I raised a hand, silencing her gently.
There was something about this exchange that felt different from the desperate challenges we'd been facing.
The Blade wasn't here as an enemy—at least, not primarily.
"You didn't come here to fight us," I said, studying his posture and expression. "You came here to evaluate us. The question is: for what purpose?"
The legendary swordsman's smile became more pronounced. "Perceptive. Yes, I came to see if the disturbance that interrupted my cultivation was worthy of attention, or merely another flash-in-the-pan ascendant who would burn out within a decade."
He drew his sword in one fluid motion, the blade singing as it cleared its sheath.
The weapon was even more impressive unsheathed—not just perfectly crafted, but infused with dao concepts so refined they made the air itself sharper just by proximity.
Several of the kneeling cultivators whimpered and pressed their faces to the ground as the sword's aura washed over them.
