Chapter 61: Sword Dao Genius (11) |
Ten days later.
Su Chen buried the mother of this life. The passing of kin, the departure of old friends. For him, these had long become the ordinary rhythm of lifetime after lifetime. It was difficult to stir the same heartache he had felt in his first three lives. Petals fall, flowing water drifts east—how many grand ambitions dissolve into idle conversation?
Even so, Su Chen rebuilt Imperial Sword Manor from the ashes. He reformed the Sword Guards. To avoid squandering the advantages he had gained in this life and to accumulate even more Reverse Fate Points, he needed to leave a deeper mark on this world.
In less than ten years, news of Imperial Sword Manor's resurgence spread across the surrounding hundred kingdoms. The three royal families that had betrayed the manor were exterminated in bloodbaths. From then on, no royal bloodlines remained; all territories were placed under direct administration by Imperial Sword Manor envoys.
But Su Chen did not stop there. After seizing the three kingdoms, he turned to relentless militarism. He launched large-scale invasions against neighboring dynasties, harvesting their resources to cultivate more Sword Guards.
Heavenly Sword Sacred Land.
Su Chen once again met Cao Tianming. A hundred years had passed without contact, and the Sword Son's strength had grown far more terrifying than Su Chen had imagined.
When Cao Tianming learned that Su Chen had successfully broken through to Void Refining, his regard for him deepened.
"Sixty years without a word from you—even Imperial Sword Manor declined to nothing. I truly thought you had died. Shen Chen, you really know how to deliver a surprise."
Su Chen smiled. "The Sword Son flatters me. My breakthrough was mere luck—nothing compared to someone like you. I suspect you have already taken that next step?"
Cao Tianming nodded. "Not long ago, I traveled to the Central Continent and encountered a fortunate opportunity."
Su Chen felt genuine envy. As expected of a divine physique prodigy. He prided himself on cultivating quickly, breaking through to Void Refining after only a little over a hundred years of practice. Yet Cao Tianming had already stepped into the Nirvana realm. His path toward sainthood lay wide open.
Cao Tianming asked directly, "You've come to see me. What do you want this time?"
Su Chen was not surprised that his intentions had been seen through. He had always been the sort who never visited without purpose.
"I wish to request an Imperial Edict from the Sword Son."
Cao Tianming raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "You intend to establish a dynasty?"
Founding a dynasty required approval from a sacred land.
Su Chen nodded. The Imperial Apex Shock-the-World Technique required national fortune to cultivate.
"I will raise the matter with the Lord."
Cao Tianming agreed.
"But do not neglect your own sword dao just because you are building a dynasty."
His tone was serious, almost admonishing.
With Cao Tianming's backing, the Imperial Edict arrived in Su Chen's hands soon after. With the edict in hand, he now possessed legitimate authority to found a dynasty. Establishing a dynasty was nothing new to Su Chen.
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"Let it be called the Imperial Sword Dynasty. In this way, I will not have failed the ancestors of Imperial Sword Manor."
With the name decided, a mighty new dynasty rose into existence in this world. Su Chen naturally became the Imperial Sovereign, ruler of all under heaven. When word spread that Imperial Sword Manor had established the Imperial Sword Dynasty, reactions from surrounding major powers varied.
Some offered congratulations, some sneered in disdain, and others felt genuine fear.
The Jing Emperor's expression was extremely dark. Back then, Su Chen had played him for a fool, costing him the majority of the captured national fortune. Even after conquering the remnants of the Black Nether Dynasty, the mess had taken fifty years to stabilize. Rebellions flared constantly across the territory, draining vast amounts of manpower and resources from the Great Jing Dynasty. He itched with hatred toward this sworn brother.
"Wanting to establish a dynasty… heh, as if it could be so easy?"
The pie of the world was only so large. The appearance of a new neighboring dynasty would inevitably affect the Great Jing Dynasty.
Very soon, he devised a countermeasure.
…
Imperial Sword Dynasty
Su Chen stared expressionlessly at the memorial on the table.
"The Scaled Crocodile Clan, Spirit Shark Clan, and Ice Turtle Clan demand that the Imperial Sword Dynasty offer tribute sacrifices every year? Otherwise, they will dispatch their armies to sweep across our lands and bring the dynasty to ruin?"
Su Chen gave a cold laugh. "Do they truly think I am some soft persimmon to be squeezed? One clan demanding ten million martial cultivators and a thousand geniuses per year—they aren't afraid of choking on their own greed?"
He was ruthless, but that did not mean he lacked humanity. Behind those three clans stood a mighty figure of the demon race. Behind him stood Heavenly Sword Sacred Land. With the Blood-Burning Secret Art, the time cost of nurturing Sword Guards had been drastically reduced. Though their lifespans were pitifully short. For Su Chen, as long as the supply of such swords remained endless, that was enough.
Su Chen refused the tribute, choosing war over submission. The three clans flew into a rage.
"This newborn dynasty's ruler truly knows no manners!"
"Do they really believe that hiding behind Heavenly Sword Sacred Land makes them invincible?"
"Then let us fight! Wash ten thousand li in blood, hang this so-called emperor's head from the walls of his capital, and show every dynasty what happens to those who defy our three clans!"
The three clans united in their decision to launch a joint assault on the Imperial Sword Dynasty. This was the first great tribulation since the dynasty's founding. The Imperial Sword Dynasty had been built on the sword. Countless sword cultivators willingly threw themselves into the flames.
The war lasted thirty-three years. Innumerable lives were lost. Sword Guards were replaced again and again. In the end, the three clans could no longer hold the line and were forced to sue for peace.
Su Chen was not satisfied. Alone with a single sword, he charged straight into the Scaled Crocodile Clan's territory. He slew nine Profound Connection realm demon kings and gravely wounded a Void Refining realm demon emperor. Pursued by the clan's ancestor, he escaped unscathed.
That single battle shook the world. The terror of the Imperial Sword Body left everyone stunned. The name Shen Chen resounded across a hundred kingdoms.
Su Chen returned to the imperial capital. The war had severely depleted the dynasty's strength, forcing a long period of recovery and rebuilding.
During this time, Su Chen began selecting exceptionally talented women from across the land to take as consorts and produce heirs. He had seen far too many once-in-a-century demonesses and celestial maidens. He also attempted to cultivate successors with the Imperial Sword Body. Unfortunately, the success rate remained near zero. Over a hundred years of effort, not a single person succeeded.
In the third century, Su Chen encountered a familiar face. Shen Lianxin—his father in this life. Yet the man now appeared ancient and frail, with little time left.
Su Chen regarded him calmly.
"Mother passed away long ago. She crippled her own cultivation and gave up on living."
Shen Lianxin's lips trembled. After a long silence, he said, "Take me to see her."
Su Chen led him to the former site of Imperial Sword Manor. The place was now overgrown with grass and filled with birdsong.
Shen Lianxin knelt and did not rise.
When Su Chen descended the mountain, a sudden light rain began to fall from a clear sky. It grew heavier, carrying a refreshing chill.
Whatever Shen Lianxin had endured or experienced over the past two hundred years, Su Chen had no interest in knowing. Just as he had watched Shen Lianxin depart without stopping him.
"In this life, I seem rather heartless. I wonder how future generations will judge me."
Su Chen narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
In the three hundred and sixtieth year, through Su Chen's relentless efforts, a genius child was finally born with a martial physique. Heavenly Yang Shattering Sword Body.
Su Chen named him Shen Nianjian.
Shen Nianjian did not disappoint. He carried much of Su Chen's own bearing from years past. At a young age, he reached the Profound Connection realm and, in a single battle, slew three demon race geniuses. Yet this feat also drew the wariness of other powers. He was ambushed and besieged by experts from several races working together.