Recruiting (I)

The man wore a coarse hemp robe, washed until it had faded white. His hair hung loose, and his back looked thin, even a little stooped. But Lin Hao's gaze instantly turned grave. The man sat there, yet seemed to have become one with Blade Prison Island itself. He was the island, and the island was him. His blade intent was restrained to the utmost, yet seemed capable of cleaving heaven and earth at any moment. It made the Xuanyuan Sword within Lin Hao give a faint hum—the response of one Dao encountering another of the same level.

"Senior Heavenly Blade, this junior is Lin Hao. Forgive my presumptuous visit." Lin Hao reined in his aura and stopped in midair a hundred zhang from the summit. He cupped his hands and spoke in a clear, ringing voice.

The figure's back did not stir, as if he had not heard. Only the blade intent all around seemed to grow denser, turning the air thick and sharp.

Lin Hao took no offense and continued, "This junior hasn't come to provoke you. I've come because the survival of both realms is at stake, and I ask you to come out of seclusion."

"The survival of both realms?" A dry, hoarse voice slowly sounded, as if its owner had not spoken in a long time. The figure still did not move. "What has that to do with me? I seek only my Dao of the Blade."

"Senior's Dao of the Blade pursues the utmost sharpness and destruction, seeking to sever all restraints and glimpse the highest realm." Lin Hao spoke steadily, his voice clear. "But shutting oneself away to study in isolation has its limits. The Outer Realm Sky Demons, and the Demon Emperor's might—their system of power is utterly different, their laws strange