Chapter 34
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Chapter 34: A Name That Resounds Across the Realms
The air hummed with the collective vibration of tens of thousands of blades, their song a prelude to the emergence of a figure from the depths of the Blade Domain. Clad in regal robes that swept the ground with each unhurried step, the man’s gaze was as piercing as lightning, casting the heavens in a dance of light and shadow.
The man, adorned in the finery of an emperor, had the visage of a warrior—bold eyebrows, a strong jaw, and three flowing locks of night-black beard. His skin was a stark canvas against which the ground cracked in a radial pattern of devastation with each footfall. Within the sanctity of his presence, the white-clad bladesmen retreated, their reverence absolute.
“Blade Emperor!” The disciples of the Blade Domain chorused, prostrating themselves before the ground, their blades thrust into the earth, a gesture of utmost respect.
“Who are you to dare slay my disciples?” The Blade Emperor’s voice rolled like thunder, yet it bore a gentle timbre, as though spoken by a giant surveying the land.
“Surrender Blade Decision and the Second Prince of the Demon Realm!” Fengyun Wuji’s voice cleaved the air, as unyielding as the sharpest steel.
“Blade Decision!” The Blade Emperor’s voice, though not loud, carried to every ear. In an instant, the Blade Domain patrol that Fengyun Wuji had once encountered transformed into a bolt of lightning, alighting behind the Blade Emperor with a bow: “Blade Emperor!”
His eyes, wide with surprise and disbelief, flicked between Fengyun Wuji and the woman in his arms, a mixture of shame and shock etched upon his face.
“Blade Emperor, eliminate this man for me!” The Second Prince’s voice echoed from the recesses of the Blade Domain, underscored by the ominous presence of four demonic figures at his side.
At the sound of the command, the Blade Emperor’s expression shifted. He cast a glance at Fengyun Wuji, offering counsel. “Young warrior, retreat. This matter transcends us all. Even I, and the Snow Domain Holy Palace from whence your companion hails, are bound by its gravity.”
He gazed upward, his voice heavy with the weight of his words. “This is the sorrow of our entire race. I see potential in you and would not see it extinguished. Flee while you can.”
A trail of blood trickled from Fengyun Wuji’s eyes, his previously impassive face now a canvas of raw emotion. “You are the Lord of the Blade Domain? Truly? By what right do you claim this title? Do you yet deserve it?”
A fleeting shadow of anger crossed the Blade Emperor’s face, and with a roar, “Begone!” Fengyun Wuji was thrown back as if struck by a bolt of lightning, the fabric of his chest rent asunder, the cuts as precise as if made by a master blade.
“If we mishandle this, the peace our kind has known for eons will crumble. Will you bear the burden of being the one to shatter it?” The Blade Emperor’s fury was palpable, his exasperation clear.
“Ha!” Fengyun Wuji’s laughter pealed into the heavens, his tears of blood a stark contrast against his face. “Eons of stagnation, have they not made you complacent? How many of our kin have fallen in battle against demons and angels, their sacrifices without regret. Yet today, a demon prince defiles one of our own before your eyes, and you counsel against vengeance? Is this the legacy we leave our daughters, to suffer the indignities of the enemy? Is this the honor we afford our sons, to stand idly by?”
His gaze swept across the assembly, meeting no eye, each bladesman bowing their head in shame.
“Do you yet call yourselves men?”
A heavy silence fell. The Blade Domain disciples, once ready to draw their blades against the young warrior, now found themselves unable to muster the will. Each white-robed figure a picture of contrition.
“Blade Emperor, if you do not deliver this man to me today, by tomorrow, my legions will march upon this place!” The Second Prince’s voice, ominous and threatening, carried on the wind, the four demons at his side a stark reminder of the looming threat.
Fengyun Wuji’s teeth clenched, a sound of shattering echoing from his form. With a clarion call that pierced the skies, a streak of scarlet sword light cleaved the air, aimed true at the heart of the Second Prince.
Crack! The Second Prince’s visage twisted with malevolence as, with a heave of his shoulders, great bat wings unfurled from his back. Before him, Blade Decision interposed himself, his voice a desperate plea. “No! He must not die!”
The Blade Emperor moved with a swiftness that belied his apparent leisure, his robes billowing as he positioned himself between the impending strike and its target. With a flick of his wrist, the tens of thousands of blades in the hands of his disciples vibrated in concert, soaring skyward to form a river of steel that flowed into the vast expanse of his robe.
With a sweep of his arm, the amassed blades reshaped themselves, hurtling towards the void. A resounding peal of metal upon metal echoed through the expanse, as if an invisible sword of gold and iron had clashed with an unseen force. Fengyun Wuji arched backward, a geyser of blood erupting from his lips, his chest caving beneath a blow that resonated to his core. Yet, even as he fell, a smile played upon his lips.
The Blade Emperor, his action complete, seemed undisturbed, a mere sigh escaping his lips as he dismissed the blade formation, each sword returning to its master.
Two pained cries rent the air, and the Blade Emperor turned to witness the Fifth Sword Gall, flung moments before, slicing through the Second Prince’s shoulder and piercing Blade Decision through and through, intent on a fatal strike.
The Blade Emperor’s gaze flickered with indecision as he stared at the sword, its tremors and the malevolence it exuded a testament to a grudge deep-seated against him.
Boom! The thunderous report of an explosion echoed as the Second Prince’s demonic energy collided with Blade Decision’s sword energy, blasting Fengyun Wuji into the earth, his chest a ruin, his insides laid bare.
The Blade Emperor, a flicker of shame crossing his features, murmured, “Enough. As the Lord of the Blade Domain, to join forces against a single youth…” With a subtle gesture, the Fifth Sword Gall was cast into the pit where Fengyun Wuji had fallen.
“I’ve changed my mind. Preserve his life at all costs. I shall take him to the Demon Realm, to know the depths of humiliation. To be wounded by a mere human is an insult beyond measure…” The Second Prince raged, his visage a mask of fury.
Fengyun Wuji, clutching Blade Decision, fell to the ground, his eyes wide with defiance, watching as the Second Prince ranted above. His consciousness fading, his final thought a lament: “To not be able to strike him down…”
It was the Battle of the Blade Domain that catapulted the name of Fengyun Wuji, a warrior newly ascended, to the forefront of every realm. The Blade Domain, the Demon Realm, the Witch Clan, the Snow Domain—all watched with bated breath as this young man, a paragon of passion and virtue, became the catalyst for upheaval in the human realms, which had known tranquility for eons.