The rain drizzled down in a light shower as the tournament between the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan commenced in the training grounds of the Sword Clan.
This was Chao Tian's first time setting foot in the Sword Clan's territory.
His Blade Clan and the Sword Clan shared a relationship akin to an alliance.
After fleeing the second layer of the Spirit Domain, the two clans had settled in the seventh layer, supporting one another as they established their roots.
Aside from intermarriage, the two clans cooperated in nearly all aspects.
The tournament, held every five years, was one such means of strengthening their bond.
Chao Tian knew he was not destined to be the protagonist of this competition.
But his sister was different.
She was the brightest star in this arena.
The tournament was conducted in a drawing-lots format, limited to participants under one hundred years old from both clans.
Chao Tian barely managed to make it through three rounds before being eliminated in the fourth.
But his sister was different.
No matter who her opponent was, they could not withstand more than three moves against her.
Her performance captivated even the Sword Clan's elders. They could not help but feel envious that the Blade Clan had produced such a prodigious talent.
Living in the seventh layer of the Spirit Domain, their current circumstances were relatively peaceful, with no immediate external threats.
But it was only a matter of time.
The brutal competition among races never ceased.
Currently, two major factions in the seventh layer were locked in a war over resources.
No one knew how long the conflict would last, but it would eventually come to an end.
When that day arrived, the victorious faction would rise as the new overlord of the seventh layer, bringing with it a merciless purge of the weaker races.
At that point, the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan would have only two choices.
They could either submit to the new ruling force, becoming nothing more than its lowly slaves.
Or they could continue their nomadic existence, fleeing to another domain world in search of a new home.
But the latter path carried just as many dangers.
There was no guarantee they would survive the journey. Their clan might scatter along the way, or worse, face complete annihilation.
For a race, power was everything.
The emergence of a supreme genius within a clan was crucial to its survival and future development.
Such a prodigy would not only inspire unity within their people but also serve as the deciding factor in times of crisis, pulling the entire race from the brink of destruction.
Upon realizing that the Blade Clan had produced such an exceptional talent, the members of the Sword Clan were filled with envy.
The outcome of the tournament was never in doubt.
Chao Tian's sister, Chao Xuan, emerged as the undisputed champion.
When they returned to the Blade Clan's territory, Chao Tian was more excited about his sister's victory than she was.
At the celebratory banquet, he drank heartily, silently vowing to continue chasing after her footsteps.
Life resumed its usual rhythm in the days that followed.
Chao Tian trained relentlessly, honing his sword skills in an attempt to close the gap between himself and his sister.
But talent ultimately outweighed effort.
Rather than narrowing, the distance between them only grew wider.
His sister's brilliance soared to unimaginable heights, yet Chao Tian harbored no resentment.
To him, family was above all else.
His pursuit of her was not driven by competition but by his own definition of purpose.
The result did not matter.
Eight years passed in the blink of an eye.
That year, a momentous event shook the Sword Clan.
A newborn child was born, and at that moment, the thousands of swords atop the Sword Clan's sacred peak trembled in unison.
The clan's most revered divine sword—Ji, which had lain dormant for countless years—broke free of its seal and chose the infant as its master.
The event sent shockwaves through the entire Sword Clan.
The child was named Jian Ji.
His birth signified that the Sword Clan had finally produced a genius capable of rivaling the Blade Clan's Chao Xuan.
When Jian Ji turned seven, he participated in the inter-clan tournament for the first time.
Despite his young age, he displayed an astonishing level of talent. His mastery over sword techniques left even Chao Tian, who was watching from the sidelines, in awe.
At just seven years old, Jian Ji bested many of the Blade Clan's strongest young warriors before finally facing off against Chao Xuan.
The outcome was never in question.
Jian Ji suffered a crushing defeat.
As he sat on the ground wailing, Chao Tian, watching from the sidelines, realized something.
His sister had finally met her greatest rival.
In the years that followed, Jian Ji and Chao Xuan fought time and time again.
Each year, Jian Ji traveled to the Blade Clan to challenge her.
Each year, he lost.
But each time he was defeated, he returned stronger.
Chao Tian bore witness to Jian Ji's meteoric rise.
Like an unsharpened blade, Jian Ji was honed to perfection through his battles with Chao Xuan.
By the time Chao Tian turned forty-three, a major upheaval rocked the seventh layer of the Spirit Domain.
The war between the two great factions had finally ended.
One side had been nearly wiped out. The few survivors scattered across different domain worlds, fleeing for their lives.
The victors—the Xiong Ming Clan—rose as the new overlords of the seventh layer.
And with their rise came a grim reality: the era of peace for the Blade and Sword Clans had come to an end.
For years, both clans had been preparing for this moment.
Neither the Blade Clan nor the Sword Clan was willing to become slaves to the new overlords.
They decided to act while the Xiong Ming Clan was still recovering from the war, launching a bold challenge against the new rulers.
The risks of fleeing once again were too great.
The clan elders from both sides agreed—if they had to gamble, they might as well fight for dominance.
Perhaps, with luck, they could restore the glory of the Artifact Clan that had once ruled this domain.
Thus, their peaceful days came to an end.
The Blade Clan and the Sword Clan entered an era of conflict.
The war was brutal and merciless.
Chao Tian fought on the battlefield alongside his sister.
The once-rivalrous Sword Clan had now become their closest allies. Together, they waged war, seizing new resource territories and funneling the spoils back to their clans.
These resources were used not only for cultivation but also to forge armor and refine healing elixirs.
By waging war, they fueled their own rapid growth.
At the start of the conflict, the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan held an overwhelming advantage against the Xiong Ming Clan.
During this time, Chao Tian witnessed the terrifying rise of both Chao Xuan and Jian Ji.
Their weapons, Tian Tu and Ji, were like scythes of the Grim Reaper, cutting down swathes of enemies each time they were drawn.
For a time, Chao Tian was convinced that the Blade and Sword Clans would reclaim their former glory.
Perhaps he wouldn't live to see that day, but he was certain that their descendants would.
One day, the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan would stand at the peak of this domain.
And perhaps, just perhaps…
They would reclaim the ancestral lands of the Artifact Clan that had been lost so long ago.
The war did not unfold as Chao Tian had hoped.
When the Xiong Ming Clan recalled their scattered warriors from other battlefronts, their counterattack began.
At that moment, the Xiong Ming Clan revealed the full might of a ruling power. The momentum that the Blade Clan and Sword Clan had built up crumbled, and the battlefield tilted in favor of their enemy.
By the time the Blade Clan and Sword Clan realized they had underestimated their foe, it was too late.
The Xiong Ming Clan did not give them any chance to retreat. Instead, they pressed forward relentlessly, pushing the battle lines back. In just a few short months, the two clans suffered devastating losses.
It was during this time that Chao Tian's sister and Jian Ji encountered the same formidable opponent—Xiong Sha, the strongest warrior of the Xiong Ming Clan's new generation.
Chao Tian had seen from a distance how his sister and Jian Ji fought side by side against Xiong Sha.
Even though they combined their strength, they struggled against him. Every battle left them gravely wounded.
Chao Tian overheard their discussions about Xiong Sha, learning that the battle-axe in his hands was crafted from an unknown material and possessed overwhelming power. Even their divine weapons—Tian Tu and Ji—could not match it.
Hearing this, Chao Tian was stunned.
Though the Blade Clan and Sword Clan had declined over the years, their divine weapons had been forged during the golden age of the Artifact Clan.
Back then, the Artifact Clan was not just a ruler—it was an unparalleled force. The Xiong Ming Clan, despite their current status, could not compare to their former glory.
Yet, in the clashes between their divine weapons and Xiong Sha's axe, their blades suffered damage. Cracks and chips appeared with each collision.
That axe was no ordinary weapon.
It was not something the Xiong Ming Clan could have forged themselves.
With their strongest warriors failing to suppress Xiong Sha, and the battle lines crumbling, the fate of their clans hung in the balance.
Faced with an inevitable downfall, Chao Xuan and Jian Ji made a decision.
They would stake everything on a single battle.
If Xiong Sha fell, the Xiong Ming Clan's morale would shatter, buying them precious time.
They meticulously planned their assassination attempt.
When the war resumed, Chao Xuan and Jian Ji stepped forward to challenge Xiong Sha.
However, instead of fighting with full force, they chose to feign weakness.
They lured Xiong Sha deeper into their territory, gradually pulling him toward a carefully prepared trap.
The moment Xiong Sha stepped into their battlefield, the ambush began.
To ensure he could not escape, warriors from both clans launched suicidal charges, sacrificing themselves to cut off his retreat.
Chao Xuan and Jian Ji unleashed their full power, engaging Xiong Sha in a final, desperate battle.
The cost was steep.
Both the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan suffered staggering casualties.
But in the end, Xiong Sha fell.
When the dust settled, Chao Xuan and Jian Ji were critically wounded.
But they returned with Xiong Sha's weapon—the mysterious battle-axe.
No one in the Blade Clan or the Sword Clan could hide their curiosity about this weapon.
After thorough examination, they made a shocking discovery.
The battle-axe itself was unremarkable.
Its material was inferior to their divine weapons.
Yet, in battle, its destructive power surpassed even Tian Tu and Ji combined.
The divine weapons of the two greatest warriors had been damaged in their clashes with it.
Eventually, they discovered the truth.
The source of its power lay in a small black orb embedded in its hilt.
Curious, they separated the black orb from the axe and conducted experiments.
What happened next defied their understanding.
Anything that came into contact with the black orb was strengthened.
An ordinary piece of armor, after touching the black orb, became indestructible—even their divine weapons failed to scratch it.
It was then that the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan realized what they had in their possession.
A Miracle Artifact—an object of legend, recorded only in ancient clan archives.
With Xiong Sha dead, the Xiong Ming Clan only intensified their assault, granting them no time to recover.
Realizing they could no longer hold their ground, the elders of both clans made a painful decision.
They would abandon everything in the seventh layer of the Spirit Domain and flee to another domain world.
By this time, the war had cost the Blade Clan and the Sword Clan most of their people.
They gathered what resources they could carry and prepared for a full retreat.
The Xiong Ming Clan, however, refused to let them escape so easily.
Weakened from their own recent war, they were still far stronger than the two clans combined.
During the retreat, countless warriors fell.
Even as they successfully fled the seventh layer, the Xiong Ming Clan's pursuit did not cease.
The two clans soon realized the enemy was not simply trying to annihilate them.
They were after the black orb.
It was highly likely that their suspicions were correct—the orb was a Miracle Artifact, something the Xiong Ming Clan could not afford to let slip away.
The pursuit lasted for two years.
The Blade Clan and the Sword Clan exhausted everything they had built over centuries.
By the time the two clans became wandering forces, they were but a shadow of their former selves.
Yet the Xiong Ming Clan remained relentless.
Again and again, their elites led hunting parties to track them down.
At the same time, tensions began to fester within the two clans.
The Miracle Artifact had become a divisive issue.
Who had the right to wield it?
Both clans had suffered greatly in the war. The black orb was their only significant gain.
If one clan kept it, the other would inevitably feel resentment.
Chao Tian had thought they would settle the dispute through negotiations.
But reality proved far crueler than he imagined.
The Sword Clan acted first.
During a routine gathering between the two clans, they laced the food with poison.
Caught off guard, the Blade Clan's leaders suffered heavy casualties.
When Chao Tian heard the news, he could hardly believe it.
But the brutal truth was undeniable.
The Blade Clan was now on the brink of destruction.
Just as he had expected, the Sword Clan launched an assault on the temporary refuge of the Blade Clan.
Their objective was clear—kill his sister, Chao Xuan.
To the Sword Clan's leadership, since they had already taken action, Chao Xuan was their greatest future threat.
If she was not eliminated now, the Blade Clan could one day rise again and bring disaster upon them.
After so many years, Jian Ji once again faced Chao Xuan in battle.
But this time, there was a crucial difference.
Jian Ji's Fated Sword, Ji, now had a small black orb embedded within it.
The battle that once seemed evenly matched now had a decisive outcome.
Chao Xuan's Fated Blade, Tian Tu, was shattered.
She barely escaped death.
Had it not been for the desperate protection of her remaining clansmen, she would not have survived.
The same Miracle Artifact granted entirely different effects depending on its wielder.
As descendants of the Artifact Clan, their cultivation system revolved around nurturing their Fated Weapons.
With the black orb's enhancement, Jian Ji's strength soared far beyond anything the Xiong Ming Clan had demonstrated.
His power increased tenfold.
With the Sword Clan's betrayal, the remaining members of the Blade Clan had no choice but to flee, carrying the gravely injured Chao Xuan with them.
During their escape, many of them perished, sacrificing themselves to buy time.
Among them were Chao Tian's parents and other elders.
The seed of hatred was planted deep within Chao Tian's heart.
Conflict among races was inevitable.
But betrayal from those who were once trusted allies was something he could never forgive.
By the time they finally escaped the Sword Clan's pursuit, the Blade Clan had been reduced to a mere hundred survivors.
Their past glory was forever out of reach.
They had become the lowest of the low—a wandering force with no home.
The loss of Tian Tu, coupled with the deaths of her loved ones, broke Chao Xuan's spirit.
The once dazzling genius in Chao Tian's eyes had lost all light.
Her will was shattered.
Seeing his sister in such a state, Chao Tian was filled with sorrow.
To reignite her fighting spirit, he fed her hatred, using their shared desire for vengeance as fuel.
Under his relentless persuasion, Chao Xuan finally made a decision.
She would pick up her blade once more.
She would return one day to take revenge on Jian Ji.
But by then, they had already lost everything.
There were no resources left to forge a new blade.
Their cultivation path depended on nurturing their Fated Blades.
Without a blade, it was like having their limbs severed.
To reforge a weapon, Chao Tian led his sister and their remaining clansmen toward the fourth layer of the Spirit Domain.
According to the clan records, there existed a place called Molten Mountain—a region containing special flames capable of forging weapons.
It had once been a cradle of the Artifact Clan's rise.
But due to its extreme environment, the Artifact Clan had abandoned it in favor of more refined forging sites.
As for materials, they had managed to take some with them during their escape.
Though limited, it was enough to forge a few weapons.
The journey took an entire year, fraught with danger at every turn.
But in the end, they reached the Molten Mountain region of the fourth-layer Spirit Domain.
The environment was incredibly harsh.
Black dust filled the air, carrying a pungent smell that made breathing unbearable.
It was a place unfit for life.
Yet, for the sake of reforging their weapons, Chao Tian led his people into the heart of Molten Mountain, where they settled.
Every descendant of the Blade Clan was required to learn the art of forging.
But this was Chao Tian's first time forging a weapon himself.
Together with his remaining clansmen, he consolidated their knowledge and began the arduous task of forging.
He did not allow Chao Xuan to participate.
He wanted her to preserve her unwavering blade heart, to focus on recovering her strength for the battles to come.
The forging process took two full years.
During this time, Chao Tian stumbled upon a hidden cave deep in the mountain's core.
Inside, he found a collection of ancient scrolls.
Many of the scrolls were damaged by time.
But to his shock, he discovered that they were artifacts left behind by the ancestors of the Artifact Clan.
These records contained forging techniques, battle methods from the twelve branches of the Artifact Clan, and long-lost knowledge.
To Chao Tian, these discoveries were invaluable.
With this knowledge, he successfully forged a new blade for his sister.
When Chao Xuan took up the weapon, light returned to her eyes.
A genuine smile appeared on her face.
It had been far too long since Chao Tian had seen his sister smile.
And she did not disappoint him.
The moment she grasped her new weapon, the fire of strength and vengeance ignited once again.
Fueled by revenge, the siblings rekindled their determination.
In the years that followed, Chao Tian continued to study the ancient texts, while his sister threw herself into training.
However, during this time, Chao Tian's body began to deteriorate.
He often experienced sudden coughing fits.
The clansmen who had helped him forge weapons suffered similar symptoms.
After investigating, he finally discovered the cause.
Having spent too much time deep within Molten Mountain, they had inhaled large amounts of corrosive black dust.
The dust had settled in their lungs, making it impossible to expel.
Yet, Chao Tian chose not to tell Chao Xuan.
He didn't want to burden her just as she had regained her will to fight.
Time passed.
Twenty-three years slipped by in an instant.
During these years, Chao Tian uncovered an ancient blade technique left behind by the Blade Clan's ancestor—Ba Dao Style.
He passed it on to his sister.
With twenty-three years of training, Chao Xuan's strength surpassed her former self.
Her bloodline had advanced multiple times, reaching heights unimaginable before.
But by this time, Chao Tian's hair had turned white at the temples.
Meanwhile, thanks to her breakthroughs, Chao Xuan still retained her youthful appearance, as if time had never touched her.
That day, Chao Xuan finally made her decision.
She was going to seek revenge against Jian Ji and settle their unfinished battle.
Chao Tian resisted inwardly, but he knew he could not stop her.
After so many years of bitter cultivation, she had only been waiting for this moment.
When she embarked on her journey to find her enemy, Chao Tian did not stop her.
Instead, he gave a final instruction to the clansmen who wished to accompany her—no matter the outcome, bring her back alive.
She was the Blade Clan's last hope.
After Chao Xuan left, Chao Tian returned to the cave, continuing to study the ancient scrolls.
No matter what happened, he would always stand behind his sister, paving a path for her future.
Three years later, as Chao Tian was deep in his studies, Chao Xuan and the clansmen finally returned.
But this time, her eyes had lost their light once more.
She moved in a daze, like a hollow shell, no different from a walking corpse.
From the clansmen's descriptions, Chao Tian learned that Jian Ji had become the new leader of the Sword Clan.
Not only that, but he had led his people back to the seventh-layer Spirit Domain to challenge the rule of the Xiong Ming Clan.
With the Miracle Artifact in their possession, the Sword Clan was no longer the same as before.
Jian Ji's strength had grown beyond Chao Xuan's reach.
During their battle, Jian Ji shattered Chao Xuan's Fated Blade in a single strike, effortlessly crushing the foundation she had cultivated for decades.
However, Jian Ji refused the Sword Clan elders' proposal to kill her.
Before he left, he spoke a single sentence:
"Chao Xuan, you and I grew up together. Once, you were my only rival. But that was in the past… My clan wants me to kill you to eliminate any future threats, but I won't do it. Because there's no need. The gap between us can never be closed. No matter how hard you try, you will never surpass me. The distance between us will only grow wider. You are no longer a threat to me… Just like your blade compared to my sword—there is no comparison between a Miracle Artifact and an ordinary weapon. No matter how much effort you put in, an ordinary object can never become a Miracle Artifact."
Jian Ji had not only shattered her blade but had also crushed her very will to fight.
Faced with her complete loss of determination, Chao Tian tried to comfort her, urging her to stand back up.
But her response left him speechless.
"Even if I forge another Fated Blade, what's the point? No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to create a weapon that can rival a Miracle Artifact. We have already lost."
Her words struck Chao Tian deeply.
How could an ordinary object ever compete with a Miracle Artifact?
Just as she had said, no amount of effort could forge a weapon equal to a Miracle Artifact.
Unable to see a future, Chao Xuan, who had only recently reignited her spirit, fell into despair once again.
Watching his sister crumble, Chao Tian made a decision.
It was a slim chance.
But even if it was just a faint glimmer of hope—he had to try.
That night, he returned to the cave and picked up an ancient scroll.
The moment he opened it, two pitch-black characters were inscribed on the cover—"Demon Weapon."
The scroll detailed a forbidden forging concept, proposed by a madman in the early days of the Artifact Clan's development.
He believed that no matter how well a Fated Weapon was nurtured, it could never truly resonate with its master.
But there was one exception—a weapon forged from the blood of kin.
A weapon created this way would naturally achieve perfect harmony with its wielder.
According to the scroll, this forging method was the true reason for the Artifact Clan's rise to power.
However, it was far too cruel.
After the Artifact Clan established itself, the technique was permanently banned.
After all, no one wanted their descendants to know that their ancestors had slaughtered their own kin to forge weapons.
But to forge a truly perfect Demon Weapon, one crucial condition had to be met.
The one being sacrificed must willingly become the weapon's spirit, dedicating themselves to aiding their wielder's cultivation.
This condition was nearly impossible to fulfill.
Even during the peak of the Artifact Clan, only one ancestor had ever succeeded.
That ancestor was the one who ushered in the Artifact Clan's golden age.
Facing his sister's shattered blade heart, Chao Tian made his choice.
Before the forging could begin, he had to undergo rigorous preparation.
The cultivation method recorded in the ancient scroll was designed specifically for the one being sacrificed.
As the ritual progressed, his body would gradually transform.
Every five days, he had to subject himself to flames, enduring the agony of burning flesh and tearing muscles, refining his own body into a weapon in the making.
Through it all, Chao Tian kept everything hidden from Chao Xuan.
Every few days, he would visit her—his once proud sister, now wallowing in despair—and chat with her like nothing was wrong, smiling as he told her about the new knowledge he had gained.
Yet beneath his robes, his body was covered in wounds.
The forging process continued for five years.
Now, the final stage of the Demon Weapon's creation was approaching.
That day, Chao Tian went to find his sister.
As they talked, he smiled and told her that he was going on a journey—to search for more forging materials.
Seeing the worry on her face, Chao Tian felt a pang in his heart.
He knew that this was the last time he would see her with his physical body.
That night, with the help of the surviving clansmen, Chao Tian stepped into the forging furnace left behind by the Artifact Clan's ancestors.
As the temperature rose, his body began dissolving into black mist.
The Demon Blade had no fixed form; it could change at will according to its wielder's intent. This was one of the reasons why the Demon Blade could perfectly synchronize with its master.
Even as the unbearable flames engulfed him, Chao Tian did not let out a single cry of pain.
The forging process lasted one year and three months. As the refinement continued, Chao Tian's consciousness gradually fell into slumber.
When the clansmen finally delivered the finished Demon Blade to Chao Xuan, she learned the truth.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
The moment she grasped the twisted, incomplete blade, Chao Tian's consciousness awakened and, in an instant, the blade transformed into the perfect weapon for his sister.
At that moment, Chao Tian knew he had succeeded.
Through the Demon Blade, he could see the tear stains on his sister's face. His heart ached, yet he also felt relieved.
He sent a thought to her through the blade:
"Old hag, I'll walk this road with you till the end."
Holding the blade tightly, Chao Xuan nodded repeatedly, unable to stop her tears.
From that moment on, Chao Xuan changed.
She carried the weight of her brother's trust, determined to fulfill his wish—to seek revenge against the Sword Clan and Jian Ji.
To an ordinary warrior, Miracle Artifacts were like gods.
This time, Chao Xuan vowed to slay a god.
She bid farewell to her clansmen and embarked on a journey to refine her Blade Heart.
The Demon Blade was still weak.
However, it possessed an exceptional ability—it could devour metals and minerals to grow stronger.
Not only that, but it could absorb the will of defeated warriors, allowing the weapon spirit within to evolve.
Wielding the Demon Blade, Chao Tian followed his sister on the path of challenging powerful foes.
Ten years… A hundred years… Countless warriors fell before Chao Xuan. Their weapons became nourishment for the Demon Blade.
By continuously battling the strong, Chao Tian's spirit—as the weapon—also grew rapidly.
Each formidable opponent became his grindstone.
To Chao Tian and Chao Xuan, challenging the powerful was the path to divinity.
Chao Tian firmly believed that one day, he and his sister would defeat Jian Ji, even if Jian Ji was blessed by the gods.
The years passed.
A century slipped away like a fleeting moment.
By now, Chao Xuan had become one of the most renowned warriors in the Spirit Domain.
Wielding Chao Tian, she once again returned to the seventh-layer Spirit Domain.
The world had changed.
The Xiong Ming Clan, once rulers of this land, had fallen. The Sword Clan had risen to take their place as the new overlords.
It was a cycle, a never-ending cycle.
The old dynasty fell, and a new one took its place.
Outside Sword King City, Chao Xuan stood with the Demon Blade in hand, challenging Jian Ji.
The battle lasted several days.
Facing the Miracle Artifact "Ji," embedded with divine power, Chao Tian and Chao Xuan fought with all their might, trying to shatter it.
But just as Jian Ji had once declared—Miracles could never be challenged by mortals.
No matter how Chao Tian and Chao Xuan unleashed their full strength, they could not even leave a scratch on "Ji."
In the end, they lost once again.
Realizing that Chao Xuan had become a real threat, this time, Jian Ji did not hold back.
Yet Chao Xuan did not choose to fight to the death.
Because in her hands, she still held her only remaining family.
At the cost of serious injuries, Chao Xuan barely managed to escape from Jian Ji's pursuit, but her life essence was severely damaged.
Chao Tian desperately channeled his power to heal her wounds, but he soon realized—there was nothing he could do.
That day, a light drizzle fell from the sky.
By the next morning, Chao Xuan's hair had turned completely white.
Wrinkles lined her once youthful face.
To Chao Tian, who always saw her as a young girl, it was a sign—her time was running out.
But Chao Xuan did not fear death.
With a gentle smile, she stroked the Demon Blade and whispered:
"Chao Tian, even if I am gone, you must continue to grow. I may die, but you have not lost.
Believe in yourself. Even as a mere mortal, you can slay the gods."
The moment Chao Xuan collapsed, Chao Tian trembled with sorrow.
The battle against Jian Ji had left him heavily damaged.
Cracks spread across the Demon Blade, and as the spirit within, Chao Tian also fell into a deep slumber.
Time passed. No one knew how long.
When Chao Tian finally awakened, he found himself held in the hands of a young boy, no older than eight.
The sorrow in his heart had not faded.
But his burning desire for vengeance had only grown stronger.
Staring at the boy who now held him, Chao Tian used his will to examine the child's body.
And then, he was shocked.
The boy's bloodline potential was extraordinary.
At that moment, Chao Tian made a decision.
He would personally raise this boy into a warrior strong enough to defeat Jian Ji.
In the years that followed, Chao Tian merged his spirit into the boy's body.
He taught him how to wield a blade.
He taught him how to cultivate a Blade Heart.
Under his guidance, the boy became the strongest warrior in his clan.
Eventually, the boy, following Chao Tian's wishes, set off on his own journey—to retrace Chao Xuan's path, challenging the strong and seeking the road to divinity.
During this time, Chao Tian grew fond of the boy.
He gradually accepted being called "Uncle Blade."
Because of this bond, Chao Tian began to hesitate.
Should he really let this boy challenge Jian Ji?
More years passed.
The boy's cultivation far surpassed even Chao Xuan's peak strength.
Even Chao Tian was astonished by his growth.
Then, one day, the boy finally spoke the words that Chao Tian had long anticipated—
"Uncle Blade, I will avenge you."
Chao Tian hesitated.
But the boy had already made up his mind.
He would not be stopped.
As Chao Tian's previous master had done, the boy arrived at the seventh-layer Spirit Domain, standing before the Sword Clan's royal city. With a single slash, he tore through the void and challenged Jian Ji.
This battle was the culmination of the boy's lifetime of learning.
Under the boy's relentless assault, Jian Ji suffered internal injuries.
But that was all.
As the boy grew stronger, so too did Jian Ji.
When Jian Ji shattered the Demon Blade, Chao Tian saw the boy's sorrowful smile. In the next moment, the boy threw him into the distance, and through the wind, Chao Tian could faintly hear his final words:
"Uncle Blade, goodbye."
The broken blade ripped through space, flying far into the unknown.
At that moment, Chao Tian fell into deep slumber once again.
When he awoke, he found himself gripped in the hands of a middle-aged man.
It was like a never-ending cycle.
Over the following years, Chao Tian passed from master to master.
With each divine ascension challenge, the Demon Blade grew stronger.
During this time, Chao Tian encountered several bloodthirsty wielders.
Through them, he learned the art of devouring blood energy to further enhance himself.
He used them to fuel his rapid growth.
In his continuous battles, Chao Tian gradually sealed away his heart, no longer willing to form attachments with his masters.
To him, many of them were unworthy of wielding him.
Their fate was always the same—he would consume their consciousness, turning them into soulless blade puppets.
Through countless divine ascension challenges, Chao Tian grew to an unimaginable level.
Even when facing Jian Ji's Miracle Artifact "Ji," he was no longer completely powerless.
He was at a disadvantage, but no longer helpless.
Chao Tian firmly believed that even though he was forged as a mere mortal weapon, one day, he would slay a god.
That was the promise he made with his sister.
The only bond he could not let go of.
This Demon Blade had been forged for his sister, but he would never again find a true master like her.
The years passed.
When Chao Tian once again found a new master, the training began once more.
This time, when his master challenged Jian Ji, Chao Tian was prepared to shatter "Ji."
This battle, he fought with everything he had.
Blade and sword clashed, tearing apart space, creating countless rifts in the void.
During the battle, Chao Tian laughed wildly.
Even as cracks began to appear on his blade, his laughter remained crazed and unrelenting.
Because at that moment, for the first time, cracks also appeared on "Ji."
The Demon Blade thrived in battle.
Just like the divine ascension challenges, Jian Ji was now the grindstone for Chao Tian's blade.
The stronger the enemy, the sharper his edge became.
When his master unleashed his most powerful strike, the invincible "Ji" finally shattered, leaving behind only a single black pearl that hovered in mid-air.
But in that same instant, his master was obliterated into a mist of blood.
Without a wielder, Chao Tian's power greatly diminished.
As he watched Jian Ji pick up a new sword thrown to him by his clansmen, then embed the black pearl into it, Chao Tian knew it was time to leave.
Without looking back, he fled Sword King City.
Jian Ji, heavily wounded, did not pursue.
He couldn't.
As the battle came to a close, Chao Tian knew he had taken another step closer to slaying a god.
What was a Miracle Artifact?
The road ahead was long, but one day, he would shatter that so-called "miracle" and fulfill his promise to his sister.
Perhaps it would take another century.
Or even thousands of years.
But he would never stop growing.
Yet before Chao Tian could recover from his injuries or find a new master, he received a shocking piece of news.
The Sword Clan, rulers of the seventh-layer Spirit Domain, had opened a spatial passage and left the domain.
In that moment, Chao Tian's heart burned with boundless rage.
He swore that no matter what, he would follow them to the human world, continue his vow of godslaying, and make the Sword Clan pay in blood.
His injuries no longer mattered.
His only focus was finding a way to reach the human world.
Setting up a spatial passage on his own was impossible.
His plan was to hitch a ride on another clan's portal when they opened a gate to the human world.
During his search, he learned that a powerful clan from the second-layer Spirit Domain was relocating their entire race.
Determined, Chao Tian traveled to the second-layer Spirit Domain.
But when he arrived, he found nothing but a barren wasteland.
The Mist Clan, once the dominant force of the second-layer Spirit Domain, was already gone.
Realizing he had arrived too late, Chao Tian let out a sky-shaking roar of fury.
If he could not reach the human world, he would first recover from his battle wounds and seek another way.
Months passed.
Then, to Chao Tian's utter disbelief, a spatial passage suddenly appeared in the distant sky.
He had no idea where it led.
It could be the human world.
Or perhaps another realm.
But it didn't matter.
He would enter it regardless.
Without hesitation, Chao Tian commanded his new blood puppet to charge into the passage.
The moment he stepped inside, he let out a deafening roar into the unknown.
"I was forged as a mortal—yet I shall slay the gods."
"Future—wait for me."