"Why..." Bai bit her lip, her eyes reddening. "Why is it like this..."
With another strike, she destroyed an old ghost covered in black spots.
Before dying, the old ghost looked at her, and there was actually a hint of relief in its gaze.
"Thank you..." the old ghost said with its last shred of consciousness. "Becoming like that... is worse than being dead..."
Bai's hand trembled violently.
She remembered the days in the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
There were ghosts there too, as well as paper people, skeletons, corpse guards, fiends, and countless mortals.
But even the fiends and ghosts there possessed a heart for humanity.
There was order there. There were rules.
But here...
Here, there was only madness, chaos, and despair.
"This is not the world the Master wants."
Bai murmured to herself, a flash of realization crossing her eyes.
Lord Jian Huaishuang had said that their swords were not for private justice or empty fame, but only to carry out the Master's will.
What was the Master's will?
It was to establish order, to judge good and evil, and to give this chaotic world a set of rules.
But now, where were the rules?
Evil spirits crawled out of hell, slaughtering madly.
These malevolent ghosts were contaminated by the dragon vein corpse qi, losing their sanity.
The laws of the state capital were twisted and deformed. Yin Wudao treated human life like grass; there were no rules at all.
Or rather, the rules were already rotten.
"Xiaoye!" Bai suddenly shouted.
"What is it?" Xiaoye had just slain a sixth-stage black-spot monster. He turned back, his body covered in wounds, gasping for breath.
"We were wrong," Bai said. "We were always thinking about how to distinguish good from evil, whether a malevolent ghost should be killed, and who exactly we should kill."
"Since we couldn't distinguish, we thought it was better to just capture them all and wait for the Master's decision."
"But we forgot the most important thing."
She struck back three lunging evil spirits with one sword move, her eyes becoming brighter than ever before.
"Rules."
"What rules?" Xiaoye was stunned.
"The Master's rules!" Bai said.
"Lord Jian said our swords must be used to carry out the Master's will."
"The Master's will is to establish order."
She looked at the madness surrounding them and spoke word by word:
"But right now, there is no order here."
"Evil spirits are mad, malevolent ghosts are contaminated, and the laws of the state capital are twisted."
"What we need to do is not agonize over whether to capture or kill, or who should be slain, but—"
Bai took a deep breath, and her white sword suddenly erupted with a brilliant light.
"Rebuild order."
As the words fell, her entire aura changed.
The confusion and hesitation that had been in her eyes were replaced by clarity and determination.
The light on her white sword grew brighter, soft and warm, as if it could illuminate all darkness.
Xiaoye was stunned.
He looked at Bai, then at her white sword, and suddenly understood something as well.
Yes, what were they agonizing over?
Should they kill?
Who should they kill?
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that the Master wanted to establish order and give this chaotic world rules.
And they, as the Master's swords, had to sweep away all obstacles preventing the establishment of that order.
"I understand," Xiaoye whispered, his black sword beginning to hum.
In the City of the Wrongfully Dead under the Master's rule, the laws were strict but never resulted in indiscriminate killing.
Those who deserved punishment were punished; those who deserved reward were rewarded; those who deserved a chance were given a chance.
That was order.
That was rules.
But now, the state capital had no rules. They should use their own swords to pave a path toward rules for the Master!
"Sister Bai, you're right." Xiaoye gripped his black sword, his gaze becoming sharp.
The two looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.
That smile was clean and pure, filled with the unique passion and determination of youth.
In the next moment, both of them charged forward.
As they fought, they gained further enlightenment, and their sword intent grew rapidly.
Bai remembered the Hidden Sword technique Jian Huaishuang had taught her—keeping the sharpness internal and merging with the surroundings.
She began to try merging the sword intent of rewarding good with the environment. The light of the white sword became soft and enduring, as if transforming into a domain of light.
Every evil spirit that entered it found its madness slightly suppressed.
Xiaoye remembered Jian Huaishuang's words about the purity of the sword-heart—not being deceived by appearances, but only acting to carry out the Master's will.
He activated the sword of punishing evil, focusing all his mind on the concept of 'suppression'.
The chains of the black sword grew more numerous and solid, like black pythons coiling tightly around the evil spirits.
More and more evil spirits surrounded them, the black-spot monsters grew stronger, and the contamination of the dragon vein corpse qi became heavier.
Half of the malevolent ghosts in the drill grounds had been contaminated, tearing and devouring each other, their screams unending.
Yet Bai and Xiaoye fought with increasing vigor.
"The Yinsi has order; the Impermanence has decrees."
"A sword cultivator's sword should strike down injustice."
"But a god's sword should establish laws and order."
Their sword intent erupted violently, piercing straight into the clouds.
The black and white twin swords suddenly flew out of their hands, hovering in mid-air.
The two swords rotated and intertwined in the sky, their light growing more intense until they turned into two pillars of light—one black and one white—soaring upward.
The light pillars connected with the Buddhist light coming from the distant palace, and the blades began to disintegrate and restructure.
The white sword, representing guidance, lost its sharp edges, and its body became rounded.
Circles of white paper-money patterns appeared on the blade, and the tip transformed into a long white banner.
Meanwhile, the black sword, representing decrees, became curved, transforming into an ink-black chain.
The divine instruments of punishment finally revealed their true forms.
The Mourning Staff and the Soul-Hooking Chain.
Bai and Xiaoye stared blankly at the scene. Before they could react, the two light pillars suddenly changed direction and shot directly toward them.
"Watch out!" Xiaoye subconsciously tried to push Bai away.
But the speed of the pillars was too fast.
The black and white pillars struck their chests simultaneously. Instead of causing any harm, they instantly merged into their bodies.
Their statures rose at that moment, and their slightly youthful faces became mature.
Half-human, half-ghost, their status as Yin Commanders awakened.
The Black and White Impermanence had returned to their positions.
"This... what is this?"
The surrounding evil spirits seemed to feel some kind of bloodline suppression from deep within their souls, and their frenzied assault actually came to a halt.
Bai gently waved the Mourning Staff in her hand.
Clatter—
The white banner fluttered, scattering ethereal paper money.
"Now that you see this Commander, why do you not kneel?"
Countless ghosts were momentarily stunned.
"Lost souls, hear my command."
"Cease killing, quiet your hearts, and return to your positions."
Bai's voice became ethereal and haunting, carrying a power that soothed the dead and guided the lost.
The malevolent ghosts whose minds had been clouded by the corpse qi and whose eyes were blood-red were jolted by Bai's words. The madness in their eyes rapidly receded.
It was as if they had seen a long-lost relative, or the way back home.
"Lord... My Lord..."
Countless malevolent ghosts actually fell to their knees with a thud, trembling, yet looking at Bai with faces full of longing.
On the other side, Xiaoye gave a cold snort.
"A chaotic world requires heavy punishment."
"Evil spirits must suffer severe penalties."
The Soul-Hooking Chain in his hand whipped out.
Clang!
The pitch-black chain instantly shot into the ghost tide, ignoring the ordinary evil spirits and instead wrapping around the black-spot monsters hidden among them.
"Suppress for me!"
Xiaoye jerked his wrist.
The Soul-Hooking Chain erupted with a blinding black light, and an aura of chilling, solemn decree exploded instantly.
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