the surging sword aura and strode to the gates of Wushuang City.
The sight before him was shocking.
The intruder was not the nameless Juggernaut Wuming, nor one of the city's sworn enemies. Instead, it was a stranger. A youth, scarcely twenty years of age at most.
Yet the sword energy he had unleashed earlier was strange and bloody, filled with techniques that should have taken centuries to master.
Could it be… that this young man truly possessed a hundred years of cultivation?
The Dugu Sword Saint's face darkened, his white beard trembling in the breeze. The Wushuang Sword in his grasp gleamed with icy light.
"You attacked Wushuang City?" he demanded, his tone low and filled with killing intent.
The youth smiled oddly, raising his scarlet longsword with casual arrogance. "I am the former disciple of the World Society, now the Eternal Faith's Divine Envoy—Broken Wave. Today, I have come to conquer Wushuang City, and to escort the beauty Mingyue as an offering to my god."
The City Reacts
"Broken Wave?"
The citizens and disciples who had rushed to the walls frowned in confusion.
"Who is this fellow? Never heard of him."
"When did the World Society rename itself the Eternal Faith? What kind of absurdity is this?"
One elder's eyes widened as memory stirred. "I remember now. Duan Lang—the son of Nanlin's Sword Head! Wasn't he nothing more than a tea-serving errand boy under the Conqueror, humiliated like a dog?"
At those words, Broken Wave's head snapped up. His expression darkened instantly, a gloom thick enough to drip.
To mention either of those taboos—his father's legacy or his servitude under the Conqueror—was to invite death.
This fool had done both.
Blood Flashes
With a single tap of his toe, Broken Wave's figure blurred into a streak of crimson light, a blood-colored rainbow shooting forward.
"Impudent!" the Dugu Sword Saint roared, intercepting him in a flash of steel.
Twenty layers of sword qi burst outward in an instant. The clash rang like thunder.
But to his shock, Broken Wave's speed surpassed his own. Though the initial strike was blocked, the crimson energy coiled like a serpent, twisting past him—
—and hurtling toward the city walls.
Boom!
A violent explosion tore through the gates. Half of Wushuang City's grand entrance collapsed into rubble beneath the demonic sword aura. Over a hundred defenders were slaughtered where they stood.
"Bastard!" The Sword Saint's eyes burned with fury. He glared at the smirking youth. "You dare slaughter my Wushuang disciples? Today, no matter who you are, I will cut you down."
Broken Wave sneered. "Oh? Is that so? Since you refuse to accept the Eternal Faith, then I will teach you what it means to be human."
He felt no fear of this so-called Sword Saint. Others might quail before Dugu's name, but he who had embraced blood demonic arts would not die even if his heart were pierced.
Clash of Sword and Blood
Their gazes locked, swords raised. The next instant, the battlefield erupted.
White sword light clashed against crimson blood-light, each strike shattering the air. Sword qi howled through the skies, illuminating the city below in flashes of red and white.
The people of Wushuang City trembled. This was no ordinary battle.
Broken Wave was only a youth, and yet he could clash evenly with the myth they revered. None had ever imagined such a thing possible.
On a distant mountaintop, Mingyue watched silently, her veil stirring in the wind. She frowned as the duel raged.
The Dugu Sword Saint seemed to hold the advantage. His blade was sharper, his strikes steadier. Yet something gnawed at her heart. Something was wrong.
Twenty-Two Swords
"Take this—my Twenty-Two Sword Formation!"
The Sword Saint's voice boomed. In an instant, the battlefield within a hundred meters was filled with countless swords of light, each blade-like arc of qi slicing through the air.
The formation was flawless, a storm of cutting death.
Broken Wave staggered, slashes opening across his body one after another. Blood splattered the stones beneath him.
His eyes blazed with fury. "Damn you, old relic. So you still have some skill after all. I was holding back, but since you insist on courting death—prepare yourself!"
He thrust his sword into the ground. "Blood Demon Shadow Sword!"
His figure dissolved into nothingness.
The Sword Saint blinked—then a black-red shadow pierced through him. His twenty-two blades shattered in a heartbeat.
The world seemed to freeze.
A Monster Revealed
"Ah—! You… you are not human…"
The Dugu Sword Saint staggered back, staring in horror at the black-and-red claws protruding from his chest. Broken Wave's hand had pierced directly through his heart.
His body trembled. How could flesh liquefy like this? The youth before him—this was no man.
This was a demon. A monster.
Broken Wave's eyes gleamed with cold cruelty. "Old man, I warned you. Those who defy the oracle die without mercy. Now I'll give you one final chance: kneel to the Eternal Faith, or fall into eternal damnation."
His fingers clenched around the Sword Saint's heart. One squeeze, and it would be over.
The Sword Saint's Choice
"I… choose…"
Blood loss blurred his vision. Memories flickered unbidden through his mind. A woman's face. A name he had buried deep.
Miyamoto Yuuki.
His lover. His heart.
Tears welled in the old Sword Saint's eyes. For her, for that lingering bond, he could not die here.
"I choose to surrender," he whispered hoarsely. "I will join the Eternal Faith."
Broken Wave smirked. "Not enough. I must nearly kill you first."
He withdrew his claws. Blood poured from the Sword Saint's abdomen, but with a strange gesture, Broken Wave summoned the crimson streams back into his palm. The blood reversed its flow, sealing itself back into the elder's body.
The crowd gasped in shock. To manipulate life's very essence so brazenly—what kind of sorcery was this?
"Hand over Dugu Mingyue," Broken Wave said coldly. "From today onward, Wushuang City shall change its name. The rest, the Eternal Faith will instruct."
In truth, he would have preferred to kill this old man outright. But the sect had rules—needless slaughter of the innocent was forbidden. To conquer and absorb was the greater path, strengthening the Faith with every new adherent.
The Sword Saint lowered his head in shame. "Yes… wait a moment. I will return shortly."
Wushuang City Falls
He sheathed his Wushuang Sword into the earth, his steps heavy with defeat as he returned to the city.
The time it took to burn a stick of incense later, he emerged again, face ashen. Behind him trailed a veiled Mingyue, accompanied by a maid, seated within a carriage.
On the walls, the Sword Saint stared after them, his eyes wet.
"Forgive me, my child," he whispered. "If even my death cannot change this fate, then I can only endure. Yuuki Miyamoto still waits for me."
Beside him, his disciples wept in silence.
From today onward, Wushuang City was no more.
Destroyed—not by an army, not by the Conqueror—but by a single youth. Broken Wave, a devil in human skin.
The Carriage
Inside the carriage, the maid huddled in fear behind Mingyue, too terrified to meet the gaze of the youth in red who sat opposite them.
Mingyue, however, kept her veiled eyes fixed calmly on Broken Wave.
"What are you staring at?" he asked with a sneer.
"It's strange," she replied softly. "You're younger than me, yet you defeated the Sword Saint."
Broken Wave chuckled darkly. "That is not something you should concern yourself with. Focus on your role—as a sacrifice."
"Do you intend to kill me?"
"Are you afraid?"
Mingyue smiled faintly, shaking her head. "What is there to fear? Fate has already been written. Struggle changes nothing."
Though he could have carried her swiftly to Lingyun Cave himself, Broken Wave kept a careful distance. Mingyue was destined as a divine offering; to lay a hand on her would have been sacrilege.
The carriage rolled onward, replaced at intervals to hasten their journey. Within days, they arrived.
By chance, their arrival coincided with the second day after Xiongba himself had entered Lingyun Cave.
Wen Chouchou, stationed outside, gaped at Broken Wave. "How did you arrive so quickly?"
Broken Wave smirked. "The divine methods transcend mortal limits. What of the Fire Qilin? Has the High Priest captured it?"
"No. The Fire Qilin is wary. Yesterday we glimpsed it roaming inside, but now it has vanished. The four masters are still searching."
Within Lingyun Cave
Lingyun Cave stretched endlessly below the earth, a labyrinth of tunnels weaving dozens of miles deep into the veins of the land.
The Fire Qilin had dwelt here for centuries. To hunt it down was no simple task.
"Master, we still can't find the beast. How do we proceed? Should we destroy the cave entirely?" Qin Shuang asked, wiping sweat from his brow.
Xiongba shook his head. "The beast is swift. Why waste our strength? The true prize lies deeper. The Fire Qilin guards the Dragon Vein—I am certain of it."
The others nodded.
Soon, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun returned, abandoning the chase and pressing deeper.
The four descended through the winding crypts, senses sharp. At last, after countless turns, they emerged into a vast cavern lit by glowing night-pearls.
Before them sat a desiccated skeleton clad in imperial robes, a strange spine-shaped artifact clutched in its hands.
"The Dragon Vein…"
"The aura of emperors saturates it. This must be it."
They vanished in a blur, reappearing before the throne of bones.
Guardians Appear
"Stop!"
Two figures stepped forth, barring their way.
"This Dragon Vein is the lifeblood of Huaxia. None may defile it. Withdraw, or be slain!"
Xiongba's eyes narrowed. Recognition dawned.
"Old acquaintances… Nie Renwang, and the father of Broken Wave. So you've become watchdogs, hm?"
His laughter echoed in the cavern. "How pitiful, once-proud warriors reduced to boneless curs."
But Nie Renwang did not rise to the insult. His voice was steady, solemn. "The past is dust. Xiongba, you must leave. If the Dragon Vein is disturbed, the land of Huaxia will collapse. We guard it not for ourselves, but for all."
Beside him, Duan Lang's father stood like a monk touched by holiness, his face serene.
Xiongba's expression hardened. Darkness surged in his palm. With a casual wave, he flung both guardians back, blood spraying from Nie Renwang's lips as he was hurled kilometers away.
"Return to Huaxia? Foolish words. Bathed in God's grace, I proclaim this: from now on, the entire world belongs to Huaxia. Should barbarians dare invade, I will tear out their entrails myself.
This Dragon Vein… shall be my sacrifice to the Eternal God!"
"Master, I hear wind—the Fire Qilin approaches!"
"Good. Nie Feng, seize the beast. Prepare the offering."
"Yes, Master."
Nie Renwang staggered upright, his eyes widening. Among the silent figures was his own son.
A roar shook the cavern. Flames gushed forth as the Fire Qilin burst from the depths, its blazing eyes locking on the two fallen guardians.
Rage boiled within the divine beast.
But before it could strike—
"Over here, beast!"
A harsh gale split the air. The biting cold of Nie Feng's blade swept across the Fire Qilin, freezing the inferno in place.
The hunt had begun.