Autumn Trial's Edge

When the bells of the Ye Family's Autumn Trial echoed over Sky Feather City, Chu Mo stood among the servants on the eastern side of the martial arena. He wore a brand-new azure robe, its cuffs embroidered with three silver-threaded maple leaves—the mark of an Inner Disciple—yet it had been splashed with ink until it was mottled and stained.

"Oh? Even a servant dared wear Inner Disciple robes?" Wang Bao, the outer sect steward in charge of roll call, cast Chu Mo a sidelong glance and smacked the bamboo slip in his hand against Chu Mo's chest. "You have not even reached the third level of Bone Forging. What right do you have to stand in the Inner Disciple area?"

Soft laughter rose around them. Among the twenty-odd Inner Disciples, Ye Hong was toying with his newly acquired Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact, the Blazing Sun Sword. Its tip casually scraped over the ground, leaving scorched black marks across the bluestone slabs. When he looked up and saw Chu Mo, a cold sneer curled across his lips. "Steward Wang, I saw this trash suffer backlash from Sword Qi at the Back Mountain Sword Tomb yesterday. He probably does not even have the strength to hold a sword now."

On the high platform above the martial arena, family head Ye Lingtian stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze paused slightly when it swept over Chu Mo. He clearly remembered the Sword Qi anomaly at the back mountain last night. This morning, Third Elder Ye Minghe had knelt outside his study and claimed that Chu Mo had been invaded by the Sword Tomb's Killing Intent and would not survive three days.

"The Autumn Trial begins! First match: Ye Hong versus Chu Mo!"

As Second Elder Ye Mingxuan's voice fell, the bronze arena at the center of the martial grounds glimmered with faint golden light. Ye Hong leaped onto the platform, flourishing the Blazing Sun Sword in his hand. Flame patterns spread along the blade, and the blue bricks beneath his feet instantly baked and cracked.

Chu Mo raised his head and met Yun Che's gaze at the edge of the spectators' seats. Worry filled the young woman's eyes, but she secretly raised a thumb—an old signal from when they had played around at the Sword Tomb as children. It meant, "Do not be afraid. I am here."

"Trash, kneel and kowtow. I can let you suffer a little less." Impatience filled Ye Hong's voice. He was eager to show off before his father and secure a spot at the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect next month.

Chu Mo stepped onto the arena, gripping the broken sword he had brought from the Sword Tomb. Though the black sword was still incomplete, Chaos Aura faintly flowed through it. Under the sunlight, the runes on its blade flickered in and out of sight like living things.

"Third level of Bone Forging?" The referee elder had just been about to announce the start when his eyes suddenly widened. Chu Mo's aura surged to the sixth level of Bone Forging in the blink of an eye. The broken sword trembled lightly, and ripples spread across the protective barrier at the edge of the arena.

"How is that possible?!" Ye Hong nearly lost his grip on the Blazing Sun Sword. He clearly remembered that Chu Mo had only been at the second level of Bone Forging last night, yet his aura was now even more robust than that of Ye Hong, an Inner Disciple genius at the ninth level of Bone Forging.

Ding—

The instant the broken sword collided with the Blazing Sun Sword, sparks flew in all directions. Ye Hong felt an enormous force crash into him, nearly shattering his wrist. Chu Mo's broken sword cut only three inches into the Blazing Sun Sword before it was blocked by its flaming patterns.

"Primordial Sword Art, First Form—Shattered Light!"

Chu Mo shouted lowly, and the Chaos Runes on the broken sword suddenly lit up. The flaming patterns of the Blazing Sun Sword went out at once as if they had encountered their nemesis. Cracks spread across the blade at a visible speed until, with a bang, it shattered into dust.

The entire arena fell silent.

Ye Hong stared blankly at the hilt in his hand, unable to believe that his Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact had been severed just like that. Chu Mo's broken sword was already pressed to his throat. Chaos Sword Qi carved tiny red marks over the surface of his skin. Another half inch closer, and it would have taken his life.

"Chu Mo, stop at the right point!" Family head Ye Lingtian suddenly spoke, a trace of imperceptible tremor in his voice. He had seen the killing intent flash through Chu Mo's eyes. That sharpness belonged only to someone who had walked through life and death; it was not something a sixteen-year-old boy should possess.

Chu Mo withdrew his broken sword and swept his gaze around the arena. He could feel Third Elder Ye Minghe's gaze, sharp as a blade, lurking in the shadows of the spectators' seats. Last night at the Sword Tomb, he had not only obtained the Primordial Sword Art, but had also seen the truth of his mother Chu Muxue's murder within the broken sword's memories—Third Elder had joined forces with an outer sect steward to set an ambush at the Sword Tomb entrance, all to seize the shattered jade in her arms.

"Second match: Ye Ling versus Chu Mo!" Second Elder hurriedly announced the next match, attempting to break the awkward silence.

Ye Ling was a publicly acknowledged outer sect genius, at the peak of the ninth level of Bone Forging. She held the Ye Family's specially crafted Azure Mist Sword in her hand. Wind blades wound around its blade, and before it was even drawn, a violent gale had risen across the arena.

"Be careful. She has cultivated the third layer of the Azure Mist Sword Art." Yun Che quietly warned him from below the platform, unconsciously rubbing the jade pendant at her waist. Chu Mo's mother had left it to her, and it could fit perfectly together with Chu Mo's shattered jade to form a complete sword pattern.

Chu Mo nodded. The broken sword turned in his palm, and the Chaos Runes upon it collided with the wind blades of the Azure Mist Sword, producing a crisp metallic clang. Ye Ling struck first. The Azure Mist Sword transformed into hundreds of wind blades that swept toward him like a torrential downpour.

"Primordial Sword Art, Second Form—Devour the Void!"

Chu Mo suddenly opened his mouth, and Chaos Sword Qi gathered into a vortex before him. Every wind blade vanished without a trace the instant it approached the vortex. Seizing the opportunity, the broken sword slashed out. A streak of black sword radiance tore through the sky and left a deep dent in the Azure Mist Sword's blade.

"Could this be... the Devouring Law?" Second Elder Ye Mingxuan abruptly rose to his feet, wild joy in his voice. He had finally confirmed it. What Chu Mo had awakened was the legendary Chaos Sword Body, whose greatest trait was the ability to devour the laws of all things for its own use. Ye Ling's Wind Blade Law had just been directly swallowed into Chu Mo's sword body.

Ye Ling staggered backward, her eyes full of terror. Her Azure Mist Sword had been purchased by her father with three low-grade spirit stones, yet it now wailed like a grievously wounded spirit beast. The wind patterns on its blade were nearly peeling away.

"I concede!" Ye Ling threw down her sword and ran from the arena. She did not dare look back, because Chu Mo's gaze reminded her of the tomb-guarding sword puppets in the Sword Tomb—cold, deathly still, yet containing the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Over the next three matches, Chu Mo won again and again. Inner Disciples at the ninth level of Bone Forging could not last more than three moves against him. Every slash of his broken sword devoured his opponent's cultivation laws and transformed them into Chaos Sword Qi. By the time he defeated the fifth opponent, the arena floor was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, with fragments of Chaos light flowing through every fissure.

"The next match, Chu Mo versus..." Second Elder's voice suddenly caught in his throat, because none of the Inner Disciples dared to answer the challenge. Of the Inner Disciple seats that had once been full, only Yun Che remained. The other disciples either claimed injury or lowered their heads and pretended not to see.

"I will!"

A clear shout rang out from the entrance of the martial arena. Everyone turned to see a young man in a blood-red robe stride inside. The token hanging at his waist bore the words "Blood Demon Sect Outer Sect," gleaming with an eerie blood-colored light beneath the sun. "Someone from the Blood Demon Sect?" Family head Ye Lingtian frowned. The Blood Demon Sect and the Ye Family had always kept to their own waters and left each other alone. For the other side to openly participate in the Autumn Trial now, they had clearly come with ill intent.

"I am Song Li of the Blood Demon Sect. I heard that a Chaos Sword Body has appeared in the Ye Family, so I came specially to seek instruction." Song Li placed a hand to his chest in salute, greed flashing through his eyes. Last night, he had received Third Elder's secret letter saying that a worthless boy of the Ye Family had awakened a rare divine body. If he brought him back to the demon sect, he could become an Inner Disciple.

Chu Mo raised his head and noticed the blood lotus pattern embroidered on Song Li's cuff—the very shape of the bloodstains on his mother's wounds ten years ago. His grip on the sword abruptly tightened. Chaos Sword Qi boiled within him, while the broken sword deep in his Sea of Consciousness hummed as though urging him to take revenge.

"At the peak of the ninth level of Bone Forging, with Blood Demon Qi protecting his body..." Second Elder warned in a low voice, "Chu Mo, stop at the right point. Do not..."

"Die!"

Chu Mo's broken sword had already slashed out, giving his opponent no chance to speak. Chaos Sword Qi condensed into a tangible sword shadow in midair, forming the character for "annihilate." It was the opening stance of the World Annihilation Scroll of the Primordial Chaos Sword Art. Song Li hurriedly summoned a blood-red shield, only to see it torn apart like paper as the sword shadow slashed directly across his chest.

Pfft—

Song Li spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward more than thirty yards. To his horror, he discovered that the Blood Demon Qi he had cultivated was being devoured by Chu Mo's Sword Qi. The skin around his wound festered at a visible speed, exposing the white bone beneath.

"The Chaos Sword Body truly lives up to its reputation." Song Li barely forced himself to his feet, then suddenly pulled a blood-red jade slip from his robes. "But do you think you are the only one with an ancient inheritance?"

The instant the jade slip shattered, the ground of the martial arena suddenly split open. Countless blood-red tentacles burst from the earth and shot toward Chu Mo. Cries of alarm rang out from the spectators' seats, and Yun Che's face went pale—these tentacles were precisely the Blood Demon Qi that had attacked her at the Sword Tomb years ago!

"Watch out!" Yun Che instinctively rushed forward. The Heaven Suppressing Bloodline within her began to circulate automatically, and a golden phantom of the Heaven Suppressing Seal appeared in her palm. The blood-red tentacles shrieked the moment they touched the golden light. Chu Mo seized the chance to slash out with Chaos Sword Qi, grinding every tentacle into a bloody mist.

Seeing that things had gone badly, Song Li turned to flee. Chu Mo flicked his broken sword, and a streak of sword radiance sliced through Song Li's thigh. The young man screamed and fell to the ground. A secret letter slipped from his robes and landed at Ye Lingtian's feet.

The family head picked up the secret letter. As his gaze swept over its contents, his face instantly turned livid. It read: Third Elder Ye Minghe was willing to offer the Chaos Sword Body as a gift and invite the Blood Demon Sect to divide the Southern Region between them.

The martial arena sank into dead silence. Third Elder Ye Minghe stepped out from the shadows, cold sweat covering his forehead. "Family Head, this is a frame-up..."

"Enough." Ye Lingtian spoke coldly and turned his gaze toward Chu Mo. "From today onward, Chu Mo is promoted to chief Inner Disciple and will take charge of the Ye Family Sword Hall. As for Third Elder..."

He suddenly drew the sword at his waist. A cold flash streaked through the air, and Ye Minghe's left arm fell at once. "Colluding with the demon sect—by clan law, one arm shall be severed, and he shall be imprisoned in the Back Mountain Sword Tomb!"

As Chu Mo watched Third Elder being dragged away, he felt none of the satisfaction he had imagined. He knew this was only the beginning—the Blood Demon Sect would not let the matter rest, the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect's trial was about to arrive, and within the memory fragments he had seen at the Sword Tomb, an even more terrifying presence was stirring in the north.

"Brother Chu Mo!" Yun Che ran onto the arena and offered him the healing medicine she carried. "You are injured..."

Chu Mo lowered his head and only then noticed several bloody marks on his arm. They had been burned by the splashed Blood Demon Qi when he had severed the blood-red tentacles. He accepted the medicine bottle, and his fingertips touched the warmth of Yun Che's palm. Suddenly, he recalled a legend from the Sword Tomb: the Chaos Sword Body and the Heaven Suppressing Bloodline were the yin and yang poles born when heaven and earth first opened. They were destined to nurture and restrain one another, yet also destined to remain entangled without end.

"Tomorrow, I am going to the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect," Chu Mo said softly. "Yun Che, wait for me to return. Then I will take you into the depths of the Sword Tomb to see what my mother left behind."

Yun Che nodded, her gaze falling upon the broken sword in Chu Mo's hand. She saw the shattered jade on the blade suddenly emit a faint glow, perfectly matching the pattern on her own jade pendant, as though telling a secret that had spanned ten years—of chaos and heaven suppression, of sword body and bloodline, of the Path of Ten Thousand Realms they were destined to tread together, a path covered in thorns and glory.

Beyond the martial arena, the blood-red sunset dyed the heavens crimson. Chu Mo gazed toward the distant back mountain, the broken sword trembling lightly in his palm as though answering some faraway summons. He knew that the legend of the Chaos Sword Body had only just begun.