407: One Sword

“The East Sea Sword Saint truly lives up to his reputation.”

A hearty laugh echoed across the island, and several figures appeared above the East Sea Sword Saint.

The Sacred Ruler Qingqiong was among them, but he stood in a more peripheral position.

Like the others on both sides, it was clear that the figure in the very center was their leader.

The East Sea Sword Saint ignored them, still gazing blankly ahead.

It was unclear if he was lost in thought or simply admiring the scenery.

“Vice Hall Master, this person… is incredibly strong!”

You Tian Holy Ruler, one of the Ancient Hall’s entourage, spoke to the person in the middle.

You Tian Holy Ruler was one of the most powerful Holy Rulers in the entire Ancient Hall.

Below the Hall Master and Vice Hall Master, no one dared to claim they could defeat him.

And the one he willingly followed was none other than the Ancient Hall’s Vice Hall Master—Tantai Zhen!

After witnessing the East Sea Sword Saint’s power, Tantai Zhen began to recruit him.

“With your strength, you are comparable to one who has mastered the Grand Dao of Law. For a mortal swordsman to reach this stage is to have reached the pinnacle. Why not join us in achieving the great plan of becoming an immortal?”

“Immortal…”

Upon hearing the word “immortal,” the East Sea Sword Saint’s eyes slowly focused.

“To become an immortal, my sword is enough.”

Clearly, Tantai Zhen’s offer failed to move him.

“You are far too arrogant, Your Excellency,” Xuan Qi Holy Ruler couldn’t help but interject.

“Arrogant?” The East Sea Sword Saint shook his head, “No, this is confidence!”

Xuan Qi Holy Ruler wanted to say more, but Tantai Zhen stopped him.

He asked the East Sea Sword Saint, “I heard that you have a strained relationship with the Shenwu Empire. We plan to act against it later; you wouldn’t interfere, would you?”

Initially, everyone expected a simple yes or no, but his reply caught them off guard.

Hearing this, the East Sea Sword Saint seemed somewhat dazed. “Who is the Shenwu Empire?”

It seemed he genuinely didn’t know of the Shenwu Empire’s existence.

Brother, are you a fake Four Profound Heavens resident?

The Shenwu Empire has been passed down for countless generations. Aside from undeveloped minor worlds, who hasn’t heard of the Shenwu Empire’s great name?

Seeing the East Sea Sword Saint’s demeanor, the Holy Rulers and the Vice Hall Master all felt they had come in vain.

If they had known he was so foolish, they wouldn’t have bothered with him at all.

But Tantai Zhen was still a little uneasy. What if he attacked while they were preoccupied?

So he said, “I have long heard of the East Sea Sword Saint’s great name. I wonder if we could spar a little?”

Spar?

The East Sea Sword Saint glanced at Tantai Zhen, then slowly shook his head. “You are too weak. No.”

“Weak”—Tantai Zhen hadn’t heard that word directed at him in tens of millions of years.

The numerous Holy Rulers also couldn’t believe the East Sea Sword Saint had such audacity.

While Tantai Zhen’s strength was inferior to the Hall Master’s, he was still one of the strongest known individuals in the world.

Could such strength truly be called weak?

Tantai Zhen did not get angry upon hearing this. Having lived for so many years, how could such a minor matter affect his emotions?

Moreover, his challenge to the East Sea Sword Saint was not for a mere spar; he simply wanted to warn him.

So Tantai Zhen nodded and suggested, “In that case, how about you and I exchange one move, purely for fun?”

“Alright, but if my sword comes out, you might die,” the East Sea Sword Saint said with utmost seriousness.

He felt he had already said enough for the day. This group of people was too troublesome; it was better to strike early and make them leave.

When faced with trouble, a slight display of strength could easily resolve it.

Tantai Zhen called out, “Good, then come!”

The moment his voice fell, he struck first, unleashing a long-prepared attack towards the East Sea Sword Saint.

He had proposed the exchange of moves, but that didn’t mean he would underestimate his opponent.

On the contrary, facing an opponent who had also mastered the Grand Dao of Law, Tantai Zhen was extremely cautious.

However, in his view, everyone had reached the limit of the lower planes; who could be significantly stronger than whom?

Even someone as powerful as the Hall Master of the Ancient Hall couldn’t easily kill him.

Striking first was also to prevent falling into a disadvantage during the exchange.

So many people were watching; it wouldn’t look good if he ended up in a sorry state.

Seeing that he was determined, the East Sea Sword Saint no longer held back.

In fact, he never held back.

He had always been like this: either he didn’t strike, or he struck with full force.

He treated every battle seriously.

Using every means and giving his all was the greatest respect for his opponent.

The East Sea Sword Saint was seen condensing a sword with his sword intent, then lightly swinging it towards Tantai Zhen.

It was such an ordinary sword, yet Tantai Zhen seemed to perceive myriad changes within it.

There were countless, diverse sword techniques, a sword domain condensed to its extreme, endless sword intent… and… purity!

A sword of ultimate purity!

The moment the East Sea Sword Saint unleashed his sword, Tantai Zhen instantly understood.

He couldn’t block this sword.

He couldn’t dodge this sword.

He would die from this sword.

As for the Holy Rulers watching nearby, they didn’t feel this way; they even thought it was just an ordinary sword.

Unremarkable. This boastful East Sea Sword Saint was about to suffer greatly at the hands of the Vice Hall Master.

But Chen De, who had been observing, sensed something different.

First, he had achieved minor mastery of the Grand Dao of Law, though that wasn’t the main reason.

For example, You Tian, one of the Holy Rulers, also had minor mastery of the Grand Dao of Law, but Chen De’s strength was far greater than theirs.

The primary reason was that Chen De was a blade cultivator, a blade cultivator whose blade intent alone could rival a Nine-Step Venerable.

He also possessed a superb blade technique like the World Shattering Descending Demon Blade, which combined cultivation method, sword intent, weapon, and… existence.

He also had the enhanced beastly intuition of being from the Four Profound Heavens’ strongest race.

Naturally, he could sense the terror of the East Sea Sword Saint’s strike, and he could also feel that this single sword contained far too much.

Compared to the East Sea Sword Saint’s sword dao realm, Chen De’s blade dao realm was not even skin deep.

Similarly, this sword—Tantai Zhen couldn’t block it, and neither could Chen De.

This sword was clearly very slow, at least it appeared that way.

Yet, in Tantai Zhen’s eyes, this sword was incredibly fast, so fast that he had barely reacted before it struck him.

His launched attack, upon contact with the East Sea Sword Saint’s sword, was sliced through as smoothly as a hot knife through butter.

Innumerable spiritual energies of heaven and earth surged forth from Tantai Zhen’s body.

This was the manifestation of a martial artist returning to heaven and earth after death.

However, because Tantai Zhen was so powerful, the spiritual energy returning from his body actually made the spiritual energy of the entire sea region several times denser.

On this island, raindrops even began to fall, condensed from the overly dense spiritual energy.

Tantai Zhen had not yet lost consciousness. He stared blankly at the East Sea Sword Saint, a trace of disbelief still in his eyes.

“So… so strong!”