2025-12-23 23:21:07
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
461: No Rest for the Breathing
Back to Kai.At the moment, he was bent slightly forward, hands braced against his knees, panting as he stared at the dead beast lying sprawled on the scorched ground before him. Its massive body twitched once… then went completely still, dust slowly settling around it like the world itself was finally catching its breath.Kai sucked in air through his teeth and straightened with effort.“Damn…” he muttered hoarsely.It had taken him far more effort than he wanted to admit. Not minutes. Not a quick burst of brute force. Hours. Actual, painful, brain-melting hours of fighting, dodging, recalculating, punching, retreating, and repeating the whole miserable cycle again and again.He rolled his shoulders, feeling the lingering ache deep inside his bones.This took longer than yesterday, he thought bitterly. At this rate, tomorrow I’ll be fighting a rock and it’ll still take me half a day to win.He glanced at the corpse again, then snorted quietly.“At least you had the decency to die,” h
460: Beyond the Gate
Though Abigail was confused, wondering what exactly was happening and what kind of place she had just stepped into, she still walked deeper past the gate without hesitation. The moment her foot crossed fully into the space beyond, the world behind her seemed to seal itself off, the towering gate fading from her awareness as though it had never existed in the first place.What greeted her made her slow to a stop.Beyond the gate was not a battlefield and not a valley of corpses.Not endless sword lights clashing in the air like she had half-expected after everything Zora had said.Instead, it was… a settlement.Rows upon rows of houses stretched out before her, arranged neatly along stone paths that twisted and branched like veins. The houses varied in size and style, some were small and simple, others looked ancient and grand, their roofs curved like drawn blades, their walls etched with faint sword patterns worn smooth by time. Every house carried a presence, subtle but sharp, as if
459: The Valley Responds
Three hours passed in what felt like a single breath.Abigail remained seated, unmoving, her posture straight and steady, her breathing slow and even. Sweat rolled down her temples, soaking into the ground beneath her, yet she didn’t stir. Her mind was locked inward, repeating the same truth again and again, not loudly, not desperately, but with calm certainty.I am a sword.At first, nothing happened.Then something shifted.A faint pressure stirred around her, subtle enough to be missed by anyone less sensitive. The air around her body tightened, as though invisible lines were being drawn and sharpened. Her presence changed, no longer soft, no longer merely human. There was an edge to her now, restrained but unmistakable.Suddenly... Hummm...The sword resting across her lap trembled.It wasn’t violent and it wasn’t chaotic. It was a gentle vibration, like a blade waking from sleep. The sound was low and steady, carrying a resonance that spread outward in ripples.The guardian’s eye
458: Sword Intent.
If Abigail had known what this place truly was, shock would have been the least of her reactions.This valley was not some random death zone, nor was it merely a training ground meant to temper cultivators through danger. It was an inheritance site, one of the core legacies of the realm they were currently in. A place designed by ancient sword cultivators for one singular purpose to guide, and not to destroy.Normally, the rules here were clear and unbreakable.Those who entered would be assessed.The guardians would match their strength.They would be guided step by step, never pushed beyond what their bodies or minds could endure.Once a cultivator reached the limit of what their current realm allowed, they would be stopped politely, told they had reached the end of their path for now, and escorted out. No crippling injuries, no near-death lessons and no cruelty.This valley was never meant to break people.But then Zora had arrived.And Zora had rewritten the rules.She didn’t nego
457: A Thousand Blades Without a Sword
On Abigail’s side, the world felt different.She stood at the edge of the valley, staring down into its depths, and sighed softly. The air here was heavier, carrying a faint metallic scent mixed with dust and something ancient that made her instincts prickle. She wasn’t sure if this place was truly a death valley in the literal sense, but one thing was undeniable .. this was not a good place.Not for the weak and not for the careless.The moment she took her first step forward, the scenery shifted.With a low, grinding sound, a massive gate materialized before her eyes as if it had always been there, simply hidden from unworthy sight. It was tall, old, and scarred by countless battles, its surface etched with faded sword marks that spoke of challengers who had come before her. Some likely walked out stronger. Others… perhaps not at all.Standing before the gate was a man.He looked filthy, almost laughably so. His clothes were tattered, his hair unkempt, his beard wild and uneven. Dus
446: Resolve, and Training
With the beast standing guard beside her, Emily slowly regained consciousness.Her lashes fluttered first, then her fingers twitched against the cold forest floor. Pain followed next, dull, throbbing, and everywhere but it was no longer sharp enough to drag her back into darkness. The creature she’d nicknamed Trouble was crouched nearby, its body tense, eyes sharp, ears flicking at every sound in the forest as if daring anything foolish enough to come closer.For a moment, Emily just lay there, staring up through the broken canopy of leaves and branches, watching sunlight pierce through in thin golden lines. She was alive.That alone felt like an achievement.After about an hour, strength slowly returned to her limbs. She pushed herself up with a quiet grunt, wincing as sore muscles protested the movement. The battlefield around her was still stained with violence, trampled earth, broken shrubs, and the massive corpse of the beast she had killed earlier, already beginning to cool.She
You may also like
TRILLIONAIRE ON TOP
Sweet savage221.9K viewsThe Hidden Successor In Disguise
SHIROE77.7K viewsReturn of the Powerful Young Master
AFM3189.0K viewsThe Secret Billionaire Son-in-law
Perry will88.6K viewsTHE RETURN OF THE TRILLIONAIRE HEIR
Aura Lyr1.1K viewsTHE ALOGORITHM OF POWER, MOP AND DAGGER
Healing-Pen382 viewsRise Of The Broken Son In Law
Dhellymilly275 viewsThe Rise of John Raymond
Emmy write6.2K views