The Heavenly Sword Sect did not look like a place where humans lived; it looked like a place where physics went to be executed.
Located in the jagged peaks of the Eastern Mountains, the Sect was a collection of floating islands tethered together by massive iron chains. Every island was shaped like a blade point, and the buildings were constructed from white marble that gleamed with a sharpness that hurt the eyes. The air hummed with the sound of a million swords vibrating in unison.
Currently, however, that hum was drowned out by the roar of war.
The Dark Beast Sect, furious over the "stolen" ring and the insult letter Su Ye had forged, had launched a full-scale assault. Black airships bombarded the barrier. Chimeras swarmed the floating bridges. Sword cultivators flew through the air on trails of blue light, slicing monsters into confetti.
High above the chaos, concealed within a thick bank of cumulus clouds, the Sky-Eater hovered silently.
"It is beautiful," Su Ye said, looking down through a gap in the clouds with a spyglass. "The synchronization of the sword formations. The desperation of the beast charges. The sheer amount of loot dropping into the abyss."
"You started this," Moonbell reminded him, sitting on the railing. "Thousands are dying because you mailed a ring."
"They are bad guys fighting bad guys," Su Ye shrugged. "It's efficient waste management. Besides, we aren't here to watch. We're here to rob the bank while the guards are busy fighting the fire."
He turned to his team. They were gathered on the newly grown mossy lawn of the dorsal ridge.
"The Sun-God's Chariot is located in the Vault of infinite Horizons, which is under the main island," Su Ye briefed them, pointing to a holographic map. "The problem is the barrier. The Sword Sect uses a Grand Sword Array. Anything that crosses the perimeter without a matching frequency gets sliced into deli meat."
"So we can't drop the Tortoise," Lin Fan noted.
"Correct. The Tortoise is too big and has the aerodynamic properties of a brick. We need a precision insertion vehicle."
Su Ye kicked a large, round boulder that had broken off the Sky-Eater's crust during the upgrade. He had hollowed it out and lined it with cushions.
"Behold," Su Ye announced. "The Tactical Rock."
"It... is a rock," Gao Ming stated flatly.
"It is a stealth pod," Su Ye corrected. "It is made of the same material as the Sky-Eater, which has high stealth properties. We get inside. Zhu Zhu creates a gravity well to cushion the impact. We drop into the middle of the main plaza like a meteor."
"And when we land?" Luo Bing asked. "We pop out of a rock in the middle of a war zone?"
"Yes. We will claim to be reinforcements from the Hidden Heavy Sword Branch. A secret lineage of the sect that trains in isolation."
"We don't have swords," Lin Fan pointed out.
Su Ye lifted his shovel. "This is a sword. It's just... wide. And blunt. It's a very heavy sword."
"That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard," Moonbell said. "I'm in."
Five humans, a fox, a pig, and a chicken squeezed into the hollowed-out boulder. It was intimate.
"Zhu Zhu, move your hoof," Gao Ming complained in the darkness.
"That is my elbow," Zhu Zhu replied in his posh toddler voice. "And you are crushing my diaper."
"Seal the hatch!" Su Ye ordered.
Lin Fan welded the stone lid shut with a laser torch.
"Senior Tortoise!" Su Ye yelled through the rock via the Concentration Stone. "Bombs away!"
On the deck, the Obsidian Tortoise nudged the boulder with its nose.
The Tactical Rock rolled off the edge of the floating mountain.
It fell.
Terminal velocity is a thrilling experience when you are inside a rock. The wind roared outside. The interior heated up.
"Gravity brake!" Su Ye shouted.
"Engaging," Zhu Zhu droned.
Inside the rock, gravity shifted. Zhu Zhu manipulated the void energy, creating a cushion that made the interior feel weightless while the exterior plummeted at Mach 1.
BOOM.
The rock smashed through the Sword Sect's outer barrier. Because it was made of Sky-Eater rock (biological stone), the barrier hesitated for a microsecond—confused by the organic signature. That was enough.
The rock slammed into the Central Plaza of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
CRASH.
The impact cratered the pristine white marble. Dust billowed. The fighting in the plaza—a melee between Sword Disciples and invading Mantis-Chimeras—stopped instantly.
Everyone stared at the smoking boulder that had fallen from the sky.
"Is it a bomb?" a Sword Disciple yelled, raising his blade.
"Is it a drop pod?" a Dark Beast captain hissed.
The side of the rock fell open with a thud.
Smoke poured out (courtesy of a smoke bomb Su Ye popped).
Out stepped Su Ye. He wore a heavy grey cloak (made from the Baboon King's old drapes) and held his shovel over his shoulder like a greatsword. Behind him, his disciples looked equally grim and dusty.
"Reinforcements have arrived!" Su Ye bellowed, his voice echoing off the marble towers. "The Heavy Sword Branch answers the call!"
A Sword Elder—an old man with a long white beard and a sword floating by his ear—stepped forward. This was Elder Feng.
"Heavy Sword Branch?" Elder Feng frowned. "I have never heard of such a branch. And... is that a shovel?"
"It is the Blade of the Earth-Eater!" Su Ye declared. "We train in the deep caverns! We believe that sharpness is a crutch for the weak! True swordsmanship is about mass!"
He swung the shovel. WHOOSH. It sounded heavy.
"If you cannot cut it," Su Ye preached, "flatten it! That is the Heavy Way!"
Elder Feng looked skeptical. "And the pig?"
Zhu Zhu waddled out, wearing a tiny headband that said 'WARRIOR'.
"This is my... sword spirit," Su Ye lied. "He has taken physical form due to the density of my Qi."
"Greetings," Zhu Zhu said. "Point me to the enemy. I shall consume their ankles."
The Elder was about to call the bluff, but suddenly, a massive Siege-Beast—a giant beetle tank from the Dark Beast Sect—crashed through the northern gate. It roared, spewing acid.
"Look out!" The disciples screamed.
"Allow me to demonstrate," Su Ye stepped forward.
He didn't use sword technique. He didn't use Qi blasts. He used physics.
"Lin Fan! Magnetize!"
Lin Fan, hidden under a cloak, subtly pointed his gauntlet. The shovel became a super-magnet.
Su Ye spun. "HEAVY SWORD STYLE: METEOR STRIKE!"
He threw the shovel.
Propelled by Su Ye's strength and Lin Fan's magnetic railgun effect, the shovel flew like a missile.
CLANG.
It hit the Siege-Beast right between the eyes. The sheer kinetic force cracked the beast's carapace. The beetle stumbled, dazed.
"Zhu Zhu! Spirit Attack!"
Zhu Zhu floated forward. He opened his mouth.
OINK.
The Void Grunt hit the beetle. The massive insect's brain short-circuited. It rolled over on its back, legs twitching.
Su Ye recalled the shovel (Lin Fan reversed polarity). He caught it.
"You see?" Su Ye turned to Elder Feng. "No cutting. Just impact."
Elder Feng stroked his beard. The logic was crude, barbaric, and completely against the sect's aesthetic. But it worked. And in a war, results mattered.
"Very well," Elder Feng nodded. "The Sect accepts your aid, brother of the heavy path. The Vault of Infinite Horizons is under siege. We need you to reinforce the lower levels."
Su Ye froze. He hid a smile. The Elder had just invited him exactly where he wanted to go.
"The Vault?" Su Ye feigned hesitation. "But our duty is to the front lines!"
"The Vault contains our heritage!" Elder Feng insisted. "Go! Defend the Sun-God's Chariot with your... heavy things!"
"If you insist," Su Ye bowed. "Disciples! To the basement! We must protect the loot—I mean, the heritage!
They ran toward the massive golden doors leading underground.
As they ran, Gao Ming whispered, "Master, that was too easy. He just told us where it is."
"He's desperate," Su Ye whispered back. "And he thinks we're idiots with shovels. Never underestimate the power of looking stupid."
They entered the Vault entrance. It was a long, spiraling staircase made of floating jade steps.
"It's quiet," Luo Bing noted, her hand on her sword. "Too quiet. The battle is above."
"The Vault has its own defenses," Moonbell warned. "I sense Sword Intent. Ancient Sword Intent."
They reached the bottom. The room was a massive cavern filled with floating swords, glowing orbs, and ancient scrolls. In the center, on a pedestal of light, sat the Sun-God's Chariot.
It wasn't a wooden carriage. It was a sleek, golden vessel shaped like a teardrop. It had no wheels. It hovered on rings of fire. It looked fast. It looked dangerous.
"There it is," Su Ye walked toward it. "The getaway car."
But as he stepped onto the pedestal floor, the air sharpened.
SHING.
A figure materialized in front of the Chariot.
It was a man made of pure blue light. He had no face, only a sword where his right arm should be.
[Guardian Construct: The Sword Spirit of the Vault.]
[Tier: 7 (Virtual).]
"Halt," the Spirit vibrated. "Only the Sect Leader may approach the Chariot."
"We are the Heavy Sword Branch!" Su Ye tried the lie again.
"Scan negative," the Spirit said coldly. "You hold a shovel. Shovels are for digging dirt, not glory. Intruder detected. Exterminate."
The Spirit raised its arm-sword. Thousands of spectral blades materialized in the air around them.
"Okay," Su Ye sighed. "Diplomacy failed. Plan B."
"What is Plan B?" Lin Fan asked, hiding behind his shield.
"Zhu Zhu," Su Ye pointed at the Spirit made of pure light.
"He's made of energy."
Zhu Zhu's eyes turned violet. He licked his lips.
"Is he lemon flavor?" Zhu Zhu asked.
"Sure," Su Ye lied. "Spicy lemon."
"Attack!"
The Spirit fired the sword rain.
"Eat!" Su Ye commanded.
Zhu Zhu expanded. He didn't just open his mouth; he opened his pores. The Void Belt spun. He became a black hole in the shape of a pig.
The spectral swords flew toward them. But instead of piercing, they bent. They swirled. They were sucked into the pig's orbit.
Slurp-slurp-slurp.
Zhu Zhu inhaled the Sword Intent.
"Spicy," Zhu Zhu commented, burping a small dagger.
The Spirit paused. "Error. Attack absorbed. Re-calculating."
While the Spirit was confused by the physics-defying pig, Su Ye sprinted for the Chariot.
"Moonbell! Hotwire it!"
Moonbell leaped onto the Chariot. She placed her paws on the console.
"This is ancient tech," she hissed. "It requires a Solar Key."
"Little Sun!" Su Ye grabbed the chicken from Gao Ming's shoulder and threw it to the Fox. "Use the bird!"
Moonbell grabbed the chicken. She pressed Little Sun's glowing chest against the ignition rune.
Moooo?
The rune sensed the pure Solar Essence of the Eclipse Crow.
VROOOM.
The Sun-God's Chariot roared to life. The golden hull ignited with holy fire.
"Get in!" Su Ye yelled.
The team scrambled into the open cockpit of the Chariot. It was tight—designed for two gods, not four humans and a zoo.
"The Spirit is charging a beam!" Lin Fan screamed.
The Guardian Spirit, realizing its swords were useless, was gathering a massive beam of blue energy in its chest.
"Punch it, Chewie!" Su Ye shouted at the Fox (referencing a memory from Earth she didn't understand).
Moonbell slammed her paw on the throttle.
The Chariot didn't accelerate. It teleported.
ZAP.
They shot forward so fast they left a visual afterimage. They smashed through the Vault doors. They smashed through the jade staircase. They smashed through the floor of the Main Plaza above.
CRASH.
In the middle of the war zone, the ground exploded. A golden streak of light shot out of the earth, spiraling into the sky.
The Sword Sect disciples and the Dark Beast invaders both stopped fighting and looked up.
"Did... did someone just steal the sun?" Elder Feng dropped his sword.
High in the atmosphere, Su Ye gripped the edge of the Chariot, his face peeling back from the g-force.
"We have the speed!" Su Ye laughed maniacally. "Now we just need the target!"
He looked down.
Far below, racing across the landscape like a shadow, was the Reflection. It was heading toward the Imperial Capital.
"Found you," Su Ye gritted his teeth.
"Moonbell! Follow that shadow! And don't stop for red lights!"