vrcanaries Chapter 664: The Fallen Sword of the Capital
Chapter 664: The Fallen Sword of the Capital
Before the furious, purple-faced Elder Victor could unleash an absolute, cataclysmic strike to salvage his shattered capital pride, a soft, melodious, yet chillingly sharp voice smoothly resonated across the entire fractured plaza.
"Victor... if you or your desperate little entourage take even a single, uncalculated step closer to those marble stairs, I will personally slice your ancient hands clean off your wrists before you can draw a single breath."
Elder Victor instantly froze, a sudden, involuntary tremor of pure instinctive dread running straight down his spine. His heavy, Peak Golden Core aura violently flickered like a candle in a sudden gale as he frantically turned his head toward the source of the voice.
Stepping out from the shadow of a luxurious, floating carriage that had remained silently parked at the edge of the VIP sector was an elegant, middle-aged woman wrapped in pristine, white-and-silver battle robes. It was Elder Heidy.
The moment her name was whispered through the crowd, a collective, terrified gasp rippled across the thousands of watching disciples. Heidy was a notoriously furious, terrifyingly powerful sword master who held a legendary, blood-soaked reputation back at the Central Sect Headquarters for being an absolute, unhinged monster in live combat. Twenty long years ago, she had been a dazzling, unmatched prodigy whose path toward the absolute summit of the sect seemed completely unstoppable. The heavy rumors back then explicitly stated that she was the designated, undisputed heiress to lead a supreme secondary branch, or that she had already successfully passed the elite recruitment tournament to become the direct personal disciple of a Supreme Grand Elder at the capital.
Regrettably, a devastating, catastrophic ambush by a rival faction during a high-stakes frontier mission had completely truncated her glorious destiny.
Although she had managed to narrowly survive the slaughter, she had been left hovering at the absolute brink of death for months. Her primary meridians had been so thoroughly shattered, fragmented, and corrupted by forbidden martial poison that even the Chief Grand Master of the Alchemical Guild at the Main Sect Headquarters had ultimately shaken his head in utter defeat, unable to execute a single miracle to restore her baseline flow. A true, once-in-a-generation genius had been permanently crippled, her cultivation violently stagnated at the absolute peak of her realm ever since.
There were highly confidential, classified rumors circulating within the upper echelons that the elite Soaring Dragon Realm had previously managed to formulate a legendary, divine pill capable of perfectly curing a supreme general of the Golden Dragon Empire who had suffered almost identical, irreparable meridian lacerations. However, the Heavenly Sword Pavilion could never logistically request or purchase such a miracle asset. The major cultivation sects had long been a massive, irritating thorn in the eyes of the sovereign Imperial Court; the Golden Dragon Empire would sooner watch every single sect elder rot into dust before granting them a single scrap of medicine to bolster their independent strength.
Elder Heidy slowly walked forward, her hand resting casually on the hilt of her silver longsword, her piercing, freezing gaze locked entirely onto the four trembling old men blocking the stairs.
"This young man has explicitly made his administrative rules perfectly clear to your decaying minds," Heidy stated, her voice carrying an absolute, razor-sharp vibration that caused Victor’s Peak Golden Core defenses to instinctively scream in panic. "The Immortal Doctor’s Pavilion exclusively treats the female lineage. If your ancient sacks of bones cannot accept his terms, then crawl back to your capital chambers and prepare your coffins in silence. Do not stand in the way of those of us who actually possess a valid constitution to enter."
The massive multitude in the plaza remained completely frozen, a heavy, suffocating silence locking down the entire commercial district. Although there were hundreds, if not thousands, of sequential queue numbers already distributed among the crowd, not a single disciple, wealthy merchant, or local elder possessed the absolute, suicidal audacity to utter a single word of protest to Elder Heidy. They simply held their breaths, rapidly parting like a receding tide to create a wide, flawless path for the legendary sword master as she calmly ascended the marble steps.
Ethan stood at the top of the terrace, his large hands still loosely tucked inside his vibrant crimson sleeves. As Heidy stepped onto the upper platform, closing the distance between them, Ethan looked at her closely, his amethyst eyes carrying a rare, genuinely analytical glint.
He was slightly, yet undeniably, impacted by the sheer aesthetic contrast of her presence.
Heidy possessed the striking, breathtakingly powerful aura of a true valkyrie. Despite the passage of two decades since her catastrophic downfall, her physical carriage carried the sharp, dangerous precision of a freshly unsheathed divine blade, yet it was seamlessly blended with the refined elegance and majestic poise of a sovereign imperial princess. Her skin was pale and pristine, though a few faint, silver battle scars traced along her jawline and neck—marks of the brutal ambush that had broken her destiny. To Ethan, these physical imperfections did not diminish her grandeur in the slightest; instead, they enhanced her fierce, unyielding beauty, making her stand out far more than any pampered, soft lady of the inner court.
Recognizing her supreme baseline constitution and the immense strategic value she represented on his chessboard, Ethan smoothly pulled his hands from his sleeves and offered a perfectly measured, deeply professional nod.
"Welcome to the Immortal Doctor’s Pavilion, Elder Heidy," Ethan said, his deep, resonant baritone carrying a flawless clarity that cut through the quiet morning air. "Your arrival is timed immaculately. It is a genuine pleasure to receive a warrior of your undeniable caliber as our very first primary client today."
Heidy stopped exactly two meters away from him, her piercing eyes locking onto Ethan’s massive frame. She looked at his calm mask, then glanced up at the striking crimson cross and serpent emblem emblazoned upon the banners behind him. A soft, incredibly faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips, though her hand remained resting firmly upon the hilt of her silver sword.
"I have heard the wildest, most absurd rumors regarding your clinical capabilities, young man," Heidy replied smoothly, her melodious voice dropping into a low, private register meant only for the inner terrace. "The alchemists back at the capital call my condition a permanent, mathematical impossibility. They say my broken pathways are nothing more than a pile of dead ash. Tell me, Master Ethan... does your crimson cross truly possess the divine authority to resurrect a shattered sword, or have I merely marched up this mountain to witness another beautifully packaged disappointment?"
Ethan’s dark, cynical smile slowly returned to his lips as he gestured toward the open mahogany doors of the entrance hall, where Maeve and his assistants were already waiting in perfect alignment.
"The alchemists of this sect are merely blind men guessing the shapes of the stars, Elder," Ethan stated with an absolute, unshakeable confidence that sent a sudden, unfamiliar spark of hope deep into Heidy’s deadened Dantian. "Step inside my examination chamber. Let us show those decaying sacks of bones down there exactly how a true physician rewrites the laws of impossibility."
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.