Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Two dead bodies lay covered in blood outside a small house somewhere in Tombkeeper Village.
At the same time, one figure after another flashed. They were all dressed plainly but burst with incredibly powerful auras at the same time, surrounding the mighty ones who had just killed the two.
At the same time, hundreds of people burst with powerful auras. One figure after another took to the air with intimidating force. However, none from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty were fettered. The Golden Phoenix Army took to the sky, and golden lights burst in their surroundings. One shadow of phoenixes after another burst with brilliant light as they stood off against the villagers.
A mere village would not have been able to stand up against the invincible army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, no matter how powerful those villagers were.
The intruders held back and dared not move against the villagers as the Sacred King was not there yet. However, with the Sacred King of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty himself appearing in the village and giving orders, there was simply no one among the intruders who dared defy him.
The mighty ones from the various sacred grounds watched the incident within Tombkeeper Village unfold with troubled looks. The Village was indeed formidable for daring to stand against the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty in such a manner. Do these villagers have any idea how powerful the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty is?
The Sacred Dynasty had a long, deep history and had once ruled all over the Eastern State. They were a force reigning supreme all over the Eastern State and they would not be so easily intimidated. Furthermore, there were also mighty ones from Xihua Sacred Mountain there. They seemed to have formed an alliance with the Golden Phoenix Army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, surrounding the mighty ones from the Village.
Of course, more people were more concerned with how things with the Village Chief would unfold.
Tombkeeper Village was formidable, and coupled with the Sword Matrix of the Void that killed the Chess Saint from before, there was no one from all over the Nine States who did not know that the Village had secrets. The Village probably had someone with formidable powers, and he might be someone who served the Sword Saint of the Void all those years ago.
At the moment in that compound, the Village Chief and the Great Zhou Sacred King were glaring at each other. Peculiar winds appeared around them, sweeping up the leaves on the ground.
While mighty ones from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had infiltrated the Village and monitored the movements of the villagers, they did not do anything that was really over-the-edge. However, the Sacred King himself had ordered his men to kill people as soon as he came. He was forcing Ye Futian, Yaya, and the others to come out immediately.
“You know that I’m a saint then, yet you behave so insolently nonetheless.” The Village Chief’s expression was incredibly cold. A saintly aura emanated from his body and shrouded all of Tombkeeper Village in an instant. Everyone was able to feel the saint will at that very moment.
The people from the Sacred Dynasty all looked on with sharp expressions. They had already guessed so.
The Village Chief of Tombkeeper Village hidden at the borders of four states was truly a saint. But then again, there was nothing to be feared as their Sacred King was with them. The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty feared no one and no force in all of the vast lands of the Eastern State. Such confidence stemmed from their bearing as royalties of the Sacred Dynasty.
The people from all over the Nine States were somewhat shaken, but they remained largely unfettered.
The Sacred King was completely unfazed. His eyes remained sharp as he glared at the one before him metamorphosing. The bearing of the Village Chief was thoroughly transformed. The plain, unassuming, and even somewhat ragged image from before had completely disappeared, now replaced with boundless might and sharpness. His robe billowed in the wind, and boundless Sword Will was seen in his eyes, lashing out at the Great Zhou Sacred King.
“You might be a saint, but so what?” The Sacred King’s tone remained unflinching and overbearing. An all-encompassing might swept all over their surroundings and overpowered the entire Village. He said coldly, “A mere Sword servant of the Sword Saint of the Void from back then dares to defy me. If they are to remain cooped up inside the Nether Sword Mound, I will have no qualms about slaughtering the entire Village. By the way, have you readied a grave for yourself?”
The more powerful one’s training became, the greater the difference between each plane became. Even small differences within the same level became very apparent. As such, the power differences between saints were extremely huge. It was for that reason that Xihua Sacred Mountain silently allowed Liu Zong to help the Chess Saint get out of his predicament, having no fear of the Chess Saint turning back on his word later. That was because the Chess Saint did not have what it would take to stand against Xihua Sacred Mountain.
Due to such reasons, it was impossible for the Great Zhou Sacred King to fear a mere Sword servant, even if the Sword servant was one who had once served the Sword Saint of the Void.
He was a Sacred King while his opponent was but a sword servant.
“You’re right indeed. I’m a saint, so what? The Chess Saint was a saint, and where is he now?” the Chief said coldly.
The Great Zhou Sacred King smirked as he glanced at his opponent. Is he trying to threaten me?
“While I do not know what secrets lie between Tombkeeper Village and the Sword Mound of the Saint, I’m able to speculate from past events, that even if the Sword Saint of the Void was to be reborn, he wouldn’t have been able to continuously activate the Sword Matrix of the Void, no? Just how much power had accumulated in the Nether Sword Mound that Ye Futian was able to use the Sword Matrix of the Void in such a manner?”
The Great Zhou Sacred King then said coldly, “So you were there at the Nine State Forum to search for one worthy of succeeding the Sword Matrix of the Void? Or did you have something else in mind?”
“You want to know?” the chief glared at the Sacred King and asked.
“I must know,” the Sacred King answered in an overbearing tone. He wanted more than just knowing; he wanted to take the ones inside the Sword Mound.
“They’re already out. You’ll have your answer soon enough,” the chief said while glaring at the Sacred King.
The eyes of the Sacred King sparkled as his will traveled through the space, heading straight for the entrance of the Sword Mound. A group of people was indeed seen making their way out of there, heading elsewhere.
The group of people was none other than Ye Futian and his party. Yaya was there as well. They seemed to catch wind of what was happening outside and were traveling somewhere with extreme speed. That somewhere was none other than the place where the murder of the two villagers happened.
Ye Futian and his people appeared outside the small house soon enough, seeing the dead bodies lying in a pool of blood.
“Dad, mom.” While Yaya already knew something bad had happened, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning after seeing the dead bodies. Her mind turned blank, and she walked up to them in a dazed manner before kneeling down, tears streaking down from her eyes uncontrollably.
Ye Futian also walked up, feeling dazed, and looked at the dead bodies with a dumbfounded look on his face. He had spent the end of last year ushering in the new year and had a great time with them. Yet, at that moment, both of them were reduced to cold, dead bodies lying on the ground.
Blood filled Ye Futian’s eyes as he clenched his fists, exuding murderous intent all over. Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang knew little of cultivation and they were common villagers of Tombkeeper Village. Why do this to them?
Ye Futian looked up and cast a cold glance at the Golden Phoenix Army in the air above him and asked coldly, “Who did this?”
“I did.” A voice was heard, and two figures were seen descending from above at the same time. They were none other than the Sacred King and the Village Chief.
The Sacred King glanced at Ye Futian and Yaya. According to Zhou Du and the others, it was they who activated the Sword Matrix of the Void. Ye Futian and Yaya were both keys to the situation at hand, as well as the sword.
Ye Futian was in charge of the matrix and activated it. The sword summoned boundless Sword Will while Yaya served as the core of the matrix like a spiritual body.
Ye Futian looked up at the Sacred King and asked, “Why?”
“You’re questioning me?” The Sacred King glanced at Ye Futian coldly. His eyes were filled with incredible might.
Ye Futian looked at the Sacred King, who was clad in an overbearing might, emanating an aura of supreme rulers all over him, intimidating all who looked at him.
During the Nine State Forum, be it the saints or the mighty ones from all sacred grounds, all of them sat politely on their seats. This caused many to have the misconception that the top-class figures of all Nine States were peaceful beings.
However, what happened at that very moment seemed to be telling him that the Nine State Forum was but a ceremony held jointly by all Nine States. The Nine States themselves were actually cruel. The Chess Saint was willing to kill his students just so to set himself free. The Sacred King had no qualms about massacring innocents to reach his goals. Those the top figures in their most real state.
Just like the Chess Saint said, the Great Path has no place for sentiment.
The Sacred King, a ruler of a sacred dynasty, had little regard for life and did not care about the lives of two common folks.
“You killed the Chess Saint in the Nether Sword Mound and cared nothing for the people from other sacred grounds, while you had your way with breaking the matrices. That caused many from the sacred grounds to lose their lives, no?” the Sacred King asked coldly.
“Everyone who ventured into the Nether Sword Mound was from sacred grounds. They put their lives on the line to do so, and everyone did what they had to do to break the matrices. We, from the Barren State, were the same. It was only natural that I could not have simply sat around and done nothing while the Chess Saint wanted my life.” Ye Futian answered coldly and then asked, “What does any of this have to do with you, Sacred King?”
“The Eastern State had several saints, and you behaved as if nothing happened after killing a saint yourself. Those from the sacred grounds who perished were all people of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. What do you think?” the Sacred King answered coldly.
“The Chess Saint was a saint of the Eastern State. You, as the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State, dared to use the matrix to kill a saint of the Eastern State. You were being utterly insolent,” some mighty ones from Xihua Sacred Mountain said.
Ye Futian found Liu Zong and the rest were among the crowd from Xihua Sacred Mountain.
“You unleashed the Sword Matrix of the Void and ended up killing many yourself,” some mighty ones from the Hall of Holy Light said, trying to intimidate Ye Futian.
Ye Futian scanned the crowd before him and smirked all of a sudden, feeling the irony of it all.
“The Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State is part of the orthodoxy of Emperor Xia, just like you all are. So you’re telling me that the Chess Saint wants my life, the life of a palace lord, and yet I’m not allowed to retaliate? Furthermore, are you all saying that I, as the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace, venturing into the Nether Sword Mound, had to ensure the safety of the people of other sacred grounds to do so?”
Ye Futian glanced at the crowd again and said, “You people could really say anything to put all the blame on me. The Chess Saint said that cultivation along the Great Path means taking from others. It seems that every one of you believes that with every fiber of your being, but you all differ from the Chess Saint by being more pretentious than he was.”
He knew without a doubt what those people wanted to take.
“Take him.” The Sacred King no longer bothered talking to Ye Futian and gave his order coldly. Mighty ones from the Golden Phoenix Army stepped forward as soon as he finished.
One figure after another stepped forward beside Ye Futian. Zhuge Qingfeng, Yuan Zhan, and the others came before Ye Futian.
“As fellow members of the sacred grounds of the nine states, I don’t think you have the right to take the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State, Sacred King,” the Village Chief, who had been standing at the side, said.
“The Barren State has no saint. Can the Holy Zhi Palace even be called a sacred ground?” the Sacred King said coldly, “I will call upon Emperor Xia personally. As for you, I’ll deal with you later.”
The Village Chief glanced at the Sacred King and said, “The people of sacred grounds of all Nine States ventured into the ruins left behind by the Sword Saint of the Void. None of you were capable of breaking the matrices back then, so it was only a given that none of you had the right to inherit the ruins. I followed the sacred order given to me by the Sword Saint of the Void, that the one capable of breaking the matrix would be given the right to inherit the Sword Matrix of the Void. We of Tombkeeper Village will follow the successor of the matrix. From this moment forth, the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State will have a saint among them. Tombkeeper Village is part of the Holy Zhi Palace.”
