Remould the Glory of Sword Art

The chill behind Lotus Peak was somewhat heavy, and it was not because of the night rain.

The tall figure in the depths of the dense forest slowly took a step forward.

The night was illuminated by firelight.

It was a figure clad in heavy armor, an eerie green flame emanating from the hollow inside its helmet, looking down disdainfully and mockingly at the young man in black before it.

"Zhao Chunyang has been in seclusion for ten years. Nicely said... they call this seclusion. Put less nicely, it has been said throughout the Dachu Dynasty that Zhao Chunyang died ten years ago."

Xie Xuanyi's heart trembled.

He lifted his head expressionlessly, staring at the armored figure before him.

"If Zhao Chunyang were still alive, then from the moment I stepped into the territory of Lotus Peak, I should have been dead."

The armored figure spoke softly, "But I'm sorry, I'm still alive."

Xie Xuanyi slightly frowned, his gaze moving past the armored figure, looking up into the higher skies.

Pure Yang Sect Leader is in seclusion.

The Sword Qi Decree is held in the hands of Tongtian Law Enforcement... Unless something unexpected happened, the entire Da Sui Sword Palace should be within the "surveillance" of Tongtian Law Enforcement, where every movement and even the passing of insects should not escape his perception.

"You must be wondering, with the Sect Leader in seclusion and the Da Sui Sword Palace's Sword Qi Decree controlled by the Law Enforcer, why did Tongtian Law Enforcement's Sword Intent perceive nothing?"

The armored figure smiled and said, "I can only say... people in this world, no matter how meticulous or strict, also make mistakes. Even a Yang God is no exception. Today's cancellation of the great competition, such an important matter, and he doesn't even show his face, is he really that busy? A being of such realm as Tongtian, just leaving a wisp of Divine Thought, would be able to surveil everything in the Sword Palace... What exactly is so important that he can't spare even a thread of Divine Thought?"

The feebly flickering flame in the dark forest wavered momentarily.

"It is said that behind Golden Turtle Peak, there lies a troublesome 'thing' that is naturally unruly and extremely hard to tame; even Zhao Tongtian spent half his life and could not fully tame it. Every so often, fierce Sword Intent bursts forth from the peak... Occasionally, it even harms the innocent."

The armored figure spoke with a smile, "Have you noticed? There are several less Law Enforcers from Golden Turtle Peak today."

"You seem to know quite a bit about the Sword Palace."

Xie Xuanyi stared intently at the armored figure before him.

"The world is just so vast, and there are so many secrets."

The man in armor spoke gently, "Compared to the Sword Palace... I'm more curious about you."

"In the case files of the Qing State upheaval, you entered the Beihai Ling to pacify the disturbance for Chen Jingxuan, directly saving Baihua Valley, indirectly saving the entire Lichao City."

"But if you carefully check, you will find..."

"The records of your involvement in this action were destroyed, leaving only the section about Lichao City."

The voice of the armored figure showed a hint of confusion for the first time.

He tilted his head slightly, scrutinizing the youth before him, "The library acts meticulously... If Chen Jingxuan really needed you, a Dark Child, to appear in the public eye, why pick 'Qing State upheaval'? He could have let you handle a series of trivial cases six months earlier, posing as a Deputy Director of Imperial City."

The identity of Deputy Director of Imperial City is the best cover.

Jiang Qihu is the Deputy Director of Imperial City, and arranging any Dark Child to infiltrate is within reason.

And this Xie Zhen...

Appears as a sudden, blunt short-bladed sword thrust into the Dachu Dynasty.

With no warning, no symbolism.

One day, suddenly appearing, held by Chen Jingxuan, stabbing towards Qing State, thereafter revealing its sharpness.

"Your appearance doesn't seem like Chen Jingxuan's style."

The armored figure slowly sighed and said, "Until tonight, I didn't understand... why Chen Jingxuan would make such an arrangement."

"Do you understand now?"

Xie Xuanyi listened to the armored figure speak while rubbing a stick with his fingertips, the tiny wood shavings falling off, the tip of the stick being sharpened into a sword.

"I understand, but also not quite."

The man in armor earnestly said, "I only know... with Chen Jingxuan's methods, no one should entirely understand."

"You've said quite a bit; shouldn't it be my turn now?"

Xie Xuanyi gently blew a breath, sweeping the dead splinters from the stick, satisfied, he twisted the stick and then focused again on the armored figure before him.

From the first glance, he noticed the hollows deep within the helmet of the armored figure.

"Your mechanical techniques are commendable, being able to control a puppet from tens of miles away to track, you must have been immersed in this technique for at least thirty years."

Xie Xuanyi spoke softly, "Indeed, there aren't many secrets in the world, but very few people know them in such detail. Since you are so certain that the Golden Turtle Peak Law Enforcer cannot spare any Divine Thought, why don't you dare to meet in person? Because you're afraid to step into the Da Sui Sword Palace, knowing that if any flaw arises, it would be disastrous, so you use mechanical techniques to create diversions, at least allowing for an escape for your life..."

"Hehe..."

The armored figure laughed, offering no denial.

"To smuggle such a huge suit of armor into the Sword Palace is not easy; that's a good idea, after all, the Law Enforcer of the Sword Palace wouldn't normally pay attention to a piece of dead matter."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his gaze and suddenly asked, "Did you come in with the Jiangning delegation?"

As the words 'Jiangning delegation' were spoken,

The smile on the armored figure ceased abruptly.

The flickering flame suddenly grew more intense.

"Guessed right, huh."

Xie Xuanyi chuckled, "Who sent you to kill me, Xie Sheng? Or is it someone behind the Xie family..."

His voice was interrupted.

In the depths of the forest, the armored figure suddenly moved, appearing in front of Xie Xuanyi in an instant.

With a "boom"!

The gigantic armored figure threw a punch!

Xie Xuanyi remained calm, not retreating but advancing instead, trading a punch with the armored figure!

The two fists collided, the armored figure merely stepping back three steps, whereas Xie Xuanyi was forced back ten steps.

Xie Xuanyi looked down at his fist.

The reason for the disadvantage in that punch was not a disparity in strength.

Instead, these past few days, he had attempted to follow the method of the Wangyou Island Master, closing major apertures, expelling the Primordial Fire, igniting the meridians, and advancing to Golden Body.

This method was indeed somewhat harmful to the body.

"Pseudo Golden Body Realm, just an Xie Xuanyi disciple, nothing more."

The armored figure scoffed, "The people outside think too highly of you, even if you survive until tomorrow, you are no match for Xie Sheng."

"…"

Xie Xuanyi shook his hand and asked with a smile, "Do you think I won't live till tomorrow?"

The warrior in black armor shook his head and said seriously, "It's not a possibility, but a certainty!"

The next moment.

The warrior in black armor charged again, but this time, he did not throw a punch.

As mentioned before—

To kill someone within the Da Sui Sword Palace, one must escape the sensory detection of the Sword Palace's Law Enforcement. Today, by coincidence, with the blessing of "perfect timing, location, and harmony," this meeting was made possible.

Even so.

To kill Xie Zhen, he had to be quick!

Quicker!

Even quicker!

If he delayed, the Divine Thought of the Sword Palace's Law Enforcement could descend at any moment!

The Yang God Realm differs vastly from other realms... Even at the peak of the Yin God Realm, one cannot even begin to compare with the Yang God.

Perhaps just a thread of Divine Thought.

This seemingly indestructible iron armor could be turned to ashes in an instant!

Therefore, he had no time for a lengthy fight of three hundred rounds with Xie Zhen, nor did he intend to engage in a prolonged battle... The initial punch was just to test the physical condition of Xie Zhen.

After realizing it was a pseudo-Golden Body Realm.

There was no need for further trouble.

Xie Xuanyi steadied his feet, narrowed his eyes, and faced the fierce wind and rain. The towering figure in black armor, previously several yards away, instantly obscured his entire field of vision. The figure spread its arms, intending to embrace Xie Zhen along with the whole surroundings within three feet.

At that moment, the sharpened dry wood branch suddenly thrust out!

With a 'hiss'!

The formerly impenetrable black armor was punctured straight through, and a massive blaze erupted!

Mechanical techniques controlling the puppet impose many limitations.

Ultimately.

This magic is akin to talisman magic, almost like cousins.

Once the puppet is destroyed, it's as if the talisman paper is torn; the only outcome is the collapse of the mechanisms and the falling apart of the formation.

This thrust of the sword.

The balance of the towering black armor was instantly disrupted, tilting to one side—

Immediately following, Xie Xuanyi lightning-fast delivered a second, third, and fourth thrust of his sword.

The sword qi burst forth like a torrential downpour from the dry wood branch!

The towering figure in black armor, with its chest wide open, forcibly withstood all the stabbed sword qi. Its "throat" emitted a low roar, each burst of sword qi pushing it backwards, but under the control of a will-less mind, the towering black armor erupted with unprecedented strength, forcefully bearing the rapidly exploding dense clash of impacts, and stepped forward largely!

Mechanical puppets cannot feel pain.

Its broad arms still aimed to clasp Xie Xuanyi—

"Bang bang bang bang bang!"

The continuous sword qi burst forth from the tip of the branch, piercing through the black armor and shattering the rain curtain, but this incessant sound suddenly ceased.

The sword qi from the dry wood branch had poked hundreds of holes through the black armor puppet, nearly turning it into a hedgehog!

Due to the decision to stand firm and attack aggressively, Xie Xuanyi did not retreat.

If the sword qi did not shatter the black armor.

Then there was only one outcome left—

Xie Xuanyi was tightly "locked" in the embrace by those broad, hard iron arms.

"Your swordsmanship is not bad, indeed bearing a shadow of Xie Xuanyi."

From inside the empty black armor helmet, a cold voice sounded.

"But it's just not bad."

The distance between the two faces was merely a hair's breadth.

"…"

Xie Xuanyi silently stared at the firelight within the helmet, this group of void light gradually spreading through the iron helmet towards him, scalding his skin, just like the Primordial Fire that had been clogging within his body for many days.

"But I am sorry to say, I mentioned earlier… I am not afraid to die."

The black armored figure cracked a smile and said, "Now... it's your turn."

Boom boom.

Under the dual effects of Mechanical Techniques and talisman, this extremely hot Primordial Fire began to boil, emitting a low wail. The massive Primordial Fire flowed like rivers beneath the black armor helmet and from such a close distance, Xie Xuanyi heard the intense sounds of the fire surging like blood, continuously gathering and expanding, breaking through the barriers, converging towards the heart of nothingness.

In the end, it exploded!

The blazing, resplendent Primordial Fire exploded in the most secluded and quiet backwoods of Lotus Peak.

The black armored figure did not hesitate for a moment; the moment it caught Xie Zhen, it chose to detonate itself.

This was its "purpose" for coming here tonight.

However...

The black armored figure didn't quite understand.

Why the young man embraced into its arms seemed somewhat distracted, lost in thought.

In the final moment of the Primordial Fire explosion.

Xie Xuanyi slightly looked back, regretfully gazing at the mountain wall behind emanating a faint silver light.

Until the end.

The person he had always wanted to see never appeared.

...

...

(PS: 1, I apologize, another thrilling feint. 2, There will still be three more releases today, please give a monthly vote.)