Chapter 422: Sovereign of the Dao

The void trembled, and along the path the meteor had passed, concentric ripples visible to the naked eye spread outward.

As it drew nearer, a faint scent of iron and blood, cold and lethal, hung in the air.

In a daze, all felt as if they had stepped onto an endless, terrifying battlefield—blood and malevolent qi intertwined, a vast river of blood slicing through the starry sea, millions of divine and demonic corpses littering its banks.

A colossal black sword stretched from earth to heaven, like an eternal, unshakable divine pillar.

Until the meteor drew close, and the vision before them shattered abruptly.

Boom—!

The ground beneath their feet trembled, as if even the Inner Sect's floating continent suspended high above would be crushed down by this terrifying impact.

The air howled and churned, blurring everything before their eyes.

Only Li Ke, untouched and expressionless, felt a pang of envy beneath her quiet satisfaction.

The Sovereign of the Dao's Apex, all phenomena respond—attaining immortality is but a single step away.

She was still far behind.

At this moment, she felt deeply awkward.

So she silently resolved to hit that damn fish harder when she got the chance.

Waves of heat rolled outward in all directions.

Chi Jiuyu kept a tight face, striving to maintain the image of Ye Shijie of the Sword Sovereign Line, while Zhang Yunlu stood behind her, eyes already closed.

The next instant, the rolling heat abruptly retracted.

Hss~!

Like cold water poured onto red-hot iron, the spirit energy, stained dark red and completely stagnant, shed its strange hue and resumed its flow.

The surrounding flames faded, revealing a black armor riddled with scars of varying sizes; within it stood a figure like cast dark iron, bearing a massive, heavy black sword on his back.

Through the faceplate, his gaze pierced like tempered sword blades, level and unyielding, peering through the two-finger-wide visor slit.

After sweeping past Li Ke, the Deputy Head of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, and the many stewards, his eyes finally settled on Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu.

Meeting that gaze, both froze—breath caught, minds blank.

"Huh~"

Only when Xu Xianning exhaled softly did their frozen thoughts begin to move again.

Holy shit!

Is this Ye Shijie?!

So cool!

Cold, majestic, powerful!

This is exactly the image she dreamed of!

Chi Jiuyu gasped inwardly, yet kept her face calm.

I'm Ye Shijie of the Sword Sovereign Line—I must be composed, I must be composed!

Soon, Xu Xianning stepped forward toward Li Ke, her armor emitting a faint chime like clashing metal.

"Sorry, little sister—I've been away too long, made too much noise." The voice, muffled through the faceplate, sounded heavy and dull.

She was nearly immortal.

Her Dao was full, overflowing; combined with the strict cosmic laws of the Central Continent, this triggered all manner of wonders.

Li Ke's face remained expressionless: "It's fine."

Then she turned to the deputy beside her.

"Register her."

"Yes."

In truth, the formal procedures had already been completed at the Swordbearing Hall—the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall merely handled reception.

Or, if the returning one wished, a welcome ceremony might be held…

But Xu Xianning clearly had no such intentions; after speaking to Li Ke, she turned again to Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu.

"Disciples of the Elder Aunt?"

"Mm." Li Ke gave a slight nod, then turned to Chi Jiuyu, "Fish, are you standing there playing dead?!"

Chi Jiuyu jolted awake, immediately stepping forward with Zhang Yunlu.

"Ahem! Ye Shijie, hello—I'm Chi Jiuyu, the direct disciple and eldest student of the Sword Sovereign Line, and this is my junior sister, Zhang Yunlu."

The aura was too overwhelming—even Jiuyu Hehuan Hehuan Laozu felt slightly awed.

"Greetings, Ye Shijie," Zhang Yunlu bowed.

"I'm Xu Xianning, Ye Shijie of the Xiang Jianzong Line," Xu Xianning replied formally.

Xu Xianning…

Hss~

There was something off about this name.

I'd planned to ask my master about it, but I've been too busy lately and forgot…

Wait!

Doesn't Uncle Xu share the surname Xu?

"Ning"… that's the character in my master's name!

So that's it!

Li Ke instructed the deputy beside her: "You all return first—I'll handle the rest here."

The deputy hesitated: "Chief…"

"The Hall's affairs will be temporarily managed by you, the other two deputies, and the elders."

「……」

You just want to use this as an excuse to slack off!

The deputy hall master muttered under his breath, but ultimately led the stewards away.

Once everyone had walked far enough away…

Xu Xianning reached out and pressed her faceplate, preparing to remove it; Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu watched intently.

"Are you two going to participate in the Xian Sect Grand Competition?"

"Yup… yes, Ye Shijie."

This is a conversation between two senior sisters of the Xiang Jianzong's two major branches—be serious!

"I can give you special training."

Her voice no longer sounded dull; Xu Xianning had removed her faceplate, revealing a delicate, oval face with refined features, but her vacant gaze made her seem stiff and dull.

Huh?

Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu froze.

It was hard to connect this face with the earlier bloodthirsty, iron-willed figure.

"Special training?" Chi Jiuyu finally reacted.

"You're a senior sister too, but you're too weak." Her tone showed no variation.

Too weak?

Chi Jiuyu didn't feel angry or anything—she just found it strange.

"I'm only twenty-three, Ye Shijie."

It's not that Jiuyu Hehuan Hehuan Laozu is boasting, but who at twenty-three could beat her!

"Hmm." Xu Xianning looked at her, puzzled. "Aren't you entering the Soul Transformation division?"

At this age, reaching the Soul Transformation realm is certainly impressive.

But among Soul Transformation cultivators, in Xu Xianning's eyes, she was very weak.

Chi Jiuyu: "…"

It made perfect sense—she couldn't refute it.

After all, her opponents would be Soul Transformation cultivators.

"Ye Shijie, how did you know I'm entering the Soul Transformation division?"

"Xiao Ke mentioned it."

Oh?

Chi Jiuyu glanced secretly at Li Ke.

She saw Li Ke looking back at her—and smiling.

But…

That smile gave her the creeps.

…

…

Several minutes later, inside the Xiang Jianzong Hall.

In the vast space, identical to the Dao Hall of the Sword Lord's hall, Xu Xing sat at the center, gazing ahead.

Soon, someone entered.

The first to enter had a vacant expression—it was Xu Xianning.

She had now shed her heavy armor and worn a brand-new Xiang Jianzong disciple uniform; her true build was not as muscular as Chi Jiuyu had imagined—slender, graceful, yet still radiating strength.

With her entered Li Ke, as well as Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu.

"Senior—" Chi Jiuyu started to greet.

But Xu Xianning stepped forward quickly and knelt down directly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Disciple pays respects to Master."

Three literal "knock-heads" left Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu stunned.

But soon, something even more chilling happened.

Li Ke also stepped forward two paces, knelt, and then—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three consecutive knocks, each heavier than the last, louder than Xu Xianning's.

Xu Xing: "…"

After all these years, you still have to compete over this.

Of course, the most bewildered were Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu, who had no idea what was going on.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Yunlu asked: "Ye Shijie, should we…?"

Is this some kind of ritual?

"Hmm…"

Chi Jiuyu rubbed the back of her head, then, sensing something was off, rubbed her forehead.

"This…"

Her head's been acting up lately—she didn't want her supreme wisdom to go out like a candle.

!

"Senior Uncle, can we knock our heads lightly when we bow?" Chi Jiuyu called out loudly.

"Enough. This has nothing to do with you."

"Huh?"

So you don't have to kowtow?

Coming to her senses, she quickly pulled Zhang Yunlu aside.

Xu Xianning and Li Ke, who had just been kowtowing loudly on the ground, now stood up as well.

Xu Xing looked at them, then finally fixed his gaze on Xu Xianning: "This breakthrough has no return—when will you begin?"

The Immortal Gate is hard to breach, just like merging with the Dao; how many years it takes is impossible to say.

It could easily be thousands of years wasted.

"Leave the legacy—after the Grand Competition."

"Really give them special training?"

"Mm." Xu Xianning's dull gaze seemed to brighten slightly. "Disciple is foolish; for many years I have failed in my duty as senior sister, never teaching my junior brothers and sisters in their cultivation. But now they each have their own paths to walk—they no longer need my guidance."

She glanced at Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu beside her.

"These two junior sisters are still young; perhaps they can inherit my entire skillset. Even if I fail to breach the Immortal Gate, at least someone will carry on my cultivation—so my life's journey won't have been in vain."

Even as a Dao Ultimate Sovereign, she still had only a single thread of Immortal chance.

Attaining the Dao and becoming Immortal—how difficult it is.

"What bullshit!" Li Ke sneered angrily. "I thought you'd finally gotten a little sane, but you're still mentally broken!"

"I've chased you for all these years just to beat you once—now you want to quit and cheat?"

"You're the master's disciple, yet you lack even this much confidence? Just leave the sect outright—don't shame our name!"

Everything that happened was watched closely by the two beside them.

Though they couldn't hear the voices, they could still roughly tell what was going on.

Why did they start arguing?

Xu Xianning let her rant for a long while, only speaking slowly when Li Ke ran out of breath: "The Immortal Gate is hard to breach..."

She had meant to say something else, but seeing Li Ke's fixed stare, she changed her words.

"Xiao Ke, I'll try harder."

Her tone was very serious.

She had never been eloquent; for her, this was the strongest promise she could make.

"Enough, enough—why make it so tragic?" Xu Xing looked at his two disciples, half-amused, half-frustrated. "Cultivation is one obstacle after another—just relax."

We haven't even started yet.

"Your senior sister has faced countless barriers since she began cultivation—when has she ever failed? All these years, haven't you ever beaten her once?"

Li Ke: "..."

Master, you're really good at comforting others—but please don't ever say anything like that again.

"Alright. When Xianning becomes Immortal, our Xiang Jianzong will have three True Immortals—and we'll have more room to maneuver on certain matters."

"Mm." Xu Xianning gave a slight nod.

Though she had only a single thread of Immortal chance, she still had confidence in herself.

"By the way, aren't you going to give them special training?" Xu Xing said again.

He waved his hand, summoning Chi Jiuyu and Zhang Yunlu—who had been watching like spectators—over to him.

"Right here. With me watching, they'll feel the pain more deeply when they're nearly killed."

The two were still dazed; hearing this, their expressions changed instantly.

What does "feel the pain more deeply when they're nearly killed" mean?

"Uncle Xu, what are you going to do?" Chi Jiuyu asked quickly.

Could it be that the argument got heated, and now they're taking it out on her and Little Yunlu?

"Of course it's special training."

Special training?

"Opportunity is rare—seize it well."

Before they could react, Xu Xing waved again—and all four vanished.

The space, moments ago lively, grew instantly silent.

Long silence.

"Sigh~"

With a soft sigh, Xu Xing flicked his finger, sending a strand of mysterious light that stretched out before him.

In resolving his disciples' psychological issues, he was truly not qualified.

Just like back then, when Jing Hai met his current partner—because he was so slow to understand his own feelings, he came specifically to ask Xu Xing for advice.

The master and disciple studied for hours, yet never grasped the key point.

In the end, Xu Xing cheated—using a tiny bit of True Immortal trickery to solve it.

Thinking of this, Xu Xing felt a headache coming on.

He was no perfect man; on the contrary, he was greedy—and he had to bear the consequences.

From ancient times to now, many things had become clear—they couldn't be escaped—and he couldn't cheat with True Immortal tricks anymore...

Sometimes he truly wondered how Hong Zun's entire family managed to be so "harmonious."

He sighed again inwardly.

Xu Xing suppressed his chaotic thoughts and turned his attention to the mysterious light screen before him.

This time... he'd still blame it on "Dao Wang."

Not long after.

A figure appeared silently and sat down beside him, gazing at the screen as well.

"Are Xian Ning and Xiao Ke giving that rebellious disciple and Yunlu special training?"

"Mm."

…………

Within a boundless, hazy gray space.

Chi Jiuyu looked around curiously for a while, and, finding nothing unusual, felt a pang of disappointment.

It has no character at all! At the very least, it should've had a moon hanging in the Previous Secret Realm!

Of course, just decoration—don't actually bring in the Moon Shadow.

She always felt the Master Uncle's Moon Shadow held a grudge against her…

It must be jealous of her supreme wisdom!

Chi Jiuyu thought of a possible explanation that could convince herself.

Just as she was lost in idle thoughts, the ever-present gray mist thinned slightly, revealing several figures.

Big Sister, Li Shi-jie, and little Yunlu.

Oh oh!

So this is special training.

"Let's begin. I'll 'train' this dead fish." Rolling gray mist gathered and coalesced into a brilliant long sword in Li Ke's hand.

That's not right—I'm the senior disciple of the Sword Lord lineage; I should be fighting Big Sister!

"I want to fight Big…"

Zhum~!

The sword's shrill cry drowned out her words; a brilliant streak of light, brimming with unmatched sharpness, flashed before her eyes in an instant.

The power within it matched precisely Chi Jiuyu's current Soul Transformation early realm!

Damn it!

They just attacked out of nowhere! (End of chapter)