An explosion sounded outside the palace entrance as Kade stood behind his cannon with a pale face, his eyes soaked in blood as he stared at the door like a maniac.

"There's no point in continuing. You've been firing that cannon non-stop for over a week. You're so obsessed with the idea of going inside that you haven't even noticed that the dimension has started to collapse. If you want to stay here, that's your problem, but my guild and I are leaving," said Alexei.

Kade watched Alexei leave as he gritted his teeth.

"Damn, how did that guy manage to get inside."

Kade stares at the palace door, which is still intact despite being shot at with a spaceship cannon for a week.

"What are those damn doors made of? Just the number of crystal essence stones I used to fire the cannon cost me over ten million nova..."

Looking around, he saw cracks all over the dimension, growing with each passing second. Eventually, Kade gave up on the idea of being able to open those doors.

"Damn, wasting so much time and getting nothing."

Kade gritted his teeth as he descended the stairs to rejoin his guild members.

Seeing Kade's return, the 300 members of the Thundershields guild fell silent.

"We are leaving the secret realm. I want fifty members to stand in front of the secret realm entrance."

Following these words, Kade made several gestures in the air. Each member of his guild received a notification on their aurora collar.

They quickly opened the notification, and a photo appeared in front of them. A fair-skinned young man with twinkling amber eyes and black hair with shades of dark green sat meditating at the top of the staircase.

"This cultivator is called Kieran, and he is the only person from this expedition to have entered the palace. The fifty members who will remain behind will have to watch every movement around the entrance of the secret realm. You must notify me immediately when you find the slightest trace of him. If you see him leaving the secret realm, intercept him quickly."

"Yes, sir!"

'Let's see if you will be as arrogant the next time we see each other.'

A cold glint crossed Kade's eyes as he left the secret realm.

***

Kieran’s vision was blurred. He felt he was moving quickly in one direction but could not control anything. After what seemed to have lasted for days, he found himself in the middle of a forest.

"Where did I land?"

"The range of the transmission formation is around 500km. We are on an island within this range."

Kieran jumped when he heard Runihoril's voice.

'It's true. From now on, he will follow me everywhere.'

Kieran avoided looking at Runihoril, embarrassed to have overreacted to such a small detail.

"First, I need to locate the sea. Once I've found it, I can then attempt to locate the island where I was previously to retrace the route I took when I arrived in the secret realm. Do you know in which direction I should go?"

"No, I'm just a soul. I can't use crystal essence to inspect the surroundings."

"I'm just going to keep walking in the same direction then. I'll end up finding the sea sooner or later."

Kieran took the double-bladed sword out of his aurora collar before looking at Runihoril.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"I didn't ask you, but does this sword have a name?"

Runihoril looked at the double-bladed sword in Kieran's hands before nodding.

"Shard of a Broken World."

"Shard of a Broken World?"

"Intimidating, isn't it? Even though the name doesn't suit it now, it was the one I gave it."

Kieran held up Shard of a Broken World in front of him.

A smile appeared on Runihoril's face when he saw Kieran's interest in the weapon he had created.

"Can I learn the art of the double-bladed sword now?"

"Of course, close your eyes and open your mind."

Runihoril rested his palm on Kieran's forehead again as when he had transmitted the Heavenly Sun Body technique to him.

An immense amount of information entered his brain. Several minutes later, Kieran replayed all the information he had about the art repeatedly before opening his eyes.

"The art of the double-bladed sword is called The Dance of Heaven and Earth."

Kieran looked at Runihoril for a few seconds.

"You really have a great sense of naming."

"Ahah, if a thing is powerful, it needs an equally powerful name!"

"I guess."

A smile appeared on Runihoril's face as the aura around him seemed to change, becoming more mysterious and sharp as if a sword had just been drawn.

"Let the double-bladed sword guide your hand. As one blade represents the soaring heavens and the other, the unyielding earth, the power of the universe is in your grasp. With each step, let your spirit soar with the wind, and with each strike, let the earth tremble beneath your feet."

His voice seemed to contain the truths of the universe. Kieran was lost in those words, his mind blank as he tried to process the information.

"It's an interesting art," Kieran whispered weakly.

He was still trying to analyze the information, but Runihoril simply nodded his head, and all the aura that surrounded him previously disappeared as if it had never existed.

"The Dance of Heaven and Earth's art focuses on fast, fluid movements that allow the user to quickly switch between offensive and defensive stances. The double-bladed sword is used for both slashing and thrust attacks, making it difficult for opponents to anticipate the user's next move.

Mastering this art requires exceptional dexterity and strength with the double-bladed sword.

The initial stage of training in this art focuses on learning the basics of wielding a double-bladed sword, as well as understanding the pros and cons of using this particular weapon. It is essential to master these fundamentals before moving on to more advanced techniques.

Only when you have completely mastered the basic step of the Dance of Heaven and Earth can you say that you are truly capable of fully wielding the double-bladed sword and then you can begin to learn and use the seven forms of the Dance of Heaven and Earth style.

These forms harness the power of the elements, as well as the user's crystal essence and sword intent to unleash devastating attacks.

It's up to you to do your best to succeed in mastering all the forms that make up this art."

Kieran felt excitement all over his body as he tightened his grip on Shard of a Broken World when a noise behind him made him turn around.

A two-meter giant ape emerged from behind a tree. The ape possessed two powerful forearms, a mane, and a tail made entirely of fire. Every step it took left traces of flames behind it.

"It's a Bronze rank Fire Monkey."

Kieran used both hands to hold Shard of a Broken World tightly, his body rapidly changing, transforming into his lycan form.

Crystal essence circulated in his body. He contracted the muscles of his legs and dashed forward.

He used both hands to spin the double-bladed sword, slicing in front of him.

The fire monkey looked startled at his speed. It abruptly jumped back, narrowly avoiding his attack, and swung his fire tail.

Kieran stepped to the side, dodging the tail of fire coming towards him. He threw himself at the fire monkey again. Shard of Broken World was pushed forward, trying to pierce the fire monkey's abdomen.

The fire monkey didn't have time to dodge the attack. He quickly moved his two arms in front of him to defend himself.

Shard of Broken World slashed the Fire Monkey's arms like butter before piercing his abdomen and ending his life.

A golden light shone in Kieran's right eye.

The fire monkey's body fell to the ground as Kieran watched his hand tremble slightly. He felt pain running through his wrist.

"Looks like you noticed. The double-bladed sword puts tremendous pressure on the user's wrist. If you use it in a rush, you could injure yourself. You shouldn't be so tense when using a double-edged sword, or your movements will be rigid and easy to predict."

Kieran nodded. Hearing Runihoril's words, he realized that he had been rushed into his fight with the fire monkey. If Shard of a Broken World was not a silver rank weapon but lower, he couldn't have killed the fire monkey so easily.

"I made a mistake," Kieran said honestly.

"Don't worry. You were born to make mistakes, not to pretend to be perfect. Accepting your mistakes will only make you better."

"Thanks, Master."

He began to search inside the fire monkey's body for his crystal core and, if he is lucky, his soul crystal.

After several minutes he pulled out a crystal that seemed to contain a world within it with a smile on his face.

"I got his soul crystal!"

"You are rather lucky."

"Yes, it's the third Bronze rank that I have killed, but it's already my second soul crystal."

"That an outrageous luck you have there."

Kieran nodded, not knowing how to answer. He continued to collect the materials that were useful on the body of the fire monkey before continuing to walk in the same direction while trying to make movements with Shard of a Broken World in his hands.