Chapter 2022 — Holy Sword Temple(3)

"What the hell was that?!" The Sect Leader exclaimed with a confused face after stabilizing himself.

"W-What just happened?" The Sixth Elder asked even though she already had an idea of what he was going to say.

"I don’t know. After I entered the temple, I felt a powerful force pulling me back before I even made it to the other side. The next thing I knew, I was outside again," said the Sect Leader, disbelief etched across his face.

"So exactly what happened to me, but in my case, I was in the middle of training..." said the Sword Empress.

"Hey, that doesn’t count, right? I clearly didn’t even begin my training!" The Sect Leader turned to look at the Sixth Elder, who wore a perplexed expression on her face.

Since this was the first time anything like this had happened at the Holy Sword Temple, she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. However, considering the situation, it wouldn’t be fair for the Sect Leader, who clearly didn’t get any training done, if they didn’t allow him to try again.

"Since this is an unprecedented event, and it’s clear that you didn’t enter the temple properly, I’ll allow you to enter again."

The Sixth Elder eventually decided to do the unprecedented and allow someone to enter the temple again after they left.

The Sect Leader thanked her before walking toward the entrance again.

However, the Sword Empress stopped him and said, "Wait a moment."

When the Sect Leader stopped and looked at her with a questioning gaze, she continued, "You have already been rejected by the Holy Sword Temple once. If you try to enter again, there is a chance that it might hurt you instead of just ejecting you."

The Sect Leader’s body trembled slightly at this possibility.

"Now that I think about this... she’s right." The Sixth Elder agreed. "This is a highly unusual and unprecedented issue. If you attempt to enter again, we cannot guarantee your safety."

While countless people have died while training inside the Holy Sword Temple, this was a different situation.

The Sect Leader swallowed nervously. He wouldn’t have any regrets if he died while training inside the Holy Sword Temple, but he’d never be able to die peacefully if he died trying to enter the Holy Sword Temple.

"Then what should I do...?" The Sect Leader asked for their opinion even though he already knew the answer.

"You can either try to enter again or just leave it as it is," said the Sword Empress.

The Sect Leader gritted his teeth in frustration. He’d waited hundreds of years for this moment, even leaving his sect for a prolonged period of time just to prepare for the Holy Sword Temple. Yet, after all that preparation, does he have to leave empty-handed? He couldn’t accept this result.

He started at the open entrance, which was now emitting an ominous aura, with a serious pondering face.

Eventually, he walked forward and said, "I’ll take the risk."

The Sixth Elder and the Sword Empress didn’t say anything since they had no authority in his decision, and they’d already warned him of the potential danger.

They all watched as the Sect Leader disappeared into the Holy Sword Temple.

"..."

Time seemed to slow as everyone waited, tense and uncertain, to see if the Sect Leader would be ejected from the Holy Sword Temple once more.

Seconds passed, but nothing happened.

"Did he manage to get inside?" The Sixth Elder questioned out loud.

"Looks like—"

Before the Sword Empress could even finish her sentence, something came out of the Holy Sword Temple.

However, it wasn’t the Sect Leader, but a glowing orb of light.

"Holy fuck..." The Sword Empress subconsciously cursed when she saw this.

The Sect Leader had been ejected once more—but this time, it was only his soul. His physical body was nowhere to be seen. This could mean only one of two things: either his body had been destroyed, or he had been forcefully stripped from it as punishment for defying the Holy Sword Temple’s warning.

"M-My physical body!" The Sect Leader exclaimed in shock after realizing he’d emerged from the Holy Sword Temple as just his soul.

"Sixth Elder! This is unacceptable! How are you going to compensate me for this?!" The Sect Leader’s angry voice rippled throughout the place.

"That’s..."

Although they had warned him of the risks of entering again—and the Holy Sword Temple’s malfunction wasn’t directly their fault—others might not see it that way. After all, the Holy Sword Clan owned and managed the temple, and if anything went wrong, they would be held accountable.

The Sword Empress stepped forward and said, "Listen here, you little bastard. I warned you loud and fucking clear that something like this would happen, but you went ahead and risked it. You’re lucky to have escaped with your life."

"You—!"

The Sect Leader wanted to say something but was immediately interrupted by the Sword Empress, "However, it’s true that the Holy Sword Temple is malfunctioning, and while we currently have no idea why, we’ll compensate you for the trouble. We’ll pay for the resources for your new physical body and some more, and we’ll also allow you to enter the Holy Sword Temple without needing to wait once we figure out and fix the issue. Of course, that is if you want to come back here in the future."

"If you’re not satisfied with the compensation, we can continue this at a later date in a more formal setting."

The Sect Leader remained silent for a moment before responding, "This isn’t over. I’ll contact the Holy Sword Clan again after I deal with my physical body."

After saying that, the Sect Leader flew away, disappearing into the Starry Sky.

"Fuck... what a pain in the ass..." The Sword Empress cursed out loud after he left, rubbing her eyes in a stressed manner.

"This is indeed quite troublesome... How are we supposed to fix a problem we don’t even understand?" the Sixth Elder sighed.