Clang—!
Tens of thousands of long blades trembled in unison, resonating with a metallic cry. Amidst the sound of swords singing, a man clad in imperial robes emerged slowly from the depths of the Blade Domain. His long robe dragged across the ground as he walked with an unhurried yet forceful grace. His eyes shone like lightning—each blink seemed to shift day into night and back again.
The man's face was strikingly regal: thick eyebrows, square jaw, and three long strands of black beard flowed down from his chin. His skin was pale, almost luminous. Wherever he stepped, fragmented blade marks spread outward from beneath his feet, causing those in white robes to retreat within a radius of ten paces.
"Blade Emperor!" The tens of thousands of disciples of the Blade Domain dropped to one knee, plunging their blades into the earth and placing a hand solemnly on their chests. Respect radiated from every movement.
"Who are you, and why have you slain the disciples of my Blade Domain?" The Blade Emperor's voice was deep yet calm, like a giant speaking through a mountain pass.
"Hand over the Blade Codex, Prince of the Demon Realm," came Feng Yunwuji's cold reply—his voice as sharp as a sword cleaving the sky.
"The Blade Codex…" The Blade Emperor spoke softly, yet his words rang clearly in every ear. As his voice fell, the patrol envoy of the Blade Domain, whom Feng Yunwuji had encountered before, streaked like a bolt of lightning to the Emperor's side, cupped his fists, and bowed deeply.
His gaze swept past Feng Yunwuji and the woman in his arms, filled with disbelief, shame, and sorrow.
"Blade Emperor, kill this man for me!" The voice of the Demon Prince rang from deep within the Blade Domain.
The Blade Emperor's expression changed slightly. He looked at Feng Yunwuji and advised, "Young man, step back. This matter runs deeper than you know. Even I… even the Snow Temple your companion hails from… we are all powerless in this."
He looked up toward the sky, a bitter sigh escaping. "This is the tragedy of all humankind. You have talent—I do not wish to see it wasted. Leave now, while you still can."
Blood streamed from Feng Yunwuji's eyes like tears. For the first time, emotion flickered across his stony face. "You're the Lord of the Blade Domain? You? What right do you have to lead? Are you even worthy?"
The Blade Emperor's eyes flashed with anger. "Enough! Step back!"
A blast of invisible force hit Feng Yunwuji like lightning. He stumbled back several paces as his chest exploded in clean, blade-like tears—his robes shredded as if sliced by steel.
"If we fail to handle this properly, our three hundred million years of peace will end in ruin. Will you be the one to bear that guilt? The sinner of all ages?" The Blade Emperor's voice now burned with fury.
Feng Yunwuji burst into wild laughter. Blood tears streaming, he cried to the heavens, "Three hundred million years! Three hundred million years of clinging to survival, and for what? So that those who've lived long enough can forget how to fight? Three hundred million years ago, countless humans sacrificed their lives in battle against demons and angels alike. They died without complaint. But now? A mere second prince of the Demon Realm insults a human woman—a defenseless woman!—before all of you, and you say we cannot seek vengeance? Because it's 'too complicated'? Are our women here only to be humiliated by other races? Do none of our men feel shame?!"
His gaze swept over the Blade Codex, the Blade Emperor, and every man in the Blade Domain. Not one could meet his eyes.
"Are you still men?"
Silence. Where once the Blade Domain's disciples may have drawn their swords, now not a single one dared. Head after head lowered in shame.
"If you don't hand him over today, tomorrow the Demon Realm's armies will raze this place to the ground!" came the second prince's voice from behind, drawing near, accompanied by four demon guards.
Feng Yunwuji's teeth clenched, cracking audibly. Clang! A sword cry split the sky. Under the dim heavens, a crimson streak of sword light surged like lightning—aimed directly at the second prince.
Snap! The prince's face twisted in fury. With a shake of his shoulders, a pair of massive bat wings tore out from his back. But even before he could move, the Blade Codex appeared before him, arms outstretched. "No! He must not be killed!"
The Blade Emperor turned, slow yet swift. A breeze stirred his robe just as Feng Yunwuji's fifth Sword Soul was shattered, his sword aura blasted away.
Feng Yunwuji snorted coldly, his body fading into mist. He flashed past the Blade Emperor and aimed straight for the Blade Codex.
The Blade Emperor's eyes narrowed—an invisible blade aura shot from his pupils, slamming into Feng Yunwuji.
Crack! Feng Yunwuji's left arm fell limp, blood spraying from his mouth. Gravely injured, he still clutched the woman to his chest.
With sheer will, he endured the Emperor's blow. With two fingers of his right hand, he stabbed forward like a blade. The Blade Codex countered with a thunderous roar, swinging his long saber to unleash a devastating blade aura from overhead.
"Heaven Sword!" Feng Yunwuji shouted, rising into the air, his right hand raised high. Though his hand held no blade, every warrior around felt it—he held a sword that could pierce the heavens.
A tidal wave of sword aura surged outward from him, crashing in invisible waves.
Boom!
A fine golden lightning bolt split the sky. For a fleeting moment, all who watched glimpsed the edge of a divine blade hidden in the void.
Suddenly, the Demon Prince leapt from behind the Blade Codex, a fist wreathed in demonic energy crashing from above. A thick, swirling cloud of black energy, several meters wide, descended toward Feng Yunwuji.
The Blade Emperor's expression shifted again. You're courting death, he thought. These demons know only brute force. They have no idea what it means to face a true sword master…
He had no choice now.
With a flick of his robe, the Blade Emperor vanished, reappearing in front of Feng Yunwuji. He raised a hand. Tens of thousands of long swords flew from the disciples' grips like rivers converging into the sea, humming as they were drawn into his wide sleeve.
With one sweeping motion, he hurled the amassed swords toward the void.
Ding!
A metallic clang resounded through the sky. Though nothing seemed to be there, it felt as though a divine sword in the void had been shattered. Feng Yunwuji spat a torrent of blood, his chest collapsing under an invisible blow. He fell, smiling through the pain.
The Blade Emperor, calm as if strolling through a garden, sighed softly. With another sweep of his sleeve, the blades returned to their rightful owners.
Then—a gasp. Behind him, two cries of pain echoed. The fifth Sword Soul, flung away earlier, had returned. It severed the Demon Prince's left shoulder, pierced through his back, and twisted to strike again.
The Blade Emperor's face darkened as he stared at the blade. "The fifth Sword Soul… how is this possible?"
He thrust out a palm, surrounding the Sword Soul with invisible pressure. It trembled violently, oozing a powerful grudge—as if it bore centuries of hatred against the Blade Emperor himself.
Boom!
An explosion erupted. Feng Yunwuji had been struck by the demonic blast from the second prince and the blade strike from the Codex. His body crashed into the earth, his chest torn open, organs exposed.
The Blade Emperor looked back, shame flickering across his face. "So be it. For all my title as Blade Domain Lord, today I joined forces with two others to suppress a mere youth…"
With a slight movement of his fingers, the fifth Sword Soul dropped into the crater where Feng Yunwuji lay.
"I've changed my mind," came the second prince's voice, twisted with rage. "Keep him alive—I'll drag him to the Demon Realm and humiliate him properly! He dared to wound me, me! Not even my father has ever laid a finger on me! And now this human dares—ahhhh!"
Feng Yunwuji's eyes were wide, still clutching the Blade Codex, his vision fading. As he watched the prince scream above him, one final thought echoed in his mind:
"What a shame… I couldn't kill him."
This battle in the Blade Domain would become legend—the moment a newly ascended warrior, Feng Yunwuji, shook the world. From the Blade Domain to the Demon Realm, from the Witch Tribes to the Snow Temple, all eyes turned to him. And thus, after three hundred million years of uneasy peace, the world of humanity began to tremble.