🌫️ Mistveil Valley – Beyond the Third Ring
The valley stretched on into deadlands, where no disciple dared tread. Even elders only sent scouts near its border.
But Shěn Nìchén walked calmly through its stillness.
A heavy mist clung to his cloak. His katana was wrapped in cloth, slung casually across his back.
To any observer, he was a low-stage Qi Gathering rogue… nothing more.
But that illusion was absolute.
---
> [System Mission: Sword Truth Awakening]
🎯 Objective: Engage in battle with a Core Formation opponent
🧠 Hidden Condition: Survive using only sword-based techniques. No system cheats.
🏆 Main Reward: Immortal Sword Intent (Incomplete)
🧨 Hidden Bonus: [Unknown]
He reached a collapsed shrine—its statues worn smooth by time, the ground littered with spiritual debris.
He stopped.
Because something else had arrived.
---
⚔️ Enemy Detected
From the fog emerged a cloaked figure. Pale gold robes. A bronze insignia: Heaven's Shear Sect.
His aura surged violently—Core Formation Realm.
His eyes scanned Shěn lazily.
> "A lost bug in the mists? You're far from the outer rings, boy. How'd a Qi Gathering ant get this far?"
Shěn didn't answer.
He simply unsheathed the katana.
Just halfway.
The air hummed.
> "You mock me?" the Core cultivator snapped. "Then die with—!"
The man lunged. A saber swept with blinding light, fueled by molten Qi.
But then…
One step. One draw. One flash.
And silence.
The man froze mid-strike. His saber still in the air. Expression unchanged.
His entire spiritual core… shattered.
He fell like a puppet cut from strings.
---
🧠 [System Notification]
> 🎯 Mission Objective Complete.
🗡️ Sword Truth Achieved: First Comprehension of the Immortal Path
🌀 Reward Granted: Immortal Sword Intent (Incomplete Form)
➕ Bonus Condition Met: Lethal kill without spiritual fluctuation, within one breath
> 🎁 [Hidden Bonus Reward Unlocked]
🌑 Artifact Received: Nameless Sword
✨ Type: Supreme Transcendent Tier (System-Sealed)
❗ Cloaking Trait: Appears as ordinary iron sword — even to divine senses
⚠️ System Notes:
> "This sword will never draw envy. Not even the Heavens will see its truth."
---
🗡️ The Nameless Sword
He opened his palm.
A simple black-forged blade appeared—rusted at the edges, unadorned, and plain.
To the eye, it was no better than a farmer's tool.
But when his fingers closed around its hilt…
The mist parted.
And the world… paused.
He sheathed it quietly at his side.
> "Perfect."
---
🧊 Shěn Nìchén – Reflection
He stood alone above the corpse.
No joy. No arrogance. No words.
He simply turned and walked back into the fog.
The sword never glowed. His aura never rose.
And not a soul knew a Core Formation disciple had just been erased… without a sound.
---
🌌 System Panel (Updated)
──────────────
🧍 Name: Shěn Nìchén
🔒 Cultivation: [Hidden]
🛡️ Body Type: Void Supreme Immortal Body (22%)
🗡️ Sword Intent: Immortal Path (Incomplete)
⚔️ Weapon: Nameless Sword (God-Sealed Artifact)
📍 Location: Cave of Shadows
🎯 Next Path: Sword Truth (Second Layer)
🌫️ Status: Untraceable. Undetectable. Unmatched.
──────────────
---
🔚 Epilogue Scene – Outer Sect Elder Pavilion
> "Still no sign of the anomaly?"
"None, Elder. Whoever it is… they don't leave a trace. Not even the divine mirror sees it."
"Tch. Strange… as if the heavens themselves were blind."
---
To Be Continued…
📖 Next Chapter: "The Sword Cultivator That Never Was"
(Shěn returns to the sect under false cultivation to participate in an outer disciple ranking trial.)