Volume One: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 123: The Mystery of the Strange Man

The strange man paid no heed to the sword energy. After landing, he shook his head and lunged again. His target remained solely Yun Que. Because Yun Que had pierced through his layers of disguise, he had been thoroughly enraged.

Yun Que stopped concealing his cultivation and summoned three flying swords at once.

One sword struck at the face!
One sword struck at the heart!
One sword struck at the back!

The three flying swords descended simultaneously from different angles. The strange man was exceptionally ferocious. He swatted away the two frontal swords with his large hands and ignored the one attacking his back, instead accelerating, raising his hands, and clawing toward Yun Que.

A mutual destruction tactic!

Yun Que had not expected his opponent to be so savage, willing to die just to grab him. Moreover, the two clawing hands whistled with the sound of wind, mimicking the ringing of swords! For a moment, Yun Que even had the illusion that he was not being attacked by hands, but by two blades.

Yun Que’s pupils constricted, and he unleashed his fourth sword. This time, it was the top-tier magical artifact, the Snowtrace Sword, which had been hidden in his sleeve. The spiritual energy of a seventh-layer Qi Refiner surged forth!

*Hum!!!*

Accompanied by the ringing of the blade, a white line slashed out like a bolt of silk, leaving a thin layer of frost and snow in its wake. When the Snowtrace Sword appeared, frost and snow followed!

*Bang!!!*

The Snowtrace Sword collided with the man’s hands, producing a sound akin to metal clashing against metal. Yun Que was sent flying backward, crashing into a Sword-Bone Tree and shaking down a flurry of leaves. The strange man was also knocked back, losing his balance and tumbling dozens of yards before coming to a stop, covered in dust.

In a split second of combat, they were evenly matched!

After steadying himself, the strange man reached back and pulled out the flying sword that had pierced him, tossing it aside. It hadn't damaged any vital bones or organs; there was barely any blood, as it had only punctured his skin. Through the exchange, Yun Que noticed that scales existed beneath the long fur on the man’s body. The man possessed natural defensive capabilities—he was impervious to swords and spears! Even flying swords could hardly affect him.

"Hah!"

The strange man, completely incensed by Yun Que, breathed heavily, appearing incredibly manic. He then launched an even more violent offensive.

Facing the raging monster, Yun Que put away his three flying swords, leaving only the Snowtrace Sword, and began to weave a sword incantation.

"First form, Frost Flight!"

The Snowtrace Sword soared into the air, sweeping out like a drift of snow. Whether it was the three swords fired earlier or the subsequent collision, Yun Que had only utilized the sword energy of the top-tier magical artifact without truly controlling it. Only now was he formally commanding the sword.

The Snowtrace Sword finally displayed its true power. In an instant, sword energy surged throughout the mountain hollow, and snow flew wildly!

***

The chill enveloped the mountain hollow, and Wu Dachuan and the others retreated in haste. Frost and snow obscured their vision. They could not see the battle, only hear the roars of a beast intermingled with the constant ringing of swords.

"That is... the Flying Frost Sword Technique!"
"What a powerful technique! To be able to summon flying snow—it’s no worse than the Senior Sister’s sword skills."
"If we could reach such a level, slaying sword disciples would be effortless!"
"I’m so envious! When we go back, I’m going to practice my sword skills hard and try to learn a move or two!"

The few sword servants from the North Courtyard were shocked, unable to believe their eyes.

Wu Dachuan, however, was thinking more deeply. He remembered the trip to Mist Mountain, when after they had fled into the mountain belly, Yun Que had turned back to the cave entrance and said, "I’m going to go hack someone." He remembered the scraps of meat hanging from the mouths of the canine demons they saw after escaping the cave. He remembered Xuan Wenyuan, who had never appeared in the Sword Palace again.

Wu Dachuan was now almost certain that after Yun Que turned back in the cave, he must have encountered Xuan Wenyuan, killed him in Mist Mountain, and fed him to the dogs! That was the Fifth Sword Son of the East Courtyard, a cultivator at the eighth layer of Qi Refining!

Wu Dachuan then recalled the two barbarian experts who had waylaid him and Yun Que in the marketplace. After he had been knocked unconscious, he vaguely remembered hearing the sound of thunder and blades piercing flesh. Thinking about it now, those two barbarian experts had likely died at Yun Que's hands as well!

Finally, Wu Dachuan thought of the tree demon on the summit of Mist Mountain that Yun Que had lured away. To be chased by such a terrifying monster and emerge unscathed! The more he thought, the more his heart pounded! The more he thought, the more his blood boiled!

"Lord Yun!"

Wu Dachuan clenched his fists, which trembled slightly. He shared the same obsession as Yun Que: wanting to find out why his father had died in the battle at Coldwater City. Unfortunately, he had no spiritual roots and no cultivation; he feared he would never reach the dangerous borderlands in his lifetime. Previously, he thought Yun Que couldn't do it either. They were all just sword servants; no matter how strong, they couldn't defeat sword disciples, let alone sword sons, and certainly not the barbarians.

But at this moment, the regret buried in Wu Dachuan’s heart for years began to sprout hope again. He believed Yun Que could cross the Coldwater River and reach that lonely city which had buried the dreams and hopes of so many!

Though Wu Dachuan was slippery, he possessed the loyalty of his forebears. His father had served the Marquis of Yanmen his entire life, and he, too, wanted to follow the Young Marquis to slay the barbarians and wash away the shame of their fathers! To unravel the mystery hidden by Coldwater City! All of this required a foundation of powerful strength. He, Wu Dachuan, could not achieve it, but Yun Que might.

*Bang!!*

A muffled sound came from the mountain hollow. A figure rushed out from the flying snow, leaped onto a Sword-Bone Tree, moved rapidly between the branches, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

The strange man had fled!

The sword servants were uncertain of the situation; they stood confused and suspicious, gazing toward the mountain hollow. Wu Dachuan was the most anxious and rushed over at a jog. Upon reaching the scene, he paused, his tense expression finally softening.

***

Yun Que stood in the forest, holding a dark blue leaf—the very sword leaf the strange man had used as bait.

"Thank goodness for Lord Yun, otherwise our squad would have been in grave danger. I didn't even notice there was an extra person in our group," Wu Dachuan said, scratching his head in lingering fear.

"Stop here. Do not go any further."
"Understood! We’ll listen to you; we’re heading back right now!" Wu Dachuan’s greatest virtue was his willingness to take advice, especially from Yun Que.

"What exactly was that monster? It didn't look like a demonic beast, nor a human. Could it be a Sword Shadow? I’ve heard Sword Shadows are very mysterious; few people have ever seen one," Wu Dachuan wondered aloud.

Yun Que shook his head, saying nothing. It couldn't be a Sword Shadow, because Sword Shadows did not bleed, and that man had.

Wu Dachuan led his team back, moving far away from this mountain region. Yun Que stood alone in the hollow for a long time. He could feel that the strange man had not used his full strength; he still had power held in reserve!

"Neither human nor demon—what on earth is that thing?"

The strange man was definitely not a disciple of the Yan Sword Palace; otherwise, he could not have escaped the detection of the Golden Core elders. Thus, it was certain the opponent had not reached the Transformation Realm from the Ten-Thousand Blade Tower of the Yan Sword Palace. That meant he must have entered from one of the other three Sword Palaces.

But there was a suspicious point. The starting points for the four kingdoms' Sword Palaces to enter the Transformation Realm were all at the corners of the realm. Judging from the projection map, the disciples of the four palaces were far apart after entering and should not have met so quickly. Yun Que had spent an hour absorbing sword energy, and Wu Dachuan and the others had only just arrived at this mountain range. When had that strange man arrived? If he had started from a different location, even running without stopping for an hour, he might not have reached this place.

Could it be...

A shocking thought surfaced in Yun Que’s mind. Perhaps that strange man had entered the Transformation Realm last year and had been lingering here ever since—staying for a whole year without leaving!

Yun Que always had a vivid imagination, but even he found this idea incredible. The Sword Burial Grounds opened only once a year and were covered in sword rain year-round. Before entering, one had to condense a Sword Energy Cloak to resist it. Even the sword energy heavy armor Yun Que had condensed would gradually dissipate before a year had passed. If one truly intended to stay in the Transformation Realm for a year, they would have to withstand a year’s worth of sword rain baptism!

This was not something one could avoid by simply hiding. The sword rain in the Transformation Realm might look like a light drizzle, but it was omnipresent—existing within rocks, trees, and streams. Once one arrived in the Transformation Realm, they were inevitably engulfed by the sword rain; there was no escaping it.

"Long fur, scales..."

Yun Que recalled the long fur and scales covering the strange man’s body. Perhaps it was truly possible for him to have lingered in the Transformation Realm for a year. Regardless, the appearance of the strange man added a layer of danger to the Sword Burial Grounds, which was why Yun Que had told Wu Dachuan and the others not to move forward and to stay away from the danger.

"What is the point of plucking the heart, anyway?"

Yun Que flicked his hand to put away the Snowtrace Sword and looked in the direction the strange man had fled. The mystery of the strange man grew ever more convoluted.