Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

The Sword-Hanging Kingdom was located on an island in the West Sea. Although it was much smaller than the Fuyao Kingdom, which was also located on an island, it was ranked second among the kingdoms in the four seas. Like many minor kingdoms in the Western Regions, it had only one major city, which shared the kingdom's name—Sword-Hanging City.

In Sword-Hanging City, everyone carried swords, and in the countryside, every household forged them. In this kingdom that revered the sword as the most beautiful thing, it was common for powerful sword cultivators to emerge. Among them, the current Sword Emperor, Chen Erniu, was considered one of the finest rulers in the kingdom’s history.[1]

At this moment, in Sword-Hanging City, both men and women walked the streets dressed in white with swords at their sides. This was the aesthetic standard of the kingdom. Anyone dressed in different colors was likely a foreigner.

"What a remarkable place," a man in the crowd wearing a conical hat remarked.

Though the conical hat obscured most of his face, the faint stubble and strong jawline revealed a rugged, mature handsomeness.

Beside him stood a woman in a simple white dress, also wearing a conical hat. Although her face was hidden, her aura alone drew the frequent glances of passersby.

These two were none other than the Whale-Riding Immortal and Jiang Yuebai.

They walked to the palace, where two towering platforms were under construction. To call them platforms was an understatement; they were more like two enormous white stone pillars, nearly a hundred zhang tall, piercing into the clouds.

That was where Daoist Yan and the Sword Emperor of the West Sea would compete.

Sword cultivators fighting for control of a Great Dao would never resort to flashy techniques. They communicated solely through their swords without exchanging needless words.

In this case, there could only be one eighth-realm cultivator.

The winner would ascend while the loser would step down.

The citizens of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom were thrilled. This was unlike the previous duel between the Sword Saint of the nine provinces and the Sword Emperor of the West Sea. That duel had just been an opening performance at the Assembly of Immortal Sects, and as a performance, there was a limit to how serious and intense it could be.

But now, the stakes were unimaginable. A fight for the title of Dao Master, where every strike could be the last—where life and death were but mere whispers in the wind.

It had been many years since the citizens of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom had seen their king unleash his full power. This time, they hoped to witness the brilliance he had displayed in his youth.

"I'm just worried that Daoist Yan from the Mount Shu Sect might be defeated in one strike. I hope she's strong enough so we can see more of the king's swordsmanship!" a young passerby said loudly.

"Haha, exactly!" his companion agreed quickly. "She might be too weak."

Indeed, this was what the citizens of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom generally thought.

The fight between the Sword Emperor of the West Sea and Daoist Yan was a fight between an eighth-realm and a seventh-realm, which meant that the Sword Emperor of the West Sea held an overwhelming advantage. Furthermore, the Mount Shu Sect had no legendary artifact to rely on, leaving Daoist Yan without even the chance to cheat with such tools.

What could she possibly do to bridge the vast chasm between the seventh and eighth realms?

"Esteemed teacher..." Jiang Yuebai murmured, her voice trembling with worry as she spoke the words.

"Don’t worry," the Whale-Riding Immortal said with a hearty laugh. "Yan Zi has always been the most reliable. She never does anything she’s not confident about. No matter how strong the Sword Emperor of the West Sea is, could he possibly be stronger than me? Yan Zi has defeated me before, after all…"

Right then, he suddenly raised his gaze.

He tilted his conical hat upward, just enough to reveal his eyes. His gaze, sharp as a sword, shot toward a nearby pavilion. He stared at it intensely for quite a while. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and walked away with his daughter.

Inside the pavilion, an elegant youth with smooth skin and a scale on his forehead and a sickly-looking middle-aged man were lying on the ground, flat on their stomachs.

Both of them were gasping for air.

These two were Ji Lingjue and Yang Bujue from the Celestial Charm Sect.

"Who was that?" Ji Lingjue asked in a deep voice. "Such immense cultivation power."

"We were so close to being discovered," Yang Bujue muttered, cold sweat glistening on his forehead. "They don’t appear to be members of the Divine Nine. Maybe they’re simply here for the show."

"We must be incredibly careful moving forward," Ji Lingjue said, still shaken by the near discovery.

…

"I have two friends in Sword-Hanging City. They can help arrange accommodations," Lin Bei said with a smile.

The duel between Daoist Yan and the Sword Emperor of the West Sea was set for the following day. However, Mount Shu was far from the sea. While Daoist Yan and Di Nufeng could easily get there with a streak of sword light or fire, those like Chu Liang's group, who traveled at a normal pace aboard an airship, would have to leave early in the morning to arrive the same day. Arriving a day earlier seemed like the better choice.

Upon their arrival, Lin Bei immediately sought out his friends, and together, they secured a secluded courtyard, tucked away in the quietest part of the city. The arrangement was quite excellent.

Chu Liang, Shang Ziliang, Xu Ziyang, Lin Bei, Ling Ao—this group of young people who knew each other well were eager to witness tomorrow's grand battle.

When the time came, the Sword Emperor of the West Sea would have the advantage of being on his home ground, with countless citizens of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom cheering him on. As a result, many disciples from Mount Shu were planning to attend, with many others staying in inns around the city.

It could be said that Lin Bei, having built strong connections through the Foreign Affairs Hall, had flourished even more with the stage provided by Red Cotton Peak, where his networking talents bloomed to their fullest extent.

As everyone settled into their accommodations and thought about where to have dinner that evening, a sudden knock came from outside the door.

"Who’s knocking?" Lin Bei asked as he went to open the door.

When he opened it, a group of men dressed in white, swords strapped to their backs, strode in without hesitation.

The leader of the group was a young man in his late twenties, with an honest and steadfast appearance. His sharp gaze and aura indicated a high level of cultivation.

Chu Liang found the man somewhat familiar.

"Honored disciples of Mount Shu…" The man stepped into the courtyard, bowing before introducing himself. "I am Chen Kaitai of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom."

It turned out he was the crown prince of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom.

Chu Liang suddenly remembered. During the Assembly of Immortal Sects, he had teamed up with his brothers and sisters from the Great Astral Sect and South Melody Conservatory to scheme against the Sword-Hanging Kingdom’s team, eliminating them.

He stood up immediately and asked politely, "So it’s the Crown Prince of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

"My father will be engaging in a duel with Esteemed Senior Daoist Yan for control of his Great Dao tomorrow. Before that, I have a request," Chen Kaitai said. He then turned to Xu Ziyang and continued, "I wish to challenge you."

"Hmm?" Xu Ziyang raised his eyes to meet his gaze. "Why?"

He didn’t have any grudge with Chen Kaitai. In fact, he had been eliminated from the competition and sent home earlier than the Sword-Hanging Kingdom’s team.

"Back during the Assembly of Immortal Sects, I was eliminated by Mount Shu Sect’s team. That failure has haunted me ever since, becoming a barrier in my cultivation of sword," Chen Kaitai confessed.

He went on, explaining his reasoning. "Initially, I intended to challenge Young Hero Chu to rid myself of this inner demon. But after the great ordeal he endured, his cultivation level still has yet reached the sixth realm. To challenge him now would be exploiting his weakness in a moment of vulnerability. But aside from him, you are the only disciple of the Mount Shu Sect who participated in the assembly, so I am challenging you instead."

In truth, this stemmed from the Sword Emperor of the West Sea’s training philosophy. In his youth, he was repeatedly defeated, yet he rose time and again, overcoming every opponent, no matter how many losses he endured. In the end, he conquered every obstacle that stood in his way.

Chen Kaitai had always looked up to his father, striving to follow in his footsteps. Without a doubt, his greatest failure in life was being eliminated during the Assembly of Immortal Sects.

Now that he had reached the peak of the sixth realm and was striving to break through to the seventh, he needed to overcome every obstacle in his cultivation of the sword.

Since he couldn’t challenge Chu Liang, and Jiang Yuebai was not at Mount Shu, he could only choose Xu Ziyang.

Ling Ao, off to the side, quietly watched the scene play out before him. With a gentle breath, he blew away the tea leaves swirling on the surface of his cup, pretending as though he had no idea of what was happening around him.

"If that's the case…" Chu Liang stepped forward and said, "I suggest that Your Highness challenge me first. If you truly find my abilities lacking, you can then challenge Senior Brother Xu."

"Young Hero Chu…" Chen Kaitai started to speak, but as he locked eyes with Chu Liang’s unwavering gaze, he figured that Chu Liang was not one to recklessly stand up for others. He paused, then said, "In that case, please enlighten me."

The challenge came out of nowhere, but the disciples of Mount Shu Sect were unfazed, calmly sipping their tea and watching from beneath the pavilion.

If Xu Ziyang were to fight, they would not have felt as confident. But with Chu Liang, for some reason, they always felt this unshakable sense of confidence.

"Let’s spar a bit, just to exchange pointers. I kindly ask Your Highness to go easy on me," Chu Liang said with a smile.

With that, he summoned an ancient-looking flying sword, which hovered in front of his chest.

Chen Kaitai looked at the sword, finding it somewhat familiar but didn’t think much of it.

He had read in The Seven Stars Gazette about the Demon-Slaying Sword being auctioned by Chu Liang, but he had assumed it was bought by Mount Shu Sect. It never once crossed his mind that the Demon-Slaying Sword had been a personal purchase made by Chu Liang.

Immediately, he summoned his own flying sword as well.

He remained focused, sharp, and fierce.

His gaze was strikingly similar to that of Chen Erniu in his youth. The entire Sword-Hanging Kingdom believed that this crown prince would one day become another Sword Emperor of the West Sea.

Chen Kaitai held himself to the same standard.

With foundational qi flowing through his body, he raised his sword high, and in an instant, his aura surged, soaring a hundred zhang as though it could pierce the heavens themselves!

The moment the sword was in his hand, his once honest demeanor was replaced by an overwhelming sharpness.

Boom!

The full-force strike of a sword cultivator at the peak of the sixth realm was terrifying. It felt as if the very air in the courtyard had been stripped away, and even the bystanders felt a sense of suffocation.

The vast and overwhelming sword qi, carrying the essence of the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination, seemed powerful enough to tear Chu Liang apart with just a single thread of its force.

Yet Chu Liang remained completely calm, casually waving his sword.

Swish.

A streak of sword qi, ablaze with radiant flames, shot forward in an instant.

He unleashed the Sword Strike of Severing the Void.

Given Chu Liang’s current level of foundational qi, the power of this strike might not match Chen Kaitai’s. Somehow, when released from this sword, it carried an unexpected divine strength, slicing through the sword qi that carried the very essence of the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination, severing it in an instant.

Chen Kaitai’s expression changed in an instant. He quickly lifted his sword to block, but the sheer force of the sword intent was too much, sending him flying more than ten zhang before he collided violently with a high wall.

Boom!

Meanwhile, the dissipating remnants of Chen Kaitai's sword qi grazed past Chu Liang’s shoulders. Chu Liang didn’t even bother to block, allowing the sword qi to strike his body.

Thud, thud!

He stood motionless, but not a single strand of his hair was harmed. The power of the sword qi was neutralized. With his high level of physical endurance, even a full strike of sword qi might not harm him, let alone these lingering threads of sword qi.

Chu Liang felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he sheathed the sword. He had accepted this challenge specifically to test the Demon-Slaying Sword’s effectiveness against humans. It was said that while the sword was highly effective against demons, it was less so when used against people. He had been curious to see how true that was.

As it turned out, the sword was only slightly less effective against humans. It was still powerful enough to be ranked near the top in the Catalog of the Mortal World’s Ten Thousand Treasures. The conclusion was that it would likely be a fair statement to say that the sword ranked in the top twenty and forty against demons and humans respectively.

After a moment of stunned silence, Chen Kaitai blurted out, "The Demon-Slaying Sword!"

He had finally regained his senses and suddenly remembered where he had seen this sword before.

The sword that Chu Liang had pulled out while asking him to go easy was the Demon-Slaying Sword!

1. Presumably, “Sword Emperor” is his title/nickname as the Dao Master of the Sword, not as the ruler of a kingdom. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: GT

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