After his teacher died, the Sword of Beginning wandered the world for a while on his own, but people formed lines to either block his path or follow him.
“Stop right here, you wicked demon! You may call yourself One True Sun’s disciple and the follower of the Righteous Path, but we can’t let a man like you do that!”
“Our son. Our Sword of Beginning! When will you return to us?”
“You’re strong. You have my respect.”
“Sir, my name is Miao Houxing. I wish to at least hold a lamp for you on your path..."
Some swung their weapons, others grabbed his sleeves. Some even asked for a handshake or prostrated in respect. They all had one thing in common; they all surrounded him.
Each person he met added weight to the footprints he left in his path. Thus, wherever he went, a great road was formed; this was the Great Road Journey.
—Sword Demon.
—Sword Dragon.
—Sword King.
—Sword Sky.
—Sword Absolute.
All of the titles by which he was known merged into one as he walked down the great road.
—Sword Emperor.
That was his new name. He was the one everyone stopped, yet none could stand against. Although he walked alone, everyone was with him. The Sword Emperor swept across the Ten Thousand Sword Realm like a comet.
In the realm, this era was named the Fifth Great Strike. It wasn’t just because his path was like a sword strike. It was also the time when it appeared.
People murmured, “What is that?”
It was a huge tower. No, it was colossal. Those who lived in the cities would never call it just a tower because it was larger than the biggest city in the realm. It rose higher than any mountain that anyone had managed to climb. Even people sailing the seas could never call it just a tower because it spanned across the entire horizon.
“It’s like a handle of a sword that a giant embedded in the ground to split this world apart.”
Their murmurings soon turned into questions.
“Who built it?”
“Who lives there?”
“What kind of being dwells at the top?”
More questions followed.
“Why can I see it no matter where I go?”
“Is it because it’s so big?”
The tower was visible from everywhere. It was strange. Nothing could exist in two places at the same time. Yet, no matter where one turned, the tower was always there. Beyond the cities, the mountains, the seas, the roads, the tower always cast its shadow at the edge of people’s sight, standing as an unerasable building in the background. Those who said the world was round, therefore walking would eventually lead back to where one started their journey, had made such a deduction.
“Is it a mirage?”
No matter how close people got to the tower, it never came close to them. It also didn’t shrink when they backed away from it. Finding it odd, some inferred that it had to be nothing more than an illusion.
It was the Sword Emperor who gave a clear answer to the heated debate.
“It’s following us,” he said.
The people couldn’t really understand his answer. The tower was following them? Was he saying the tower was alive?
He firmly said, “It’s waiting.”
“Waiting?”
“Yes, can’t you sense it?”
The people looked at each other. Anger was easy to feel. Love, even scorn, could be easily sensed. But feeling something or someone waiting for them? That was foreign. Yet the Sword Emperor spoke so naturally. What he said next stunned the crowd around him even more.
“I should get a drink with it or something.” With a grunt, the Sword Emperor rose from his seat, stretching with ease. “I’ll return soon.”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“Up there.”
He sounded like he was stopping at a neighborhood tavern. His calm, casual tone made his people even more confused.
The Sword Emperor offered them no time to understand. “Follow me if you want. I’ll be waiting.”
On that day, over one hundred fifty years ago, a sword forged by people entered the sword embedded in the Ten Thousand Sword Realm.