A sword that cuts the future!
The woman’s eyes brimmed with disbelief and terror!
What did it mean to cut the future?
It meant someone had swung a sword in this moment, yet that strike reached into the future, slaying someone who’d come back to this point!
The very idea was mind-boggling!
But not impossible!
Beside her, the man’s eyes also filled with incredulity. Panic crept in.
*A sword that cuts the future!*
Clearly, Gu Di and his crew had provoked someone they shouldn’t have!
The woman suddenly turned to the man. “Mu You, let’s go!”
Her voice fell, and she vanished!
Erased outright!
Mu You, the man, stood silent for a moment before turning to leave.
He didn’t head straight back—he had to investigate this place thoroughly. A location with such a supreme powerhouse, one who’d clashed with Gu Di—if they traced Gu Di back to the Demon Vein…
He had to get answers!
It wasn’t hard to investigate, really. The Zhouyuan Realm had just seen major upheaval.
Soon, Mu You found clues.
In a city, he studied a scroll, lost in thought.
Ye Xuan!
From the Tianqi Clan, he’d learned Gu Di’s death tied to a youth named Ye Xuan.
More precisely, someone behind Ye Xuan had killed Gu Di!
As for who, only Tian Yan, the Tianqi Clan’s leader, knew details—and she’d left Zhouyuan. Ye Xuan had departed shortly after.
Mu You murmured after a long silence, “Ye Xuan… the king of backers…”
He rose and left.
He’d pieced it together.
As for revenge—that wasn’t his call!
—
*Inside Little Pagoda.*
Time trickled by as Ye Xuan sat in meditation, still as an ancient monk.
*Entering the circle!*
His path differed from others—he’d entered a circle. Breaking it was impossible for him now. Even his father and大哥 couldn’t shatter Qing’er’s circle.
His task was simple: familiarize himself with it.
What was Qing’er’s Dao?
Lately, Ye Xuan had pondered this, only to realize her Dao was too profound!
Or rather, she’d transcended Dao itself.
She had no Dao!
As she’d once said, she no longer knew the extent of her own strength!
No worldly measure could describe her power!
In short: don’t ask how strong she is—just know she’s invincible!
*Invincible!*
Ye Xuan’s eyes lit up.
Could invincibility be a Dao?
*Invincible!*
He suddenly asked, “Little Pagoda, do you think invincibility is a Dao?”
He didn’t really want to ask this unreliable tower, but he had no one else.
Little Pagoda paused, then said, “I’m just a tower!”
Ye Xuan’s expression froze.
It added abruptly, “I think… maybe!”
Ye Xuan pressed, “How does one become invincible?”
After a pause, Little Pagoda replied, “Little master, if I knew, you’d be my little master, not the other way around!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Little Pagoda asked, “Are you veering onto some crooked path again?”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened. “Crooked path? I think Qing’er’s Dao is the Dao of invincibility. If so, I can pursue that too!”
Little Pagoda paused, then said, “Little master, now I’m a bit worried!”
Ye Xuan frowned. “Why?”
Little Pagoda explained, “Tianming-jie’s invincibility is real. Yours… it’s mostly bluster. I’m scared you’ll overdo it and get yourself killed!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Little Pagoda said earnestly, “Little master, bluster’s risky—tread carefully!”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened further. “Little Pagoda, we’re not talking bluster—we’re discussing how to be invincible!”
Little Pagoda replied coolly, “Your invincibility—isn’t that just bluster?”
Ye Xuan: “…”
It added, “But I think you could give it a shot!”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “Invincibility—I think momentum’s key! Back in Qing City, fighting, sometimes I was weaker, but no one dared cross me among the young generation. Why? I fought hard, risked it all—they might’ve been stronger, but my momentum crushed theirs!”
Little Pagoda said solemnly, “Little master, you were pretty formidable back then! Especially in Qing City—though I wasn’t with you, I know! You fought, you dared, relied on yourself. But after meeting Tianming-jie and the master… you took the second-gen road of no return. Sigh, fate’s a twist! I’ve always thought, if they hadn’t stepped in…”
It paused, then corrected, “No, wait—without backers, you’d have been beaten to death long ago!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Little Pagoda continued, “Keep cultivating, little master! I’m done striving. Next time I see Tianming-jie, I’ll ask her to tweak me again—not functions this time, but strength! Make me badass! I’m over struggling—lying back and winning feels great!”
Ye Xuan’s face blackened.
Little Pagoda was done for!
Since Qing’er’s tweak, it had gotten cocky and addicted to coasting…
Ignoring it, Ye Xuan pressed on with his insight.
He had a direction now!
*Invincibility!*
He’d aim for it—whether he achieved true invincibility didn’t matter, but he’d at least wield its momentum!
*Momentum!*
Another key point clicked.
A year later, Ye Xuan stood amid clouds, eyes closed. After an hour, they snapped open. His left thumb flicked, unsheathing his sword an inch. A mighty sword momentum surged from him, instantly vaporizing clouds within tens of thousands of li.
*Momentum!*
Not just any momentum—sword momentum!
His aura and sword force were unmatched!
Little Pagoda murmured, “Little master… this feels kinda legit!”
Ye Xuan said softly, “Momentum! That’s my next direction!”
Since entering Qing’er’s circle, he’d been lost.
How to proceed?
He’d wrestled with that question!
Qing’er’s circle was infinitely vast, and he knew little of her strength or Dao. As the first to enter it, he’d been adrift!
But now, he’d found a path!
*Momentum!*
I may not be invincible, but I’ll have momentum—or courage!
The enemy might be stronger, I might not win—but I’ll dare to fight, to draw my sword.
Losing’s one thing; not daring to fight is another!
In war, too, momentum mattered. His goal was simple: cultivate an invincible momentum.
He knew his “invincibility” wasn’t literal—it was a presence, a belief.
Was this path right? He couldn’t tell. His road diverged from others—they could break circles; he couldn’t. His future depended on groping forward alone!
Moments later, his thumb pressed harder.
*Shnk!*
The Qingxuan Sword unsheathed!
*Buzz!*
A sword hum echoed through the tower, splitting space for hundreds of thousands of li!
Little Pagoda yelped, “Little master, easy!”
Ye Xuan grinned sheepishly. He’d forgotten this was the tower’s world. Qing’er had upgraded its functions, not its durability—though those functions were already absurd!
He eyed the cracked world around him, a smile spreading.
It worked!
This momentum and sword force boosted his combat power—massively! And there was room to grow. Mastered, this strike’s power would be terrifying!
Soon, he left the tower, entering an unknown spacetime. Glancing around, he closed his eyes.
His blood began to simmer!
*Momentum!*
He’d hone it to perfection!
Stillness, then thunderous action!
He’d rouse his bloodline power—one of his greatest trump cards!
In the field, Ye Xuan stood, eyes shut, aura gone. He suppressed all his power, momentum, and bloodline force.
After a long while, his eyes snapped open. His thumb flicked.
The sword unsheathed!
*Boom!*
A colossal momentum and sword force erupted, obliterating the mysterious spacetime within hundreds of thousands of li around him!
*Erased!*
Wiped out by his momentum!
Little Pagoda whispered, “Little master… this is pretty badass!”
Ye Xuan laughed, his smile radiant. This proved his path was right!
That strike was a life-or-death blow— not his old drawing style. No stacking, yet it outdid his past strikes. The old move relied on raw burst; this one did too, but its speed was dozens of times faster!
He looked at the Qingxuan Sword, murmuring, “I’ll call this ‘Moment of Life and Death.’ One swing, and the enemy’s fate is sealed in an instant…”
