Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Two tall mountains stand facing each other, able to see one another, one bathed in a pale blue glow, the other radiating a silvery-white light.

Tianhao pointed to the silvery jade disc and said, "The inheritance of the Heavenly Law Sword Manual is inside. After all, it is a fifth-order inheritance, and ordinary people may not be able to comprehend anything about it."

The art of playing the zither is relatively easy to pass down; most cultivators in the Immortal City possess some knowledge of it.

The Heavenly Law Sword Manual is different; it's far too difficult, and most of the cultivators who practice it have gone to the Southern Continent to participate in expeditions.

The ratio of zither players to sword players in the Immortal City is less than one in ten.

He patted Lin Zhao on the shoulder: "You figure it out on your own first. I have other things to do, so I won't stay here with you."

Lin Zhao sat cross-legged in front of the jade disc for three whole days without moving an inch.

The moment his mind sank into the jade disc, it felt as if he had fallen into a boundless, illusory world.

That illusory world had everything: mountains and rivers, cities and streets, birds and beasts, men, women, young and old—it encompassed everything.

But these scenes are not chaotic—everything has its place, and every change has its pattern, like a huge net that weaves together all things in heaven and earth.

Order. This is the cornerstone of the Heavenly Law Sword Codex.

Lin Zhao gleaned from this world a philosophy completely different from ordinary swordsmanship.

Kendo generally pursues sharpness, speed, and power, and how to kill the opponent.

The Heavenly Law Sword Manual pursues the order of the sword—the world has its own laws and regulations, and all things have their own rules. The sword is not a tool for killing, but a force that upholds the law.

Lin Zhao did not rush to make a judgment, but simply wrote down every detail she saw and went back to study it.

For the next year or so, Lin Zhao used his military merits to exchange for time to comprehend the Heavenly Law Sword Manual. He sat cross-legged in front of the jade wall for long periods of time, and his merits were enough to support him in comprehending it for several years.

Tianhao would come to see him whenever he had free time. The two would find a shop to sit down and drink, and Tianhao would also pour out his grievances and complain about all sorts of troubles in the sect.

The position of Holy Son is not easy to hold. Most people are not qualified to discuss many things with him, and those who are qualified are mostly Nascent Soul stage old monsters, so they can't have a proper conversation with him.

He is in competition with the other candidates for the Holy Son, and even if he has a decent relationship with a few of them, he cannot become close friends with them.

Lin Zhao became his most suitable conversation partner—she was of the same generation, of high status, and there was no competition between them.

Aside from some sect secrets, we can talk about anything else; there's plenty of information available on the Tianxing Network anyway.

When Lin Zhao has nothing to do, he will also take a walk around inside and outside the Immortal City.

Zhongzhou is indeed prosperous, and has become an extremely developed modern society.

But where there are people, there are troubles. The mortals of Zhongzhou have their own pressures in life—housing, livelihood, social status, and various tasks issued by the Heavenly Law Divine Sect, which they must also participate in.

In the Central Continent, mortals do not own private land, so everything depends on their identity, household registration, and level. All kinds of cultivation products require a level to use, and the only way to increase one's level is to complete the tasks issued by the Heavenly Law Divine Sect.

The lives of mortals under the rule of Zhongzhou were naturally much better than those in the outside world, but they were still being arranged and driven.

Lin Zhao observed and comprehended the way of the sword.

Gradually, I figured out the core principles of this fifth-order sword manual.

Heaven and earth have their own principles and laws, and all things have their own rules. The sword guides heaven and earth, and with the sword, it enforces the laws, judges right and wrong, and regulates all things.

This sword style naturally counters all supernatural abilities that defy the natural order, curses, inner demons, demonic energy, and disorder. It can see through the flaws in spells, formations, and magical artifacts, making it extremely easy to defeat stronger opponents of the same level.

The sword intent unfolds, possessing its own domain of order, suppressing the opponent's cultivation technique.

The strongest sword strike is one that uses the body to bear the spiritual power of heaven and earth, and the falling sword strike is like the might of heaven descending upon the world—the Prison Suppressing Heavenly Law Sword.

It is indeed an extremely powerful sword technique.

Until one day, Tianhao came to see him, and his expression was not good.

He brought news: one of his rivals had emerged from seclusion, the Heavenly Radiance Saint Son, one of the candidates for Saint Son, from a distinguished family.

He lost the competition for the position of Holy Son to Tianhao back then, and has been holding his anger in ever since.

After hearing about Lin Zhao's situation, he was unconvinced and gathered a large group of cultivators to challenge Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao didn't take it seriously; he was just a candidate for Holy Son, and he was sitting at the same table as Qin Tianjun.

In the days that followed, quite a few Core Formation cultivators traveled from afar to Qinxia Immortal City, specifically requesting to compete with Lin Zhao, hoping to gain fame through him.

Lin Zhao refused all the challenges, only replying, "If you want to challenge me, go hunt down a Holy Son first."

Some people on the other side criticized him for only relying on Tianhao's name and for only putting in 10% effort when fighting the Holy Son of Ten Thousand Spirits.

Lin Zhao would occasionally retort, just for amusement.

That Heavenly Saint has yet to show his face. I heard he's in seclusion studying Lin Zhao's swordsmanship, preparing to defeat him in one fell swoop.

Lin Zhao went with him, while he continued to comprehend the Dao of Sword.

Over the course of a year, he gradually gained a clearer understanding of the Heavenly Law Sword Manual.

The core of this sword manual is very clear: Heaven and Earth have their own principles and laws, and all things exist according to their own rules.

However, Lin Zhao does not entirely agree with this core concept.

The question is, who determines the fundamental principles of heaven and earth? Who decides the laws and decrees of the Great Dao?

The will of heaven and earth in the Cangyuan cultivation world was shattered by the combined efforts of the overlords. If we're talking about heaven, then the severed will of heaven is the true heaven.

The Heavenly Law Divine Sect has shattered the will of Heaven, yet now it expects those who come after them to believe in their so-called Heavenly Law Order.

In terms of rebellion, the Heavenly Law Divine Sect was the greatest rebel.

As for the laws governing all things, who determines those laws?

Tianlu Shenzong.

But the Heavenly Law Divine Sect is ultimately composed of people, and people have selfish desires.

The rules of Zhongzhou may be strict for lower-level cultivators, but what about for high-level Nascent Soul cultivators? And for Nascent Soul Heavenly Venerables?

One day, Tianhao came to him to discuss swordsmanship and asked about his progress in cultivation.

Lin Zhao did not answer the question about cultivation, but instead brought up this question.

Tianhao remained silent and did not answer the question.

Lin Zhao didn't pressure him.

He took out a jade box and pushed it in front of Tianhao.

Tianhao opened it, and inside lay three fish-shaped spiritual creatures, their bodies translucent and radiating a thin layer of spiritual light.

Three Spirit Fish, a top-grade first-tier spiritual creature.

This is a product cultivated by the Tianlu Divine Sect in the Southern Continent using special technology. It can slightly improve a cultivator's foundation, but the effect is not obvious. However, it is quite popular among low-level cultivators.

The rumors surrounding it are quite mysterious, saying that eating it can increase the chances of ordinary children being born with spiritual roots.

Tianhao naturally knew this was nonsense. Spiritual roots were predetermined and could not be changed by a mere three spirit fish, but he couldn't stop people from believing it, and there were many who believed it.

Tianhao was puzzled; it was just a first-tier spiritual object, nothing special to them.

Lin Zhao said casually, "I bought this at a small shop in Xiancheng. I heard it's a famous local dish."

Tianhao's eyes narrowed sharply.

Lin Zhao continued, "The Three Spirit Fish are special spiritual items supplied to the Expeditionary Force. Most of the Expeditionary Force cultivators don't need them, but they will exchange some with their military merits to bring back to their families."

Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal for the expeditionary force cultivators to sell their surplus three spirit fish.

But it's impossible to have it every day. However, the shop that sold me this three-spirited fish has been open for hundreds of years, and its supply is stable and never lacks.

and--"

Lin Zhao pushed the jade slip containing the menu from the table over: "The menu for the restaurant we're eating at now is also on it."

Tell me, what's the reason?

Tianhao picked up the recipe jade slip on the table, stared at it for a while, and finally put it down again.