If I become a saint, a celestial official will summon me to raise horses.

Chapter 435 The Way of the Sword
Although Yang Xian's cultivation level cannot be determined from the hints, he seems very strong, and most importantly, he is only twenty-one years old.

Gu An looked at the prompt and sighed inwardly.

He even felt that the Great Hong Realm was stronger than ordinary worlds, and it was always associated with the word "immortal".

[At the age of twenty-five, your master, the Immortal Ancestor of Ten Thousand Swords, summoned you privately. You went to meet him, and he claimed that he wanted to pass on the position of Lord of the Ten Thousand Swords Immortal Ridge to you. If you accept the fortune of the Ten Thousand Swords Immortal Ridge, you can control all the immortal swords, divine swords, and treasure swords of the Ten Thousand Swords Immortal Ridge, and even gain immortality, but the price is the loss of your freedom. Do you choose to agree to accept the position of Lord of the Ridge?]

Loss of freedom?

No!

no!
Gu An refused outright. He was here to experience a chivalrous life, not to pursue immortality.

Moreover, if the reincarnated body gains immortality, what will happen to the original body?
[You refused the position of Ridge Master, and the Immortal Ancestor of Ten Thousand Swords did not force you, but assigned you a training mission to investigate your senior brother who betrayed the sect.]

At the age of thirty, you arrive in Blood Deer City, where your senior brother made his last appearance. You meet Fang Meng, the city lord's daughter, and after a series of coincidences, you fall in love. Under her guidance, you infiltrate the underground city and encounter a legacy, where you learn the Killing Sword Technique.

At the age of thirty-one, a mysterious cultivator intends to sacrifice the entire city. You discover that this cultivator is the senior brother you are looking for. After a fierce battle, your senior brother captures Fang Meng and uses her life to blackmail you into abandoning your sword intent. Will you choose to agree?

Seeing this, Gu An thought to himself that love and affection were indeed stumbling blocks for swordsmen.

But if he wanted to be a swordsman, how could he not save Fang Meng?

If he listened to this senior brother, he would be tantamount to surrendering without resistance.

A dilemma!

After struggling for a moment, Gu An chose to believe Yang Xian. The fact that the senior brother could threaten Yang Xian meant that he was very wary of Yang Xian, and Yang Xian must also have some hidden cards up his sleeve.

If I die like this, then I'll consider the path of chivalry unworkable, and from now on I'll just read books and stop thinking about it.

Gu An silently agreed.

[You chose to agree to abandon your sword intent, dispelling the sword intent within you and sustaining severe injuries. Your senior brother laughed wildly, mocking your foolishness, and attempted to kill Fang Meng. At the critical moment, your master, the Immortal Ancestor of Ten Thousand Swords, intervened, using his finger as a sword, and from thousands of miles away, snapped his finger and killed your senior brother. You endured the pain and caught Fang Meng as she fell from the sky.]

At the age of thirty-two, while you are meditating on the Dao of Sword in the courtyard, you are visited by Fang Meng. She confesses her true feelings to you, wants to marry you, and asks you to inherit her father's legacy and embark on the path of cultivation again. Will you choose to accept her?

no!
Never get married!
Gu An made the choice for Yang Xian without hesitation.

I haven't even gotten married, so what are you all getting married for?
You rejected Fang Meng's true feelings, leaving her heartbroken. That night, you secretly left Blood Deer City to pursue your own path of the sword.

The subsequent prompts all mentioned traveling and chivalrous deeds; Yang Xian did not return to Wanjian Immortal Ridge, nor did he return to Ziwei Immortal Mansion.

Seeing Yang Xian embark on the path she wanted to take, Gu An felt very gratified.

Yang Xian was more obedient than her previous reincarnation.

At forty, you have earned a good reputation through years of chivalrous deeds, but you are unable to rekindle your sword intent, and your cultivation cannot progress. You are trapped in a dilemma. You hesitate about whether to commit a killing spree, killing those vicious and wicked people to steal your lifespan and thus restore your sword path. Will you choose to commit the killing spree?

What is there to hesitate about when killing the most vicious and wicked people?
Gu An felt that the ability to steal lifespans did not conflict with chivalry, and chivalry should not mean not killing anyone.

What he wants to do is punish evil and promote good!
[You chose to commit murder, but another voice within you warned you, putting you in a dilemma. One voice urged you to take up the butcher's knife, while another urged you not to forget your original intention. In the end, you chose not to commit murder and to uphold your Dao heart. In the darkness, you sensed a trace of sword intent, very close to you, yet unseen and intangible.]

Ok?
How could it resist my choice?

This was the first time Gu An had encountered such a situation. Fortunately, even so, Yang Xian had some understanding, which made him look forward to Yang Xian even more.

At the age of forty-one, you were severely injured by a powerful cultivator while saving someone. You fled into a river and drifted downstream until you reached a secluded mountain island. There you discovered a long-abandoned bamboo house, where you recuperated.

At the age of forty-three, after observing the mist in the forest for a long time and gaining insights into the nature of heaven and earth, you began to create your own swordsmanship.

At the age of forty-five, you created a thousand sword techniques, reunited your sword intent, and achieved enlightenment.

[At forty-eight, your swordsmanship surpassed all your previous achievements. Even plants and trees possessed meaning, and mountains and rivers had spirits. You embarked on a swordsmanship path that belonged only to you.] [At fifty, a young man stumbled upon your island, mistaking you for a deity, and wanted to become your disciple. As soon as he entered, the bamboo swords you crafted trembled. You sensed a sword intent emanating from him and realized that he was the innate sword intent practitioner mentioned by the Immortal Ancestor of Ten Thousand Swords. Such a person is born to practice swordsmanship. Will you choose to accept him as your disciple?]

A person with innate sword intent?
Is it so powerful?
Gu An didn't think much of it and agreed.

Taking on apprentices isn't a bad thing, after all, he himself takes on apprentices.

Every choice has its ups and downs; as long as he doesn't resist it and is willing, that's fine.

You choose to take the boy as your apprentice. You hear that the boy was raised by mountain bandits and has no real name, so you name him Yang Ping'an.

At the age of fifty-two, Yang Ping'an had mastered all your sword techniques, but he was still unable to comprehend sword intent or refine his own.

Later on, Yang Ping'an's name appeared in every prompt. By observing Yang Ping'an's cultivation, Yang Xian also increased his understanding of the way of the sword.

Gu An was surprised; Yang Ping'an's swordsmanship talent was also extraordinary, even surpassing Yang Xian's.

At sixty, your swordsmanship has reached a new level. That year, Yang Ping'an wants to leave the island for training. Will you agree to let him leave?

no!
Only a few years of cultivation?
With this little skill, are you trying to get yourself killed?
[You disagreed with Yang Ping'an leaving the island, which displeased Yang Ping'an. So, you set a rule that Yang Ping'an could only go out to train after defeating you. Yang Ping'an agreed and began to cultivate diligently.]

Upon seeing this notification, Gu An suddenly had a bad feeling.

Will the master and disciple turn against each other in the future?
As Gu An pondered this, he kept staring at the prompts that kept popping up in front of him.

It was still cultivation, but with the added challenge of Yang Ping'an.

Every five years, Yang Ping'an challenges Yang Xian, and judging from the hints, both master and disciple are growing rapidly.

At the age of one hundred, your swordsmanship has reached a new level. Your consciousness peers into the long river of swordsmanship, where you see figures standing. You yearn for it and approach, only to be struck by one of these figures wielding his sword. Your swordsmanship is damaged, and your consciousness returns to your body. You find that your sword intent has temporarily dissipated, and your spiritual energy is depleted. At this moment, your disciple Yang Ping'an comes to challenge you. Will you choose to accept his challenge?

This is really bad timing!
Gu An wanted to refuse, but then he thought that refusing would be cowardly. Yang Ping'an probably wouldn't want to kill him, so it would be a good opportunity to test Yang Xian's strength.

Without sword intent and spiritual power, could Yang Xian defeat Yang Ping'an?
[You chose to accept Yang Ping'an's challenge. After a fierce battle, you were both severely injured, with Yang Ping'an narrowly winning by one move. He shouted excitedly, releasing the pent-up frustration of the past years. You had no choice but to let him go on his travels. Before parting, Yang Ping'an kowtowed three times to you, saying that he would never forget your kindness in teaching him.]

At the age of 101, you recovered from your injuries, regained your sword intent, and gained new insights.

Seeing that Yang Xian had actually lost, Gu An felt helpless, but fortunately Yang Ping An still had some conscience.

The next step is still cultivation.

Yang Xian gave up the ability to steal lifespans, but his growth rate was still very fast. Without venturing out, he secluded himself in the deep mountains, studied swordsmanship, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

Yang Ping'an, however, never returned.

One prompt after another.

Soon, Yang Xian turned five hundred years old.

At the age of 507, you reached the point where everything in heaven and earth could be a sword, and you buried all your swords at the bottom of the lake outside the island.

At age 508, a masked woman arrives on your island. She claims to be Fang Meng's daughter, and says that Fang Meng is dying and wants to see you one last time. Will you agree?

Fang Meng?

She actually has a daughter, but that's normal. Not all women can wait forever, especially since she was rejected by Yang Xian.

Gu An sighed inwardly, then fell into hesitation.

(End of this chapter)