The Sword of the Mortal World

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Bang—
The deafening sound echoed endlessly, shaking the entire grand hall.
A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Zhou Chi’s mouth as he staggered back several steps. The man in green robes, however, only swayed slightly.

In terms of cultivation realm, there was no difference between the two. But when it came to actual combat, many factors determined the outcome—experience, techniques, and most importantly, the purity of the spiritual energy within their Jade Palaces.
“Pathetic. Can the cultivators of the Eastern Continent even be called cultivators?”
The man in green robes darted forward, closing in on Zhou Chi. His spiritual energy radiated outward, dispersing the sword qi surrounding him.

Zhou Chi flicked his wrist, and a streak of sword qi immediately sprouted from the tip of his blade. In an instant, the sword qi slashed horizontally, aimed directly at the green-robed man, who was now within a zhang of him.
“Amateurish tricks!”
The green-robed man waved his sleeve, and a burst of green light shot out, shattering the sword qi.

Still not summoning his lifebound artifact, the green-robed man arrogantly extended two fingers to clamp down on Zhou Chi’s sword blade.
Crack.
The sword blade cracked, and soon after, it shattered completely.

Holding the broken sword tip, the green-robed man sneered. But before he could speak, he saw Zhou Chi, still gripping the broken sword, thrust forward with another strike.
It seemed that the destruction of his sword was nothing more than a trivial matter to the young man before him.
“Truly stubborn. Fine, today I’ll grant your wish and send you to the Yellow Springs to reunite with your sect elders.”

The green-robed man thrust out his palm, and a surge of immense spiritual energy erupted from it.
The broken sword, now devoid of its spiritual essence, shattered into pieces under the force of the palm strike, leaving only the hilt in Zhou Chi’s hand.
It seemed that in the next moment, the palm strike would land on Zhou Chi, bringing an end to this farce.

Zhou Chi remained silent, but a crack suddenly appeared between his eyebrows, and a flash of sword light flickered, ready to burst forth.
“Still refusing to give up?”
The green-robed man looked on indifferently, knowing that this was the final resort of a sword cultivator—to ignite the core of their Jade Palace and perish together with their enemy.
But how could it be so simple?

Or rather, how could a mere young sword cultivator from the Eastern Continent be worthy of perishing together with him?
His sleeves fluttered, and his palm rapidly glowed with green light. In an instant, a massive green hand formed, descending to envelop Zhou Chi’s head. The green light intertwined, attempting to completely encase Zhou Chi’s skull and prevent the sword light between his eyebrows from fully manifesting.
Zhou Chi tilted his head back, released the sword hilt, and uttered a single word: “Come.”

As soon as Zhou Chi spoke, the green-robed man felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He channeled his spiritual energy into his palm, trying to kill the young man before him as quickly as possible. But it was already too late.
In that instant, a flying sword shot past him.
It pierced through his shoulder, leaving a trail of blood as it flew through the hall filled with sword qi, finally landing in Zhou Chi’s hand.

The green-robed man grunted in pain.
Now holding his true lifebound flying sword, Zhou Chi’s expression remained impassive. He slashed horizontally, and the sword qi drew a brilliant white line in the narrow space, tearing forward with the force of countless other sword qi.
This strike was far more powerful than any before.

For a sword cultivator, whether they wield a sword—and whether it’s their lifebound flying sword—makes all the difference.
The green-robed man felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation. As a cultivator from the Jade Capital Mountain, he had always held himself in high regard. If the young man before him were a prodigy from the Central Continent, he might have accepted this outcome. But to be wounded by a young sword cultivator from the remote Eastern Continent was something he could not tolerate.
It was an unbearable disgrace!

His sleeves fluttered as he continuously shattered Zhou Chi’s sword qi within the hall. The sheer intensity of the sword qi in that strike had exceeded his expectations.
In an instant, accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric, several gashes appeared in his green robe.
This robe, which he had refined for many years, could not withstand the relentless onslaught of sword qi crashing against him like waves.

The hall was filled with far too many sword qi talismans...
A strand of his hair was severed by a streak of sword qi, and his long hair cascaded down. At this moment, his composed demeanor was gone, replaced by a hint of madness.
...

...
“Fellow Daoist Zhang, let me assist you...”
“Get lost!”

“Alright.”
Xu Ye, who had retreated to the edge of the hall, suddenly spoke up, but before he could finish, he was harshly rebuked.
However, he wasn’t angry. He had never wanted to get involved in the first place, so the other party’s blunt dismissal suited him just fine.

...
...
Completely enraged, the green-robed man’s Dao heart wavered, and he no longer held back. He unleashed his full cultivation, and a small green bowl appeared, hovering in mid-air. With a flick of his sleeve, the bowl tipped over, and an endless stream of spiritual energy poured out like a raging river, threatening to drown Zhou Chi.

Zhou Chi tightly gripped his flying sword, the sword qi within his Jade Palace surging through every meridian in his body. The flying sword trembled slightly—not out of fear, but excitement.
With a light tap of his toes, Zhou Chi shot forward, sword in hand, charging into the “river” of spiritual energy.
The green-robed man watched coldly, his hands forming seals. The green spiritual energy instantly transformed into countless chains, crisscrossing to form a massive prison.

Since the other party was so confident, he would first imprison Zhou Chi, then use his spiritual energy to flay him alive and grind his bones to dust. Only then could he vent his hatred.
Within the “prison,” sword qi and spiritual energy clashed incessantly, their battle reaching its most intense stage.
The green-robed man manipulated the small green bowl, his face pale. The flow of spiritual energy within his body had slowed, and the area around his wound throbbed with pain.

Only now did he realize that Zhou Chi’s earlier strike had not merely wounded him. The young man had left a hidden strand of sword qi in his wound, which had now infiltrated his meridians as he circulated his spiritual energy.
“What a cunning little beast!”
The green-robed man sneered. “Once I kill you, I’ll deal with these petty tricks of yours.”

In that brief moment, he made his decision.
He would ignore the sword qi within his body for now and focus on killing Zhou Chi first.
But in the next moment, the most unexpected thing happened.

The “prison” he had painstakingly constructed began to crumble. A surge of powerful sword qi shattered the chains and tore the prison apart.
Even his lifebound artifact was now riddled with cracks.
A sword qi talisman was also destroyed.

This loss pained him more than the death of his junior brother.
The young man in tattered clothes reappeared.
And then disappeared again.

The green-robed man was stunned, but before he could locate Zhou Chi, the young man was already before him, his fingers extended like a sword, aiming for the space between his eyebrows.
The flying sword hovered behind Zhou Chi, absorbing the residual sword qi in the hall.
Like a whale swallowing the ocean!

Zhou Chi’s fingers tore through the green-robed man’s sleeve, leaving a deep gash on his arm.
The green-robed man instinctively struck out with his palm, but due to the sword qi within his body, the strike was far weaker than before.
Zhou Chi blocked the strike with his elbow and then retreated, grasping his lifebound flying sword.

“Not good.”
The green-robed man frowned.
“Too late.”

This was the first time Zhou Chi had spoken to the green-robed man.
And likely the last.
He thrust out his sword.

The flying sword, now saturated with the residual sword qi from countless talismans, unleashed a torrent of sword qi!
The entire hall shook as if a tempest were about to destroy it completely!
Earlier, the green-robed man had believed Zhou Chi wasn’t even worthy of perishing together with him. But was that truly the case?

As Zhou Chi thrust out his sword, countless strands of sword qi radiated outward, converging on the green-robed man with unyielding determination.
Everything in the hall seemed on the verge of being cleaved apart by this strike.
Including the green-robed man.

The strong wind made Zhou Chi’s tattered clothes flutter wildly.
A trail of blood slowly trickled from the corner of Zhou Chi’s mouth.
Crack.

The small green bowl shattered.
The shards fell to the ground, only to be further pulverized by the sword qi.
The green-robed man spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly as pale as paper.

The grand hall shook violently, countless green tiles falling from the roof. Before they could even hit the ground, they were repeatedly sliced apart by the overwhelming sword qi, eventually turning into dust.
The ground was crisscrossed with deep trenches.
The green-robed man’s robe was riddled with tears, and beneath it, his body bore countless wounds.

Blood flowed from his injuries, soaking his green robe.
At this moment, he had to admit that he had underestimated the young man before him. But so what?
“If you want to perish together, then come and try! Let’s see if you have what it takes!”

The green-robed man sneered, his expression maniacal. His robe fluttered as he unleashed all the spiritual energy within him, forcefully meeting Zhou Chi’s sword strike. Amid the storm of sword qi, his spiritual energy surged like a fire fanned by the wind, growing even more ferocious.
The two forces collided.
Boom!

A terrifying shockwave erupted, creating a sonic boom that echoed like continuous thunder.
This was a battle between sword qi and spiritual energy, a contest between Zhou Chi and the green-robed man. On a larger scale, it was perhaps a clash between the Eastern Continent and the Central Continent.
Zhou Chi’s body was now covered in wounds, and cracks had appeared in his Jade Palace and Spirit Platform.

Though they were of the same cultivation realm, as the green-robed man had said, the cultivation methods of the Central Continent far surpassed those of the Eastern Continent. Zhou Chi’s sword qi was not as pure as the other man’s spiritual energy.
If not for his earlier preparations, he would never have been able to push the green-robed man to this point. But was this really the limit?
Zhou Chi’s eyes were icy cold.

This man deserved to die by his sword.
But in the next moment, Zhou Chi’s sword shattered once more.
His sword had broken before, but that one hadn’t mattered. This one, however, was his lifebound flying sword, nurtured within his Jade Palace for years and deeply connected to his heart and mind.

Now that his lifebound flying sword was shattered, for a sword cultivator, it was akin to losing half of his life.
But he still had the other half.
He gripped the broken half of the sword and stepped forward. Despite the onslaught of spiritual energy, he thrust the remaining blade into the green-robed man’s chest.

At the same time, the green-robed man’s palm struck Zhou Chi’s chest.
Rumble—
The pillars of the hall shattered, and the entire structure collapsed in a deafening crash!

Dust and debris filled the air.
The dilapidated temple was now a pile of ruins!
...

...
“Fellow Daoist Zhang!”
Xu Ye stood before the ruins, shouting anxiously.

At that moment, a green light rose from the debris—a jade cicada. It floated to Xu Ye’s side and coalesced into a faint figure.
It was the green-robed man, Zhang Xuan, who had fought Zhou Chi earlier.
“Fellow Daoist Zhang, are you alright?”

Xu Ye glanced at him cautiously, though his heart was in turmoil. Zhang Xuan’s current state clearly indicated that he had nearly been killed by Zhou Chi. This faint figure was his soul, having lost his physical body. He must have narrowly escaped by relying on his lifebound artifact.
Zhang Xuan glanced at Xu Ye indifferently before calmly saying, “That beast’s cultivation was a mess. If not for relying on external aids, I would have killed him long ago.”
“Ah... of course, of course. A mere Xuan Zhao is no match for Fellow Daoist Zhang.”

Xu Ye nodded in agreement, though inwardly he cursed. How could this guy, having lost his body, still spout such nonsense without batting an eye?!
“This matter is settled. I’ve gained some insights and will return to Jade Capital Mountain to focus on my cultivation.”
Zhang Xuan looked at Xu Ye. “What do you think of today’s events?”

Xu Ye put on a sincere expression. “Fellow Daoist Zhang’s mastery of the Dao is unparalleled. You effortlessly killed the remnants of Qi Mountain, Xuan Zhao. However, after this battle, you had an epiphany and decided to explore a new path in cultivation. As for the specifics, how could someone like me possibly comprehend them?”
Zhang Xuan sighed. “It’s a pity that Junior Brother Li was too impulsive. He insisted on coming alone and fell into that beast’s trap. I couldn’t save him in time.”
Xu Ye also feigned regret. “What a tragedy.”

“By the way, Fellow Daoist Zhang, what about Xuan Zhao?”
Xu Ye glanced at the ruins. He had already used his spiritual sense to probe the area and found no signs of life.
“Naturally, he was reduced to ashes.”

Zhang Xuan spoke indifferently. “A mere sword cultivator from the Eastern Continent is not worth mentioning.”
“Ah, haha... indeed, indeed.”
...

...
The two—or rather, one man and one soul—departed.
Half an hour later.

A figure returned. It was Xu Ye. He stood in the courtyard before the ruins and once again spread his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings.
He even rummaged through the debris but found no trace of any remains.
Not even the body of Li Yun, the Jade Capital Mountain cultivator, could be found.

“Did he really die?”
Xu Ye nodded to himself. It made sense. After all, Zhang Xuan had lost his physical body, and the final clash of spiritual energy in the hall was enough to destroy the bodies of cultivators at their level.
After a while, he turned and left.

An hour later.
Xu Ye returned once more, then left again.
The third time he returned was an hour and a half later. The cultivator from Bao Ci Sect came back once again. This time, after confirming that there were no signs of life, he finally let out a long breath and left, satisfied.

What he didn’t know was that, at this very moment, on a small hill in the distance, Zhou Chi, covered in blood, was silently watching him.
In his hand, he clutched a sword qi talisman.
Only after Xu Ye had completely disappeared did Zhou Chi relax slightly. He circulated the last remnants of his sword qi, causing the wounds on his body to scab over and stop bleeding.

He reached into his robe and pulled out the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) leather-bound notebook. Calmly flipping to the last page, he tremblingly wrote down the names “Jade Capital Mountain” and “Bao Ci Sect.”
Then, he added the names “Zhang Xuan” and “Xu Ye” below them.
“As expected.”

Zhou Chi then turned his attention inward. His Heavenly Gate, Jade Palace, and Spirit Platform were all riddled with cracks.
Although his current condition was dire, all he needed was time to repair his Heavenly Gate, Jade Palace, and Spirit Platform. The process might be lengthy, but it wouldn’t hinder him too much.
He was still young—only seventeen. At fifteen, he had opened his Heavenly Gate and become the head disciple of Qi Mountain’s inner sect, recognized as the most talented young sword cultivator in the Eastern Continent.

However, he frowned.
In the final moments of his battle with Zhang Xuan, he could have completely annihilated the man, body and soul. He still had two of his best sword qi talismans left unused.
Those talismans, which he had painstakingly crafted over the years, were his life-saving trump cards. But in this battle, he had nearly exhausted them all.

The reason he hadn’t used them to kill Zhang Xuan was simple: he needed someone to confirm that “Xuan Zhao,” the head disciple of Qi Mountain, was dead.
And Xu Ye alone wasn’t enough.
Only by doing this could he buy himself time to grow stronger and seek revenge.

However, during his fight with Zhang Xuan, he had realized something troubling: the cultivation methods of the Central Continent far surpassed those of the Eastern Continent.
If not for the sword qi talismans he had prepared, he would have been completely overwhelmed from the start.
There would have been no chance of killing Zhang Xuan.

Their battle had been like a grown man toying with a child.
Despite being of the same cultivation realm, the difference was staggering.
In other words, if he continued to follow Qi Mountain’s sword path, achieving his revenge would be nearly impossible.

But... Qi Mountain was already one of the top sword sects in the Eastern Continent.
While there were other sword sects in the Eastern Continent stronger than Qi Mountain, none could offer a qualitative leap in sword cultivation.
His thoughts churning, Zhou Chi opened the leather-bound notebook again and took out the slip of paper.

“Zhou Chi, about what I told you last time...”
Looking at the note, Zhou Chi fell silent for a moment before suddenly smiling.
At this thought, a thunderous explosion erupted within his body.

It was like a clap of thunder on a clear day!
The remaining sword qi within him surged out of his meridians, tearing open several new wounds on his body.
His Heavenly Gate, Jade Palace, and Spirit Platform all shattered in an instant!

Zhou Chi spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swaying unsteadily.
At this moment, the once-celebrated top sword prodigy of the Eastern Continent’s younger generation saw his cultivation plummet. From the Heavenly Gate realm, he fell to the Jade Palace realm, then to the Spirit Platform realm, and finally below even that.
He didn’t linger in the Fangcun or Initial realms.

In an instant, he had reverted to a child who had never set foot on the path of cultivation.
At this moment, Zhou Chi seemed to see the child he had once been, standing before the gates of Qi Mountain, gazing up at the towering peaks with longing in his eyes.
Back then, he hadn’t been called “Xuan Zhao.” He was just Zhou Chi.

Only Zhou Chi.
“In that case, let’s start over.”
 

[--------------------------------------------]
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