The Seal Breaks Dawn

"Old Kai?!"

Shin's voice shot up sharply, nearly tearing through the air.

He staggered backward, his steps unsteady, both hands visibly trembling. "Impossible! Old Kai disappeared long ago. Legend says he went to the end of the universe... How could this be..."

Chen Hao cut him off directly, saying coldly, "He was sealed inside this sword. Those legends you keep talking about, that so-called ancient history—they're nothing but elaborate lies. You imprisoned him, yet kept helping polish his cage."

Kibito's face turned livid with rage, the veins on his forehead bulging.

His voice was low and dangerous. "Can you prove it?" From the look of him, if Chen Hao misspoke even one word, he might attack.

Chen Hao smiled, with a hint of mockery.

He turned toward the longsword. As though he had finally made up his mind, he reached out and firmly gripped the hilt.

Bzzzz—

The silver-white sword suddenly let out a piercing hum, like metal being torn apart, or some living thing screaming in agony.

The faint golden radiance around the blade surged at once like roaring flames, turning the entire room into a blinding sea of gold.

The firelight churned, as if souls were struggling and howling within it.

A strange energy burst from the sword, shaking dust loose from the walls and splitting the stone floor with crack after crack.

The entire room shook violently. It would not have been surprising if it collapsed the next second.

Shin and Kibito's expressions turned utterly grim. Their pupils contracted as they desperately stumbled backward, nearly losing their footing.

Kibito raised an arm before him, trying to withstand the suffocating blast of air. His teeth ground together with a sharp clatter.

"What is he doing?!" Kibito cried out, his voice swallowed by the energy until it was nearly inaudible.

Android 18 bit her lip, her fingers twisting together nervously as her eyes remained fixed on Chen Hao's back.

That power made her heart clench, but she stood where she was, refusing to retreat even a single step.

Chen Hao stood at the center, his silver hair whipping in the energy currents, his sleeves billowing like banners.

The hand gripping the sword did not move at all, while a dangerous killing intent gradually surfaced in his eyes.

"Since you say this is a holy sword," he said quietly, his voice still perfectly clear despite the chaotic currents, "then let me see whether it can take it—whether it can withstand the force of one finger of mine."

He slowly closed his eyes, and the world seemed to fall silent all at once.

The surrounding clamor, the wind, even his own heartbeat became hazy.

He adjusted his breathing. The qi in his dantian surged like a river, flowing through his meridians to his palm before pouring into the sword.

The blade trembled faintly and gave off a low hum, like a sleeping beast disturbed from its slumber and slowly awakening.

As soon as the qi entered it, Chen Hao's consciousness pierced through the metal of the blade and entered a strange space.

There was no light within, only endless nothingness, vague and abyssal.

At the center of that void, the figure of an old man emerged.

His silver hair was white as snow, his beard hanging to his chest, and his body was bound by thick golden chains.

Ancient runes were carved into the chains, which emitted a faint yet immensely oppressive glow.

The old man raised his head, and his cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.

Looking at Chen Hao, an excited smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "Finally... finally, someone has awakened me..."

His voice was hoarse and trembling, as if he had been trapped in darkness for a thousand years before finally hearing the footsteps of hope.

"Boy, in all these years, you're the first person who has sensed my existence!"

Chen Hao did not exchange pleasantries or show any surprise. He looked straight at the old man, his tone calm. "How do I get you out?"

The old man froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Chen Hao to be so direct. Then he threw back his head and laughed. His laughter echoed through the void, desolate and mocking. "You want to release me? Do you know what this sword is? It is a divine artifact of the Supreme Kais. The incantations embedded in its blade are beyond even the Supreme Kais themselves. To undo the seal, unless—"

Chen Hao asked directly, "Unless what?"

"Unless you completely destroy this sword!" The old man's eyes gleamed with amusement, his tone provocative. "But you should know that the Z Sword can cut through anything. It is the embodiment of rules themselves. Yet this sword is also indestructible. Even if Beerus, God of Destruction, acted personally, he still couldn't—"

Crack—

A crisp sound suddenly shattered the silence, like a pebble striking ice.

Before the old man could finish, his pupils abruptly shrank, and the smile on his face froze stiffly in place.

Chen Hao raised his right hand and pinched the middle of the blade between two fingers.

With a slight exertion of force, a faint glow flashed across the blade's surface, as if it were resisting the external pressure.

Yet Chen Hao's gaze remained calm, even carrying a trace of indifference.

He took a deep breath and flicked the blade hard with his fingers.

"Bzzzz—"

After the dull impact, a fine crack appeared across the blade.

The crack was as thin as a spider's thread, yet especially conspicuous beneath the sword's glow.

Not far away, Shin's eyes instantly widened like saucers. His mouth hung slightly open, but he could not force out a single sound.

The composure usually on his face had been replaced by incredulous terror. "W-What?!" Kibito looked as though he had been struck by a sledgehammer. His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground, bracing himself with trembling fingertips as he stared fixedly at the cracks. Even his voice shook. "Impossible... Absolutely impossible!!"

Android 18, standing nearby, was completely stunned as well.

For the first time, surprise appeared on her usually cold face.

She tilted her head slightly, her blonde hair drifting in the wind as a complicated light flickered in her eyes.

She had known Chen Hao was strong. From the first time they met, she had understood that he could not be judged by common sense.

But... snapping the Z Sword with his fingers?

That was already beyond her comprehension.

"Th-This is a divine artifact of the Supreme Kai!" Shin finally came back to his senses, his voice trembling intensely. "Even Beerus, God of Destruction, said that he couldn't destroy this sword!"

Chen Hao ignored him and did not stop moving.

His gaze remained focused as he sensed the faint vibrations at his fingertips.

The sword seemed to be letting out a low cry—part plea, part rage.

But Chen Hao did not waver in the slightest. Instead, he increased his strength and poured all his ki into his fingers.

Crack—crack—

The fractures spread at a visible speed, like ice cracking outward in rings. Before long, they covered the entire sword like a massive spiderweb.

The blade trembled beneath Chen Hao's fingertips, releasing a dull hum like the final struggle of a dying beast.

Yet Chen Hao's hand remained firmly locked at the fractured point, utterly motionless.

An ancient, heavy aura drifted through the air, as though some power that had slumbered for a long time was slowly awakening within the sword's cracks.