Sword Overwhelms Ten Thousand

A mocking cold smile curled at the corners of Ye Xuan's mouth.

He completely ignored all the ridicule, verbal abuse, and strange looks around him, as well as Zhang Jiuyou, who was rubbing his hands together, preparing to shamelessly step forward and continue fawning over him.

He stomped his right foot heavily on the ground, and his figure shot up into the air.

"Since you all love watching a show so much."

"Then next, I'll let you get a good look."

The massive, hundred-zhang tall gate of light slowly tore open to both sides within the distorted space. What surged madly from within the gate was no longer the gentle spiritual energy that nourished the flesh, but a sword intent that destroyed everything!

It wasn't just one or two streaks, but thousands upon tens of thousands, an uncountable number of ancient sword intents!

They converged into a vast ocean, like a torrent bursting through a dam, frantically crashing and tearing at all intruders who attempted to approach the gate of light!

There were fiery red sword intents, as violent and scorching as a volcanic eruption; water-blue sword intents, as dense and insidious as the dark currents of the netherworld.

Earth-yellow sword intents, heavy and sluggish like Mount Tai pressing down; and even azure sword intents, formless and invisible like the astral winds of the nine heavens, sharp enough to slit a throat!

This was the unwillingness and killing obsession left behind before death by the countless sword cultivators who had fallen here ten thousand years ago!

"It's the first trial of the Sword Emperor's test, Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin!"

Among the crowd, knowledgeable older generation cultivators exclaimed in shock, their voices filled with deep apprehension.

"This trial does not test the level of one's cultivation, but the cultivator's Flawless Sword Heart and their resistance to the oppressive might of the sword Dao!"

"If one's sword heart is even slightly unstable, or if their soul strength is insufficient, the moment they step into the gate of light, their sea of consciousness will be directly churned into a mush by this violent torrent of sword intent, turning them into an idiot!"

"Fortunately, there are merciful restrictions left behind by Lord Sword Emperor here. Once it determines that the challenger cannot withstand it, they will be automatically teleported out of the Sword Tomb by the formation, so there is no threat to their lives!"

Hearing this, everyone's faces turned solemn.

Although there was no life-threatening danger, having finally arrived at this place of supreme serendipity, if they couldn't even step through the doors of the mere first trial and were bounced out like trash, how could they ever hold their heads high in the cultivation world again?

With no time to hesitate, the prodigies of the major top-tier factions exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and began to display their respective divine abilities.

Lei Wanjun of the Thunder Sound Pavilion roared wildly, purple lightning exploding madly all over his body, transforming into a set of Thunder God armor.

Forcing his way against the sky-filling, slicing thunder sword intent, he charged step by step into the gate of light like a savage bull.

Kuang Tie of the Tyrant Blade Sect directly tore off his upper garment, revealing his bronze, hard muscles. Using his purely domineering physical body to forcefully resist the cutting of those fine sword qi, he produced clinking metallic collision sounds as he trudged forward with difficulty.

Murong Xue of the Broad Cold Palace was enveloped in a layer of bright, cold moonlight. With a posture as light as a swallow, she searched for gaps within the airtight torrent of sword intent, weaving through as gracefully as a startled swan.

Although their progress was slow and extremely strenuous, these true prodigies were all advancing bit by bit toward the depths of the gate of light.

As for Ye Xuan, he still stood quietly in front of the gate of light.

He looked at the sky-filling, howling, violent sword intent that devoured everything. In those deep eyes of his, not only was there not the slightest bit of fear or solemnity, but instead... a trace of extremely bizarre nostalgia flashed past.

"Martial Mother! It's dangerous ahead, you absolutely must not be overconfident!"

Just at the moment Ye Xuan prepared to take a step, that voice, which was like a gangrenous ulcer attached to the bone that gave him a splitting headache, exploded by his ear once again.

Zhang Jiuyou's figure seemed to teleport as he once again firmly blocked Ye Xuan's path.

His face was stern as he formed a sword incantation with one hand. The natal ancient sword on his back let out an earth-shattering dragon roar, instantly transforming into an incredibly thick, semi-transparent golden sword barrier, tightly enclosing himself, Ye Xuan, and Ying'er, who was hanging onto Ye Xuan, seamlessly within it.

"Martial Mother, please understand! The residual sword intent here is extremely mixed and violent, completely devoid of order."

Zhang Jiuyou turned his head, a sincere expression on his face, and advised earnestly:

"You are usually raised so delicately and preciously by Master. If by chance you are hurt by these blind, coarse sword qi, even if it just scrapes a bit of your skin, this disciple won't be able to explain it to Master when I return!"

"Listen to me, just stay safely behind this disciple. This disciple will exert his power right now and carry you to an easy victory through this first trial!"

"Besides, this formation has loopholes. As long as this disciple forcefully breaks through the trial, you should naturally be able to sneak past as well!"

Ye Xuan closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the urge to hack Zhang Jiuyou to death.

He slowly opened his eyes, staring fixedly at Zhang Jiuyou's handsome face that was written all over with hurry up and praise me for being filial and sensible, and a hair-raising, ghastly smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Get the hell..."

Ye Xuan lowered his voice, like a volcano about to erupt letting out its final, low roar.

"Lost!"

Accompanied by an earth-shattering furious roar!

"Bang!"

Ye Xuan's right leg turned into a blur, solidly and without holding back in the slightest, viciously kicking Zhang Jiuyou right in the dead center of his butt!

Completely off guard and even still immersed in self-admiration, the expression on Zhang Jiuyou's face instantly froze.

Following that, this dignified late-stage Soul Formation expert, the world-renowned successor of the Sword God Palace, was directly kicked so hard that his whole body formed a spread-eagle shape. Like a golden cannonball fired from its barrel, he went flying with a whoosh for over a dozen zhang.

He traced an extremely graceful and extremely comical parabola in mid-air, and finally, with a splat, landed face-first, sprawling flat on the hard ground in front of the gate of light like a giant toad.

The entire venue once again fell into a deathly silence.

Those prodigies who were bitterly holding on and trudging forward within the gate of light heard the commotion and looked back. They were almost so shocked that their true qi dissipated, their feet slipping as they were nearly overturned by the sword intent.

What did they just see?

That was the successor of the Sword God Palace!

He was actually kicked flying by this pretty boy Ye Xuan, like kicking a stray dog by the side of the road?

Had the world gone mad?

Zhang Jiuyou lay stiffly on the ground in a daze for two seconds before scrambling up in a flurry.

What made everyone's jaws drop was that not only did he not draw his sword in a furious rage, but instead, while patting the dust off his butt, he looked at Ye Xuan with a face full of grievance and utter perplexity:

"Martial Mother... why... why did you do that? Did this disciple not do something thoughtfully enough and make you angry?"

He pointed at the violent sea of swords, still unwilling to give up as he pleaded earnestly:

"But it really is extremely dangerous here. If by chance it scratches this peerless face of yours..."

"Face?"

Ye Xuan lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly as he let out a few extremely suppressed, muffled chuckles born of extreme anger.

He slowly raised his head and walked step by step until he stood in front of the innocent-looking Zhang Jiuyou.

Ye Xuan extended his long, slender index finger and pointed extremely forcefully at his own nose. His eyes were so red they seemed about to drip blood, his gaze like an ancient ferocious beast about to devour someone:

"Zhang Jiuyou, let me ask you."

"What do you think... I, Ye Xuan, actually relied on to conquer that arrogant and overbearing master of yours?"

"Do you think I rely on this pretty boy face of mine?!"

Zhang Jiuyou froze.

He scrutinized Ye Xuan with utmost seriousness.

Looking at the face before him—a face so earth-shatteringly handsome, with features so flawless that even women would go mad with jealousy.

The sword-obsessed disciple blinked subconsciously and asked in return, with extreme honesty, extreme candor, and extreme innocence:

"Is that... not the case?"

"..."

Ye Xuan felt his heart genuinely stop beating for a full second at that moment.

He could hear the suppressed, snickering laughter leaking out from countless people outside the array who were desperately covering their mouths.

He even saw from the corner of his eye that Ying'er, who was clinging to him, was biting her lip hard, her little shoulders twitching as she held back her laughter so hard that tears were about to well up.

Just destroy it all.

Hurry up.

It would be better if this filthy world were destroyed as soon as possible.

"Open your dog eyes and watch closely, idiot."

Ye Xuan withdrew his gaze with extreme exhaustion and threw down these words coldly.

He ignored Zhang Jiuyou and stopped looking at the gloating faces around him.

He lowered his head, supported Ying'er who was hanging onto him with both hands, and spoke in an unusually gentle voice that nonetheless carried a sense of absolute resolve:

"Hold tight, close your eyes, and no matter what happens, absolutely do not let go."

The next moment.

Under the absolutely horrified gazes of tens of thousands of people present, including the assassins lurking in the shadows.

Ye Xuan made a move that made everyone think he was absolutely insane.

He did not prop up any true qi defensive shield.

He did not summon any protective magical treasures.

He did not even draw the Sun-Slaying Divine Sword from his back.

Just like that, clad in thin white clothes without any protection, carrying a completely defenseless, burdensome maid in his arms.

Like a resolute shooting star, he plunged headfirst straight into the very center of that most violent torrent of ten thousand swords, which was enough to tear anything to shreds!

"Holy shit! Is he fucking crazy?"

"Taking someone along and trying to withstand it with his physical body?! Does he think he's a mighty body cultivator?"

"This is a tide of sword intent that even Void Refinement stage cultivators wouldn't dare to underestimate so arrogantly!"

"Even suicide isn't done this way! Is he rushing to be reincarnated?"

The crowd erupted into a burst of terrified screams.

Zhang Jiuyou's pupils quaked even more, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

"Master's wife! No!"

He roared hoarsely, his figure instantly erupting into a bolt of golden lightning, wanting to charge into the array to save them.

But it was already too late.

The violent giant waves of sword qi crashed down.

Ye Xuan's thin figure, along with Ying'er, was instantly and thoroughly swallowed by that multicolored torrent of sword intent filled with an aura of destruction, without even splashing a single drop.

"It's over."

"Not even bones will remain."

This was the only thought that popped into the minds of everyone present.

Barging in so recklessly, I'm afraid in the next second, the array will judge him to be near death and teleport him out.

However.

One breath passed.

Two breaths passed.

Outside the gate of light, it was completely empty; no bloody, mangled figure was teleported out.

On the contrary!

A sudden mutation occurred!

The boundless ocean of sword intent that was originally violently boiling and frantically strangling everything like boiling water, suddenly...

Extremely bizarrely...

Became still.

The wind stopped.

The light stopped.

Every howling strand of sword qi bizarrely hovered in mid-air.

Just as everyone's brains crashed.

An extremely strange sword chime leisurely drifted out from the very center of the torrent of sword intent.

The sound was not loud, nor was it wrapped in world-destroying spiritual power.

But it was extremely clear and extremely noble.

It penetrated the barriers of space and exploded directly in the depths of every sword cultivator's soul!

It was as if the Lord of Ten Thousand Swords, who had slumbered for eons, had just awakened and issued an unquestionable, supreme edict.

Immediately after.

A terrifying aura that could not be described in words, making people unable to resist the urge to bow down in worship, explosively erupted from the spot where Ye Xuan had been swallowed!

That was not sword intent.

That was the Dao of the Sword!

A supreme Dao of the Sword that stood above all the ancient sword intents present, high and mighty, like a Nine Heavens Emperor looking down upon his lowly subjects!

"Scram."

Ye Xuan's voice, devoid of any emotional color, softly sounded in the silent ocean of sword intent.

Just a single word.

Yet it was like a divine decree!

The next instant, a shocking scene occurred that Zhang Jiuyou and the tens of thousands of cultivators present would never forget for the rest of their lives!

They saw the millions of residual sword intents that were originally ferocious, untamable, and trying to tear apart any intruder.

Upon hearing that word "Scram," they actually acted like a group of mice seeing a cat, or like lowly subjects seeing their supreme monarch!

They were trembling violently!

They were emitting wails of fear!

Whoosh.

The vast and boundless sea of sword intent actually, from the middle, forcefully and uniformly...

Parted!

All the sword intents, whether they were violent thunder swords, insidious water swords, or heavy earth swords.

At this moment, they desperately retreated and shrank to the sides like a receding tide!

They actually forcefully yielded a straight, broad golden avenue without a single trace of obstruction for Ye Xuan amidst this violent and chaotic torrent!

What was more!

Those high-level sword intents that still possessed faint sentience after tens of thousands of years actually manifested illusory sword bodies on both sides of the path.

They pierced their sword tips deeply into the ground, their hilts bending slightly.

As if...

They were bowing in salute to the man walking out of the passage, worshipping their monarch.

Using one sword to suppress ten thousand swords!

Ten thousand swords submitted, respectfully welcoming their king!

In the center of this golden avenue paved by the worship of ten thousand swords.

Ye Xuan, supporting Ying'er who had her eyes tightly shut with both hands, walked unhurriedly, strolling as if in a courtyard.

He did not walk fast.

But every step he took fell like a heavy hammer, viciously smashing into the hearts of every genius present, smashing their pride to pieces!

The surrounding prodigies who were still struggling to hold on at the edge of the array, cut bloody all over by the sword qi, all stopped their movements at this moment.

They were like they had been hit by a body-binding spell, staring dumbfounded as Ye Xuan passed by them in a relaxed and comfortable manner, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard. Their eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.

Clatter.

The Lightning Bead that Lei Wanjun had just resummoned slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, but he was completely oblivious.

Murong Xue's peerlessly beautiful face, which she prided on being aloof, noble, and untouchable, completely broke down at this moment. Her small mouth was slightly open, completely losing control of her expressions.

Kuang Tie even opened his mouth wide enough to stuff a fist in. His jaw let out a crisp crack as it dislocated, and he didn't even notice the drool flowing down.

And the one who was most profoundly shocked was none other than Zhang Jiuyou, who stood outside the gate of light.

He stood frozen in place like a petrified statue, his pupils shrinking violently, staring fixedly at the towering back of his master's wife.

As the sword cultivator with the highest realm and the deepest comprehension of the Dao of the Sword present, his feelings were a hundred times more genuine and terrifying than anyone else's.

Just in that split second earlier!

He discovered in horror that his natal flying sword within his body—which he had nurtured for hundreds of years and was long bound to his very life—was actually trembling violently!

It was trembling in fear! It was submitting! It even wanted to uncontrollably rush out of his dantian to join the sides of that path, to worship that young man in white!

"What... what level of sword intent is this?"

Zhang Jiuyou's legs went soft. He muttered to himself, his mind completely blank, his worldview frantically collapsing.

"What... what kind of monster is he?"

Ye Xuan did not turn his head to look at anyone's expression.

He walked through that path of worship, completely unhindered, becoming the first to step onto the other shore that radiated an ancient light.

At the final moment before stepping into the teleportation array for the second trial.

Ye Xuan stopped in his tracks.

He slowly turned around, looking down from above at Zhang Jiuyou, who was still standing outside the gate of light below, utterly stunned and doubting his entire existence.

A cold sneer finally curved the corners of Ye Xuan's mouth.

His lips moved slightly. A secret voice transmission, thin as a gossamer thread yet exploding like thunder, accurately drilled into Zhang Jiuyou's ears alone:

"Now, open your dog eyes wide, and tell me loudly."

"Did your high and mighty master..."

"Take a fancy to my, Ye Xuan's, face back then..."

"Or did she take a fancy to my Sword Dao?"

As his voice fell.

Ye Xuan did not linger for even a fraction of a second longer. Holding Ying'er—who was still in a daze and entirely unaware of what had just happened—in his arms, he took a step into the gate of light of the second trial.

The space rippled, and the white-robed figure completely vanished.

Leaving behind only a suffocating back view for the tens of thousands of dumbstruck cultivators present, as well as Zhang Jiuyou, who had completely fallen into frantic self-doubt, his knees giving way as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.