Dominating Sword Immortal

…

In the pavilion in the middle of a lake, a man and a woman were drinking tea and talking.

The man was Ye Chen, and the woman was Long Biyi.

"Sect Leader Long, how is it going on in the Dragon God Celestial Palace?" Ye Chen still kept his eye on the affairs of Dragon Gold Celestial Palace.

Long Biyi said, "I\'m just ten or so years older than you. Call me senior sister!" Then she continued in a somber tone, "The palace\'s current situation is terrible. A while ago, Azure Dragon Hall\'s deputy Huwen Hai and his hundreds of subordinates were ambushed. Only a dozen or so managed to escape. Hu Wenhai himself perished,"

"Losses are this much?" Ye Chen was flabbergasted.

Long Biyi nodded faintly, "The survivors believed that there was a leak from the inside. The current Azure Dragon Hall is in unrest…The trust among hall leaders and vice leaders is on a constant decline. The elders have already dispatched an investigation team…The results are unknown for the time being.

"Then, how did those dozen people escape alive?" Ye Chen\'s intuition was extremely sharp, instantly spotting the problem.

Long Biyi said, "I also think it\'s strange. Right, amongst the survivors, there is also the former deputy of Yellow Dragon Hall, Yao Yifeng.

"Yao Yifeng?" Ye Chen frowned, "Does he have something to do with it?"

"The possibility is not high. There is a restriction placed on his body, so the chances of him rebelling is not high. Moreover, he didn\'t have the knowledge of the operation beforehand. The only people with advance knowledge were Hall Leader and a few vice deputies. If the traitor is really a deputy or even hall leader, the repercussions would be severe for my Dragon God Celestial Palace."

Long Biyi felt heavy in her heart.

Ye Chen turned silent. Indeed, if the traitor were really among the Azure Dragon Hall Leader or a deputy, its effect on the palace as a whole would not be small. The entire palace would be plunged into a state of unrest. After all, Azure Dragon Hall was the leader of the halls. And if one of the high-level members of the hall turned out to be a traitor, it would cast suspicion on the other halls. Subordinates would suspect the high-level members of their halls, and once that happened, the following trouble could be well imagined.

"Senior Sister Long, tell the higher-ups of the palace that if Ye Chen is needed, just let me know." Ye Chen was clear that he, by himself, couldn\'t change the overall situation. However, as far as a small-scale conflict was concerned, his ability to affect the situation was certainly not small.

"It\'s enough that you think so. The internal conflicts of a fifth grade sect are extremely dangerous. The chances of dying from ambushes and encirclement are very high." Long Biyi actually didn\'t approve of Ye Chen taking any part in this affair. His potential was high enough to enter the Life and Death realm. And, the influence of a Life and Death King would be larger than the entire war.

"I\'m aware, but I would still like to lend a hand."

Ye Chen\'s fate had already been tied to the Dragon Gold Celestial Palace. Be it for Dragon God Celestial Palace or himself, he could not cower.

"Fine, I\'ll do that."

Long Biyi rejoiced that she\'d chosen Ye Chen at that time. This young man had exceeded her expectations every time. Be it potential, talent, or character, they were all at the peak. One wouldn\'t find many such individuals under the heavens.

…

While the two were chatting, a noisy discussion was going on in Dragon God Celestial Palace\'s Elders Hall.

"As I see it, we should just control Azure Dragon Hall Leader and deputies like Yao Yifeng." Sitting on the fifth seat of the elders, a tall and sturdy black-haired old man was giving off a dense killing intent as he said.

As soon as he said these words, the elder sitting directly across him shook his head, "Out of question! Not to mention that there is merely a possibility of a traitor, even if one of them is a traitor, we still can\'t do it. Doing so will be simply telling everyone that we elders suspect them. The aftermath will be simply unimaginable."

"No need to tell others. Just do it in secret."

"That\'s also not an option. In case they are not the traitor and are loyal to the palace, they\'ll become cold from this treatment, and would instead come to harbor thoughts of rebellion."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

The elder who had opposed the suggestion smiled bitterly, "We\'re all here. Don\'t tell me we won\'t be able to find a solution! I believe we\'ll certainly be able to do so."

"Sigh! And how many people will the palace lose while you are thinking for the solution?" The tall and sturdy old man said annoyedly.

Cough Cough!

Sitting on the seat of honor was a white-haired old man, the core of the palace\'s higher-ups. Known for his virtue and uprightness, he\'d already been in-command for more than a hundred years. His strength was deep and immeasurable. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "This meeting\'s purpose is two discuss two problems…One, how to deal with the traitor, and second, how to turn the tables on the battle with the other four enemies."

"There is not much information on the traitor\'s matter, so let\'s discuss the next problem!"

Hearing these words, an elder sitting at the edge said, "Great elder, in my opinion, we should dispatch help to Azure Dragon Hall and Black Dragon Hall from the headquarters."

"Right, the three great secret forces of the palace! As long as a single division is dispatched, the problem will be settled without a doubt. The four forces will be caught off-guard, and we\'ll be able to deal a massive blow." The elder sitting beside him agreed.

"I feel that is not a suitable course of action. Our main goal for the time being is to wait for Patriarch to leave seclusion. Before that, it would be best to not provoke the enemies. If we dispatch the secret force, they will do the same, and it would merely increase the scope of the battle, which would be more harmful than good." The second elder, who was also highly-reputed, overruled.

"En, second elder is correct…This proposition can\'t be accepted." The third elder said.

At this moment, one elder suddenly said, "What if I tell you that I have a method that could solve both issues?"

"Eh? What method?" Everybody\'s attention was attracted.

The eighteenth elder said while beaming with smiles, "I wonder if you\'ve heard the first Sword Master in hundreds of years have appeared in the continent, and this Sword Master is someone we all know. He is Ye Chen."

"Ye Chen, Sword Master? Not possible! Maybe in a few years."

"Right! Eighteenth elder, you probably heard it wrong, no?"

Hearing these words, eighteenth elder didn\'t say anything to justify. Instead, he took out a book from his storage ring. The book had two words written on the cover—Masters Ranking.

"This is the Second Masters Ranking of the continent. Why don\'t you all take a look?"

Saying these words, the eighteenth elder passed the book to the elder beside him.

The elder immediately opened the book. His eyes immediately widened as he looked at the first page, "Masters Ranking, number one—Ye Chen, titled Sword Master. It\'s true!"

"Hurry up, let me see!" Other elders urged.

After a few moments, the book returned into the hands of the eighteenth elder again. He said, "Do you all believe me now?"

"This is indeed true! But eighteenth elder, don\'t forget that individual strength doesn\'t matter too much in sect wars. Moreover, his potential is very high. If we were to lose a talent capable of entering Life and Death realm, it would be a loss more severe than losing several years\' worth of experts."

Eighteenth elder replied, "Once an individual\'s strength reaches a certain state, they can have a huge impact. He is equivalent to a small squad of Sea of Soul realm experts, and would be basically invincible as long as he doesn\'t fall into an encirclement. As for large scale battles, both sides will have huge numbers. If he can\'t have much impact, he could simply escape, allowing a few others to escape as well. You tell me, with his current ability, would he be able to escape or not? Of course, most importantly, White Dragon Hall Master Mo Feng said that he is interested in coming. Otherwise, I would not have mentioned him at all."

"This!"

All elders were somewhat uncertain, looking toward the great elder.

The great elder didn\'t spare a glance to other elders and said to the eighteenth elder, "You said we could solve both issues. Then what about the other one?"

The eighteenth elder said, "Azure Dragon Hall lost deputy Huwen Hai. Thus, have Ye Chen substitute him. Who knows, he might be able to sniff out the mole?"

Faintly nodding, the great elder said, "In that case, eighteenth elder, make a trip to Windy Nation and have a chat with Ye Chen. You can\'t force him, and will instead try to persuade him otherwise. If he is really determined, I\'ll go discuss with the Protectors."

The matters of Dragon Gold Celestial Palace were usually settled by elder association. However, there were also Protectors above the association, and on the same level as the great elder. Regarding important matters, head elder needed to consider the opinion of the four great protectors.

"Understood, great elder!" The eighteenth elder nodded.

"Good, the meeting is over!" The great elder stood up and left.

…

There was not much chance of progress in cultivating the second layer of Defensive Sword Art. As for profound martial skills, all except Golden Hurricane had been perfected. As for the latter, he needed to integrate the water and metal profound, which was extremely difficult. Ye Chen currently didn\'t have much clue about how to go about it.

However, there was always something unexpected.

One day, while Ye Chen was training his Thunder Devour, a bang went off in his mind. The silver thunder went off with a heaven-shattering might, razing a small mountain range near the residence flat to the ground. Its might was more than twice compared to normal.

"This is...fifth step destruction sword spirit!" Ye Chen sucked in a deep breath and sank his consciousness into Sea of Soul.

Inside, the Destruction Sword Spirit had enlarged, giving off a black luster from top to bottom. This luster seemed like a black hole, even capable of devouring souls. On the other hand, the Slaughter Sword Spirit seemed to have shrunk, and also seemed to have darkened—dim dark-red in color.

When the Destruction Sword Spirit had formed, it had already begun to absorb the power of the Slaughter Sword Spirit. However, its rate was very minute. Ye Chen originally thought that the process would take a long time. After all, both sword spirits were of high grade. Thus, it would not be easy for one to devour the other.

However, it was evident now that Destruction Sword Spirit had absorbed sufficient power from the Slaughter Sword Spirit, and evolved to the fifth step from the peak of the fourth step. With that, its might had become equivalent to sixth step normal sword spirit.

The difference between peak of fourth step and the fifth step was immense, just like the difference between half-a-step King and Life and Death King. It was a horrifying difference.

Losing a large amount of power, the Slaughter Sword Spirit had fallen to the peak of third step from fourth step. Ye Chen feared that the remaining power it contained wouldn\'t be enough for Destruction Sword Soul to reach the sixth step, and he would be happy if it could just let the latter reach the peak of fifth step.