"Shangguan Yu, I understand that Zhao Jianxing's influence spans Blue Soul and thousands of realms, but can a sage truly be infallible? Can his disciples, no matter their actions, avoid wrongdoing? Now Zhao Jianxing lacks both virtue and skill; living in disgrace would be worse than dying outright. Why should he still hold the position of head teacher?" Liu Xuan scoffed.
"Shut up! Heartless wretch!" Shangguan Yu shouted, filled with anger.
"According to the first rule of Blue Soul, the head position is reserved for the Sword Pavilion's lord! Even if the position changes, Zhao Xuanran will still hold it," added the Fourth Sword Revered, Chen Dong, speaking up suddenly.
Among the eight major sword-wielding factions, Sword Pavilion is the strongest; the other seven only maintain a balance together. Long ago, they jointly established the eight Blue Soul principles, with the first rule naturally solidifying Sword Pavilion's core position.
"Are you joking? No one worthy left, so the position goes to another corrupt successor? What has Blue Soul become, a den of thieves?" Yao Manxue sneered.
"Sword Pavilion's legacy is on the verge of being dismissed. So, who can become head teacher now? After hundreds of years, this Blue Soul rule needs to change!" Zhang Jian asserted.
Their intentions were becoming more evident with every exchange.
"The Seventh Sword Revered is right!" Ye Tiance, with an eagle-eyed gaze, stated sternly, "There's a time for tradition and a time for change. The time has changed, and we must adopt new ways to guide Blue Soul down the correct path."
"Indeed!"
"I, the Third Sword of Jianfeng, agree!"
"We do too!"
"The First Sword Revered, who do you think should take on the role of head teacher?" Zhang Jian eagerly asked.
"Without hesitation, I say Ye Guying! He is Blue Soul's pride!" Ye Tiance declared.
Ye Guying had risen to prominence in the Sea of Ten Thousand Swords, and though he had once respected his youthful counterpart, now there was no need. According to Blue Soul's rule, the head of Blue Soul must be Sword Pavilion's leader. But they would eventually overthrow this rule. However, to silence all Blue Soul sword cultivators, they still needed a "legitimate banner" to rally behind.
Tonight, tarnishing Zhao Jianxing's once-honored name was the best time.
"Sword King Ye, who shook the Sea of Ten Thousand Swords, is Blue Soul's pride!" praised Zhang Jian.
"What past Sword Pavilion heads ever managed to enter the Taboo Tower?" Liu Xuan mocked.
"He's destined to lead Blue Soul into a new era, rejuvenating Blue Soul's spirit and eradicating Sword Pavilion's monsters and evil!" declared Yao Manxue, finalizing their verdict.
Outside, many sword cultivators listened in stunned silence, astonished by the fierce exchange. Who was truly righteous? And who was corrupt, twisting facts and making false accusations? Despite everything, Ye Guying's existence emboldened these people.
"Close the doors!" Ye Tiance ordered.
"I'll handle it." Yao Manxue got up and shooed the surrounding sword cultivators outside: "Move along!"
The main hall closed, and Ye Tiance's expression turned dark and cold.
"Shangguan Yu, Chen Dong, and Li Chenlong!" He glared at the three of them, saying, "The words you just heard were for everyone else. What I'm about to say is just for you."
The three stood silent, teeth clenched.
"Listen!" Ye Tiance's gaze was sharp.
"Tonight, I don't need your consent, but take this as your final warning. Any further resistance will leave you with no place to rest when Ye Guying return."
"From this moment, anyone who mentions the Blue Soul rule again will lose their head."
"There will be no Sword Pavilion in the future Blue Soul. This is Ye Guying's sect now, his decisions alone."
"Whoever stands in our way, dies. Understood?"
The silence that followed was as thick as death.
Suddenly, Shangguan Yu laughed.
"What's so funny?" Ye Tiance asked menacingly.
"I laugh at you, abusing power, and scheming this entire charade just to tarnish Zhao Jianxing's name out of fear that his character may still sway others!" Shangguan Yu's gaze held only disdain.
It was not a contempt of strength, but of character—a scorn for a group of petty villains and their hollow personas.
"Very well! Your words have sealed your fate; in ten days, you will be dead!" Ye Tiance clenched his fists, his expression twisted in rage.
"Justice will prevail! Befriending the likes of you has dishonored my sword!" Shangguan Yu spat, then turned and stormed out the door.
"She's chosen death. What about you?" Ye Tiance sneered at Chen Dong and Li Chenlong.
The two exchanged a look and prepared to leave.
"Hold them!" cried several elders of the Fourth and Fifth Jianfeng, shaking their heads as they restrained them.
"See? This is the will of the people!" Ye Tiance laughed.
"Fine. You've all chosen to side together. But once Blue Soul is reshaped, there will still be a place for you two at the top!" Ye Tiance mocked.
The momentum was clear; the people had to yield.
"Ye brother," Yao Manxue asked coldly, "what next?"
"Let's defile Zhao Jianxing's reputation and announce Sword King Ye's ascent!" Zhang Jian suggested.
Ye Tiance grinned. "We'll blacken Zhao Jianxing's name so thoroughly that he can never recover!"
"Please, explain in detail," Liu Xuan said respectfully.
Ye Tiance's face was filled with malice.
"First, open the Grand Palace, symbolizing the noble way."
"Second, draw 100 cauldrons of filth and blood, along with monster corpses and excrement, and pour it over Sword Pavilion's grounds."
"Third, dig up the graves of the seven Sword Pavilion disciples."
With each instruction, the gathered sword-revered and elders grew horrified.
"You!"
Chen Dong, filled with fury, tried to stand, but a group of Fourth Jianfeng elders held him back, almost pleading for him to stay silent.
"To defile the Grand Palace, foul the mountain, and desecrate the graves—that's truly ruthless!" Zhang Jian fawned.
"Zhao Jianxing, who deceived the world with his false virtues, deserves nothing but mockery. When the Blue Soul sword cultivators see this, they'll understand," Yao Manxue smirked.
Zhang Jian laughed. "Wouldn't Zhao Jianxing go mad from this?"
"I think it's highly likely," Ye Tiance said, smirking, "if not a certainty!"
"Insulted, humiliated to death—a fitting end for him," Yao Manxue scoffed.
"Once his image is ruined, no past Sword Pavilion head will overshadow Ye Guying's legacy," Ye Tiance proclaimed.
"What about Yun Xiao?" Liu Xuan inquired.
"That boy's probably hiding; there's no point in hunting him down. When Sword Pavilion is humiliated, he'll return," Ye Tiance sneered.
"Good!"
"At the appointed time, to avoid any chance of Zhao Jianxing escaping, we'll oversee the operation remotely," Ye Tiance said.
"Excellent!" Zhang Jian and Liu Xuan, who feared Zhao Jianxing's wrath, nodded eagerly.
"Gather every Blue Soul elder, amass them at Sword Pavilion, and announce Zhao Jianxing's punishment!" Ye Tiance ordered.
"Yes!" Yao Manxue and the others nodded.
"Anyone who doesn't come will be cut off from Blue Soul's future," Ye Tiance warned, looking pointedly at Chen Dong and Li Chenlong.
"Don't worry, our elders in Fourth and Fifth Jianfeng will attend!" several elders replied hastily.
"Zhang Jian, you'll handle the collection of filth. Make sure it's enough to stain Sword Pavilion for a decade!" Ye Tiance said.
"That might take a few hours," Zhang Jian replied.
"Fine, we have time," Ye Tiance replied with satisfaction.
"Prepare the seven Jianfeng disciples for a grand display, lighting up the night sky to welcome the new era!" Ye Tiance ordered.
"Whose name?"
"Ye Guying's, the solitary one!"
As Ye Tiance declared these words, a small black beast in the corner grabbed two large drumsticks from the table and disappeared.
The night was thick and still, as silence cloaked the mountainous realm of Blue Soul Sword Sect. Only the winds whispered through the trees, carrying word of the momentous gathering at the First Jianfeng's Ye Ancestral Hall. The grand golden palace, radiant even in darkness, held the ancestral spirit tablets, crafted from precious crystals that emitted an eerie glow. Generations of the Ye clan's sword cultivators were immortalized here, their spirits bearing witness to the deeds and ambitions of their descendants.
Before the sacred hall, over a thousand sword cultivators, from iron-hearted elders to zealous disciples, knelt in anticipation. At the fore, stood Ye Xuanying, an imposing figure, silver-haired and eagle-eyed, revered as the former First Sword Revere. Now retired, yet ever influential, his presence still commanded respect and fear. Beside him were Ye Tiance, his son and current First Sword Revere, his wife, and nearly a hundred Ye clan members—together they constituted a formidable force, bound by lineage and ambition.
The day's bitter news still simmered. Yun Xiao, a lone swordsman, had slain their strongest disciples, humiliating them beyond measure. Ye Tiance's own younger kin, Ye Ziyan, had fallen, further stoking the fires of vengeance. Now, there was talk of finally dismantling the ancient Blue Soul gauge that had for generations governed the sect, cementing a new rule under the Ye clan's grip.
Ye Xuanying's voice reverberated as he addressed the assembly, his tone brimming with pride. "My son," he said, gesturing to Ye Tiance, "you and Ye Guying have realized my life's unfulfilled dream. With the Blue Soul gauge in our hands, we usher in a new era for our family—a legacy that will last for a thousand generations!"
His words sparked a fervent cry among the disciples, many of whom had harbored resentment against the Sword Pavilion's long-held dominance. Ye Tiance nodded approvingly, basking in the support as his followers prepared to honor their ancestors with a dazzling Sword Soul display. Across the sect, other Jianfeng factions began organizing the brilliant formation that would illuminate the sky with the three defining symbols of the Ye clan: "Leaf," "Shadow," and "Solitary."
But as the crowd knelt in reverence, a startled gasp rose from one disciple. A figure stood atop the golden palace, his white robes stark against the dark night sky, his presence almost supernatural. "Yun Xiao!" someone cried out, shattering the tense silence.
As if stepping from legend, Yun Xiao descended from the palace roof, his cold gaze sweeping over the assembly. His presence alone exuded an aura of unyielding strength, his stance a declaration of defiance. He spoke, his voice resonant and unflinching: "Ye Guying's treachery taints the Blue Soul Sword Sect, twisting its legacy to fuel his ambition. And here, you gather to forsake the honor of the Sword Pavilion, to stain this sacred ground with your deceit. But I tell you now—I will not let that happen."
The disciples stirred, their expressions a mix of awe and apprehension. Yun Xiao's name was spoken like a curse, one that had come to exact retribution for the Ye clan's hubris. For a brief moment, even Ye Xuanying's steely gaze faltered, caught off guard by Yun Xiao's fearless condemnation.
In that charged silence, Yun Xiao's voice cut through like a blade. "Just as I extinguished Jiang Thirty-Three and his treachery, so shall I extinguish those who seek to corrupt this sect. I, Yun Xiao, will see justice done."