“Since I’ve returned, you should know what it means.” Liu Huang’s statement was unquestionable.
Liu Qianjue closed his eyes before suddenly snapping them open. “Please forgive this junior for his rudeness, but if you insist on forcing my Sword Sect into the abyss, then you are an enemy of the Sword Sect and also my Liu family’s enemy!”
A sword rose and pointed straight at Liu Huang.
Liu Huang and Liu Qianjue just stared at each other for a moment. Neither looked at all surprised by this development. “You can make the first move.”
Liu Qianjue did not decline. When Liu Huang had gone into seclusion to create his own Fourteenth Sword, his strength had already been enough to make the Hall of Honor wary, which meant that he certainly surpassed Liu Qianjue’s own strength. After so many years of being imprisoned within Gaia’s Swamp, even if Liu Huang’s power had fallen, the man still was not an easy opponent for Liu Qianjue. After all, the older man had just shattered Liu Qianjue’s All-Directional Sword Arts and even given him pointers on it.
Liu Qianjue stepped forward with a foot and entered the true universe. From his new position, he instantly unleashed a single sword attack: the Thirteenth Sword.
Liu Huang just shook his head. The Thirteenth Sword was unavoidable, and that was true even for him, but why did he need to avoid it? He had created the Fourteenth Sword on his own, and it essentially surpassed the Thirteenth Sword.
The next moment, Liu Huang was startled, and he stared at Liu Qianjue’s position; there was another sword attack, and it was also the Thirteenth Sword. However, how could there be two Thirteenth Swords?
The dual Thirteenth Swords struck Liu Huang without any surprise, and the man stood stock still while looking quite stunned.
Liu Qianjue then appeared, carefully observing Liu Huang while clenching his sword. This dual Thirteenth Sword was an attack unique to him, as his innate gift allowed him to attack twice at the same time.
There had been countless geniuses throughout the history of the Sword Sect, and while Liu Qianjue was certainly not the most talented and could not compare to people like Liu Huang or Liu Guai, he still felt like his combat strength was comparable to both of those seniors when they had been at the same cultivation realm. After all, who could stop an unavoidable attack that could deal double damage?
Liu Qianjue was an Envoy with a power level of more than 800,000, and after he used the dual Thirteenth Swords, even a powerhouse with a power level of over a million would be struck down.
Finally, Liu Huang moved. He lifted his head and looked straight at Liu Qianjue. The older man could not stop himself from coughing out a mouthful of blood.
Liu Qianjue was not only unhappy, but his expression also twisted in an ugly manner. He had expected his attack to badly injure Liu Huang, and yet the man showed almost no reactions at all. He had merely spat out some blood! Was the gap between them so vast?
Liu Huang smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth. “Yes, that’s quite good, though still not comparable to the Fourteenth Sword. But in an actual fight, its potential nearly matches the Fourteenth Sword.”
Liu Qianjue was startled. “The Fourteenth Sword?”
Liu Huang slowly raised a hand, and his long green sword reappeared in his grip. “That’s right, the Fourteenth Sword.”
“You created it?” Liu Qianjue could not believe his ears. How many people throughout the entire existence of the Sword Sect had created a Fourteenth Sword? The person who had been the closest was Liu Guai, but he had gone insane because of it. His technique could only be considered a variation of the Thirteenth Sword. Had Liu Huang actually succeeded in creating a complete version of the Fourteenth Sword?
“See it for yourself. The Fourteenth Sword is called ‘Misery.’” Liu Huang then slowly swung his sword down. This was another attack that could not be avoided. This was the first thing that Liu Qianjue realized when observing the Fourteenth Sword. Then, unparalleled grief nearly crushed him. It was as though his entire life had instantly become dark and devoid of all hope. The darkness of his past drowned him in loneliness, and then severe pain followed.
The Thirteenth Sword was a technique that transformed emotions into a sword. As long as there were emotions of any kind, they could be transformed into a sword. On the other hand, the Fourteenth Sword was a sword that used a person’s past suffering. The despair and loneliness that it could force someone to experience far surpassed what the Thirteenth Sword was capable of doing.
There was a bang, and a sword fell. Liu Qianjue clutched his chest, and his limbs quivered. His forehead was dripping with sweat, and his pupils kept dilating and constricting. This was the power of the Fourteenth Sword.
Liu Huang had not put much strength into this attack, as he had simply wanted to allow Liu Qianjue to experience the Fourteenth Sword. Creating and practicing the Fourteenth Sword had made Liu Huang almost immune to the Thirteenth Sword, and if not for the fact that Liu Qianjue was capable of attacking with dual Thirteenth Swords that caused the power of the technique to surge, Liu Huang would not have been injured at all.
“I agreed to Lu Yin’s terms and left Gaia’s Swamp just for this: the Fourteenth Sword. Do you think that my sacrifice was worth it?” Liu Huang asked sadly while observing Liu Qianjue. The older man just waited for the younger swordsman and family member to recover enough to talk.
Liu Qianjue finally let out a long breath. He suddenly thought of the Wen family, and how Wen Zizai had admitted to being willing to submit to Lu Yin. For powers like the Sword Sect and the Wen family, a temporary high or low would not last forever, but inheritances could be passed down without end.
If their inheritances disappeared, so did their future.
The Fourteenth Sword had finally been born. If it just disappeared once again, who would be the true traitor to the Sword Sect?
“It was worth it,” Liu Qianjue replied bitterly. The moment the words left his mouth, the burden suddenly fell from his heart; he no longer had to worry about how to deal with Lu Yin or how to deal with the Hall of Honor! Such thoughts were no longer needed.
Liu Huang nodded. “I believed that you would understand, which is why I came here.”
“What if I had said that it was not worth the price?” Liu Qianjue looked up and asked.
Liu Huang gave a slight smile. “That would have never happened. You are a member of the Liu family, and the blood of the sword flows through your body.”
Liu Qianjue stared back at Liu Huang and saw the chill in the man’s eyes. If Liu Qianjue had answered that Liu Huang’s sacrifice had not been worthwhile, the older man would have most likely found someone else who did believe that the price was worth it and have him take the position of the Sword Sect’s sect master!
Everyone had their own obsessions, and Liu Huang’s was to have the Fourteenth Sword that he had created be passed down. It would become famous throughout history, and no one would be able to stop it.
It could not be said that Liu Huang was wrong, only that he had happened to encounter Lu Yin.
In Blazing Mist Flowzone, at the Ross Empire’s mobile fortress, Lu Yin stared at a green liquid that sat before him. His lips were pursed. Zhao Ran had stopped by and delivered one of her drinks. While each one was genuinely delicious, Lu Yin could not summon the courage to taste it due to its horrifying appearance. However, when Lu Yin looked over and saw the hope on Zhao Ran’s face as she stared at him, Lu Yin still drank the concoction.
Beep beep beep!
Lu Yin glanced down at his gadget. His eyes glinted, and he immediately accepted the call.
“The Sword Sect has officially decided to join the Great Eastern Alliance,” Liu Qianjue’s voice came through, though it did not carry the helplessness that Lu Yin had expected. After a moment, Lu Yin understood; the man had already convinced himself of his decision.
“Congratulations, Senior Liu, on obtaining the Fourteenth Sword. The Sword Sect will rise to a new level in the future,” Lu Yin replied with a smile.
Liu Qianjue indifferently replied, “It is my hope that I can continue to lead the Sword Sect as before, Alliance Leader Lu.”
“I know. However, it’s not time to announce this change yet, so I must ask Senior Liu to please wait a bit.”
Liu Qianjue understood that Lu Yin intended to first deal with the Lingling clan and the other Innerverse powers. This was how the youth had handled the Daynight clan, and his Sword Sect was about to receive the same treatment. There was no one in the Innerverse who could escape this child. The Innerverse would soon be completely unified.
“Since the Sword Sect has now joined the Great Eastern Alliance, can Senior Liu tell me about the situation in Venom Flowzone? I heard that Elder Lianxin went to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty,” Lu Yin continued.
Liu Qianjue had not expected Elder Lianxin’s whereabouts to stay a secret, and since his mentality recently changed, he no longer had any schemes in play. “Yes, though Alliance Leader Lu should have figured this out already. The Innerverse is nothing before the might of the Neoverse powers, and we cannot even stand up to the Four Pirate Crews. Thus, there is a tacit agreement for the eight of us to periodically confirm each other’s identity.”
Naturally, this was something that Lu Yin was already aware of, as he had learned of it when secretly taking control of Chaosgod Mountain.
“This is true of even the Divine Venom Dynasty, but they have one unique characteristic in that they avoid disputes and conflicts with the rest of the Innerverse as much as possible. As long as they themselves are not facing a crisis, they will ignore everything. The current situation is no different. Qing Shaohuang never once considered joining hands with us, so out of desperation, my only choice was to send Elder Lianxin as an emissary.”
“And how have things developed?” Lu Yin asked.
Liu Qianjue shook his head. “Far from ideal. Qing Shaohuang was eventually persuaded, but another major faction within the Divine Venom Dynasty that’s led by an old expert, Yuan Taishi, strongly opposes the Divine Venom Dynasty joining the Great Eastern Alliance.”
Lu Yin was surprised to hear this. “Why?”
“Their family’s founder was born in Venom Flowzone, and he followed and established the principle that Venom Flowzone is self-contained and does not interact with the outside world. He did not want the Divine Venom Dynasty to have any interactions with the outside world at all. In fact, the Divine Venom Dynasty does indeed have the ability to do just this,” Liu Qianjue explained.
“Cultivators from the Divine Venom Dynasty not only cultivate themselves, but also poison. Yuan Taishi is opposing our request for help, and while he is not an Envoy, he possesses an Envoy-level jincan that was passed down by their ancestors, which means that Yuan Taishi is actually able to fight against Envoys. Thus, even Qing Shaohuang must give some face to this expert.”
“The ecology of Venom Flowzone itself is integrally related to poison, and without the help of members of the Divine Venom Dynasty, it’s difficult for outsiders to enter or leave the flowzone…”
Liu Qianjue shared a lot of information with Lu Yin regarding the Divine Venom Dynasty, finally saying, “There are too many people in the Divine Venom Dynasty who agree with Yuan Taishi, so even if Qing Shaohuang wants to join us, he’s worried about trying to push for them to leave Venom Flowzone. Instead, under the premise of a recent breakthrough, he intends to invite all the Innerverse’s major powers to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty. Alliance Leader Lu will also be invited.”
Lu Yin laughed. “He’s not hoping to assassinate me in Venom Flowzone, is he?”
“Of course that’s impossible, but Elder Lianxin still doesn’t know what the plan is,” Liu Qianjue answered.
Lu Yin nodded. “Thank you, Sect Master Liu, for telling me. One more thing.” Lu Yin paused. “How is the Yōu family?”
“The Yōu family?” Liu Qianjue had not expected to hear this question from Lu Yin. “Why is Alliance Leader Lu asking about the Yōu family?”
“Madam Yōu has already approached me many times, hoping to join the Great Eastern Alliance and receive my protection,” Lu Yin said.
Liu Qianjue shook his head. “The Yōu family has hidden themselves too deeply, and I still don’t know why they separated from the Yōu clan. The battle techniques that Yōu Ye’er’s used during ZENITH were strange and disturbing, and they definitely do not come from the Yōu family or the Yōu clan. Even though we have kept them trapped, we have not done much to them otherwise. The entire thing feels quite strange.”
Lu Yin replied, “Keep up the pressure. Actually, turn it up a notch.”
When Lu Yin had first asked the Starsibyl Sect to perform a divination on Undying Yushan, they had found a relation to Ancient Progenitor Yōu Ming, who was the Yōu family’s ancestor. This had greatly concerned Lu Yin, but with the Sword Sect joining the Great Eastern Alliance, he could have the Sword Sect put pressure on the Yōu to see how they would react.
Lu Yin was hoping to receive a call from Madam Yōu soon.
Liu Qian could not understand Lu Yin’s thoughts, but he also did not ask. More than anything, the master of the Sword Sect wanted to know more about the Fourteenth Sword and anything concerning Liu Huang.
In the Ross Empire’s mobile fortress, Lu Yin lowered his gadget and smiled as he waved Sapling over. The odd little plant happily jumped right over.
The moment Liu Huang had been released from Gaia’s Swamp, the Sword Sect had been left without a path towards escape. Everything had proceeded according to Lu Yin’s expectations.
Of the Innerverse’s eight great flowzones, four had already fallen. Which would be next?
Beep beep beep!
The gadget beeped again, and Lu Yin was surprised when he glanced down. Madam Hong?
Madam Hong had disappeared after reaching an agreement with Lu Yin, and not even the people from Flying Horse Manor had any idea where she had gone.
The moment the call connected, unrestrained laughter came through. “Hey kid, are you surprised? Hahahaha!”
Lu Yin was quite startled.
