Xuanhuan: The Empress and I Swapped Bodies - Chapter 21

It was precisely because of the incredible restorative power of the Divine Dragon bloodline that Ye Wushuang had the confidence to clash head-on with the lightning-born creatures.

At this point, even if he faced an entire squad of them, he wouldn’t back down.

Ever since swapping bodies with the Divine Dragon Empress, Ye Wushuang had not wasted a single moment—every second had been spent pushing himself to greater heights.

In the next instant, he raised his hand, summoning a treasured sword from the royal vault beneath him.

The long blade soared through the air, pointing defiantly at the heavenly tribulation. With his flowing robes, elongated hair, and an aura of transcendent grace, Ye Wushuang now resembled a peerless sword immortal.

Standing alone against the tribulation, he exuded an indomitable spirit, as if challenging the heavens themselves.

Many people dreamed of becoming a sword immortal, and Ye Wushuang’s current demeanor perfectly embodied that ideal. His mere appearance was enough to inspire envy in countless onlookers.

Among them was Liu Shengsheng.

“When will I ever be as dashing as him?” he thought. “A single sword raised against the heavenly tribulation—just imagining it feels so heroic!”

“It’s about time I bid farewell to all this extra weight!”

Liu Shengsheng convinced himself that the only thing standing between him and the elegance of a sword immortal was his excess flesh. Once he slimmed down, he, too, would be a dashing swordsman.

Of course, no one else was privy to Liu Shengsheng’s inner monologue.

Even Yu Meiren and the others had their eyes locked onto Ye Wushuang. They were eager to see what kind of spectacle he would unleash now that he wielded a sword.

Could he turn the tide and overcome this heavenly tribulation?

Then—Ye Wushuang moved.

With a single, effortless swing of his blade, the very space before him trembled.

One of the lightning-born creatures, which had been charging toward him, vanished the moment the sword struck.

The crowd erupted in shock.

“What just happened? That lightning creature disappeared in an instant!”

“Did he really just obliterate it with one strike? But how? Earlier, he was struggling so much—how is he now dispatching them so easily?”

“It’s his sword technique! That was the pinnacle of the Three-Life Sword Art—one slash to sever the future, one to cut the present, and one to erase the past. Three strikes combined, annihilating the lightning-born creature from the river of time itself!”

“Hiss— His mastery of the sword is terrifying! The imperial family’s Three-Life Sword Art is infamous for its difficulty, yet he’s reached such an unfathomable level?”

Ye Wushuang’s single strike left everyone in awe—not just for its sheer power, but for the sheer impossibility of his skill.

Even the Divine Dragon Empress was stunned.

Having trained in the Three-Life Sword Art herself, she knew its challenges all too well. Despite years of practice, she had only reached a proficient level—nowhere near Ye Wushuang’s ability to erase enemies from existence with a single stroke.

As for Murong Wan’er beside her? She was even more astounded.

She recognized the technique and understood exactly what Ye Wushuang’s execution implied.

She was certain he hadn’t been in the Divine Dragon Palace for long. Even if the empress had taught him the Three-Life Sword Art immediately, he could have only practiced it for half a year at most.

Yet in just six months, he had mastered it to its highest form.

Such comprehension was nothing short of monstrous.

After all, despite her own years of training, she had only just grasped the basics. It was only recently, under the empress’s guidance, that she had made any progress.

Compared to Ye Wushuang, her talent seemed… lackluster.

And for the first time, she felt a flicker of interest in him.

Unaware of her thoughts, Ye Wushuang remained focused on the battle.

To the spectators below, he made it look effortless—one slash, one kill.

But in truth, each swing demanded his absolute peak, pushing the Three-Life Sword Art to its limits.

After several strikes, his energy was nearly depleted.

Fortunately, his Divine Dragon bloodline continuously absorbed power from the heavenly tribulation, replenishing him mid-combat.

By the time he had slain ten lightning creatures, the situation shifted again.

The Thunder General had stood motionless until now, watching indifferently as his underlings fell.

But once the last one perished, he finally acted.

As if possessing true intelligence, he recognized it was his turn.

With a single swing, his blade unleashed a storm of lightning spanning a hundred thousand miles.

The sheer destructive force in that strike sent shockwaves across the heavens.

BOOM—!

Beneath the tribulation’s domain lay the Divine Dragon Palace, protected by ancient formations.

The general’s slash collided with the palace’s defensive arrays, triggering a cataclysmic explosion.

Had those barriers not been in place, the entire Divine Dragon Palace—and everything within a hundred thousand miles—would have been obliterated in an instant.

A single sword stroke, capable of erasing mountains and rivers.

That was the terror of the Thunder General.

Against such might, Ye Wushuang barely survived by the skin of his teeth.

Only his mastery of movement techniques, fused from countless arts, allowed him to evade in time.

When the slash finally subsided, his heart pounded with lingering fear.

“That sword technique is monstrous. A direct hit would’ve vaporized me on the spot.”

“As expected of the general among Thunder-born creatures. This is no enemy an ordinary person could defeat.”

Because Ye Wushuang was at the Venerable Realm, the tribulation’s manifestations matched that level.

But while the earlier creatures had pushed the limits of that realm, the Thunder General’s power transcended it entirely—reaching levels that could annihilate even immortal beings.

Against such an opponent, dodging was already a miracle.

A direct confrontation?

Impossible.

And so, to the onlookers, the battle unfolded with the Thunder General launching relentless slashes while Ye Wushuang scrambled to evade.

More than once, he narrowly escaped death by a hair’s breadth.

The once-elegant sword immortal now looked utterly battered, barely holding on.