Volume One, Chapter Two: Bound to the Empress, Awakening the Sword that Opens the Heavens

At this moment, the nine peak masters of the Sword Soul Sect had already begun selecting disciples.

The newly awakened youths each tensed up.

Among the crowd, Yao Xi grew increasingly nervous.

“Damn it, could I be rejected?”

Watching one young boy and girl after another being chosen, Yao Xi furrowed her brows slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing across her features.

“I am the Empress! How could I possibly fail to be selected by such a minor sect?”

As a reincarnated empress, Yao Xi looked down on the Sword Soul Sect. But there was no other choice.

When she first regained her memories, she found herself here.

From her recollections, she learned that she had been picked up from the foot of the mountain by Leng Qiuyue, the peak master of Falling Moon Peak.

Well, joining the sect was joining the sect.

After all, she had no power or influence.

Without cultivation resources, even possessing profound experience and miraculous techniques was useless.

So Yao Xi planned to join this small sect first.

She would endure for ten or twenty years, then emerge invincible!

If she displayed just a bit of talent, surely the elders and sect leader of this small sect would fawn over her?

Then abundant cultivation resources would be hers.

Yes, first conquer the lower realm.

Once strong enough, she would strike at the upper realm.

And seek revenge on that damned foe!

However.

Watching her companions being picked one by one made Yao Xi anxious.

Who was she?

The immortal Empress of the Eternal Dynasty!

“Damn it, why haven’t they chosen me yet?”

Frustration burned in Yao Xi’s heart.

Why was her awakened sword spirit a useless rusted blade?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she grew.

Especially when memories of her past life surfaced.

“Calm yourself, Yao Xi. This rare second chance at life is the will of Heaven’s Dao granting you opportunity.”

“Don’t rush. You are destined to be the protagonist of this life, with countless fortunes awaiting you.”

“Yes, Yao Xi, you possess the bearing of a Sword Emperor. Those who do not choose you will suffer loss!”

Yao Xi kept reassuring herself inwardly.

“All right, the sword spirit awakening ceremony is complete,” the elder in charge of the awakening announced.

“According to tradition, all youths who successfully awaken their sword spirits must undergo sword spirit possession and absorb the first spiritual ring. Now, the thirty successfully awakened disciples, please follow the elders to the Hunting Spirit Mountains in the Great Wilderness to begin your first trial.”

Indeed.

This was the Sword Soul Sect’s unique teaching method.

Sword spirit practitioners were not pampered.

After awakening, the young sword spirits were immediately sent to face spirit beasts, growing under pressure.

Under the elders’ protection, these awakened youths would not truly be in danger.

Quickly.

Under the arrangement of two elders, one by one the youths stepped forward, including Yao Xi.

Although her sword spirit was a rusty blade, she still had a chance to prove herself.

If she could hunt down a spirit beast, she could become an outer disciple.

Randomly, she followed the youth team directly to the Hunting Spirit Mountains, just a hundred miles from the sect.

“Xu Changsheng,” the peak master of Sword God Peak suddenly spoke from the high platform after seeing the youth team leave.

“After the trial, bring the disciples we just selected back to the peak. Take good care of Luo Qinghan. I have already designated her as my direct disciple.”

The other eight peak masters similarly instructed their disciples.

Then they vanished from the square into streams of light.

The disciples of each peak transformed into sword light and shot toward the rear of the youth team.

Yao Xi squinted, watching the disappearing figures on the platform with some regret.

“Too bad you are not strong enough yet.”

Just as Yao Xi sighed softly in melancholy, an ethereal voice suddenly echoed in her spiritual realm.

“If I offer you this chance, what will you do next?”

“Who’s there!”

Startled, Yao Xi jumped.

Who could enter her spiritual realm?

The Sword Saint?

That was the first thought flashing through her mind, because only a saint who had transcended the tribulation and reached the Sword Saint realm could freely invade another’s spiritual world.

The speaker was undoubtedly Ye Wuchen.

At that moment, amidst her shock, Yao Xi noticed a rusty, battered sword floating in her spiritual world, and the ethereal voice came from it.

Rebirth? Rusted sword? Opportunity?

Sword God? Sword Saint?

Could her rebirth be connected to this sword?

Yao Xi’s thoughts raced rapidly, countless ideas flashing through her mind.

The voice from the sword spirit was so ethereal that it was impossible to discern any gender or age; it was simply the sword spirit within this ruined blade.

“Who are you?”

“Who I am is not important,” Ye Wuchen’s calm voice sounded again.

“What matters is whether you want to return to the peak.”

Silence followed.

Yao Xi was naturally wary as a newly awakened soul.

Rebirth itself was shocking enough; now an unknown powerful being appeared in her spiritual world. Even a Sword Emperor would need time to digest this.

“I am willing!”

At this moment, Yao Xi could no longer hesitate and directly responded to the unfamiliar voice in her mind.

At the same time,

Ye Wuchen’s mind received a long-missed system notification.

“Ding, congratulations host, you have bound with Yao Xi. Attributes upgrade with the sword master’s blood energy.”

“Ding, congratulations host, you have awakened a red spiritual ring, comprehending the dual sword technique: One Sword Opens Heaven’s Gate, One Hundred Eighty Thousand Swords!”

“Also awakened the divine-grade sword intent: One Sword Ascends Immortal…”

“Domain: World of Swords!”

Name: Ye Wuchen (Sword Spirit)

Sword Name: Ordinary Spiritual Sword

Grade: Spiritual Artifact (Superior)

Sword Techniques: One Sword Opens Heaven’s Gate, One Hundred Eighty Thousand Swords

Sword Intent: One Sword Ascends Immortal (can unleash a powerful sword Qi capable of cleaving mountains and rivers; when sword intent activates, it can imprison all innate soul power within one zhang of the domain)

“Hiss, this will surely place me on the invincible path of innate realm.”

Ye Wuchen stared blankly at his attribute panel.

Clearly,

His system was a little overpowered.

…

Above the square.

A shadow gradually solidified, revealing a middle-aged man standing before the awakening platform.

He frowned, scanning the empty square as if searching for something, but found nothing.

Finally, the man shook his head and muttered, “Could I have sensed wrongly? But that terrifying aura was…”

Crack—

Just as the man was about to leave, a cracking sound came from the awakening crystal platform.

A wisp of purple aura, residue of a sword spirit’s awakening, appeared.

In Yun Lan’s widening eyes, the crystal orb on the platform suddenly lit up.

Dazzling purple light spread from a single point in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the orb shimmered like a brilliant purple gem.

Then a pillar of purple light soared skyward, astonishing beyond words.

Crack… crack… crack…

Dense cracks rapidly appeared on the crystal orb.

Looking up, the awakening crystal was covered with fine fractures that spread like a spiderweb.

Boom!!!

The next second, the awakening crystal orb shattered explosively on the platform, startling the middle-aged man who widened his eyes.

“Divine-grade sword intent…”

“There was just a child…”