The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

“No matter the heaven above or the earth below, I alone am supreme; the three realms are all suffering, and it is my duty to bring them peace.”

This was said to be the declaration of Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as Buddha, upon his birth as he took seven steps to the north. It was often interpreted as a proclamation of his superiority: “I am the most exceptional, the greatest, and the noblest in this world. This is my final birth, and I shall not be reborn again.”

On a surface level, it might sound like self-glorification—a boast of one’s rank and ability. However, its deeper meaning lay elsewhere. It was less about position or power and more an epistemological statement, recognizing oneself as the central axis of the universe, the observer of the world.

If one understood that all suffering perceived in the physical world arose from one’s own cognition, then anyone could embody the nature of Buddha. The essence of Siddhartha Gautama’s teachings was awakening from the ignorance of failing to recognize one’s own nature of Buddha.

The Buddha nature itself was not the key point; it was all a matter of perspective.

Commander Wade’s unique trait and my Yellow Dragon are the same in this sense, Leonard thought as he gazed at Wade, who was relentlessly overpowering the two apostles.

This was not merely a battle of mortals but a display of divine dominion—a realm of authority that bent even time and space. Wade’s unique trait was not about altering the world but altering himself as the focal axis. He accelerated his own time, defied physical laws, and wielded power that crushed the Demigod Tier monsters with ease. This display of force bordered on the Deification Tier, more akin to a god’s wrath than any mortal warrior’s strength.

To someone like Leonard, who had not yet stepped into the threshold of the Demigod Tier, Wade’s strength was a source of invaluable insight.

The Yellow Dragon, the divine beast representing the earth as the center of the Five Elements, has always been controversial.

Some called it the Yellow Dragon; others called it a Qilin. Some even claimed the Yellow Dragon was the incarnation of the ancient emperor, Gongsun Xuanyuan[1].

Realization struck Leonard like a bolt of lightning.

The true center of the Five Elements should be none other than humanity itself!

Even the ancient concept of the Three Aspects—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—suggested this. At first glance, the inclusion of humanity as equal to Heaven and Earth seemed absurd. After all, if humanity vanished, would the heavens collapse or the earth crumble? Why then was humanity included as one of the fundamental components of the Three Aspects?

The answer was simple.

The Three Aspects and the Five Elements are merely frameworks created to understand the world. And humanity is the observer of this framework.

Even the core philosophy of the Wudang Sect, symbolized by the Taiji, followed this logic. It was a concept derived from explaining the opposite properties of the power that created heaven and earth and the two properties of Yin and Yang.

Yin, referring to shade and coldness; and Yang, referring to light and warmth. Yin and Yang was not an inherent property of the universe but a construct derived from human perception. Therefore, it was not surprising that the principles of martial arts could not be explained without considering humanity at their core.

Rumbleeee…

A few kilometers away, Wade’s sword strike crashed down upon the two apostles with overwhelming force, transforming the miasma and toxin-filled land into a sea of molten lava, incinerating everything. It was as if a natural disaster in human form had descended upon the battlefield.

Despite witnessing this awe-inspiring display, Leonard remained perfectly composed. Within him, the profound understanding of the gateway to life and death stirred. He felt the illusion of the Yellow Dragon shatter and realized that it was ascending to his upper dantian, moving toward becoming a god in the truest sense of the word.

Separating the principles of the One Origin Five Elements Cultivation Method from myself was my mistake. To achieve a perfect unification, the practitioner must also be integrated within the Five Elements.

Among the Five Elements, entwined with the principles of compatibility and incompatibility, earth held a special position. Trees rooted themselves in the soil to grow, flames erupted as lava from within the earth, underground water flowed through subterranean channels, and minerals revealed themselves from beneath the ground.

Earth was the element that encompassed all others, a foundation that supported the world. From this perspective, it could also be said that humanity represented the earth’s vantage point in existence.

Thump.

In resonance with this realization, Leonard’s Dragon Heart pulsed once more, elevating his status without any regard for the Corroded Realm.

His Mindscape expanded. The microcosmos within him grew exponentially, and a core was born at its center where the Four Symbols resided. Leonard sensed the beasts stirring, each rising and turning its gaze toward this newly formed nucleus, as if acknowledging the emergence of their sovereign.

Even as Leonard became certain that just one more step would bring him to the threshold of the Demigod Tier, he refrained from rushing forward. Forcing his ascension would only lead to stagnation at the next stage, a fate he was determined to avoid.

“…It’s coming.” Leonard opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on a growing speck in the distance.

This speck, unsurprisingly, was the fusion of Ofnir and Svafnir. The massive, wingless serpent slithered through the air as though flight was natural. Their body radiated malice so overwhelming that even kilometers away, it bore down on Leonard like an oppressive storm. This was no pressure that could be resisted by anyone in the Transcendence Tier.

“Ha. Do I look like such an easy target?” Leonard scoffed.

Despite the overwhelming force pressing down on him, he raised his sword with a confident, almost mocking smile. Kilometers of distance were insignificant before a possessor of Dragon Eyes.

The fused Ofnir and Svafnir were, quite literally, a mangled mess. Their gargantuan body, now resembling a burnt, charred mass of flesh, still oozed blood and venom from the aftermath of Wade’s devastating onslaught. Despite their combined strength, they had pushed themselves beyond their limits just to escape Wade’s overwhelming attacks.

The Red Dragon Commander, the second-in-command within the Cardenas family, had proven his words—he had utterly dominated the apostles.

—Leonard.

Wade’s voice came through, sharper and faster than usual.

—It doesn’t matter how briefly, but hold them off. Stall them until I arrive, and the fight will end.

—Understood.

Leonard replied with telepathy, activating his internal energy.

His Dragon Heart, still thrumming from the hostility toward the Corroded Realm, churned his energy with unprecedented speed. The blade in his hand radiated an iridescent light, distorting the air around it. Its brilliance rivaled anything he had ever unleashed before.

Had his sword been forged from anything less than Pollux’s cast-iron fist, it could have melted from the sheer intensity of his aura.

“…This will be a close call.”

Despite their injuries, the fused Ofnir and Svafnir remained a monstrous foe. Even a single one would have been a daunting challenge, let alone their combination. It was difficult for Leonard to even guarantee that he could cut down the Undead previously summoned by Ofnir and Svafnir.

Leonard understood this—he wasn’t planning to fight them head-on. His strategy was simple: exploit their distraction.

If he could hold them back for a few moments, Wade would arrive and incinerate them. They had no reason to focus their full power on him when Wade’s impending assault would inevitably crush them.

Leonard tightened his grip on his sword, his lips curving into a faint, resolute smile. He was ready to face this storm head-on.

In an instant, Ofnir and Svafnir entered his range. Leonard conjured a massive figure behind him—a divine projection symbolizing the Northern God Style.

One Origin Five Elements Sword Art

The True Xuanwu

Mighty God Statue Manifestation

The giant figure wielded a blade, one leg like a turtle’s, the other like a serpent’s. Seven stars shimmered ominously on the divine sword. As the apostles, caught off guard by the sudden presence, instinctively slowed their movements, the towering figure of Xuanwu began to move.

A restraining pressure unfolded, designed to immobilize them.

Northern God Style

Universal Suppression Technique

Cold Snowfall of Winter

With one sweeping strike, fragments of Leonard’s immense sword energy scattered like sleet, pelting the apostles. The sheer size of the divine figure rendered escape and defense impossible.

A crackling echoed as everything in the vicinity froze. The biting energy of the Cold Snowfall of Winter struck their scales, coating the apostles in frost and freezing the entire area. Compared to when Leonard had used it within his Mindscape, the attack proved even stronger here. Even Wade, who had previously shrugged off Leonard’s attacks with ease, would find it difficult to endure all at once.

—!!?!!?

The apostles had once thought of Leonard as little more than an insect, but now they were shaken to their core. Confusion and rage boiled over as they launched a counterattack. Their frozen bodies trembled violently, and the boundary between reality and illusion began to collapse. The power of their authority summoned phantoms of ancient monsters, creatures from an era long past. These projections could only exist for mere seconds, but even that was beyond Leonard’s capacity to handle.

Thus, he moved to halt them before their powers fully manifested.

As the figure of Xuanwu shattered, an Azure Dragon erupted from within. Its gaze burned with hatred. Among dragons, it was a leader—second only to the Yellow Dragon. It could not tolerate the presence of such vile serpents.

The apostles dared to run amok under the banner of an evil god, wielding powers that twisted truth and falsehood alike? As the incarnation of the natural order, the Azure Dragon’s fury was absolute.

Roaaar!!

Leonard’s sword slashed through the air as the Azure Dragon roared ferociously.

One Origin Five Elements Sword Art

Eastern God Style

Authority Nullification Technique

Rightful Return

Eroded by the Corroded Realm, the corrupted laws of the world answered the dragon’s cry and briefly returned to their proper state. The sword cut through the boundary between reality and illusion and nullified Nastrond’s influence entirely, erasing it.

Ofnir and Svafnir faltered, their abilities momentarily nullified. Never before had they encountered such power where their authority wasn’t merely countered but rendered void.

Had Leonard ascended to the Demigod Tier, he could have exploited this moment of weakness to finish them off.

“Well done,” came a voice.

It was then that Wade appeared, descending at terrifying speed. Perched atop the backbone supporting Nastrond’s sky, he looked down at Leonard. Ofnir, who had only just noticed Wade’s presence, flailed in panic.

Bayard

A pair of radiant wings unfurled from Wade’s back. Each wing, brimming with immense heat, flapped once and propelled him forward with blistering speed. Already enhanced by Flamberg, Wade’s speed broke past the physical limits of his body and surged into a realm beyond even the Demigod Tier.

It was hyper-acceleration.

Even the apostles, who’d managed to survive Flamberg, couldn’t keep up with Wade’s movements. Not even Leonard’s Dragon Eyes could fully track his trajectory, leaving Leonard wincing from the searing pain of his overheating eyes.

■■■■■■■■!! !

Despite their disadvantage, the apostles did not yield. Instead, they unleashed their most desperate resistance. Their authority, nullified once by the Eastern God Style, flared to life once more, summoning ancient monsters from bygone eras.

A serpent with nine heads roared furiously, a beast with ten pairs of limbs crawled up from the abyss, and an insect-like monstrosity morphed into a swarm of countless creatures. Their bodies shimmered faintly, nearly transparent from the excessive strain of the apostles’ authority, as if they were on the verge of dissipating.

For monsters bound to an Outer God to possess power of this magnitude…!

Though Leonard instinctively felt a profound fear of the divine authority wielded by Ofnir and Svafnir, he was also certain of one thing: the outcome of their clash was no longer in doubt.

Wade would win.

As if to answer Leonard’s conviction, a beam of light descended from the distant sky. Its form resembled the spear of light once wielded by the God of Light to smite evil in ancient times.

Wade, now one with his sword, plunged downward in an instant.

Areadbhar

As the radiant light collided with the monstrous horde, the horde rose to meet it. It was a clash of heaven-shaking proportions.

The serpent’s nine heads exhaled poison clouds in a vortex, while the beast’s ten limbs fired beams of corruption that decayed everything they touched. Meanwhile, the swarm of insect-like monsters divided into countless entities, becoming a plague swarm capable of razing entire civilizations.

Each monster alone was powerful enough to collapse half the world. Against such an army, Wade’s single streak of light seemed insignificant.

Shriieek!

The serpent’s nine heads were cleaved into two, its poison clouds dissipating. The beast’s ten limbs were severed, and its massive body plunged back into the abyss. Even the swarm was annihilated. Within the range of Areadbhar, every insect was reduced to blackened husks, falling like charred grains of rice.

It was an utterly futile end for such calamities—monsters that could regenerate from even a single surviving fragment were wiped out as though they were nothing more than goblins.

The radiant light then cut through Ofnir and Svafnir.

Slash!

It was over. Their fused body was shredded into fragments so small that even a fingertip-sized piece couldn’t be found.

The apostles, servants of the Mocking Slayer, were obliterated. As the light coalesced and Wade’s form reemerged, it was but a fleeting moment.

“Whew, that was a good warm-up,” Wade said casually, retracting the luminous wings on his back as he sheathed his sword.

He looked down at the apostles’ remnants. Filled with awe, Leonard gazed at Wade’s back, eyes brimming with reverence. The man who stood at the peak of the Cardenas family’s Seven Great Orders, second only to the Archduke of Sword himself, stood before him. The Sword Monarch of this era was in front of his very eyes.

1. Gongsun Xuanyuan, also known as the Yellow Emperor, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and cultural hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as a deity individually or as part of the Five Regions Highest Deities in Chinese folk religion. ☜