Immortal Legacy

The Soaring Sword Sovereign, one of the first known cultivators to ever reach the apex of cultivation and reach the status of Immortal Saint. His prestige and legacy was widely spread and honored, as even to this day the Soaring Sword Sect still reigns as one of the four holy grounds that reign supreme over the Blue Sky Empire.

It's said that his cultivation was peerless, and his attainment in the Dao was second to none. Every word he spoke was profound to the extreme, and every stroke of his sword carried an intent that sliced mountains. When he finally ascended and became an Immortal Saint, it is said that his heavenly tribulation had summoned nine bolts of lightning, a feat which was never seen before, and never again would be seen. A talented genius; a beacon of righteousness; and an overwhelmingly powerful swordsman, perhaps it would not be an understatement to call him the perfect cultivator.

Mere millennia later, the Soaring Sword Sovereign would die defending the world from an invasion of demonic cultivators, and the world would grieve his loss. But it didn't take long as future generations moved on and the reputation of this Immortal Saint would slowly dissipate. The world which had been saved, quickly forgot their savior and his sacrifice became a thing recorded only in the annals of ancient history.

Several hundreds of millennia later...

The sun beat down heavily on a barren desert, void of any human life. Far up in the sky, a hawk has locked its eyes on its target. A first level mythical beast, this hawk would be feared even by immortal cultivators.

Feeling a pair of bloodthirsty eyes had landed on it, a snake stopped its slither and suddenly raised its neck. Noticing this chance, the hawk swooped down. Alerting the snake, it desperately slithered away from that vicious hawk.

"Eeeeeee!" The hawk screeched, narrowly missing the snake before returning to the sky to try again.

The snake, nearly pissing itself in fear, noticed a slight cove underneath a weathered limestone rock. Shaking and slithering, the snake's nimble frame makes a desperate break for that rock. Having noticed another opening, the hawk prepared to dive again. Desperately pushing his tiny little body, the snake's purple and white ridged scales shivered over the coarse sand.

"Skreeeee!" A vicious devilish screech emerged from that hawks beak, the sound rapidly approaching the snake. Fear coursing through the snake's venomous veins, he propelled himself off a rock straight into the cove, narrowly dodging as he felt the sharp gale emitted from the swooping hawk passing its tail.

The snake trembled and felt like if he could sweat, right now he would probably be wiping sweat clean off his forehead. Coiled up in fear, the snake analyzed his new surroundings after confirming that the hawk would not be able to enter. Contrary to the limestone exterior, the inside of the cove seemed almost completely untouched by the effects of weathering, as solid gray stone brick walls lined with intricate designs led deeper underground.

The snake, still psychologically traumatized by that hawk outside, took this chance to descend the tunnel for safety. Fortunately, bright blue crystals protruded from the walls which lit up the otherwise ominous and foreboding path.

If he were not a snake, he would probably notice that those walls were all marked with deep cuts fused with such intense sword aura which had seemingly existed for hundreds of thousands of years. Unfortunately, he was a snake, and snakes are incapable of wielding swords on account of their not having arms, so these marks meant all of nothing to him.

After what felt like 10 long minutes of slithering, the snake reached a complete dead end. Before his eyes, there just seemed to be a large wall.

Nice try...

Unlike humans, snakes don't rely on sight. Instead, a delicious smell assaulted his nose, as it seemed to be sitting just on the other side of that wall, and frankly, he was starving. In the first place, that evil hawk started chasing him because of a dispute over a mere plump and tasty looking worm!

Going forward, the snake approached the wall and just kept straight ahead. Colliding with the wall, it rippled like an illusion as the snake simply passed through. His entire body submerged itself in the thick illusory wall before popping out the other side. In front of that snake's eyes, a small yet elegant chamber presented itself.

Propped up against the center of the farthest wall, an oppressive throne. A skeleton sat limply on that throne, void of all life... and yet it still gave off a profound aura. As soon as the ripples on the illusory walls settled, the spiritless skeleton suddenly boomed with energy. The bone structure quickly sprung up in to a rigid structure, as the eyes lit up with a fearsome blue light which struck swords into one's soul.

"Finally. A mortal has appeared!" A heavy voice boomed out which would resound through the souls of all those who hear it. "As the Soaring Sword Sovereign, I declare that my entire legacy and inheritance shall belong to you, a mortal with no cultivation. It truly must have been fate that brought you here. Speak, so that I may know the name of my inheritor."

The snake paused for a moment as it pondered what, or who, that heavy vibration was that shook the cavernous floor he had coiled himself upon. After the shaking disappeared, he uncoiled and continued to explore that mysterious chamber for the delicious smell he'd smelt earlier.

". . ." The Soaring Sword Sovereign waited for what felt like a minute for a response before realizing something seemed wrong. Only relying on the slowly fading residual soul left in this skeleton vessel, its spiritual senses had dulled to the point of only hearing and being able to speak so it had no way of sensing who entered. Even the fact that the person who had entered had no cultivation, that was based solely on the fact that it knew the seal on the chambers gate only allowed those with no cultivation to enter. The Soaring Sword Sovereign's skeleton sighed internally before asking out loud, "...am I really alone again?"

Once again, the snake froze up after hearing the vibration, but just as quickly recovered. Unable to understand what the Soaring Sword Sovereign said, he was also unable to care. All that was on his mind was food. As that thought crossed his mind, the snakes head jerked in the direction of that skeleton as a cunning idea arose in his mind.

. . .

Just north of the Southern Great Desert that the snake currently resided in, one of the four holy grounds of the Blue Sky Empire, the Soaring Sword Sect, was making active preparations for its bi-annual entrance exam. The Soaring Sword Sect is the sect with the longest history and most powerful cultivators in the entire empire. Its glory and renown spread far beyond the Blue Sky Empire's borders, as the Soaring Sword Sovereign was once deemed the savior of the entire world.

In the council room of this sect, four men sat gathered, one middle aged, two young adults, and one elder. The middle aged man was the Sect Master; and to his right and left were two youths overflowing with strength, the Right Guardian and Left Guardian respectively. Sitting on the very opposite side of the council table was an old man of unknown status in the Soaring Sword Sect...

"Sect Master Haotian, how hospitable of you to meet with me today." The elder said, stroking his long white beard.

Pouring tea for the old man, the Sect Master smiled amicably before speaking, "For an elder of the Profound Tempest Villa to personally visit us, it is our humble sects greatest honor." Floating the tea over with his qi, he continued with an inquisitive expression. "And... to what do we owe this honor?"

"Not one for small talk around here, are you? That's quite good for me then." Sipping his tea, the elder responded. "Your Blue Sky Empire will be participating in next years Absolute Martial Tournament."

The tea cup in the Sect Masters hand fell onto the table as he did a spit take straight to his left side, blasting the Left Guardian with scalding hot tea. Unflinching, the Left Guardian took a cloth napkin and dabbed his own face with it as the Sect Master regains his cool.

"With all respect, our Blue Sky Empire never has had the right to participate, why this year?" The Sect Master said, restraining his complicated emotions.

The elder from the Profound Tempest Villa placed his hand on his chin. "Hmm... consider it a symbol of good will. This years Absolute Martial Tournament will have rewards never seen before, please look forward to it."

As soon as the elder finished saying that, a strong gale suddenly blew through the council room, and the elder who had just been sitting there instantly disappeared having left just as fast as he had arrived, leaving the Sect Master and the Sect Guardians sitting there in awe as they contemplated what had just happened.