Heavenly Sword Saint
In the Divine Realm, the Jian Clan was known as the Holy Land of the Sword.
For countless generations, the clan had devoted itself to the Sword Dao.
To the Jian Clan, the sword was more than a weapon.
It was a path.
A belief.
A way of life.
Among the ancient clans of the Divine Realm, few could rival the Jian Clan when it came to the sword.
The Lin Clan was renowned for something different.
Its greatest strengths were its powerful bloodline and exceptional Spirit Veins.
Although slightly weaker than the Jian Clan in overall strength, the Lin Clan remained one of the most influential ancient clans in the Divine Realm.
More than twenty years ago, the two clans had formed a marriage alliance.
The chosen pair were the brightest stars of their generation.
Jian Chen.
The young master of the Jian Clan.
And Lin Xue'er.
The young lady of the Lin Clan.
Both possessed top grade Spirit Veins.
Both had displayed extraordinary talent since childhood.
They had grown up together.
Cultivated together.
Explored dangerous ruins together.
And fought countless battles side by side.
To outsiders, their relationship seemed destined to become one of the greatest unions between two ancient clans.
Jian Chen had believed it too.
Lin Xue'er wasn't merely his fiancée.
She was the person he trusted most.
The person he believed would stand beside him no matter how far he climbed.
He had never imagined that the greatest wound of his life would come from the person standing closest to him.
The Heavenfall Secret Realm.
A mysterious realm that appeared only once every ten thousand years.
Only cultivators below the age of thirty could enter.
Whenever it opened, countless young geniuses from across the Divine Realm would enter in search of opportunities capable of changing their destinies.
Ancient inheritances.
Heaven-defying treasures.
Divine weapons.
Techniques left behind by supreme experts.
Anything could be hidden within.
And deep within the Secret Realm stood an ancient palace.
Its walls were covered in cracks, while countless broken swords littered the floor.
Despite the passage of countless years, faint traces of Sword Intent still lingered within the ancient blades.
At the center of the palace floated a weathered jade scroll.
Jian Chen stood before it.
His eyes narrowed.
The moment he entered the palace, he had sensed that the scroll was extraordinary.
Beside him stood Lin Xue'er.
Her beautiful eyes remained fixed upon the jade scroll.
"Be careful."
Her voice was gentle.
Familiar.
The same voice that had accompanied Jian Chen for more than twenty years.
Jian Chen glanced at her and smiled.
"Don't worry."
He reached toward the jade scroll.
The instant his fingers touched it
Boom!
Golden light erupted from the scroll.
The entire palace trembled.
Ancient runes illuminated the walls.
Jian Chen's expression changed.
Before he could react, the jade scroll shattered.
Countless streams of golden light surged toward him.
Boom!
An ancient aura exploded inside his mind.
His soul trembled.
Images flashed through his consciousness.
An ancient figure standing above a boundless sea of swords.
A divine mountain piercing the heavens.
Countless swords floating beneath a blood-red sky.
And at the center of it all...
A single sword.
Its edge seemed capable of splitting the heavens themselves.
Jian Chen's breathing quickened.
What was this?
Whatever it was, it was far beyond anything he had expected to find within the Secret Realm.
Before he could investigate further
Pfft!
A sword pierced through his back.
The blade emerged from his chest.
Jian Chen froze.
For several breaths, his mind went completely blank.
Slowly, he lowered his head.
His gaze fell upon the sword protruding from his chest.
He knew that sword.
The Frost Snow Sword.
The sword he had personally forged for Lin Xue'er.
His fingers trembled.
"...Xue'er?"
He slowly turned around.
Lin Xue'er stood behind him.
The Frost Snow Sword was in her hand.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
Jian Chen stared at her.
He searched her eyes for something.
Regret.
Hesitation.
Fear.
Anything that could tell him this was a misunderstanding.
He found nothing.
Her grip remained steady.
"Why?"
His voice was hoarse.
"We've known each other for more than twenty years."
His breathing became increasingly difficult.
"We're engaged."
"I trusted you more than anyone."
His eyes remained fixed upon hers.
"So why?"
For the first time, Lin Xue'er's eyes flickered.
Only for an instant.
Then the emotion disappeared.
"Because I have never loved you."
Jian Chen's breathing stopped.
Those words hurt more than the sword in his chest.
Lin Xue'er slowly withdrew the Frost Snow Sword.
Blood flowed from the wound.
"I stayed beside you because of the alliance between our clans."
Her voice was quiet.
Cold.
"You were useful to me."
"Nothing more."
Jian Chen stared at her.
"Useful...?"
"Yes."
Her answer came without hesitation.
Yet she avoided his eyes.
Jian Chen noticed.
But before he could make sense of it
Footsteps echoed through the palace.
One.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Figures emerged from the darkness.
They wore the robes of the Lin Clan.
Powerful auras erupted one after another.
Boom!
The atmosphere instantly became oppressive.
Every exit was sealed.
Jian Chen's gaze swept across the surrounding cultivators before returning to Lin Xue'er.
His expression slowly changed.
This wasn't an impulsive betrayal.
It had been planned.
They had waited for him to find the opportunity.
Waited for him to lower his guard.
Waited for Lin Xue'er to strike.
Then another set of footsteps echoed through the palace.
Slow.
Calm.
Unhurried.
A young man dressed in magnificent golden dragon robes walked into the ancient hall.
His bearing was noble.
Every movement carried the confidence of someone accustomed to commanding others.
The Lin Clan experts immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Crown Prince."
Jian Chen's pupils contracted.
"Long Tian."
The Crown Prince of the Great Eternal Divine Dynasty.
One of the strongest young cultivators of his generation.
Long Tian stopped several steps away.
His gaze swept over Jian Chen before settling on the shattered jade scroll.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"The greatest genius of the Jian Clan."
"What a pity."
His eyes narrowed.
"You found it before we did."
Jian Chen's gaze hardened.
"We?"
Long Tian smiled.
"You still don't understand?"
His gaze shifted toward Lin Xue'er.
"She wasn't here to help you find the opportunity."
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
Long Tian continued.
"She was here to make sure you found it."
Jian Chen's pupils shrank.
Long Tian walked toward Lin Xue'er.
"I could have challenged you directly."
"But that would have been foolish."
"You have spent your entire life refining your sword."
"I know exactly how difficult it would be to defeat you while you're at your peak."
He stopped beside Lin Xue'er.
"So I chose another method."
His gaze returned to Jian Chen.
"I didn't need to defeat you."
"I only needed you to trust the right person."
Silence filled the palace.
Jian Chen felt his heart sink.
Long Tian hadn't defeated him through strength.
He had waited.
Planned.
And turned Jian Chen's trust into a weapon against him.
Long Tian extended his hand.
Lin Xue'er placed hers within it.
Jian Chen's chest tightened.
That smile on her face...
He had seen it countless times.
But never directed toward Long Tian.
Long Tian looked at him.
"Before you die, there is something you should know."
"Lin Xue'er has always loved me."
"The engagement between you was nothing more than an arrangement between our clans."
Jian Chen looked at Lin Xue'er.
"Is that true?"
Lin Xue'er met his gaze.
For a brief moment, her fingers tightened around Long Tian's hand.
Then she spoke.
"I have loved Long Tian since I was young."
"For the sake of our plan, I stayed beside you."
"I trained with you."
"I explored ruins with you."
"I made you believe I would always stand beside you."
Her voice remained calm.
"But every moment..."
She paused.
"...was an act."
Something inside Jian Chen cracked.
Twenty years of memories rushed through his mind.
The first time they met.
The years they spent cultivating.
The battles they fought together.
The nights beneath the stars.
The promises.
One memory surfaced above all the others.
An ancient divine tree.
The two of them had stood beneath its branches.
She had smiled at him.
"I will always stand beside you."
Jian Chen had believed her.
He had built his trust upon those words.
Now every beautiful memory felt like another blade.
He lowered his head.
Blood dripped from his fingertips.
"So..."
His voice was barely audible.
"Not even once?"
He slowly raised his eyes.
"Did you ever love me?"
The palace became silent.
Lin Xue'er stared at him.
This time, there was no hesitation.
"No."
"Not even once."
"My heart has always belonged to Long Tian."
Her fingers tightened around his hand.
"I endured twenty years..."
She looked directly at Jian Chen.
"...for today."
Jian Chen closed his eyes.
For several breaths, he said nothing.
Then he understood.
He hadn't lost the woman he loved.
He had lost the person he thought she was.
A quiet laugh escaped his lips.
Long Tian's brows furrowed.
"What are you laughing at?"
Jian Chen raised his head.
His face was pale.
Blood stained his lips.
His breathing was weak.
But his eyes had changed.
The pain was still there.
So was the betrayal.
But the disbelief was gone.
Only clarity remained.
"I finally understand."
His fingers tightened around his sword.
"I spent my entire life believing sincerity would be returned with sincerity."
He looked at Lin Xue'er.
"I believed loyalty would be repaid with loyalty."
His gaze shifted toward Long Tian.
"I was wrong."
Long Tian's smile disappeared.
For the first time, he looked at Jian Chen with genuine seriousness.
Jian Chen slowly wiped the blood from his lips.
Then he looked at Lin Xue'er one final time.
"When we meet again..."
His voice was quiet.
There was no plea in it.
No desperation.
No desire for an explanation.
"I won't ask why you betrayed me."
His grip tightened around his sword.
"I won't ask for an explanation."
His eyes became sharp.
"And I won't ask for regret."
He raised his sword.
"I'll only decide whether you live..."
He paused.
"...or die."
Lin Xue'er's fingers tightened.
Another flicker appeared in her eyes.
Pain?
Regret?
Jian Chen couldn't tell.
He no longer cared.
Long Tian's expression darkened.
"Enough."
He raised his hand.
"Kill him."
The Lin Clan experts stepped forward.
Long Tian's gaze remained fixed upon Jian Chen.
"I want his body intact."
"If the opportunity is inside him, extract it."
Killing intent exploded throughout the palace.
Boom!
The ancient palace trembled.
Jian Chen stood alone at the center.
Blood continued to flow from the wound in his chest.
His robes were soaked red.
Dozens of powerful cultivators surrounded him.
There was nowhere to escape.
No path to survival.
Yet Jian Chen didn't retreat.
He slowly inhaled.
Pain tore through his chest.
His vision blurred.
His right hand trembled around his sword.
He tightened his grip.
His knuckles turned white.
Then the trembling stopped.
He had spent his entire life walking the Sword Dao.
He had fought countless battles.
Faced countless enemies.
Stood at the edge of death more times than he could remember.
A swordsman could lose.
A swordsman could die.
But a swordsman never turned his back on death.
Jian Chen raised his sword.
Clang!
A clear sword cry echoed through the ancient palace.
Everyone froze.
The sound hadn't come from Jian Chen's sword.
It had come from the floor.
A broken sword trembled.
Then
Clang!
Another sword trembled.
Clang!
Another.
The broken swords scattered throughout the palace began to shake.
One.
Ten.
A hundred.
Thousands.
The ancient blades slowly rose from the ground.
The Sword Intent sleeping within them erupted.
Boom!
A terrifying wave of Sword Intent swept through the palace.
The expressions of the Lin Clan experts changed.
"What is happening?"
No one answered.
Long Tian's pupils contracted.
Even Lin Xue'er stared at the rising swords in disbelief.
The broken blades continued ascending.
Higher.
Higher.
Soon, thousands of swords filled the ancient palace.
Sword Intent surged through the air like a storm.
Jian Chen stood beneath the countless blades.
His blood-soaked robes fluttered violently.
He looked upward.
A strange sensation spread through his soul.
Something was watching him.
No.
Not watching.
Recognizing him.
His eyes narrowed.
It wasn't his cultivation.
It wasn't his strength.
It was something deeper.
Something he couldn't explain.
Another broken sword trembled.
Then another.
Then thousands more.
Jian Chen's gaze sharpened.
For the first time since the betrayal, the corner of his mouth lifted.
The ancient palace shook violently.
The countless swords cried out at once.
Clang!
The sound tore through the heavens.
Every cultivator present looked upward in shock.
Jian Chen slowly raised his sword.
He had not called them.
Yet they had answered.
And in that moment, Jian Chen realized something.
His death had not yet arrived.