Legend of Swordsman

The proud and stern woman stood hovering in mid-air, at thousands of kilometers far away from the Battle Fortress. The swirling vortex of black and white hues by her side spun ceaselessly, growing larger and larger.

By now, the spinning vortex had stretched almost a meter in width, yet it was still expanding at a fast speed.

The woman studied the vortex, feeling satisfied with her handiwork.

The size of the vortex, looking hardly intimidating, belied its true terror, mused the woman to herself.

Much she had expended and much had been exhausted; just to conjure this churning eddy of destruction.

Just then… A figure fleeted out of the Battle Fortress.

Jiu Xi had noticed the figure when it made its appearance.

“Lord Jin Feng.” Jiu Xi immediately alerted her patron.

“Fret not. I am here. He will never come near to endangering you.” The voice of the Monarch reverberated.

“That’s good.” Jiu Xi smiled as she saw the figure racing through the air at her. “That seems to be the Jian Wushuang, whom you have spoken of, is he?”

“Hmph… Very well, I will send him off to his death since he has delivered himself to my doorstep.” The cold-blooded voice came again. He was only nearby, using certain methods of sorcery to keep himself hidden.

Jian Wushuang streaked through the air. But he stopped suddenly when he was nearly 20 thousand kilometers far away from that woman.

“Something is not right.”

Jian Wushuang’s eyebrows rose with doubt. “The woman should have noticed my coming. Yet she has shown no reaction nor alarm. Not even the forces of the Jin Kingdom has shown any movement.”

“Be careful, Jian Wushuang. This might be a trap.” The Gu King warned him.

“I understand.” Jian Wushuang answered as his eyes squinted. He cast forth his spiritual senses, a wave of his Fire of Soul that rippled from him and reached far and wide like a tide of the sea.

In the blink of an eye, a facsimile of the entire landscape of the terrain around him was conceived in his mind.

Jian Wushuang could now spiritually see and read his surroundings through his mind.

“Ah?” Immediately, he noticed a strange distortion in the air, just beside the woman.

The part of the area seemed perfectly normal to the naked eye, but the distortion in the continuum of Space in that area showed that someone was standing there invisibly.

“Indeed. There is someone hidden.” Jian Wushuang instantly realized. “It is a rather quaint technique. No common Universe Master is able to employ a sorcery of this level. Moreover, common Universe Masters would hardly dare to spring a trap upon me. The one that is now hidden from sight… Could it be… Could it be that it is the Monarch of the Jin Kingdom?”

Jian Wushuang could not help feeling a shudder in his mind.

The highly-exalted Monarch of the Jin Kingdom, a warrior of the highest order himself, should be the only one of the entire Jin Kingdom most capable of defeating him.

“There is a strong possibility that it is the Monarch of the Jin Kingdom hiding to ambush you. Retreat now, Jian Wushuang. Back to the Battle Fortress and regroup with the others!” The Gu King urged him.

“I know.” Jian Wushuang nodded. Floating high above in the air, he took another step forward as if he was still adamant on continuing. But his foot had barely fallen when he instantly performed the Dragon Blood Secret Skill and sped as quickly as the winds could bear him.

This had not gone unnoticed by the Monarch of the Jin Kingdom, whose expression turned furious.

“He’d noticed me?”

“Hmph! But still, there is no escaping your fate!”

He gave a bitter snort. What followed was a strong and terrifying aura; one which was able to strike fear and despair into the hearts of all experts from both the Jin Kingdom and the Green Fire World alike. The aura shot into the air with the semblance of a terrible beast pouncing upon its prey.

A golden flash of light tore through the sky with trails of gilded sparkles at its tail, like a shooting star flying over the sky.

“Die!”

The Monarch’s scowling face darkened with rage as he growled and pierced forth with the jet-black spear he held in his hand.

A shimmering distortion broke open in the air before his thrust, allowing the spear to enter through it. Another distortion appeared in front of Jian Wushuang and from within it, the black spear thrust forth at him with the speed and deadliness of a striking serpent!

“What!” Jian Wushuang was astonished, caught off-guard by the sudden strike.

He had already noticed that something was wrong and he had turned back, speeding as swiftly as he could to safety. But never had he expected that the stroke, unleashed by the Monarch thousands of kilometers away, could defy the laws of physics and strike at him from afar.

The terrible thrust of the spear snapped dangerously at him. Jian Wushuang felt only a cold shiver of fear that made his hair stand as his senses tingled wildly, warning him of the impending danger.

“The Dawn Light technique!”

Instinctively, Jian Wushuang brandished his sword. The Blood Mountain Sword trembled in his grasp, channeling the powers of its own.

The sword stabbed forward swiftly, shining with a blinding illumination resembling the first light of day just as a shroud of darkness beset upon his surroundings.

Jian Wushuang performed the Stroke of Dawn technique with all his might. His sword clashed against the black spear, as steel gnashed furiously at steel with the force that had even severely injured the Long Xu King.

“Bump!”

The force of the thrust was transmitted to his arm via his sword. It was so powerful that his arm instantly bulged and exploded into bits of shredded flesh and viscera. The Blood Mountain Sword was flung quickly away from him by the magnitude of the blast. But fatal peril was still at hand: the black spear was not withdrawn. Instead, its force spread from what was left of his ruptured arm and struck his torso, causing him internal injuries!

“Urghh!”

Jian Wushuang spat a huge mouthful of blood. His face grew instantly pale-white as he grew weakened. But he was still alive.

Propelled backward by the force of the attack he had suffered, Jian Wushuang turned and hurled himself towards the directions of the Battle Fortress, retrieving the Blood Mountain Sword as he bolted back to safety.

“Shoo!”

Jian Wushuang zipped through the air like a projectile tearing at great speeds, desperately escaping back into the sanctuary of the Fortress. As he entered the hold of the Fortress, the figure of the Monarch of the Jin Kingdom shimmered into sight. He had wanted to chase Jian Wushuang, but he was thwarted by the barriers held by the Fortress itself.

“He’s managed to escape?” The Monarch muttered coldly.

As a sovereign who had finally decided to take matters into his own hands, he had failed to slay Jian Wushuang?

“Interesting. This Jian Wushuang does have a few tricks up his sleeves. He’s been able to notice my presence, endured what should have been a fatal blow to him and yet he still lives.” The Monarch emitted a light giggle, looking hardly distressed even though he was not able to put Jian Wushuang to his death.

There was still the vortex which was nearing completion. Jian Wushuang and all the experts of the Green Fire World will not be able to escape their death when the ritual is ready!

Jian Wushuang rushed into the hold of the Battle Fortress. He crashed into the floor, leaving a huge crater with cracks stretching wide.

“Jian Wushuang!”

“Master Wushuang!”

The Samsara Temple Master, the Void Temple Masters and the rest of his comrade hurried over to see to him.

Everyone huddled around Jian Wushuang, only to see him barely hanging onto his life. He was drenched in blood, feebly weak as his entire right arm was gone, left only with blood and viscera.

“I am still alive. Barely, it was fortunate that I noticed something’s wrong and immediately escape. My Original Body would never have survived if I have taken but one more step forward.” Jian Wushuang breathed, grateful for still being alive.

A careful person as he usually was, Jian Wushuang had intentionally left behind his secondary body at the Battle Fortress. He would still be alive even if the Original Body was annihilated by the Monarch earlier.

But he would lose his equipment and treasures, such as the Blood-killing Plate Armor and the Blood Mountain Sword, if he had indeed sacrificed his Original Body earlier.