The air in the Heavenly Sword Domain was unlike anything Lin Feng had ever felt.
Each breath was dense with divine particles — sharp, oppressive, alive. Even standing upright felt like defying the heavens themselves. The laws here were stronger, purer, and utterly unforgiving.
He stood upon the Sky Arena of the Heavenly Sword Palace — a floating platform of divine steel suspended amidst clouds of light. Above and below stretched endless space filled with palaces and sacred mountains, their peaks glowing with celestial formations. Thousands of disciples gathered to watch the new ascendant from the lower realm.
"That's the one who ascended through the Heavenly Sword Decree?"
"He looks ordinary… his cultivation's only at the peak of God Realm!"
"He must be mad to come here. He'll be crushed instantly!"
Lin Feng ignored the whispers. His black robe fluttered gently in the divine wind, his aura faint but steady. Though the oppressive law of the Higher Realm sought to suppress him, the flame within him refused to yield.
He had crossed realms of blood and storms to reach this place — he wouldn't falter now.
A figure descended onto the arena in a flash of divine light.
Draped in silver-white robes with sword runes etched across the fabric, his aura rolled like a tempest. The ground trembled beneath his feet.
Jiang Wuchen.
The prodigy of the Heavenly Sword Palace, known across the entire domain as one of its brightest saints-in-training.
At merely thirty, he had already stepped into the Saint Realm, mastering two threads of Sword Law and manifesting a divine sword spirit. His name alone inspired awe and fear.
"Are you the mortal ascendant?" Jiang Wuchen asked, his tone smooth yet laced with arrogance.
"Lower realm trash should remain below. You're in a place beyond your reach."
Lin Feng's expression didn't shift. "You talk too much."
A ripple of laughter spread through the crowd, mocking yet intrigued.
Elder Mo, the supervising elder of the test, stepped forward. His divine aura radiated authority. "By the decree of the Heavenly Sword Palace Council — Lin Feng, lower realm ascendant, shall undergo qualification assessment. Jiang Wuchen will serve as examiner."
His gaze hardened. "If Lin Feng can survive ten exchanges, he shall be permitted to join the Outer Disciple Court."
A hush fell. Ten exchanges against a Saint Realm expert? It was a death sentence.
Jiang Wuchen smirked, drawing his sword — a gleaming divine blade forged from condensed starlight. Its sharpness split the air into ribbons of light.
"Don't blink," he said softly. "You won't even see your defeat."
He raised his hand. Divine energy surged, and the heavens darkened.
"Sword Law Thread One — Heaven Severing Flash!"
A streak of silver cut through the sky — a blade strike faster than thought, splitting even divine air apart. The power of a Saint Realm expert rippled like tidal waves across the platform.
Lin Feng didn't move until the last instant.
"Azure Sword Art — First Form: Flowing Edge."
His sword — the Azure Dragon Sword — gleamed to life, its edge burning with azure brilliance. The slash seemed almost gentle, yet it deflected the Heaven Severing Flash perfectly, dispersing it like smoke.
BOOM!
Energy exploded outward, shaking the formation barrier protecting the spectators.
When the shock faded, Lin Feng stood unmoved — a faint cut across his sleeve, but his eyes calm.
Jiang Wuchen's smile faded slightly.
"He blocked a Saint's Sword Law… without divine energy?"
"He's using mortal will to offset divine force!"
"Impossible!"
But Lin Feng's focus didn't waver. His sword aura surged higher.
"Second Form — Azure Tide Collapse."
Blue energy waves erupted, crashing forward like a tidal storm. Jiang Wuchen's divine aura shattered the first wave, but another followed, and another — endless, relentless, each carrying killing intent honed through bloodshed.
Jiang Wuchen sneered, channeling more power. "Sword Law Thread Two — Celestial Rupture!"
The world turned silver. Divine power condensed into a single strike that could tear apart mountains.
Lin Feng's gaze sharpened.
He sheathed his sword — then drew in one fluid motion.
The sound was like thunder tearing through clouds.
"Azure Sword Art — Fourth Form: Soaring Dragon Break!"
A colossal azure dragon rose from the strike, roaring through the sky. The two powers collided midair, forming a maelstrom of divine and mortal energy that distorted space itself.
BOOM!
Light consumed the arena. The formation barrier flickered wildly as the explosion sent shockwaves through the sky.
When the dust settled, Jiang Wuchen had retreated several steps, his robe torn. Lin Feng's lips bled faintly, but he remained standing, his sword steady.
"That's five," Lin Feng said quietly.
The watching crowd fell silent. The audacity — no, the impossibility — of his words froze them all.
Jiang Wuchen's expression twisted. "You dare mock me?!"
He flared his Saint Realm aura to the limit, divine pressure cracking the platform beneath him. "Then perish beneath a saint's true power!"
He rose into the air, merging with his sword. His aura expanded until the very sky trembled.
"Sword Law: Divine Saint Art — Celestial Heaven Rend!"
The space around the arena shattered like glass. Disciples screamed as the barrier flared to its limit. The attack was beyond the threshold of what a mortal should face.
Lin Feng closed his eyes.
His breath calmed. His grip tightened.
Azure Sword Art — Ninth Form: Azure Reversal.
The azure blade spun in a crescent arc, light wrapping around him like a spiral of calm amidst chaos. It wasn't divine law — it was will made manifest, refined through countless near-deaths.
Their swords met — divine law against mortal will.
For a moment, heaven and earth ceased to exist.
Then — CRACK.
Jiang Wuchen's sword snapped. The backlash hurled him across the platform, crashing into the barrier wall. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Lin Feng stood in the aftermath, his body trembling faintly, robes torn — but his eyes burned with quiet defiance.
He lowered his sword. "Ten moves are done."
No one spoke. Even Elder Mo froze for a heartbeat before exhaling heavily.
"Lin Feng… you have surpassed expectations. By decree of the Palace Council, you are hereby accepted as a member of the Outer Disciple Court of the Heavenly Sword Palace."
Murmurs spread through the disciples — some astonished, others jealous.
Defeating a Saint Realm genius as a mere God Realm ascendant, even under suppression — it was unthinkable.
Jiang Wuchen's glare was filled with venom as he stood. "This isn't over, lower realm trash. The next time you face me, I'll make sure you kneel."
Lin Feng turned his gaze toward him — calm, almost cold. "You already lost once. The next time, it'll be your pride that dies."
He sheathed his sword, the azure light fading into silence.
As the crowd buzzed and elders whispered among themselves, Lin Feng walked off the platform, his back straight, his aura steady.
He had entered the Higher Realm — and his sword had already drawn blood from the heavens.