Chaotic Sword God Chapter 1: Jian Chen

Chapter 1: Jian Chen

Amidst a boundless expanse of mountain ranges, two peaks shaped like massive blades pierced the heavens, reaching over a thousand feet in height. Separated by a mere hundred meters, these twin summits towered majestically above a vast sea of clouds.

The precipitous slopes of these sword-shaped mountains appeared as though two deities had plunged their weapons into the earth. Their sheer cliffs offered no path for a climber, standing defiant against the world below.

At the very apex of these summits, the distance between the two peaks narrowed to less than a hundred meters. A thin veil of mist drifted through the gap, obscuring the view with a disorienting haze. Yet, through the swirling fog, two figures could be glimpsed. They stood atop the opposing peaks, as motionless and silent as stone statues. Only the snapping of their garments in the violent high-altitude gales betrayed the presence of life.

One of these figures was a youth who appeared no older than twenty. His features were strikingly handsome, possessing a flawless quality that seemed unrivaled under heaven—a natural charmer of women. Though his eyes seemed ordinary at a glance, they held a profound depth and a magnetic allure that felt as if it could draw out the very soul of any observer.

Long, obsidian hair flowed down to the youth's waist, unbound and dancing wildly in the fierce winds. Slung across his back was a single long sword, its length concealed beneath a thick wrapping of white cloth. From the wrap emerged an exquisite hilt engraved with two characters: "Light Wind." Most peculiar, however, was the absence of any straps or cords securing the weapon; the sword remained fixed to his back as if by magic, defying the laws of nature.

This young man was Jian Chen, a supreme expert whose reputation as the "Sword God" resonated throughout the Heavens and the Jianghu. His lightning-fast swordplay had attained a level of perfection, marking him as the preeminent sword master of his era. Despite his youth, he had already ascended to a realm of terrifying power.

The Jianghu knew very little of Jian Chen’s origins. Beyond the fact that he was an orphan unaffiliated with any school or Sect, his past remained a complete enigma. His history was a riddle, and the source of his formidable martial arts and sophisticated sword style was a mystery to all.

Standing on the opposing peak a hundred meters away was a tall man clad in black robes. He was an Elder, appearing to be between fifty and sixty years old, with hair bound tightly in a style resembling a crane’s neck. His eyes burned with a vibrant, spiritual light that seemed to illuminate the surrounding mist. His gaze was as piercing as a sharpened blade, making it nearly impossible for anyone to look him in the eye. He gripped a thick, black greatsword, though strangely, this massive weapon possessed no sharpened edge.

This elderly man was none other than Dugu Qiubai, a legendary figure who had vanished from the Jianghu over a century ago. "Dugu Qiubai" was merely a moniker; his true name and identity had been lost to time. He earned his fame a hundred years prior by defeating every "unparalleled" expert of that age. While few who remembered his peak remained alive today, the tales of his brilliance had been passed down through the generations. After a century of seclusion, his strength had undoubtedly reached unfathomable heights; no one truly knew how powerful he had become.

In silence, Dugu Qiubai observed the twenty-year-old Jian Chen across the void. His terrifying eyes flashed with a sword-like intensity that seemed capable of freezing the very air.

“Jian Chen, despite your youth, you possess strength equal to my own. Your mastery of the way of the sword is a height even I can only aspire to. Regrettably, you took the life of my only beloved disciple, leaving me with no choice but to seek vengeance. Today, I shall deliver justice on his behalf,” Dugu Qiubai declared grimly. His voice, initially steady, began to ripple with a murderous intent so thick it would make any man tremble.

Jian Chen remained unmoved, staring back at Dugu Qiubai with an expressionless face. His white robes snapped in the wind, and his long hair whipped freely about his waist.

“I am not to blame for his fate. It was your disciple who chose to provoke me first. His death by my blade was simply a result of his own lack of skill,” Jian Chen replied calmly, his voice flowing smoothly despite the howling gale.

Dugu Qiubai let out a cold, angry laugh. “A lack of skill? Very well! Today, I shall test your own proficiency. Let this old man see if you can truly slay me with your Light Wind Sword.”

With those words, Dugu Qiubai swung his Heavy Iron Sword. A surge of powerful Sword Qi erupted from the blade, streaking toward Jian Chen like a bolt of lightning across the hundred-meter gap.

With a stoic expression, Jian Chen drew his weapon in a blur of motion. The long sword was double-edged, roughly 1.3 meters long and two fingers wide, glowing with a pure white light. As he thrust forward, an even more violent burst of Sword Qi manifested, intercepting Dugu Qiubai’s strike at a speed that defied the naked eye.

“Bang!”

The collision of the two Sword Qi currents produced a deafening explosion. A massive shockwave of Qi radiated from the point of impact, instantly clearing the nearby mist and clouds.

Without hesitation, both Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai leapt from their respective peaks. They met in the empty space between the summits, clashing in a ferocious mid-air duel.

The speed of their strikes was flawless, resulting in a continuous, metallic ringing as their blades met. Stray bolts of Sword Qi flew in every direction, gouging massive craters into the mountain faces and sending a cascade of boulders tumbling thousands of feet into the abyss.

In the span of a few breaths, the two had traded hundreds of blows at blinding speeds. Finally, they retreated, landing back on their original peaks. Both men appeared weathered by the exchange, their once-pristine clothing now tattered and torn.

Dugu Qiubai’s expression grew increasingly somber. “What an incredibly fast sword. It is no wonder the Jianghu cannot withstand your blade. However, speed alone will not defeat this old man.” He paused, then continued, “If we persist in this manner, a victor may never be decided. We should settle this with our ultimate techniques.” Suddenly, Dugu Qiubai’s presence exploded, his power rising like a gargantuan sword piercing the heavens.

Becoming equally solemn, Jian Chen also released his full power, manifesting an aura that rivaled Dugu Qiubai’s in intensity.

The combined pressure from the two experts escalated, filling the area with an earth-shattering force. Their auras soon enveloped the mountain peaks entirely. The sky itself seemed to fracture as the clouds were torn asunder by their sheer might. A violent wind began to shriek with a sound like wailing ghosts. In the forests far below, animals fled in terror, driven by an instinct to escape the overwhelming pressure. On the summits, the two masters prepared to unleash their final, most devastating strikes.

“Kacha! Kacha!”

On the nearby slopes, small trees snapped under the weight of the mounting pressure, their fragments swept away by the rising gale.

As Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai reached the limits of their power, currents of Qi began to swirl around them. Every blade of grass and small plant was crushed against the earth, while even the sturdiest trees groaned and swayed violently.

Simultaneously, a blinding white radiance gathered on the Light Wind Sword, while a void-like black light coalesced around the Heavy Iron Sword.

The Qi surrounding them intensified until Jian Chen was completely encased in a brilliant white sphere, and Dugu Qiubai was swallowed by a sphere of deepest black. The men disappeared from sight, replaced by two massive orbs of opposing light.

“Yin!”

The Light Wind Sword hummed with a resplendent glow, vibrating with a terrifying Sword Qi. Jian Chen’s hair and robes whipped frantically in the storm of his own making. Hovering in the air, he looked every bit the part of an indomitable god of war.

As their power reached its absolute zenith, both men let out a thunderous roar that shook the sky. Two streaks of light—one brilliant white, one abyssal black—shot toward each other with inconceivable speed. At the moment of impact...

There was no sound. When the world finally stilled, Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai had traded places, each standing on the peak previously occupied by the other. Both were deathly pale. Blood began to soak into Jian Chen’s white robes, spreading rapidly from his chest. In that fraction of a second when they crossed, Dugu Qiubai’s blade had pierced through Jian Chen’s heart.

Dugu Qiubai, however, had lost his entire right arm. He would never wield a sword again. His Heavy Iron Sword had already fallen into the dark depths of the canyon below. He had traded his limb to strike the fatal blow to Jian Chen’s heart.

Jian Chen stood motionless on the peak as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His complexion turned from white to the color of ash. With his heart destroyed, he was trapped in a state where death was the only certainty.

“Hahaha...” Dugu Qiubai suddenly broke the silence with a laugh. “Jian Chen, with your talent, you would have surpassed me in a few years. It is your misfortune that your current strength fell just short of mine. In the end, you fall by my hand.” He let out a weary sigh. “Ai... for an old man to witness the end of such a genius is a sorrowful thing. Yet, I had to fulfill my duty to my disciple.”

Feeling the spark of life fading, Jian Chen closed his eyes. He found himself in a state of unexpected peace. Death did not frighten him; years of wandering the Jianghu and taking lives had numbed his emotions toward mortality. His only regret was that he would never reach the true pinnacle of the way of the sword.

As Jian Chen embraced the stillness, a strange sensation washed over his mind. In this final moment, his spirit seemed to fuse with his sword. He became the sword, and the sword became him; the distinction between the two vanished. It was as if the weapon had become an extension of his very soul.

At that same instant, a vast and pure torrent of world energy descended from the heavens, pouring into his consciousness. This energy harmonized perfectly with his soul, and as the world’s power flooded him, Jian Chen felt his "spirit" expanding at a miraculous rate. His consciousness drifted out of his body, spanning across the endless mountains and valleys. In this state, everything within five thousand meters became crystal clear in his mind. He could perceive even a single mosquito on the ground, living its tiny life.

At the very threshold of death, he had somehow achieved a breakthrough....