Fate-Defying Demon Emperor

The Arena of Sword Discourse was located halfway up Mount Hua, with half the journey to the summit still ahead. However, only a single, rugged path filled with danger led from there to the peak. Thus, the Heavenly Sword Dynasty had decreed that only the annual champion of the Mount Hua Sword Discourse was granted the right to ascend.

The summit was where the Great Emperor had achieved Instant Sanctification, and the Sword Intent of Ages there was incredibly dense. Reaching the peak offered the chance to receive a baptism of Sword Intent. Of course, a few unlucky souls in history had not been baptized but were instead injured by the Sword Intent, though such cases were exceedingly rare.

This time, I will fully transform the embryo into Sword Intent!

Su Han knew the Great Emperor’s Sword Intent of Ages was not friendly toward him, but he had no intention of comprehending it. Instead, he planned to use it to temper his own Slaughter Sword Intent.

So what if it’s the Sword Intent of Ages? To slash through the ages is slaughter!

”Your Highness will certainly succeed! You might even comprehend the Sword Intent of Ages and reach the absolute pinnacle!” Li Mingliang offered some timely flattery. Though he knew Su Han was not the true Nineteenth Prince, Su Han’s innate talent was the most monstrous he had ever witnessed. Who was to say he couldn’t succeed?

Li Qingyue sheathed her sword, her beautiful eyes shining as she looked at Su Han. ”Your Highness, you can do it!” she said gently, cheering him on.

Su Han smiled at them, then turned toward the narrow path under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

The crowd parted like a tide, their gazes fixed on Su Han’s back, filled with nervousness and anticipation.

”With his monstrously high innate talent, the Nineteenth Prince is sure to gain immensely from this. He might even comprehend the Sword Intent of Ages, just like the Crown Prince did!” one person whispered.

”How could the Sword Intent of Ages be so easy to comprehend?” another retorted. ”Countless prodigies throughout history have failed here. The only one to succeed on Mount Hua was the Heavenly Sword Crown Prince. The Nineteenth Prince is strong, but he probably doesn’t have that kind of fortune.”

”Even if he can’t comprehend it, a baptism of Sword Intent will definitely make him much stronger! At that point, he’ll likely outshine the Second and Third Princes and become the number two prodigy in our Heavenly Sword Dynasty!”

The crowd murmured in low voices, the sound a bit noisy. What they cared about most was the improvement Su Han would gain after receiving the baptism of Sword Intent at the summit. The current Su Han was already terrifying. If he improved significantly, he would become a figure second only to the Heavenly Sword Crown Prince. For them, witnessing such a moment was a thrilling prospect.

The Thirteenth Princess had not left. She wanted to watch Su Han undergo the baptism and see the final result. ”Nineteenth Brother, you won’t be able to comprehend the Sword Intent of Ages,” she stated. ”If it were that easy, there wouldn’t only be a single Heavenly Sword Crown Prince after all these years!” The contest between the princes was brutal. Since she had already sided with the Eighth Prince, she certainly didn’t want to see any other prince rise—especially not the Nineteenth Prince who had just defeated him. If possible, she hoped to witness Su Han’s baptism fail, or even see him suffer a backlash. Only then would the Eighth Prince still have a chance to contend for the throne; otherwise, all hope would be lost for him in this life.

The Yun Jin Holy Maiden was also still there, curious to see Su Han’s baptism of Sword Intent. As a Sword Cultivator, the most important and fundamental thing was Sword Intent. Training with Sword Intent was the fastest method, and it made it easier to discover one’s own Supreme Sword Path in the future. A baptism of Sword Intent purifies the self, washes away impurities, and refines one’s own Sword Intent. I wonder what you will gain.

The Heartless Saint Heir’s face was pale, and he had yet to fully recover, but he had not left either. He remained, watching Su Han and waiting for the final result. Let me see your Sword Intent for myself.

The stares of the crowd could not disturb Su Han’s Heart Spirit, nor could their whispers break his calm state of mind.

As he stepped onto the narrow path, he immediately felt a strong hostility. This was the hostility of the Sword Intent of Ages. The Sword Intent of Ages here was even more intense than before, but Su Han’s Slaughter Sword Intent Embryo had also been tempered and solidified by the recent battle.

A cold, murderous intent erupted from Su Han. It was as if he were no longer a man, but a pitch-black, ice-cold, and incredibly sharp demonic sword. Auras of slaughter, death, darkness, and cold solitude emanated from him, making him fit the part of a young demonic emperor. However, Su Han deliberately restrained these auras to avoid revealing his true identity to the crowd below.

Sensing the sharp attacks formed by the Sword Intent of Ages, Su Han’s eyes grew cold. He uttered a single word: ”Kill.”

The moment he spoke, a heaven-shaking murderous intent erupted. Visions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood materialized around him, not only repelling the assault of the Sword Intent of Ages but also slashing right through it.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Su Han climbed upward one step at a time, eventually setting foot on the summit.

The peak of Mount Hua was not a sharp point but a small, flat plateau. There was nothing here but the cold mountain wind and the damp clouds that drifted past. Standing on the summit, one could look down on all the other mountains. The distant view was a vast and beautiful landscape. Above, the sky was blue with white clouds, but there was not a single bird in sight, as if even they made a detour around Mount Hua.

This was the summit of Mount Hua, the very place where the Great Emperor had once meditated for a month before achieving Instant Sanctification in a single day. Legend had it that the Great Emperor meditated here for a month, comprehending the true meaning of the Sword Path. Then, he rose to his feet, cleaved the void with a single strike, and achieved Instant Sanctification.

Of course, these were only legends; the truth had been long lost to time. But the Sword Intent of Ages here was undeniably real, incredibly dense and powerful.

WHOOSH!

As Su Han set foot on the summit, the entirety of Mount Hua began to glow and tremble slightly. From the base to the peak, all of the Sword Intent of Ages stirred, converging on him in unison.

”The baptism of Sword Intent is starting!” someone exclaimed.

Seeing this, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they stared unblinkingly at Su Han. This was the prelude, a sign that the baptism was about to begin.

In Su Han’s perception, however, it was an endless torrent of the Sword Intent of Ages. It poured in from all over Mount Hua like a raging river, transforming into countless invisible swords that slashed toward him. The hostility was overwhelming, as if borne of a deep-seated, mortal grudge!

Bring it on!

Though Su Han sensed the danger, he was fearless. He unleashed his Slaughter Sword Intent Embryo, intending to use this trial to forge it to completion.

At that very moment, however, Su Han’s vision blurred. He saw a grand figure seated opposite him. The figure’s eyes snapped open as he rose to his feet. Drawing the sword from his side, he cleaved the void with a single strike, achieving Instant Sanctification.

This was the vision of the Great Emperor’s sanctification, but now, that very sword strike was aimed directly at Su Han.

This was a sword strike that transcended time and space, instantly plunging Su Han into a Life and Death crisis.