This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder

A giant war formation that resembled a golden giant cleaved down with the giant saber clenched in its hand. The target? An elderly-looking sword immortal with long white hair and facial hair that nearly reached past his waist.

His body swayed, and his beard trailed behind him as he appeared in front of the Golden Immortal War Formation in one fluid motion. His hand grasped the hilt of the sword sheathed on his waist.

He pulled.

It was but a simple slash. Yet, the golden giant halted its movements. Then it keeled over, but before it could crash into the ground, a crack appeared on its torso. Moments later, the war formation shattered, revealing the immortal monarchs and true immortals that formed it.

The Numinous Sword Sect's immortal emperor glanced at the immortal monarch that headed the Golden Giant War Formation. Like the war formation, he held a saber.

"A saber wielder. How deplorable."

The sword emperor had long sealed away his name. He was a cultivator from the same generation as Divinity Yanxu. Before the two reached the Immortal Realm, they were known as the twin swords of the Numinous Sword Sect. In other words, the two greatest geniuses of their generation.

Be it their talent, character, or looks, they were unparalleled. If nothing happened, both of them should have become stalwart pillars of the Numinous Sword Sect, but he suffered a devastating defeat.

The cultivator who defeated him was a loose cultivator that came from a desolate region, yet he was able to rise and defeat geniuses from first-rate forces.

The then-young sword emperor fought the loose cultivator. He lost. It was not his first loss, as he fought Yanxu many times, but their records were almost always similar.

He couldn't stomach this loss. He was a scion and descendant of a true immortal, and he was immensely proud of his origin and the Numinous Sword Sect. So, his pride did not allow him to swallow this loss, especially against a sabersman, an inferior weapon to the sword.

Of course he knew that the saber and sword were considered one of the four major weapons. The saber was known as the general of all weapons, the staff was known as the ancestor of all weapons, the spear was known as the king of all weapons, and the sword was known as the gentlemen of all weapons. Even so, the sword emperor believed that the sword was the strongest of all weapons, and losing to a sabersman was unforgivable.

Because of that one loss, the then-young sword emperor changed his Daoist title to Saberbane. He made it his goal to reclaim the honor he lost against that loose cultivator.

And so, this ill-fated relationship was thus established.

Whether it was because of Saberbane's targeting or the nature of a hegemon force, the loose cultivator became enemies with the Numinous Sword Sect. Yanxu also fell under the same saber, but managed to save his life.

Yanxu and Saberbane, the two greatest geniuses of their generation and beyond, defeat only highlighted the loose cultivator's uniqueness. Not just them, but their seniors, geniuses who turned potential into power, also fell under the same saber.

Because of this, many forces began to have second thoughts and showed signs of rallying under the loose cultivator's saber. If not culled, it would become a danger to the Numinous Sword Sect's continued rule, so they listed him as the highest target of assassination.

To this end, they even dispatched a sword monarch, but the loose cultivator survived. He escaped and when he showed himself again, he had already become a true immortal. One with the power to rival monarchs.

After the loose cultivator became a true immortal, his threat level greatly increased. The Numinous Sword Sect learned their lesson and did not send monarchs. They didn't only send sword emperors, but the sect's sole sword sovereign.

They succeeded and killed the loose cultivator, but before he died, he severely injured the sword sovereign. Had that event not occurred, the Numinous Sword Sect would have had two immortal sovereigns when Yanxu became an origin immortal.

But that was beside the point. Because the sabersman fell under the Numinous Sword Sect's immortal sovereign, Saberbane forever lost his chance to reclaim his lost honor. Even if the Numinous Sword Sect erased that loose cultivator's name from history, it could not change that fact.

Yanxu was indifferent and had no problem admitting his inferiority. Though that did not mean he felt his potential was any weaker, the sabersman became Saberbane's inner devil.

Although he successfully passed the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, he nearly perished because of the Inner Devil Tribulation. Even after becoming a true immortal, a gulf separated him from Yanxu, who continued to make steady progress.

Even so, there was no denying Saberbane's talent. Once given a chance and ownership of the Immortal Slaying Sword, he reached the Origin Immortal Realm, becoming the Numinous Sword Sect's newest pillar.

Sovereign Saberbane swung the divine sword. The blade slashed the fleeing saber monarch's back, killing him instantly and shattering his soul. With the monarch dead, Sovereign Saberbane focused on the other fleeing immortals.

He slashed his sword. A thin stream of water as thin as silk emerged from his blade. The silk-like stream followed the path of his swings, slashed toward the fleeing immortals.

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"Hmm?"

The first immortal struck by the silk screamed as it bisected his body, like a hot knife through butter, but a second later, the screams stopped. His two halves deformed into white fluff. No, not fluff, but clouds that turned into fog before disappearing entirely.

The phenomenon was not isolated. The other immortals struck by the silk-like stream turned into clouds.

Sovereign Saberbane sheathed the divine sword, and the water stream vanished. He glanced toward the originator of the clouds. "Cloud Goddess. No, I believe your title is now Cloud Duchess, a newly minted immortal official of storms."

The Cloud Duchess did not deny his words. Neither did she reply. Instead, she spread her hands and summoned the clouds.

"Comparing the momentum, it's far too different from Yanxu. I guess this is a difference between an orthodox and unorthodox divinity." Preferring to take the lead, Sovereign Saberbane drew his sword. This time, a torrent flooded out of his scabbard and shot toward the divinity.

The Cloud Duchess didn't move, as if she couldn't react in time. The torrent struck her, but instead of destroying her body, it only dispersed the clouds.

Sovereign Saberbane frowned. He sheathed his sword again before unsheathing it. Unlike the first time, the silk-like stream flowed out from the tip instead of the torrent.

He swung his sword and spun his body simultaneously, causing the silk-like stream to whirl. The stream sliced through the clouds that formed a vortex around him, but no matter how much he cut, the clouds would re-gather. It was like trying to cut water with a knife.

"Sure enough, although a fake is a fake, it still carries the title of divinity," Sovereign Saberbane muttered. He couldn't help but sigh in envy at his former rival.

He knew that the scar left on his heart by that loose cultivator caused his progress to slow. Many years had passed since he suffered that loss against that nameless sabersman. He suffered more defeats and setbacks, but none of them affected him as much as his first. Some losses were even more tragic.

Sovereign Saberbane knew that he should let bygones be bygones, but if it was so simple, there would not be so many people troubled by inner devils.

However, now was not the time to let his mind wander. So Sovereign Saberbane once again sheathed the Immortal Slaying Sword. When he unsheathed it again, ten thousand swords formed out of crystalline ice shot out from the scabbard.

"Rise, Ten Thousand Sword Formation!"

The countless crystalline swords circled Sovereign Saberbane in layers, forming a powerful offensive formation. The cloud vortex could no longer maintain its form in front of the Ten Thousand Sword Formation.

Although the cloud vortex disappeared, it did not vanish. The water molecules that formed the clouds turned into mist and covered the entire region. It blotted the sun, causing darkness to fall. The mist even pervaded the inside of the Ten Thousand Sword Formation. Granted, it was not as dense as it was outside.

"Poison?" Sovereign Saberbane uttered. He tightened the grip on the divine sword. "You are a high and mighty divinity. Why would you stoop so low as to use poison? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Immortal Court is full of nothing but a bunch of cowards and hypocrites."

Upon sensing no reaction, Sovereign Saberbane frowned. He had attempted to release his immortal sense, but after exiting the Ten Thousand Sword Formation, it would degrade and disappear after a few hundred meters. In other words, he couldn't sense much in the mist.

He didn't even know if the Cloud Duchess was in the mist.

Sovereign Saberbane thought that the Cloud Duchess's goal was to defeat or kill him, but now, he guessed her purpose was to restrain him. With one less sword sovereign, the Immortal Court would be able to more easily suppress the immortals of the Numinous Sword Sect.

Of course, being passive was not the strong suit of a sword immortal. Sovereign Saberbane moved. He pierced through the mist, attempting to dig out the Cloud Duchess, but alas, he could not find a trace of her.

What he did find were the corpses of his fellow sword immortals. Anger burned in his heart, but he knew that compromising his judgement was an unwise choice, so he suppressed it.

After a while, Sovereign Saberbane stopped. Since he couldn't find the Cloud Duchess, he attempted to exit the range of the poisonous mist, but all his attempts failed. It was as if the mist was infinitely large.

He knew that this was impossible. The most likely truth was that the Cloud Duchess simply moved the mist to conform to his position. Since that was the case, it was better to wait instead of foolishly wasting his essence qi. And if he moved too much, it would allow the Cloud Duchess to poison any unlucky sword immortal trapped in the mist.

Sovereign Saberbane reduced the range and power of the Ten Thousand Sword Formation to the minimum. This reduced the consumption while allowing him to defend himself if anything happened.

Compared to the Cloud Duchess, who maintained a large area of mist, his consumption should be lower. Of course, if he sensed her doing anything strange, he would immediately arrive and disrupt, just like when she formed the cloud vortex.

It didn't mean Sovereign Saberbane had given up either. It was just more efficient to conserve his essence qi while figuring out a method to break out of the stalemate.

Outside of the mist, the Cloud Duchess smiled. Her face was hidden behind a layer of mist, and only her shining eyes could be perceived. She wore a crown on her head that made observers feel as if they were gazing at the world itself.

The crown was a pseudo-realm artifact created under Tianyi's hands. Thanks to Tianyi's early years of hard work, the Immortal Court had a lot of pseudo-realm artifacts. Of course, no matter how many Tianyi made, it would never be enough, so only those with the power of an immortal emperor were lent one if they did not already possess one.

The Cloud Duchess's pseudo-realm artifact was the Cloud Crown. It was a name she had bequeathed upon it because she was the first user. In fact, many of those pseudo-realm artifacts only showed up for the first time in this war. Even during the final Divine Beast-Human War, the Immortal Court had not granted permission to use them.

Even if the Cloud Crown only generated the most common spiritual qi, the Cloud Duchess could still transform it into essence rather quickly.

In terms of comprehension, both the Cloud Duchess and Sovereign Saberbane had around the same attainment. She used essence instead of essence qi, so her energy purity was ten times better, which also meant that her strength was at least five times greater, but he had the Immortal Slaying Sword, which actually granted him a slight edge.

That edge was erased by the Cloud Duchess's infinite supply of spiritual qi. Sovereign Saberbane thought that her consumption was greater than his. While that was true, the supply from the Cloud Crown was more than enough to make up for her consumption. In fact, she was still expanding the poisonous mist. She planned to expand it until her consumption equaled her recovery.

The Cloud Duchess glanced at another part of the battlefield. There, she could see her disciple, Yun Xialan, battling against two immortal emperors. The former Holy Cloud Saintess took the same path as the Cloud Duchess and used faith to become a divinity.

Now, she was known as the Gale Marchioness.