Chapter Forty-Eight: The Blade of the Asura

Along the banks of the Nile, the column of light atop the pyramid had just risen when Yin Seventeen saw a golden arc of light streaking rapidly from the north. He could sense within that arc a cosmos very much like his own—razor-sharp, yet vastly more powerful. It was as if a sword of pure brilliance had cleaved through the heavens.

“It seems the one from Capricorn Temple has arrived,” he murmured softly.

“Yes, it’s Lord Shura! In all the Twelve Temples, only Lord Shura’s cosmos is so keen-edged and formidable!” Ruolan replied excitedly. Though she was merely a Bronze Saint, she had entered the world of Saints earlier than Yin Seventeen and was naturally more familiar with their ranks and legends.

Atop the pyramid, Anubis too took note of the swiftly approaching golden arc and the piercing cosmos it contained. “A Gold Saint from Sanctuary? They’ve come quickly,” he sighed inwardly. Though the speed was impressive, it was no greater than his own—not enough to catch him completely off guard. The Gate of Stars had only just opened and needed a little more time to stabilize, forming a passage large enough for his true form to enter. The Gold Saint had arrived too soon.

Had Sobek provided cover as planned, the two gods working together would have ensured victory. But maddeningly, Sobek had not only failed to help but instead caused trouble, depleting much of Anubis’s strength. Now, Anubis could only hope to delay the Gold Saint for a single minute—just long enough for the Gate of Stars to solidify.

With that, Anubis ignited his cosmos, summoned the last reserves of his power, and unleashed his ultimate technique at the golden arc.

“Judgment Scales.”

In an instant, a colossal balance appeared in the sky, trapping the incoming golden arc upon one of its pans. Only then did the arc dissipate, revealing a man clad in golden armor—Shura, who had raced from Capricorn Temple to lend his aid.

“Your soul shall be weighed by the goddess; your body shall turn to dust!” Anubis fixed his gaze on the scales, as if adjusting them with invisible hands, adding weights to the empty pan on the other side. The pan pressed by Shura gradually began to rise.

“My soul needs no weighing by you evil gods! And my body, even should it decay, will still cut you down!” Shura cast a cold glance at the balance and unleashed the full force of his cosmos.

“Sacred Sword—Cleave!”

A blade-sharp aura erupted from him, his cosmos merging with his body to form a sword that seemed to pierce the heavens. He brought it down upon the scales.

With a flash, the balance snapped and the pan shattered. Against that celestial blade, Anubis’s scales were as fragile as tofu, sliced cleanly in two.

Yet the momentum of the sword did not stop. It continued downward, cleaving the pillar of light and the pyramid below.

A thunderous crash followed, the sword’s force seeming to split the sky itself, cutting through the pillar and the pyramid in a single strike. A deep scar, nearly a kilometer long, was left in the earth. The two halves of the pyramid collapsed to the ground with a rumbling roar.

“Who are you?” Anubis hovered in midair, warily regarding the golden-armored man who now stood revealed below.

“Shura of Capricorn, under the goddess Athena,” came the curt reply, Shura not so much as lifting his head.

“Shura, is it? I will remember that name…” Anubis nodded, and his form split in two. The sword had moved too swiftly, too sharply—he had no chance to dodge or defend. Though this was not his true body, merely a vessel he inhabited, to be so easily destroyed left a powerful impression.

With a sickening thud, the old priest possessed by Anubis plummeted to earth and was smashed into two bloody heaps.

“Is it only him?” Shura called out to Yin Seventeen and Ruolan from afar. He had instantly recognized that the old man’s abnormal cosmos stemmed from the evil god possessing him. But he wondered if any others lurked nearby. Though multiple evil gods appearing together was rare, it had happened before.

“There’s another!” Ruolan pointed eagerly at a pit in the earth. “A fellow calling himself Sobek, the Crocodile God—he was knocked into the ground by the one atop the pyramid.”

Shura turned his gaze to the pit. Focusing his senses, he detected traces of a different cosmos lingering there—unmistakably left by another evil god. Yet the pit itself was now empty. Judging by the marks, the foe had tunneled away underground.

He considered giving chase, but the sandy ground made the passageways unstable and prone to collapse. After tracking for a short distance, the tunnel vanished without a trace.

He turned to the other two and said, “The evil god has escaped. The rest is in your hands. I’m returning now.”

With that, he transformed into a golden arc of light and vanished over the horizon.

Ruolan watched the light fade, then turned to Yin Seventeen in surprise. “Back in the underground city, I saw you use a move almost identical to Lord Shura’s. Are you two master and disciple?”

Yin Seventeen shook his head. “My technique was taught to me by a senior who wore a bronze mask. I never learned his name, so I can’t be sure if he’s the same person.”

“It must have been Lord Shura!” Ruolan declared with certainty. “As far as I know, in all of Sanctuary, only Lord Shura of Capricorn can wield that technique. If not him, then who?”

“Are you that sure?” Yin Seventeen glanced at her doubtfully.

“Absolutely,” Ruolan replied, nodding. “I’ve been in Sanctuary much longer than you and have met every Saint. If there were another who could use that technique, I’d remember!”

Hearing this, Yin Seventeen fell into deep thought. The identity of the masked man seemed confirmed, yet Shura’s purpose in teaching him remained a mystery. If anything, the puzzle had only deepened.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Ruolan gave him a light tap, seeing him suddenly lost in thought.

“Hm?” Yin Seventeen snapped back to himself and smiled. “Nothing, really. Just remembering the past.”

“Come on, tell me!” Ruolan pressed, curiosity shining in her eyes.

“There’s nothing much to say,” Yin Seventeen waved her off.

“You’re so stingy!” Ruolan pouted, then asked, “Now that you know it was Lord Shura who taught you, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Yin Seventeen feigned ignorance.

“Aren’t you going to see him at Capricorn Temple?” Ruolan asked, astonished.

“I think not,” Yin Seventeen replied, shaking his head. “That senior said before he left that only when I awakened the Seventh Sense could I call him Master. Even if I went to Capricorn Temple now, he wouldn’t acknowledge me.”