After learning everything he needed from Sage Hao Feng, Chen Jingzhai returned to the Tianyahai Pavilion.
For the next two days, he didn’t meet with anyone, nor did he cultivate or create elixirs.
He simply meditated and waited for time to pass.
The four beautiful maids didn’t interrupt him either, as they knew the battle forum was about to begin.
Their lives were now free and simple.
They would spend their days tending to the herb garden and the spirit silkworms and spend their extra time cultivating and sparring with each other.
Their improvements were so fast that one was able to notice them clearly.
Three days later, the moment the sun rose, a bright light filled the sky and dispersed, spreading in all directions as if they were shooting stars.
Part of the light was blocked by formations, while the remaining light lit up all the branches brightly.
Except for those who were in Seclusion Training, everyone had shifted their attention toward the Sea of Clouds.
They were all staring at the deepest part of the clouds.
The golden ray slowly died down, and a stand made out of a lotus flower floated among the clouds.
It was only as big as a palm and was covered in gold.
The clouds surrounding the flower began to roll around as if they were waves.
“Let the battle forum of the Luo Sheng Sword School commence!” Headmaster Fuyun’s voice could be heard throughout the entire Luanyun Mountain Range.
The stage immediately expanded as if a flower had bloomed.
In the next instance, a huge stage appeared in the middle of the clouds.
It wasn’t gold in color anymore. Instead, it was green and had black patterns all over it.
And instead of the shape of a flower, it looked more like a stage with carvings of lotus flowers everywhere.
“That’s the stage of the Sea of Clouds! It’s spectacular!” Chen Jingzhai couldn’t help but exclaim.
The stage was so majestic and mysterious that one was not able to see its true form.
Even with Chen Jingzhai’s eyes, he was unable to tell the grade of the stage, nor did his special talent work on it.
There was no flaw in the stage.
However, he wasn’t disappointed and was even more focused.
Even though the stage looked as if it was nearby, it was actually very far away.
The stage came with its own Restrictions, and thus, a normal person would not be able to uncover its secrets.
“Disciples of the Luo Sheng Sword School! The stage is set! What are you waiting for?” Headmaster Fuyun’s voice rang throughout the entire mountain range once again.
There was a hint of his power in his voice.
The disciples who weren’t calm would immediately be stunned by it.
In contrast, the other disciples got excited and began to leave their respective branches.
They used their own methods and rushed toward the magic stage.
Chen Jingzhai was about to lift off when he noticed a ray of starlight charging forward in the sky.
It was so elegant and majestic that one would mistake it for a real star.
The light would leave a trail wherever it passed through.
Even the morning light was not able to outshine that starlight.
“That must be Wang Yao from the Spot Star Sword Branch.” Chen Jingzhai nodded, and he summoned a pair of fiery wings on his back.
He lifted himself off the ground with a single flap and charged toward the stage along with other disciples.
The flame from the wings of the fire raven started to envelop his body.
It was as if he was a massive fireball targeting the stage.
Outside the Heaven and Earth Palace of Daoxuan Peak, Peak Master Yang and his wife stood side by side as they watched everything unfold.
Hundreds of Foundation Establishment Plane cultivators approached the stage at the same time from different directions.
“No matter how many times I’ve seen this, it’s still spectacular,” Mrs. Yang exclaimed.
“It’s the Zhengdu battle for the lively disciples. So it’s natural that it’ll be an amazing sight to behold.” The Peak Master smiled.
“Still, the Spot Star Sword Branch is as eye-catching as always.” Mrs. Yang sighed.
“They are still the direct lineage of Luo Tian, after all.” The smile on the Peak Master’s face disappeared as well.
The Luo Sheng Sword School had a long history and a lot of different branches.
Out of all the branches, only the Three Great Sword Branches had never become a hidden branch ever since the clan was established.
It meant that the Three Great Sword Branches had existed since the time of Archmage Luo Tian.
The other branches were different from those three.
They either started late or had fallen from their primes.
Like the Three Great Sword Branches, Daoxuan Peak had never become a hidden branch before either, but the latter had started 1,000 years later than the former.
Even Elixir Peak was only established 1,500 years after the clan was formed.
The archmage and his successors would never have expected that elixir alchemists, herbalists, and even formation masters would one day establish their own branches.
Not even the clan’s disciples had thought of that before it happened.
It wasn’t surprising, as no one would’ve thought that the clan would succeed to such an extent and continue to grow even further.
However, no matter how many branches there were in the clan, the only three branches that were acknowledged as the legacy branches were the Three Great Sword Branches.
They were known as the backbone, the strength, and the spearhead of the entire clan.
While most of the branches studied sky scriptures that were derived from celestial scriptures, only the Three Great Sword Branches read sword scriptures.
That was why it wasn’t surprising for them to become the best branches in the clan.
Peak Master Yang and his wife remained silent as they watched the disciples approach the stage.
The Zhengdu battle was a battle of speed.
The moment a disciple reached the stage, they would get a jade token, and the number on it would show the number of people who had reached the stage before them.
In short, it was a ranking of who managed to be the fastest.
The lower the number was, the faster they were.
It was just a test of speed and meant nothing else, but the disciples would still fight to be the fastest, and a battle before reaching the stage would occur.
As the starlight led the charge, an azure light shot out from nowhere and formed a curve in the clouds before taking the shape of a peacock.
It stopped the starlight from moving forward.
The clash of the starlight and the azure light quickly turned into a magnificent battle.
“Kong Guang from the Azure Sparrow Sword Branch!” Peak Master Yang exclaimed.
“He was ranked second in the previous battle forum,” Mrs. Yang added. “I’m sure he’s aiming for the first spot this time. That’s why he has stopped Wang Yao in his tracks.”
“I’m not really worried about who gets there first.” The Peak Master frowned. “But, I’m worried that a controversy might appear as our junior brother is not using our Daoxuan Peak’s spell.”
“Who said he’s not using our spell?”
“Oh? Do you know something?” The Peak Master turned to look at his wife.
“Did you forget that he bought a Blazing Sun Sword?”
Relief could immediately be seen in Peak Master Yang’s eyes as he turned back to look at the Sea of Clouds.
Other disciples had already begun to make their moves.
There were projections of bamboo that stopped people’s paths.
A couple of calabashes could be seen floating in the air, summoning wine that formed into waves.
A few sky whales rampaged in the sky, sweeping people away with their tails.
There were also flashes of sword light and shadows of mountains. It was a sight to behold.
As for Chen Jingzhai, he had turned into a fireball and was charging straight toward the stage.
The moment he entered the Sea of Clouds, someone tried to stop him.
“Oh, clouds of wind, gather and form into waves!”
A familiar voice could be heard chanting, and Chen Jingzhai was able to spot Feng Liuyun, who was wearing green robes and standing on top of a cloud, after a quick scan with his divine mind.
Instead of heading toward the stage, Feng Liuyun had decided to hide and stop Chen Jingzhai’s advancement.
The clouds and fog had become his power, and a force was sent toward his Master-Uncle.
“Petty tricks!” Chen Jingzhai grunted, and the flame that surrounded him dispersed.
Two sword lights came out of him and circulated above his head.
The White Jade Sword and the Golden Flame Sword were like fishes playing a game of tag.
Their speeds increased until they formed the appearance of a pair of fishes, one black and the other white.
The white fish then proceeded to spit out thousands of sword vapors.
Chen Jingzhai formed a sign with his hand before pointing forward.
The shapeless sword vapors were sent forward, and they immediately split the wave of clouds in half.
