# 547
Chapter 548: Sword Immortal of the Mortal World
Zhou Ping’s black robe flapped in the gale as he stood at the very front of the Somersault Cloud, his eyes as bright as swords, their sharpness piercing the heavens!
He lifted his head and gazed at the sky. Those pure, profound pupils seemed to see through the surface of the world, to pierce the void itself; within them was reflected every law that governed creation.
He saw.
Deep within this vast, boundless world, law after law was woven into the invisible nothingness, maintaining the operation of all things. Yet those laws were also divided by some power, scattered across different lands.
A single Law of the Netherworld had been split into more than a dozen shares; the largest portions belonged to only a few—the Great Xia Netherworld, the Indian Netherworld, the Norse Netherworld, the Greek Netherworld…
Laws of Flame, Laws of Thunder, Laws of Life, Laws of Time… almost every primordial law born at the dawn of the world had been carved up among various gods. Many deities governed the same type of law, yet each version differed.
In that instant Zhou Ping understood.
So-called gods were supreme beings born with the right to wield laws.
But in this world the total number of laws was fixed. Even though he had shattered the ceiling above humankind and stepped into a realm no human had ever reached, gaining the power to control laws… which god would willingly hand over the law he possessed?
None.
Not a single law in this world belonged to him; not one belonged to mankind.
Even having entered this realm, he had no law to command.
Standing atop the cloud, Zhou Ping stared into the void for a long time, motionless as a statue.
He was thinking.
He was the first human to set foot in this domain.
As Baili Pangpang had said, countless people watched his back—watching him take one difficult yet determined step after another.
If he stopped here, it would mean that even breaking the ceiling was meaningless!
Humanity would also stop here…
Slaying gods would forever remain a delusion.
That was not what he wanted.
He would carve a path for mankind!
Finally, as though struck by inspiration, Zhou Ping raised his hand; brilliant sword-light erupted from his eyes!
Turbulent sword-intent surged out, centered on him. High above the nine heavens, boundless sword-qi condensed from the void and poured down like the Yellow River in reverse!
Lin Qiye and the others on the Somersault Cloud were pinned in place by that terrifying sword-qi, unable to move.
The sword-glow in Zhou Ping’s eyes grew ever brighter; his face showed a resolve he had never shown before.
Since
this world holds no law that belongs to humans,
then today…
I will carve upon the Great Dao a law that belongs solely to mankind!
“Lin Qiye!!”
he shouted amid the roaring tide of sword-qi.
“Here!”
“Give me your sword!”
Lin Qiye hesitated only a moment, then quickly summoned the longsword 【Prayer Abyss】 and hurled it toward Zhou Ping at the heart of the storm.
Zhou Ping gripped the hilt with his left hand.
Claaang—!!!
Countless sword cries exploded across the void.
Head raised, blood-stained black robe fluttering in the sword wind,
he held the sword in his left hand and slashed lightly at the illusory Great Dao.
A heaven-shaking sword intent shot upward!!
Upon the Great Dao, where countless laws were interwoven, a blade of light suddenly flashed from the void and struck one corner!
The sword-light surged violently; endless sword-qi rolled across it, slashing at the immovable Dao. Each strand left only a shallow mark, but under the ocean of sword-qi a fierce, jagged scar slowly appeared.
A faint aura of law drifted from that gash.
Unlike every other law, this one had been claimed by no god. Weak, yet whole.
Sword in hand, Zhou Ping gazed at the faint scar upon the Dao, a smile rising to his lips.
Compared with the other mighty, towering laws the mark was no bigger than a child’s scratch, yet without doubt it had become a law!
A law that had never before existed in this world!
The first, and the only, law that belonged to mankind.
Its name:
—Sword.
Its creator: Zhou Ping.
Great Xia Sword Saint, Zhou Ping.
……
Egypt, Sun City.
“Hm?”
The figure standing upon the pillar of the sun god looked up, eyes that saw through all things fixed on a corner of the void.
Shock flashed across that indistinct face.
“The aura of a new law? Impossible…”
……
Norse, Asgard.
Within the grand, sacred palace, atop a hundred-meter white throne, a one-eyed, weather-worn old man slowly opened his eyes.
He too stared at the Great Dao of the world; after a long while he closed them again.
“Human…”
……
Greece, Olympus.
On the summit of the mountains, upon a golden throne,
a bare-chested elder rippling with explosive muscle gave a startled cry; the golden scepter in his hand quivered.
Crack—!!
A savage bolt of lightning tore across the sky.
“Great Xia?” he muttered.
He rose slowly, eyes narrowing at the thin sword scar upon the Dao.
“Dangerous nation… the plan must be moved forward.”
……
India, Celestial Temple.
In the center of the temple suspended in the sky, the towering, all-gold four-faced, four-armed statue trembled slightly.
Dust drifted from its body.
On one of the four faces, a pair of eyes opened.
“Destruction…”
The word echoed through the vast hall.
……
Every divine realm beyond Great Xia sensed the appearance of that sword scar.
Though only a faint mark, it stirred undercurrents in the still, bottomless pool.
In the mist.
The instant the scar appeared upon the Dao, Zhou Ping’s aura climbed step by step. His very existence seemed to transcend humanity; a faint divine pressure spread from his body.
It was god’s might—
Divine might emitted by a human.
Now, possessing a law of his own, the Great Xia Sword Saint Zhou Ping had stepped into godhood!
Lin Qiye and the others, who had witnessed everything, were wild with joy. Though they did not fully understand what Zhou Ping had done, the pressure rolling off him told them he had succeeded.
“Senior Sword Saint…” Lin Qiye asked cautiously, “are you still at the Human Apex?”
Zhou Ping placed a hand over his chest, feeling something within. After a moment he smiled.
“For humans, the ceiling no longer exists.”
“Then what realm are you in now?” Baili Pangpang asked curiously. “Godhood?”
“More or less.” Zhou Ping paused. “But I don’t like that name.”
“What should we call it, then?”
Zhou Ping glanced
at the sword in his hand,
and said slowly:
“This realm is different for everyone; the laws they master differ, so the name of the realm should differ as well…
For me, this realm shall be called
【Sword Immortal of the Mortal World】.”