Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 546 Borrowing a Sword

When the ninth figure—

When the withered bone sword energy of Emperor Chongming Guo Ang tore through the clouds, cracks simultaneously appeared on the ten-zhang-long paving stones of the white jade square.

The protective aura of the Duan Yue Sect elder beside the Sword Testing Stone was actually forced back three inches into his body, while two disciples with slightly weaker cultivation levels beside him had blood seeping from their mouths and noses.

At the late stage of the Innate Realm, with the condensation of sword intent, one can fight against a Grandmaster!
The last one to step onto the stone steps in front of the mountain gate is the true prodigy!
Outside the gates of the Moving Mountain Sect, whether they were guests watching the ceremony or martial artists participating in the trials, the crowd was excited and in an uproar.

In most people's eyes, the Mountain Sect was revealing its absolute strength, wanting to show the entire martial arts world their power on this day of trial.

The disciples of the four sects, in particular, all wore expressions of joy.

These disciples felt that whichever of these nine prodigies became a core disciple today would be a great thing for the Mountain Sect.

However, the expressions of Yue Cengshan, the sect leader of the Moving Mountain Sect, and others standing in front of the mountain gate became increasingly solemn.

"The Blood-Burning Pill of the Eastern Wei, the Cold Marrow Iron of the Northern Border, the Sword Control Technique of Yangtian Continent..." The white-bearded elder behind Yue Cengshan gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "This is going to destroy the thousand-year foundation of my Mountain Sect!"

Yue Cengshan narrowed his eyes, revealing a dark and menacing aura.

Cao Chunbao lowered his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across the square below. Suddenly, he trembled and his eyes widened.

That is--

The figure beside the sword-testing stone!

he came!

Cao Chunbao smiled and laughed heartily: "Good! Good! Good! Today, let the world see what true mountain power is!"

His words stopped abruptly.

Beside the Sword Testing Stone, Zhang Yuan looked up and, though separated by a thousand feet, his gaze fell upon Cao Chunbao.

Cao Chunbao bowed slightly and grinned.

Zhang Yuan untied the goose-feather knife from his waist and tossed it to Luo Hongxiu, then followed the path taken by the ancestor Su Changming in his photograph toward the bronze cauldron.

The crowd parted like a tide in front of the bronze tripod.

"Anyone else wants to take the trial?"

"He's also vying for the core disciple position?"

"Who is this?"

All eyes turned to Zhang Yuan.

Standing in front of the viewing platform, Young Master Xun slowly closed his folding fan, his eyes revealing surprise.

"he came……"

Although he had never seen him in person, Young Master Xun had seen this figure in the communication jade pendant of his elder brother, Marquis Pingyun Xun Huo.

Beside him, Manager Zhao stood up, a look of reverence on his face.

He had met this man when he was working as an steward in the Zhengyang County Prefectural Governor's Office.

The four elders had different expressions, each revealing a hint of doubt.

In front of the mountain gate, Cao Chunbao gripped the hilt of a knife, his knuckles already turning white.

He felt invigorated despite the immense pressure.

From this day forward, the Mountain Sect will surely be renowned throughout the world!

On the stone steps in front of the mountain gate, the nine elites turned their heads, their expressions ranging from calm to disdainful, from cold to suspicious.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhang Yuan walked to the bronze cauldron and slowly reached out his hand.

Zhang Yuan placed one hand on the blood-stained area of ​​the cauldron's handle, his fingertips tracing the indentations left by past trial participants.

The inscription on the tripod, which seems to have uprooted mountains and rivers, glows with a faint golden light, resonating and trembling with the image of the ancestral master on the mountain gate archway.

“Brother, to lift a cauldron, one must first move a mountain—” Wang Zhenzhi’s voice suddenly stopped.

In everyone's eyes, the eight-thousand-pound bronze cauldron was lifted with one hand, and the strong wind generated when the cauldron's legs were three inches off the ground overturned the snow within ten feet.

Zhang Yuan flicked his wrist, and the bronze cauldron spun up to his shoulder like a lamp wick, unleashing a tiger's roar and a dragon's cry from his bones and muscles with the Ninefold Mountain-Moving Force!
"Crack."

The bluestone ground was cracked like a spider web, and with each step Zhang Yuan took, it left a three-inch deep mark on the frozen soil.

As he stepped across the tenth golden line, the bronze cauldron suddenly leaped into the air and flipped, its handles crashing with a clang and shattering the icicles on the eaves of the mountain gate archway.

That was the very spot where Su Changming took his picture and struck the cauldron back then! "Nine, Nine Revolutions Moving Mountains!" The Mountain Moving Elder's teacup shattered into dust. "Even if Ancestor Su himself were here, this wouldn't be any better!"

The moment Zhang Yuan lifted the bronze cauldron with one hand, Steward Zhao on the viewing platform pressed his palm against the edge of the table, causing a soft creak to sound from the corner of the sandalwood table.

"Elder Duan, do you know the origin of this boy?" The steward of the Zheng family in Sanmiao County suddenly turned his head and glanced at Duan Yun of the Qingyun Sword Sect with a look of surprise.

Duan Yun plucked three strands of his white beard, shook his head slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes: "I have observed the talents of the Eastern Territory for twenty years, yet I have never recognized such a person..."

"However, the world is constantly changing, and extraordinary talents are emerging in great numbers; perhaps—"

He said no more.

The sheer scale of the Mountain Sect's actions today put this elder of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect on high alert.

Could the Qingyun Sword Sect, another major sect in the martial arts world, have such outstanding talents attending its initiation ceremony?
In front of the viewing platform, the expressions of many leaders from other factions also changed.

With Zhang Yuan added to the mix, the Mountain Sect now boasts ten elite members capable of governing a region.

“Young Master Xun,” Steward Zhao suddenly clapped his hands and chuckled, tapping his knuckles on the table, “could the 100,000 spirit jades prepared by your esteemed household be for this man’s sword-forging expenses?”

Young Master Xun unfolded and closed his folding fan with a "whoosh," lightly tapping the gilded gift box in front of Steward Zhao with the fan ribs: "Prefect Zheng is even willing to part with the Zhenhai Xuanlin Armor, Steward Zhao's mission is quite respectable."

The two smiled at each other.

They all have backgrounds in the imperial court and government, unlike these江湖 (jianghu) forces.

They don't need to give face to the Mountain Sect.

They came out of respect for that person.

"Is he... is he still going to take on the challenge?" came a gasp from the plaza ahead.

"He wants to test his sword!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

In everyone's eyes, Zhang Yuan, after putting down the bronze cauldron, did not head towards the mountain gate to join the elites, but instead turned and walked towards the Sword Testing Stone of the Duan Yue Sect.

Four sects practicing together?

Will the story of Su Changming be repeated?
Each gaze held anticipation.

A look of surprise and doubt flashed across Yue Cengshan's eyes.

The elders of the four sects, especially the elder in charge of the Zhenhai Sect, had solemn and profound eyes at this moment.

Standing before the sword-testing stone, Li Sihuan's face was full of surprise as he looked at Zhang Yuan, who had walked up to him.

"Brother Zhang, I never expected you to be so amazing." His face flushed slightly, and his voice trembled a little.

That single call was enough to draw countless eyes to him.

Li Sihuan had never been looked at so directly by so many people before.

Standing behind Li Sihuan, Li Changqi's eyes twitched, his gaze filled with astonishment.

Not far away, Huangfu and the others who had seen Zhang Yuan before turned their heads in surprise.

Zhang Yuan looked at Li Sihuan, nodded, and said, "I'd like to borrow your sword."

Borrowing a sword?

Li Sihuan quickly handed over the sword he was holding.

Zhang Yuan held the scabbard in one hand and pressed the hilt of the sword with his right, his gaze slowly falling on the testing stone in front of him.

Those three sword marks transformed into sword light in his eyes.

"Zheng——"

The long sword is unsheathed!

Sword energy rises to the sky!

Before the water mist from the unsheathed steel sword could even touch the ground, the blade had already struck the crack in the "Mountain-Crushing" sword mark.

The sword intent gushing from the crack in the rock was refracted into seven rainbows by the sword spine, actually carving out the fourth "Sea Dividing" sword mark on the rock surface!
"The Fifth Mark!" Elder Duan Yuezong suddenly exclaimed.

Zhang Yuanjian took an unconventional approach, his sword tip dipped in the lingering snowflakes, drawing an arc before piercing three inches into the stone's core with a "clang." The sword's intent seemed to resonate with the tides of the Yuncang River thirty miles away!

What incredible sword intent!

There was a moment of complete silence before the gate of the Mountain Moving Sect, except for the resounding clang of a long sword striking the testing stone!
(End of this chapter)