Chapter 932: Descended

Zhu Zhixun finally understood. This Silver Sword fragment was something he had found on the outskirts of the Holy Ruins while following the Grand Commander on campaigns as a War General of the resistance.

To say he had ‘found’ it was not quite right. It was as if the fragment itself possessed a spirit and had chosen him. At that time, the fragment had turned into a streak of light and stuck to his body, refusing to leave as if it had attached itself to him.

Sensing the fragment’s spirituality, Zhu Zhixun had kept it, nurturing it with his own Immortal Force. Later, he gradually unlocked its power. Once infused with Immortal Force, it had become nearly unstoppable.

Zhu Zhixun had never fully understood the fragment’s origin. Now, hearing it from the Grand Princess, he immediately realized that she was most likely telling the truth.

Could it really be a piece of the sword once wielded by that legendary Sword Immortal Lin Beichen, the one who had nearly overturned the entire Reaper ancestral court with a single blade? What a stroke of fortune that would be.

Zhu Zhixun felt a surge of excitement.

“You look quite pleased,” the Grand Princess said with a mocking smile. “What a pity. In the end, it’s just a fragment. If it were the complete Silver Sword, you might have had a slim chance of survival tonight.”

Zhu Zhixun retreated swiftly. He had bought himself enough time from the conversation just now. He poured all his Immortal Force into the Silver Sword fragment once again. This was the greatest strength he could muster.

“Even a fragment can protect a piece of sky for the human race,” he roared.

Without hesitation, he activated the sword fragment. A brilliant silver radiance burst forth in the void. Beams of silver light emitted unparalleled, piercing sword qi. Dozens more elite guards of the Hui Yao clan were cut through and fell lifeless in an instant.

Zhu Zhixun sought to carve out a path for his companions to escape with the last of the sword fragment’s power.

“Hui Yao clan, peerless,” the Grand Princess shouted, crossing her broad swords before her chest as she activated the family’s innate divine art.

Countless snow-white swords of light materialized and rained down indiscriminately on Zhu Zhixun and the other human warriors below.

Zhu Zhixun’s expression changed. He instantly shifted his focus from attacking to defending. He summoned the Silver Sword fragment, which released a massive wave of sword light, shielding his companions beneath it.

Boom, boom, boom!

Terrifying energy detonations roared as the scattered light gradually dissipated. Zhu Zhixun remained standing where he was, his feet buried half a meter into the metallic floor. Blood streamed from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. Half his bones had shattered, and his skin had cracked like a dried-up riverbed.

The Silver Sword fragment’s glow faded, barely managing to float above Zhu Zhixun’s head as a shield. Zhu Zhixun alone had forcibly withstood the Grand Princess’s nearly eighth-stage innate divine art attack to protect his companions. But he had suffered grave injuries.

Blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs sprayed from his mouth.

“I’m... sorry,” he said weakly, looking at his companions. “This time... it was... my plan. I... I led you all... to... to your deaths. I...”

Xiong Gang, raising his single arm, said, “To die together with you, Brother Xun, is an honor for us.”

Another warrior named Zhang Chang, a powerful Six Gods Realm cultivator, laughed boldly and said, “The human race will prosper!”

“The human race will prosper.”

“The human race will prosper!” Tothers roared.

In that moment of absolute despair, they had already set aside thoughts of life and death.

“Pathetic,” the Grand Princess sneered.

She personally struck, light dancing in her eyes. Suddenly, her expression changed.

“No. The Time Jade is not on any of you.” The Grand Princess realized something was wrong, her gaze like lightning as it focused on Zhu Zhixun. She demanded, “Where did you hide the Time Jade?”

Zhu Zhixun’s breath was faint, but a smile appeared on his face as he said, “Guess.”

The Grand Princess’s expression immediately darkened. The Time Jade was a treasure bestowed by the ancestral court. It was also critical for her upcoming cultivation journey to the Holy Ruins. If it were lost, the consequences would be severe.

“Capture all of them and torture them one by one,” the Grand Princess ordered coldly. “I’m not afraid that they might refuse to talk.”

The enemy had plenty of chances to transfer the Time Jade throughout the pursuit, which would have been the worst-case scenario. The most effective way to find its location now was, of course, to force it out of their mouths.

She raised her radiant swords and swung them down. A surge of oppressive energy burst forth from her. Even though Xiong Gang and the others fought with all their might, they found themselves pinned in place, unable to move.

The Grand Princess, the most gifted genius in the history of the Hui Yao clan and the family’s heir apparent, had revealed an aura that far surpassed the peak of the seventh stage. She was nearly one foot in the eighth stage.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The Silver Sword fragment suddenly trembled of its own accord. A defiant sword intent burst forth from it. In that critical moment, it revealed its spiritual will, determined to shield the human warriors.

Zhu Zhixun, Xiong Gang, and the others were moved to tears. Even a mere fragment of a sword was fighting back in their darkest hour. This was the sword of the human race. The sword of the Sword Immortal.

All around them, the elite guards of the Hui Yao clan were pressured by the sword intent and could not advance. Even Elder Long and Elder Qi, both powerful Reapers at the Seven Transformation Realm, showed slight changes of expression and braced themselves, deeply aware of the terrifying danger emanating from that small fragment.

But the Grand Princess only sneered. Standing tall in the air like a goddess, her fighting spirit blazed even brighter.

“A mere fragment,” she said. “Broken and tattered, and yet it dares to shield its people?”

She swung her radiant swords down.

Clang.

The silver fragment slammed into her strike. A piercing sound echoed as its already dim light almost went out completely.

“A remnant of an old era’s soul,” the Grand Princess scoffed. “Do you think you can stir up trouble again after a hundred years?”

She swung her sword down again, for the second strike.

Clang.

The Silver Sword fragment trembled once again. Its glow had completely faded and its sword intent was nearly dissipated. Yet it stubbornly floated above Zhu Zhixun and the others. Even with its energy exhausted, like a drifting feather in the wind, it still sought to protect the ones most precious to it.

“End this,” the Grand Princess said coldly.

She swung her sword a third time as she said, “Let this remnant of the old era be buried forever, and let the legend of the human Sword Immortal become an eternal corpse in this garbage heap.”

Her radiant sword carried the terrifying power of a half-step eighth stage strike. Zhu Zhixun and the others were completely pinned down. They could only watch helplessly as the Silver Sword fragment was about to be shattered. But just at that moment—

“No.”

A strange voice echoed through the air. Then, an elliptical circle of light appeared next to Xiong Gang. The voice had come from within the light.

A figure shrouded from head to toe stepped out of the circle. He was over two and a half meters tall, with bulging muscles like a small giant. As soon as he appeared, he raised his hand and sent a strand of Immortal Force into the Silver Sword fragment. Then, something incredible happened.

Buzz.

The Silver Sword fragment, which had been on the verge of death, suddenly erupted with a dazzling, peerless brilliance. In that instant, it seemed far more alive than when Zhu Zhixun had wielded it. It was instantly more terrifying and powerful than ever before.

Whoosh.

With a flick of the tall figure’s finger, the Silver Sword fragment transformed into a single beam of vengeful sword light, slashing through the air. Hundreds of elite guards from the Hui Yao clan had no chance to resist, falling like wheat under a sickle.

Then the silver light traced a strange arc, striking at the three powerful figures hovering in midair.

Boom.

The first explosion of energy rang out. Elder Long was sent flying, tumbling through the air like a rag doll before crashing to the ground. Blood splattered through the air.

Boom!

The second explosion thundered. Elder Qi was struck and blown away, half of his body reduced to a mangled, bloody pulp. His life or death remained uncertain.

Boom!

The third explosion erupted. The Grand Princess crossed her twin swords before her chest to block the terrifying blow. But the impact sent her hurtling backward. Her arms trembled violently, a faint crack appearing in the bones of her forearms, and blood seeped from beneath her skin.

Her pair of radiant swords had nearly been torn from her grip. A look of utter shock appeared on her face. Just a single exchange was enough for the Grand Princess to realize that she was absolutely no match for this mysterious human warrior who had suddenly appeared.

How could the human race still possess such a terrifying powerhouse?

She didn’t understand, but her reaction was quick.

“Retreat,” she ordered.

She turned and fled without hesitation. The two elders transformed into streaks of light and escaped at almost the same time. After centuries of war with the human race, every high-level Reaper knew that the first choice when facing an enemy beyond their limit was always to flee. Otherwise, only death awaited them.

The hatred between the two races had long since eliminated any chance of survival for captives. The elite guards immediately retreated as well. But the Silver Sword fragment continued to pursue them.

The silver light continued to flicker. The sword fragment moved through the void, flashing and fading. In the blink of an eye, it killed another fifty or sixty Reapers at the fourth and fifth stage.

Blood rained through the sky. The powerful cultivators of the Hui Yao clan fled like startled dogs and quickly disappeared. Only corpses remained strewn across the ground.

Zhu Zhixun, Xiong Gang, and the other human warriors stood frozen in place. Happiness had come so suddenly that they could hardly believe it. They were afraid that they would discover it was all just a dying illusion if they blinked.

A few breaths later, the sharp scent of Reaper blood filled the air, and only then did they slowly come back to their senses. At that moment, the towering figure was like a demon-slaying lord who had descended upon the mortal world. The figure finished everything and slowly walked over to stand before them.

“Come on, let’s leave this place first,” he said.

He spoke in the Great Xia language. Zhu Zhixun and the others immediately understood. It was the official language of the resistance. The moment he spoke it, much of their wariness vanished.

But as their leader, Zhu Zhixun forced himself to suppress his shock and remain calm. He tried to ask, “Are you here for the Time Jade as well?”

The towering figure replied, “No. I came for you.”

Zhu Zhixun asked, “For us?”

The tall figure sighed and said, “Yes. In this desolate starry sky, it is an incredible stroke of luck to meet warriors who share the same ideals. I did not want to see you perish here.”

Zhu Zhixun felt both deeply moved and overjoyed. He really was one of their own. At the same time, he struggled to recall whether, in the past several centuries across the entire star systems surrounding the Holy Ruins, there had been any human powerhouse with such terrifying strength. But no matter how he tried, he could not think of anyone like that.

He forced himself to stay calm because any trust given by a human rebel was a luxury in this dark era where the Reapers ruled everything. For a stranger just met, the price of blind trust often meant dying without a burial. That was a lesson written in the blood and deaths of human resistance fighters.

“You don’t seem to fully trust me,” the tall figure said, noticing his wariness. He spoke with a gentle smile. “But I think you should trust this fragment of the immortal sword.”

He extended his finger slightly. The Silver Sword fragment danced like a delicate spirit, flashing its beautiful silver glow, lightly jumping and flipping above his finger.

Zhu Zhixun’s eyes lit up. Yes. If they themselves could not determine the truth of this rescuer’s identity, then the silver sword fragment certainly could. It was sentient.

The tall figure then gestured to the corpses on the ground and said, “These should also serve as proof, right?”

Zhu Zhixun swept his gaze over the battlefield. Those were all elite warriors of the Hui Yao clan, none weaker than the fifth stage. Hundreds of them had been lost in an instant. It was an unbearable blow for the Hui Yao clan. Even if they had tried a ruse, they could not possibly have sacrificed so many of their own.

“Thank you, senior,” Zhu Zhixun said sincerely, finally feeling at ease.

He then instructed the others to clean up the battlefield as quickly as possible. Afterward, he left with the tall figure. They made their way to the deepest part of the toxic waste station.

This place contained dozens of kinds of deadly toxic energies. However, by following a safe route known only to the human resistance fighters, they reached a secure shelter. This was the relatively safest place in the entire port.

Originally, their plan had been to secure the Time Jade, then immediately escape and continue to hide using their former identities. But now the Grand Princess had undoubtedly seen through their cover. It would be impossible to hide as they had before.

“Thank you, senior, for saving our lives,” Zhu Zhixun and the others expressed their gratitude to the tall figure without hesitation.

“No need, we’re all on the same side,” the tall figure said casually with a wave of his hand.

His attention was completely focused on the Silver Sword fragment.