I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

The next day, near noon, Elena opened her eyes and stared blankly for a long time.

When her dazed gaze returned to clarity, she sat up abruptly, the blanket slipping off her shoulders, her long, light golden hair becoming a tangled mess.

"Honey! Why didn't you call me? The sun is already high in the sky!" She said, frantically tugging at her hair as she nudged the person next to her.

Ji Tian had already woken up and was lying on his side, propping his head up as he looked at her. He said gently, "You were sleeping soundly, I didn't want to wake you."

Elena's voice trembled with anxiety as she reached for the comb on the bedside table. "What do we do now that the Holy Sword has been stolen! Our plan is perfect—"

Ji Tian said slowly, "I know the Minor Teleportation Technique, it's never too late."

"What if someone is ahead of us in line, and actually pulls out the holy sword?"

"That's alright." Ji Tian took the comb she handed him and helped her untangle her tangled hair. "I originally wanted to see what secrets the sacred mountain that gave birth to the holy sword held. The sword has been taken, but the mountain can't run away."

Elena glared at him, grabbed a pillow, and threw it at him. Ji Tian caught it and put it back on the bed.

"Get up quickly, your clothes are ready." He gestured towards the clothes rack.

Elena followed his gaze and saw a dark blue riding outfit hanging on the clothes rack, with a matching headband draped beside it.

She paused, a warm feeling welling up inside her, but still pressed on, "When were you preparing this?"

"I retrieved it using my spiritual power after you fell asleep last night."

Elena pursed her lips, said nothing more, and got out of bed after lifting the covers.

Her legs were still a little weak as soon as her feet touched the ground. She stood for a while, holding onto the edge of the bed, before slowly walking over to pick up her clothes.

Afraid that the other person would be shy, Ji Tian consciously turned around and faced away from her.

"Turn around." Elena's voice came from behind. "We've already gone that far, why are you still avoiding each other?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Tian turned back and helped her get dressed.

……

The deep blue fabric made her skin appear even whiter, and the belt around her waist accentuated her slender figure, making it look incredibly delicate.

After a quick wash, she was tying her hair with a headband, her light golden hair neatly tied into a high ponytail, revealing her slender neck and a section of her fair earlobe.

She looked up, a mischievous glint in her grey-blue eyes. "Is it pretty?"

"nice."

Elena smiled and walked over to take his arm. "Let's go, my future captain of the hero's squad."

Ji Tian was speechless. He took her hand in return and led her into the void.

---

In the forest at the foot of the sacred mountain, a narrow crack appeared in space, and two people emerged from it.

The sunlight bathed the entire sacred mountain in a pale gold hue.

The mountain is majestic, and from its foot to its summit, stone steps wind like a dragon's spine, disappearing into the clouds.

A wide stone staircase winds its way up from the foot of the mountain, with a stone angel statue standing every few dozen steps on both sides, its wings covered with densely packed blessing runes.

At this moment, there were already quite a few people on the stone steps: there were adventurers carrying backpacks, commoners wearing simple robes, noblemen surrounded by their subordinates, and a few travelers who looked like they came from out of town and were full of curiosity. The group stretched as far as the eye could see.

A golden light could be faintly seen on the mountaintop; that was the location of the Holy Sword.

Elena looked up for a while, then turned her head to look at Ji Tian, ​​who was frowning slightly, his gaze fixed on the direction of the mountain peak, as if he was thinking about something.

"What's wrong?"

At this moment, Ji Tian's divine sense had silently spread out, covering the entire sacred mountain. Every texture inside the mountain, the direction of every spiritual vein, and every rune mark was clearly visible to him.

"The real sacred mountain... isn't as big as I imagined. The part with spiritual energy is probably only a few stories high at the summit."

Elena followed his gaze and saw the mountain peak appearing and disappearing in the clouds. "That's not small either."

Ji Tian remained silent, then led Elena up the stone steps.

The Holy Sword is far from being "spiritual" as legend has it on the continent. Once drawn, it is no different from any other sword except for the hero who can "unleash" it. The Holy Sword does not reject contact from others.

He was the one who broke the Holy Sword last time. How could he not know whether the Holy Sword had a spirit or not?

Ji Tian pondered that the main body of the sacred mountain was not large, and pulling it up would not cause large-scale natural disasters such as earthquakes. So, could it be pulled up together?

The queue moved slowly upwards, with no one cutting in or making a lot of noise. Occasionally, someone would look back at the newcomers behind them, sigh with their companion, and then continue queuing.

Ji Tian and Elena slowly walked up with the flow of people.

Elena was wearing a pair of thick-soled leather boots today, which made a crisp sound as she stepped on the stone steps. She was a little out of breath after walking for a short while.

Ji Tian reached out and put his arm around her waist. A gentle spiritual energy flowed into her body from his palm, and her breathing immediately became steady.

"Cheating," she whispered.

"As long as it works."

"Fool!"

"?" Ji Tian was truly confused about what the other party meant.

"Does Elena still want to fully experience the exhaustion of climbing the mountain with me?"

The hillside area started to get crowded.

The line stretched from the mountaintop all the way down to the mountainside, winding like a long snake.

The church deployed a large number of deacons to maintain order, and every few dozen steps a clergyman in a gray robe stood with a wooden cane to remind people not to crowd or cut in line.

Several tents were pitched by the roadside, filled with water bags and dry food.

The deacons carried trays and handed water to the people in line with gentle patience.

"The church has made quite thorough preparations," Elena commented softly.

Ji Tian nodded, listening to the hushed conversation ahead:

"I heard that there are several times more people coming this year than in previous years! The Holy Sword matured ahead of schedule; the news spread too fast."

"That's right, I came to line up before dawn, and there are already hundreds of people ahead of me."

"What if no one can pull it out?"

"Then let's wait. The Holy Sword isn't going anywhere."

"Too……"

As the sun rose higher, sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, illuminating the stone steps until they appeared white.

Finally, as noon approached, several high-ranking church officials dressed in red and white robes ascended the stone platform at the summit, led by Cardinal Marcus.

He pressed his hands together, and the crowd quieted down. Then he began his opening speech for the sword-drawing ceremony, his voice amplified by a secret technique, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present:

"Everyone, thank you for the Holy Light, and thank you for coming."

"The Holy Sword is the sword of hope, the sword of protection. It has illuminated the path of humanity in countless dark times."

"The previous hero, with the cooperation of the military, used it to cut down the demon vanguard, bringing six months of peace to the western region. Now, it has matured once more, waiting for a new master to draw it out."

Who will become the next hero? We don't know. The Holy Sword makes its own choices; it doesn't care about your birth, your wealth, or your status. It only cares about your heart.

"So, whether you are a nobleman or a commoner, a magician or a warrior, old or young, as long as you feel that there is something in your heart worth protecting, you can come forward and grasp the hilt of the sword."

"If the holy sword approves of you, it will respond to you. If it doesn't, don't be discouraged. There are many ways to protect this world; you don't necessarily have to wield a sword."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the bustling crowd below, and then continued:

"Then, the sword-drawing ceremony shall now begin! Those who are interested, please step forward in turn."