A soundless clash in a timeless world.

This was the result of the two sword techniques meeting for the first time.

Long Chen’s formless Void Sword emanated profound intent, making even Xue Feng feel like there was a sword pressed against his neck. As for Xue Feng’s Limitless Blade, it was equally formless, splitting the world in two without a sound.

The grey world crumbled upon impact, sliced into thousands of pieces. Even though it was an ethereal construct, those swords still managed to cut it.

Time began moving again. The frozen and colorless bodies of the remaining individuals in the room gained life once more, however they stood still as if they were still in stasis.

The clash that took place while they were in stasis took place inside something similar to an Ethereal Dimension. Even though it mirrored the physical plane, it wasn’t actually located there.

But the Sword Aura from the clash leaked through even the barriers of that dimension, filling the room with a chilling blade light. That profound aura was what caused all those present to direct their gazes onto the swordmaster duo. Even Huo Lingtian and Ding Hai paused their fight to do so.

“Haa…Haa…”

Xue Feng crumbled to his knees, stabbing his sword into the ground and leaning on it so he didn’t keel over.

Long Chen’s figure staggered down from the sky above. However, the man managed to stay on his feet.

The duo glared into each other’s eyes. Their expressions were frozen and indifferent. And as they did so…

Spurt!

A fountain of blood leaked from Xue Feng’s side. There, a massive gash opened within seconds, exposing his rib cage to the world.

But despite his injuries, Xue Feng didn’t fall completely. Instead, he looked up at Long Chen and grinned.

Seeing this, Long Chen grinned back. His teeth were bloodied as if he was bitterly struggling to hold himself back from coughing blood.

“Keuk…! Even though my sword managed to reach you, its power was cut down by so much.” Xue Feng spoke with a wry smile.

Long Chen shook his head. “If you could see the state of my internal organs right now, you wouldn’t be looking down on your blade so much. To cut the Void Sword is not a feat to be ashamed of.”

Xue Feng nodded. “Same to you. However, it seems I have come out on the losing end of this clash. My internals have been badly injured as well…well, you can see their state if you just look through this massive hole.”

Long Chen’s gaze inadvertently followed Xue Feng’s eyes, landing on the gash in Xue Feng’s side.

“Pfft…hahahaha!”

Long Chen let out a boisterous laugh. “Even in this state, you’re still in the mood to joke. It looks like the rumors about you being a block-headed training maniac were wrong.”

“It’s not that they’re wrong, I’m only this happy whenever I’m training.”

“Oh? You’re regarding our match as training?”

Xue Feng’s grin widened. “Yeah, training to defeat that sword of yours. Although through this loss, we have become sworn brothers, your position as the older brother isn’t safe, you know?”

“Hahahahaha! I see, so that’s what this was about! Very well then, little brother of mine. If you think you have what it takes to snatch my position, try as hard as you can to do so. Just know I won’t go easy on you.”

Long Chen held out his hand. Xue Feng looked at it for a second and grinned wildly. “As expected of an older brother I’ve acknowledged. If you went easy on me, I’d be the first to kill you.”

He grabbed Long Chen’s hand strongly and pulled himself off the floor. At the same time, he waved his hand and took out a pile of healing pills to ingest.

“Tch. In the end, I wasn’t able to grab the Empyrean Dragon Sword for myself.” Xue Feng sighed in lament. However, he was inwardly smiling.

‘This trip…was not wasted. I can already think of hundreds of ways to improve my sword after a single clash. The position of older brother will be mine sooner or later.’

As Xue Feng’s injuries slowly healed, the clash between Huo Lingtian and Ding Hai also ended. However, the two of them were severely injured.

Even though everyone was focused on the battle between Long Chen and Xue Feng, it wasn’t like the other fight happening in the room was any less fierce.

It was just that a battle between sword cultivators was like a dance of blades. Regardless of how inexperienced one was, to witness a clash with such pure battle intent and Sword Aura was a spectacular display for any bystander who could actually follow the flow of the fight.

Huo Lingtian glanced sideways at Long Chen. Even though he said he was injured, his complexion and aura were still valiant as if nothing had happened to him. Seeing his condition, Huo Lingtian began to hesitate.

‘As it is now, I will need an entire day to heal, even with the assistance of healing pills. However, there isn’t enough time left in the secret realm for me to do so. To fight that monster when I’m not in peak condition…’

The Jade Heavenly Palace and Celestial Star Palace weren’t on bad terms, but their rivalry was extremely strong. These two sects had almost equal power, so the spot of number one was always in fierce contention between the two.

But they didn’t have any blood feuds. Huo Lingtian was sure that Long Chen wouldn’t kill him even if he lost, but his own negligence might lead to his downfall.

With such a damaged body, his meridians might not be able to sustain themselves if he overdrove his mana.

Huo Lingtian sighed. Despite how much he lusted after the Empyrean Dragon Sword, it wasn’t worth crippling himself over.

“This is as far as I go.” He finally said. “However, just because you have obtained the right to the Empyrean Dragon Sword, do not get conceited. Taming it is a far more challenging task.”

Long Chen cupped just fists toward Huo Lingtian. Even though they didn’t have any grudges, it wasn’t often that someone would encourage their rivals. Long Chen respected the man’s upright character.

‘This is how a disciple of Jade Heavenly Palace should be. Those bastards that usually make acquaintance with our Great Clans are just scum who don’t amount to anything.’

Long Chen inwardly sneered, and then turned his attention to the last two people in the room.

“What are you looking at me for? I’ll always support Brother Chen!” Ling’er smiled gently. From the beginning, she was only here to cheer him on. She had no desire for a bulky sword like the Empyrean Dragon Sword.

As for Xue Yue, she simply shrugged her shoulders and looked away. She was no longer interested in what happened.

Seeing how everyone in the room had consented to his succession, Long Chen turned around and walked up the set of stairs at the end of the room.

Long Chen soon made his way up the stairs, arriving in a small room with only a single glass coffin in the middle.

‘Empyrean Dragon Sword…’

Unexpectedly, there was no sword in the coffin. Instead, there was only the hilt of what looked like a sword that had been long shattered in battle:

But Long Chen wasn’t fazed by it. Instead, he smiled with pride.

‘Finally. You, who once belonged to my ancestor, will return to our Long Clan’s hands. No, you will return to I, Long Chen’s, hand.’

He lifted the coffin’s lid and grabbed the broken sword handle. And in the next instant, his world was dyed golden.