CHAPTER 58: 58

There was often a saying that cultivation is something that goes against the heavens, which was why the lives of the cultivators were never peaceful. One way or another, they would face innumerable life-threatening situations. It was as if the word itself hated their presence. And the stronger one got, the harder it was to progress and at the same time, the more life-and-death situations one would face.

No one knew where this rumour came from, but over the years, people have accepted it as the ultimate truth. If one wants to get strong, they would need various resources. And to get those resources, they needed to compete against others. It was inevitable for it to turn into a life-or-death situation.

There were often cases when families were massacred, and entire cities were wiped out just for resources. If that wasn’t the proof of the never-ending struggle, then what was?

Usually, the news of another town getting wiped out, another family being massacred, wasn’t something new. Every now and then, there would be events like these. The old ones would wither away, and new ones would take their place. It wasn’t something surprising or earth-shattering, and the people of this world were used to it. To them, it was just another day of their lives.

And yet... once in a while, there would be an event so significant that it would shake the world.

The Night raid on the Duality Sect was one of those significant events.

No one would have imagined that two mighty sects would go to war. Even though people knew about the small skirmishes and the constant friction between the two sects, an all-out war was something that they never dared to imagine.

And when the news of the events leaked out, the entire world was shaken once again.

Everyone thought it was the Duality Sect that made the move, but to their surprise, it was the Heavenly Sword Sect that launched a sneak attack on the Duality Sect.

In response to this sneak attack, the sect leader of the Duality Sect fought bravely but ultimately lost her life. Other than the Sect Leader, there were more than 400 members of the Duality sect who lost their lives.

A lot of people, upon hearing the news, were ecstatic. After all, everyone knew just how overbearing and evil the Duality sect was. People who were captured and taken there never returned alive.

However, as more details about the attack emerged, people’s opinions began to shift.

One of the details pertained to Yun Ning, a Grand Elder of the Duality Sect.

Everything about her life from birth till the Sword Sect raid was recorded in detail. Her being born to a pair of loving parents and then being sold to an evil bastard evoked the sympathy of many abandoned children.

And when she was made to eat her own parents... this sent a shockwave everywhere. For a moment, people couldn’t believe that there would be such an evil bastard in the world.

And then there was the news about the now deceased sect leader bringing her to the Duality Sect and treating her as her own daughter before allowing her to break the strict rules of the Duality Sect to marry her beloved.

But then her beloved husband was massacred along with her entire new family, and her daughter was separated from her. And when she finally found her daughter after decades, the Heavenly Sword Sect attacked.

And in that attack, Yun Ning lost both her adoptive mother and daughter. Enraged, she fought off desperately and somehow managed to step into the realm of Heaven Step. The Sword Sect, fearing their loss, retreated from the Duality Sect and thus, the war ended before it could even properly start.

For a while, there were all kinds of discussions about the war. The majority of the people who were against the Duality Sect and even hoped for its demise changed their minds after learning the tragic fate of Yun Ning.

Within a few days, the earlier righteous act of the Heavenly Sword Sect turned into a cowardly attack, and the status of the Duality Sect improved by leaps and bounds.

Yun Ning’s tragedy was something that people could relate to. After all, who hasn’t lost their loved ones? Who hasn’t gone through some difficulties in their lives? But compared to what this Grand Elder of the Duality Sect went through, it was laughable.

In the upcoming days, every kind of rumour spread. Some were blaming Heavenly Sword Sect for being too arrogant, and some were even blaming them for the death of Yun Ning’s husband.

However, all those rumours and talks were dwarfed in front of Yun Ning stepping into the realm of Heaven Step.

In the Azure Dragon Continent, the strongest person was in the Soul Tempering realm. It was an existence that was akin to god. And only the Grand Elders and Sect Leaders of the mighty sects were in this realm. Together, they all formed a delicate balance.

But now this balance was broken.

No one knew exactly how strong a Heaven Step expert was... not even the so-called Sect Leaders and Grand Elders. After all, there has never been a single Heaven Step realm expert in the Azure Dragon Continent for as long as they could remember. There were only mentions of them in the Ruins, but other than that... there was no information available about them.

Yun Ning stepping into the Heaven Step realm seemed to have enveloped the world in an uncomfortable silence. Everyone was afraid of what she was going to do next. A Soul Tempering realm expert could already slaughter cities; it was hard to imagine what a Heaven Step expert could do. Perhaps she could destroy the entire sect with the flick of her finger. And if that was the case... the other sects in the Azure Dragon Continent needed to plan accordingly.

But if there was someone who was most afraid of Yun Ning, then it would be the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Inside the Grand Hall of the Heavenly Sword Sect, there were seven luxurious seats upon which seven women were sitting.

At the centre was a throne made entirely of swords, and seated on it was the current sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Jian Yu.

Jian Yu looked to be a woman in her sixties with a headful of grey hair and a wrinkled face that had traces of her once beautiful past. Wearing a long white robe, she had a dignified look on her face. But the most striking feature about her was her eyes, which were filled with sharpness that threatens to cut anything in her path.

"WHAT RUBBISH." Looking at the report in her hand, Jian Yu wrinkled the paper before shattering it into powder with just a pat of her hand.

"They have the gall to say that we were in the wrong and the Duality Sect was the victim!" The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

"They say we murdered their Sect Leader as well as Yun Ning’s child. What a load of rubbish."

How could Jian Yu not understand what was happening? It was the damn Duality Sect who was spreading these rumours and even fanning the flames further.

It was the perfect opportunity for them to improve their image amongst the common folks as well as throw dirt on the Heavenly Sword Sect’s prestige. It might seem futile, but with their new reputation, it would be much easier to accomplish certain things in the future.

As for the Heavenly Sword Sect... they couldn’t even refute the rumours. After all, they were the ones who launched the attack in the first place. But at the moment, their reputation, which was being dragged around in mud, was the last thing on their mind. They had bigger problems than their reputations.

"Did any of you manage to find how she did it?" Jian Yu asked in a stern voice.

"How did she manage to step into the Heaven Step?"

In the history of the Azure Dragon Continent, the Soul Tempering Realm was the end of the cultivation path. And now someone has finally broken through that hurdle, how could Jian Yu stay calm?

Not only Jian Yu, but every single Sect Leader and Grand Elder was tempted. If they too could know that secret... Just thinking about how they would be able to progress further and even gain thousands of years of lifespan, they were almost going crazy.

"About that..." One of the Grand Elders stood up with a sigh before shaking her head. "No one knows anything."

"..." The Grand Hall plunged into deathly silence for a while before one of the Grand Elders spoke in a soft voice.

"There is someone."

The moment she spoke, Jian Yu, as well as the rest of the Grand Elders, looked at her with blazing eyes. It was as if they wanted to devour her alive.

The woman in a white mask didn’t care about their gaze as she continued in a soft tone.

"Didn’t we rescue three people from her grasp? I am willing to bet that they definitely know something."

"GOOD." Before the white masked woman could even finish her sentence, Jian Yu immediately jumped in joy. Yes... she was so upset after hearing all those rumours that she had forgotten about the three people they rescued from the Duality Sect.

She resisted the impulse of immediately rushing to them and asking everything that they had seen before taking a deep breath and narrowing her eyes.

"Before that... What do you all think we should do next? We can not wait for Yun Ning to pat us all to death. If you have any suggestions, please speak up."

Listening to this, the excitement of the Grand Elders who wanted to rush to the three people they rescued diminished. Yes! How could they forget about the sword hanging on top of their heads? With Yun Ning’s current strength, her coming to seek revenge was a sure thing. It was just a matter of time before she massacred the entire Heavenly Sword Sect. They needed to make arrangements.

"Don’t we still have the Saintess of the Duality Sect in our prison?" The white masked woman tilted her head slightly before giving a suggestion. "How about we escort her personally to the Duality Sect with an apology and gifts?"

"Will it work?" One of the Grand Elders asked with some hesitation. It would be a miracle if Yun Ning didn’t pat them to death the moment they stepped into their territory.

"No harm in trying." The masked woman just gave them a shrug.

"....."

The hall plunged into a deathly silence as everyone began to think about the feasibility of this plan.

In the end, it was Jian Yu who stood up.

"Well, there is no harm in trying." Looking around with her sharp eyes, she spoke further. "You guys can decide amongst yourselves who will make the visit. I have something important to do."

Ignoring the complex gazes of the Grand Elders behind her, Jian Yu took a step forward before disappearing from her position.

Her destination...

Towards the three people whom they just rescued from the Heavenly Sword Sect.