Immortal of the Ages

"Am I seeing things?" Ning Yan muttered. She was perched alone in a cozy, secluded corner. Her delicate cheek gracefully rested against her palm, as she peered out of the window. A calm wash of the Azure Kite Sea filled her vision before it was pierced by a sudden, unexpected fright.

A bird, an Azure Kite of the third rank, fluttered before being swallowed up, as if charmed into the Sword Soul of the gentle white-clad youth with an almost mischievous ease.

"I've been stressed, but I didn't think it'd cost me my sight," she mused, bitterness knitting her brow ever so slightly. Yet, the ambiance of the place curiously mirrored her solitude; an eerie, undisturbed quiet held the air.

Swiveling her gaze, she scanned faces—Ning Que, Patriarch Fan, Lin Chen, and several others—all frozen, wine cups hovering mid-lift, as if time itself played a jest upon them. Their eyes were locked, unblinking, on the youth basking in the cloudy sea, faces not just stoic but statuesque.

“Brother, did he... did he just cheat again?" Lin Lin whispered, a haze of confusion over her.

Lin Chen's voice scraped through his throat, "It's impossible to cheat in the Azure Kite Sea."

The ghost of a begrudging respect shadowed Ning Que’s voice, "That Star grade Sword Soul of his… it's truly something else."

Lin Chen shook his head, a sigh deflating him, "If he manages to snag a Rank 10 Azure Kite today, Father will sing his praises and elevate him to Ye Guying’s stature."

Lin Lin, her lips pursed in a mock pout, whimsically uttered a prayer, "Seems like the heavens above and earth below blesses Yun Xiao, who somehow bumbles into success."

The taverns of Azure Kite Street, after that brief hush, erupted into a cacophony of life, a myriad of voices chiming in excitement and disbelief, each patron’s gaze hooked on the serene figure of the white-clothed youth.

"He might not match the Sword Princelings or the Heaven Chosen of the Forbidden Tower in battle," a murmured approval whispered through the room, "but the sheer terror invoked by his Sword Soul's grade can't be ignored!"

"Aye, but the foundation’s the realm!" another countered, "The Sword Soul just gives it a little nudge."

"With a lacking realm, he'll only be shattering the Flying Swords of mere footnotes in history..."

Yun Xiao, without uttering a word, had captured the stage, sidelining Fan Jian, Xiao Xing'er, Ning Jing, and their ilk with his understated spectacle.

"He's making for the central region!"

"Challenging the Rank 10 Azure Kite directly?!"

Ripples of disbelief wafted through the azure kite street, a collective held breath hanging in the air.

Sure enough, as Yun Xiao realized he could effortlessly secure a Rank Three Azure Kite, why would he tarry? Resources in the Sea of Swords? Naturally, they had to be seized at once!

"If you’re going to grab, grab the finest!" Yun Xiao smirked. And so, the Rank 10 Azure Kite became his target, and toward the profound depths of the Azure Kite Sea, he propelled his Sovereign Sword.

"Only one Rank Three Azure Kite, and I reached thirty-three layers of Sword Aura!"

As for the Azure Kite's secondary effect—enhancing the Sword Soul grade—Yun Xiao felt a mildness in its effect. The Heaven Burial Sword Soul was a world embryo. So, though the effects of absorbing the Rank Three Azure Kite were minimal, it was still there. It was just that the improvement couldn’t be classified within worldly grades!

Nevertheless, Heaven Burial assuredly grew stronger and fiercer!

"The Sea of Swords’ best Sword Inheritance Stone is only Rank Four. So, there's no way to actually properly test my Sword Soul. I'd just end up blowing another Sword Inheritance Stone up again."

So, the outsiders were merely privy to witness the augmentation of Yun Xiao’s Sword Aura layers.

Soon enough, Yun Xiao had infiltrated the central region of the Azure Kite Sea.

"Damn it, he slipped through!" Fan Jian, emerging from behind, his eyes seething with lethal intentions, grumbled. Upon entering the Azure Kite Sea, a sea of clouds enveloped everything, and by the time he located Yun Xiao, it was too late.

"That scoundrel from the Azure Spirit Sword Sect sure is good at running," Xiao Xing'er murmured, her gaze an undisturbed, icy pond, even as they all stood enveloped in a mystic fog, obscuring more than the view from those outside it.

"Let’s focus on the Rank Six Azure Kite first, shall we? That’s the true test for us," Ning Jing suggested gently from behind, her voice threading through the quiet.

"Hey, are you trying to defend him or something?" Xiao Xing'er raised an eyebrow, a subtle edge to her voice.

Ning Jing merely pressed her lips together, choosing silence as her ally, and turned towards a Rank Six Azure Kite without further comment.

"Enough of this! If things go sideways, Ye Guying can handle it in three days when he emerges. This is, after all, a significant vendetta," Fan Jian interjected, his shoulders lifting in a careless shrug.

"I just fear he won’t survive three days. Maybe he'll perish at the hands of some insignificant thugs. An indistinct death like that is unsatisfying," Xiao Xing'er observed.

With that, they shifted their focus, and their challenge against the Rank Six Azure Kites began.

From their standpoint, enshrouded in the fog, sharp cries of azure birds filled the space, the shouting from Azure Kite Street just barely audible.

"Rank 10 Azure Kite!" Deep within the fog, Yun Xiao's eyes lifted, locking onto the massive avian form, crafted entirely of swirling, azure sword energy.

Its wings, spanning a mighty ten feet, fluttered ominously. The feathers, a lethal dance of sword energy, encased a core of azure liquid—a vile mix of demon bone marrow and unidentified entities. Runes crawled across the avian form, injecting it with a fearsome aura.

"Five Rank 10 Azure Kites have descended so far, and Ye Guying has absorbed only one?"

It spoke to the colossal challenge of absorbing and inheriting the power of the Rank 10 Azure Kite.

Yet, Yun Xiao, armed with his Rank Three Azure Kite experience and fortified by a mountainous faith, didn’t afford this Rank 10 Azure Kite a second thought.

"Open wide now!" As he approached the bird, he ruthlessly thrust his azure sword into its beak, before the eyes of the countless onlookers.

The Rank 10 Azure Kite, its eyes aflame with wild ferocity, screamed a shrill cry, wings convulsing, and sent mighty sword energy cascading, dispelling the surrounding fog with a tremendous uproar. It was an audacious show of resistance against Yun Xiao.

"Come to me!" With an impassive face, Yun Xiao’s sword penetrated further, channeling the Sword Soul’s power into the kite’s core.

A deep hum resonated! A drastic change crossed the Rank 10 Azure Kite’s expression' its fierce cries twisting into screams, wings beating frenziedly, inducing a far mightier current!

"Thinking of escaping? Not on my watch!" Yun Xiao distinctly sensed that before his Heaven Burial Sword Soul, all Azure Kites were equal! It was simply a question of larger or smaller prey. A Rank 10 Azure Kite, a sizeable feast, was doubtlessly more fulfilling.

A dreadful spectacle unfolded!

The Rank 10 Azure Kite shrieked and wrestled, but the Heaven Burial Sword Soul forcefully drew it in, consuming it whole. Its gleaming sword energy, marrow, and runes were almost instantly absorbed into Yun Xiao’s Sword Soul!

Just like that, a Rank 10 Azure Kite vanished in the blink of an eye! When the young man leisurely retracted his Sword Soul, Azure Kite Street virtually detonated.

RUMBLE RUMBLE! A collective gasp surged as tens of thousands of people rose from their feet!

For a brief second, it was impossible to discern their cries. All that was visible were wide eyes, practically bulging from their sockets, suspended in the open air, perilously close to plummeting.

"Ten! Ten…" Numerous folks stuttered, their tongues seemingly tied in knots, mouths scalding, able only to voice this singular digit, the remainder of their thought tragically abandoned.

In an instant, an uproarious crash sounded as countless cups and teacups plummeted to their doom upon tables and floor alike. Each collision punctuated the collective gasp that shuddered through the room.

"Ah! He did it! The Rank 10 Azure Kite, in a flash!" cried a voice, teetering on the brink of madness and disbelief.

With a single stroke, Yun Xiao did not merely pierce the formidable Rank 10 Azure Kite, he had skewered the very fabric of their understanding of the world.

A hushed whisper emerged from the crowd, "It ain’t just that he downed the Azure Kite. It's that it happened in a heartbeat."

"Ye Guying battled for an eternity in comparison!"

Generations of Sword Cultivators from the Sea of Swords, be they lauded Heaven Chosen, Holy Sons, or Sword Princelings, had faced the Rank 10 Azure Kite, writhing in struggles time and time again, only to embrace failure in the end.

The minds of thousands buzzed, a hive of disbelief and wonder.

"Yun Xiao!" Ning Yan leapt upright, fingers white as they clenched the window ledge, her excitement almost physically tearing it away. "Have you ever seen anything so miraculous?"

Twisting around, a radiant grin unfolded across her features, meeting the eyes of the entire table behind her, where every individual stood, wiping disbelief from their eyes as they directed solemn salutes towards Yun Xiao.

Veins threaded through the whites of each pair of eyes.

“Did he cheat? This was a Rank 10 Azure Kite...” Lin Lin’s voice trailed into the air, absent and perplexed.

Alas, no ear lent itself to her mumbles. The potent significance of Yun Xiao's feat sunk in, rendering her words insignificant.

“A Star grade Sword Soul is this fearsome, is it?” Ning Que uttered, his voice a trembling leaf in a timid breeze.

“This man, after becoming an adversary of the Forbidden Tower, cannot be allowed to roam free, to grow,” Patriarch Fan declared, his voice a graveled whisper.

Ning Que's eyes lingered on his sister.

Ning Yan chuckled, pointing to her own eyes, playfully inquiring, "Were your eyes open for that, brother?"

“Hmph.” The wine cup in Ning Que’s grasp crumbled under the pressure. “The Sword Lord will find a way to defend Yun Xiao, as always.”

The task of extinguishing the boy's life had ratcheted up a notch in difficulty.

“The ones who wish him dead, their resolve will now be unshakeable. How’s he to live through these three days?” Lin Chen’s words escaped in a chilled, solitary mumble.

“The moment he steps out of the Azure Kite Sea, the assassins will multiply,” Lin Lin sneered, ice etching her words.

Lin Chen grunted, “With the inheritance now complete, he should be the first to emerge.”

“Brother, did you see how many layers of Sword Aura he has now?” Lin Lin, envy coiling in her words, whispered, “Such a waste, a Rank 10 Azure Kite on a person marked for death...”

It was a lament that echoed into the hearts of those present.

“Fifty-five layers of Sword Aura!” And then, as though the heavens themselves resonated with the feat, a booming proclamation thundered through Azure Kite Street.

“He’s almost matched our father!” Lin Chen and Lin Lin’s eyes locked, jealousy festering within. The legitimate prodigies of the Sea of Swords, and yet their Sword Aura layers were leagues from fifty!

“This ranking is enough to claim a spot within the top five of the entire Sea of Swords!” The gathered masses teetered on the brink of pandemonium.

During this peaceful epoch between the Sea of Swords and the Grand Wastelands, due to restrictions from the Grand Wastelands Pact and a scarcity of demon bones, the Sword Aura layers within the Sea of Swords were marginally lower than during the tumultuous periods of yesteryear.

“A sixteen-year-old, buoyed by a Rank 10 Azure Kite, has catapulted his Sword Aura layers directly into the top five of the Sea of Swords!”

The collective sentiment wove envy and awe into a palpable tapestry.

“Understand this, each incremental layer of Sword Aura, especially at these heights, is a monumental task that only becomes progressively more daunting!”

From thirty-three, he skyrocketed to fifty-five!

“This Rank 10 Azure Kite, was it really that efficacious? What an incredible nourishing entity!” Yun Xiao, gazing upon the horrifying Sword Soul within his grasp, his eyes flickered with an extraordinary light.

Blue Star’s eyes shimmered, light dancing within them. “So?”

A chuckle escaped from Yun Xiao's lips. “There’s a flock of over twenty thousand souls outside. They believe I've completed the inheritance, and expect me to scamper back to Sword Heaven to save my own neck!”

“Creator, don’t tell me you’re thinking of dining on the last three Rank 10 Azure Kites, are you?” A sly, teasing grin spread across Blue Star’s face.

Yun Xiao shook his head, a mix of amused and mock indignation in his voice. “Can you believe this? Doubting my virtue? These creatures are a commonwealth of the Sea of Swords, a boon for the progeny of our kind. If I devour them, future generations will see not one more Rank 10 Azure Kite!”

“Finish the last three and your Sword Aura would skyrocket, crowning you number one across the Sea of Swords!” Blue Star’s smirk bore a playfully malevolent edge. “You’re exactly that kind of person, I wager.”

For a moment, Yun Xiao stalled, then, with a sly, conceding grin, he admitted, “You read people well.”

Blue Star could only offer a vacant stare in response.

And with that, Yun Xiao, undeterred, resumed his striding.

“He’s emerging!” A collective murmur swept through the bustling crowd of Azure Kite Street.

Unexpectedly, Yun Xiao diverted not outward, but veered left, a move unforeseen.

“What is he up tp?” Tens of thousands palpitated in concert, eyes glued unblinkingly upon Yun Xiao.

Suddenly, another Rank 10 Azure Kite materialized before him!

The creature, strikingly anthropomorphic, upon recognizing Yun Xiao, pivoted, wings flapping frantically in attempted escape. Its squawks of despair seemingly cried, “Stay away!”

“Running, are we?” With deft swiftness, Yun Xiao charged, alighting upon the back of the Rank 10 Azure Kite, and thrust his sword through it!

A chilling wail, born of sheer terror, sliced through the heavens from the Kite.

“Ah! My Rank 10 Azure Kite!” On Azure Kite Street, a sea of individuals stood agape, their hearts bleeding unspoken grief, as though witnessing Yun Xiao absconding with their beloved.

And just like that, another Rank 10 Azure Kite ceased to be.