The moment the Sword Ancestor's will snapped into place, the entire Sanctuary trembled as though ancient laws were being rewritten. The air sharpened—literally. Every particle vibrated like a blade.
Even the Abyssal Hunter's steps halted.
For the first time since emerging, it did not advance.
Yun Xi's breath caught. "That aura… the First Sword Ancestor—the one who once destroyed four heavens in a single night…"
The silver-haired girl clasped her hands over her heart, her voice shaking. "Xiao Wang… his eyes…"
They were no longer merely golden.
They were sword-light—pure, merciless, unstoppable.
Xiao Wang's posture straightened. His shoulders lifted with a poise that belonged not to a cultivator, not to a mortal, but to a sovereign who once commanded the sword dao at its absolute peak.
When he spoke, the words were quiet.
But they cut through everything.
"Your kind always disgusted me."
The Abyssal Hunter tilted its head. Its void-like eyes pulsed.
"New soul-signature detected. Class: Primordial Sword Lineage. Threat level: High. Adjusting data."
It raised its arm.
The First Sword Ancestor responded instantly.
A single step.
A single breath.
A single sword intent.
The air split.
The Hunter froze mid-movement. Not because it chose to—but because reality around its arm had been severed. The creature slowly looked down.
Two of its fingers dropped to the floor.
Cleanly sliced.
The silver-haired girl gasped. "He… he cut it without swinging the sword!"
Yun Xi whispered, voice trembling with awe and fear, "This is the Sword Domain. Even existence cannot hide from his intent."
The Hunter analyzed the injury silently.
"Damage source identified. Spatial vector severance. Probability of threat elimination rising."
It raised its other arm.
The void in its eyes deepened.
"Solution: Remove target instantly."
But Xiao Wang—no, the Sword Ancestor—was already gone.
He appeared directly in front of the Hunter, sword lowered, gaze emotionless.
"You mimic strength," the Ancestor said. "But you do not understand it."
The Devouring Sword trembled, as though recognizing its original master.
Sword qi surged outward—silent, cold, impossible to track.
Lines of transparent cuts flashed across the Hunter's body.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
The silver-haired girl clutched Yun Xi. "Is he… is he even swinging?"
Yun Xi shook her head. "At this level, he doesn't need to swing. His intention alone is a sword."
The Hunter evaluated quickly.
"New conclusion: You are not the target. You are the carrier. Eliminating you accomplishes nothing. Removing the underlying soul will—"
The Sword Ancestor's eyes narrowed.
"You speak too much."
He tapped the ground.
Sword light erupted throughout the entire Sanctuary.
For a moment, everything turned silver.
The Abyssal Hunter staggered as its body split in a dozen places.
But it didn't fall.
No.
It adapted.
Black veins lit up across its skin—glowing stronger, brighter.
The Hunter's body repaired itself at a terrifying rate, the cuts sealing over with abyssal matter.
"Adaptation complete."
Xiao Wang's head tilted slightly, expression sharpening.
"Ah… you evolve. Annoying."
The Hunter lunged.
Faster.
Stronger.
Deadlier.
But the Sword Ancestor lifted a single finger.
A spark of sword light ignited at its tip.
Yun Xi's face went pale. "No… that technique—he'll destroy half the Sanctuary!"
The Ancestor ignored her warning.
"To kill a creature that adapts," he murmured, "you must kill what it cannot comprehend."
He pointed.
The tiny spark expanded.
A sword mark appeared—thin, delicate, beautiful.
The Hunter sensed danger.
Its voice contorted. "Unquantifiable attack detected. Cannot—"
The spark exploded.
No sound followed.
Just absence.
The Hunter's left arm vanished.
Its torso vanished.
The portal behind it cracked.
Half the Sanctuary dimmed.
The silver-haired girl fell to her knees. "He erased it… he erased it completely…"
But the Sword Ancestor did not celebrate.
His eyes narrowed.
"Not enough."
The Hunter's flesh writhed.
The missing parts reformed.
Piece by piece.
Regenerating from the darkness of the portal—it wasn't repairing itself.
It was absorbing more abyssal power.
"New directive," the Hunter announced. "Eliminate Sword Fragment first."
It appeared behind Xiao Wang.
Its claw descended—
Xiao Wang turned slightly.
He did not lift his sword.
He simply exhaled.
The space around him froze.
The claw stopped inches from his head, trembling violently.
The Hunter strained. "Cannot… break… domain…"
The Ancestor raised his hand again.
"You are a mistake Heaven made," he said softly. "I correct mistakes."
He swung.
No light.
No sound.
Only finality.
The Hunter's body split from crown to foot, collapsing into two perfect halves.
They began reforming immediately.
The Sovereign did not allow it.
He placed his foot on the ground.
A domain surged outward, devouring the reforming fragments.
But this was not Xiao Wang's devouring energy.
This was the Sword Ancestor's absolute suppression—a rule that commanded:
"What has been cut… cannot return."
The pieces evaporated.
The portal trembled violently—its stabilizing power unraveling.
Xiao Wang's consciousness stirred beneath the Sword Ancestor's will.
"Enough," Xiao Wang whispered inside. "If this continues, my body won't hold…"
The Ancestor sighed with irritation.
"You're too fragile."
But he withdrew.
Power slipped away like a tide.
Xiao Wang collapsed to one knee, gasping as his own consciousness returned.
Yun Xi rushed to him. "Xiao Wang!"
The silver-haired girl fell beside him. "Are you alright? Did he… overtake you?"
Xiao Wang shook his head slowly, sweat dripping down his jaw.
"He… helped. But my body can't sustain him for long."
His bones throbbed. His veins burned.
His cultivation trembled violently.
[Cultivation Rise Detected]
[Core Formation Realm — Early Stage → Mid Stage]
The portal flickered one last time and shattered into nothing.
Silence fell.
The Abyssal Hunter was gone.
But Yun Xi's expression did not relax.
"Xiao Wang…" she whispered, voice laced with fear.
"That was only the first Hunter."
The silver-haired girl froze.
Xiao Wang clenched his fist.
"How many more are coming?"
Yun Xi lowered her gaze.
"Heaven sent the weakest one first."
Xiao Wang's heart tightened.
The weakest?
Then—
Yun Xi met his eyes.
"There are nine more."
And then she added quietly, almost broken:
"And the last three… even the old you feared."