Under the gloomy sky, Jiang Yu stood on the dueling platform, his back to the heavens. Though dark clouds blotted out the light, his expressionless face remained starkly visible.
The golden dragon clutching a sword in its maw exuded an imperial aura, as if it were the very heart of the capital.
Princess Jiang Chulong claimed she was fine, but as she ascended the steps, her mind went blank, her heart fluttering uneasily. Fragments of that day’s memories flickered before her eyes.
Then, Li Mo leaped onto the platform, his voice booming with conviction:
"Twin pupils mark the path of the unrivaled—why borrow another’s bones?"
"Thank you, Brother Li. I understand now."
Jiang Chulong froze for a moment before suddenly breaking into a smile.
Carefully, she removed her sunglasses and tucked them into her robes, then took out a strip of cloth and tied it tightly over her eyes.
"Chulong, do your best, alright?"
"We’ll have rice and four dishes with soup for dinner!"Li Mo, carried off by the patrol guards, didn’t resist—only kept shouting encouragements.
"Mhm!"
Jiang Chulong turned back, her gaze fixed firmly on Jiang Yu.
The suffocating pressure he exuded no longer felt insurmountable. Thanks to Li Mo’s words, she had already gained the upper hand in their clash of auras.
She gripped the Green Leaf Sword, her willpower scattering like seeds around the platform, silently taking root in her heart and growing.
"You had already fulfilled your purpose. You could have faded into obscurity and lived out your days in peace."
"You shouldn’t have returned. And you certainly shouldn’t stand against me."
Jiang Yu ignored her transformation, his words seeming more directed at himself.
Jiang Chulong saw only his weakness. The Green Leaf Sword left its sheath in a swift, straight thrust.
This strike carried her entire being—the essence of the Dragon-Slaying Sword’s defiance against the heavens surged within the divine intent she had forged.
The blade’s gleam flickered, growing from faint to blinding, weaving traces of countless sword techniques as it shot toward Jiang Yu’s face.
Yet, the closer the tip came to him, the slower it moved.
His imperial will stood like an unshakable fortress. Every inch forward drained her strength exponentially.
Strands of sword intent, like blades of grass, chipped away at the "imperial walls," inching the blade forward with agonizing effort.
Snap—
Seeing the weakened tip, Jiang Yu raised his hand. A dragon’s roar echoed as his palm, shaped like a claw, seized the sword.
A sharp radiance bloomed from his chest, twisting into the form of a sword before flooding into the Green Leaf Sword in an instant.
Jiang Chulong staggered back, blood dripping from her fingertips.
The Green Leaf Sword clattered to the ground.
"Green Leaf…"
The sword in her hand now sent slivers of sword qi lashing back at her, rebelling against its master.
Jiang Chulong pressed her lips together and looked up.
It was the Sword Bone—originally hers.
......
Below the platform.
"The Imperial Sword Bone."
Xie Xuan sighed deeply.
"I still remember her birth—when ten thousand swords bowed. In ancient Shang, there were gods who commanded wind and rain, who ruled the sun. I once thought the child of Master Su Jun would become the god of swords…"
"How did the Sword Dao come to be?"
Li Mo kept his eyes locked on the duel, sensing something amiss.
Wind, rain, the sun, rivers—these were natural forces.
But the Sword Dao was not.
Yet it undeniably existed.
As Li Mo puzzled, Ying Bing softly explained:
"It didn’t exist at first. The Sword Dao wasn’t born from nature. Some say immortals brought it. Others claim it was left behind by generations of warriors whose souls returned to the heavens—just like the Dao of Alchemy, the Dao of Formations, and the Dao of Weapon-Forging."
"And so, none of them are complete."
Xie Xuan nodded in agreement. "Lady Han is right. That Sword Bone is a fragment of the Sword Dao—the culmination of Master Su Jun’s lifelong mastery."
"Then why does Jiang Yu have it?" Zang’ai the Monk scratched his head.
"He stole it."
"At birth?!" Zang’ai blurted out.
Li Mo took a deep breath. There was no way Jiang Chulong could win—he just hoped she wouldn’t be too badly hurt.
But he couldn’t intervene. And if he used the Celestial Divine Sword, even it might be suppressed by the Imperial Sword Bone.
Then, he felt a cold, delicate hand slip into his.
"Chulong will grow."
"From ashes, she’ll rise anew. She can do this."
"……"
Li Mo wasn’t so sure, but he nodded and turned back to the duel.
Clang—
The Green Leaf Sword was kicked to Jiang Yu’s feet. His thin lips finally curled into a smirk.
"Pick up your sword—if you can still hold it."
Before he finished, Jiang Chulong bent down and seized the hilt. Cuts bloomed across her slender arm, her fair skin instantly drenched in blood.
Yet her grip never wavered.
"Stubborn, just like your mother."
Jiang Yu’s voice turned icy. At last, he drew his own blade, the Sword Bone in his chest blazing, coating the weapon in dazzling light.
The fine dragon scales along the sword’s surface bristled, as if enraged.
He raised the blade—no technique, no finesse—just the raw power of the Sword Bone, crashing down with brute force.
Clang—
Clang—
Blow after savage blow hammered down.
Jiang Chulong was driven back, her swordsmanship crumbling as if she had never trained a day in her life.
This was the advantage of the Sword Bone—utterly unfair.
Jiang Yu could have ended this anytime. Yet he chose this method.
After all, this was the life’s essence of the once-undisputed Sword Sovereign.
His hand shot out, aiming for Jiang Chulong’s throat. His twin pupils narrowed into slits, as if trying to peer through her frail body to see if she truly…
Then—
The Green Leaf Sword weakly rose, Jiang Chulong making one last desperate move.
Ting—
A mournful chime—the Green Leaf Sword shattered under the Imperial Dragon Sword’s might.
But Jiang Yu’s pupils suddenly burned with pain. The Sword Bone in his chest throbbed violently.
The broken shards of the Green Leaf Sword, each now imbued with a strange power, scattered like a storm of blades—every fragment honed to lethal sharpness.
He unleashed his divine will, trying to scatter the deadly rain.
Yet a broken sword still came for him.
Though shattered, it was now bound by something else—something born of the same origin as the Imperial Sword Bone, yet its polar opposite.
The most fragile, broken thing now radiated a terrifying sharpness, one that could sever anything. The stronger the foe, the more keenly they felt its edge; the weaker, the more it seemed unremarkable.
Swish—
A lock of hair drifted apart, cleanly split.
Jiang Yu’s hand closed around Jiang Chulong’s throat—just as she had offered it to him.
A thin crimson line appeared on his cheek, from which pale golden blood began to seep.
At the same time, a notification echoed in Li Mo's ears.
[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully invested in Jiang Chulong, aiding her in the rebirth of her Sword Bone.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully invested in Jiang Chulong, elevating her Dragon-Slaying Sword Art to perfection.]