Chapter 53: Sword Dao Genius (3) |
Su Chen obtained the key to enter the Heavenly Void Tomb as he had hoped. By slaying two demon prodigies with a single sword, his reputation soared even higher.
Demons devoured humans. Humans devoured demons. It was simply the natural order. Thus, when Su Chen cut down demon prodigies and raised the prestige of the human race, it was only right that others cheered him on.
Back at Imperial Sword Manor, Su Chen gently stroked the Calamity Dust Sword at his waist, his eyes filled with anticipation. In this life, he had succeeded in cultivating the Imperial Sword Body—a feat with odds so slim they were practically one in a billion. Across the entire Southern Barbarian Lands, he now stood as a sword dao prodigy in the eyes of countless millions.
"I wonder how far I still lag behind those sacred land saint sons and the like," Su Chen mused, his heart growing more eager by the moment.
The path of the sword demanded relentless forward momentum. Only those repeatedly tempered by battle deserved to be called strong.
Three months later, Su Chen departed from Imperial Sword Manor and set out for Heavenly Void Mountain. By the time he arrived, the place had already gathered a host of prodigies. Their auras blended into colorful mists that shimmered like dawn clouds. Some carried an imposing air, others possessed ethereal beauty, and still others radiated unyielding battle intent. Every prodigy qualified to enter the Heavenly Void Tomb was undeniably formidable.
A resonant dragon cry rang out.
Su Chen instinctively looked up. An overwhelming pressure descended, instinctively stirring fear in the soul. He tightened his grip on the Calamity Dust Sword hanging at his waist.
Nine crimson flood dragons tore through the void, pulling an opulent carriage behind them. Mysterious and luxurious runes adorned the carriage's surface. A banner fluttered high, as though sounding an ancient horn from primordial times.
Seated upon the carriage was a young man dressed in feathered robes. His features were strikingly handsome, his bearing extraordinary. Though his eyes remained closed, he exuded a terrifying majesty that compelled submission.
To Su Chen's shock, not a single thought of challenging this figure arose in his mind. His sword trembled. It feared. There was no possibility of victory against such a being. It was like a mortal standing before an emperor—utterly impossible to defy.
Prodigy Ranking second place: Sequence Disciple of Feather Transformation Sacred Land, Divine Soul Sacred Body—Gu Yan!
"So powerful… this is the strength of a supreme prodigy?"
Su Chen truly felt the terror of a holy physique for the first time. In his previous life, he had witnessed battles between sacred land sequence disciples, but he had been far too weak, his aptitude too poor. He had only known they were strong. He had never truly comprehended the depths of that strength.
"Feather Transformation Sacred Land—so grand, nine dragons pulling your carriage. How impressive."
The sky suddenly darkened.
A colossal form seemed to blot out the heavens. A head hundreds of meters across descended from the clouds. Golden pupils blazed with blinding light. Its scales were pitch-black, gleaming like ancient immortal metal, suffused with dark radiance.
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"Crack-Sky Dragon Sovereign—it's actually him! It seems the Azure Dragon lineage has produced an extraordinary successor after all!"
Nearby, an elder of an ancient clan gasped in shock. The Azure Dragon Clan was said to have once given birth to a true Emperor. Though it had declined in recent eras, it remained a force no one dared underestimate.
The thousand-meter-long body shrank in a flash of light, transforming into a black-robed middle-aged man. Only those dazzling golden pupils remained unchanged. The nine crimson flood dragons quivered in terror at the sight of the Crack-Sky Dragon Sovereign.
"Such trash—how dare something so lowly carry the noble blood of my dragon race?"
The Dragon Emperor raised a hand, intending to crush the nine flood dragons to death.
"How dare you!"
From the direction of Feather Transformation Sacred Land came an enraged shout.
A white-haired elder, small and thin yet towering like the heavens themselves, clashed with the Crack-Sky Dragon Sovereign. The aftershocks alone shattered ten thousand li of mountains and rivers. The battle between Void Refining realm powerhouses was simply too terrifying.
At that moment, a carefree voice rang out.
"What a lively scene. A loach and a little old man trying to kill each other here—are you trying to sink Heavenly Void Mountain entirely?"
A middle-aged man stepped out from the void, accompanied by a handsome young man at his side. Watching the spectacle, he wore a roguish, irreverent smile. He seemed to hold neither the Crack-Sky Dragon Sovereign nor the Feather Transformation elder in the slightest regard.
"This is a sword dao powerhouse!"
Su Chen felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. Above his own sword dao hovered what felt like a blazing sun. This middle-aged man was terrifying.
Both the Crack-Sky Dragon Sovereign and the Feather Transformation elder turned wary gazes toward him. They snorted coldly in unison, then ceased their fight.
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue in regret. Such a fine show, interrupted so soon.
"It's the Sword Demon of Heavenly Sword Sacred Land… he actually came. The youth beside him must be his successor. That's a madman. Anyone taught by a madman is bound to be just as insane. If you run into that lunatic, stay as far away as possible."
Su Chen overheard the uniform judgment the crowd passed on the middle-aged man. All of them called him a madman. He quietly committed the appearance of the young man beside the Sword Demon to memory. Not long after, the last of the three giants arrived: disciples from the Primordial Yang Sacred Land.
Under countless watchful eyes, Heavenly Void Mountain suddenly trembled with earth-shaking force. Countless beams of radiant light erupted, coalescing into a towering bronze gate.
The surface of the massive bronze portal was carved with myriad totems. As mysterious power surged through them, the carvings came alive, manifesting an entire primordial continent. Mighty figures soared through the sky while exotic beasts roamed below, as though capturing a frozen moment from some ancient era.
Su Chen felt a gentle warmth spread across his body. Reaching down, he realized it was the Heavenly Void Tomb key in his possession, now blooming with multicolored radiance. The bronze gate responded in kind. A beam of light shot forth, enveloped him, and drew him inside.
At the same instant, everyone else holding a key was likewise pulled through the portal by streaks of flowing light. The world beyond the bronze gate dwarfed any secret realm Su Chen had ever encountered. In the sky above hung both a tiny sun and a tiny moon at the same time.
Su Chen narrowed his eyes. He had appeared in a dense jungle. Before him lay a lake. Thick spiritual qi gathered over its surface, veiled by a layer of mist. Hidden within that mist lurked a palpable killing intent.
Yet at the lake's center floated an island. From the island rose verdant vines that spiraled upward, their trunks etched with strange, living patterns. The vines rhythmically inhaled and exhaled the surrounding mist as though they possessed breath.
What stunned Su Chen most was the single fruit hanging from the vines. It gleamed like pure emerald, brimming with rich, vibrant life force.
Su Chen murmured to himself, "A treasure, without question… but one shrouded in deadly danger."
The Heavenly Void Tomb held many priceless opportunities. It also held far too many perils—enough that even sacred land sequence disciples had perished inside.
Su Chen had no choice but to proceed with utmost caution.
"A human!"
He turned at the voice.
A towering demon prodigy with a tiger's head and human body stared at him with unrestrained delight, greed gleaming in its eyes.
Su Chen smiled.
"You'll do nicely."
The tiger-headed demon had no idea what Su Chen was muttering. All he saw was a sword suddenly hovering above his head. A sharp sword gleam pierced straight through his skull, opening a neat, fatal hole.
The joy frozen on the demon's face never had time to fade.