A fierce battle between immortals and demons that struck straight at the heart of the enemy lasted ten days and nights. The Great Demon Hall was razed to the ground, the Nine Heavens Demon Eye was reduced to ashes, and the Abyss of Darkness was sealed forever. The The Grand Overlord, who had swept across the Nine Provinces without shedding a single drop of blood, finally had his indestructible golden body broken. Golden blood flowed from the deep wound in his chest, turning into molten lava that burned the ruins of the Great Demon Hall.

The century-long war between immortals and demons had achieved an unprecedentedly glorious victory, but the price paid was heartbreakingly tragic.

Of the nine Immortal Lords, eight fell, along with all their immortal artifacts, leaving not a trace of their remains. William Thompson, holding the divine sword, struggled to remain standing before the The Grand Overlord, but his immortal heart was shattered, his divine sense destroyed, and he had no strength left to fight.

“Mere ants, to have come this far, I am truly surprised.”

As William Thompson’s primordial spirit gradually dissipated, the The Grand Overlord spoke slowly. The voice seemed both near and far, both male and female, encompassing all things and yet empty of everything. Yet, with just a short sentence, the black clouds in the sky rolled like raging waves.

“Unfortunately, this is as far as it goes. I thought that the desperate struggle of the Nine Provinces, giving everything they had, might bring me a bit more pleasure.”

“It is indeed a pity.” William Thompson revealed a pained yet mocking smile. “Just as we were about to turn the tables, I am now utterly destroyed, both body and soul, already a dead man, unable to witness the final victory.”

The The Grand Overlord looked coldly at the gravely wounded, dying human, seeing no possibility of a comeback.

“All along, people have called me the Jiulong Sword Immortal, even the Sword God or Sword Saint. Even your demon race mostly feared my swordsmanship, some even thinking I had surpassed the Nameless Sword God. But in truth... I am not much of a sword cultivator at all. What I am truly skilled at is forging weapons—I am, without a doubt, a support cultivator. I am not good at swordsmanship, let alone comparable to the Nameless Sword God.”

The The Grand Overlord tilted his head slightly, somewhat surprised.

The nine human cultivators each possessed unique powers, none inferior to the demon generals of commander rank, and among them, William Thompson was clearly the strongest in combat, sweeping all before him with his divine sword. The wound on the The Grand Overlord’s chest was his doing.

In over a thousand years, this was the first time the The Grand Overlord had been wounded. For this dying human, he felt a certain respect, even considered turning him into a Marquis Demon General. But thinking of the ruined Demon Hall, he dismissed the idea... Yet, not skilled at swordsmanship? That earth-shattering sword technique just now—how could “not skilled” explain it? As for the Nameless Sword God, he had vanished without a trace at the start of the war, never participating in any great battle—a fraud, not worth mentioning.

William Thompson released his grip on the sword. Without its support, he collapsed to the ground, yet the divine sword remained standing, then slowly floated up, its tip pointing at the The Grand Overlord.

A glimmer of light flashed in William Thompson’s dim eyes: “Sword brother, it’s up to you now.”

“Mm, leave it to me.”

A clear voice resonated from William Thompson’s divine sword. At that moment, the The Grand Overlord’s expression changed dramatically: “You?!”

At the same time, a God-Slaying Finger from the The Overlord shot toward the divine sword like it would tear the sky asunder, but was cleaved apart by an even more powerful sword light.

The The Overlord snorted coldly. This was the first time since the battle began that his God-Slaying Finger had been blocked head-on, and that divine sword from beyond the heavens now radiated an unprecedented sense of threat.

William Thompson gave a bitter smile: “Sword brother, sorry, this is as far as we can go.”

“It’s all right. You risked your lives to buy me so much time—it's enough. I’ve already seen through the The Overlord’s demonic techniques. Leave the rest to me.”

In the next instant, sword light blazed, pointing straight at the The Overlord!

The The Overlord’s face was expressionless, his dark fingers pointing forward as an endless tide of demonic power swept forth.

A battle between immortals and demons, ten times more perilous than before, thus began!

……

He had always prided himself on his strong memory.

Although his fifty years as a human were now only dim fragments, the few short years since his rebirth as a sword were etched into his memory, every detail clear.

William Thompson’s gentle magnanimity, Brian Sullivan’s boldness and heroism, Olivia Harris’s peerless grace... Over three years, the newly reborn divine sword embraced life with unprecedented enthusiasm. As a human, he had been withdrawn and cold; even though his cultivation was the greatest in the world, his fame was less than that of the Nine Immortal Lords, whose strength was beneath his. Yet after becoming a divine sword, he became optimistic and cheerful. Of course, a sword is a weapon of slaughter—over those three years, he fought alongside the Nine Immortal Lords across the Nine Provinces, and every detail of every battle was firmly imprinted in his mind.

Yet, the final battle was a blur.

He found he could not remember how the final showdown with the The Grand Overlord ended, or even the details of the fight.

He only remembered that within the sword world, black tides surged, countless magnificent halls crumbled, and countless immortal arrays collapsed and vanished. He only remembered the The Grand Overlord’s repeated furious roars, his noble body rolling in blood and mud. He only remembered being trapped in a desperate situation, yet still calmly discerning the The Overlord’s weaknesses; he only remembered the The Overlord’s body collapsing at one point, vomiting blood endlessly, unable to utter even a single complete demonic incantation.

He only remembered that the outcome was decided in a single instant.

And that instant seemed almost eternal.