C1827 The Brainless Lin Daoke
Han Qi had vanished, and the Soul-Capturing God-King had just disappeared.
Almost everyone was deep in thought, pondering Han Qi and Soul-Capturing's words, the enigmatic secrets of the Wraithlands, and why the Lunar Spirit of the human race and the souls of extraterrestrial intelligent life were bound by the Levi River.
They also contemplated the cosmic giant beasts and the Sky Fiend, the human race's Solar Spirit and primordial spirit, and how they seemed to disregard the Levi River's constraints.
They speculated about the repercussions of Soul-Capturing's sudden intrusion into the Wraithlands and whether Youyu could escape the Wraithlands swiftly.
People had many thoughts and concerns.
Yet Lin Daoke was indifferent to such musings.
His mind, solely focused on mastering the sword, adhered strictly to the rules he had established in Ionodios. Those who failed to follow his rules deserved the judgment of his blade.
He paid no mind to other distracting matters.
And so, he struck with his sword.
He sought out the most formidable of the Otherkin who had visited and then departed from Ionodios, with Brie of the Shadowkin as his primary target.
His sword, infused with an unmatched sword's will, struck the suddenly materialized dense forest, reducing towering trees to ash in an instant.
Brie was immediately drenched in blood, his green lifeblood shattered by the sword light.
Whoosh!
The unfortunate Shadowkin leader was grievously wounded before Lin Daoke's sword had even finished its arc. His body, bleeding profusely, hung limply like withered vines.
The bronze coffin appeared just in time, its lid already flung open, shielding against the residual force of Lin Daoke's strike.
Brie, whose fate hung in the balance, was caught by the vast coffin, enveloped in its rich vitality, barely clinging to life.
Yu Yuan stood dumbfounded, gripping the Dragon Slaying Stage in the desolate hall, unsure of how to proceed.
He hadn't anticipated Lin Daoke's boldness in striking!
"This..."
Yu Yuan coughed, reflecting on his close ties with the Sword Sect and considering an attempt to mediate.
After all, Ji Ningshuang was a member of the Sword Sect, having fought alongside him in the Dark Star Region and now recuperating on the Primal Blood Continent.
He bore no ill will towards Lin Daoke; in fact, he held a certain admiration for him.
"Lin Daoke, do you even think?"
Yet, before he could voice his persuasion, the imposing God-King Tianqi descended like a cascade of blood from the heavens, fixing Lin Daoke with a furious glare.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Lin Daoke, deaf to all else, didn't even bother to invoke the divine position in his mind. With a flick of his fingers as if they were a sword, he effortlessly cast three dazzling sword lights.
His targets were Youqian and two ninth-level Otherkin.
Youqian managed a wry smile, summoning the Tears of the Azurefiend before tossing a gleaming silver kettle.
Merging his demonform with the kettle, he intercepted a fearsome sword light. The kettle, a Quasi-sacred Weapon, was impaled, leaving a gaping hole.
Youqian grunted as his devil soul and the Tears of the Azurefiend merged, sinking into the depths of the Spawn of Chaos.
The Tears of the Azurefiend swiftly drifted away.
An enchantress from the Rebecca clan and a ninth-level Stoneborn warrior, both from Ionodios, had also disregarded Lin Daoke's rules.
Unlike Youqian, they weren't as fortunate or vigilant. When the remaining sword lights struck, they were decapitated.
Lin Daoke, hailing from the Everlands, was meticulous about the sequence of his strikes. His primary targets were the Otherkin from extraterrestrial realms.
He began with Brie, followed by Youqian, and then the two ninth-level enchantresses and Stoneborn.
Brie's timely cry for help saved him, as Taishi intervened with the bronze coffin.
The Sky Fiend Youqian, accustomed to the Everlands, knew Lin Daoke's temperament well. Sensing something amiss in Lin Daoke's demeanor, he deployed every survival tactic at his disposal.
Due to the dispersal of the second wave of sword force, Youqian surrendered a Quasi-sacred Weapon gifted by Bertain to narrowly escape harm.
Whoosh!
Yu Yuan, with a stern expression, left the palace and lightly touched the Tears of the Azurefiend.
Unreasonable.
Yu Yuan shook his head, realizing that the Sword Sect's Master seemed to have no intention of sheathing his sword, nor any desire to defuse the situation with the Boulderdawn.
Despite Youqian being a Sky Fiend, he remained nominally a member of the Boulderdawn. Yet, Lin Daoke continued to launch his sword without restraint!
"Lin Daoke, there are members of your Sword Sect here too!"
Lin Daoke remained silent as he unleashed three more streaks of sword light. The hot-tempered Tianqi, a God-King, swung his fist, striking at the nearest Grand Sword Immortal.
The wielder of the Frostflower Blade, Su Qingmo!
With her cultivation at the middle period of the Unbound Stage, Su Qingmo looked up to see a sky-engulfing fist, wrapped in ferocious energy, bearing down on her.
A look of distress crossed Su Qingmo's face as a large green lotus bloomed beneath her, radiating a luminous immortal light.
Instantly, sword lights transformed into green blossoms, creating an ocean of flowers that unfurled like a canopy of stars above her.
The verdant floral expanse was breathtaking, bringing a burst of vivid life to the otherwise desolate Annihilation Nebula.
Many onlookers were captivated by her sword dance atop the green lotus, nearly moved to applause by her grace.
Boom!
Tianqi's fist came crashing down, shattering the stunning floral display. The green lotus beneath Su Qingmo split apart, its radiant light scattering.
"Xiao Qing!"
"Little Frostflower!"
Upon seeing Su Qingmo gravely wounded by Tianqi, Grand Sword Immortals Van Heqing and Lu Hongpeng swiftly soared to her aid on their swords.
"Lin Daoke, haven't you grasped the situation yet?"
From atop the land-like bronze coffin, Taishi's anger flared. "Even if you don't fully grasp Han Miaoyuan's motives, you must have heard from Han Qi about his secret accord with a certain entity from the Wraithlands. Han Miaoyuan isn't devoid of personal agendas, nor does he always act in the best interest of Everlands' humanity!"
"Moreover, take a hard look at where you stand now!"
"Kaiya has departed for the Wraithlands, but we still have three God-Kings! We have the enchantress Rebecca, leader of the evilkind, and Yu Yuan! Not to mention, we've enlisted the help of the Abyssal Leviathan and the Abyssal Greater Basilisk. Our ranks are filled with supreme and peak powerhouses!"
"You, Lin Daoke, stand alone! We are prepared to engage with you on equal terms. Hence, while you and Kaiya do battle, we of the Boulderdawn have refrained from striking down the members of your Sword Sect."
"Consider this carefully. Within the Annihilation Nebula, which is under our control, if we were to join forces and besiege you, could you, Lin Daoke, safely return to the Everlands?"
"Remember, Taiyin, who was far stronger than you, met his end on his journey back from the Star River in the extraterrestrial realm to the Everlands."
"And the Secular Bird Queen, didn't she meet the same fate? Do you truly believe you are mightier than Taiyin of old, or the Secular Bird Queen from a hundred thousand years ago?"
Taishi exclaimed in frustration.
"Lin Daoke, if you refuse to sheathe your sword, all those who accompanied you from the Sword Sect will perish in the Annihilation Nebula."
Taixu, with his striking features, was also agitated by Lin Daoke. After dropping this declaration, he vanished from the senses of all present.
Neither the Abyssal Leviathan nor the Abyssal Greater Basilisk could detect Taixu's presence or trace his whereabouts.
Yet, Sword Immortals like Van Heqing and Yue Mu felt their skin prickle instantly, placing their Divine Swords against their chests, ready to confront an attack from Taixu at a moment's notice.
Taixu was a master of stealth and assassination, often reappearing only to leave death in his wake.
"Are you afraid to die?"
Lin Daoke paused briefly before lowering his hand, turning his gaze to the encircled Grand Sword Immortals.
The Grand Sword Immortals, under his scrutiny, shook their heads, their eyes brimming with a resolute acceptance of their fate.
"They may fall, but I can annihilate you all."
Lin Daoke withdrew his gaze and faced Taishi, Tianqi, and the distant Rebecca, who was seething with rage over the Elder's death, with composure. "Very well, let us proceed."
He touched his forehead with his fingertip, poised to call forth the Divine Sword, signaling the onset of a serious confrontation.
Somehow, after his words and gesture, a hush fell over the assembled crowd once more.
The atmosphere was laden with tension, affecting everyone, including Taishi and Tianqi.
They had come to a sudden realization that Lin Daoke, the obstinate leader of the Sword Sect, could not be judged by conventional standards. Once he set his mind on something, it seemed impossible to sway him.
He appeared indifferent to the survival of the sect's Grand Sword Immortals or even the continued existence of the Sword Sect itself.
Apart from his relentless pursuit of the ultimate swordsmanship, he paid no attention to anything else, not even the rigid path of death he had committed to.
It seemed he was indifferent to his own survival.
"I'll take over."
Yu Yuan gently tapped the Tears of the Azurefiend, still concealed within Youqian, and materialized before Lin Daoke, enveloped in a rainbow aura. "If it's alright with you, may I have the honor of testing your Divine Sword?"
Lin Daoke paused, then asked with a hint of scorn, "You?"
"Yes, me."