Chapter 537 - 536: Recite the Most Domineering Verse

Chapter 537: Chapter 536: Recite the Most Domineering Verse

Panting for breath, Ximen Chuihuo reached the end of the first stage, where he too saw a stone stele.

A question was carved into the stele: Why have you come to receive the inheritance?

1. To protect the Spiritual Control Sect.

2. To command all Spirit Beasts in the world.

3. To become stronger.

Ximen Chuihuo was left speechless. He walked right past the stele.

It wasn’t that his answer wasn’t among the choices, but rather that the stele didn’t ask him to respond.

’It must be for self-reflection.’

So he only gave it a passing glance.

After Ximen Chuihuo stepped onto the second stage, the stele opened an eye.

’Did something go wrong?’

’Why didn’t he answer the question?’

The stele then merged into the stone steps, heading for the next stage.

’I have to make him answer. If he doesn’t, how can I expel him?’

As for Ximen Chuihuo, he was utterly exhausted. The oppressive aura wasn’t overwhelming, but it still weighed heavily on him.

The pressure made it hard for him to breathe.

But he was determined to ascend. It wasn’t just because this was the only path; the mere knowledge that a secret lay at the top was enough to make him climb.

Ximen Chuihuo walked for a long time until, mentally and physically exhausted, he found he had reached the end of the path.

Before him was a giant boulder.

Ximen Chuihuo froze. ’This is the end?’

’But there’s no path forward.’

’Did I come all this way for nothing?’

Before despair could set in, Ximen Chuihuo suddenly saw words appear on the boulder: YOU MUST ANSWER THE QUESTION.

"..." ’What’s going on?’

’Oh, right. The inheritance trial. But I don’t even want the inheritance.’

Then Ximen Chuihuo saw the question below: For we cultivators, swagger (scratched out) presence is paramount. Junior, please recite a poem of heaven-shaking swagger (scratched out) presence.

Ximen Chuihuo was utterly dumbfounded.

’What kind of trial is this?’

’Is this some kind of joke?’

’A poem about swagger?’

’How would I know anything like that?’

’But if I can’t, does that mean I can’t leave?’

’Not being able to go up is one thing, but being trapped here would be unbearable. With nothing to eat, I’d starve to death.’

At this thought, an idea struck Ximen Chuihuo, and he recited, "On Spirit Peak, I alone reign supreme. Across the eight wilds and six realms, All-Things Cut."

As Ximen Chuihuo’s voice rang out, the entire boulder quaked.

Words immediately appeared on the stele: A fine poem! Simply unrivaled in its dominance, comparable to my master in his day! You are simply... er, wait a minute. Isn’t this my master’s verse?

Junior, I am the Stone Staircase Spirit. You must present an original poem, or you are not worthy of ascending to Spirit Peak.

Ximen Chuihuo was truly at a loss.

’Just as I thought. That ancestor was a real-life edgelord. If word of this got out, I’d be so embarrassed for him.’

’But how am I supposed to come up with something that cringey?’

Ximen Chuihuo began to rack his brain.

But the stele grew impatient: Junior, your time is limited.

Left with no choice, Ximen Chuihuo recited, "When autumn comes on the ninth month’s eighth day, my flower’s bloom shall all others slay."

Stele: Not bad. Quite domineering, but not enough.

Ximen Chuihuo: "Sword Qi stretches thirty thousand miles; a single sword’s gleam chills nineteen states."

Stele: Not bad, not bad. Continue.

Ximen Chuihuo frowned. ’Even that’s not enough?’

Ximen Chuihuo tried again. "I want the heavens to no longer cover my eyes, and the earth to no longer bury my heart.

I want all living things to understand my will, and all the Buddhas to scatter like smoke and mist."

Stele: That has my master’s flair! Continue.

’Still more?’

Ximen Chuihuo decided to go all out. He composed himself, then began to speak in a low yet heroic voice:

"Though Sword Immortals in heaven number three million, they must all bow their heads upon seeing me.

When yin and yang reverse their course, with my demonic blood I shall dye the azure sky.

A hall of flowers enthralls three thousand guests; a single sword’s frost chills fourteen states.

Who stands at the peak at the end of the immortal path? At the sight of the Beginningless, the Great Dao becomes naught.

I hold the sun and moon and pluck the stars from the sky; in all the world, there is no other like I.

If Heaven had not birthed me, Ximen Chuihuo, the age of Spirit Control would be an endless night."

BOOM!!!

CRACKLE! RUMBLE!

The moment Ximen Chuihuo’s voice fell, the entire stone staircase began to tremble.

The steps quaked as if they had received a massive shock, a tremor that came from their very core.

An endless, heroic spirit seemed to erupt from within them.

The stele was so excited it cracked in half. ’If only Master had been like this back then! He would have awed every powerhouse in the world!’

The stele trembled all over, and the words that appeared were shaky, a clear sign of its excitement: You... What is your name?

Ximen Chuihuo cupped his fists respectfully. "This junior is Ximen Chuihuo."

Stele: Good! Excellent! You have my master’s flair. You are worthy of ascending Spirit Peak.

What a line! "If Heaven had not birthed me, Ximen Chuihuo, the age of Spirit Control would be an endless night."

By the way, who is "the Beginningless"?

Ximen Chuihuo felt a pang of embarrassment, then laughed. "A senior. Just a senior.

So, may this junior ascend now?"

Stele: You may.

With that, the stele merged back into the stone steps.

Ximen Chuihuo breathed a sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness I’ve read a few books, or I would have been completely stuck today.’

’I completely threw away my dignity just now.’

’Good thing no one was around to hear it.’

’Otherwise, I’d have to kill them to shut them up. (You saw nothing. You saw nothing.)’

Then, Ximen Chuihuo strode toward Spirit Peak.

To his surprise, the oppressive aura had vanished.

This made his climb much easier.

————

Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo also felt the stone staircase tremble.

"It seems the other person is no slouch," Jiang Zuo remarked.

The Jinling Loach said, "That Spirit Beast has also withdrawn its oppressive aura. I don’t know what it’s planning, but its hostility remains. A battle is inevitable."

Jiang Zuo said nothing. He would avoid a fight if he could. With his current Cultivation, injury was a real possibility.

And if he got hurt, Su Qi would somehow always call.

’It’s an ironclad rule.’

’Calling it telepathy might be an exaggeration.’

But he could also sense whenever Su Qi was in danger.

He didn’t dislike the feeling.

It was as if an invisible thread connected them, a bond that no one could sever.

Yes, thinking of the feisty Su Qi made Jiang Zuo feel much more at ease.

Then, the corners of his lips curved up slightly.

This scared the nearby Sweet Potato, Duan Qiao, and Jinling Loach so badly that they froze on the spot.

They had discovered something: it was best if this person remained expressionless. The moment his expression changed, it was terrifying.

His entire imposing aura would stir in an instant.

And right at that moment, the stele emerged. Very unfortunately for it, it also saw Jiang Zuo’s faint smile.

Other people’s smiles could topple cities; his could terrify nations.

It sent a wave of panic—no, it sent a wave of panic through the stele.

Jiang Zuo, of course, noticed the stele’s appearance.

Jiang Zuo looked at the stele. "As the Stone Staircase Spirit, have you come to stop us?"

The stele trembled. "N-No, I wouldn’t dare."

"I simply saw that Senior seemed tired from walking and wished to carry you up. Please, Senior, do not refuse."

The stele then instantly laid itself flat on the ground, waiting for Jiang Zuo to step onto it.

The Jinling Loach watched from the side, completely dumbfounded. ’What kind of VIP treatment is this?’

’And this Stone Staircase Spirit is such a wimp, cowering so easily.’ ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

’Its master must have been blind to choose a doorkeeper like this.’

Of course, after seeing Jiang Zuo step onto it, the Jinling Loach scrambled on as well. It would be foolish not to take advantage of the situation.

Once on the stele, Jiang Zuo asked, "Who is it from the Spiritual Control Sect that came here?"

Stele: It is Ximen Chuihuo. His swagger (scratched out) presence is comparable to my master’s.

Oh, but of course, he is nothing compared to you, Senior.

Jiang Zuo understood. ’So it’s Ximen Chuihuo. That makes sense.’ Ximen Chuihuo possessed All-Things Cut, and it was highly likely that the ancestor here was the one who created it.

In his past life, Jiang Zuo had never learned much about this ancestor of the Spiritual Control Sect.

But All-Things Cut alone was enough to make him memorable.

"Where is your master?" Jiang Zuo asked.

Words appeared on the stele: "I do not know. My master ordered me to guard this place and wait for his successor. He also left behind the Heaven-Burning Spirit Beast, but it seems to no longer heed my master’s will."