Volume One, Chapter Seven: The Neighbors Are Too Noisy

Next to the Gu family estate stood the most prestigious sword sect in this realm—the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords.

Deep within the sanctuary, the sect leader, Jian Wuya, was immersed in seclusion.

He was a powerhouse on the verge of ascending to the supreme Emperor realm, needing only one final step to reach that pinnacle.

At the very moment a faint sword intent slipped through his meditation, Jian Wuya suddenly opened his eyes wide, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

He sensed it.

An unparalleled, primordial sword intent, as if born before the dawn of chaos itself.

This sword intent made his own cultivation as a near-Emperor seem immature and laughable.

“Next door… in that mysterious mansion next door, a ‘Sword Dao Immortal Fetus’ has been born!”

The very thought made Jian Wuya unable to remain seated.

This was both a tremendous opportunity and a colossal threat that could overturn the entire Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords.

He immediately summoned all the elders to the grand hall to discuss their strategy.

A hawkish elder with sharp eyes and an imposing aura spoke first.

“Master, this is a once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity for our sanctuary.”

“In my opinion, we should act quickly before this talent fully matures and forcibly ‘invite’ him here.”

“Adopt him as a direct disciple and carefully ‘teach’ him. One day, he will surely bring us a true Sword Emperor’s Dao fruit!”

His words were met with resounding agreement throughout the hall.

Yet inside, Jian Wuya struggled fiercely with himself.

Reason told him that whoever resided in that mysterious mansion was not someone they could provoke lightly.

But the temptation brought by that supreme sword intent whispered like a devil’s voice, gradually eroding his resolve.

After much hesitation, greed finally overcame reason.

“This matter is grave; we must not act rashly,” Jian Wuya said gravely.

“First, send someone to probe the true nature of this ‘mysterious neighbor.’”

“Lin Feng.”

He called a name.

A young man in white robes, handsome and proud in bearing, stepped forward from the elders’ seats.

He was Lin Feng, the most outstanding prodigy of this generation in the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords, a Sword Scion.

Despite his youth, he had already reached the Sage King realm and considered himself invincible among his peers.

“I’m here.”

“You will take several guardian elders and pay a visit next door.”

Jian Wuya’s tone was laden with meaning.

“Probe the truth, but no more than necessary.”

“Yes, Master.”

Lin Feng accepted the order, a confident smirk playing at his lips.

Soon, he arrived at the gates of the Gu estate with several deeply powerful guardians.

He looked up.

The gate was plain and unadorned, lacking even a proper protective formation.

At the entrance stood an old servant dressed in coarse linen, leisurely sweeping fallen leaves with a shabby broom.

Lin Feng’s caution immediately lessened.

He adjusted his robes and struck what he believed to be a casual, disdainful pose, speaking arrogantly.

“Those inside, listen well.”

“I am Lin Feng, Sword Scion of the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords. I’ve heard you have a sword prodigy within and have come to ‘discuss swordsmanship’!”

The old servant paused, slowly lifting his head.

His cloudy, lifeless eyes glanced first at the haughty Lin Feng, then at the guardians lurking in the void.

Then he cracked a smile, enigmatic and knowing.

Lin Feng’s boast echoed in front of the empty gate, but stirred not the slightest ripple.

The old man sweeping the ground didn’t even bother to raise his head again, continuing his slow, endless task.

This utter disregard stung Lin Feng more than any outright insult.

A shadow darkened his handsome face, and his hand instinctively tightened around his sword hilt.

“Hmph.”

Behind Lin Feng, a guardian elder snorted coldly.

A heavy pressure radiated from him, causing the surrounding void to stagnate, the air thickening like molten iron.

“My Sword Scion is speaking to you, old man. Are you deaf?”

Inside his chamber, Gu Changsheng was finally roused awake by the commotion at the door.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up, clearly annoyed.

His afternoon nap was the most vital part of his cultivation, and any disturbance was unforgivable.

Slipping on his slippers, he stepped out and complained to the steward standing in the courtyard.

“Fubo, the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords next door is getting louder by the day.”

“Before, I could tolerate their constant clanging of swords, but now they’ve learned to block the gate and shout.”

“Make them quiet.”

Fubo bowed slightly, his expression eternally respectful.

“Yes, Young Master.”

He understood immediately and silently sent a divine thought beyond the estate gate.

“Clear the area so the Young Master can have peace.”

At the gate, the old servant sweeping suddenly straightened his bent back for a moment.

With the shabby broom in his hand, he casually swept toward the arrogant Lin Feng and his group.

It was like brushing dust off the steps.

No earth-shattering energy burst, no fierce collision of laws.

Lin Feng and the guardians only felt a faint breeze brush their cheeks.

Then, nothing happened.

The breeze ceased.

The arrogance on Lin Feng’s face had yet to fade when his expression froze.

He horrifiedly ‘saw’ that his famed, pristine “Immaculate Sword Heart,” heralded as unmatched through the ages, was suddenly riddled with countless cracks, as if a fine porcelain vessel shattered to pieces.

Within him, the sword essence surged wildly like a floodgate broken open, spilling forth without any cohesion.

The guardians behind him looked pale as paper, black blood slowly seeping from their orifices.

Their treasured sword weapons, the lifeblood of their souls, howled mournfully in their minds.

The spiritual energy accumulated over millennia on the blades had been forcibly ‘swept’ away by that breeze, reduced to worthless scrap metal!

Terror, arriving too late, instantly overwhelmed their entire consciousness.

The old servant, having done all this, seemed to have only performed a trivial task.

He hoisted his broom and turned to walk back inside as a voice echoed within Fubo’s heart.

“The entrance is clear.”

“There’s still some ‘dust’ inside the sanctuary. This old slave will sweep it all away tonight.”

That night, under a moonless sky with howling winds,

The mighty protective array of the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords, composed of billions of sword weapons and famed for its ability to slay Emperors, silently extinguished all its lights.

In the sect’s grand hall, sect leader Jian Wuya and the elders, anxiously awaiting news, simultaneously snapped their eyes open and spat out mouthfuls of reverse-flowing blood.

They were horrified to discover that their connection to their swords—the bond woven into their bloodline and souls—had been forcibly severed by an unfathomable, irresistible force.

Their once proud Sword Hearts had been completely ‘swept clean’, leaving no trace of sword intent.

The next day,

Throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, no sword sounds issued forth from the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Swords.

All disciples and elders, from sect leader to servants, had become ‘useless’—unable to cultivate swordsmanship any longer.

A top-tier sanctuary that had flourished for countless eras had fallen from its lofty heights in a single night, reduced to a third-rate sect of no consequence.

And the provocateur of it all was none other than Gu Changsheng, with his impatient command: “Make them quiet.”

[System Notification: The host’s words decide the rise and fall of sanctuaries; the interference with causality has reached a new peak. Reward: “Relaxation Points” 5,000. Unlocked family building: ‘Causality Shielding Dome’ (capable of blocking all family secrets and isolating all forms of surveillance).]