Jiang Xun, who had been smiling just a moment ago, flinched violently. He threw himself to the side, barely dodging the Unfailing Sword’s lethal slash.

“Careful, Junior Brother!”

“The sword is turning on its master!”

“Damn it! How dare a mere weapon rebel?”

The sudden violence shocked the Senior Sisters. Even Supreme Guan Xuelan’s eyes went cold as she raised her hand, spiritual energy surging to suppress the rogue blade.

“Wait!”

A shout cut through the chaos.

“Do not attack! No one interfere!”

Everyone froze and turned. The speaker was none other than the sword’s creator, Yuchi Chunlei.

“Second Senior Sister, have you lost your mind?” Lu Qingyao demanded, outraged. “Can’t you see it’s trying to kill him?”

“No! This isn’t a betrayal!” Yuchi Chunlei shook her head frantically, her eyes shining with manic certainty. “This is an opportunity! A heaven-sent opportunity for Junior Brother!”

An opportunity?

The group stared at her, bewildered. Yuchi Chunlei might have been the dimmest of the seven sisters, but she was a master blacksmith. Realizing the urgency, she spoke rapidly.

“Divine Weapon Recognition is a two-way street. The master chooses the vessel, but the vessel also chooses the master!”

“The stronger the artifact, the higher its standards. Blood bonding is merely the first step. For a true Divine Weapon, simply dripping blood is not enough to make it submit.”

“It is testing him!”

The disciples exchanged stunned glances.

“Second Senior Sister… has a point,” Shi Siling admitted slowly. “Ancient records speak of peerless artifacts setting trials for their wielders. If the master passes, the weapon serves eternally with perfect synergy. If they fail… the weapon would rather shatter than serve.”

She paused, eyeing the murderous sword with doubt. “But… are you sure this is a trial? That killing intent feels… real.”

“It must be a trial!” Yuchi Chunlei insisted. “Think about its name!”

Qin Meran, the sharpest of the sisters, gasped. “Unfailing!”

“Exactly!” Yuchi Chunlei pointed at the hovering blade. “The sword is named ‘Unfailing.’ It seeks a master who will never fail it! This killing intent is a test of trust. It wants to know if its master has the courage to entrust his life to it completely!”

The logic—however twisted—seemed to click. Even Guan Xuelan lowered her hand, intrigued.

“If that is the case,” the Supreme asked, “what should Jiang Xun do?”

“Do not resist. Do not defend!” Yuchi Chunlei shouted to Jiang Xun. “Junior Brother, you must trust it absolutely! No matter what it does, you must not fight back!”

“Is that safe?” Lu Qingyao bit her lip. “What if it actually stabs him?”

“It won’t!” Yuchi Chunlei thumped her chest. “I may be slow in other matters, but in the Dao of Forging, I am the authority! I cannot be wrong!”

Jiang Xun, hovering in the sky, heard this exchange. His fear melted away, replaced by a surge of heroic adrenaline.

“Second Senior Sister, I trust you!” he declared, his voice booming with charisma. “Master, Senior Sisters, watch me! If I cannot even subdue my own blade, how can I make the world submit to Azure Mystic?”

He looked magnificent. His robes fluttered in the wind, his expression filled with righteous determination. The Senior Sisters gazed up at him, starry-eyed.

Even Guan Xuelan nodded in approval. This is the demeanor of a true Chosen One.

Jiang Xun spread his arms wide, exposing his chest to the blade.

“Unfailing Sword! I, Jiang Xun, am your master. Since I named you Unfailing, I shall never fail you!”

“If you wish to test my resolve, then come!”

“I. Will. Not. Dodge!”

As if responding to his challenge, the Unfailing Sword realigned its point. Cold light shimmered along its edge as it shot toward him.

Jiang Xun didn’t flinch. He threw his head back and laughed, chanting a poem of heroism to bolster his courage:

“A young hero’s spirit, befriending legends of the Five Capitals!”

“Heart laid bare, courage rising like a storm!”

“A promise made, life and death shared as one!”

The sword closed the distance. Three feet. Two feet.

Jiang Xun smiled, shouting the final line:

“A promise worth a thousand—”

Thwack.

“URGH!”

The chanting cut off abruptly.

Jiang Xun stiffened. The heroic grandeur on his face shattered, replaced by utter confusion. He looked down.

There was a hole in his chest. Blood was dripping down his robes.

…This is different from what we discussed.

If he hadn’t instinctively triggered a defensive artifact at the last microsecond, that strike wouldn’t have just grazed him—it would have cored his heart like an apple.

It… it really tried to kill me?

Wasn’t this just a test?!

“Junior Brother!”

“That damned sword is crazy!”

The Senior Sisters screamed, preparing to rush up. The sword was already turning for a second pass.

“STOP!”

Yuchi Chunlei’s voice boomed again. “Do not go up!”

“Are you insane?” Lu Qingyao cried. “He’s bleeding!”

“Junior Brother!” Yuchi Chunlei ignored her, shouting at Jiang Xun. “You must believe in your sword! It is blood-bonded! If you hadn’t used that artifact, the blade would have stopped on its own! By defending, you failed the Unfailing Oath! You showed you didn’t trust it!”

“If anyone interferes now, the bond will shatter, and the sword spirit will never form!”

“What?” The disciples were torn between horror and hesitation.

“You have one more chance,” Yuchi Chunlei pleaded, her eyes locking onto Jiang Xun’s. “Junior Brother, do you believe me?”

Jiang Xun clutched his bleeding chest. He looked at the murderous sword, then at his Senior Sister’s fervent expression.

He gritted his teeth.

“I… I believe you, Second Senior Sister!”

“Good! That is my Junior Brother!” Yuchi Chunlei cheered. “Now, focus. Absolute trust. Do not defend. Do not dodge!”

“I understand!”

Jiang Xun straightened his back, though his legs trembled slightly. “Even if I am slain today, I will not resist!”

The Unfailing Sword didn’t wait for him to finish his monologue. It buzzed with terrifying speed, aiming straight for his throat.

Jiang Xun stared at the approaching steel. He could feel the killing intent—cold, sharp, and very real. But he forced his feet to stay planted. He forced his spiritual energy to remain dormant.

It’s a test. It has to be a test.

Closer.

Closer.

Three inches. Two inches. One inch.

The wind from the blade stung his skin. This was a Heaven-grade Dao Sword; his mortal flesh was like tofu before it. If it hit, he died.

The tip touched his skin.

It’s not stopping.

Terror, primal and overwhelming, seized his brain.

Jiang Xun broke.

He flinched backward, twisting his body away in a frantic dodge.

Shing!

The sword sliced past, carving a deep, hideous gash across his chest.

Jiang Xun gasped for air, clutching his wound. He looked back at the sword.

The blade hummed. It didn’t feel angry anymore. It felt… contemptuous.

It was mocking him. Coward.

Before Jiang Xun could make an excuse, the spell broke. His Senior Sisters exploded in rage.

“That treacherous scrap metal!”

“It truly wants to eat its master!”

“Destroy it! Junior Brother gave it a chance, and it still tried to kill him! It is a demonic sword!”

Guan Xuelan moved faster than anyone.

“Hmph! A broken toy dares to bite the hand that feeds it?”

The Supreme’s face was frost. She clenched her hand, and space itself seemed to solidify around the Unfailing Sword.

The blade froze, struggling in vain against the invisible vice.

“Since you will not serve, you will not exist!”

Guan Xuelan squeezed.

CRACK.

The Unfailing Sword groaned. Its pristine white blade began to bend. Spiderweb fractures spread across the steel.

It was a Heaven-grade artifact, powerful beyond measure for a mortal, but against a Mahayana Supreme, it was nothing but a fragile trinket.

The newborn spirit within the sword seemed to realize its doom.

But it did not beg.

Instead, just as it was about to shatter into dust, it erupted with a blinding, defiant white light.

Boom!

Guan Xuelan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

She felt a sudden spike in energy. The sword hadn’t broken—it had broken through.

“It’s birthing a spirit!” Yuchi Chunlei screamed, pointing at the sky. “It’s completing the process! A full Spirit Birth in one day! It’s ascending to a Heaven-grade Divine Sword!”

Even Guan Xuelan paused, astonished. It succeeded on the verge of death?

She looked up.

Above the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, the sky had turned pitch black. A terrifying tribulation cloud swirled, heavy with apocalyptic lightning.

“The Spirit Birth Tribulation!” Yuchi Chunlei cheered. “It summoned the tribulation!”

But then, the blacksmith’s face went pale. She stared at the color of the lightning—a deep, chaotic blood-red.

Her cheer died in her throat.

“No…”

“That’s not a Spirit Birth Tribulation.”

Yuchi Chunlei’s voice rose to a shriek of pure terror.

“It wants to self-destruct! That is the Tribulation of Annihilation!”

“MASTER! RUN!!!”