Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
This was a handsome face. The man had a pretty appearance and a bright smile. But, behind such a face hid an apparent pride.
“I heard that you are Shuangyue’s lover,” the man mocked.
“That isn’t the case. Make way,” Jiang Chen replied.
Lin Xuan didn’t get angry. Instead, he became more interested. He said, “You wouldn’t dare admit it, would you?”
Jiang Chen, who was about to leave, glanced at him, and said, “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t dare to do.”
If his main body were here, he would have left directly, but he was now ‘Lu Ping,’ and he must act differently.
“You probably know what your end will be if the Lin Family finds out about your relationship with Shuangyue, don’t you?” Lin Xuan assumed that Jiang Chen was just putting on a strong front, and he spoke bluntly.
“I’m just stating the truth. Moreover, if I wanted to date young miss Lin, your Lin Family won’t be able to stop me.”
Hearing this reply, a pompous expression appeared on Lin Xuan’s face. He said, “Do you know what you are saying? Or did you already forget how you risked your life in the martial arts club just because the great master is now supporting you?”
Lin Xuan’s words became sharp, but he still wore the same smile as before. “The great master may have already forgotten you. The financial aid he gave you isn’t even a drop in the ocean compared to the wealth of someone with his prominent status,” he said. Then, he took several steps forward, faced Jiang Chen, and said in a low voice, “Let me tell you this clearly: if you get kicked out of the sword pavilion, you will pay a grave price for the rumors about you and Shuangyue.”
“Even if it’s all untrue?” Jiang Chen shot back.
Lin Xuan was taken aback, and he replied in a resolute tone, “That’s right.”
“Then, you’ll be disappointed,” Jiang Chen said.
“If you knew what was on the sword pavilion’s test, you wouldn’t utter such a statement,” Lin Xuan said, revealing a meaningful smile. Then, he walked away.
It was only then that Jiang Chen realized that he didn’t have a clue about the test. But he didn’t really care, so he strode forward and walked into the hall.
“It’s really sad!”
Lin Xuan shook his head and laughed bitterly, looking at Jiang Chen’s back before he followed him inside. The palace interior was rather expansive, tantamount to an indoor plaza. All of the sword pavilion’s students had gathered; around two hundred people were present. Regardless of whether they belonged to the primary or special-grade, all of them were geniuses.
At that moment, all of the disciples lined up according to their grades. The test would start with the special-grade students. If the special-grade students passed successfully, they would graduate. Not only would they earn great glory, but they would also receive the sword pavilion’s Supreme Sword Doctrine.
A sword hung in the center of the hall. After Jiang Chen got a clear look at it, he understood how the test would be carried out. He didn’t need someone to explain it to him. That was a Doctrine Sword with a sword spirit. Doctrine Artifacts weren’t rare, but the sword pavilion’s Doctrine Sword was quite renowned, even before the appearance of multiple clans. Its name was ‘Tianyu Sword,’ and the test would start with this sword.
“Anyone who can persist for fifteen minutes in the face of the Tianyu Sword will pass the test.”
“The Tianyu Sword’s power will be adjusted according to each student’s grade.”
Two lines of characters appeared in the sky. They seemed bold and forceful, branding the air. Jiang Chen could clearly discern that the characters had been stamped there by a sword. A person who could achieve such a feat was one who had already learned the Sword Lore. There were only a handful of special-grade students, around ten, who had reached that level. Lin Xuan was among them.
All of the special-grade students stepped on stage, one after another, in front of the rest of the school. Even though they couldn’t use their cultivation powers here, if a special-grade student revealed his power, everyone could discern the disparity between them by observing his sword moves.
Jiang Chen was amazed by this. He didn’t know the name of the person in front of him; he had not met him before. Yet, the level of his sword technique had almost caught up with his main body. Moreover, this wasn’t the most surprising matter. What was really shocking was that even a person like that couldn’t manage to pass the test. When he faced the Tianyu Sword, he was defeated. Dispirited and dismayed, his teacher immediately went over to comfort him, leading him into a corner. The second person to step forward was even more nervous, and his outcome was the same as the last one.
Lin Shuangyue came to Jiang Chen’s side once again and said to him, “The possibility of graduating from the sword pavilion is just one percent. Only one special-grade student can graduate out of a hundred.”
It was apparent that she treated Jiang Chen as a friend because he had comforted her last time. Jiang Chen was surprised.
“Why so few?” he asked. There were only ten special-grade students. Didn’t this mean that they would all fail?
“It’s only a matter of course; if they graduate, they get a chance to obtain a Supreme Sword Doctrine. Even more important, they get a chance to join the Sword Tower.”
Lin Shuangyue took a deep breath, and said solemnly, “I didn’t go to the Sword God Palace just to get into that place.”
“The Sword Tower?” Jiang Chen furrowed his brows. He felt like he’d heard other students mention that name.
“That’s right, the inheritance of the Four Great Sword Doctrines are there,” Lin Shuangyue answered.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen recalled that his master had once said that he wanted to let the Immortal Sword Doctrine rival the Four Great Sword Doctrines. Everything started to make sense. After a short while, it was Lin Xuan’s turn, and Jiang Chen paid attention to him because of what had just happened.
“Did he try to cause trouble for you a moment ago?” Lin Shuangyue asked.
“I wouldn’t consider it ‘trouble,’” Jiang Chen replied.
“You aren’t willing to admit it.” Lin Shuangyue looked at the man in front of her. He really had an enormous ego.
On the other side, Lin Xuan was fighting the Tianyu Sword. Several minutes had passed since the start of the fight, and everyone looked forward to the outcome. Their breathing became rough.
In the sword pavilion, all of the special-grade students were going to fail, and people considered such failure a sort of graduation. Moreover, there were still some who felt like the sword pavilion didn’t want its students to receive their Sword Doctrine, and that they were making the test difficult on purpose. Now, it seemed like the difficulty was really excessive, which became even more obvious as Lin Xuan fought.
“Wind Sword Realm?” Jiang Chen paid attention to Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan’s Wind Sword Realm had reached the seventh-level, while his Wind Lore had already reached the high-mastery level. Lin Xuan was really qualified to act arrogantly in front of him. Jiang Chen observed Lin Xuan’s movements carefully, and the previous night’s enlightenment emerged once again in his mind. Ten minutes passed, and it became obvious that Lin Xuan was in a tight spot. Still, he persisted bitterly.
“Wind God Sword Realm!”
Lin Xuan was already bleeding. He gave the fight his all and used a Sword Domain, which caused a commotion in the hall because it was exceptional for someone to comprehend a Sword Domain at such a young age. Delight appeared on Lin Xuan’s teacher’s face, which was usually the ice-cold visage of a middle-aged woman.
In the last five minutes, Lin Xuan depended upon the Sword Domain to pass the Tianyu Sword’s test and graduate successfully. All of the sword pavilion’s students were aware of what this meant, and an uproar arose in the hall. The middle-aged woman was congratulated by the others because her student had managed to graduate, which she should make her proud.
“Lin Xuan, go tend to your injuries,” she instructed.
“They’re just small scratches, and they aren’t a hindrance.” Lin Xuan revealed a bright smile and looked at Jiang Chen and Lin Shuangyue.
“Moreover, he still wants to see the outcome of a certain confident person.”
Everyone was aware that Lin Xuan was Lin Shuangyue’s big brother and clearly knew what those words implied. Many gleeful faces looked toward Jiang Chen. They all took joy in his misfortune, especially Shi Hu. Lin Shuangyue was infuriated. Inwardly, she cursed those bored people.
As for Jiang Chen, he didn’t care. Those people were obviously bored and were just looking for a way to kill time.
