Chapter 305 - 207: Became Famous (2)

Chapter 305: Chapter 207: Became Famous (2)

In the sword grotto, the wind carried Sword Intent. Here, the Sword Intent carried the wind!

After all, the sword grotto only contained a trace of the Sword Peak’s true Sword Qi, which slipped through cracks in the rock and echoed about. It was essentially the same as the occasional stray wisp that blew into the Back Hall—just a bit more effective.

Here on the Sword Peak, however, what blew was pure Sword Intent.

The dense, sword-infused wind contained the ultimate truths of the Sword Dao, something any Martial Artist who had ever wielded a sword could sense.

Bathed in such an all-encompassing Sword Intent, a Sword Cultivator’s understanding and comprehension of Swordsmanship grew almost constantly. How could anyone with a passion for the sword hold themselves back?

It was like a mouse that had fallen into a jar of rice!

No wonder the sixth-generation Ancestor had to set a rule that an elder must explain the pros and cons and supervise them. Otherwise, most Swordsmen would probably dive right in and never want to leave.

On the eleventh-tier stone platform, Xie Yuan felt the intense Sword Intent. His constant epiphanies were clearly reflected on his panel.

「Second Floor of the Back Hall.」

Li Xingtuo and Qin Zhenyang watched the stone platforms on the Sword Peak from afar, not particularly surprised.

Qin Zhenyang pondered for a moment before speaking:

"Junior Brother Zhang made it to the eleventh tier... Quite good, but not beyond reason."

The final positions of the five disciples who entered the Sword Peak were almost exactly as he had predicted. Huang Zifeng was on the twenty-second tier, Lin Zhen was on the eleventh, and the other two were merely approaching Tier Ten.

Only his judgment of Xie Yuan was slightly off, but only by a tier or two.

Li Xingtuo nodded slightly. His gaze crossed the hundred-zhang distance, passing clearly over each disciple before finally resting on Xie Yuan’s face.

"Indeed, quite good."

...

The Sword Peak was peculiar, and the wind upon it was just as strange.

The Sword Intent coiled around the green peak—a lone sword pointing to the sky. It was like a ceaseless, year-round whirlwind, spiraling endlessly around the Sword Peak like Sword Qi swirling around a colossal blade.

The sixth-generation Ancestor had drawn inspiration from this Sword Intent when he built the ninety-nine stone platforms to also spiral around the Sword Peak, following the flow of the Sword Intent in a slanted ascent.

Xie Yuan sat quietly cross-legged on the eleventh-tier stone platform, bathing in the whirlwind that scraped down at an angle, his skin tingling with a slight sting.

Lin Zhen’s brow was knitted tightly. In comparison, while Xie Yuan’s brow was also furrowed, it was far more relaxed.

After all, no matter how sharp this wind was, to his Golden Bell Shield, it was merely a slight irritation. It was less powerful than the astral winds in the sword grotto, which were mixed with gravel.

However, while the wind wasn’t as strong, the Sword Intent was much denser. Xie Yuan hadn’t been sitting there for long before his Black Celestial Book’s progress had already increased by two points.

’If I stay here for ten days or half a month, wouldn’t I just advance to the next realm directly?’

Xie Yuan thought with a surge of excitement, but staying for that long wasn’t realistic.

Even if he could take it, the others couldn’t.

But no matter. He would stay for as long as he could. The efficiency here was ten times that of the sword grotto. Moreover, besides the progress for the Black Celestial Book, the dense Sword Intent also offered him enlightenment on his own Sword Dao—something the sword grotto couldn’t compare to.

It wasn’t just the Black Celestial Book. The essentials of swordsmanship, methods of gripping the sword, angles for exerting force, the motions of hacking, slashing, paring, flicking, stabbing, and wiping...

Xie Yuan gradually gained new insights into all of it. His Cloud Mountain Sword Form was at the perfection level, but his fundamental swordsmanship was not. Just from gripping the sword, he could now identify four different methods, each suited for different situations...

A thousand-story tower is built from the ground up. Gradually, Xie Yuan felt his understanding of the Sword Dao deepen slightly. With it, his comprehension of the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms grew, and its progress quietly increased by a point.

The Cloud Dragon Nine Forms was extremely difficult. Normally, he could practice for half a day and not see its progress increase by even a single point. His progress just from sitting here was already faster than practicing the sword himself!

And that was to say nothing of the gains for the Black Celestial Book and his other insights.

Xie Yuan’s brow was still furrowed, but the corners of his mouth had already turned up slightly.

This sword wind felt as pleasant as a spring breeze!

’Let the sword wind blow even more fiercely! Don’t let people think a Sword Sect disciple can’t handle it!’

And so, Xie Yuan sat on the stone platform, sinking into his comprehension of the Sword Intent, deeper and deeper...

「Half a day passed.」

Lin Zhen was the first to be unable to hold on.

It wasn’t because her will was weak or she was a delicate woman. She had trained in martial arts, fueled by vengeance, achieving some success and entering the Inner Sect of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect. Both her willpower and physique were superior to most Martial Artists of her age.

The reason was simple: Lin Zhen had pushed past the limits of her own cultivation. She was on a platform beyond Tier Ten, which the sixth-generation Ancestor had originally designated for disciples just entering the Qi Blood First Transformation Realm.

Although her cultivation had been bolstered by a Treasure Medicine she had taken recently, this was still a stretch for her. And Li Xingtuo’s repeated warnings had made the meticulous Lin Zhen understand what was truly important. The moment she realized her body couldn’t hold out any longer, she immediately broke out of her meditative state, despite her reluctance.

But...

Looking at Xie Yuan beside her, a serene smile on his face, Lin Zhen almost laughed in exasperation.

’You’re really enjoying this wind, aren’t you?’

’It’s supposed to be painful!’

She ground her teeth, thinking this dense junior brother was a real eyesore!

’I don’t know what kind of talent he has. It must be from all the menial labor he used to do, making his skin thick and tough...’

Lin Zhen felt indignant at being outdone by her junior brother and began to grumble to herself.

’This Junior Brother Zhang needed our help before, and now he’s this amazing?’

’I joined the sect so much earlier than him! Hmph, at least his cultivation realm is still lower than mine...’

Lin Zhen looked at Xie Yuan with a complicated expression. ’Could it be that this junior brother really has the kind of astounding talent that shines brighter the stronger the challenge?’

’Does getting blown by sword wind count as actual combat?’

’Or is it possible he can’t hold on anymore and is just pretending?’

’Yes, that’s highly likely!’

Lin Zhen bent over, leaning her pretty face close to Xie Yuan’s to get a better look.

Then she gritted her teeth, discovering that his smile of sudden enlightenment was even more of an eyesore.