These two powers initially had nothing to do with each other until one day, a princess from the valley fell in love with a poor scholar from Dao Institution.

Her love was immediately met with strong opposition. This was rather understandable and common.

She was a prestigious noble while the scholar was just a mortal. He had a lowly upbringing with only a few decades worth of life. All of his knowledge and education were useless.

They weren’t a good match regardless of the place and time due to a disparity in status. No sect would agree to this.

Flame Valley planned to break them apart by preparing a different marriage for the princess. This plan backfired because the princess showed unprecedented courage and determination, choosing to elope with her lover.

Of course, the valley pursued them right away. This left the couple in a precarious situation.

Fortunately, heaven showed mercy and during their most desperate moment, they came back from death’s door and gained a fortune - the legendary Darkflame Sword Dao, one of the nine.

Darkflame was a double sword dao, divided into the Dark Sword Dao and Flame Sword Dao. There were two heavenly swords to match this dao. [1]

The princess chose the Flame Sword Dao while the poor scholar cultivated the Dark Sword Dao. 

They became dao companions and appeared again in the cultivation world, sweeping through all opponents.

Both reached the peak and became dao lords, something rarely seen in history. Their title was Daoflame Dual Lords.

Despite not possessing the matching heavenly swords, they still proved themselves as mighty. Rumor has it that they could defeat other heavenly-sword-wielding dao lords as well.

Later on, many experts agreed with this notion. After all, it would be a two-on-one fight. However, since this could be construed as unfair, the couple wasn’t listed among the top ten dao lords despite potentially being strong enough to qualify.

Flame Valley and Dao Institution officially became one entity later. However, they maintained their independence and operated as an alliance instead. Because they had always helped each other, outsiders viewed them as a single sect.

The two dao lords never managed to find the right celestial swords. Later on, a youth from Dao institution came across the Flamedao Sword and learned its technique. He became the next user of the Darkflame Sword Dao but unlike his predecessors, he learned a dual-wielding style.

This was a miraculous feat, shifting a double sword dao into something usable by a single person. Surprisingly enough, this wasn’t the most shocking thing about this dao lord.

He actually married a regular female disciple from Flame Valley despite being a dao lord. 

Remember, a dao lord was essentially the lord of Eight Desolaces. He could have married anyone - saintess, empress, princess… 

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had a chance with any woman during that period yet he ultimately chose a common cultivator. Moreover, he even gave his heavenly sword to her while teaching her the equivalent sword dao.

Eventually, she didn’t let him down and obtained great mastery with the sword dao. From then on, he swapped back to using a single sword. The two of them could finally use the double sword style together. Many believed that they might not be weaker than Daoflame Dual Lords.

Their romance became a legend in Eight Desolaces. Darkfrost Dao Lord wasn’t the strongest among his peers but he was certainly popular.

Their love also bolstered the relationship between Flame Valley and Dao Institution. Currently, Snowcloud Princess was a disciple of both powers, having access to the top techniques from both places.

“Why did you come to Cloud Dream Lake, Dao Brother?” She smiled and asked.

Goldflow Young Noble always had a mysterious air around him as if he was a hidden master. It might be due to his prestigious background on top of his humility, never praising himself or revealing his true power.

“I heard there’s a top sword fight happening so I’m here to watch.” The young noble revealed.

“Oh, your information network is quite fast.” She praised.

“What about you, Your Highness?” he asked.

“I’ve heard of it too but that’s not why I’m here. My main purpose is still this sword.” She glanced at Daoist Peng.

The young noble did the same, aware of the princess’ insight. He thought that this sword must be truly special but unfortunately, the old man didn’t let him take a look.

“Daoist, why are you here at Cloud Dream?” He inquired.

“To find someone.” Daoist Peng paused for a moment before answering.

“Who is it?” He smiled: “Maybe I can help you find them.” 

“Yes, the young noble has friends everywhere. I’m sure he’ll be very helpful.” The princess added.

The old daoist shook his head, not wanting to speak.

“Are you afraid that we’ll ask for an unreasonable payment?” The princess smilingly joked.

The old daoist scratched his head and said: “What would the price be if you two were to help?”

“Do you mind if I make a decision, Dao Brother?” She asked the young noble before turning towards the old daoist: “I just want to take a look at your sword, I’ll return it right away.”

Goldflow nodded in response: “Don’t worry, Daoist, I assure you that she’ll give it back.”

Daoist Peng became slightly tempted after hearing the two. After all, she only wanted to take a look.

“Your Highness, I’m surprised to see you so invested in something.” A melodious voice sounded.

It was a lucky day for the patrons of this restaurant. They saw another girl wearing a regal dress, looking as royal as can be. Her eyes, in particular, were mesmerizing.

She and Snowcloud Princess were both gorgeous. However, the latter had an elegant and gentle style while she possessed a dignified and noble demeanor.

Waves of light emanated from her, making her look rather ethereal and pulsing in and out of existence.

“Illusory Princess.” The patrons had to stand up again to greet her.

Unlike the other two geniuses, she appeared more prideful and only nodded once.

“The top disciple from Nine-wheel Citadel.” A spectator quietly said.

“Right, one of the Four Weapon Heroes.” His friend nodded.

Many were shaken after Nine-wheel Citadel was brought up. This was a sect with four dao lords. Most importantly, it still dominated Sword Continent without relying on the sword dao.

1. Dark can mean profound as well, that might be a better translation but we’ll wait for more content. I chose dark at first because dark flame is a common theme