Clang!
A loud ringing sound filled the room, closely followed by a few more light noises that sounded like metal hitting the floor.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene.
Long Yun stood frozen in place, stunned. The sword in his hand had shattered with only the hilt remaining. The fragments of the sword that had fallen to the floor still contained traces of eight lined battle force that had yet to dissipate.
Right in front of Long Yun’s neck, just millimeters away from touching him, there was a finger that he was staring at. It was wrapped in glaring red lines, the characteristic sign of nine lined battle force.
With just one finger, Lu Yin had managed to destroy Long Yun’s Sword Slash along with his eight lined battle force. After that, Lu Yin had suddenly moved right in front of Long Yun, and if he had even taken one more step, Long Yun would have been killed.
Everyone had expected Long Yun to lose, but no one had thought that Long Yun would be unable to withstand even a single move from Lu Yin, as that was just too absurd.
An extraordinary light shone in Li Zimo’s eyes. Lu Yin was still the same as ever, as invincible as ever.
The disciples of the Liu family were all shocked to the core, as they simply could not believe their eyes.
Numbness covered Liu Ling’s scalp. She had just witnessed the power of the person that she had wanted to challenge. Arbiter Lu was incredibly powerful and seemed insurpassable; could even their Grand Senior Sister defeat him? After all, Lu Yin had already defeated two of the Ten Arbiters.
Liu Shen nervously swallowed. Despite being an Enlighter, he still felt chills run down his spine after witnessing Lu Yin’s finger attack. Liu Shen knew that he would not be able to handle such an attack. Despite his unwillingness to admit it, he knew that he could not stand up to a single finger from Lu Yin.
Elder Li gasped and stared intently at Lu Yin. “As expected of nine lined battle force. Alliance Leader Lu is quite impressive.”
Lu Yin withdrew his finger, and the battle force twined around it vanished. He smiled at Long Yun and then looked over at Elder Li. “Thank you for your compliment, Senior.”
Elder Li calmly replied, “It’s no wonder why you asked to have a match with me. You are indeed qualified to do so.”
Lu Yin said, “You flatter me, Senior.”
“Since you’re visiting the Sword Sect, feel free to take a good look around.” After speaking, Elder Li turned and left.
Lu Yin’s eyes followed Elder Li as he left. For some reason, Lu Yin felt that Elder Li had something against him, and the Sword Sect trying to warn Lu Yin by showing him the battlefield had given him the impression that something was up.
Long Yun bitterly put away the remaining hilt of his sword. “Brother Lu, you’re very impressive. One finger really was all you needed.”
Lu Yin told Long Yun, “That’s the power of nine lined battle force. Once you improve, you’ll be capable of doing the same thing.”
Long Yun helplessly replied, “It’s already been eight years, but I haven’t even found a shadow of how I can improve. It’s far too difficult.”
He shook his head as he spoke and moved to leave. He felt utterly crushed.
The remaining Sword Sect disciples also left after being chided by Liu Shen.
Before Liu Ling left, she stared straight into Lu Yin’s eyes for a bit, as if trying to engrave his image deep into her memory.
With a smile, Liu Shen told Lu Yin, “As expected of Arbiter Lu. It seems that invincible aura you radiate will command the respect of an entire era in the future.”
Lu Yin chuckled. “You’re embarrassing me, Elder Liu. No matter how powerful I am, even I can’t resist the Thirteen Swords, especially the Thirteenth Sword.”
During the battle atop the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lu Yin had watched Liu Tianmo unleash the Thirteenth Sword in person. Lu Yin was speaking honestly, as he still had no idea how he could face that technique that did not even reveal anything about the principle behind that sword technique.
In the past, Liu Feng, the captain of Leon’s Armada’s Lightning Sword Regiment, had mentioned that the Thirteenth Sword was a technique that could not be dodged. Rather, it had to be endured. Lu Yin still believed that.
Lu Yin’s praises of the Thirteen Swords was music to Liu Shen’s ears, and he was all smiles as he led Lu Yin to his accommodations. They were now just waiting to return to the Sword Sect.
The trip was a dull affair, as First Flowzone was simply massive. With the speed of the battleship that they were traveling on, it would take quite a few more days to arrive at the Sword Sect’s Swords Peak.
After the initial incident, there were no further conflicts aboard the ship. All of the disciples seemed to have been shocked into passivity after witnessing Lu Yin’s power. Elder Li never appeared again, and neither did Long Yun.
Even Elder Liu Shen only occasionally stopped by to say hello.
Many days later, the vessel finally arrived at the Sword Sect.
As Lu Yin looked at the faraway mountain that resembled the sharp tip of a sword, he was spellbound even though he had personally gazed upon the beauty of the Cosmic Sect and even Mt. Microcosms.
This was the headquarters of the Sword Sect, the most powerful organization in both the Innerverse and Outerverse. It was home to many sword users and Swords Peak, which housed invincible sword arts.
From a distance, Swords Peak was immense, and there were even stars revolving around it. It exuded a peculiar sharp aura that was not merely a sensation, but reality.
Swords Peak was the place where the Sword Sect had first settled and established their sect, making it their ancestral grounds as well as a training ground. The mountain was surrounded by endless sword qi, and a constant flow of sword qi fell from the mountain, almost like some sort of waterfall. Anyone who wished to enter or leave Swords Peak would have to endure a wave of sword qi penetrating through their body.
Ku Wei was shocked by the sight. “Seventh Bro, the Sword Sect is insane!”
Lu Yin had the same thought. Were they not afraid that the sword qi might go out of control and annihilate all of their disciples?
All of a sudden, hundreds of millions of sword qi strands shot up into the sky above Swords Peak. They brushed past the spacecraft and then slashed out in another direction.
Lu Yin was astonished. What he had just witnessed was not something that came from just one individual, as that flurry of sword qi had come from a combination of many sword cultivators. It actually felt quite similar to the combined arrow technique shot out by countless disciples of the Neo-Vestige Sect. However, the key difference was that the sword qi was much more powerful.
The number of rune lines he had seen in the united sword qi had definitely exceeded a power level of 300,000. Who knew just how many disciples had to contribute to form a joint attack of such strength.
Liu Shen arrived and begged for Lu Yin’s pardon, “I apologize, Alliance Leader Lu, for giving you such a shock just now.”
Ku Wei was upset by the apology. “How could that mere bit of sword qi be capable of shocking Seventh Bro? Even if that sword qi was multiple times stronger, or even tens of times stronger, Seventh Bro would still be able to disintegrate it with one breath! Let alone something of that power.”
Lu Yin quietly grunted, “Zip it!”
He suddenly felt as though Ku Wei’s body had been possessed by a ghost.
Displeased, Liu Shen sized Ku Wei up before again speaking to Lu Yin. “The Sword Sect disciples cultivate their sword techniques daily, and they often combine their sword qi as a part of that routine. Please pay them no mind, Alliance Leader Lu.”
Lu Yin smiled. “As expected of the Sword Sect, that was quite impressive. There is no place in the entire universe that can compare to the Sword Sect when it comes to sword arts.”
Liu Shen laughed. “We’ve arrived at Swords Peak, Alliance Leader Lu. Please prepare yourself, as the falling sword qi has little to do with the level of one’s cultivation. The amount of sword qi that each individual is capable of withstanding can be quite different. It’s possible that Alliance Leader Lu might shock the Sword Sect when entering.”
“What do you mean?” Lu Yin wondered.
Liu Shen explained, “Sword Peak’s protective barrier comes from a single source, which is the falling waterfall of sword qi. It’s capable of detecting a person’s true strength, and the greater the cultivator’s power, the more sword qi that will be drawn to them. For instance, an Enlighter might only attract a small strand from the barrier of sword qi, but for someone like Elder Li, the amount of sword qi that will be attracted will be much greater.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Doesn’t that mean that the sword qi barrier decides the battle power and strength of anyone who passes through it?”
Liu Shen replied, “Well, that’s not completely true either. I’m not exactly sure what kind of power the barrier of sword qi is drawn to, but generally speaking, sword cultivators seem to attract the most sword qi. Alliance Leader Lu has never practiced sword arts, so the barrier should not be too extreme, but it will likely still be much more than what an average person would attract. With your cultivation, it’s possible that you might startle the entire Sword Sect.”
Lu Yin nodded and continued to stare ahead at the distant Swords Peak in anticipation.
Soon, the vessel docked, and the passengers lined up to exit.
“Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me into Swords Peak,” Liu Shen requested.
Lu Yin nodded.
At the same time, another spacecraft had docked rather nearby, and the first person to emerge from it was someone familiar to Lu Yin: Liu Shaoqiu.
Lu Yin had not expected to run into Liu Shaoqiu so soon during this visit.
Liu Shaoqiu seemed to have also sensed Lu Yin’s presence. Right after disembarking from the spacecraft, his eyes met Lu Yin’s, and he said in a surprised voice, “Why are you here?”
Lu Yin replied, “I’m a guest of the Sword Sect. It’s been a long time.”
Liu Shaoqiu stared at Lu Yin. “I see a lot about you on the network.”
People continued exiting from both vessels, and aside from Liu Shaoqiu, two more familiar faces appeared: Liu Xiaoyun and Yan Hua.
Liu Xiaoyun had not expected to see Lu Yin upon returning to the sect. They could be said to be old friends, as they had both been members of the Astral Academy Council.
“I haven’t seen you in a long time, Brother Lu,” Liu Xiaoyun immediately greeted Lu Yin.
Lu Yin smiled. “It has been a long time. Have you already graduated?”
“A long time ago. You guys are the only leftovers who aren’t willing to graduate,” Liu Xiaoyun said.
Lu Yin chuckled. “I just don’t have the time.”
“Alright, let’s go. You’ll have many more chances to reminisce about old times later on,” an elderly man coldly said from behind Liu Xiaoyun and the others. After speaking, he glanced sideways at Lu Yin, clearly not happy to see the youth.
Liu Shen politely gestured to the front with an arm and said, “After you, Alliance Leader Lu.”
Lu Yin nodded.
Only after reaching the foot of Swords Peak was it possible to fully appreciate the majesty of the mountain.
The peak was not visible no matter how far back one tilted their heads and looked up.
An endless amount of sword qi formed the descending waterfall that connected the heavens to earth.
Sword Sect disciples rushed into the sword qi barrier one after another. Some drew ten or so rays of sword qi into their body while others drew hundreds. The amount of sword qi that responded differed with each person.
Liu Shaoqiu and the other disciples did not rush to enter first. Instead, they all looked over at Lu Yin, curious to see just how much of the sword qi Lu Yin would attract.
Lu Yin was also curious about how much sword qi his friends would attract, so he turned to look at them. “Are you guys not going?”
“Please go first, Brother Lu,” Liu Xiaoyun encouraged.
Lu Yin pursed his lips.
Just above them, Elder Li dashed into the sword qi barrier. Instantly, the entire waterfall split open. From the bottom up, a large sheet of sword qi within the barrier was attracted to Elder Li and surged into his body. The sight looked as though the entire mountain had cracked open, and it was a truly impressive to behold.
Elder Li quickly disappeared, and a large number of people looked at Lu Yin.
Even Ku Wei was curious.
Lu Yin stared at Ku Wei and said, “You go first.”
Feeling offended, Ku Wei begged, “Seventh Bro, you ought to go first. Little Wei is merely your obedient servant.”
Lu Yin warned Ku Wei in a low voice, “If I tell you to go, then go.”
Ku Wei had no choice but to obey, and he dashed straight towards the waterfall to enter Swords Peak. A sheet of sword qi was drawn over and immediately absorbed into his body, and right after that, more of the sword qi was pulled towards him.
The watching crowd of Sword Sect disciples exclaimed, “How can that be? Only an Enlighter can draw that much sword qi!”
Liu Shen was also shocked, as he had never really paid much attention to Ku Wei, assuming that Ku Wei’s strength was not worthy of notice.
Even Lu Yin was surprised; was Ku Wei that good? It seemed that Ku Wei’s strength was on a similar level as an Enlighter’s.
“What are you surprised about? The amount of sword qi that enters one’s body is not necessarily indicative of their combat strength. It can also be due to some sort of affinity for all you know. A restless heart is disdained by all sword cultivators. Everyone who made a commotion just now will circle the mountain barefoot for a month after returning to Swords Peak!” barked the elderly man who had been Liu Shaoqiu and the others’ chaperone.
Many of the Sword Sect disciples acknowledged their punishment.
Liu Shen once again gestured for Lu Yin to move forward.
Lu Yin was no longer able to refuse, so he leaped forward and shot towards Swords Peak at a moderate speed.
As he drew closer to the sword qi waterfall, Lu Yin felt an endless stream of piercing power drawing closer to him. The more he approached the waterfall, the more clearly he felt its power. It was as though he was going against heaven and earth.
Soon, he moved into the sword qi barrier, and right after that, the waterfall burst open above him as countless strands of sword qi entered his body. His nerves ached from the sword qi, but there was no real damage.
He continued forward into Swords Peak.
Lu Yin forced his way inside, but little did he know the extent of shock that he had created outside.
The amount of sword qi that he had drawn in had been even more than Elder Li, and it had split open the waterfall of sword qi. Just as Liu Shen had mentioned, Lu Yin had indeed shaken up the Sword Sect, and he had even caused Swords Peak itself to quake.
Liu Shen, Liu Shaoqiu, and Long Yun all nervously gasped as they stared at the waterfall of sword qi as it slowly merged back together again. All of them were in utter disbelief.
