Chapter 139: Chapter 132: The Angel Who Has Ascended to Divinity

[The swordsman’s action of beheading abruptly stiffened.]

[The swordsmen who were about to turn away simultaneously sensed something strange, each turning back as their eyes instantly filled with terror.]

[The youth’s eyes were hollow and gray. He slowly extended his hand, unexpectedly extracting his own shattered heart. He shook his head, feeling no pain, and then crushed the heart in his hand. A terrifying hollow was left in his chest, yet not a drop of blood spilled out.]

[It seemed he would not die.]

["Gulp."]

["Bei Xuan, is he now human or ghost?!" The swordsman swallowed his dry saliva with difficulty, each gripping their swords tightly, eyes as sharp as torches as they stared deathly at the mysterious youth before them.]

[The High-tier Knight’s pupils suddenly shrank, speaking in a low voice, "Bei Xuan must have been possessed by an unknown high-tier demon spirit from the True Realm."]

["No need to panic," the High-tier Knight took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and gestured to everyone not to be nervous, "The demon spirit needs time to reconstruct the flesh. As long as Bei Xuan is alive, we can kill him. If he lives again, we can still kill him!"]

[All the swordsmen collectively sighed in relief when, at that moment.]

["Buzz buzz." A mound of earth suddenly trembled, dust flying, as if lifted by invisible force. When the dust settled, a kneeling skeleton manifested, gripping tightly an Ancient Bronze Sword, rusted and worn.]

["Is this the Ancient Sword possessed by the high-tier demon spirit?" The High-tier Knight’s gaze fell upon the Ancient Bronze Sword, his body trembling suddenly. He then noticed two words engraved on the sword’s blade, involuntarily murmuring, "Wushuang? Ming Yue? Could this be the legendary Sword of Freedom?!"]

[The High-tier Knight’s face instantly lit up with joy. It was indeed the legendary "Sword of Freedom"! Back in the day, when the bloodline of Dongzhou was nearly extinct, the leader had also stopped at the Sword Saint Realm, yet with this "Sword of Freedom," he wielded destructive gales and turned the tides.]

[According to the followers of freedom, the leader only needed to hold this sword, without expending a bit of energy, to exhibit the formidable power to contend with the "Apocalypse Knights!!"]

[The power of this sword was not at all inferior to the "Seven-Star Divine Sword," being a peerless divine sword lost in the tumult of a hundred-year struggle.]

["It is said that the sword has a spirit, and even without perfecting the Breathing Technique, it can wield that suffocating gale." The group of swordsmen also recognized the "Sword of Freedom," their eyes gleaming with greed.]

[This meant that whoever mastered the "Sword of Freedom" would gain the mighty power akin to the "Apocalypse Knights," becoming an entity revered by tens of thousands, second only to the supreme Angel.]

[Upon hearing this, the High-tier Knight surveyed the surrounding swordsmen.]

[Greed and restless anticipation flickered in everyone’s eyes.]

[But there was only one "Sword of Freedom," how could it be distributed among so many people?]

[All the swordsmen had already instinctively kept a distance of two to three yards from each other, full of vigilance. As assassins, they never trusted others easily.]

[The swordsmen exchanged a glance and tacitly reached an understanding—they must first remove the "strongest" threat. Hence, their gazes uniformly shot towards the leading High-tier Knight.]

["You want to kill me? But I am your leader!" The High-tier Knight’s face changed dramatically, stepping back repeatedly in fright.]

[The situation instantly became tense, as if a string was about to snap.]

[At this critical moment, a swordsman who still retained some sense proposed: "Why don’t we make an oath to work together and jointly grasp the power of the Sword of Freedom?"]

["Then, who will be the first to use it?" Another swordsman retorted with a mocking smile.]

[Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, the atmosphere becoming even more solemn.]

[They did not believe in the ethereal "oaths" at all. The first person to get the "Sword of Freedom" would certainly mercilessly slaughter them.]

[Now, even if they were unwilling to fight, they could no longer retreat. They could only brace themselves to face this harsh reality.]

[At this time, one swordsman suddenly noticed that the youth, possessed by a high-tier demon spirit with eerie gray eyes, finally made a move. He was silently approaching the "Sword of Freedom," about to reach out for the cold hilt.]

["Not good?!?" The swordsmen were suddenly awakened, leaping up from all directions, each unleashing exquisite swordsmanship moves.]

[Hoo—]

[A gentle breeze brushed by, and time seemed to pause at this moment, with all swordsmen temporarily frozen in mid-air.]

[Hoo—]

[Another gentle breeze blew past, and the swordsmen’s flesh began to slowly dissolve, turning into bare white bones. Then, with another gust of wind, those bones also dissipated like dust into nothingness, leaving behind only emptiness and silence.]

[The youth picked up the "Sword of Freedom," his fingertips sliding slowly along the blade, his gray eyes stopping at the engraved "Unrivaled Bright Moon."]

["Tap tap tap..." In the distance, a series of hurried and dense footsteps came closer, accompanied by a cold and commanding voice, "Have you not brought the head of Assassin Bei Xuan yet! Useless bunch!"]

[The youth turned towards the voice.]

[Through the dense forest, he saw a large squad of knights in standard leather armor, each holding a blue cylinder adorned with intricate patterns. From the residual memory of this body, he knew these were the renowned Imperial Divine Spear Squad.]

[Even though Dongzhou could awaken the "bloodline," those who become "Ancient Sword Saints" are still as rare as phoenix feathers.]

[Despite more than half of the Apocalypse Knights having fallen in battle, the relentless "Divine Spear" firepower of the Western State Empire still forced the swordsmen to retreat step by step.]

[Now, in Dongzhou, firearms are the mainstream, and due to the absence of "Ancient Sword Saints" and "Apocalypse Knights" taking action in recent decades, people have already forgotten the extreme horrors of such power.]

[The middle-aged blond man, embraced by the crowd, gazed sharply across the scene and noticed a lone young swordsman with an empty chest, wearing the uniform of the Royal Academy. He blurted out, "Assassin Bei Xuan?! Are you human or ghost?!"]

[The young man looked up and, since he had agreed to that person’s request, decided to let the entire empire fall silent first.]

[Without a word, the youth walked straight towards the crowd.]

["Pretending to be a ghost!" scoffed the middle-aged blond man, believing truth only exists in firearms. He pointed at the youth and ordered, "Kill him!!"]

[Behind him, the Imperial Divine Spear Squad obediently lifted their barrels, and bullets rained down densely towards the young man like raindrops. ]

["Boom!" A fierce wind blew over everyone, and the bullets froze in mid-air, plunging the world into silence.]

["Tap, tap, tap." In the vast emptiness, the crisp sound of footsteps echoed, standing out exceptionally loud.]

[The middle-aged blond man’s face was instantly filled with terror as he watched, helplessly, the youth slowly stride past him. Then, with a "boom," the blond man’s body turned to dust and vanished.]

[The youth continued on in silence, and as he passed by each person, their bodies would inexplicably disintegrate, scattering messily. When he finally walked out of the dense forest, he looked up to see a bustling city looming ahead.]

[Skyscrapers rose magnificently.]

[This was the Western State Imperial Capital. They had moved their capital to Dongzhou to facilitate the extraction of "Source Ores."]

[The young man marched silently, and the darkness underfoot spread rapidly like a tide, swallowing everything around it.]

[On the way, numerous soldiers and swordsmen of the empire recognized the identity of "Assassin Bei Xuan," and prepared to capture him. Strangely, those people’s bodies would dissolve into nothingness in the blink of an eye with the brush of a gentle breeze.]

["Assassin Bei Xuan? Take his head and be ennobled, ah—"]

[Similarly, those who attempted to sound alarms, hoping to summon companions to capture "Assassin Bei Xuan" and seek rewards from the empire, would meet the same fate in an instant.]

[The strange scene left those who were eager to act, ready to cause havoc, as quiet as startled cicadas, not daring to make any rash moves.]

[Holding their breath, everyone watched in silence as the youth stepped into the city.]

["Senior, you dare to return?!" The sight of Bei Xuan swaggering down the street provoked a hushed exclamation, "Your attempt to assassinate the Count angered the Duke to no end..."]

[The youth brushed past her, continuing on.]

[The purple-haired woman looked up and saw a large group closely following the youth, like a retinue escorting a distinguished king. At that moment, she finally noticed the gaping hole in the youth’s chest, sending a chill down her spine.]

[Not long after.]

[The purple-haired woman watched intently as the entire noble district gradually dissolved under the ravages of the wild wind, turning to ruins, surrounded by panicked refugees, their faces marked by terror and helplessness.]

[She, too, was among the fleeing crowd. Suddenly turning her head, she saw a black dot slowly rising from where the clouds churned.]

["Boom!" Holy light shone upon the world as a resplendent golden throne descended from the heavens.]

[A divine angel lazily reclined on the throne, with four pairs of golden wings slowly unfolding. She looked down at the young man with an imperious gaze: "Mortal, are you challenging the divine might of this god?"]

[The young man gazed at her, with an alluring oval face that exuded an untouchable holy aura, he slowly rose until he was level with the angel: "Long time no see, Zhuang Xinyao."]

[This "Ascended" angel was none other than Zhuang Xinyao.]

[Infiltrating the "Sword of Freedom," with the full support of the sword saints of Dongzhou, she slew the Apocalypse Knights, repelled the imperial army, and even once broke into the heartland of the empire, causing mutual harm between Dongzhou and the empire.]

[She stealthily killed the imperial angel, stealing this final victory.]

[Having endured hundreds of years of arduous cultivation, Zhuang Xinyao finally perfected the "Sun Breathing Technique" of Dongzhou, successfully breaking limits, and forging a "Divine Format," thus obtaining the "Seven-Star Divine Throne" authority and ascending in the "True Realm."]

[But Zhuang Xinyao did not uphold the promise made with the "Sword of Freedom" back then.] 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

[Still missing the immortal "Divine Body," she needed the "Dark Titanium Element Rare Ore 110 Stars" source ore resource to forge the "Divine Body," a rare resource in the universe.]

[Hence, she successfully rallied the empire’s remnants and became the new angel.]

[The world merely exchanged one angel’s rule for another, with nothing truly changed.]

...