Chapter 37: The Sword and the Wolf

 

The hundred flying swords hovered in the air, humming with a frequency that made Caleb’s nanobots vibrate in warning. To his eyes, they weren't magical weapons; they were acoustically levitated projectiles controlled by a central neural network.

"Threat analysis," Caleb muttered, his voice low. "Targeting systems are primitive. But the kinetic potential is high."

"Don't shoot them down, Caleb," Scarlett hissed, stepping in front of him. "These are my people. Or... they were."

She looked up at the figure descending from the clouds on a massive, floating gourd. It was an old man with a beard that reached his waist, wearing robes embroidered with the Seven Stars. His eyes were cold, arrogant, and filled with disdain as he looked at Caleb.

"I am Elder Cang," the old man boomed, his voice amplified by Qi. "Who dares intrude on the Kunlun Sanctuary? And why do you bring a... beast... to our holy ground?"

He waved his hand. The swords dipped lower, the tips gleaming with cold light, aimed directly at Caleb’s heart.

Scarlett raised her jade brush. She didn't attack; she drew a single symbol in the air: "ORIGIN".

The symbol flared with a pure, golden light that resonated with the mountain's own barrier. The flying swords instantly trembled and dipped their points—a sign of submission to a superior authority.

Elder Cang’s eyes widened. "The Star-Weaver's Brush? You... you are the Disciple who vanished three years ago? The one Master Xuan claimed was dead?"

"I didn't die," Scarlett said, her voice ringing clear across the peaks. "I was summoned. And I have returned to close the breach that your Master Xuan opened."

She pointed at Caleb. "And this is not a beast. He is the King of the North. He is my Dao-Companion. And he saved my life when this Sect abandoned me."

A ripple of shock went through the disciples gathered on the clouds. A "Dao-Companion"? With a foreign demon?

Elder Cang sneered, stroking his beard. "Dao-Companion? You have fallen, child. You bring a creature reeking of blood and iron into the Celestial Realm. His soul is chaotic. He is a danger to the Sect."

He looked at Caleb with unparalleled arrogance. "Kneel, beast. Let me purge the demon from your marrow, and perhaps I will spare your life."

Caleb laughed.

It was a dry, sharp sound. He stepped out from behind Scarlett, his hands in his pockets. He looked at the Elder not with fear, but with the curiosity of a scientist looking at a particularly interesting bug.

"You want me to kneel?" Caleb asked, tilting his head. "Your 'purge' involves a high-voltage electrical discharge aimed at my neural cortex. I’ve survived worse from a toaster."

He looked at the flying swords. "And your drones? They run on a magnetic ley-line frequency of 400 hertz. If I stomp my foot hard enough, I can scramble their guidance systems."

"Insolence!" Elder Cang roared. "Die!"

The swords shot forward.

Scarlett screamed, "Caleb!"

But Caleb didn't move. He simply stomped.

"System Command: Magnetic Pulse - Wide Area."

The silver tattoos on his arms flared blindingly bright. A shockwave of pure electromagnetic force exploded from his body. It wasn't magic; it was physics. The pulse hit the incoming swords, disrupting the Qi-flow controlling them.

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

A hundred legendary swords dropped out of the sky like useless scrap metal, falling into the grass around Caleb’s feet.

The silence on the mountain was absolute.

Elder Cang stared, his mouth open. He tried to summon his gourd, but it wobbled drunkenly. "You... you severed the Spirit Link? With a stomp? What sort of demon art is this?"

"It's called science, old man," Caleb said, kicking a sword aside. He walked up to Elder Cang, looming over him with his full Alpha presence. "Now. My Queen is speaking. You will listen."

Scarlett let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She stepped forward, seizing the moment.

"Enough!" she commanded. "Elder Cang, if you doubt his soul, then open the Heart-Asking Platform."

The crowd gasped. The Heart-Asking Platform was the ultimate test of the Kunlun Sect. It summoned the Lightning of Judgment. Only those with a pure heart—or an unbreakable will—could survive it. Even Elders feared it.

"You want the beast to walk the Platform?" Elder Cang narrowed his eyes, a cruel smile returning. "If his soul is impure, the lightning will turn him to ash. There will be nothing left to bury."

"I accept," Caleb said instantly.

"Caleb," Scarlett whispered, grabbing his arm. "That platform strikes the soul directly. It’s not kinetic energy. You can't punch lightning."

Caleb looked at her, his golden eyes soft. "I walked through the Corridor of Shattered Souls for you. I fought a volcano for you. A little static electricity isn't going to stop me."

He kissed her hand, then turned to the Elder. "Lead the way. I have a dimension to save."

They were led to the highest peak, where a flat, circular stone platform suspended over a bottomless abyss waited. Storm clouds swirled eternally above it, purple lightning arcing hungrily.

"Step forth," Elder Cang announced, hoping to see the wolf cower.

Caleb stepped onto the platform.

BOOM.

The first bolt of purple lightning struck him. It was thick as a tree trunk.

Caleb didn't scream. He grunted, his knees buckling slightly. The nanobots in his blood surged, trying to repair the damage, but this was spiritual damage. Smoke rose from his shoulders.

"Is that all?" Caleb growled, standing up straight. He looked at the sky, his eyes turning silver. "System: Reroute energy absorption. Convert thermal output to battery charge."

BOOM.

The second bolt hit. Caleb laughed. He spread his arms, embracing the pain.

"More!" he roared at the heavens.

To the horror of the Cultivators, the "demon" wasn't dying. He was... glowing. The lightning wasn't destroying him; it was charging him. His aura grew from a flicker to a bonfire of silver and gold light.

The Heart-Asking Platform shook. The lightning, sensing a challenger it couldn't crush, began to retreat.

Caleb stood in the center, his clothes tattered, his skin smoking, but his energy level higher than it had ever been. He looked at Elder Cang, his voice booming like thunder.

"Your 'judgment' tastes like ozone," Caleb declared. "Now. Take us to Master Xuan."

Elder Cang fell to his knees, his face pale. In the history of the sect, no one had ever eaten the judgment lightning.

Scarlett walked onto the platform, taking Caleb’s hand. She felt the crackle of electricity on his skin. He wasn't just a King anymore. In this world, he was a God of War.

"We are going to the Main Hall," Scarlett announced to the stunned disciples. "And if anyone else throws a sword at my husband... he's keeping it."