What was happening now, in truth, wasn't hard to understand.
Gu Chengming had no sword in hand, and the rules of this place permitted only sword techniques to be performed. Since he couldn't summon an ordinary Dharma Sword, he simply turned his gaze toward Senior Arnold — the one the system had judged could be swung.
Senior Arnold's reaction, however, turned out to be rather unexpected.
The moment she was drawn back into this domain, her first reaction was excitement.
— She seemed to genuinely want to give Jiahao Sovereign a beating.
Jiahao Sovereign clearly hadn't expected this turn of events either, but he was a man who'd weathered every storm, and he adapted quickly. "Young friend," he said with a smile, "this trial belongs to sword techniques alone. Even if you've called Fellow Daoist Arnold in here, she can't help you."
Jiahao Sovereign apparently assumed Gu Chengming meant to have Arnold fight in his place, and had used some strange method to summon her here for that purpose.
Arnold, it seemed, thought the same thing.
"Enough talk, Jiahao — take this!"
Arnold pulled her hand free from Gu Chengming's grip and, without another word, drove a fist straight at Jiahao Sovereign's head.
Jiahao Sovereign caught the punch effortlessly with one hand, then tossed Arnold aside as casually as if he were humoring a child.
"Fellow Daoist Arnold, the rules of this place won't let you use your fists."
Jiahao Sovereign said this with an easy smile. Arnold, thrown aside, was thoroughly unwilling to accept it — she yelped and charged again, only to be toyed with once more and sent flying, landing right in front of Gu Chengming.
Jiahao Sovereign turned to Gu Chengming, his expression settling back into that easy, in-command composure. "Young friend, the rule here is that you conjure a sword with your own mind. There's no clever workaround."
"Within this place, only sword techniques, the sword, and the swordsman himself can exist."
Even as he spoke, Jiahao Sovereign seemed to suddenly realize something, and his words cut off abruptly.
— That's right. Within this place, only sword techniques, the sword, and the swordsman himself could exist.
So how, then, was Arnold able to exist here at all?
He'd been thrown off track the whole time by the question of why Gu Chengming had summoned Arnold in the first place, and only now did it strike him — the method Gu Chengming had used to call her in wasn't the point at all.
The point was: once Arnold was inside, what let her go on existing in a domain that permitted only swords?
In the next instant, as though answering that very question, Gu Chengming turned to Arnold and spoke in a lowered voice.
"Senior Arnold, I have a plan — one that would let you help me beat Jiahao Sovereign."
Arnold blinked in confusion at first, and then Gu Chengming began transmitting his reasoning to her through voice-transmission.
The gist of it: a body cultivator's own body was the ultimate weapon — and since normal techniques couldn't be used here, only a sword —
given that predicament, wasn't Senior Arnold's own body the best sword there was?
The more Arnold listened, the brighter her eyes grew, until by the end she'd been thoroughly talked into it, utterly lost. She thrust out her chest.
"Little Gu, let's do this!"
That full-throated shout swept away every last trace of the humiliation she'd just suffered.
Jiahao Sovereign was already a little dazed, because the scene he'd imagined bore no resemblance to what was unfolding before him now.
By all rights, the most conventional way to break this sword-technique trial should have been for Gu Chengming to simply focus his mind and condense a sword of pure will from his own spirit soul.
Even taking a wilder approach, at most he might exploit some sword formula's special property for a shortcut. But this fellow before him did neither — he neither condensed a sword nor sought any clever trick, but instead dragged along an ancient body-cultivator Sovereign, squaring up as though he meant to wield her as a weapon outright.
The idea was, frankly, unhinged.
Setting aside whether the method would even work, just picturing the scene in his head was enough to strike Jiahao Sovereign as bizarre.
But in the next instant, an image of tremendous impact appeared right before his eyes.
Or perhaps 'image' wasn't quite the word — because the actual shockwave had already reached his face.
Gu Chengming reached out and took a firm grip on Arnold's ankle.
Then, with a burst of strength, he hoisted the body of the cultivation world's foremost body cultivator into the air.
[Swing]
The instant that line flashed past the bottom of Gu Chengming's vision, Arnold's entire body became a streak of light wrapped in tremendous vital force, sweeping straight for Jiahao Sovereign's head.
Jiahao Sovereign raised his sword to block on pure instinct. The Dharma Sword and Arnold's body collided with a dull, thunderous crash.
In the next instant, Jiahao Sovereign was sent flying backward by the sheer unreasonable brute force of the blow, his feet plowing a long furrow through the pale golden space.
— What the hell was that thing?!
His sword had clearly held her body in check squarely enough — but Shatter Myriad Laws's authority was precisely this outrageous: given enough raw force, it could smash any Dharma-Station rule to pieces. Add to that Arnold's own body, already an indestructible body-cultivator's physique, now swung by Gu Chengming like a sword, and the combination of her tremendous vital force with the might of Shatter Myriad Laws hit like a dump truck plowing through tofu.
The subtlety of sword techniques, the harmony of sword intent, the profundity of Dharma-Stations — none of it meant a thing before power this pure.
Jiahao Sovereign had barely steadied himself when Gu Chengming was already closing in again.
Gripping Arnold's ankle, he swung sideways. Arnold traced an arc through midair, still shouting excitedly, "Why are you dodging? Stand still and let me smash you!"
Jiahao Sovereign gritted his teeth and swung his sword to parry. This time he'd learned his lesson — rather than meeting the blow head-on, he tried to use his sword intent to deflect the brute force instead.
But the force was so overwhelming it left him no room to deflect anything. Arnold's body slammed into the blade, and the golden Dharma Sword let out a groan of protest, straining under the weight. Jiahao Sovereign felt a sharp pain shoot through the web of his hand, his whole arm jolted numb.
Gu Chengming gave him no chance to catch his breath.
He shifted his footing, his figure slipping ghostlike around to Jiahao Sovereign's rear flank, and swung Arnold upward in a savage rising strike.
The strike was fast and vicious — Jiahao Sovereign couldn't dodge in time and took it square on the shoulder, sent flying once more, tumbling through the air several times before he managed to steady himself.
He stood there disheveled, a rare look of pained amusement rising on his face.
— He, the mighty Jiahao Sovereign, who had dominated an entire era, whose proven Dharma-Station spanned several main trunks, who had fought countless battles in his life — when had he ever imagined that one day he'd be chased across the sky and pummeled with the body of an ancient Sovereign wielded like a club?
Worse still, sword techniques were useless against Arnold's indestructible body, and Dharma-Station rules were utterly countered by Shatter Myriad Laws's crude 'enough force breaks anything' logic. For all his heaven-spanning mastery, he'd been reduced to a village tutor chased around by an unruly child wielding a stick, left with nothing to do but keep retreating.
Gu Chengming's assault grew ever more relentless. Gripping Arnold's ankle, he wheeled and darted through the pale golden space, one strike after another, each nothing but the crudest, most brutal sweeps and smashes. There was no finesse to any of it — and yet this plain, unadorned 'swinging' was precisely what left Jiahao Sovereign, a man whose Dharma-Stations spanned so many branches and who had dominated an entire era, flustered and scrambling.
Jiahao Sovereign finally couldn't take it anymore. "Fellow Daoist Arnold, you're a Seventh Realm Sovereign too — being wielded like a sword, don't you feel—"
Before he could finish, the "sword" in Gu Chengming's hand came smashing down again.
Jiahao Sovereign shut his mouth at once and sidestepped, just barely dodging clear.
With his words cut off mid-sentence, Jiahao Sovereign finally understood — hoping to talk this "sword" into going on strike with a few well-placed words was nothing but wishful thinking.
Far from feeling insulted, Arnold only threw herself in with more enthusiasm, her delighted expression like she'd stumbled onto some tremendous fun.
He gave up on talking after that, and put all his focus into simply enduring this absurd beating.
By the fight's end, Jiahao Sovereign was gasping for breath. Gu Chengming spotted an opening, shot upward with sudden force, and brought Arnold's body crashing down from midair with all his might.
This strike gathered the full authority of Shatter Myriad Laws, carrying vital force so overwhelming it seemed ready to smash straight through the very fabric of the Dharma-Station space, falling directly onto Jiahao Sovereign's head.
Jiahao Sovereign looked up at the golden streak of light plummeting toward him with overwhelming force and knew there was no way he could withstand this one.
He let out a long sigh, sheathed his sword, and simply let the blow fall.
After the thunderous crash, the pale golden space shook violently, countless threads of light — past and future alike — scattering and flying apart.
Jiahao Sovereign knelt on one knee where he stood, his Dharma Sword long since knocked from his grip and nowhere to be seen, the golden radiance around him dimmed by more than half, his face full of an indescribable frustration.
Gu Chengming landed steadily before him, still holding an excited girl by the ankle.
Hanging upside down, Arnold's eyes shone with unfulfilled excitement as she bared her teeth at Jiahao Sovereign. "Well? Convinced now?"
Kneeling on the ground, Jiahao Sovereign stared at the man and his "sword," fell silent for a long moment, and finally said, resigned, "All right, young friend. You win."
Jiahao Sovereign never could have imagined that after dominating an entire era, he would end up defeated in such a bizarre fashion.
Yet he found himself genuinely coming to appreciate Gu Chengming.
There was no question that Gu Chengming's utterly unconventional methods had struck exactly the right chord with him.
His whole life he'd prided himself on being free and unbound, always acting outside convention — yet in the end, even he hadn't lived as freely as this junior. It left him with a certain wistfulness, and a certain relief, in equal measure.
Truly, each new generation surpasses the last.
"For Free Heaven to fall into your hands, young friend, is the best outcome it could hope for."
Jiahao Sovereign rose slowly to his feet, his expression regaining a measure of composure. "When I sought an heir for it, all those years ago, what I wanted was someone unbound by rules. Since you were able to come up with a scheme as heretical as grabbing Fellow Daoist Arnold to smash me with — I can rest easy handing this Dharma-Station to you."
So saying, he struck a solemn pose, as though formally entrusting the Free Heaven Dharma-Station to him, and raised a hand to beckon toward the Dharma-Station's phantom image, suspended deep within the space.
To Jiahao Sovereign's surprise, as he tried to invoke the Dharma-Station, Free Heaven didn't budge in the slightest.
The phantom image hung quietly in place, and no matter how Jiahao Sovereign tried to draw it toward him, it showed not the slightest inclination to move — as if it hadn't heard his summons at all.
An eerie silence settled over the space.
Gu Chengming set Arnold down, and she leaned in to look at the unmoving Dharma-Station, pointing at Jiahao Sovereign with a mocking laugh. "Jiahao, seems like this Dharma-Station doesn't recognize you anymore."
Now it was Jiahao Sovereign's turn to look awkward. He gave a dry cough. "This is a Dharma-Station I proved with my own hands. How could it not recognize me?"
Even as he said this, he tried invoking it twice more, and Free Heaven remained utterly immovable, sparing him not a shred of face.
Arnold snickered from the side, delighting in his misfortune. "Maybe your attachment's just too weak — even the Dharma-Station's turning its nose up at you."
After a good while of struggling, Jiahao Sovereign finally worked out something of the truth.
This lingering thought of his was, in the end, only a wisp of remnant will left behind in the Dharma-Station all those years ago — it had never truly been himself.
With the Dharma-Station's reversion to Heaven imminent, the already faint connection between this remnant will and his true self had grown even thinner.
In other words, even though he was Free Heaven's "former master," he no longer held any true authority to command it.
Worse still, the Dharma-Station seemed to have already recognized Gu Chengming as its new master during the trial itself — even though Gu Chengming had never gone through any proper 'attainment' process at all.
He hadn't branded the Dharma-Station with his own spirit soul, nor had he followed any conventional method of attainment to link his own foundation to the Dharma-Station's main trunk.
This Free Heaven had, purely as the result of an absurd brawl, muddled its way into recognizing a new master, and muddled its way into Gu Chengming's hands.
Jiahao Sovereign had lived through an entire era and witnessed all manner of strange sights as various Sovereigns attained their Dao, yet he had never seen anything quite this bizarre.
A Dharma-Station never properly attained, latching onto someone in a way that fit no precedent at all.
"Well, so be it."
Jiahao Sovereign finally shook his head, his face full of helpless amusement. "It seems this Dharma-Station and you, young friend, are quite the match. Since it's chosen you, then keep it. As for how to properly attain it, you'll have to work that out for yourself, in time."
With those words, his remnant will began slowly turning translucent.
"This remnant thought of mine — it's time it dispersed too."
Jiahao Sovereign looked at Gu Chengming. "Young friend, until we meet again."
Just as Gu Chengming opened his mouth to press further, the golden figure had already dissolved completely into the space, leaving behind only threads of light drifting slowly through the room, and the quietly suspended Free Heaven Dharma-Station — recognized by its new master, yet never properly attained.
Arnold reached out and poked at the Dharma-Station, then turned to look at Gu Chengming. "Little Gu, what now?"
Gu Chengming stared at the Dharma-Station that had latched onto him for no clear reason, caught between exasperation and amusement — and honestly, he had no idea what to do next either.
A moment later, the Free Heaven Dharma-Station turned into a streak of pale golden light and sank into Gu Chengming's brow. The space collapsed all at once, and a blinding light surged up, filling everything.
…
Upon the plain.
When the light faded, Gu Chengming found himself standing once more on that plain.
But looking around, there wasn't a single soul in sight.
Earlier, when the Free Heaven Dharma-Station had unleashed its power, it had swept up everyone standing on the plain along with it. But for some reason, all those who'd been carried away were now nowhere to be found — the Flowing Cloud Moon-Tracing Sovereign, Zhou Qingmu, the Master, the Director, and even the Sovereigns lurking in the shadows eyeing the Dharma-Station — every one of them had vanished without a trace.
By the time Gu Chengming made his way back to the Capital, the whole affair had already set every Sovereign in every faction abuzz.
On the day the Dharma-Station finally settled, four Sixth Realm Sovereigns had joined together to guard the path of a junior who, nominally, was only Fourth Realm — the sight alone had been shocking enough.
But something even more shocking was still to come.
— The instant the Dharma-Station settled, Free Heaven had flown straight for Gu Chengming, sweeping up everyone present and, in a muddle, scattering them across every corner of the Capital's surrounding area.
The Sovereigns who'd been lurking in the shadows, eyeing the Dharma-Station, were left thoroughly disheveled by this baffling teleportation. By the time they came to their senses, all trace of the Dharma-Station's aura had already vanished completely.
They'd been counting on waiting for the four guarding Sovereigns to show some opening before seizing their chance — instead, they never even got the opportunity to act before the Dharma-Station had already recognized its master and settled the matter.
The gathered Sovereigns exchanged glances, unable to make heads or tails of what had just happened, and in the end dispersed, each nursing their own private thoughts.
Of the guarding Sovereigns, the Flowing Cloud Moon-Tracing Sovereign was the first to free herself and make her way back.
She'd been swept by the phenomenon to the Capital's western outskirts, and it took her considerable effort to get her bearings and hurry back.
The way the Dharma-Station had flown straight for Gu Chengming was simply too anomalous — she genuinely couldn't tell whether it boded well or ill.
By the time she finally found Gu Chengming at the Night-Watch Bureau, the sight of him rubbing his brow with a subtle, hard-to-read expression made her heart lurch.
— Could he have failed?
She'd lived ten thousand years and knew all too well how perilous attaining a Dharma-Station could be — calling it a nine-deaths-one-life gamble would be putting it mildly.
Seeing Gu Chengming looking so listless now, however she looked at it, it seemed to her like he hadn't succeeded.
With that thought, all Miss Wangshu felt was a pang of concern.
She hurried forward, choosing her words carefully as she tried to offer some comfort. "Young friend, victory and defeat are the way of things. Even if you didn't manage to attain it this time—"
Her words trailed off midway, her gaze landing on Gu Chengming's brow.
There, unmistakably, hung a pale golden phantom image of a Dharma-Station.
The Flowing Cloud Moon-Tracing Sovereign: "...?"
In her ten thousand years, she'd seen Sovereigns attain their Dao, seen Dharma-Stations revert to Heaven, seen every open and covert scheme Sovereigns employed to fight over Dharma-Stations — but never anything like this.
A Dharma-Station clearly never properly attained, hanging brazenly in the brow of a mere Fourth Realm junior — with no mark of master-recognition, no foundation of Dao-attainment, looking for all the world like a tenant who simply refused to leave.
"Young friend, is this—" The Flowing Cloud Moon-Tracing Sovereign hesitated for a long moment, unable to find the right words to describe the bizarre sight before her. "This Dharma-Station — you actually attained it?"
Gu Chengming gave a wry laugh. "Senior, it's a long story."
He told her the whole story from beginning to end, and the Flowing Cloud Moon-Tracing Sovereign's expression turned distinctly complicated as she listened.
A Dharma-Station, never properly attained, falling into someone's hands in this manner — this truly was a situation even Sovereigns had never encountered.
In the end, the matter settled — unresolved, yet settled all the same.
The Free Heaven Dharma-Station had latched onto Gu Chengming in a manner nobody had ever seen before, but exactly how it ought to be properly attained had become a genuine puzzle.
The Master, the Director, and the Flowing Cloud Moon-Tracing Sovereign — several seniors who had lived for who-knew-how-many ages — gathered together and deliberated for a long while, but couldn't work out a satisfying answer.
But aside from the puzzle of proper attainment, Gu Chengming soon discovered a new problem.
— Namely, a change in Senior Arnold.
"Try swinging me like this next time — I'll call this move the Super Invincible Whirlwind Spin, absolutely unbeatable!"
[Arnold Invincible Technique favorability +10]
[Current favorability: 20/Stranger]
Gu Chengming: "..."
He stared at the favorability line at the bottom of his vision, then looked at the ancient Sovereign standing before him, striking a pose, her face full of eager anticipation as she waited to be swung again — and fell into silence.
For some reason, Senior Arnold seemed to have developed a taste for being swung around.
____
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