Chapter 404

Chapter 404: Chapter 403 "Back then, I hammered away tirelessly for who knows how long. I can’t even remember. As if the ’iron’ in my left hand was possessed by a demon, I hammered day and night. Each strike seemed to bring about such bizarre occurrences, and the more it happened, the more I wanted to see what would come of it..." Sword Elder looked at the scene of his younger self continuously striking the ’iron’ with a hammer in his right hand, and he couldn’t help but reminisce deeply, and he sighed uncontrollably.

He seemed immune to cold, heat, hunger, and fatigue. Sword Elder swung the hammer relentlessly, and finally, when his umpteenth strike fell, there was a thunderous roar above him. A Thunder Dragon, yes, a Thunder Dragon, swooped down upon him with its jaws wide open, flashing with lightning, terrifying to behold. Such an immense Heavenly Punishment, Tianchen had never seen before. Generally, Heavenly Punishments start small and increase step by step. Never had it been heard of a Thunder Dragon, so formidable to make even the absolute strongest shudder at its appearance, manifest from the beginning—it was truly shocking.

Boom!

Sword Elder looked up at the sky, then, astonishingly, he swung the hammer in his right hand at the Thunder Dragon above him, shattering it completely. Tianchen himself took a sharp breath at the sight, and couldn’t resist turning back to look at Sword Elder, only to see the old man looking back at Tianchen with pride, saying, "With your current level of cultivation, you’re still far from being able to do that!"

Tianchen pursed his lips, annoyed, "As powerful as you were, you’re already dead. I’m still alive. And with my youth, I have plenty of opportunities to break through. I won’t stoop to arguing with a dead man!"

"You... You’ll end up the same as me, sooner or later..." Sword Elder was so frustrated that he gave Tianchen a fierce glare.

Roar!

Roar!

Roar!

At that moment, in the scene, right after Sword Elder had dispersed the Thunder Dragon, which was a manifestation of the Heavenly Punishment, with a single swing of his hammer, three tremendous roars came from the heavens, shaking everything in all directions. In the unseen heights above, three more Thunder Dragons, each more enormous than the last, plunged down. Even Tianchen, standing outside the scene, felt his heart pound with fear. Let alone the future, with his current level of cultivation, he could never withstand such Heavenly Punishment—he would surely be reduced to ashes. Sword Elder was more advanced in cultivation than himself; could he withstand these three furious Thunder Dragons?

"Kid, do you want to know if I could handle those three Thunder Dragons?" Sword Elder couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

"What do I care? You couldn’t handle them. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be dead," Tianchen disdainfully replied.

"Nonsense, don’t discredit the swordsmithing. Back in the day, I was an Early-stage Martial Saint myself, you’re still far behind, kid!" Sword Elder bellowed loudly, fixated on the scene before him as if once again transported back to the day when he forged the Xuanyuan Sword, the day he stood proud as an Early-stage Martial Saint, battled against the Heavenly Punishment. Even if he ultimately failed, it was something people admired and looked up to.

Heavenly Punishment—almost every cultivator will face it at least once in their lifetime, though there is no limit to the number of times one might encounter it. Of course, there are cultivators who never experience it throughout their life, simply because their cultivation has not reached the level that triggers Heavenly Punishment—in other words, they are not yet qualified to withstand its ordeal. Normally, when encountering Heavenly Punishment, each cultivator is extremely cautious because its arrival indicates that your cultivation has resonated with the Great Universe. It doesn’t want you to break through and progress, so the best method to stop you is to kill you. Almost all cultivators face Heavenly Punishment by sitting cross-legged, circulating their essence energy to protect themselves, and often using their personal weapons as additional defense, enduring the punishment stoically. No one dares to attack the Heavenly Punishment, as that would only provoke greater wrath from the heavens. No one would be foolish to that extent.

Tianchen frowned, watching the scene unfold. Sword Elder, once again facing the three descending Thunder Dragons, underwent a complete transformation. Though he had seemed like an old man with white hair and beard, with difficulty in even walking, in that moment he became like a lion that had been sleeping for ages. With a single strike, he hit the iron in his left hand with his right, and then, abandoning the iron block and hammer, he leaped upwards, soaring into the sky, his hands forming Sealing Skills that are part of the Ancient Martial Arts.

"Heavenly Net Dragon Locking Skill!"

Sword Elder let out a low shout, and with both palms thrust forward, he actually conjured a crystal-clear net that managed to block the three Thunder Dragons diving down with lightning spewing from their mouths. He swiftly entrapped the three Thunder Dragons within, and despite their violent struggles and the trembling of the heavenly vault, they couldn’t break free from the net. Sword Elder dared not to take it lightly; these weren’t true dragons but illusions created by the Heavenly Punishment from above. He flew up without delay and with three punches, he burst the three Thunder Dragons.

Whoosh!

Sword Elder landed on the ground. He looked up at the sky, where there were no longer any tremors. It seemed like the Heavenly Punishment had passed. Once again, he picked up the piece of "iron" with his left hand and the hammer in his right, continuing to pound away. With each strike, mysterious patterns surged out—now the sun, moon, stars, and now mountains, rivers, grass, and trees—all incredibly magical, compelling one to uncover the wonder.

At this moment, Ye Tianchen was truly stunned. He had not expected Sword Elder to be so formidable, perfectly embodying his own words: "Don’t take swordsmiths lightly as experts!"

Only now did Ye Tianchen realize that Sword Elder possessed the strength of an Early-stage Martial Saint, equivalent to an Early-stage Divine Level Superpower User. Yet, Sword Elder’s "Heavenly Net Dragon Locking Skill" was too powerful, having imprisoned the three Thunder Dragons transformed from thunder and with three punches, he shattered them. Ye Tianchen couldn’t help but think about his time on the apocalyptic star, where he too was an Initial Stage Divine Level fighter. However, achieving this feat was quite difficult. It wasn’t as though those at the same realm or even at a comparable realm of cultivation would have identical strengths. Otherwise, why would anyone fear an opponent at the same stage? It has a lot to do with an individual’s effort, innate talent, and opportunities. At the same realm, if the enemy has higher talent and more combat experience, you would still be the one to die.

Ye Tianchen admitted that he couldn’t, like Sword Elder, imprison three Heavenly Punishment Thunder Dragons and explode them with three punches. It seemed the elderly swordsmith before him was not simple at all. A swordsmith with cultivation at the Early-stage Martial Saint level was indeed remarkable, and Sword Elder’s cultivation was even higher than Ye Tianchen’s Early-stage Divine Superpower Realm.

"What a move, Heavenly Net Dragon Locking Skill, to be able to imprison even the Thunder Dragons of the Heavenly Punishment!" Ye Tianchen couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

"If you lad try to tame the Xuanyuan Sword, I will pass this Absolute Skill on to you!" Sword Elder temptingly said.

"Not interested!" Ye Tianchen said indifferently.

"You... Don’t be ungrateful, boy. This Heavenly Net Dragon Locking Skill is profound and vast, designed especially to counter Heavenly Punishment. As the world’s number one swordsmith, many of the Divine Swords I craft must endure the ordeals of Heavenly Punishment. How could I not have a specialized skill to counter it? Moreover, once mastered to great success, it’s not just dragons that can be locked but the entire heaven and earth. Countless individuals have sought to apprentice under me, but I’ve not agreed. You really don’t know how fortunate you are!" Sword Elder was shaking all over with anger, regardless of how he enticed, Ye Tianchen would not easily agree to try subduing the Xuanyuan Sword.

"It seems you were careless; there should be an even greater Heavenly Punishment coming..." Anyone with common sense could deduce that with Sword Elder’s cultivation reaching the Early-stage Martial Saint level, he was already among the pinnacle of experts, possessing a specialized skill to counter Heavenly Punishment. It wouldn’t be easy for the Heavenly Punishment to simply eliminate him. Three Thunder Dragons, thick as barrels, descended with the force of flashing lightning, shaking the heavens, were all destroyed by Sword Elder. This display of Early-stage Martial Saint strength was something Ye Tianchen couldn’t hope to match. If he hadn’t been careless and had anticipated an even greater Heavenly Punishment, how could he have died so easily?

"Carelessness is just one reason; more importantly, I... was... ambushed..." Sword Elder said through gritted teeth.

"Ambush? At a time like this, someone dared to ambush you?" This time, Ye Tianchen was genuinely shocked, surprised to the point of disbelief.

Upon hearing Sword Elder’s words, Ye Tianchen was astonished, truly shaken. He was not one to be easily swayed emotionally; he might appear carefree and unreliable on the outside, but his heart was incredibly steadfast. He just believed life should not be colorless.

What Ye Tianchen did not expect was that Sword Elder’s death turned out to be the result of an ambush, and someone dared to ambush him under such circumstances. That person must be an unmatched expert; considering the colossal and terrifying nature of the Heavenly Punishment that Sword Elder faced, who but an unparalleled expert would dare to approach? This was akin to seeking death. Normally, when a cultivator undergoes the baptism of Heavenly Punishment, other cultivators dare not come near, lest their own Heavenly Punishment be invoked by their proximity—self-inflicted suffering and death.

Sword Elder glanced at Ye Tianchen, sighed, and looking at the scene before him said, "Keep watching. I do not know who that person is, but he is very strong, truly strong. He killed me, subdued the power of the Heavenly Dao, and even took the Xuanyuan Sword..." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it and give it a monthly pass. Your support is my greatest motivation.)