Chapter 0094

Chapter 94: The Pact Is Sealed, I Grant You What You Need!

All over the world at that very moment, people turned to their companions and asked: “A few words suddenly appeared in my mind. What about you?”

Someone answered, “Same here… something about the Sword Dao Heavenly Rankings, and there are two top spots.”

Another asked, “First place is Dragon, right?”

A reply came at once: “Yes. Second is Sage. Looks like we all got the same message.”

Several elders spoke with grave faces: “This is a Heavenly Dao proclamation.” One of them added: “These two names must have been recognized by the Heavenly Dao. They should stand for the very peak of the Sword Dao today.”

That guess was right, but only half right. It was a Heavenly Dao announcement, yet those two did not represent the true peak. They had only slipped onto the list by taking advantage of a loophole. Even so, many people believed.

Someone sighed with awe: “Dragon and Sage. Just the names feel powerful. They must be avatars of some supreme being.”

Another said, “I think so too. Maybe their strength is so great that even the Heavenly Dao avoids their real names and uses code names instead.”

If Zhou Tong had known what they were thinking, he would have sighed to himself: [People’s imagination really can do anything.]

He stared at the remaining Nameless Stele and fell into deep thought. What should he do with it? In his previous life he had come across every Nameless Stele. He was sure they had an extraordinary origin, but he never understood their secrets.

[Maybe I just didn’t have the fate for it.] He muttered and, without thinking, reached out to touch the stone again. Then his expression changed.

This time felt wrong.

Zhou Tong’s eyes widened. Even tiny changes could not escape his senses. This stele felt completely different from the one in his last life. It was full of surging vitality, like the master he had met before.

With that thought, he quickly poured his own strength into it. He tried both spiritual energy and mental power, but the result was still disappointing. Nothing reacted.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll split it open and see what’s inside!”

Zhou Tong took a deep breath, his gaze turning razor sharp. He said, “Master, lend me your strength.”

Mu Rong Ya did not hesitate. The Red Dust Sea rippled open, and terrifying power rushed from the void and settled onto Zhou Tong.

He roared, “Sixfold World Breaking Sword! Heavenly Sword, Divine Smite!”

A mighty sword force rolled like thunder. A three-foot golden light formed in his palm. He gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down hard.

“Clack clack…”

The stele shook violently, as if it were afraid and excited at the same time. The instant blade and stone truly met, the stele seemed to awaken. It burst with dazzling light. In the glow of rosy clouds and auspicious colors, a golden Dragon soared into the air.

Meanwhile, in the empress’s bedroom, Qian Miao Yu had already fallen asleep. Her sleep was not peaceful. She tossed and turned, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She was having a nightmare again after a long time without one.

This dream was different from before. She floated in a vast, boundless space. She was like a speck of dust hanging in midair. Above was no sky, below was no ground, and all around was nothingness. The heavy silence could drive a person mad.

[Is this a prophetic dream too?] she wondered. This time, even inside the dream, she kept a clear mind.

“Roar!”

A terrifying Dragon’s cry shook the space. A moment later, a Dragon tens of thousands of feet long uncoiled into the open, its whole body blazing with gold, scales and claws flashing.

Qian Miao Yu’s body went stiff. Cold sweat flowed, and her hands and feet turned icy. The golden Dragon had locked onto her. Red light pulsed in its eyes, like it had found a delicious blood meal.

[Not good.] She trembled nonstop. A fear from the depths of her soul swept through her, as if she had met her natural enemy. [I have to run. I must run now!]

Even in a dream, she wanted to flee from the golden Dragon. But she was too small. With a single twist, the Dragon seemed to cover the All Heavens. If it coiled its body, it could roll up thousands of stars. She could not get away. She was as weak as an ant, forced to stretch out her neck and wait for the blade.

At the edge between life and death, countless sealed memories flooded back. “I remember everything,” she whispered. Her emperor father had once had the same dream. Not only him—her imperial grandfather had too. Soon after, both of them died. For the sovereign of the Ling Xiao Empire, this dream was the final dream. It foretold the coming of death.

This golden Dragon was the Dragon Vein of the Heavenly Dao’s domain. To grab the Mandate of Heaven, the Empire’s Imperial House had fed the Dragon Vein with their own blood. It had become bloodthirsty and mad. Now she had to bear the result.

Once she understood, despair filled her heart. [No… I can’t die yet. Give me even ten more years and I can arrange everything properly.]

She pleaded in helpless whispers, but she could not move the cruel Dragon Vein. The golden Dragon lost its patience. It dove down to swallow her whole.

“It’s over.” Qian Miao Yu’s eyes went blank. She almost stopped resisting. At the last moment, a young man’s figure rose in her heart. He was not grand or tall, but that thin body looked like it could hold up the whole sky.

She grabbed at the image like a life-saving straw and called out, placing all her hope on him: “Guest minister, please save me!”

It did not make sense, yet as soon as she spoke, the whole dream changed. The ten directions blazed with light. High above, a figure of ten thousand feet of radiance stood in the sky. His face was hidden, only a blurry outline showing.

“Guest minister!” Qian Miao Yu almost burst into tears. She had found someone to rely on. Her fear vanished. She gazed upward with deep feeling. At the border of life and death, someone was willing to shield her from the storm. The noble empress was truly moved.

She prayed with all her heart and swore a heavy oath: “Guest minister, if I can survive by luck, I will form an eternal alliance with you. I will follow you in life and in death and never betray you. If I break my word, may I fall into endless calamity!”

A voice full of endless majesty fell from the heights: “The pact is sealed. As you have asked, I grant you what is promised!”

The radiant figure took one step forward. Behind him, a towering shadow that linked heaven and earth appeared. Qian Miao Yu stared up, stunned: “Is that a Dharma Aspect?” When she lifted her head, she could not see its face. When she lowered her eyes, there was only a vast abyss below.

Before the Dharma Aspect, the Dragon looked like a loach. It could only let out timid roars.

“Sword, to me!” the figure shouted. The cry swallowed wind and thunder. The Dragon Slaying Sword appeared in the Dharma Aspect’s palm.

“Radiant holy might, obey my decree: slay without mercy!”

Each word sounded like thunder passing judgment and pressing down the sky. The Dragon Vein actually turned to run. Sadly, it was like Qian Miao Yu just moments before. All struggle was useless. Sword light crashed down. The Dragon Vein took the hit first, and the void world shattered with it.