Eternal Swordmaster Chapter 973 - 968 Trying 2

Over the vibrant Shattered Sea.

A colossal Constellation unleashes boundless radiance eternally, without releasing even a trace of warmth.

Lin Xin had effortlessly traversed the Shattered Wheel and now stared upward at this Constellation, far surpassing ordinary ones in might.

The golden glow in his eyes held no glare, resembling a frigid burning fireball, utterly unlike other Constellations.

"This is the Shattered Wheel Hall of the Grand Universe, the Shattered Sea...."

His Divine Sense swept the surroundings, instantly enveloping hundreds of thousands of light-years, yet finding no living beings anywhere—only endless soul dust pulverized by the great wheel, then plummeting into the Shattered Sea.

"I recall Fang Yu saying that the Shattered Sea was once home to the Primal God.

So now, I....."

Lin Xin casually shed his disguise, unveiling his authentic form.

In that instant, he retracted his power, unfurling the enormous Light Wings that had expanded to nineteen pairs—thirty-eight wings total—waving gently like jellyfish tendrils.

The arms sprouting from his back had multiplied too, packed densely beyond sight, totaling fifty pairs, or one hundred arms altogether.

His chest's black hole spun relentlessly with boundless black energy, now edged by a ring of intricate ancient Divine Patterns, like delicate lace.

His stature rapidly grew from normal human size.

Moments later, it surged past a hundred meters, then thousands, then tens of thousands.

Lin Xin steadied his height and bulk at tens of thousands of meters under his control.

Should he desire, he could instantly expand to a horrifying scale across hundreds of thousands of light-years right then.

Yet such a display served no purpose.

"This is the Primordial... let me give it a try."

Lin Xin peered down at the endless, colorful expanse of the Shattered Sea.

With a soft flap of his rear wings—stretching tens of thousands of meters—they synchronized perfectly, fanning lightly.

BOOM!!!

A ferocious wind erupted outward in every direction, a blast capable of shattering countless stars instantly in the outer realms.

Here, however, it merely rippled the Shattered Sea's surface faintly.

Golden eyes began emerging on Lin Xin’s face and neck skin, sealed shut one by one.

Upon power withdrawal, his baseline Attributes had shattered past an average of fifteen paths of strength.

He attained a power level never seen before in the Grand Universe.

Previously, in the Dark Universe, he had surpassed twenty paths of strength, but that realm operated under flawed rules.

Converted to Cosmic Energy, wielding fifteen paths marked his utmost limit, with excess power sealed away in the advanced Earthfire Nine Spirit Beads for later use.

"Let me uncover what the Primal truly was..."

Lin Xin ascended skyward like a holy angel, veering abruptly to dive straight into the Shattered Sea.

His body aligned like a keen blade, thrusting savagely into the depths.

BOOM!!!

Towering waves thousands of meters high surged upward.

Lin Xin widened his eyes as dozens more on his face and neck snapped open together. He scrutinized the Shattered Sea inside the Grand Universe with utmost care.

Curiously, from outside, the Shattered Sea gleamed with seven-colored light.

Yet upon immersion, its waters proved pitch-black, a subtle black-gray hue.

Lin Xin plunged toward the abyssal darkness devoid of visible color.

Uncertain why, time blurred as his awareness faded and his motions decelerated.

Though slowing, his enormous frame kept descending at breakneck speed.

Lin Xin sensed a return to his mother's warm embrace—cozy, serene, freeing him from all worries, urging him to drift motionless.

He forced his eyes open, probing the surroundings with Divine Sense that barely reached nearby areas.

Even open, his eyes beheld only void, identical to when shut.

As moments dragged on, numbness overtook Lin Xin, blurring whether his eyes remained open or closed.

Every bodily sense dulled like after anesthesia, detecting nothing.

Divine Sense stretched out but grasped only darkness.

A faint sound buzzed in his ears, like wind or radio static sans signal.

From afar in the gloom, whispers seemed to murmur.

Lin Xin floated in utter dark emptiness, bereft of sensation or contact.

His mind grew lethargic too.

Evasion Attribute detected no peril instinctively, so he yielded, awaiting silently.

Awaiting.....

Until consciousness fully surrendered to sleep.

*********************

Wah!!!

A sharp wail pierced the hospital chamber.

The masked nurse tenderly lifted the infant, dangling him inverted while slapping his back firmly.

"Congratulations, Imperial Concubine, on the successful delivery."

She beamed, tension easing away.

The elegant woman on the bed sighed deeply in relief.

"My son...." She gazed lovingly and hopefully at her second offspring.

The eldest was a daughter, now the Empire’s nineteenth princess.

This one would soon claim the title of Empire’s twentieth Prince.

Her sole son.

Lin Xin blinked awake to the opulent hospital room brimming with advanced tech vibes.

No overhead lights adorned the ceiling, just elaborate golden motifs channeling slender silver fluid.

That fluid provided the illumination.

A vast divine sense splintered into myriad threads, quietly scanning nearby rooms, instantly clarifying Lin Xin’s circumstances.

"I’ve reincarnated once more." He mused silently, promptly assessing his form.

The Netherworld endured unharmed within his core soul.

When he had sealed it via divine arts, it blurred into a reality-illusion hybrid—logical for reincarnation to treat it as soul essence.

"The physique has reset to baseline again."

Lin Xin checked his attribute panel; predictably, all stats reverted inside supernatural bounds, pooling into Free Attribute Points.

Prior boosts dwindled to meager single digits.

’Xu Hong—Damage 2. Defense 1.2. Evasion 1. Constitution 3. Free Attributes: 72.4d. Bloodline: Storm Tribe Level Three.’

"A tiresome start..." Lin Xin shut his eyes.

He pondered paths to ultimately forge the Sword of Compassion.

To bystanders, the infant merely seemed exhausted, dozing off.

Imperial Concubine Diliya cradled the babe from the nurse, nestling him softly against her bosom to feel her heartbeat.

"My child... the sovereign will be delighted, yet you must act wisely to gain the emperor’s grace and carve our niche in this cutthroat imperial clan..."

Diliya sealed her lovely eyes, tenderly holding the child’s head close.

..........

Cosmic Calendar Ninth Era, Year 312, March 1st.

The Storm Empire’s fifteenth imperial concubine bore the twentieth prince, dubbed Xu Hong per royal tradition.

Same day.

The newborn prince underwent physique aptitude testing at one month.

In the expansive indigo palace, crystalline spires jutted like lethal barbs, emanating soft azure glows.

The transparent floor exposed a huge lava square pool beneath.

A enormous black-red serpent bearing four dragon eyes prowled the pool languidly, now and then lifting its head to glower wildly at the hall’s occupants above.

Diliya clutched her child anxiously amid the hall, eyeing the imperial sacrifers and priests preparing the aptitude devices.

It consisted of a triangular crystal stone fist-sized.

A yellow luminous block hovered inside the crystal.

"Imperial Concubine Diliya, you can begin the test."

A priest drew near, murmuring softly into her ear.

"But... the sovereign hasn’t come yet..." Diliya fretted, tinged with fear.

She dreaded schemes targeting her child.

Princes of promise had suffered sabotage by rival concubines or the empress repeatedly in secret.

Without the sovereign’s presence, Diliya had exhausted her resources bribing allies to coax him here.

But now...

Her spirits plummeted.

"The sovereign can’t attend due to urgent affairs."

The priest cast a sympathetic look at fragile Diliya.

The fourth imperial concubine had orchestrated it all beforehand.

The sovereign, set to appear, got waylaid in her chambers.

Should the twentieth prince show average aptitude, no issue arose. But excellence...

The priest sighed inwardly.

"Imperial Concubine, commence the test. Here in the Beast Divine Temple, with the Kesley-level star beast lurking below, no threats or cheats can succeed.

Fear not."

"I....." Diliya’s eyes welled with tears.

She dreaded her child’s talent exceeding rivals’ tolerance, inviting doom.....

"Please hurry," the Imperial Sacrifier coaxed mildly, eyes narrowing faintly.

Diliya wouldn’t challenge the Sacrificial Temple; as a minor kingdom’s princess riding temporary favor, she ranked below many palace maids.

Imperial concubine in name, yet the realm brimmed with them—plenty vanished or perished in mishaps yearly.

The Storm Emperor claimed fresh ones routinely.

Reluctantly, hands shaking, she laid infant Xu Hong into the hall’s elevated stone cradle.

From birth, Xu Hong stood apart from normals.

No cries or tantrums; beyond sleep and meals, he stayed serene alone, dazed yet contemplative.

This oddity caught the sharp-eyed fourth imperial concubine’s notice.

Jealous to her core, she crushed any budding rivals to her throne.

Hence today’s drama.

As a cosmic superpower, the Storm Empire rose on carnage, raids, and subjugation of races.

Its domains engulfed galaxies, toppling myriad realms and cultures.

Second in universal civilization rankings.

Intrigue, bloodshed, treachery, and killing permeated the Storm Empire entirely.

Weak devoured by strong, only the fit endured—that reigned supreme here.

The Storm Emperor gripped all via raw force and tyranny.

Diliya’s homeland fell among countless victims.

The imperial harem mirrored those brutal laws.