High Martial: I Use Everything as Swords

Three hundred nautical miles away, in a deep-sea trench.

Within an underwater palace constructed from the skeletons of colossal Sea Beasts and blood-red coral, crimson "seaweed" swayed with the undercurrents, emitting a faint, eerie light.

In the grand hall at the palace’s deepest point, Blood Slaughter sat cross-legged on a massive black reef.

On a stone platform before him, twelve Soul Lamps made from human skulls were arranged in a neat row. Inside each, a small, ghastly green flame burned.

The flickering of the flames was intimately connected to the life force of the twelve members of his Blood Fox Squad.

Suddenly, the flame in one of the Soul Lamps swayed violently, then with a PUFF, it was completely extinguished.

Blood Slaughter didn’t even raise an eyelid.

Then, the second, the third...

PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!

The sounds of the Soul Lamps going out came one after another, as rapid as the patter of heavy rain on leaves.

In just a dozen breaths, only the lamp in the very center remained lit—the one representing the squad leader, Blood Shadow.

But even its flame had dwindled to a flicker, looking as if it could go out at any moment.

Blood Slaughter finally opened his eyes, a flash of displeasure in their crimson depths.

"A good dog I spent ten years of blood and sweat to raise, lost just like that. Didn’t even bring back a single bone.

’How... wonderful.’

Just as he was about to retract his focus and await the final outcome, something unexpected happened!

The flame of the last Soul Lamp, the one representing Blood Shadow, suddenly shot up three feet high with a piercing shriek, and then exploded!

BANG!

The entire skull Soul Lamp shattered, sending fragments of bone flying.

SPURT—!

As if struck by a heavy blow, Blood Slaughter’s body shuddered violently. He could no longer suppress the surge of blood in his throat and spat out a mouthful, which blossomed into a grotesque flower of blood on the ground before him.

The mental brand he had left in Blood Shadow’s body had been instantly shattered by an incomparably sharp and domineering power. As a result, his own Divine Soul suffered from the backlash.

’How is that possible!’

Blood Slaughter shot to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Blood Shadow was a Half-step Grandmaster and carried the Soul-Suppressing Bone Card he had been given. He should have been able to hold his own, even against a true Tier Four Early Stage Grandmaster.

Moreover, this time the target was just some little brat in the Meridian Passage Realm!

Even if that kid had some kind of Spiritual Attack up his sleeve, there was no way he could have broken through the Soul-Suppressing Bone Card’s defense!

’What in the world happened?’

"Someone, get in here!" Blood Slaughter roared.

A dark figure appeared silently in the hall and knelt on one knee.

"Go! Investigate! Find out what happened at Dragon’s Fang Port, no matter the cost!"

"Yes, Lord Guardian!" The dark figure accepted the order and vanished into the undercurrents in an instant.

Blood Slaughter wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression extremely grim.

Blood Shadow was his trump card assassin, cultivated with nearly ten years of painstaking effort. To lose him in some insignificant little port... how was he supposed to explain this to the Saint Heir?

Half an hour later, the dark figure reappeared.

He presented a Jade Scroll that recorded images and information.

"Lord Guardian, the information... has been gathered."

Blood Slaughter snatched the Jade Scroll and plunged his Divine Sense into it.

The next second, his pupils constricted.

In the recording, a young figure clad in black Spiritual Energy Armor moved like a phantom above the crowd.

With every pass, a member of the Blood Fox Squad would fall silently, their Divine Soul completely annihilated.

Invisible attacks, precision kills!

Then came Blood Shadow’s explosive power, his transformation, and that unbelievably fast Flying Sword...

And finally, that crimson-gold Sword Aura that tore the insectoid body apart!

"Divine Soul Attack? ...Kunlun’s Sword Control Technique?"

Blood Slaughter forced out the words, each one trembling.

’This isn’t a technique that should appear in a Third Level Fortress City!’

’This is clearly a legacy that only the absolute top core disciples from a First Level Central Holy City could possibly come into contact with!’

"Han Feng... East Sea Martial Arts University..."

Blood Slaughter stared intently at the young man’s profile in the Jade Scroll, grinding his teeth.

An irrepressible mixture of killing intent and fear welled up in his heart.

He wanted to go there himself and slap this brat who had ruined his painstaking efforts into a bloody pulp!

But the thought of Dragon’s Fang Port’s location forced him to suppress the impulse.

"Dragon Abyss..."

Blood Slaughter’s eyes were filled with dread.

"That damned Dragon Abyss!

The space in that godforsaken place has just finished forming; it’s as fragile as glass!

Once a power of my level enters, my own aura will get tangled with the unstable Space Law, triggering a chain reaction of spatial ripples.

Forget about killing anyone, I’d be lucky not to get sliced to pieces by spatial rifts!!"

Newly formed space: those above Tier Four cannot approach!

This was a bloody rule proven by the lives of countless experts in the past.

It was also why all the major factions only sent Martial Artists of Tier Three and below to explore it.

"Damn these spatial rules!"

In his fury, Blood Slaughter smashed his fist into the reef beside him, leaving a deep fist print in the hard rock.

Now, the Blood Fox Squad was completely wiped out.

He no longer had anyone under his command who could deal with Han Feng in Dragon’s Fang Port.

In the end, the Blood Feeding Sect’s power was only equivalent to a stronger Third Level Fortress City.

A Half-step Grandmaster like Blood Shadow was already among the strongest of the sect’s Tier Three combatants.

’Looks like my only option is to request an audience with the Lord Saint Heir.’

Blood Slaughter took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He had volunteered for this mission and had even made a military pledge before the Saint Heir.

Embarrassing as this outcome was, it was better than letting the situation become a complete disaster.

That Han Feng had already become a "variable" that had to be handled by a higher power.

...

「In the Mist Sea Region, inside a Divine Hall made entirely of some unknown crystal, suspended in mid-air.」

The man known as the "Saint Heir" was lounging lazily on his throne. His fingers gently traced a face that was both familiar and strange.

It was Li Wei’s face.

Below him, Blood Slaughter Guardian was kneeling on one knee, reporting the events at Dragon’s Fang Port while drenched in a cold sweat.

"...And that is what happened."

"Your subordinate was incompetent. Not only did I fail to complete the mission, but I also lost the Blood Fox Squad and a Void Sea Demon. I await the Saint Heir’s punishment!"

Blood Slaughter kept his head bowed low.

From the throne, there was only silence.

The suffocating stillness made Blood Slaughter’s heart pound in his chest.

After a long moment, the Saint Heir let out a soft chuckle.

"Interesting."

"A Meridian Passage Realm kid killed a Void Sea Demon comparable to a Tier Four Early Stage, and then slaughtered that prized Half-step Grandmaster subordinate of yours."

"Blood Slaughter, are you telling me a joke?"

The Saint Heir’s voice was soft, but it made Blood Slaughter’s body tremble even more violently.

"I wouldn’t dare! Every word is true!"

"That Han Feng’s methods are too bizarre. He has not only mastered Divine Soul Attacks, but also possesses an extremely high-grade Sword Control Technique. Blood Shadow... was truly no match for him."

Blood Slaughter gritted his teeth and continued:

"Saint Heir, if this boy is not eliminated, he will become a great menace!

He alone is enough to defend the entire Dragon’s Fang Port. I’m afraid our subsequent plans will be greatly affected!"

"I implore the Saint Heir to act personally and strangle this fiend in his cradle!"

At these words, the Saint Heir slowly sat up straight.

His deep eyes seemed to pierce through endless space, seeing the figure who had once dealt him a major setback.

"Act personally?"

The Saint Heir shook his head. "He is not yet worthy."

"One Dragon’s Fang Port, one Han Feng... they aren’t worth my time."

Blood Slaughter was stunned. "But, Saint Heir..."

"But what?" the Saint Heir interrupted. "Did you think our target this time was merely the little East Sea Fortress City?"

He stood up and walked to the edge of the Divine Hall, gazing toward the Dragon Abyss Mist Sea through the translucent crystal wall.

"Dragon Abyss is a massive world fragment, over six hundred kilometers long and wide. Did you think East Sea City is the only one with its eyes on such a juicy piece of meat?"

"Before long, the Gaia Alliance, the Divine Shield Federation, the Valhalla Alliance.

The geniuses and monsters from those Second Level, and even First Level, Fortress Cities will swarm over like sharks that have smelled blood."

"Can I kill them all by myself?"

Blood Slaughter was speechless.

The Saint Heir turned around, a cryptic smile on his face.

"Our goal was never to drive them all away. Quite the opposite. I need them to come in."

"The ’Deity’ slumbering in the depths of Dragon Abyss requires sacrifices of sufficient quality for its awakening ritual.

Our believers alone are far from enough. I need more... ’Saints’.

This pawn named Han Feng is very interesting.

He’s jumped off the track I laid for him and even devoured my own pieces.

It would be far too boring to just kick a pawn like that aside like a roadside pebble.

He and those self-important geniuses... their powerful souls and indomitable wills are the best kindling to light the altar’s flames.

They will clear the path for me, and in the end, they will personally open the gate to the Divine Kingdom for me."

Hearing this, Blood Slaughter shuddered, instantly understanding the Saint Heir’s true intentions.

’So, the Saint Heir never intended to monopolize Dragon Abyss!’

’He wants to use everyone’s hands to unlock some deeper secret!’

"From now on, cease all harassment of Dragon’s Fang Port."

The Saint Heir’s voice turned cold again.

"Just send people to keep an eye on him. Do not engage him in any further conflict."

"Spread out your forces. I want you to investigate every team coming from the other directions.

"If you encounter any worthless small fry, dispose of them on the spot. It just so happens that the ’Ghost Mother’s’ awakening requires more nourishment."

"Yes! I will obey the Saint Heir’s decree!" Blood Slaughter respectfully accepted the order.

"Go," the Saint Heir said with a wave of his hand.

As if granted amnesty, Blood Slaughter quietly withdrew from the Divine Hall.

Only the Saint Heir remained in the vast, empty Divine Hall.

He put his mask back on and gazed hauntingly toward Dragon Abyss, murmuring to himself.

"The board is set... Let’s see how far you self-important pawns can go."

"I hope... you don’t disappoint me too much."

"After all, the true banquet’s table... is set at the bottom of the abyss.

And these geniuses pouring in are nothing more than the first appetizer before the feast begins..."