After obliterating the Major General and his thousand elite men with a single, contemptuous spear strike, the silver-armored divine soldier coldly swept his gaze once more across the chaotic void.
Finding no further abnormalities, he turned and stepped away, his figure blurring before vanishing into the upper air. Before long, he had returned to his post before the monumental Gates of Heaven.
"Who goes there?"
Kneeling cross-legged in silent meditation, a powerful Divine Will sat, a sacred sword resting in his arms as he communed with the silent Dao.
"A group of outsiders," The divine soldier reported respectfully, his silver armor dimming to reveal a youthful, refined face. "I do not know from which minor realm they came, but they were weak. Pathetically weak."
"Hmph… these beings from beyond the realm truly never cease to appear," The Divine Will murmured, his tone one of detached indifference.
"Indeed. The God Realm lies closest to the Outer Void," the soldier replied. "It is Lord Divine Will's sacred duty to guard the borders and preserve the stability of our world. But as long as they dare to intrude, we, the divine soldiers, will deal with them. There is rarely any need for Lord Divine Will to act personally!"
"Do not grow complacent." The Divine Will suddenly opened his eyes and met the soldier's gaze, his tone hardening, authority radiating off him like heat.
The soldier stiffened instantly, bowing in alarm. He solemnly returned to his post and closed his eyes, standing motionless.
He knew that Lord Divine Will rarely opened his eyes, but whenever he did, it meant his emotions had stirred, and that he would soon conduct a deep inspection of the Three Realms, seeking out those foreign Heavenly Devils who had slipped through the veil.
As expected, only three breaths later, a torrential golden light shot forth from the Divine Will's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, those brilliant beams pierced the void, splitting into countless rays that scattered rapidly in all directions. The golden light swept across the heavens, searching every corner of existence. It could unearth even the most well-hidden of outer-realm invaders lurking among mortals or festering in dead, ruined worlds, and erase them utterly.
Since the dawn of creation, when Pangu cleaved the heavens and the earth and the Three Spiritual Gods, Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong, were born, this comprehensive realm had stood fortified against the Void. After Fuxi founded the Heavenly Realm, this world possessed natural barriers that separated it from all others, preventing the invasion of outsiders.
Yet, some mysterious beings from beyond still found ways to breach the veil. Thus, it was the Divine Wills' sacred duty to filter out and purge all foreign Heavenly Devils, ensuring the absolute safety of their domain. After them, the Heavenly Emperor himself would personally inspect the realms, performing a third and final screening to guarantee absolute stability.
In short, peace and order in their world were almost completely assured.
The Divine Will's golden gaze scoured the heavens for five to six full hours before he finally closed his eyes once more.
"Hoo…"
The surrounding divine soldiers, who had been watching silently, breathed a collective sigh of relief. Since Lord Divine Will showed no further signs of movement, it meant that, aside from the insignificant group just slain, no other serious intruders remained.
…
Meanwhile, in the King's World, Qin Yi sat deep in thought, recalling every detail he could about The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1, planning out his careful steps for when he would enter that immense realm himself.
Then suddenly, a deafening, ominous peal of bells echoed across the entire nation.
DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG!
The sound of six resonant strikes rolled through the lands of Qin's Nation, awakening countless citizens and striking fear into the hearts of his military.
"That's… the Six Chimes of the Realm Bell?!"
"It failed! It signifies complete, catastrophic failure!"
"The vanguard… the entire army was wiped out! Not a single survivor at the Realm Gate's terminus!"
The soldiers and officers responsible for reconnaissance and intelligence were stunned. The whole of Qin's Nation fell into a state of tense, focused alarm.
Qin Yi, too, froze for an instant, then rose sharply to his feet.
"They failed?"
His expression turned grave, mixed with a deep, lingering suspicion.
The world of The Legend of Sword and Fairy, according to everything Qin Yi knew, was an immense and complete realm of existence. Even within its internal structure, it contained six major domains: the Divine Realm, the Demon Realm, the Devil Realm, the Human Realm, the Ghost Realm, and the Immortal Realm.
Compared to simpler worlds like the Shinobi World (Naruto) or the Pirate World (One Piece), each of which possessed only a single plane of existence, this world's scale and cosmology were unimaginably vast, its depth and scope beyond estimation. It was, truly, a self-contained miniature universe.
Qin Yi understood perfectly well that attempting to conquer and absorb a world like this in one stroke was utterly impossible. That was why he had chosen only to target a small, regional sub-world, the one from The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1. If it had been the full-scope cosmology of The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3, he wouldn't have dared to even touch it.
Yet, the very first expedition had ended in total annihilation.
"What is the precise situation?"
At that moment, the Vice-Admiral in charge of coordinating the vanguard force strode into the Palace Hall, his face pale with shock.
Qin Yi asked calmly, though his eyes burned with an unsettling light.
"Complete annihilation, Your Majesty," The Vice-Admiral said in a low, strained voice. "All one thousand soldiers, including the Major General, killed in action. There were no survivors, and no casualties inflicted on the enemy side."
He hesitated briefly before continuing, his tone grim.
"Your Majesty, this matter is highly irregular, disturbingly so. A thousand elite Jōnin-level soldiers and a Major General, together, are far from weak. Even if the enemy were overwhelmingly powerful, it makes no sense that we received no signal, no information, not even a last, dying transmission."
Qin Yi's eyes flickered, but he gave no immediate reply. He was deep in thought.
"Your servant believes," the Vice-Admiral continued, "that we must dispatch another unit, larger this time, to continue the investigation. If we send ten thousand troops, we are sure to learn something useful."
At that, Qin Yi raised his hand, a silent command for him to stop.
"Withdraw. I will consider this matter myself."
The Vice-Admiral froze for a moment, then bowed respectfully and departed. None dared defy the King's command.
Sitting back on his dragon throne, Qin Yi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"If this had truly been only the limited scope of The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1, a thousand soldiers could not have been destroyed so suddenly. Which means… when they entered, they immediately triggered the attention of the Heavenly Realm's Spiritual Gods."
He sighed softly, acknowledging the terrifying truth.
"If that's the case… then things just became infinitely troublesome."
At present, Qin Yi had neither the intention nor the power to confront the deities of the Sword and Fairy world. After all, during the legendary battle between Jing Tian and Chong Lou, the aftermath alone was enough to collapse an entire new Immortal Realm. That level of destructive force, worlds like Naruto or One Piece couldn't withstand even a stray shockwave from such beings!
Given that, simply entering the Sword and Fairy world was itself an enormous, nearly suicidal risk. Even if he went personally, he doubted he could change the outcome.
After a long silence, Qin Yi's eyes sharpened with cold resolution. He would need a definitive answer.
He summoned Kaido.
"Kaido," He said solemnly, his voice a low command. "I want you to go investigate a new world. This is not a mission for conquest, but for reconnaissance. Be cautious at all times."
Though Qin Yi suspected that the odds of provoking a Spiritual God were overwhelming, he needed absolute confirmation of the enemy's power level.
"Hah! Leave it to me! I'll turn that world upside-down! Just watch me, Your Majesty! Hahahahaha!"
Kaido, naturally thrilled by the chance to challenge powerful beings, laughed his signature, booming laugh and strode out, his massive body barely fitting through the palace doors.
Before long, he stepped through the now-reopened Realm Gate, heading toward the Sword and Fairy world. His body radiated confidence, bolstered by his overwhelming Haki, Devil Fruit power, and the martial traditions of the Pirate World. He was Qin Yi's ultimate vanguard.
Qin Yi watched him go, eyes gleaming with strained anticipation, waiting for Kaido's guaranteed return.
But three agonizing hours later, the Realm Gate violently stabilized, and a massive, broken form stumbled out before collapsing in a heap of mangled flesh and broken horns.
Qin Yi stood silently before the battered, broken, and unmoving body of Kaido, his legendary flesh nearly torn apart, his life extinguished.
The King fell into stunned silence, his disbelief absolute.
"He's dead."
(End of Chapter)
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