Immortal of the Ages

In an instant, the air quivered with a faint, fleeting symphony of whistles. The azure Flying Sword, in a delicate and decisive dance, navigated through flocks of sword energy birds. Each spectral creature, modestly adorned with a wingspan of a mere foot, fluttered languorously through the heavens, bearing a humble resemblance to any commonplace bird. Yet, as Yun Xiao's Heaven Burial Sword Sou intersected their forms, they disintegrated, relinquishing their essence to the void between heaven and earth.

A subtle, sustained hum lingered where the sword carved through the atmosphere, signaling the end of the Azure Kites.

As the ten thousand onlookers bore witness, a collective shudder rippled through the crowd. Their expressions morphed into masks of disbelief as the azure sword twirled and darted through the clouds, shearing through the flock of Azure Kites with an effortless cruelty.

"No—!"

"The Azure Kites... descendants of the Sea of Swords' various powers..."

Their eradication was thorough, leaving naught but a ghost of what had once been.

The crowd, eyes ablaze with rage and disbelief, observed the youth in white. His gentle smile resembled a devil's mask as he devoured Azure Kite after Azure Kite with a terrifying efficacy. These entities, for the most part unattainable by the younger generation of the Sea of Swords, were swallowed up one by one.

Some eyes dripped rage made manifest, others spilled forth tears, and more than a few souls wept openly amidst the carnage.

"Stop, please!"

Yun Xiao's visage remained unblemished by emotion, inscrutable amidst the chaos of their pleas.

"Leave any behind?" Yun Xiao's voice slid into the silence.

It was not a question, but a condemnation.

“Not a chance. Not a single Azure Kite will be spared,” he declared.

In the blink of an eye, rage twisted into silence, then wilted into reluctant tears, as the Azure Kite Sea—once a spectacle of mystery and allure—was relegated to the annals of history.

When Yun Xiao’s sword tore an almost-formed Azure Kite from the Sword Soul of a Divine Sea Realm disciple from the Forbidden Tower, the vast cloudscape was barren, void of the spectral avian grace that once danced there. An utter emptiness reigned.

"We've pierced the threshold of three digits," Yun Xiao observed, eyes caressing the Heaven Burial Sword Soul in his hand, a lethal elegance emanating from its form, and at last, a satisfied smile plastered his features. "One-hundred-layer Sword Aura. How does that stand?”

"Middling," Blue Star observed dryly.

Yun Xiao sighed in annoyance and exasperation. How was that middling! Sixty layers was revered as the pinnacle in the Sea of Swords. In two days, he ascended rapidly, gorging on Azure Kites, and shattered the hundred barrier with his Sword Aura.

As for the ten thousand people outside, their stoic, shell-shocked expressions sang a different tune. This was far, far from middling.

“Still, even now, influenced by Holy Son Chu’s stupid lies, they likely see me as a mere fluke with sword treasures in hand.” After Yun Xiao's entrance to the Sea of Swords, his only demonstration of power had been the recent Sword Homage Ceremony, which was held in private, with Ning Bei and the rest of the trio still kneeling in front of the Ancestral Sword Hall.

“Holy Son Chu, your vain attempt to save face unwittingly became my boon. My gratitude is sincere.”

“Why are you thanking him?” Blue Star asked, puzzlement threading his words.

“If he hadn’t spread the lie about how I couldn't take a single sword stroke from him, would these ten thousand people dare to scorn like this? How else could I consume this Azure Kite Sea without a shred of guilt?” Yun Xiao offered a sly grin.

“If they hadn't scorned you, would you have practiced restraint?” Blue Star replied, rolling its eyes.

“Well, not particularly. What needs to be devoured will be devoured,” Yun Xiao concluded.

“Then, what difference does it make?” Blue Star replied.

In the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, Sword Soul talent was hailed as the zenith of potential. Yet here, amidst the Sea of Swords, even a Star grade Sword Soul grade paled in comparison to the allure of Ye Guying’s Nine Dragons Dantian.

Yun Xiao chuckled. “So, having only the Sword Soul talent and lacking the Dao Seed Talent means I can’t outpace Ye Guying?” If anyone from Azure Spirit were still present here, the tales of Yun Xiao pulverizing an entire sect in six days would have drifted into their ears. Sadly, all of the Azure Spirit Sword Cultivators had descended to the mortal realm, hunting demons.

Blue Star's forehead creased slightly. “So, how do you plan to stroll out of this pickle?”

Yun Xiao, glancing upwards, witnessed the ten thousand people unleashing their Sword Souls just beyond the gentle embrace of the Azure Kite Sea. The ten thousand Flying Swords twirled and howled, a symphony of impending doom, all directed singularly towards him, awaiting his step from the tranquil sea.

Their hearts bled for bygone legacies, whispers now lost to eternity.

“Easy there,” Yun Xiao whispered, serenity emanating from him. Rising upon his Sovereign Sword, man and sword moved harmoniously towards the entrance of the Azure Kite Sea.

Metallic songs of blades clashed and clanged, an unsettling choir emanating from ten thousand Flying Swords.

This was the Sea of Swords.

Countless sword, targeting one man.

Fear? Not a trace fluttered within Yun Xiao. Adorned in white, his hair a wild cascade, he faced the ten thousand pair of malevolent, blood-red eyes, becoming an embodiment of fearless defiance amidst suppression.

“From today forward, you’re the notorious sinner of the Sea of Swords, stealing blessings from generations to come. Your actions are inexcusable, and you deserve a thousand deaths!” Lin Chen directed his pale Sword Soul towards Yun Xiao.

As the son of the Sword Lord of Sword Heaven, Lin Chen’s words were potent, indirectly indicating to the masses that even the Sword Lord’s progeny disdained Yun Xiao. Clearly, Sword Heaven harbored but one crazed protector for Yun Xiao!

“My actions are inexcusable? Deserve death? Not this whole bit again! People never learn.” Yun Xiao stood nonchalantly, hands clasped behind him, voluntarily propelling his Sovereign Sword out of the Azure Kite Sea, eyes unwavering, sword cutting through the clouds.

“Meet your end!” Lin Chen’s voice cut through the tension, resolute.

As his words faded, an uprising of over ten thousand Flying Swords surged, a rain of malevolent metal intending to grind Yun Xiao into oblivion.

Yun Xiao simply stood, immovable.

“Who dares touch the heir to my Sword Heaven?!” Out of serene nothingness, an uproar erupted, and a figure with flowing white hair materialized before Yun Xiao, sweeping across with a white Sword Soul that enveloped fifty-nine layers of Sword Aura.

HUM! A pallid crescent of sword energy swept out, generating a tempest of sword-energized wind, suppressing all within its trajectory.

The world detonated around Yun Xiao; towers crumbling, earth splitting, swords recoiling, men retreating, bodies scattering.

“This is the might of one sword!” Yun Xiao’s pupils constricted.

“Sword Lord!” Recognizing the white-haired Sword Cultivator, the folks of Sword Heaven stammered in reverence.

“Father…” Lin Chen and Lin Lin stared at the Sword Lord, their eyes dimming and hearts sinking.

“Don’t you father me! I’ve no children who sabotage from within!” The Sword Lord, fury personified, roared. “The mighty Sword Cultivators of Sword Heaven, conspiring against one of their own, wagging tails at external foes! You’ve utterly disgraced the spirit of our Sword Heaven ancestors!” With his booming reprimand, Lin Chen and Lin Lin were shattered, while those like Ning Que behind them wore masks of grim acceptance.

A wave of astonishment rippled through the expansive crowd under the boundless Sea of Swords.

Lin Qingfeng, the Sword Lord, cast a piercing glance across the tens thousand Sword Cultivators gathered. His voice, sharp and resonant, sliced through the murmurs, addressing the assembled masses. "Yun Xiao, the Young Sword Lord of Sword Heaven, obtained all the Azure Kites fairly and squarely!" he announced. "He carved history into the annals of the Sea of Swords and is owed even more reverence than Ye Guying. And you dare belittle him because his cultivation isn’t esteemed enough, treating him like ripe fruit ready to burst? Where’s your sense of justice?”

Mutterings flitted through the crowd, though no voice dared challenge him aloud.

In hushed tones, they whispered among themselves. "Our fury stems from this kid devouring the Rank Ten Azure Kites and then consuming even the Rank One Azure Kites reserved for future generations!"

But with the Sword Lord's voice enveloping them like a tangible entity, they remained spellbound, rebuttals dying unborn on their lips.

Lin Qingfeng, mighty in stature and spirit, lifted his sword, its aura an extension of his very being, and proclaimed with a bellow. "Let my words echo here and now—I, Lin Qingfeng, vow to shield Yun Xiao until he reigns as the Sea of Swords' top Sword Cultivator throughout eternity! Should you dissent, wage war upon my Sword Heaven! Unleash the might of your clans against our hallowed ground! Is your collective bullying here supposed to suggest that Sword Heaven is devoid of defenders?!”

His bold proclamation, powerful and crystal clear, subdued every ounce of dissent present. The potent tide of sword energy washed over them all, momentarily silencing the tens of thousands on Azure Kite Street, including Patriarch Fan.

"Brother Feng, that was magnificent!" Ning Yan’s heart quivered inside her, unabashed admiration dancing in her eyes. This, indeed, was a man of Sword Heaven!

With a smirk and gleaming eyes, the Sword Lord drawled, "Majestic Sword Cultivators lacking the guts for a singular duel, what skill is there in overpowering a lone adversary with a swarm of swords?” He took a generous swig of his wine, face flushing a dark rouge, his steps faltering just slightly.

Swiveling, he slapped Yun Xiao on the shoulder, vibrant enthusiasm coloring his words. "Boy, showcase your Sword Soul to me!"

"...Alright." Yun Xiao extended his hand, and as the Heaven Burial Sword Soul appeared, its hundred-layer Sword Aura immediately instilled a sharp pain in the eyes of the crowd.

"Bravo! Splendid! Shattering one-hundred layers, you've uplifted the Sea of Swords' record by thirty-eight layers! Without precedent, and assuredly without successor! A hundred-layer Sword Aura—that’s a heavenly sword’s gift! Unseen in our world and perhaps even capable of astonishing the Heavenly Realm's Immortals above!" The Sword Lord, his gaze deep yet somehow unfocused, stared at Yun Xiao’s Sword Soul, continuously heaping praises upon it.

"It's only so-so," Yun Xiao replied, a sly grin caressing his lips. He'd known all along that the Sword Lord had been lingering nearby.

A hearty laugh echoed from the Sword Lord as he gazed first at Yun Xiao, then at Ning Yan, sighing with a kind of poignant nostalgia. "Ah! Across the vast heavens, only you two truly understand me. Come, let us go home!"

"Brother Feng, don’t carry sorrow in your heart. They are merely intimidated by the might of the Forbidden Tower and unwilling to untangle themselves from the affectionate snare of various alliances. They can only compromise, step by step. When they witness Yun Xiao's true, world-shaking talent someday, they will all return to your side," Ning Yan whispered, her words a gentle caress of consolation.

"If only that could be," the Sword Lord, glancing at his children who were so lost to his own struggles, sighed heavily into the silent expanse around them.

"Let’s go!" With a singular swing of his sword, he cleaved a path through the crowd, leading Yun Xiao and Ning Yan with an ostentatious swagger back towards Sword Heaven. Silence lay in their wake, none daring to provoke.

The Sea of Swords was awash with dark, surging currents.

After the Sword Lord and Yun Xiao departed, tens of thousands of eyes, trembling, stared at the now desolate Azure Kite Sea in a collective stupor.

A realization, profound and unsettling, dawned upon them.

"Even if Yun Xiao dies ten thousand times, the loss of the Azure Kite Sea for hundreds of generations... it can never be reversed!"

The catastrophic news had already unfolded.

For a moment, countless sighed in resignation, and among them, the people of the Forbidden Tower harbored undoubtedly the fiercest anger.

Once the allotted time of the Azure Kite Sea ended and the heads of families like Patriarch Fan entered the empty sea, retrieving Fan Jian and Xiao Xing'er, they saw these two Heaven Chosen of the Forbidden Tower, because of the ambush, nearly half of their Sword Souls were shattered, their human souls wounded, and their consciousness somewhat muddled. The people of the Forbidden Tower were seething in unabated fury.

"Someone! Summon the leaders of the Ten Great Families of the Sea of Swords! Regarding the desecration of the Azure Kite Sea, we shall all go together to the Forbidden Tower to meet with the Tower Lord!" Patriarch Fan, his face a fearsome snarl, his tongue bloody, commanded.

The Ten Great Families! Excluding the Fan Family, which was almost considered part of the Forbidden Tower, the other nine major families were also not insignificant!

Originally neutral between Sword Heaven and the Forbidden Tower, now, with the incident at the Azure Kite Sea, their interests were compromised and they were bound to support the Forbidden Tower in seeking justice for their descendants for thousands of generations.

In truth, even Sword Heaven was theoretically on the side of Forbidden Tower and Ye Guying!

Amongst the crowd, Ning Que found his daughter, Ning Jing.

"My dear Ning Jing, are you alright?" Ning Que asked, his voice heavy with concern.

"Father, I successfully inherited the Rank Six Azure Kite, and my Sword Aura advanced by four layers," Ning Jing responded in a bit of a daze.

"Why didn’t he shatter your hopes as well?" Ning Que stood stunned.

"I don’t know... perhaps, because the Sword Lord treated him too well, he didn’t want to make things difficult for the Sword Lord?" Ning Jing replied, biting her lip.

"The Sword Lord is blindly obstinate!" Ning Que glared.

"I think he just wants to ensure Sword Heaven’s independence. It feels like if Madame Xiao continues this way, Sword Heaven will really become a vassal of Forbidden Tower," Ning Jing murmured, head bowed.

"Who doesn’t understand this reasoning? But, is there any harm in it? There isn’t! None of the benefits we should have will be reduced! Only if the Sea of Swords unifies can we hope to suppress the Grand Wasteland! Do you understand? This is about the overall situation of the human race, not a struggle for individual power! Internal strife will only consume us. Only through marriage alliances, sharing blood, and mutual support can the Sea of Swords truly rise to power and protect the common people... All of you are just short-sighted!" Ning Que sighed, "Today the Azure Kite Sea is gone, and if our descendants in the Sea of Swords cannot hold on and are destroyed by the Grand Wasteland, the deaths of billions of common people in the future will be on the heads of the Sword Lord and Yun Xiao!"

Ning Jing was stunned. "Really, both sides think they’re right, who should I believe?"

Mass marriage alliances! Two families becoming one! There truly was no issue of who was superior or inferior—they were all in-laws, harmoniously united.

"To be honest, I really don't understand Lin Qingfeng! After the incident with your aunt and Zhao Jianxing, Lin Qingfeng actively pursued Xiao Yu, and after becoming the Sword Lord, he married her with all due propriety. He was the one who opened the precedent for these alliances, and it was Xiao Yu who began arranging them for all of you! He not only didn’t oppose it all along, but also encouraged you to interact with the Heaven Chosen of Forbidden Tower, didn't he?" Ning Que was practically at his wit's end, "How come when Yun Xiao arrives, he completely changes? If he really felt oppressed by Forbidden Tower, why didn’t he make a peep these past twenty years?"

Lin Chen, Lin Lin, and Ning Jing, the three young individuals, furrowed their brows deeply after hearing this.

The pondering was palpable, like a cloud, heavy and omnipresent. Sword Heaven’s unyielding integrity—what sort of thing was that? It sure as hell didn't exist before!

▬ι══🪦✧⚰️✧🪦══ι▬

Upon their return, the Sword Lord, Yun Xiao, and Ning Yan were met not with the customary respectful bows of the courtyard, but rather, an ominous cluster of five venerable ancestors, each shrouded by a piercing, cold glare, akin to the first frosts of winter nipping eagerly at autumn’s heels.

“Well, well, esteemed ancestors, to what do we owe this frosty reception? Perhaps a spot of wine to warm those chilly bones?” the Sword Lord offered with a chuckle.

“Lin Qingfeng!” an ancestor, swathed in regal purple, stepped forth, his finger accusingly directed, “Your reckless folly! For mere personal desires, you’ve tossed the grand plans of the Sea of Swords into tempest seas! You are a sinner amongst mankind!”

“And what, pray tell, does this grand plan entail? Kowtowing to the Forbidden Tower is it, Ancestor Murong?” Lin Qingfeng fired back with a scoff, completely unshaken.

“You dare speak such drivel! You dine and wine daily with the Tower Lord, yet we see no kneeling from you, do we?” another ancestor in grey robes chimed in.

“That, dear ancestor, is because he has yet to swallow my Sword Heaven whole! Let’s see if Ye Guying rises, and whether he swallows or spits!” The Sword Lord sneered.

“Lin Qingfeng!” the ancestor in the red robe snapped, eyes aflame with a mixture of anger and disdain.

“Speak, Second Uncle,” Lin Qingfeng said.

“From this day forth, we five decree your position as Sword Lord null and void. You shall not represent Sword Heaven! You are the Sea of Swords’ transgressor, inviting a devouring pestilence, ravaging the roots of our future!” The red-robed ancestor's trembling finger pointed, accusations veiled not only in his words but also within the quiver of his voice.

SMACK! As swift as a striking serpent, Lin Qingfeng’s form blurred and reappeared, his hand smartly connecting with the ancestor’s cheek. Reeling, the red-robed ancestor somersaulted backward, his world spinning into a disoriented dance.

“Second Uncle, perhaps your perpetual kneeling has rendered your legs impotent? Rest then, and take a break from your baseless accusations and pointless decrees! Who do you think you are, to revoke my position as Sword Lord?” The Sword Lord spat.

“Lin Qingfeng! Your actions scream of insolence and rebellion! To raise your hand against an elder!” a black-robed ancestor admonished, words nearly choking on his own fury.

SMACK! Again, the Sword Lord’s palm made swift acquaintance with the ancestor's cheek, scolding, “Ancestor Ning, perhaps silence would serve you well!”

“Father…” Ning Yan, with eyes wide and heart pounding, hurried to the fallen ancestor, hands gently helping him upright. Peering down, a silent gasp escaped her lips. Amidst the dirt lay three lustrous golden teeth, defeated soldiers upon an unexpected battlefield.