Heaven-Son Sword and the Nine Provinces Order

The first step is always the hardest. Once she took it, no matter how difficult the road ahead, Serena Feng would see it through to the end—pushing her body’s flexibility to the absolute limit.

Step by step, she moved forward. Whenever she reached a dangerous spot, Serena didn’t even dare to breathe, terrified that a careless exhale might stir the silver threads—and spell disaster for herself…

"This is literally a death trap." Serena panted heavily from exhaustion, her limbs aching terribly, but she didn’t dare stretch out. Hunched in a tiny corner, she guarded every move, afraid even a drop of sweat might fall and land on a silver thread, ruining everything.

"Keep steady. You can come out tomorrow if you need to." Not far away, Nolan’s voice sounded with a gentle reminder.

He stood behind her, taking in all of Serena’s struggles. He knew reaching the center of the bamboo grove was anything but easy.

"No way… If I stay here, with no food or water, I’ll die of thirst." She had her Smart Med-Pack, but was there even space to open it here?

Even while resting here, she had to keep her right foot raised, left leg stretched straight behind, body taut, head tilted to the right, and both arms extended—one forward, one to the side. In this position, even if she had something to eat, she couldn’t.

If she couldn’t eat, where would she get the strength to keep going?

"Come back." The Heaven‑Son Sword might be important, but nothing was more important than Serena Feng.

"I’ve come this far—do you think I’d just give up?" Serena didn’t dare look back. Once her breathing steadied, she pressed onward.

Serena moved slowly; she could memorize the layout of the silver threads with her eyes closed, but even so, she nearly collided with them several times. Of course, Nolan and the others couldn't see any of this.

As Serena gradually approached the center, Nolan and the Snow Wolf could only guess her position and movements by where the silver threads were blocked.

It was just two or three hundred meters, but Serena spent two whole hours crossing it. By the time her body was almost stiff with exhaustion, she finally saw a small open space at the center—just big enough for one person to stand upright.

"I've never felt so happy just to be able to stand up straight." Stepping out of the silver-thread web, Serena straightened her hunched back and nearly burst into tears.

Her waist felt like it was about to snap. After going through the silver threads twice, Serena was sure her flexibility had improved again—maybe next time she could even flip the roles in bed.

Ahem... Now's not the time to be thinking about that.

Serena crouched down, took a small knife from her Smart Med-Pack, and dug into a patch of soil that looked different from the rest. After a short while, she uncovered an ebony box and picked it up.

The box was buried straight down, half a person's height, about the size of an inkstone, and not very heavy. Serena held it in her arms and opened it—inside was a sword, extremely plain and ordinary.

At least to Serena's eyes, there was nothing special about this sword. It wasn't bright or dark, and as for the material—she couldn't tell if it was anything unusual. But there was a pattern on the hilt that looked very familiar.

"It looks just like the symbol on my token." Serena examined it closely and found it really was identical, though this one was larger and brighter.

If this really was the Heaven-Son Sword, then the token in her hand must be related to the Former Dynasty too.

"Whatever. I'll just take it out first and deal with everything else later." Serena put the sword and box into her Smart Med-Pack.

"The sword's out—why aren't the silver threads disappearing?" Serena stared at the unchanged bamboo grove, and for a moment, she wanted to cry.

It's hard enough for a person to get through this silver-thread forest—without the Smart Med-Pack, who the hell could carry a sword out of here?

"This place is absolutely designed to kill you." Serena cursed under her breath and resigned herself to squeezing back into the silver threads.

There's no such thing as getting used to this—even with the trick, you still have to be careful. Serena was just as cautious as before, moving just as slowly, maybe even slower.

Her waist was killing her.

"Even if this place was piled high with silver and gold, I wouldn't go through it again." Serena felt like her waist wasn't even hers anymore—it ached so much she could barely stand up straight.

Most of the way back, dawn started to break. Serena watched the silver threads fade, her heart racing with anxiety.

Damn it, if she didn't hurry, daylight would come and she'd really be stuck.

Serena ignored the aching in her back and gritted her teeth, forcing herself to move faster...

Nolan and the Lizardman Smith watched the sky grow brighter, anxiety gnawing at them. Their biggest fear was that Serena would be caught halfway through as daylight broke...

If that happened, Serena would have to hold a fixed position the whole day, waiting for night to fall before she could move again.

"Ahhh..." As the silver threads faded, the Lizardman spun in circles, frantic. Snow Wolf rolled anxiously on the ground. When they saw Serena's silhouette, they weren't relieved—they grew even more worried.

There were still about fifty meters left—Serena had to hurry, or she'd really be trapped. Holding one position in the silver threads for a whole day would be torture.

Serena was anxious herself, but the more critical the moment, the less she dared to rush—one misstep and everything would be ruined.

Nolan understood this perfectly. As Serena drew closer, he shot a cold look at the Lizardman and Snow Wolf, signaling them to stay quiet and avoid making the atmosphere any tenser.

Snow Wolf immediately covered his mouth with a forepaw and stood perfectly still, showing his cooperation. The Lizardman, confused, glanced at Snow Wolf, hesitated, then obediently copied him—covering his mouth and staying silent and motionless.

The world fell silent. Nolan nodded in satisfaction, his eyes fixed on Serena. Watching her contort herself into all sorts of strange shapes, only to stretch out again, Nolan was once more certain—he could never have made it through!

Thirty meters... twenty... ten...

Serena was just a few steps from the exit. Suddenly, she froze. The silver threads had vanished—she couldn't see them at all. She didn't dare move. "Nolan! Help!" she called out, voice trembling.

Nolan instantly understood what was happening. He ran over and stopped right in front of Serena, then carefully guided her past the last few steps.

Serena finally made it out, collapsing to the ground. She lay there, staring at the sky, gasping for breath, not wanting to move a single muscle.

Nolan, the Lizardman Smith, and Snow Wolf rushed over, surrounding her. Nolan knelt down, gently helping Serena up, but she just shook her head, refusing to budge.

"Let me rest a bit... My waist is about to break..." Serena closed her eyes and lay there, motionless, for a long while before finally getting up with Nolan's help.