"Arrogant words," someone nearby snorted coldly.
The Palace Master of the Sword Academy glanced at the female Vice Palace Master beside him. The two exchanged a look, both filled with unshakable confidence.
Long ago in the Great Zhou, there was a legend of the Three Swords. These so-called Three Swords were the Mad Sword and the Nameless Twin Swords. After defeating the Sword Lunatic Li Zi, the Nameless Twin became supreme across the Great Zhou. The Sword Academy rose to be hailed as the holiest land of swordsmanship. So when it came to the way of the sword, they feared no one.
"What say you," the Palace Master said. "If you win against us, our lives are yours to take. We'll stake our lives. But if we win, we only want the Sword Canon, you and your companions may leave unharmed. How's that?"
"Agreed," Xie Changliu replied calmly.
He stepped forward onto the dueling platform, his figure straight and sharp, like a sword on the verge of being unsheathed. The Nameless Twin Swords exchanged another glance and stepped up as well.
The Palace Master drew his sword. The scabbard let out a clear metallic ring, and the blade gleamed with a cold blue light. "This sword's name is Blue River. It weighs thirty-six jin, length thirty-eight centimeters, one of the ten famed swords of my homeland."
The Vice Palace Master followed suit, her long robe concealing her graceful figure. Her eyes flashed as she drew her sword. "This one is called Shadow Bearer. It weighs twenty-six jin, thirty-six centimeters long, nothing can withstand its edge."
The two held their blades upright, their sword auras merging. Their combined intent surged skyward, forming a vast current of sword force that shattered the void above. Their eyes were swords, their bodies swords, their intent spread across the seas.
Xie Changliu's face remained calm. He took up his sheathed sword. Though the blade stayed hidden, sword energy was already roaring skyward.
"To kill you," he said quietly, "I don't even need to draw my sword."
The Nameless Twin snorted coldly, moving in unison, one to his left, one to his right. Like twin blades loosed from the scabbard, they surged forward in a storm of sword winds.
Xie Changliu did not rush. He retreated slowly, his movements unhurried but precise, each dodge landing exactly where it needed to. One sword grazed his chin while the other swept past the back of his head, trapping him between them.
Xie flicked his scabbard upward, sending one sword flying, then spun the scabbard halfway through the air and struck the other squarely in the chest. The three broke apart again. Just that brief exchange was enough to show whose sword art reigned higher.
"Kill!" The Nameless Twin shouted in unison. "Sword-Cloud Tempest!"
Their swords crossed as their bodies began to spin rapidly. Sword intent poured out endlessly, forming a cyclone of swordforce, a raging storm that tore toward Xie Changliu.
His eyes darkened. Gripping his sword's hilt with both hands, endless sword energy gathered in his palms, then channeled into the sheath itself. With one sweeping motion, an earth-splitting aura burst forth. A thunderous roar filled the air. The scabbard unleashed a blade of pure energy dozens of meters long, cleaving the tempest clean in two.
The storm's energy shattered and the three separated again. The Nameless Twin's expressions grew grim. Even with only a few probing exchanges, they had already fallen behind.
"One strike to decide it," Xie Changliu said coolly. "Your swordsmanship is too weak."
The twin swords' eyes flashed with fury. A faint killing intent leaked out. For true swordsmen, the sword is dearer than life, his words had struck their reverse scale.
They raised their swords slowly. Blue River and Shadow Bearer both lifted high overhead, blue and green spiritual light radiating outward. Their hands joined. In that instant, the two blades fused into one. Blue lightning flickered along its surface, arcs of electricity dancing wildly.
"Heaven-Shaking Thunder!" they shouted. Countless bolts of lightning rained down, engulfing the sky above. Crackling filled the air. Their figures vanished, replaced by a storm of annihilating thunder.
"Your swordplay is crude," Xie Changliu said calmly within the flashing storm. "You chase the Sword Canon but ignore the foundation of your own path. Even if I gave it to you, it would be wasted."
"Silence!" came a roar from within the lightning.
Xie drew his sword slowly, placing the gleaming blade before his eyes. A dark radiance flashed. His hair streamed wildly as boundless swordforce filled the heavens. He swung, one sword, and divine might poured into the edge.
Below, Li Zi sighed. "So this is the level Changliu's swordsmanship has reached now."
Xu Zimo smiled. "In swordsmanship alone, he truly deserves the name Sword God. But his heart carries too many burdens. That's what holds his sword back. Now that woman's death has severed his final chain. A thousand years from now, he'll either die in the Netherworld or bring back her soul. Either way, he no longer fears death."
His sword intent burst forth like an untamed horse. The Twin's thunder sword aura crumbled, once fierce and unstoppable, now smothered under his overwhelming will. They could only dodge as swordforce shredded the air around them.
"I won't lose! I refuse!" came the roar from within the storm. "Immortal-Slaying Myriad Swords!"
The blue-white lightning turned a dark gold, its power magnified severalfold. Endless sword intent burst from within, crashing toward Xie Changliu.
His gaze stayed flat. Stepping through the air, he let the storm crash against him, but each strike dissolved on contact, absorbed into his aura and made his own. To turn another's sword intent into one's own.
"How, how can this be?" came the disbelieving cries from the storm.
"I told you," Xie Changliu said as his figure vanished in a flash. "You don't understand the sword."
A single thrust pierced the thunder. A deafening explosion shook the valley. The dueling platform shattered. The mountains on both sides cracked apart. Countless Sword Academy disciples were caught in the shockwave, spitting blood.
When the lightning cleared, the Nameless Twin were hurled out, broken and bleeding.
"You've lost," Xie Changliu said quietly. "By the rules of the duel, your lives are mine to take."
Terror filled their eyes. Wounded, they crawled backward. Xie Changliu stepped forward, the sound of his boots echoing, and raised his sword.
"Spare them!" A sharp voice called from the distance.
The cry was followed by the sound of dragon roars and horse cries. From afar, a team of dragon-horses galloped through the air.