I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 48: Manifestation of the Sword Maiden

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Manifestation of the Sword Maiden

The sky churned with lightning and shadow as the battle raged on. Elder Adaeze, the Storm Dragon, hovered above, his fists coiled with arcs of divine thunder. Below, Grand Elder William stood defiant, one arm lost, his body cracked and bleeding, yet his posture unbroken.

His shadow Qi surged erratically, flickering like a candle in a storm. His face was pale, but his eyes, though blinded by Adaeze’s last strike, still burned with something far stronger than life.

Pride.

"I see it now," William whispered under his breath. "This is where I fall."

But not without meaning.

Not as prey.

His gaze turned not toward Adaeze, who readied another bolt of lightning, but toward a figure floating further back, elegantly fanning himself behind a wall of Spirit Qi. Elder Adrian of the Jeral Clan.

William’s lips curled into a blood-stained grin.

Adaeze cocked an eyebrow. "Still trying to stand, old man? Let me finish it."

But William didn’t answer. His Qi flared darker, wilder than before. Then he turned his back on Adaeze and leapt toward Adrian.

"What—?" Adaeze’s expression darkened. "No!"

Adrian blinked, confused until the terrifying truth hit him.

"No, no, no!" Adrian shrieked, his voice high and frantic as William rocketed toward him, surrounded by an unstable whirlwind of Sea Realm essence and Dao backlash. "Don’t you dare to come near me!"

The air twisted around William, cracks forming in space itself as his core ruptured.

Adrian’s fan snapped shut. His hands weaved countless defensive formations. Barriers of spatial thread and silken Qi wrapped around him like cocoons.

But it wasn’t enough.

"I am Grand Elder William of the Kilvish Clan!" William bellowed as he closed the final meters between them. "And I choose my death!"

Adrian’s voice pitched into a desperate scream, "Die somewhere else, you brute! I didn’t want to die like this!"

And then—

BOOM.

A blinding explosion of shadow and gravitational force tore through the sky like a dying star. The blast shattered the nearby formation towers, split the mountain slope, and consumed Adrian’s barriers like paper.

The resulting crater burned crimson, laced with flickers of dark Qi.

Silence followed.

Then, slowly, ash began to fall, fine and grey like the snow of mourning.

Nothing remained of William.

Nothing remained of Adrian.

Just a smoking void and the stunned silence of every watching cultivator. Even Adaeze didn’t move for several seconds, eyes narrowed, lightning dancing quietly across his skin.

A Sea Realm cultivator had self-detonated. Not in despair, not in defeat, but with intent.

----{ Inheritance Trial secret chamber }----------------------------------------

Kaal’s eyes snapped open.

The ceiling above him wasn’t the bloodstained sky of the Kilvish Clan courtyard, nor the crumbling halls of the ancestral manor. It was stone ancient and cold, etched with faintly glowing runes. His breath caught. He sat up with a start, his body stiff and aching from the wounds Kevin had dealt.

"Where... am I?" he muttered.

"Young master!" Jane rushed to his side, her voice filled with relief and worry. "You’re awake!"

Memories surged like a tidal wave. The siege. The divine cultivator. The blinding flashes of lightning and shadow. His clan...

His father.

"No," he whispered. "I must go—I have to help!" He tried to stand, staggering to his feet despite the searing pain in his shoulder and ribs.

But a voice cut through his desperation. Calm, cold, unyielding.

"Go where?" Ashen asked, arms crossed. "To fight a Divine Realm cultivator?"

Kaal glared at him.

Ashen continued, looking between him and Divya. "Even if you want to go... You can’t. We’re inside the Founder’s Inheritance Trial. It’s a separate dimension. Sealed. No one leaves until the trial is complete."

"You’re lying," Kaal growled.

He limped toward the stone gate at the far end of the chamber, the same one they’d entered through. He grabbed the sealed archway and pulled.

It didn’t budge.

With a snarl, he punched it.

Again. Again.

"Open. Open, dammit just open!"

His fists slammed into the gate in a flurry of rage. Blood sprayed with each blow, but the stone remained unmarred, unmoved. Each strike was a scream of helplessness. Every drop of blood is a testament to his anguish.

Behind him, Divya, Mia, and Jane looked on in stunned silence.

Finally, Kaal stopped, his hands trembling and bloodied. He turned, walked toward Ashen, and seized his collar with both fists.

"Open the f*cking door."

Ashen met his gaze, unfazed. "I told you. We can’t leave. None of us can until the trial is completed."

Kaal’s fist shot forward, smashing into Ashen’s face. The impact sent him reeling back, blood flying from his split lip.

"You bastard!" Kaal shouted.

"Kaal, stop it!" Divya shouted, rushing in to grab him. Jane and Mia followed, holding him back, their voices frantic.

Ashen wiped the blood from his mouth, staring at Kaal with fire in his eyes.

"You should be thanking me," he said coldly. "If we stayed out there, we’d all be dead by now. You think this is just the Jeral Clan? The Storm Clan, Thunder Spear Sect, and Spirit Beast Hall are all there. Four Giants. Do you understand what that means?"

His voice echoed through the chamber.

"This place, this hidden dimension it’s the only safe haven in the entire Kilvish Clan. Even a Divine Realm cultivator can’t sense it."

Kaal’s breathing grew ragged. His rage hadn’t faded, but something worse had settled in its place.

Helplessness.

His father was fighting a losing war. His clan might already be burning. And he was stuck here, powerless.

His fists clenched.

Divya stood silently across the room, arms folded. Her gaze was distant.

"You’re so calm," Kaal snapped at her. "Your grandfather is out there, too! How can you be so calm?!"

Divya’s eyes flicked to him, but she didn’t answer.

Jane, who had been watching him the whole time, suddenly stepped forward. Her hand rose.

Slap!

Kaal froze, the sting on his cheek burning.

Jane’s eyes shimmered with tears.

"Kaal, come to your senses!" she cried. "You think you’re the only one hurting? We’re all terrified! But what will you achieve by throwing yourself at a wall? By hitting your friends?!"

He stood there, stunned.

Then, slowly, the fire in his eyes dimmed. He lowered his gaze and whispered, "I’m sorry..."

Ashen exhaled sharply, brushing the blood from his chin. Divya closed her eyes, letting out a long breath. Jane wiped at her tears.

In the silence that followed, Divya looked down at her hands. They were trembling.

She clenched them into fists.

’Grandfather... please, hold on.’

For now, they were alive.

----{ Kilvish Clan Arena Pov}----------------------------------------------

Charles’ breath hitched as the explosion of Grand Elder William’s self-destruction lit up the battlefield, a dying star of shadow and defiance. The shockwave rippled outward, scattering ashes like grey snow across the ruined earth.

For a heartbeat, the world stood still.

Then—

His vision turned red.

The last threads of his restraint snapped.

His heart surged with fury, grief, and a profound sense of failure.

No more retreat. No more loss.

He raised his hand and summoned the core of his cultivation, the talent he awakened at the Blessing Realm. Without hesitation, Charles ignited his life force, burning it like kindling in a desperate sacrifice. His aura erupted, twisting and evolving. A celestial figure began to take shape behind him, a radiant maiden draped in flowing robes of light, her eyes closed in solemnity, a longsword resting in her grasp.

{The Sword Maiden} Talent that Charles gained at the blessing realm, and later evolved to even touch the dao in the Sea Realm.

Once a passive talent that had merely enhanced his swordsmanship, it had now ascended into a manifestation of celestial will, refined by his years in the Fifth Stage of the Sea Realm. The maiden opened her glowing eyes, and the very air began to hum with resonance to her Dao.

Charles’s voice trembled, not from weakness, but from pure wrath."Adaeze... I will make you pay with your life."

The heavenly maiden raised her blade, its tip glowing with accumulated celestial sword intent. With a single motion, she slashed downward.

A brilliant arc of sword light descended, tearing through clouds and cutting through space itself.

Adaeze sneered. "Hahaha! You think "

He moved to block it with a punch, his fist glowing with concentrated lightning Dao, thunder crackling as he struck upward to meet the slash.

But the moment their powers collided, Adaeze’s smile vanished.

A sharp sting burst through his fist.

He looked down to find a deep, clean cut forming across his knuckles—blood dripping, skin seared not by heat but by divine sword Qi that pierced through his defences.

His expression darkened.

"That... hurt."

For the first time since the battle began, the Heavenly Dragon of the Storm Clan grew serious.

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