Mysterious Visitor

"Who's there?!"

A thunderous shout split the silence before the temple.

Chen Hao slowly turned around, his gaze steady as he fixed his eyes on the man who had spoken.

A divine official in a green robe and tall hat strode over. His heavy robes were embroidered with intricate stars, and the hems swirled around his legs, brushing softly against the ground as he walked.

The man stood ramrod straight, his sharp eyes and every movement radiating an unquestionable authority.

A young attendant followed close behind him, his purple robes in disarray, his face pale and his features filled with unease.

The young man kept pinching at his sleeve now and then, as though searching for something to cling to.

"East Kai, Shin," Chen Hao introduced casually. His voice was quiet, yet it struck the stillness like a stone cast into a calm lake. "The one behind him is his attendant, Kibito."

Shin stopped ten paces away from Chen Hao, his sharp gaze scrutinizing Chen Hao and Android 18 behind him.

Android 18 wore an indifferent expression, her hands hanging at her sides as her long hair swayed gently in the wind. She was like a silent statue.

Shin's voice was wary, his anger tightly restrained. "Who are you? How did you come to Supreme Kai's World?"

Chen Hao released Android 18's hand, its lingering warmth still on his fingertips.

He took a step forward, his stride as steady as though he were walking through his own courtyard. Raising his head, he met Shin's eyes calmly. "I have something I'd like your help with."

"Help?" Kibito frowned, a contemptuous sneer tugging at his lips. Even his voice carried a cold laugh. "A mere mortal dares make demands of the East Kai?"

He deliberately puffed out his chest and stepped forward, his shoulders taut.

That posture clearly flaunted his inviolable dignity.

Chen Hao did not even spare Kibito a glance. His gaze passed straight over him and locked firmly onto Shin, his tone as tranquil as an ancient well. "I want to borrow the Z Sword."

The air suddenly froze.

Shin's pupils shrank, and his face turned stark white. His lips moved as he forced out several broken syllables, while even his divine staff began to tremble.

The hairs on his back stood on end, as if he had been startled by something terrifying.

At last, he forced out in a hoarse voice, "You... how do you know about the Z Sword?"

The Z Sword was a sacred relic of their people. Only successive East Kais knew of it; even most attendants did not know the full truth. This secret was passed down only in the temple's deepest coded words.

How could a mortal possibly know of something even gods dared not speak of?

Questions churned chaotically through Shin's mind, every fragment of memory clattering together.

"That isn't important." Chen Hao interrupted his thoughts, still looking unruffled. "What matters is that I need that sword."

Kibito's rage erupted at once. "Insolence!"

His roar shook even the echoes across the plaza.

He raised a hand and condensed an emerald blade of light, so sharp it seemed capable of slicing through the air. Its glow cast a dark blue shadow across the ground.

With a shout, the stone slabs beneath his feet cracked loudly. He turned into a green blur and charged at Chen Hao, the blade of light stabbing straight for his chest.

Chen Hao did not even look at him. Without moving his feet, he casually swung out a palm, as though swatting away a fly.

An invisible blast of force erupted from his palm like a colossal unseen wall, sweeping dust and shattered stones across the ground with a deafening boom.

As though struck by overwhelming force, Kibito was sent flying backward, the blade in his hand exploding into scattered motes of light.

He crashed heavily into a temple pillar. The golden vines wrapped around it shook violently, shedding several leaves.

Kibito groaned and slumped against the pillar, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. His clothes had been torn to pieces, and stone chips bounced across the ground with crisp clatters.

"Kibito!" Shin cried out, whipping around to look at his attendant. Then he turned furiously back toward Chen Hao, his eyes nearly spitting fire. "You—!"

Chen Hao cut him off. His voice remained calm, but it carried a deeper chill now. "I'm only borrowing the sword. I won't hurt anyone. But if you insist on stopping me, I don't mind using harsher methods."

His gaze was sharp as a blade as it swept over Shin's face, and the air instantly turned cold.

Shin gritted his teeth and clenched his divine staff with both hands, his knuckles whitening.

That invisible pressure felt like a mountain pressing against his chest, leaving him unable to breathe.

It felt as if thousands of needles were piercing his heart, filling him with conflict.

The Z Sword indeed possessed overwhelming power, but it also concealed a deadly danger.

Every word of those legends was carved into his memory.

But if Chen Hao truly could wield it... who exactly was he?

Shin took a deep breath. Sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the stone floor, leaving a damp mark.

"Are you sure?" Shin spoke slowly and quietly, his voice carrying reluctance and hesitation like a flame wavering in the wind. "The Z Sword is no ordinary weapon. Sealed within it is—"

"I know." Chen Hao cut him off directly, his tone firm and his eyes deep, as though they could see through the mists of time. "It seals Old Kai."

Shin's body trembled slightly. He instinctively took half a step back, his lips shaking as he found himself unable to say a word.

Sunlight broke through the clouds, casting long shadows across the temple's white walls. The silence in the air was terrifying.

Shin stood dumbfounded, his pupils contracting mechanically as if he had been struck by lightning.

His breathing stopped for several seconds. His hands trembled, his fingertips white, as though he could only remain standing by grasping onto something.

Even he knew that?

Questions surged through his mind like a mad tide, battering his reason.

Who exactly was that person—the young man before him, so calm he seemed cold?

Was he some forgotten god, or a traveler who had crossed dimensions?

Shin's throat tightened, and sweat dampened his forehead.

He instinctively stepped back half a pace, his heel scraping a faint mark across the ground.

Chen Hao took another step forward, his boot landing on the stone floor with a steady sound.

He lifted his chin slightly, his gaze piercing the air as it locked onto Shin. "I mean no harm."

His voice was low and composed, like a stream flowing through a mountain valley. "I simply need greater power. Right now, the Z Sword is the fastest way."

Chen Hao slowly raised his right hand, spreading his fingers before curling them into a fist, as though trying to grasp something invisible.

Time seemed to freeze. Even the air within the temple grew thick and sticky, while the light itself appeared sluggish.

Shin lowered his head to look at the fine cracks in the ground. His lips pressed tightly together, his Adam's apple bobbing as though he had swallowed a heavy stone.

At last, he drew a long breath. His chest rose and fell, and he let out a weighty sigh. "All right..."

His voice was hoarse, drained after accepting his fate. "I can let you use the Z Sword."

"My lord!" Kibito pushed himself up from his half-kneeling position, his knee slamming into the stone floor with a bang.

One hand braced against the ground, veins bulging as his face filled with indignation and fury.

He panted heavily, blood still hanging from him, and roared, "Absolutely not! How can you—That sword is sacred, it is forbidden! We cannot—"