Chapter 21: The Invincible Hero’s Triumph (20)

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The Sword Tomb opens at noon.

Disciples of the Infinite Sect gathered early in the main hall.

The Sword Tomb only opens once every thirty years. Among the Infinite Sect disciples present to select their swords this time, aside from Su Bai and Qin Yang, the rest were inner sect disciples under various peak elders.

Liu Zongyu was a blade cultivator, so he had no part in the sword selection.

Yue Nianxin practiced magic, so she did not come along either.

Su Bai was young, and her cultivation was not outstanding among these disciples. Although she had once condensed ice with sword intent, most of her senior inner sect peers thought she was just lucky.

The so-called "One Sword, Frost Cold Across Fourteen States" was merely a perfect alignment of time, place, and person on that day. If it happened again, she might never be able to forge such a cold, resolute, and piercing sword intent.

No wonder there was a saying widely circulated among sword cultivators:

Some sword intents, for a sword cultivator, come but once in a lifetime.

Though some looked down on Su Bai, the fact remained that female sword cultivators were fewer than males. Having such a young little junior sister in the team naturally made them inclined to look after her.

It was common to exchange a few teasing words.

But after witnessing Su Bai and Yan Qing's swordplay the night before, and then seeing this dignified junior sister again, their expressions changed.

Before them stood a girl who had the potential and ability to compete on the same stage as them in the future, even possibly leaving them all far behind.

“They were just talking about you,”

As they flew on their swords toward the Sword Tomb, Shen Xing leaned in and whispered, “It’s not the first day they learned you and Qin Yang inherited the Saint Sovereign legacy, nor the first day they knew you could freely enter the Infinite Peak.”

“A few days ago, they were excitedly gossiping about you. It was hilarious—after you showed them your skills yesterday, they were all scared stiff, couldn’t sleep, and secretly got up to practice swordplay at night!”

“And you?”

Su Bai unexpectedly asked, “How’s your ‘One Strike to the Soul’ sword technique coming along these days?”

Shen Xing scratched his nose sheepishly, feeling uneasy. “Well, I’ve been watching you practice so much at your place, Lady Yun…”

He just stood there grinning, with no heart to practice.

“In six years, the Dao-Fa Three Thousand Gathering will take place. Brother Shen, if you don’t practice properly, you might even lose to Qin Yang.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xing stopped his schadenfreude smile and became genuinely anxious.

Goodness, his junior sister was really good at sowing anxiety.

Their casual chatter was soon interrupted by the sight of Qingmen Mountain, where the Sword Tomb was located.

An hour remained before the Sword Tomb opened. Early arriving cultivators clustered in groups, linking arms, occasionally examining a senior brother’s equipment, or clamoring to seek advice from someone, creating a lively atmosphere.

Su Bai picked a spot and began instructing Shen Xing’s sword techniques.

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Elder You looked on in surprise at the spectacle of a mid-Heart-Movement disciple guiding a mid-Golden Core disciple.

But since that mid-Heart-Movement disciple was the one who performed the Double Dragons Playing with Pearls sword technique the day before, Elder You dared not say much, merely standing at a distance and watching.

This girl truly had some understanding of swordsmanship. The way she wielded her sword, the angles of the blade’s turns, the proficiency in condensing spiritual energy—all seemed quite reasonable.

Such a promising talent, why had she all ended up in the Infinite Sect?

Elder You’s envy bubbled over, and he couldn’t help but sidle up to the Supreme Elder and ask knowingly, “A mid-Heart-Movement disciple instructing a mid-Golden Core disciple—don’t you care?”

The Supreme Elder, with his ever-smiling face like a Buddha, replied, “Isn’t she teaching well enough?”

Then he pointed with his hand, “Look—didn’t your Yan Qing also go over to discuss swordsmanship with them?”

Elder You, caught up in the excitement, looked closely and found that Yan Qing, who had been defeated by Su Bai the day before, had not distanced himself. Instead, he had gathered a few senior and junior brothers from the Heavenly Sword Sect around him, eagerly attending the lesson.

“Junior Sister, how do you practice the Double Dragons Playing with Pearls technique?”

“I want to know what understanding you have of the ‘Sunset Over Western Hills’ sword set?”

“Junior Sister, why does my swordplay look exactly like the book’s, yet it somehow always feels inferior to yours? Please, teach me!”

Elder You blushed with embarrassment and turned his head away.

He didn’t know whether to be pleased at his disciples’ humility or ashamed that several Golden Core disciples were just standing there listening intently to a single mid-Heart-Movement disciple’s long lecture.

This bunch of brats never practiced their swords properly!

They deserved it!

At noon, five elders at the Tribulation Crossing stage wielded their swords together, releasing a sword qi toward the mist-shrouded cliff of Qingmen Mountain.

The sword qi howled, transforming into a molten-gold arrow that shot through the mist.

With a clang, it struck an invisible barrier ahead, shattering into countless pale golden spiderweb-like light patterns in the air.

The perennial mist of Qingmen Mountain parted, revealing towering cliffs that seemed to touch the sky on both sides, with a narrow, endless path between them.

This was the entrance to the Sword Tomb. The heart of Qingmen Mountain concealed the Sword Forest, where thousands of divine swords left behind by great powers were buried.

The disciples hurried to their sect’s designated spots, lined up obediently, and entered the Sword Tomb one by one.

Though the Sword Tomb appeared to have only one path, entering through this narrow road would trigger teleportation arrays that randomly transported them to different locations to seek their destined swords.

There were rumors in the cultivation world that the teleportation array at the Sword Tomb’s entrance was not constructed by any array master, but that the divine swords themselves, possessing spirits, chose their masters.

Qin Yang was positioned a few places ahead of Su Bai.

The moment his figure disappeared into the path’s end, the disciples and elders outside suddenly saw several silver-white streams of light rising from the heart of Qingmen Mountain.

Soon after, a distant, prolonged sword clang echoed, as if responding to the lone youth entering the Sword Tomb.

The disciples who had not yet entered stopped in uncertainty.

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Elder You stared in astonishment at this spectacle, murmuring, “A born sword heart! He truly has a born sword heart!”

“You Infinite Sect, you’ve really found a great treasure this time!”

A Heavenly Thunder spiritual root, combined with a born sword heart! If his luck was good inside the Sword Tomb, he might even emerge wielding the Dragon’s Roar Sword, ranked first on the Divine Weapon List!

Though the Supreme Elder smiled silently, a flicker of pride stirred in his heart.

The stronger the new generation disciples, the higher the Infinite Sect’s ranking in the Dao-Fa Three Thousand Gathering five years hence, securing their share of spiritual veins and resources in the cultivation world, thus preserving the Infinite Sect’s position as the foremost immortal alliance.

The Heavenly Sword Sect had started later than the Infinite Sect and was less developed overall, but with their disciples recently practicing swordsmanship with reckless abandon, consistently taking the top three in various sword competitions, they showed signs of a meteoric rise, just waiting to make their mark at the once-in-a-century Dao-Fa Three Thousand Gathering.

Hence, Elder You had taken the initiative to suggest a duel between Yan Qing and Qin Yang yesterday, intending to give the increasingly low-profile Infinite Sect a warning.

But as expected, the big brother was still the big brother.

The Infinite Sect’s new generation boasted a water-spiritual-rooted prodigy who could surpass ranks, and a Heavenly Thunder spiritual root with a born sword heart who had advanced two minor realms in two years—the heavens seemed to be showering the Infinite Sect with blessings.

Behind Su Bai, Shen Xing cheered, “Junior Sister, if that guy can have a born sword heart, I believe you can too!”

Qin Yang had made a splash with his Heavenly Thunder root upon entering the sect, and after returning from external training, had advanced two minor realms, earning the admiration and envy of many disciples, yet he still easily lost to Junior Sister Su at the inner sect examination.

When Qin Yang first inherited the Saint Sovereign legacy at the Qimen Thousand Array Hall, he was hyped up, but when Su Bai went there, she was immediately noticed by the residual will left by the Saint Sovereign as well.

Qin Yang being accepted as a disciple by the Carefree Sword Sovereign was a prestigious honor, yet Su Bai not only gained a token allowing free access to the Infinite Peak and formed a bond beyond age with the Sword Sovereign, she also took Elder Yaoguang, the foremost magic cultivator, as her master.

From this, it could be inferred that if Qin Yang had a born sword heart, Su Bai definitely had one as well!

The disciples behind them could not help but sneer, thinking these two were dreaming.

Did they truly believe a born sword heart was as common as cabbage?

That was a gift from heaven, not something earned through hard work!

Just as the young girl took a confident step forward and smoothly crossed into the Sword Tomb entrance, the entire Qingmen Mountain trembled slightly.

Rocks tumbled down the towering cliffs on either side, branches shook wildly, causing the elders outside to panic and release divine senses to check whether the Sword Tomb’s internal arrays had malfunctioned, causing such a commotion.

Thousands upon thousands of sword clangs rang out, like the tinkling of jade pendants, the dropping of pearls on plates, and the humming breeze through a gorge.

At that moment, they resonated from afar.

Looking out, several silver-white streams of light burst from the mist, and at the farthest point, a golden beam as thick as a water column stood out most prominently.

In an instant, the golden light twisted into a line. Elder You rubbed his eyes, half-believing he saw tens of thousands of faint lights coalesce into a dragon’s head, body, and tail.

Could it be...

The Supreme Elder’s eyes widened behind his squinting lids, his hand trembling as he shakily pointed toward the dazzling golden light on the distant horizon.

“Elder You, do you see it? That golden light—it’s turned into a dragon!”

Elder You stammered, unable to compose himself, “I see it, I see it!”

Sword qi transforming into a dragon—within this Sword Tomb, there was only one sword capable of such a feat!