A Sword Through the Nine Heavens - Chapter 0

Prologue – Immortal Masters Kneel for the Village Elder

“It all happened in a blink of an eye! Our Mu Yu made it in time and clashed three hundred times with that immortal master! It was so intense that the sun dimmed and the world plunged into darkness! Mu Yu’s two flying swords flew out like lightning, like the judges of good and evil. With just a single sword, sand and stones were thrown up into the air, thunder boomed and lightning flashed—a truly eye-shutting sight! With a single strike, the clouds immediately churned and the ground cracked.  The immortal master from Biggar Village was beaten to a pulp by Mu Yu! His blood spraying into the air, dying the dusty ground scarlet, even reddening the air…”

In the quiet Waterstream Village, the grey-haired yet lively village head Lao Bu said fervently to a group of sniffling children. He looked complacently at these kids that had been stunned by his story. Even when he thought of back then now, he would become filled with pride.

“Woah!”

The kids had their eyes wide open as they constantly gasped in  amazement. Immortal masters were unattainable existences in their eyes, but the Mu Yu that the village head spoke of was actually so awesome. He gained their veneration.

“Grandpa village head, what’s the immortal master kneeling for you all about?” A child put his hand up and asked.

The village head stroked his long, white beard and cleared his throat. He continued, “I’ll talk about the most important volume two of the story next! An Immortal Master Kneels for the Village Elder! I said that Mu Yu was furious people, punishing evil with his sword, beating up the immortal master from Biggar Village completely. The immortal master knew he could not defeat the god-like Mu Yu, but he didn’t want to admit defeat either, so he directly ran over to me, wanting to use me against Mu Yu. But how can I be someone who fears death? Look, this scar came from that time…”

The village head pointed at the scar on his face and said proudly, “The immortal master from Biggar Village was very fast, just like lightning, but Mu Yu’s two swords pierced through his shoulders like sunlight through the clouds. He was already heavily injured and he knew he wasn’t Mu Yu’s enemy, so he could only admit defeat.”

“Grandpa village head, big brother Mu Yu is so strong!” A girl looked at the village head in complete admiration.

“I’m still not done yet! How could our Mu Yu spare him? However, our village head was forgiving, just like how great people should. Although he was in the wrong, am I, the village head, a petty person? I let Mu Yu spare him, so he had another opportunity at life. As the saying goes, everyone is born with a kind heart. All he needed to know was that he was wrong and he had to change in the future! Mu Yu agreed, given that the immortal master from Biggar Village would kneel to the village head for forgiveness!”

“Did the immortal master kneel?” Many kids asked eagerly. It was unimaginable for an immortal master to kneel to a mortal.

“It’s an issue of pride from an immortal master to kneel to a mortal for forgiveness. How could he agree? However, my sense of righteousness touched him in the end. He understood that while I was just a mere mortal, I had the mind of a sage. He arrived before the village head willingly, dropped to his knees and lowered his head.”

“That kneel was utterly unprecedented in history, just like a stone cast into water, creating ripples through the world, representing the end of evil from who stand above us. That kneel allowed us mortals to hold our heads high. There has and always been justice in the world. Justice will be served one day or another. As a mortal, the unprecedented kneel from the immortal master would definitely do down in history. It will spark a new age of humans…”

The village head waved a woven fan, composed and at ease. Not a lot of people knew about what happened in the past. However he told the story was his problem. He had told so many versions of the story already. It was not like it costed him anything to do that.

“You’re lying. You’ve always said that immortal masters can fly through the skies and burrow through the earth, splitting mountains with a wave of their hand. Grandpa village head, you’re only a mortal, so why would an immortal master kneel for you?” A boy doubted his story.

“Yeah. Didn’t you say that immortal masters are very great? You were even so polite when an immortal master came last time.” Another girl raised her hand.

Village headLao Bu became flustered. He tugged his beard as he said, “It’s real. The immortal master really did kneel for me. Our Mu Yu isn’t any ordinary immortal master. He’s a very, very powerful immortal master. He was the one who made that immortal master kneel for me.”

“Grandpa village head is bragging again.”

“Show us proof!”

The village head had almost plucked out his beard out of frustration. Why were children so hard to manage now? Although he did spice up the story, the immortal master really did kneel for him! If he needed evidence, he needed to find Mu Yu. Now that he thought of him, he missed him. It had been so long since that child had come home. Who knew how he was doing right now.

But at this moment, mysterious ripples suddenly appeared above Waterstream Village, just like rippling water. Afterwards, a tremendous aura swept out. All the villagers there looked up at the scene in great shock. They had no idea what was going on.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Many figures appeared in the air, shooting out from the ripples. They stood in the air in a dense flock, glancing past the entire village before. The village head looked at the several hundred figures in the sky in both surprise and doubt. They were legendary immortal masters who could move mountains and fill seas, absolute existences who stood on a completely different level. He had no idea why so many of them had come to his little village. He could sense that something was off, however.

The children were all frightened. The village head had just told them a story about immortal masters and now, so many of them had appeared. This was far too great of a coincidence.

“Who is village head Lao Bu?”

An imposing middle-aged immortal master in luxurious, white robes descended from the air. He landed on the empty land in the centre of the village as he asked his question loudly. All the other people landed behind him. Every single one of them was dignified and awe-inspiring. They were very stern, glancing around constantly as if they were being cautious of something.

“I- I- I am. Sirs, y- you’re looking for me?” The village head stood forward, trembling. He had been quite frightened by how so many immortal masters had come for him.

“You’re village head Lao Bu? Who is Mu Yu to you?” The middle-aged immortal master asked with a frown.

“M- Mu Yu?” The village head was stunned. Did all these people come for Mu Yu? Surely that child didn’t make trouble outside, right? Surely all these immortal masters didn’t come for him. The pressure from the immortal masters filled the village head with fear. His legs shook as he asked, “Mu Yu i- is an orphan I raised. He’s not here. I- is he fine?”

“Elder, please help us!”

To the surprise of all the villagers there, the middle-aged immortal master suddenly dropped to his knees for Lao Bu, burying his head deep into the ground. The several hundred immortal masters behind him did the same and all called out, “Elder, please help us!”

“T- the immortal masters are really kneeling for grandpa village head?” The boy who doubted the village head earlier watched as these mighty immortal masters all suddenly kneel before the village head. He was utterly astounded!

“Grandpa village head hasn’t been lying to us. Immortal masters really are kneeling for him!”

The village head’s mouth hung wide open. The fan in his hand had fallen onto the ground as well. His mind completely blanked out. An immortal master had kneeled for him over a dozen years ago because Mu Yu was serving justice. That only happened once. Now that several hundred immortal masters were kneeling for him, it was like a dream that he would not even dare to consider!

“W- what are you doing?” The village head would always brag to the children in the village how an immortal master had kneeled for him. He had exaggerated many details of it, but he had been quite astounded when it all happened back then.

“Elder, only you can deal with Mu Yu’s matter. Please come with us.” The middle-aged immortal master stared at the village head sincerely.

The village head trembled all over. He focused his mind.For some reason, he seemed to have benefited from just knowing Mu Yu. He bent over and picked up the fan from the ground, saying carefully, “Alright, alright. P- p- please get up!”

The village head felt like he was an emperor, asking his citizens to stand up and straighten themselves, except that he possessed no cultivation at all. He knew that any single gesture from these immortal masters would have been enough to finish him off.

“There’s not enough time. Apologies, elder.” The middle-aged man arrived before the village head in the blink of an eye and vanished with him. At the same time, the several hundred people kneeling there disappeared as well, only leaving behind a group of stunned children gasping at their grandpa village head’s might…

The village head only saw the landscape around him plunge into darkness. He was filled with fear, no idea where he was being taken to. Suddenly, the surroundings shook and he could see light again. He discovered that he was on grassy plains and thought he had arrived at his destination. However, there was a scramble around him and the middle-aged man stood in front of him in a hurry.

“Hehe, this old man must die!”

A few strange voices rang out from ahead, as if there was someone blocking the path of the immortal master. The village head stuck his head out from behind the middle-aged man’s shoulder. He wanted to see just how was bold enough to oppose several hundred immortal masters. However, he almost ended up wetting his pants!

It was the elemental demons!

Elemental demons were an evil race. They were humanoid, but different from humans. They were vicious and savage in nature, taking a liking to fight. Elemental demons were split into five types and their appearances would vary. They possessed the power of the five elements, where each type could control either metal, wood, water, fire or earth. Only death would await mortals if they faced elemental demons. The great immortal masters were the only people who could oppose them!

The elemental demons were always in conflict with humans over territory. It had been like this for thousands of years. Elemental demons had basically become synonymous to evil. Except, why would they have interest in a mortal without any cultivation like Lao Bu now?

“Go get them. We have to protect the elder!” The middle-aged man waved his hand and the immortal masters behind him surged forward furiously.

The village head watched everything unfold in a daze. He remained under the protection of the middle-aged immortal master, but the immortal master did not seem to be able to escape the encirclement with him. He could only watch the devastatingly powerful immortal masters clash with the elemental demons.

At dusk, the setting sun dyed half the sky red. The blood-red light scattered on the ground, illuminating the mess.

The ground was no longer flat. Sharp earth spikes were littered across it, impaling corpses upon corpses. The blood had not dried yet as swords remained clutched in their hands. Life had drained from all their bodies already.

Trees were strewn about as figures of immortal masters hung off the branches. Blood dripped from the leaves. It was an extremely strange sight.

Any bodies of water had already frozen up completely. Icicle poked from their surfaces, stabbing into countless immortal masters. The warm blood flowing down the icicles was not enough to nullify the bone-piercing cold.

Fire burned vigorously on the ground, fueled by the bodies of the immortal masters. It danced and waved, fusing with the light of the setting sun.

The vicious flying swords betrayed their masters, slashing through their hearts and bodies while shining with cold light. The people who clutched the swords still had eyes filled with surprise and fear, uncertain why their swords had turned against them.

The middle-aged immortal master was covered with wounds as well. He had been protecting the village head the entire time. The village head was afraid. Most of the immortal masters had actually fallen to the elemental demons!

“Has this all got to do with Mu Yu?” The village head gulped and asked.

The middle-aged immortal master nodded, “Only you can deal with Mu Yu’s matter now. Elder, you must survive.”

The middle-aged man’s spiritual energy suddenly erupted completely. Blood sprayed from his mouth, before taking the village head into the clouds with him.

“Mu Yu…”

The village head murmured. Just what had happened to that kind-hearted child? His thoughts slowly drifted to several years ago. He had no idea who many years it was, but the village head knew Mu Yu was twelve back then. The village head remembered this very well.

This was a very long story. Back then, Mu Yu was only an orphan from Waterstream Village. The village head had raised him.