Abandoned Dimension Hall.
The reeking stench of blood lingered beneath the rafters, while gurgling black blood flowed past their ankles.
This side hall of the First Hall of Sin was strewn with countless black limbs, severed arms, scraps of flesh, and bones belonging to the Void Attendants... a dazzling array, everything one could want.
"A sword wielder is the gentleman among weapons—upright in all directions, bearing the Dao and anchoring fortune, the authority of Heaven..."
Resounding chants came from within the main hall.
Outside the hall, over a dozen Void Attendants were crammed together, some with only their upper bodies left, some with only a head remaining, some completely separated at the neck, their limbs nowhere to be found.
Despite such grievous injuries, not one of the Void Attendants had died.
They merely opened their mouths one after another and roared along with the aged voice inside the hall.
"Roar roar, roar roar roar, roar roar roar roar..."
When the uneven, rising-and-falling roars finally stopped, the main hall once again rang with a kindly voice of instruction.
"Those who practice the sword must place propriety first and intimidation second. One must not violate taboos with the sword, nor wield it solely to indulge desire..."
"Roar roar roar, roar roar roar, roar roar roar roar..."
"The sheathed sword governs propriety, with ritual placed foremost. Ritual may illuminate the world, allowing people to distinguish right from wrong, black from white... The same applies to Void Attendants."
"Roar roar roar..."
The Void Attendants were clearly exhausted.
This torment had lasted too long. Some could no longer endure it and began to nod off.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a streak of sword light slashed out from the hall, splitting in two the enormous head that had been bobbing as it drifted into sleep. Black