Chapter 2

Hearing my audacity, Shen Xiu laughed in rage and drew his sword, ready to apprehend me before the Heavenly Gate.

But I had no patience to waste on him.

My black sword swept through the air, shattering the gate's defensive wards.

Before Shen Xiu could react, I had already broken through to the heart of the Celestial Realm, the Canonization Platform.

At that moment, celestial music drifted from the high platform, where a grand canonization ceremony was in full swing.

A celestial emissary held an edict, reciting it in a loud voice.

He extolled Green-Pouch Valley's "profound righteousness" and their "sacrifice of a master for the peace of the three realms."

The surrounding deities stroked their beards and nodded, showering the act with praise.

My Second Senior Sister, Liu Ying, stood on the high platform awaiting her title, her face flushed with excitement, draped in a shimmering celestial robe.

Shen Xiu, whom I had left in my wake, chased after me in a rage.

Seeing the scene, his expression changed. He said something to the captain of the guards, then hurried onto the platform to stand with Liu Ying.

Seeing me charge into the ceremony with a sword, Liu Ying was utterly shocked. She shrieked at me before the entire celestial court.

"Su Shuang, have you lost your mind?!"

"It was Master's fate to possess celestial bones! It was the will of the heavens that the Celestial Lord noticed him! We merely seized the opportunity to ascend. What are you doing here, causing trouble?!"

Looking at their self-righteous faces, I felt the foolish old man's death had been a true waste.

Shen Xiu and Liu Ying were the first orphans he had brought back to the valley when he was young.

He had poured his entire heart into raising them, forsaking his own chance at having children.

For all these years, Master and Auntie Qin had remained childless, dedicating all their energy to their disciples.

When Auntie Qin occasionally worried about having no one to care for them in their old age, the old man would always puff out his chest with a smile.

He said his judgment of character was never wrong, and that when his time came, this group of disciples would surely give him a proper mourning.

Unfortunately, Master's judgment was wrong.

But I knew how stubborn he was. If I did not give this pair of ungrateful wretches one last chance to repent, he would not be able to rest in peace.

So, echoing my master's spirit, I gave Shen Xiu and Liu Ying one chance.

"I will be the one to avenge Master. You do not need to get your hands dirty."

"The ceremony is not over yet. Return to Green-Pouch Valley, now."

"Go kowtow to Auntie Qin, kneel, and hold a vigil for the old man. It is not too late."

Liu Ying, spoiled by our master since childhood, could not stand being ordered around like this.

She erupted in fury, pointing a finger at my nose and cursing.

"Who the hell do you think you are to lecture me?"

"Guards! Seize this insolent madwoman!"

Shen Xiu made a show of holding her back, his face a mask of sanctimonious hypocrisy.

"Junior Sister, do not be foolish. Green-Pouch Valley is just a rundown place in the mortal realm. Master toiled there his whole life and achieved nothing."

"Besides, now that we have all ascended to godhood, is this not the greatest glory for our sect?"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab my wrist. The celestial soldiers on either side also charged forward with their long spears.

My eyes turned cold. With a flick of my wrist, I performed a casual flourish with my sword.

The soldiers at the very front froze.

The next moment, their bodies were ripped apart like paper, not even a wisp of their souls left to escape.

The entire platform fell silent before the assembled gods erupted into an uproar.

Shen Xiu, aghast, brandished the celestial sword he had just been awarded and stabbed straight for my heart.

I stood my ground, neither dodging nor flinching, and met his attack with a swing of my own.

With a sharp clang, his celestial sword snapped in two.

Before he could process what had happened, my longsword had already pierced his chest.

Shen Xiu did not even have time to scream before he collapsed in a pool of blood, his eyes wide with death.

Liu Ying stumbled back in terror, her voice trembling. "Su Shuang, what demonic weapon is that?!"

She was terrified because Shen Xiu had just been deified; ordinary magical artifacts could not even get near him.

I casually flicked the blood from my blade. "Demonic weapon? A lowly demon is not worthy of holding it."

"But you will understand what it is soon enough."

"Since Senior Brother was so heartless, his lifetime of cultivation might as well christen my blade."

"You vicious bitch!" Liu Ying's eyes turned crimson as she summoned her own magical artifact, ready to fight me to the death.

But before she could charge off the platform, an old official with a knowing gaze grabbed her arm.

The old official stared at the black longsword in my hand, his face ashen, pointing with a trembling finger as he shouted.

"Lady Liu, do not go! That sword... it is unnatural! It is devouring his divine soul!"

Liu Ying was full of scorn, snarling through gritted teeth, "Demonic artifacts are always strange. What is there to be afraid of?!"

The old official stumbled backward, his voice shaking uncontrollably.

"No. You have just ascended. You do not understand!"

"A fan in form, a sword in essence. It devours gods and severs the cycle of reincarnation. For millennia, there has only been one such peerless, malevolent weapon."

"But... but was it not personally destroyed by the Celestial Lord in the Nine Hells?!"