I had no intention of entering the martial world.

Chapter 26 The Sword Awakens

Lu Chenzhou drew his sword, his body spun, and the sword light bloomed like an ink lotus.

"Seven Killings Style: Breaking Army! Seven Killings Style: Greedy Wolf! Seven Killings Style: Prosperity!"

Three moves in quick succession, without holding back.

Blood splattered.

Another guard fell.

But Lu Chenzhou also paid a price—he was slapped on the back and his left shoulder was slashed open by a knife.

It doesn't hurt.

I just feel like my body has become heavier and my movements have become slower.

He knew this was a sign of excessive blood loss.

We can't delay.

He looked at Yuehua.

Catch the thief first to catch the king.

The sword flashed again, aiming straight for the moonlight!

This sword strike used all his strength and speed. The tip of the sword trembled, emitting a piercing shriek, like the sigh of death.

Yuehua did not hide.

She didn't even move.

She simply stared at Lu Chenzhou, at the sword aimed at her throat, her gaze eerily calm.

Then, she held up two fingers.

With a gentle pinch.

"bite."

The sword stopped.

Lu Chenzhou thrust his sword with all his might, but she managed to hold the tip of the sword between two fingers, and it didn't budge.

How is this possible?!

Lu Chenzhou was horrified. He tried to draw his sword, but it seemed to be welded to the other's hand, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move it.

"Your swordsmanship is not bad," Yuehua said calmly, "but it's not enough."

She twisted her fingers.

"Snap!"

The iron sword is broken.

Lu Chenzhou, clutching the broken sword, staggered backward, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

It wasn't from being physically injured, but from the backlash of internal energy.

"Now, can you hand over the items?" Yuehua looked at him, her eyes devoid of victor's smugness, only a kind of pity that Lu Chenzhou couldn't understand.

Lu Chenzhou remained silent.

He loosened his grip on the broken sword and took out the two jade pendants that had been joined together from his pocket.

Yuehua's eyes lit up.

But the next second, Lu Chenzhou did something she never expected—

He opened his mouth and swallowed the jade pendant.

"You!" Yuehua's expression changed drastically. She flew forward and slapped Lu Chenzhou's abdomen, trying to force him to vomit.

But it was too late.

The moment the jade pendant entered his stomach, Lu Chenzhou felt an extremely hot power explode within his body!

That wasn't the Azure Nether Sword Qi.

It is a power that is older, purer, and more violent than the Azure Nether Sword Qi.

Like a volcano that has been dormant for thousands of years, suddenly awakening.

"Aaaaaah—!"

He looked up to the sky and roared, the sound shaking the stone chamber.

Yuehua was so shocked that she took three steps back, her face turning deathly pale.

She saw that Lu Chenzhou's eyes had turned blue.

It wasn't the kind of red that comes from bloodshot eyes; it was a true, pure blue, like the deepest seawater, like the oldest jade.

The red mark at the corner of his eye was now emitting an eerie blood-red light, intertwining with the blue light in his eye to form a strange yet beautiful halo.

"The sword...is awake..." Yuehua murmured to herself, her voice filled with fear, "How could this be...it wasn't awake yet..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

Because Lu Chenzhou moved.

It's not with feet, it's... floating.

He was suspended three feet off the ground, hovering in the air. His long hair moved without wind, and his tattered clothes fluttered in the wind. A layer of blue aura surrounded him, within which countless tiny sword shadows could be vaguely seen, flying and spinning.

"Retreat!" Yuehua shouted sharply, and at the same time, she formed a hand seal. A beam of white light shot out from her palms, transforming into a light shield that blocked her way.

The four guards were terrified and scrambled to escape towards the exit.

But Lu Chenzhou didn't look at them.

He looked at Yuehua.

Then, raise your hand.

It was just a simple gesture.

There was no sword, no move; it was simply a light, unintentional slash directed towards the moonlight.

"laugh--!"

The sound of air being torn apart.

The light shield in front of Yuehua was torn apart like paper. She groaned and flew backward, crashing into the stone wall, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"Who...who are you...?" she asked with difficulty.

Lu Chenzhou did not answer.

He looked down at his hands.

That hand was now emitting a bluish light, and faint bluish veins could be seen pulsating beneath its skin. Those weren't blood vessels, but... the trajectory of sword energy.

He felt an endless surge of power coursing through his body.

But I also sensed that the last bit of emotion belonging to "Lu Chenzhou" was disappearing.

Like ice and snow melting away, like sand running out in an hourglass.

He recalled Lu Jinghong's words:

"The moment you grasp the sword, you cease to be yourself."

It turned out to be the case.

So this is the price to pay.

He smiled.

The smile was faint and cold, like the wind on the summit of Zhongnan Mountain.

Then he turned and walked toward the exit.

Yuehua tried to stop her, but as soon as she moved, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

We could only watch him leave.

---

Lu Chenzhou walked out of the stone chamber, out of the waterway, and out of the lotus pond.

It was already broad daylight.

In the back garden of the Prince's mansion, several maids who had gotten up early to clean saw him and screamed and ran away in fright.

He doesn't care.

He just walked away.

Walk through the long corridor, through the courtyard, through the moon gate.

The guards of the Prince's mansion surrounded them, swords drawn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

But no one dared to step forward.

Because Lu Chenzhou was acting too strangely at this moment.

Hovering above the ground, with blue light in its eyes and sword energy surrounding it—this was no longer a mortal, but a demon, a monster.

"Get out of the way." Lu Chenzhou spoke, his voice soft, yet carrying an undeniable force.

The guards involuntarily retreated.

He continued walking forward.

They left the palace and walked onto the main street.

Jiangling City was just waking up in the early morning. There weren't many pedestrians on the street, but when they saw him, they were all frightened and hid on the side of the road, pointing and whispering among themselves.

Lu Chenzhou didn't care.

He just walked away.

where to go?

do not know.

He just needed to leave, to get away from here, away from everyone, away from... the self that was disappearing.

As he walked, he suddenly stopped.

There was a person standing on the street corner ahead.

Shen Xingyao.

She changed back into her dark blue outfit, her hair tied in a ponytail, and held a sword in her hand. But her eyes were completely different from yesterday—cold, sharp, like a drawn blade.

Behind her stood a dozen or so men in black.

They were all people I saw at the dock last night.

"Lu Chenzhou," Shen Xingyao said, her voice cold, "hand over your sword."

Lu Chenzhou stared at her for a long time.

Then he asked a question:

"You've been using me from the very beginning, haven't you?"

Shen Xingyao pursed her lips and remained silent.

"That batch of weapons at the dock wasn't ordinary smuggling; it was a deal between your Sihai Escort Agency—or rather, your Jingtao Society—and the Shadow Hall," Lu Chenzhou continued. "You approached me and helped me because you saw that I was connected to the Qingming Sword. You wanted to use me to find the sword."

"..."

"Last night you went to Jingtao Warehouse not to investigate a case, but to clean up the mess. The 'Overlord' is dead, but you still have to transport his goods out."

"..."

"Am I right, Miss Shen? Or rather... the young master of the Surging Waves Society?"

The last four words struck Shen Xingyao's heart like a heavy hammer.

Her expression changed, but she quickly regained her composure.

"So what if you know?" She slowly drew her sword. "Today, I will leave behind both the sword and the person."

Lu Chenzhou smiled.

There was no anger, no sadness in the smile, only a cold emptiness.

"Then let's give it a try."

He raised his hand.

It's still that simple stroke.

But this time, the sword energy was no longer invisible.

A cyan, solidified sword beam burst forth from his fingertips and slashed toward Shen Xingyao!

fast!

It's faster than the naked eye can perceive!

Shen Xingyao didn't even have time to react before the sword light was already in front of her!

She could only raise her sword to parry.

"clang--!"

The sword broke.

It wasn't an iron sword, but the longsword made of fine steel in her hand, which was easily cut in half like a withered branch.

The sword's momentum remained undiminished, slashing towards her throat.

Shen Xingyao closed her eyes.

But the expected pain did not occur.

The sword's edge stopped three inches in front of her throat.

Then, it dissipated.

Lu Chenzhou withdrew his hand, turned around, and continued walking.

Shen Xingyao opened her eyes, watched his departing figure, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

He simply gripped the broken sword tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

Lu Chenzhou walked out of Jiangling City.

There was no turning back.

He walked along the official road, and kept walking.

He walked until the sun was directly overhead, until his legs went numb, until the burning power in his chest gradually subsided, until the blue light in his eyes faded, and until his body returned to the ground.

Then he stopped.

It's not that I'm tired, it's that... I don't know where to go.

The world is so vast, yet there is nowhere to go.

He looked down at his hands.

The bluish veins under the skin had disappeared, and the eyes had returned to normal. Only the red mark at the corner of the eye was deeper, like a wound that would never heal.

But inside, there is utter emptiness.

Like an empty warehouse, only echoes remain.

He sat on a rock by the roadside and took out the broken half of his sword from his pocket—the iron sword was broken, but he still kept it.