Borrowing a sword

Chapter 267 [The Return of Ten Thousand Swords (False)]

"No way! It's this tiny?"

Chu Huaixu looked at the pebbles on the ground with a surprised expression.

Previously, the Dao Ancestor's Secret Realm that he and Han Shuangjiang entered was, at least, a secret space inside a large rock.

The large ice block sat down on her plump, full buttocks, and then, as if having successfully verified that she was the destined one for this opportunity, it immediately opened the door for her.

Today, I just kicked a small stone and the secret realm opened!
The blue light absorbed it, and nine translucent ripples spread through the air.

A woman of destiny, terrifying indeed.

"So this last inheritance is in the Book Mountain. No wonder I couldn't find it in the Medicine Mountain a few days ago."

Chu Huaixu began to mobilize the power of the Daoist scriptures within his body, and then raised his finger and gently tapped the small pebble.

The next moment, a beam of azure light appeared, and he was sucked into it.

The mysterious aura emanating from this place immediately alarmed Xiang Yan and the others.

The high-ranking members of the Daoist sect almost unanimously exclaimed, "This is... the Dao Ancestor's legacy!"

"Have Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang entered the Inheritance Realm again?"

Everyone felt that now was indeed a great time.

The Third Realm East-West Continent Grand Competition is about to begin, and now that I have obtained the Dao Ancestor's inheritance, it is truly wonderful!

really!

Fate is truly wondrous.

In addition to that, there is another very important point.

As is widely known, the Taoist Ancestor left behind nine mysterious inheritances in various parts of the Taoist community.

Taoist elders liked to set up secret realms for inheritance within their sects. This tradition of valuing opportunities began with the Taoist patriarch.

The Dao Ancestor did assign "numbers" to the nine branches of the lineage.

When a secret realm opens, if it creates a ripple, that's the first inheritance secret realm. Two ripples indicate the second one he set up, and so on.

However, over the course of a thousand years, Taoist disciples would certainly not follow this "numbered" order when searching for their lineage.

As Shen Man entered the secret realm, eight ripples spread out.

The secret realm that Han Shuangjiang opened by the cold pool last time rippled out a total of seven times.

"The last secret realm of inheritance."

"And it happens to be the ninth one," Xiang Yan and the others thought.

"Nine is the ultimate number!"

"For some reason, it always makes me feel that this secret realm is even more extraordinary," Nangong Yue remarked.

Upon hearing this, Li Chunsong replied, "In the past thousand years, many people within the sect have analyzed that the secret of the [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin] might also be in the Inheritance Secret Realm."

"Many people speculate that one must obtain some inheritance from the Dao Ancestor in order to learn the [Ten Thousand Swords Return to One] technique."

Zhao Shuqi shook his head and said, "It's a pity that now it seems that there is no secret to the [Ten Thousand Swords Return to One] technique. It's just that very few people have figured it out. For example, the current generation of Sword Master of the Sword Sect has learned it on his own."

Jiang Zhi listened from the side without interrupting.

Even as a member of the Taoist sect and currently the strongest swordsman, he still hasn't mastered the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" technique.

As it turned out, it was the Sword Master of the Sword Sect who comprehended it.

Although the Daoist Ancestor did not keep his secrets to himself, he bestowed the "Return of Ten Thousand Swords" upon all people to comprehend together.

However, to be honest, it's quite shameful that outsiders have learned it, since even those within the Taoist community haven't mastered it.

Sword Sect, Nameless Peak.

The nameless peak is not a very high mountain, but its slopes are extremely steep, and from a distance it looks a bit like a giant sword stuck in the earth.

This mountain is the residence of the Sword Masters of the Sword Sect throughout history.

Because the mountain is so steep, only the top is suitable for habitation.

There is only a small wooden house here, nothing else.

The door of the wooden house was slowly pushed open by a pair of large hands, and a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar, holding a book, slowly walked out of the house.

The middle-aged scholar once had a very refined name, but now he lives on an unnamed peak, and is therefore an unnamed person.

Or perhaps, his current name is Sword Master.

This has been the case for all the great sword masters throughout history.

After ascending to this position, he became the sword of the Sword Sect.

The middle-aged scholar stood on the not-so-high, nameless peak, looking up at the blue sky, as if waiting for something.

A moment later, a streak of light flashed across the sky.

Someone came flying through the air; their voice drifted over even before they arrived.

If the content of those words were to get out, it would probably cause controversy.

"Senior brother! Come quickly to greet me!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged scholar quickly stepped forward, a gentle smile on his face.

Situ Cheng, one of the Four Divine Swords, soon descended from the sky.

His hair was half-gray, and he was slightly hunched over.

In addition, he treated middle-aged Confucian scholars with a rather haughty attitude; when the two stood together, he seemed more like the elder.

"Junior brother, you've graced us with your presence, why haven't you made tea yet?" He frowned, his tone extremely displeased.

"Yes, yes, yes." The middle-aged scholar quickly smiled and said, "Master Situ, it's been quite a while since you've visited your senior brother."

After saying that, he gestured towards the stone table, indicating that it was safe to enter.

Situ Cheng frowned again: "I haven't gained any insights into swordsmanship recently. I'm not here to spar with you, so why am I here to see you!" Back in the Daoist sect, Jiang Zhi's conversation with Situ Cheng revealed that he and his senior brother had been competing for most of their lives.

Of course, this was just Situ Cheng's own perception of the struggle.
Every time they sparred, he narrowly lost, always falling just short by a hair's breadth.

Jiang Zhi's eyes were quite amused at the time.

But Situ Cheng disagreed.

As everyone knows, the Sword Master is the most honest person in the world and never lies.

There's no reason for him to be sincere to the whole world, but to deceive his only junior brother.

When they were young, their senior brother never lied, which led to his misdeeds being frequently exposed and him being punished by his master.

Back then, his strength far surpassed that of his senior brother, and he always needed his junior brother's protection.

Back then, my senior brother was like a bookworm who only studied books. He read extensively on swordsmanship and could recite them all by heart, but he didn't even get the basics right. His cultivation and swordsmanship were both mediocre.

So much so that when the two went down the mountain to carry out a mission, it was Situ Cheng who burned his lifespan to escape from danger and save his life. As a result, the junior brother looks much older than the senior brother now.

As the middle-aged scholar poured tea for his junior brother, he said, "Master Situ, you can come and visit your senior brother more often when you're not sparring."

"What's so interesting about you?" Situ Cheng asked, looking displeased.

He took a sip of hot tea, put down the teacup, and said, "I've come to see you today to tell you something: you're wrong!"

"Alright, it was Senior Brother's fault." The middle-aged scholar smiled and continued to pour tea for his junior brother.

Upon hearing this, Situ Cheng felt incredibly angry. His eyes widened, his nostrils flared as he glared at the scholar and said indignantly:

"You should be asking me now, where you went wrong!"

The middle-aged scholar immediately put down the teapot and said in a serious tone, "Very well, please enlighten me, junior brother, where I went wrong."

Situ Cheng nodded in satisfaction and looked up, saying, "Didn't you discuss with me before that Geng Tianhe, that promising talent from the outer sect, was arrogant and proud, and that his sword had the power but not the intent, and that he couldn't fully master the sword intent before reaching the third realm?"

The middle-aged scholar looked up at the sky, his face deep in thought, causing the two ribbons on his hair ornament to tilt slightly backward, as if he were recalling whether he had mentioned it during a casual conversation.

Situ Cheng's displeasure deepened. Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, he immediately frowned and said, "Don't think about it anymore, you said it!"

"Yes, yes, I have said so." The middle-aged scholar immediately nodded and replied with a smile.

Seeing this, Situ Cheng's tone immediately became more arrogant, and he even tapped the stone tabletop twice with his fingers, saying:

"Now I will tell you that Geng Tianhe forcibly entered the realm of sword intent during the battle between the Daoist sect and Chu Huaixu. After returning to the sect, he has stabilized his intent after my guidance. A month ago, I took him as my disciple and made him my true successor."

"With my careful guidance, he has already shown signs of achieving a minor mastery of swordsmanship!"

An ordinary person might argue against this.

I previously said that he was arrogant and therefore did not enter the gate of sword intent. He was clearly stimulated by Chu Huaixu, which led to his enlightenment. What does that have to do with you?
But the middle-aged scholar replied with a serious expression, "Junior brother is truly talented!"

Upon hearing this, Situ Cheng was clearly pleased. He snorted and said, "This boy's talent is indeed not bad, no less than mine back then."

"I reckon he'll have mastered the basics of sword intent before the third realm competition! This time, our Sword Sect definitely won't be as humiliated as it was in the last Eastern Continent competition."

"It's a pity that the Daoist boy, for some reason, has already developed a sword heart within his body, even though he has only just entered the realm of sword intent."

"If it weren't for Chu Huaixu, Geng Tianhe would definitely be number one among the younger generation in terms of swordsmanship comprehension!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged scholar clicked his tongue in amazement: "This Chu Huaixu is indeed contrary to common sense, and even breaks the conclusions reached by the first generation of Sword Master."

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh, "If this child had been born twenty years earlier, I would have been very happy."

The contemporary sword master is unparalleled in his understanding of the way of the sword.

Jiang Zhi proves his Dao through killing, emphasizing slaughter and possessing extraordinary combat power.

On the surface, the two seem to be evenly matched in strength, but only a life-or-death duel can reveal who is stronger.

Moreover, all of this is based on the premise that the current Sword Master actually possesses the power of origin, but for some reason, he has never entered the Ninth Realm.

As for his understanding of swordsmanship, although Jiang Zhi is older, he is still not as good as the contemporary Sword Master.

Over time, the Sword Master became a person who hated victory in the way of the sword.

The top position is too lonely.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar wished that Chu Huaixu had been born twenty years earlier, because he felt that this boy might be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him and become a kindred spirit in the way of the sword.

However, given the vast age difference, their strength is naturally far inferior.

Upon hearing this, Situ Cheng couldn't help but snort coldly and retorted, "It seems that Senior Brother doesn't consider me an opponent anymore."

I always lose by a hair's breadth, but you can only ever beat me by such a tiny margin!

What's with all the smugness?

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged scholar quickly added, "Fortunately, we still have my junior brother."

Situ Cheng didn't say anything, but just snorted again, though the displeasure on his face lessened somewhat.

He sighed after a while.

"I don't know what great fortune you had to be able to comprehend the [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin] left behind by the Dao Ancestor."

"If you hadn't learned it, I would have definitely beaten you in our last sparring match!"

The two last faced off two years ago.

At that time, the middle-aged Confucian scholar had just mastered the "Return of Ten Thousand Swords" technique.

It was this move that led to Situ Cheng's defeat.

The game was evenly matched for the time being, with both sides trading blows.

The "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" technique is universally recognized as the strongest magic in the world!
Situ Cheng accepted his defeat in this move.

But the middle-aged scholar looked up at the blue sky again, shook his head, and said:

“Junior brother, I’ve said it many times, what I did wasn’t the real ‘Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin’.”

(P.S.: Second update, please vote for me at the beginning of the month!)
(End of this chapter)