Chapter 303 - 206: Sword Peak

Chapter 303: Chapter 206: Sword Peak

"When you enter this time, Zifeng, you must not go above the twenty-ninth tier. The four of you must not go past Tier Nineteen. How far you go and how long you seek comprehension within those limits is entirely up to you. But remember one thing: if you feel you are pushing yourself too hard, retreat immediately. Do you understand me?"

Li Xingtuo’s expression was grave, full of the Sect Leader’s authority. The disciples immediately bowed their heads in assent.

"We will remember, Sect Leader."

"In that case, let me confirm one last time: are you ready? If not, you can wait a few more days. There will be no blame. Just don’t force yourselves."

Li Xingtuo asked patiently.

The disciples exchanged glances, their eyes filled with resolve. For the past few days, they had been fasting, bathing, and calming their minds to nurture their qi, long since bringing themselves to peak condition.

"Good. Then go on in."

Li Xingtuo gave a light wave of his hand, and an invisible stream of Sword Qi shot toward the great doors of the Back Hall.

The surface of the doors flashed with a brilliant light. A gleam that seemed to be Sword Qi rippled like water along a series of strange patterns, and then the tall doors slowly swung open.

A fierce whirlwind, laced with a Sword Intent that pricked at the skin, blew into the Back Hall. The green mountain behind the doors immediately came into view.

Breathing in the wind blowing down from the Sword Peak, everyone felt their spirits jolt and their minds clear. They looked at the stone platforms that spiraled up the perilous peak like floating rocks, eager to begin.

"Go on."

Li Xingtuo said with a smile. The five of them bowed in unison, stepped out of the Back Hall, and entered the domain of the Sword Peak.

After they left, Li Xingtuo waved his hand, and the great doors of the Back Hall closed.

He then turned to the side, went up to the second floor, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out from the railing as the young disciples began their climb up the Sword Peak.

Not long after, Qin Zhenyang arrived on the second floor. He bowed to his master and also looked toward the Sword Peak, asking with some confusion:

"Master, why did you approve so many tiers for my junior brothers and sisters this time?"

"Is it too many? Where do you think they’ll reach?"

Li Xingtuo said with a faint smile.

Qin Zhenyang pondered for a moment before replying:

"Tiers ten to twenty-nine are within the scope of the Qi Blood First Transformation. Junior Brother Huang is very talented, but he only broke through recently, so he’ll probably stop around the twenty-second tier. As for the other junior brothers and sisters... although they entered the ruins and used a Blood Dragon Pill, they haven’t yet broken through the External Training stage. Junior Sister Lin Zhen can probably reach the eleventh tier, while the other three won’t make it out of the tiers designated for External Training. Master, by permitting them up to Tier Nineteen, won’t that give them the wrong idea?"

Qin Zhenyang was always frank with his master. As long as he made a valid point, his master was never too proud to concede.

Tier Nineteen was far beyond most of their abilities, yet Li Xingtuo had granted them access to it. Qin Zhenyang worried that, being young and reckless, they might misjudge their own strength, force the climb, and end up injured.

Hearing this, Li Xingtuo just chuckled and said ambiguously:

"This way, we’ll be able to see things more clearly."

After hearing this, Qin Zhenyang thought for a moment and slowly nodded.

He cupped his hands in a salute.

"Master, I’ve finished my morning practice. You should go rest. I can watch over my junior brothers and sisters."

"No need."

Li Xingtuo waved his hand dismissively, pulled over a chair, and sat down, looking as if he intended to watch the entire time.

Qin Zhenyang was taken aback. As the leader of a Sect and a top-tier Grandmaster, Li Xingtuo had far too much to do, between his own cultivation and Sect affairs. How could he have the leisure time to watch a few junior disciples climb the peak?

"It won’t take more than a day, anyway. Zhenyang, brew a pot of tea and sit with me. It’s rare for a master and disciple like us to steal half a day of leisure."

Li Xingtuo, seeing through his eldest disciple’s thoughts, gave the order with a smile.

’Even if he expects my junior brothers and sisters not to last long, this is enough to show how unusually important Master considers this...’ Qin Zhenyang thought to himself as he deftly went to brew a pot of Cloud-Top tea.

Xie Yuan stepped out of the Back Hall. With the blue sky above and the perilous peak before him, his body bathed in the sword-laced wind, he felt... like he had come home.

He took a deep breath and bounded forward joyfully, only to see his companions had all stopped at the entrance. He couldn’t help but turn back and ask curiously:

"Senior brothers and sisters, why have you stopped?"

"Junior Brother... doesn’t it hurt?"

Lin Zhen asked, her pretty brows furrowed and her lips pressed tight.

Xie Yuan glanced over and saw that all four of them, including Huang Zifeng, wore looks of difficulty. Only then did he have a sudden realization.

’My Golden Bell Shield, combined with the Celestial Cyan Fruit that improved my constitution, makes this sword wind feel like a spring breeze. Not to mention, I already grew accustomed to this back in the sword cavern. The others aren’t like me. This is their first time, so they’re all feeling the initial shock.’

Xie Yuan’s face immediately twisted in a pained expression.

"Ouch! Now that you mention it, I’m starting to feel it too..."

"You really are a blockhead."

Lin Zhen shook her head, half-amused and half-exasperated.

Huang Zifeng was faring better than the others. Seeing the pained look on Lin Zhen’s face, he said with heartfelt concern:

"Junior Sister, if you’re not ready, maybe you should come back next time."

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Huang, but I can manage. If I give up now, I’ll never climb the Sword Peak."

Lin Zhen said, her lips pursed.

"Let’s go together."

The group pressed forward against the sword wind and soon arrived at the foot of the mountain, at the first stone platform.

The stone platform was large enough for about ten people to stand on at once. It was flat on top and convex underneath, as if it had been plucked from the earth and embedded into the Sword Peak by some great Divine Power. Xie Yuan looked up; the platforms spiraled diagonally up the Sword Peak all the way to the summit. There were ninety-nine of these great stones in total, and the sight was awe-inspiring.

’Once you reach the Grandmaster realm... I don’t know about filling seas, but moving mountains must be real.’

At the foot of the Sword Peak, Sword Intent crisscrossed through the air. The disciples frowned slightly, but they still leaped resolutely onto the first stone platform.

The surface of the giant rock platform was covered in a dense network of crisscrossing sword marks, like a battlefield after a great war.

Xie Yuan observed for a while and saw that nearly every sword mark had something of value to it. He couldn’t help but nod to himself.

’As expected of a legacy left by generations of predecessors. I imagine no one would dare to carve a mark here without having achieved a true epiphany.’

If one studied these sword marks carefully, it would surely be beneficial to their Sword Dao.

However, the five of them only paused to acclimate briefly before leaping up to the second-tier stone platform, which was a level higher.

The sword wind was faintly stronger here.

Xie Yuan saw that the sword marks here were still numerous and seemed a little more exquisite than those on the first tier. A thought crossed his mind:

’Only those with greater comprehension would dare to carve their marks higher up.’

He subconsciously looked up toward the very top, his heart pounding with anticipation.

’I wonder what profound Swordsmanship is up there?’

The group ascended several more tiers. At the 5th Layer, Lin Cheng was already starting to struggle.

But he gritted his teeth and persevered. After the others confirmed he was okay, they continued upward until the 8th Layer.

On this layer, everyone except Huang Zifeng and Xie Yuan had a solemn expression.

"The Sect Leader approved us for Tier Nineteen, but I don’t think I can even pass the 10th Layer."

Lin Cheng gritted his teeth. He had practically reached his limit here.

Pei Yu took a breath, forced himself up to the 9th Layer, and then shook his head.

"This is it for me."

With that, he sat down cross-legged to the side and began to focus on his comprehension.

The others continued upward one by one. Lin Cheng watched their receding backs, his eyes filled with determination as he muttered:

"Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon this man..."

He gave a low shout and leaped up, landing steadily on the wind-buffeted 9th Layer!

Everyone looked at him. Lin Cheng wiped away his sweat, his face pale as he forced a smile.

"See? I can make it to the 9th Layer too."

Lin Zhen asked worriedly:

"Brother, are you okay to continue?"

"Nope."

Lin Cheng’s reply was unexpected. He grinned and said:

"I just wanted to prove I could get up here. But the Sect Leader said not to force it."

With that, he turned and jumped back down. He descended two layers, not stopping until he reached the 7th Layer, where he finally sat down cross-legged.

On the second floor of the Back Hall, Li Xingtuo and Qin Zhenyang, who were drinking tea, both looked a little surprised as they watched this scene unfold.

Li Xingtuo said with a laugh:

"This Lin Cheng is rather interesting."

He then turned his gaze to the others on the 9th Layer, a hint of anticipation and curiosity in his eyes.

Seeing that the others had made it up, Huang Zifeng took the lead and stepped onto the 10th Layer. His expression changed slightly.

"This place is completely different from before. It’s like... stepping into the eye of the storm. Be careful."

Sweat was already beading on Lin Zhen’s forehead. She closed her eyes to feel it out for a moment, then opened them again, her expression resolute, and jumped directly onto the 10th Layer.

Seeing that Lin Zhen, despite her struggle, was still able to stand firm on the 10th Layer, Xie Yuan couldn’t help but ponder to himself:

’The 10th Layer and above must be completely different from below. I’ve come all this way; it’d be a waste not to go up and try to gain some comprehension. But Lin Cheng and I are both at the Third Training stage. He’s on the 7th Layer, so if I go higher... Hmm... We’re both in External Training, so there shouldn’t be a huge difference. Lin Zhen made it to the 10th Layer, so it won’t be too conspicuous if I go up too. Besides, since the Sect Leader approved us up to Tier Nineteen, he must think that even we External Training disciples are capable of reaching it.’

After mulling it over for a long moment, Xie Yuan made up his mind and said in a low voice:

"I’ll give it a try too."

With that, he "struggled" to leap onto the 10th Layer.