In Jialesi, sword sorcerers cried out in hysterical despair, one after another.
Every last one of them belonged to the sword-nurturing school of sword sorcerers. Day and night, they poured their hearts into nurturing their blades, regarding their swords as comrades, lovers, and children—almost as if hoping their weapons would transform into beautiful young girls one day... While a blade would never actually become a girl, it truly was possible to birth swordplay sorcery spirits, such as "Scabbard," "Sword Intent," and the exceptionally precious "Heart Sword," one of the five spirits of the peerless secret swords.
They had nurtured their swords for at least a decade. Even when their blades were summoned into midair by the heaven-and-earth anomaly, they could still sense them through various sorcery spirits. Yet right now, they clearly felt the "children" they had nurtured for years wither and rust at terrifying speed, before snapping into pieces with sharp cracks and tumbling from the vast river of swords cleaving the celestial sky. Even if the sword sorcerers recovered the fragments, they could never be restored.
Those who did not follow the sword-nurturing path naturally escaped this misfortune. Or rather, they simply did not care if their blades shattered; to them, swords were merely tools to be replaced once worn out. If it broke, so be it.
Yet the shattering of blades was only the prelude; true despair would fall impartially upon every sword sorcerer's head.
"My 'Sword Intent'!" A young sword sorcerer's shrill cry pierced the street. Soon, such agonized wails echoed one after another throughout Jialesi. Sword sorcerers watched in horror as certain swordplay sorcery spirits of theirs began to extinguish uncontrollably. Whether One-Wing or Four-Wing, none escaped the doom. It was as though an invisible edifice had collapsed, dragging down every swordplay sorcery spirit born of it into oblivion.
Some sword sorcerers wept, some cursed, while others stood dazed and hollow. They could not understand what they had done wrong to deserve this... But they were not alone. The surging tide of shattered laws would soon sweep across the entire world. In half an hour, sword sorcerers across all five nations would pay the price for this divine battle, and the once-glorious swordplay faction would plunge into its lowest trough in a millennium.
This was merely the shallowest ripple stirred by the fall of the Heart Sword God... The world would soon realize that while mortals believed they had conquered the realm, the bedrock of their civilization and the lifeblood of every law had always rested in the hands of the Divine Lords.
The ripples of the war exploding four hundred meters beneath Jialesi would become the fissure of an entire era.
The Sword Law Angel had no leisure to heed such trivial repercussions. He coughed up astral-blue blood uncontrollably, cracks spreading across the once delicate, exquisite soul body until it resembled porcelain on the verge of shattering. For an angel, the demise of the Heart Sword God meant more than just the loss of a god; more critically, it brought the collapse of two wonders: the Prison of Self-Harm and the Coffin of Weeping Rain.
These were two active killing wonders!
To draw the aptest comparison, it was like two artillery batteries packed with shells sympathetically detonating—and detonating directly within Sword Law's internal Temple of Sorcery, far more horrific than an explosion inside one's heart or blood vessels... Fortunately, the Sword Rain Pool cushioned the impact; otherwise, the backlash from the wonders alone would have sufficed to shatter Sword Law completely.
Not once in the past thousand years, nor even during his mortal days warring across the lands, had Sword Law suffered wounds this severe. Yet a joyous smile appeared on his face. Caring nothing for his injuries, he strode forward with the Glazed Astral Sword in hand, splashing waves across the surface of the Sword Rain Pool!
Without the Heart Sword, he still had the Sword Net and Sword Technique!
His battered frame did not hinder his movements in the slightest. No longer burdened with maintaining the Coffin of Weeping Rain and the Prison of Self-Harm, he moved like a carefree child playing in the wind and rain, brandishing the Sword Net and Sword Technique at his whim. It was as though he had returned to a thousand years ago, freed from upholding dignity or sustaining wonders, with only himself to rely upon—defeating the enemy before him without a second thought.
In this moment, he was no longer a Law Angel, no longer a demigod sorcerer, but merely an ordinary sword sorcerer. Having shed every shackle, an unending stream of swordplay emerged naturally in his mind; all he needed to do was dance to his heart's content.
Yaxiu was driven back step by step. Though he had successfully slain the Heart Sword God, the tide had swung back to Sword Law's favor. The angel pressed forward relentlessly, leaving a tempest and surging waves of sword light in his wake, advancing like a chariot, like iron cavalry, like a demon, like a vengeful wraith! He mounted no defense whatsoever, yet Yaxiu's blade could not graze even a thread of his clothes!
Because Yaxiu was no longer an evil fiend.
With the Prison of Self-Harm undone, the nine shadow swords piercing Yaxiu had naturally dissolved into nothingness. Lacking that cradle of despair, his Dark Veil Armor ceased growing and rapidly diminished instead; even the devil lurking within his heart seemed poised to slumber once more.
More importantly, Sword Princess and the others had been saved.
Earlier, it was for their sake that he had become invincible, whereas now he only wished to lead them away. When a blade was wielded with its scabbard still on, whom could it cut down?
They were Yaxiu's Hell, and they were also his Heaven.
Sword Law spared a glance at the female sorcerers. While the sympathetic soul detonation that shook the water coffins had been a brilliant move to break the deadlock, the cost was that they were left temporarily immobilized, their consciousness hazy. Even Vichy, possessing the deepest soul foundation, drifted half-conscious, relying on Felix and Daidalos to tend to them.
Even with the water coffins broken, Yaxiu was still dragging their chains... Nothing had changed, save for an ethereal murmur mingling with the sound of the rain—Daidalos soothing the soul-damaged demigods.
"Release the chains," Sword Law said suddenly amid the fierce combat. "Leave them behind, and come with me."
Yaxiu gave no reply, merely swinging his sword with all his might to slash through the curtain of rain, trying to tear open the sword net. Sword Law was not surprised. Sorcerers were always like this—forever pushing their luck, forever insatiably greedy. Earlier, Yaxiu had been willing to sacrifice himself to protect Sword Princess and the girls; now, he wanted to flee with all of them, craving a flawless ending.
Believing in miracles was a sorcerer's finest quality and their heaviest sin.
Yet a sorcerer chasing perfection was like a crying child—knowing full well it was impossible, yet still gambling their hopes on tears.
When Yaxiu's back hit the wall, a chill shot up his spine, but it was already too late—Sword Law's dazzling sword net unfurled, completely sealing off any room for evasion. Yaxiu's only recourse was to endure it head-on, but his dwindling source energy would be completely drained as a result... like a deflated balloon plummeting limp and powerless.
Sword Law would give him no chance to refine souls to replenish source energy. The scales of victory would tilt irrevocably; a rootless demigod could never rival an angel backed by the Supreme!
Yet looking into Yaxiu's eyes beneath the Dark Veil Armor, Sword Law saw no trace of despair—only a brilliant flash of gold!
From behind!
Miracle: Chaotic Heavenly Sound!
Miracle: Sinister Venom!
The singing woven into the rain imperceptibly plucked at the strings of reason, causing the angel to lose focus for an instant. The second daughter of the Vosloda clan unleashed a spiral of sinister venom, driving it straight through her ancestor's back!
Because Sword Law had abandoned all defense, a Sanctuary sorcerer was able to wound his soul body... Daidalos had never been soothing the girls' souls; she had been trying to infiltrate the angel's! Sword Law had never cared about these two Sanctuary sorcerers, viewing them merely as Yaxiu's burdens, Yaxiu's cream puffs, Yaxiu's pets—never imagining that pets could bite!
In that lightning-fast instant, Yaxiu tore through the sword net and cleanly severed the Sword Law Angel's head with a single slash.
As Sword Law's head flew through the air, he saw his descendant looking up at him, trembling... She knew full well she had no right to stand on this battlefield, where the mere aftershocks of an angel's clash could obliterate a Sanctuary sorcerer like her... She understood even better what striking a Law Angel signified; she was only twenty years old, yet she had chosen to stand against the most formidable power in the world of sorcerers... She was aware of everything, understood every consequence, and harbored deep terror in her heart, yet she had still launched a magnificent rebellion against the angel with unwavering resolve.
Was this temperament of hers born from the Vosloda bloodline curse, or from the influence of her lord?
The angel's head rolled across the water. Yaxiu collapsed to his knees, utterly spent, though his left hand still clutched the chains in a death grip. He coughed up mouthfuls of bloody froth mixed with organ fragments, his voice so weak it sounded almost like a whimper: "Quick... help them get away... my source energy is almost..."
Chapter 1104