My Ultimate Sign-in System Made Me Invincible - Chapter 473 Ten Thousand Blade Grotto Trial

Chapter 473  Ten Thousand Blade Grotto Trial

Passing through the portal, Two found himself in a massive dark cave whose scale defied immediate comprehension. The ceiling stretched so high overhead that it disappeared into shadow, visible only where luminous stones embedded in the rock face cast pools of pale blue light that barely reached the ground below. The illumination was deliberately inadequate—enough to see by, but not enough to feel comfortable, creating an atmosphere of contained tension that pressed down on everyone who entered.

People materialized continuously behind him, emerging from thin air as the portal deposited cultivator after cultivator into the grotto’s entrance chamber.

LThe space filled rapidly with bodies, voices, and the distinctive spiritual pressure that came from hundreds of practitioners gathered in close proximity. Each new arrival carried a sword, and the collective weight of all that focused intent created an almost physical presence in the air.

Nobody lingered. The Nine Heavens Thousand Sword Sect members and their affiliated sects had entered first and were already well ahead, claiming whatever advantages came from being at the front of the pack. Every second of delay meant falling further behind, meant arriving at challenges after others had already taken the best opportunities, meant competing for scraps rather than prizes.

The unaffiliated cultivators understood this instinctively. Without discussion or coordination, they all began moving forward as one mass, pressing into the passage that led deeper into the grotto.

Two joined the flow, allowing himself to be carried along by the crowd’s momentum while maintaining enough spatial awareness to avoid being jostled too aggressively.

The cave’s interior was clearly designed to prevent flight—the ceiling was too low, the passage too narrow, the crowd too dense. They would have to walk, at least until the space opened up enough to permit other forms of movement.

As he took his first real step forward, Two felt a sharp, faint ringing of metal in the air that had nothing to do with actual blades striking each other. It was sword Qi, the accumulated spiritual energy of countless sword techniques performed over centuries, saturating the very stone of the grotto.

The sensation was subtle at first, barely noticeable against the background noise of spiritual pressure from the crowd, but it was unmistakably present.

He took another step, and the ringing grew fractionally stronger.

Another step. The sensation clarified, becoming more distinct, more focused. It wasn’t painful, but it was insistent—a constant reminder that this space existed to test sword cultivators, that every element of the environment was designed with that purpose in mind.

Two smiled slightly. His Myriad Armament Constitution responded to the sword Qi like iron drawn to a lodestone. Where other cultivators might find the ambient energy distracting or oppressive, he found it invigorating. The constitution was built specifically to interact with weapon-based spiritual energy, to draw insights from it, to grow stronger through exposure to martial intent.

This environment was perfect for him.

The crowd moved forward in relative silence, broken only by occasional muttered conversations and the shuffle of hundreds of feet against stone. The passage maintained a consistent width for what felt like several hundred meters—wide enough for perhaps ten people to walk abreast, but narrow enough that the mass of cultivators filled it completely.

Then the space opened up.

Two emerged into a chamber that dwarfed the entrance area. The ceiling rose dramatically, revealing vast expanses of stone that the glowing crystals illuminated in patches. The floor spread out in multiple directions, and the walls were covered in sword marks.

The cuts weren’t decorative etchings or artistic representations,but actual cuts, slashes, and thrusts that had been driven into solid stone with enough force and intent to leave permanent scars. Thousands of them, ranging from shallow scratches barely visible from a distance to deep gouges that had carved trenches several centimeters into the rock face.

Each mark carried residual sword Qi, a fragment of the technique that had created it, preserved in the stone like fossils of ancient combat.

Two’s attention locked onto the wall immediately. Other cultivators were spreading out across the chamber, some heading deeper into the grotto without pause, others stopping to examine different sections of the marked walls. But Two moved directly toward the nearest concentration of marks, drawn by the density of sword intent they radiated.

He stopped approximately two meters from the wall, close enough to examine the marks in detail but far enough to take in their overall pattern. The cuts weren’t random. They formed a sequence, a progression of movements that told a story of technical development.

Two activated his Dao Array Eyes and the world around him shifted.

What had been visible as simple cuts in stone became complex patterns of energy flow, force distribution, and spiritual manipulation. The Dao Array Eyes broke down the sword marks into their fundamental components—the angle of attack, the rotation of spiritual power, the timing of energy release, the subtle adjustments in stance that had preceded each strike.

It was like he was seeing the person use the technique right in his presence.

He saw the technique that had created these marks laid bare in perfect detail.

It was a flowing sequence, seven distinct movements that built on each other with elegant efficiency. Each cut represented a specific application of force, a particular manipulation of sword Qi, a calculated transition from one position to the next.

The technique wasn’t flashy or dramatic. It was refined, polished through countless repetitions until every unnecessary element had been stripped away, leaving only the essential movements required to cut with maximum effectiveness.

Two began absorbing the technique, his Dao Array Eyes processing the information faster than conscious thought. The Myriad Armament Constitution integrated the insights automatically, understanding not just what the technique did but why it worked, how the principles could be adapted, where the strengths and weaknesses lay.

Minutes passed.

Two stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the wall, completely absorbed in the process of deconstruction and comprehension. Other cultivators moved around him, some glancing at what he was studying, some choosing different sections of wall to examine, but he barely registered their presence.

The technique settled into his understanding with the kind of completeness that usually required months of practice. He didn’t just know the movements. He understood them at a level that went beyond mere replication.

The Dao Array Eyes had shown him the underlying principles and he had used his Myriad Armament Constitution to integrate those principles into his existing foundation.

But knowledge wasn’t enough. Understanding wasn’t the same as mastery.

Two drew his sword, and the blade slid free of its sheath with a soft metallic whisper. He positioned himself in the open space before the wall, checking to ensure he had enough room to move without striking anyone nearby.

Then he executed the first sequence of the technique.

The movement was fluid and precise, without any unnecessary movements. His sword traced a path through the air that matched the pattern he’d observed in the wall, and the blade sang—a clear, pure note that cut through the ambient noise of the chamber like a blade through silk.

The spiritual energy in the air responded immediately. Sword Qi gathered along the blade’s edge, amplifying the cut, extending its reach beyond the physical metal. When Two completed the movement, the air itself seemed to ring with residual power.

Several cultivators nearby stopped what they were doing to stare. The technique Two had just demonstrated wasn’t extraordinary by immortal standards, but the execution had been flawless.

Two repeated the movement, this time adding the second sequence. The transitions flowed naturally, each position setting up the next, the sword Qi building with each successive cut until the final movement released it all in a controlled burst that left a visible distortion in the air.

He could feel the technique now, not just intellectually but in his muscle memory, in the way his body responded to the spiritual energy flow. This was what the Myriad Armament Constitution enabled—rapid integration of weapon techniques, the ability to learn from observation what others needed months or years of repetition to achieve.

Two completed the full seven-movement sequence once more, perfecting the timing, smoothing out the minor inefficiencies that had remained after his initial comprehension. When he finished, he sheathed his sword with a fluid motion.

The cultivators who’d been watching exchanged glances. Some looked envious, others calculating, a few openly hostile. Demonstrating that level of comprehension made him memorable, and being memorable in a competitive environment wasn’t always advantageous.

But Two wasn’t concerned. He’d come here to test himself, to grow stronger, to extract every possible benefit from this inheritance ground. Hiding his capabilities to avoid attention would defeat the entire purpose.

He turned away from the wall and began walking deeper into the grotto. The chamber extended in multiple directions, but the strongest concentration of sword Qi clearly came from the path that led straight ahead, deeper into the mountain’s heart.

Other cultivators were following that same path, drawn by the same instinct that guided Two—wherever the sword Qi was strongest, that’s where the real tests would be, and where the real rewards awaited.

As he walked, the ambient energy intensified. The faint metallic ringing that had characterized the entrance passage became sharper, more insistent. The sword Qi in the air grew denser, creating a pressure that pushed back against each step forward. It wasn’t quite painful yet, but it was distinctly uncomfortable, like walking through water that grew gradually thicker.

Two pressed forward, not minding the sword Qi.

The passage narrowed again, forcing the scattered cultivators into closer proximity. Up ahead, Two could see a cluster of people standing motionless in the middle of the path. They weren’t moving, weren’t even seeming to breathe—just standing frozen like statues, eyes unfocused, weapons hanging loose in their grips.

Two frowned. That wasn’t normal.

He slowed his approach, watching the still figures carefully. More cultivators continued walking forward from behind him, and when they reached the same spot where the others had stopped, they too froze, falling into the same trance-like state.

A formation. It had to be.

Two activated his Dao Array Eyes before crossing the invisible threshold where the others had stopped.

The world shifted again, and suddenly he could see what his normal vision had missed—runes carved into the stone floor and walls, so subtle they were nearly invisible, forming an intricate pattern that created a bounded space approximately ten meters wide. The formation was sophisticated, designed specifically to interact with sword cultivators by using their own weapon intent against them.

A sword formation trance. Anyone who crossed the boundary while carrying sword intent would be drawn into an illusory space designed to test their comprehension and combat capability.

Two was only able to know this because of his Dao Array Eyes. He could probably bypass it. The Dao Array Eyes showed him the formation’s structure clearly enough that he could identify the gaps, the points where the energy flow was weakest. He could walk around it, avoid the test entirely, continue deeper into the grotto without facing whatever challenge the formation contained.

But that would defeat the purpose of being here.

He stepped forward, crossing the formation’s boundary deliberately, and the world changed.

The cave disappeared and the frozen cultivators vanished. Two found himself standing in an empty space that seemed to extend infinitely in all directions—flat, featureless ground beneath an empty sky that held no sun but somehow provided perfect illumination.

And standing before him, approximately twenty meters away, was a man.

The figure held a sword in a ready stance, his posture relaxed but clearly prepared for combat. His features were indistinct, as though seen through frosted glass, but his intent was unmistakable. This was the formation’s manifestation, the test it imposed on anyone who entered.

The man attacked without warning, closing the distance between them in a single explosive movement, his sword cutting toward Two’s throat with incredible speed and precision.