Golden Bell-Who Does the Monster Speak Of(Auspicious Imperial Younger Sister)

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the sword guard is etched with the fine patterns of a nine-headed phoenix.

This is also why Chen Longshi never lets go of his sword—it’s far too easy to be killed in an instant.

This secret realm is truly treacherous.

The sword light was blocked by one slash, but another immediately followed. This time, Chen Longshi reacted in time, swinging his sword to unleash an equally powerful arc of sword light, which tangled with the incoming attack in a deadly struggle.

A thunderous boom resounded.

Chen Longshi raised his divine sword before him, conjuring several layers of defensive shields with a wave of his hand. A mighty shockwave surged from the dust-filled sky, brutally hurling him back more than ten meters. His feet gouged two deep furrows into the ground as he was forced backward.

The tremendous force within the shockwave made him gasp for breath. He quickly circulated the Golden Bell technique, transforming his soul’s essence into vital energy, constantly replenishing his wounded core.

The ground where the sword lights had clashed was already in ruins.

Both swords possessed such formidable power that they were utterly beyond his current ability to contend with. Bronze-level secret realm? If it weren’t for the presence of two opposing divine swords, even gold-level challengers would pale in comparison. The shockwaves from their clashing sword energies alone were almost unbearable—Chen Longshi was left shaken and wary.

Yet the King of Chu did not retreat a single step.

Just how powerful was the King of Chu?

Chen Longshi did not know. But he understood that as the final boss of a trial secret realm crafted specifically to test adventurers, there was no overestimating such an opponent’s strength.

This battle was destined to be a grand stage for the clash of divine swords.

All Chen Longshi could do now was survive, all the while quietly drawing an object from his belt. He would have to wait patiently for the right opportunity.

“Still alive?” The King of Chu was displeased. Finally freed from his shackles, holding the divine sword in hand, he should have been invincible. His ambitions blazed—ten thousand banners ready to conquer the world. How could such a minor city possibly impede him?

Yet this insignificant figure before him had managed to withstand his sword again and again.

With fury smoldering, the King of Chu bellowed, “Die!”

He immediately unleashed a third strike, then a fourth, then a fifth…

Boom!

With each attack, a dazzling sword light tore through the air. Black, smoky sword energy coiled like a dragon; crimson sword light soared like a phoenix. Each strike sent a massive shockwave blasting Chen Longshi backward. The more attacks he endured, the more his body felt numb and battered, blood even seeping from his mouth and nose.

If it weren’t for the constant flow of vital energy mending his wounds, he would have long since fallen apart. What surprised him most was how quickly the Golden Bell technique advanced—second level, third level, all in the blink of an eye. He felt every muscle, bone, and organ within him swept and tempered by the force of those shocks. Once repaired, he emerged even more invigorated. With each successive impact, his body shone faintly with golden light, and the distance he was forced back decreased.

And so, in this battle, it was the King of Chu who first began to falter.

At the outset, a single sword energy blast sent Chen Longshi flying a dozen meters. But after several more, though he still coughed blood, his feet remained firmly rooted.

The King of Chu’s rage boiled over, and beneath it, unease began to fester.

His greatest reliance was the King of Chu Sword. In the past, not only one Chen Longshi, but a thousand or ten thousand would all have been slaughtered without mercy.

But now…

The King of Chu Sword could not overcome that newly forged divine sword?

His gaze turned greedy as he eyed the azure-hued sword in Chen Longshi’s hand. Pausing, he spoke once more: “A fine sword indeed! Mortal, I’ll give you one last chance—submit to my command and present your divine sword. Otherwise… today will be your last.”

Chen Longshi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and laughed coldly. “So, baldy, you’re spent? Without that divine sword, what have you left to show off? I’m standing right here—what can you possibly do?”

Stung by the taunt, the King of Chu’s fury erupted. “You think my divine sword’s power ends here? That newly forged blade of yours hasn’t even formed a sword heart, and you hope to defeat the divine sword I’ve nurtured for three centuries? Utter folly!”

He raised the King of Chu Sword high. A sudden, irresistible pull emanated from the pitch-black blade, drawing in the countless undead monsters nearby as if they were dust swept into a vacuum. At the same time, the King of Chu’s form expanded, black smoke coiling about him like a dragon, twin beams of soulflame erupting from his eyes, each stretching nearly a foot.

Chen Longshi tensed, watching as the King of Chu lunged at him with lightning speed, intent on testing swordsmanship at close quarters. His eyes brightened, and his guard rose.

Brilliant sword light burst forth once more, but this time, Chen Longshi neither countered with sword energy nor dodged.

As the sword light struck, he gripped his divine sword tightly and slashed not at the oncoming energy, but directly at the body of the King of Chu Sword.

Clang!

The divine sword in Chen Longshi’s hand shuddered violently. For the first time, the two swords collided physically, unleashing waves of unmatched sword energy. The incoming sword light shattered, scattering into countless fine rays that cut a myriad of bloody lines across his body.

Even more, a force that tugged at his very soul pulled from the enemy’s divine sword.

Yet this time, Chen Longshi did not yield an inch.

However, a tiny notch had appeared in the blade of the Divine Sword of Zhi Jiang.

Chen Longshi’s expression changed; it was as if he could hear the phoenix’s mournful cry.

“Ha! Did you see that? That’s what happens when you clash head-on with my divine sword!” The King of Chu exulted.

Chen Longshi’s face darkened as he listened to the arrogant declarations. In his sea of consciousness, a nine-tiered violet lotus platform slowly rose, spinning above his head and casting a gentle radiance around him. He stepped forward, pressing his sword to meet the enemy blade. “You say I have no sword heart—what is a sword heart?

A host of humble lives, trapped in a cage, must choose: to live or to die. Which is more precious? Is it better to suffer meekly the slings and arrows of a cruel fate, or to rise and struggle against the endless sea of hardship?

Sword heart—I may not yet comprehend it.

But at least I understand this: when facing one’s own battle, no matter how powerful the foe… one must hold fast to the belief in victory!”

Step by step, word by word.

It was as if Chen Longshi spoke to both the King of Chu and to the Divine Sword of Zhi Jiang in his own hand.

Blood seeped from every pore, yet his body ceaselessly repaired and strengthened itself. With every step, his aura swelled. With each word, the sword energy on his blade grew stronger.

The King of Chu’s face twisted with rage, yet as that strange lotus appeared, he sensed the surrounding souls suppressed, their power diminished by a third. More than that, from the lotus, he felt a long-forgotten fear.

“Your sword wails in sorrow—is this your sword heart? Power alone is nothing but slavery to the blade. That sword controls you, not the other way around. How did it feel, sealed underground for three centuries?”

The mockery drove the King of Chu to a frenzy, though he could not conceal the doubt blooming in his heart. Kings are ever suspicious; he was no exception. “No, impossible! I am the chosen of heaven! In three hundred years, I forged a true sword heart and mastered my divine sword completely… Die!”

With peerless rage and murderous intent, the King of Chu soared into the air, flinging his sword skyward. Instantly, it turned to rolling black smoke and rose like a black dragon. Its blazing soulfire eyes shone a foot wide, devouring all in its path. Soldiers on the walls, unable to flee, were drained of blood and soul in a blink, their bodies rotting away before one’s very eyes.

The bloodthirsty, soul-devouring black dragon howled downward, bearing straight for the nearby Chen Longshi.

“A perfect chance!” Chen Longshi’s eyes flashed. Abruptly sheathing his sword, he instead drew a green scabbard and hurled it along the path of the descending blade. “Return!”

A miraculous scene unfolded—the black dragon in the sky, like swallows returning to their nests, poured into the scabbard in an instant.