With the sword heart shining bright, Tian Shuang wielded this mysterious weapon to its ultimate potential.
If only Yin Mianmian had been able to summon the Eight Apertures of Guan Shen, she might have been able to withstand the onslaught, maybe just a little. But alas, she wasn’t.
After that one strike, countless celestial maidens vanished like dreams—poof!—returning right back to Yin Mianmian herself.
She let out a muffled sound, her breath returning to the Eight Apertures of Guan Shen, clearly showing signs of injury.
The sword mark stone reappeared.
Elder Zeng, standing guard in front of the stone, was nervous about any sudden changes. With a swift wave, he summoned his sword from thin air, manifesting it in five elements—gold, wood, water, fire, earth—perfectly aligned with the grand momentum.
As the sword fell, streams of sword energy erupted in mid-air, endlessly flowing, never stopping.
Not just the Sword Building, but everything surrounding seemed to be severed from reality, as if an entire sword realm had unfurled.
Countless sword energies coalesced into a fine net.
Yin Mianmian moved swiftly, her bizarre movement technique pushed to the limit. But the very space around her was rapidly compressing, threatening to leave her no room to maneuver.
In just a few breaths, she would lose all means of escape.
Elder Zeng stood boldly in the void, casually directing the sword energy, as if he were weaving a tapestry or painting a masterpiece.
“Pretty cool,” commented Little Li, watching the Ninth Heaven strongman’s dramatic display for the first time up close.
The external forces showcased imagined scenes from his mind, making it truly feel like bits of reality were unfolding before their eyes.
Of course, it was still far from the seeds of the world.
“When my master was young, he went by the name of Traveling Sword,” Wu Chushu sighed in relief, noticing Li Mo still on alert, and added, “He’s in the Observation Realm, observing all kinds of forms, perfecting them into one. It’s all about combining the inner scene with the outer one.”
“Too bad the Traveling Sword body is incredibly rare…”
Li Mo asked, “Is it because it progresses slowly at first since absorbing the world’s energy is difficult?”
Wu Chushu was taken aback: “How do you know that?”
“…..”
So much for having a mixed spirit root.
The Traveling Sword body, the path of Traveling Sword realm.
What wonders would the outer scene display for him when he finally reached the realm? Little Li was curious.
Given that the outer scene was somewhat close to the seeds of the world, what if he could make them descend into reality using the method of unifying the inner and outer worlds?
Unfortunately, he could only manipulate a bit of worldly power for now, so trying out that idea was still quite a leap away.
Lost in thought, Little Li pondered.
“So that’s why my teacher… is letting out the outer scene,” Jiang Chulong peeked out from behind Li Mo.
“…Hmm?”
Bai Jinghong perked up, intrigued.
Wu Chushu was curious too. This little girl was a genius in swordplay; he wondered who her teacher might be. Could it be a powerful warrior from the Tianshan Sword Manor?
“May I ask what your teacher’s name is, Miss?”
“My teacher… doesn’t let me say,” Jiang Chulong said quickly, tugging on Brother Li’s sleeve and shaking her head.
“Doesn’t allow you to say…”
Wu Chushu thought for a moment and adjusted his question.
“Miss, what kind of outer scene does your teacher project?”
Whether it was the Earth Ranking or the Heaven Ranking, their outer scenes or body forms were easily recognizable.
“Well… it’s the Heavenly Court!”
“There are thirty-three layers of heaven… the Southern Heavenly Gate… Lingxiao Treasure Palace… Dou Shuai Palace… Bagua Furnace… and the Nine Nether Hell… plus the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven…”
“Oh, and there’s a beach… I even built a sand sculpture there…”
Little Princess Jiang vividly recounted her experiences like a PowerPoint animation.
The Hengyun Three Heroes were left stunned, their tactical strategies flopping over like pancakes.
You call this an outer scene?
Hengyun Sword City had once produced a Seventh Realm master; their inner realm was a universe unto itself.
The said universe certainly couldn’t compare to what this little girl claimed it was like—not a chance.
If anyone else had said it, they probably wouldn’t have believed it.
Yet this little girl seemed blissfully unaware, not only not being fooled, but even counting money like a pro; she appeared completely genuine.
Li Mo sighed, covering his face.
“Just a reference image; the real thing may vary.”
Perhaps one day, Little Princess Jiang would rise to a higher realm and discover the truth…
“Thirty-three layers of heaven…”
Ying Bing gasped, her serene eyes sparkling.
In the Nine Heavens, the most ancient was known to her, and the strongest was her own self.
Even at the Eighth Realm, manifesting a world within was impossible with all these divine wonders.
Even she couldn’t comprehend it.
Even if she were an immortal, surely she couldn’t reach this level, could she?
But after all, this was Chulong’s words; whether they were truly real remained an open question.
At least in her past life, she had never heard of such things.
At that moment—
*Rip!*
Suddenly, a pure strand of darkness burrowed into the Five Element Sword Realm and tore open a rift.
The outer scene was shattered in an instant!
Darkness engulfed everything, drowning out light; black hurricanes raged like dragons of destruction, rampaging through the world.
Yin Mianmian seized the chance to escape.
However, Elder Zeng was too preoccupied to care about her; five long swords whirled around the Sword Mark Stone, protecting those present, compressing the sword realm against the encroaching darkness.
In the distance, a fierce and sinister Evil King, bound by thousands of chains to a black stone pillar, shook the chains loudly, like a harbinger of doom.
“Law body…”
“Ninth Heaven Killer, Evil King.”
Ying Bing regained her composure and identified the intruder.
Upon arrival, the figure didn’t attack.
It took a deep glance at the depths of the Sword City before the black tide receded, taking with it the surviving Misty Rain Tower assassins, fleeing into the distance.
Hengyun Sword City had its own law bodies, and more than one at that.
The law bodies within the Sword City did not pursue.
If they were to battle, regardless of the victor or loser, Hengyun Sword City and even Yunzhou City would likely be left in ruins.
The Misty Rain Tower had come and gone in a hurry while plotting to seize the Horizontal Cloud Sword Marks.
After quickly clearing out the assassins who hadn’t been swept away by the black tide, this great crisis was finally over.
Thanks to their foresight, the casualties were minimal, and even the crowd at the summit was just in a bit of chaos.
…
“Finally, it’s over.”
Ke Mo sighed in relief.
Immediately afterward, he was bombarded with a cascade of notification sounds, one after the other.
All kinds of common and precious investment feedback poured in at that moment.
It was a huge explosion.
Not just in quantity; the quality was off the charts.
This was definitely the largest haul ever.
Speaking of quality, he still hadn’t claimed his reward for that Ice Chunk.
“I can’t even collect all this; it’s just too much.”
He tried to suppress his excitement over gathering rewards.
The elders gathered at the top of the Sword Building.
They exchanged glances and together bowed towards Ke Mo:
“Thank you, Young Hero Ke, for sharing valuable information. And thank you, Miss Ying, for stopping that demoness at a critical moment and protecting our city’s treasure!”
“From now on, both of you will always be esteemed guests of the Sword City!”
If it weren’t for them, whether or not the sword marks could be preserved was up in the air. Caught off guard by the Misty Rain Tower’s ambush, Hengyun Sword City would have suffered greatly, even if it didn’t collapse entirely.
The elders were quite transparent about that.
“The Sword City is generously sharing its treasures with the world; truly a display of righteousness.”
“It’s nothing much, don’t mention it.”
Ke Mo smiled genuinely, completely unconcerned about their praises.
Everyone felt a wave of nostalgia.
This kid was indeed admirable, truly possessing remarkable character!
“Ke Mo’s got the right spirit!”
“Reflecting on the past days in the martial world, I almost feel like forming sworn brotherhood with Young Hero Ke!”
Elder Zeng half-praised and half-sighed, the atmosphere was definitely climbing.
Wu Chushu was taken aback: “Huh?”
If Elder Zeng knew that Little Ke’s source of information came from the Northwest Hammer King, he might not feel that sentiment.
Speaking of sword marks…
Everyone suddenly recalled that they hadn’t even finished the main business of the Martial Arts Summit.
Some hadn’t even had the chance to observe the Sword Mark Stone.
This year’s sword talents had yet to be selected.
They directed their attention to Ke Mo and Ying Bing.
…
PS: The little pup’s slip-up with revealing the fairy body was truly a case of inexperience; their fairy body setting is quite robust and will accompany the protagonist to the end.
Ice Chunk has appeared twice with divine intents; Little Ke surely has more than just one ‘Mona Ice Shake’.
