Chapter 428: Sword Platform Contention

There was no flat valley after the **. Everyone knew that the next would only be one higher peak after another. People cast their eyes on this 【Heavenly Gift Feather】 Cui Zi Jie, but it was no longer just amazement.

Because people began to realize that this 【Heavenly Gift Feather】 must be among the last three people.

And according to the explanation yesterday, the mysterious young man hanging in the first place would face the second, third, and fourth places one by one... "to determine the top three rankings."

This was his opponent in a while.

And after only half a quarter of an hour, a clear voice came down from the Jade Sword Platform: "The one hundred and forty-third discussion, fourth, Su Xingke, challenges second, Xiang Zongyuan. Discussion temporarily set aside, please sword decide first."

He actually skipped Cui Zi Jie!

"... These people are also too powerful." Ren Zixin heard the young girl in the green dress beside her say softly, "Understanding the intent sword so deeply."

She was also attracted by this sword fight for the time being. Although the anxiety between her eyebrows had not gone, she after all didn't look around repeatedly anymore.

"Talented true transmissions are all selected for an intent sword since childhood, either five, seven, or ** years. When their own sword realm is qualified, they slowly understand this profound secret transmission that accompanies them day and night." Qu Xin looked at her calmly, "Just like 'reading a book a hundred times, its meaning will be seen by itself'. If you take an intent sword to practice after the sword dao is achieved, you won't be able to enter the threshold in a year or two."

"Hmm," Li Piaoqing was slightly dazed, and hesitated again, "I think it's fairer to pull the true Qi to the same level before comparing."

"They are all eight lives originally."

"..." Li Piaoqing was silent.

"Oh," Qu Xin understood, "You want people to pull to six lives."

"..."

Xiang Zongyuan and Su Xingke had already picked up their swords and stood up, one after the other walking toward the sword field under the platform.

This was of course the most important of the important, and also the most evenly matched battle for ranking.

People didn't think Su Xingke was stronger than Cui Zi Jie. More people still felt that Cui Zi Jie was Xiang Zongyuan's true rival, but between Su Xingke and Xiang Zongyuan, it was the biggest difficulty in the ranking discussion.

Because they each tended to two extremes, one was about to be twenty-five, one had just turned eighteen. Su Xingke was almost impossible to win over Xiang Zongyuan in sword fighting, this was unquestionable, but what degree did he have to achieve to make people rank him before Xiang Zongyuan?

The two flew onto the sword platform. Countless people had already seen Su Xingke's 【Entering Abyss Chapter】. This young man with high profile and flying spirit had countless supporters in two days.

And the name Xiang Zongyuan didn't need explanation.

This battle was just as everyone expected. The young man from the Pearl Mingzhu Shuixie was still sharp and sharp. Many people only heard in rumors that he defeated Chi Longyun, who wanted to impact the top five, with three swords, and only now did they truly see this sword that had been lost for a hundred years in the Pearl Mingzhu Shuixie.

【Entering Abyss Chapter】 · 【Dragon Jaw Picking Bright Pearl】

As soon as the sword came out, it had already surpassed the intent sword contention just now by more than one level.

In the past few days, people had seen countless stunning and aggressive sword techniques, sect unique skills, family unique transmissions, those with long-standing prestige, and those that appeared for the first time, countless wonderful ones, and the further back, the more astonishing—just now Qu Zhu's double-pearl intent sword and Cui Zi Jie's fog-born sword were already first-class unique skills that could be called the face of their respective sects.

But there had always been three legendary swords in this Shao Long sword discussion.

Pearl Mingzhu Shuixie's 【Entering Abyss Chapter】; Mount Mount Mount Yuquan's 【Ephemera Turning Hong】; Luoying Mountain's 【Withered Flower Chapter】.

All are supreme secret transmissions of intent swords, passed down by pulse, not lost for a hundred years, once there is a genius, it is immediately continued. These are sword techniques polished by several hundred years of time. Like Cloud Wave Building and other emerging sects, even if the momentum is not lost, they definitely don't have such things.

Now all three swords have successors.

【Entering Abyss Chapter】 and 【Withered Flower Chapter】 showed everyone a sword dao feast that was hard to forget. This legendary sword that had been passed down for hundreds of years was exposed to the clouds for the first time, showing itself to everyone. Not only the tens of thousands of viewers under the sword platform, but also the Jade Sword Platform caused bursts of exclamation.

However, the direction of the battle was just like that. The young man from the Pearl Mingzhu Shuixie still showed his top-level sword talent that was rare in the world, but 【Withered Maple】 stood on the platform, no matter how stunning and sharp Su Xingke's sword light was, he took it perfectly.

Until the last style of 【Sleeping Dragon Startled Awakening】 caused everyone to exclaim, but he was pointed by a sword on the dragon's forehead, withering into maple leaves all over the sky, and this arena settled here.

Only then did everyone know what the man's "sedimentation" of nearly four years had won for himself.

Xiang Zongyuan was still calm, turning his sword back into the scabbard; on the other side, Su Xingke stood up from the ground with his sword, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at him coldly, but that was it.

Only arrogant cold contempt, but no out-of-control anger, and the two returned to the Jade Sword Platform one after the other.

But for the viewers, this was already an extremely wonderful and intense sword fight, and the cheers surrounding the sword platform lasted for a long time.

And the next two games were the stage for 【Ephemera Turning Hong】.

Everyone understood what 【Heavenly Gift Feather】 was. Cui Zi Jie used this sword to strongly defeat Su Xingke—only then did the young man press his corners down and sit silently after returning to the sword platform, and anyone could see the fire brewing in his heart.

The sword contention between Cui Zi Jie and Xiang Zongyuan truly pushed everything to the **.

Four years ago, people said North Kongdong and South Luoying, putting Ji Zhuowu and Xiang Zongyuan together. Later, Ji Zhuowu disappeared, and the one who topped it was always Mount Mount Mount Yuquan's Cui Zi Jie.

The two most glorious names in Shao Long sword dao for three years, now finally stood together so solemnly.

The duel between 【Ephemera Turning Hong】 and 【Withered Flower Chapter】 was absolutely worthy of the two months of anticipation. Between the white feathers and petals all over the sky, two figures intersected, and every sword light was accompanied by the intersection of the two intent swords.

Cui Zi Jie absolutely brought pressure to this 【Withered Maple】, although it was still orderly, but that calmness disappeared. They fought each other extremely fast, always erupting the most stunning sword light in the most dangerous gaps.

And ultimately, the successor of 【Withered Flower Chapter】 won.

This was actually a very pure and ancient intent sword, without twists and turns of realm, without exquisite changes, only a piece of cold sword intent.

Luoying Mountain still has dozens of acres of peach blossom forest planted on its back. Legend has it that the ancestor of Luoying Mountain realized this sword here. In the third month of spring, when the sword was drawn, nine hundred and seventy-two peach trees entered autumn, and the peach blossoms fell in a moment.

So it was named 【Withered Flower Chapter】, and the sect was established.

Longnan still circulates the ballad of "Nine hundred and seventy-two swords wither, no flowers in the peach forest", but in fact, for more than three hundred years, no one has reproduced such a miracle.

Now when Xiang Zongyuan drew his sword, the autumn cold all over the sky shrouded this platform. The ephemera were frozen to death, and when Cui Zi Jie miraculously turned the sword into the feather realm, Xiang Zongyuan, who had fought with him for seventy-seven rounds, looked at him and sheathed his sword.

So the coldness that filled the platform erupted, and all white feathers and frost fell.

It is impossible to describe the intoxicated feeling of watching such a sword fight, because the intent sword can originally involve the viewer's heart, countless people have already shouted hoarse, as if experiencing a fairyland.

The whole field shouted Xiang Zongyuan's name, and Cui Zi Jie also won countless crazy shouts. When they returned to the Jade Sword Platform, they also won everyone's admiration and attention.

The cheers under the platform lasted for a long time, so the name hanging in the first column seemed a bit abrupt and eye-catching.

【Fortieth Bead】

The sun was already high, and it was quiet in the remote room.

Pei Ye took this bead away from his eyes, leaned on the back of the chair and closed his eyes, his lips were a bit pale.

Fine sweat beads oozed from his forehead, the young man frowned somewhat painfully, and only after a while did he lightly exhale, picked up his pen to list all the sword techniques he had just experienced, put down the pen, and closed his eyes somewhat painfully again.

For a long time, he slowly opened a slit.

"... Little cat?" Pei Ye said lightly and hoarsely.

"Hmm."

"Sorry." He said softly.

"... Sorry for what? You help me do what I want to do, I help you do what you want to do, isn't it always like this."

The young man smiled reluctantly: "Little cat."

"Hmm?"

"You are really good."

"... You are also very good."

Pei Ye closed his eyes and leaned quietly. After a while, he gently placed his hand on the black cat's back: "Do you think we will die?"

"Possible," the black cat said calmly, "But if you die, I won't necessarily die."

"... Then if I die, will you contract someone else?"

The black cat was silent for a while: "Otherwise, should I keep a living widow for you for a lifetime?"

Pei Ye smiled silently, the pain in his brain could be endured a little, he took a deep breath, put the bead back, and then took the forty-first bead from the wall.

He didn't spend so much effort when checking 【Seeing Ghost】 in Kongdong, because although watching the ghost was equally exhausting, it was mostly human affairs, naturally left in memory, and didn't need to actively experience every detail of every sword.

In Kongdong, he tried to look at that soul-stealing bead, and determined that this was a method of learning swords that consumed life. Now his heart and spirit had recovered, and with the protection of 【Quail Head】, it wouldn't cause such great damage, but 【Quail Head】 itself was also difficult to hold for a long time, and the fatigue and pain were not reduced at all.

The young man endured the pain quietly and resiliently, earnestly pushing forward this unimaginable feat; unfortunately, this was not the bustling Jade Sword Stage, but a remote, quiet room, and no one witnessed the other miracle he completed.

Forty-first, forty-second, forty-third... forty-fourth.

Pei Ye's face was as pale as snow, his lips trembling slightly, and the black cat held the bead and put it back in its original place, looking at him with some worry.

The last bead was almost the last straw that broke him. 【Quail Head】 had already been withdrawn, his heart and spirit were as brittle as glass, and he clearly felt that the edict map in his heart had begun to surge upward again.

Pei Ye was silent for a while... and let go of the "gate" that blocked it.

A stream of comfortable coolness surged up in an instant.

Yes, now he was its master, a true god-child before the throne who had called the Fairy Lord, it wanted to assimilate him, not harm him.

His heart and spirit suddenly relaxed a bit. Pei Ye rested for a while, looked at the book almost full of records in his hand, sat upright at the table, and began to flip from the first page.

His fingers slid slowly over the records one by one, and the young man closed his eyes and recalled their appearance earnestly.

On the Jade Sword Platform, the atmosphere had already risen. People discussed the several sword fights just now, and that piece of blue and purple also kept whispering, obviously shocked by such swords.

The three sword practitioners had all returned to their seats, but no matter how much they savored it... that question was still in front of them.

——How should the rankings of the three be arranged?

Su Xingke and Cui Zi Jie seemed to be eighteenth and nineteenth, but in fact, they were nearly two years apart, and Cui Zi Jie learned swords a year earlier. And although Su Xingke was completely suppressed under Xiang Zongyuan's sword, the battle with Cui Zi Jie could be called ups and downs.

Xiang Zongyuan of course surpassed the other two, but as just said—does this deserve his five-year lead?

This was no longer a dispute between the talents of sword practitioners, but the southern sword gates almost all supported Luoying Mountain, while the Longxi sword gates mostly spoke for the Pearl Mingzhu Shuixie. Only Mount Mount Mount Yuquan had fewer supporters, but Cui Zi Jie was so dazzling that he definitely didn't look like the last one.

The Book Compilation Meeting also filled with persistent arguments, almost every ranking had supporters.

And as the discussion progressed, the opinions not only did not tend to be consistent, but were more clearly divided into three major factions.

Either Xiang Zongyuan, Cui Zi Jie, Su Xingke; or Xiang Zongyuan, Su Xingke, Cui Zi Jie; or Su Xingke, Cui Zi Jie, Xiang Zongyuan. The three parties expressed their opinions, but no one could convince anyone, and the atmosphere on the Jade Sword Platform became more and more enthusiastic.

Until Sui Zaihua tapped the table lightly.

The field quickly became quiet. In the eyes of everyone, Sui Zaihua said softly: "Xiang Zongyuan's name and position are difficult to determine because we don't know where his limit is; Cui and Su are difficult to distinguish between first and last because it is difficult to distinguish their potential."

He dropped the words, and then in the surprised attention of the whole field, the old man stood up with his sword from the case and walked down to the sword field himself.

"Xiang Zongyuan, come." Sui Zaihua turned his sword lightly and said softly to the stage, "Eight lives relative, I will see where your limit is first."

Everyone suddenly realized.

Yes, although Xiang Zongyuan fought two games, and the one with Cui Zi Jie was serious and intense enough, a person's limit is often reflected in the battle he loses.

But... to sword fight with the Governor??

An indescribable excitement began to rise in the field. No one thought that this respected lord would personally go down to the field. People looked at the sword field in surprise and anticipation, only feeling that it was really not a wasted trip.

Xiang Zongyuan had already stood up and bowed deeply, his expression respectful: "To be able to get the Governor's guidance, Zongyuan is very lucky."

He of course never thought that he could get this lord to personally test the sword—the Governor of the entire Shao Long Road was several levels more noble than the Luoying Mountain Master.

He had long known that this lord came from the Ritual Platform, supervised Shao Long, not only mastered the quota of the Dao Enlightenment Meeting, but this Sword Selection Meeting was also pushed by his efforts.

If the Shao Long Jianghu also had a top boss, it was precisely this tall and clear old man in front of him.

Sui Zaihua drew his sword and shook it lightly, not saying much, only peacefully said: "Come."

Xiang Zongyuan bowed again: "Zongyuan is presumptuous."

Everyone held their breath and watched this scene. It was rare for such a lord to personally perform swords, which made people somewhat uneasy that they were in a bird's-eye view.

【Withered Flower Chapter】.

It had appeared on the sword platform below just now, but it was by no means as impactful as it is now... Xiang Zongyuan lowered his eyes and drew his sword, and the cold intent filled the entire Jade Sword Platform in an instant.

Peach forests really grew from all around.

Although the atmosphere had already become enthusiastic, this was still a solemn place: blue and purple with heavy positions, Book Compilation elders with high prestige, seventy-two sword practitioners, and elders and geniuses of various famous sects.

They had all seen intent swords, and many were in the Mystic Gate, but now almost everyone was shrouded in this intent sword, and for a while, they couldn't find a way to break it.

Just as Qu Xin said, he grew up in Luoying Mountain since childhood, and used twenty years to nurture this sword intent. He grew into the appearance of 【Withered Maple】 at this age, which was originally proof of accompanying the intent sword.

Such a sword, how could it not be deep, how could it not be strong?

【Entering Abyss】, 【Ephemera Turning Hong】 were not weaker than 【Withered Flower】, it was really that Xiang Zongyuan's excavation of sword intent was already too strong. No matter how deep the dragon and how startling the rainbow, they were all in the endless peach forest.

Sword practitioners who were also in the book sighed and were shocked, the Book Compilation Meeting nodded in agreement, and the elders of various sects nodded unconsciously until an somewhat absurd thought couldn't help but appear in their hearts.

Lord Sui... seems to be unable to take this sword?

He pulled himself to the same realm as Xiang Zongyuan, but in this realm, Xiang Zongyuan was also too strong.

A sword light rose in the boundless peach forest, and wherever it passed, thousands of peach blossoms fell... As long as one was in the peach forest, everything withered under this sword intent.

It is named 【Withered Flower Chapter】, but "withered flower" is not its true meaning. The peach forest is just the place that nurtures it, and the frost flowers all over the ground are just witnessing its birth.

Such a pure and cold sword carried the boundless peach forest and forced it over. There was almost no escape. Sui Zaihua watched his body covered in frost and the sword blade cracked, until this sword intent rose to the peak, he picked up a peach blossom with his sword tip and put it back on the tree.

The frost intent melted, the petals were moist, and it bloomed on the tree again.

Like the big river thawing in spring, this cold world shattered on this peach blossom.

Xiang Zongyuan staggered back, almost losing his sword.

The Jade Sword Platform was silent for a while, people looked in daze, until unconsciously, applause sounded from different corners at the same time, soon drowning the whole field.

Of course, it was for such a wonderful sword fight, and also because, as the old man said... this defeated sword was really much stronger than facing Su and Cui.

But in fact, some people with keen sword sense found something wrong—this was less like a limit, more like full strength.

Because it didn't seem to be forced out, just like...

"He could have pushed this sword into the winter on the sword platform just now." Qu Xin suddenly said, "But he stopped."

However, the young girl in the green dress beside her didn't say a word, as if she hadn't heard anything. She only looked at the sword field quietly, her pair of agile clear eyes sinking like water.

The old man on the sword field kept silent about this situation, seemingly turning a blind eye. Xiang Zongyuan bowed deeply with a sword, and left the sword field.

With this style of withered flower coming out, nine out of ten people in the whole field were inclined to rank Xiang Zongyuan first.

Until 【Ephemera Turning Hong】 appeared on this sword field.

White feathers like scrolls, startling rainbows rushing to the sky, everyone was stunned for a moment, because the strength Cui Zi Jie showed in front of the old man also exceeded the sword platform fight just now!

No one thought that the sword intent of 【Ephemera Turning Hong】 could still be raised by him, but what was even more unexpected was that he was clearly the defeated side, why didn't he use his full strength?

No chance?

Sui Zaihua also broke this sword and showed an approving smile. Cui Zi Jie held his sword and left the field, standing on the side of the field with Xiang Zongyuan, and the old man turned his gaze to Su Xingke again.

And the performance of 【Entering Abyss Chapter】 once again stunned everyone.

After 【Dragon Jaw Picking Bright Pearl】 and 【Sleeping Dragon Startled Awakening】, this young genius who was eager to make progress... actually used the third style.

【Washing Sword Fighting Dragon】

This violent sword intent broke through the old man's blockade for the first time, actually making him take three steps back, and finally fell to the ground because it was too sharp and lacked foundation.

And then exclamations that could not be suppressed sounded on the Jade Sword Platform.

Su Xingke took a deep breath. His forehead hair was scattered, but his eyes were bright, and pride was hidden under his expression. He raised his hand and cupped his hands, bowing respectfully.

Sui Zaihua smiled slightly and said softly: "Very good."

So everyone understood at this moment: these three people were all hiding moves.

Yes, even if it was a decisive battle in the eyes of countless people, even if it was a competition for their names... they still hid their last trump cards.

On the side of the sword field, Xiang Zongyuan stood upright with his sword, closing his eyes as if entering meditation; Cui Zi Jie had no expression, his sword eyes looked at the ground, gently tapping the sword hilt; Su Xingke still pursed his lips into a straight line—since two days ago, the fire in this young man's belly had been so cold.

It was quiet in the field... because everyone thought of why.

Pei Ye flipped over the last page, and it was blank behind.

"So many," he sighed lightly and hoarsely.

"Doesn't that just make you look powerful." The black cat said softly.

Pei Ye smiled silently, frowned and rubbed his eyebrows again, then closed the book, leaned on the back of the chair, as if he had fallen asleep.

Precisely after a quarter of an hour, the young man opened his eyes, and it was a pair of bright and quiet eyes.

He picked up his sword and stood up, went out, and flicked a flower of flame before leaving, turning the book on the table into ashes.

"First, Pei Ye. 【Looking back, things are settled, please look at the heroes】. Seventeen, six lives. Book Compilation Meeting discussion: no doubt."

This line of words had been hanging in the first column of the gold scroll for twenty hours.

Right on the outer wall of the Jade Sword Platform, right outside the venue they were in, right in the eyes of tens of thousands of people.

Below it were the three names Xiang Zongyuan, Cui Zi Jie, and Su Xingke.

"Pei Ye has executed Jiang Yitong and Xi Tianji."

"The Glazed Sword Master was seriously injured in an ambush in Sword Belly Mountain, Pei Ye broke the formation."

"Good thanks to Young Hero Pei Ye, the sword feathers are clanking, daring to be a true unicorn. Without Pei Ye, there would be no sword to kill the enemy."

A name never met before.

Starting two months ago, they began to prepare for this Sword Selection Meeting.

Effort, investment, pride, fighting spirit... all accumulated for two months. They knew what kind of opponents they were facing, but never had a trace of lack of self-confidence.

Now they indeed stood here, and indeed faced opponents as powerful as expected, but... the two words "Pei Ye" were like a sword flying from outside the sky.

The disciples of the three major sect true transmissions were not fools, they clearly knew what this meant.

The Book Compilation Meeting gave him "no doubt" without covering up; the robe of the Shao Yu Supervisor was already placed on the side of the hall, expensive clothes and jade seals; the brand of the Fairy Platform was also offered on the case, and it started as a Goose Inspector.

Even if a true transmission of a big sect like Tianshan enters the Fairy Platform, they often have to hang a sparrow brand for a year, because handling cases and fighting are two different things.

This shows that this mysterious young man not only relies on the pillar of heaven, but must also be really strong.

But who among them was not strong?

The successors of the three ancient sword arts, "Abyss Book," "Mayfly Transforms into Hong," and "Withered Flower Book"... who among them was not a once-in-a-century young prodigy?

Fighting Xi Jiang, breaking formations in desperate situations... no matter how many astonishing halos were added to this mysterious young man, no matter how high he was placed, none of the three could willingly accept being beneath him.

Because a person who had never shown their face could not bear the praise and questioning, and could never make people truly convinced—what kind of person were you? By what right did you take the first place in the Sword Book? By what right did you create those miracles? And by what right did you take the position of the Young Feather, monitoring the Jianghu?...

And all questioning could ultimately be reduced to the same sentence.

—By what right are you so naturally placed above us?

But such questioning would of course not be asked aloud; on the Jade Sword Stage, they were the faces of the three sects, and the object of the question was the Book-Cultivation Society, and even the Grand Inspector of Shao-Long.

Everyone knew what time it was now; the names and positions were about to be settled, and this was of course the end of the Book-Cultivation Society.

"Xiang Zongyuan's sword intent is pure and deep, attaining seven or eight tenths of the true meaning of 'Withered Flower'; his sword moves are steady and broad, and minor flaws are no hindrance." Sui Zaihua returned his sword to its sheath and said calmly, "I believe his talent is top-tier, and his progress is also excellent; do you gentlemen have any additions?"

The teacher from Luoying Mountain immediately stood up and cupped his hands: "Thank you, Inspector, for your golden words; Zongyuan is overly intoxicated with sword intent, and his sword moves have always had flaws; today, I am truly ashamed."

Sui Zaihua smiled: "Swords have their strengths and weaknesses; it is a common occurrence, no need to worry about it day and night—I believe your sect's brilliant disciple will step into the 'Intent' realm within three years."

This was a very high evaluation; not only was there a light murmur in the seating area, but Xiang Zongyuan's face also showed some emotion, and he hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed deeply.

—He had closed his doors to settle his mind, not asking about the Jianghu for two or three years, and coming out, he was still in the Eighth Life Realm; being pointed out like this was precisely for this goal.

"... The 'Intent' realm, huh." Ren Zixin sighed in a daze, suddenly tilting her head and whispering, "Young Master Xiang is truly amazing; it's just that he doesn't look as easy to get along with as Young Master Bai Fei."

Zhao Qizhi remained silent and did not answer.

Someone at the Book-Cultivation Society also stood up and spoke: "Inspector Sui, Mr. Xu and I noticed one point; Young Master Xiang's sword move flaws are sometimes many and sometimes few, and in the 'Withered Flower' sword art, there are almost none; it seems that some swords are born with it, and some swords are learned, which perhaps should not be counted as talent."

Sui Zaihua, however, shook his head: "That is not correct; learning swords is also a talent. Some people, even if they have only learned a sword once, will not have loopholes in their sword moves; this should still be taken into consideration."

The two were slightly stunned, then smiled: "We have never seen such sword talent, but Inspector Sui's words are reasonable."

Sui Zaihua smiled and turned his head to look at the side of the purple-robed officials: "What about you gentlemen? Just speak freely as we do when discussing government affairs."

A group of officials cupped their hands and smiled; someone laughed: "Inspector Sui, in the past, we were never as knowledgeable as you in government affairs, and after debating for a long time, we were all convinced by you; now that it comes to swords, everyone knows you made your fortune on this, so we will not take the humiliation upon ourselves."

Sui Zaihua smiled and pointed at him, then turned his head and slightly restrained his expression: "Then, I intend to tentatively set Xiang Zongyuan as the second in the Sword Book; do you gentlemen have any objections?"

No one spoke, and the venue was in a solemn silence; Cui and Su also sat earnestly, not saying a word, so Sui Zaihua nodded and turned the page.

"Cui Zhaoye's sword intent is brilliant, 'Mayfly Transforms into Hong' is in progress, and his sword moves also have many excellent points; Su Xingke's sword intent is painful and fierce, 'Abyss Book' fits his body perfectly, and his sword moves have many flaws, but also many spiritual wonders." Sui Zaihua continued, "In another half a year, I think the two can distinguish who is better, but now it is indeed difficult to tell. What are your opinions?"

The Jade Sword Stage began another round of discussion, but after both had revealed their bottom cards, it was no longer the same old circular talk; the old man standing in the center of the field clearly made everyone think more earnestly and speak more appropriately. It was indeed still a long way to distinguish the result, but the situation was indeed starting to lean toward Cui Zhaoye.

Sui Zaihua listened for a while, then suddenly turned to ask Su Xingke: "What is your opinion?"

Su Xingke was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands: "Reporting to the Inspector, if I have not won, I will not take the lead. Since I lost to Cui Zhaoye, then I will be behind him."

The young man's expression was high-spirited: "If my talent is indeed higher than his, three years later, the result will be clear."

These words were bold and beautiful, but the inner fire was also clearly dispersed; Sui Zaihua looked at him and smiled slightly: "Very good, then we will settle it this way."

The Jade Sword Stage erupted in prolonged applause; the ranking of the three was the biggest difficulty of this book-cultivation, and now, under the chairmanship of this Inspector, coordinating all parties to complete it was of course a rare victory.

And from another perspective, this newly appointed Inspector was also about to complete his first political achievement, and it was a substantial merit that would be difficult to erase.

But of course... they still had the final agenda.

At the end of the long street, that prominent carriage and horses were already prepared, waiting for someone to board it, pass through the crowd on the street, and ride it to the stage.

But the middle-aged man in front of the carriage seemed a bit anxious.

"Where is he?" Cheng Yuanqi frowned tightly, "We are about to go on stage, and he is missing?"

"I didn't find him." Fu Yun also frowned, somewhat anxiously saying, "I asked the Taishan Medical Tower, and Commander Gao said he went to the Immortal Stage, so I went to the Immortal Stage to pick him up, but the people at the Immortal Stage said he left two quarters of an hour ago—but since he left, shouldn't he have arrived here by now?"

Cheng Yuanqi was stunned for a moment: "... What did he go to the Immortal Stage for?"

"... I didn't have time to ask."

"..." Cheng Yuanqi pursed his lips, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy, "I'll go notify the Inspector."

Beneath the Jade Sword Stage, in the bustling crowd, Pei Ye looked up at the stage; the surrounding cheers and shouts were constant, and everyone was extremely excited; this atmosphere made him feel both familiar and alienated.

He watched quietly for a while, then suddenly tilted his head and said to the old man selling sweet cakes beside him: "Old man, why hasn't anyone come down for a long time? What stage is the battle at now?"

The old man raised his head, his two eyebrows twisted into two balls, and said with a hoarse accent: "The second, third, and fourth places have just finished fighting; I heard that the results are being released."

"Oh, thank you."

"You say this meeting is quite interesting, the imperial court spending money for Jianghu people to spend." The old man said, "When I was a child, it was all corrupt officials doing evil, and sword-wielders acting with chivalry; or it was bandits running rampant, and officials killing them and coming back to post announcements—now I understand less and less; how did these two get mixed together?"

Pei Ye still looked at the Jade Sword Stage and smiled slightly: "Isn't that just chaos? Now that everyone is sitting together to follow the rules, isn't that good? Don't you see there are many great heroes in the Immortal Stage? If you meet bandits on the road, those with hero credentials will definitely help you."

"Hmm, that's reasonable..." The old man nodded, then twisted his eyebrows and laughed, "But you young man speak quite interestingly—now that they are officials, why are they still called 'great heroes'? Those are 'my lords'!"

"..."

"Eat a catty of sweet cakes?"

"... No."

On the Jade Sword Stage, the atmosphere slowly quieted down and simultaneously rose.

For two days, people had heard the name of the young hero countless times.

Praised among the people, praised in the Jianghu, and praised in the officialdom; everyone was full of anticipation and curiosity about this name for different purposes.

Now, it was finally this moment.

Many people in the purple-robed seating area knew the procedure—Inspector Sui was returning to the front of the hall; he would personally read a document of commendation, and then the young man, dressed neatly, would enter with a column of honor guards, solemn and dignified.

This was of course not the ritual for this position, but it was indeed the ritual for a hero; all glory would be settled today.

On the side of the swordsmen, it was a different kind of atmosphere.

Su Xingke had lost to Xiang Zongyuan and also admitted defeat to Cui Zhaoye; now, the proud young man stood with his sword hanging down, his lips pursed tightly... naturally because he had a goal he must defeat.

Cui Zhaoye was still tapping the sword hilt lightly, his sword eyes looking at the ground; when people looked at him, they always seemed to see the bright white feathers filling the sky.

Xiang Zongyuan had already returned to silence, holding his sword and not knowing what he was thinking.

The remaining swordsmen were also whispering, mostly out of curiosity, but the further forward they were, the more their emotional state tended toward the three in front.

Qi Mengchen and Nan Guannu were still sitting together talking sparsely, as if it wasn't them who had just fought with all their might; Zuo Sheng's robe was still stained with blood, but he was already reading sword manuals; Yan Bingjian finally wasn't drinking, sitting silently.

"Because what he is most proud of is not his own sword path level, but his age." Guan Qianyan moved her gaze away from Su Xingke and tilted her head.

She was in the same row as Qu Xin and Li Piaoqing.

"Do you believe it? What he can't stand most is not Pei Ye's first place, but the four words 'Seventeen, Sixth Life'."

Guan Qianyan looked at Li Piaoqing; in fact, she was a bit curious about this young girl. In the conversation just now, she seemed to know Pei Ye very well, but she always deliberately kept her distance.

But this time, the young girl did not respond.

She looked quietly at the entrance of the Jade Sword Pavilion, and her whole body suddenly trembled slightly.

Guan Qianyan looked over in a daze, but half the people in the pavilion had reacted at the same time as her. They looked toward the entrance simultaneously.

This was not the time for anyone to appear; everyone was slightly stunned, and when their gaze fell on that figure, they became even more bewildered.

A strange young man.

Upright, clear, his forehead hair slightly messy, his complexion slightly pale, his eyes bright, his expression quiet and somewhat exhausted.

This was not the appearance suitable for this occasion; compared to everyone else, he seemed somewhat casual.

And what truly made everyone bewildered was the unsheathed sword in his hand.

Strange and beautiful; some recognized it, but most did not; he just held his sword with a slanted arm, walking step by step toward the hall... no matter what, this was an act that made people not know how to react.

—Now was not the time for sword testing; the sword testing had already ended or had not yet begun. And even if it were sword testing, one shouldn't walk up with a sword drawn like this... most importantly, who was this person?

In this solemn and orderly place, such an act made everyone's brains chaotic; he just walked up with his sword held high, passing the seventy-two swordsmen sitting cross-legged, passing Qu Ying, passing Bai Fei, passing Qi Mengchen and Nan Guannu, passing Yan Bingjian and Zuo Sheng; some were already shocked and speechless at this face.

Finally, some spoke up one after another: "This young master... who are you?"

"Who is the young hero? Is there something the matter?"

"Who are you?"

But the young man did not answer, and no one made any further reaction, because even the person asking was still confused, and more importantly, that black-clad figure was right below the hall.

He stopped his steps toward the hall in the first instant, was silent for a moment, turned around, and looked quietly at the young man walking straight toward him.

No one wanted to rashly disturb anything; no matter what happened, of course, the Inspector had to speak first.

When Pei Ye reached the edge of the sword field, some people had already begun to react; Su Xingke was one of them. He looked at this young face, looked at this green robe, and suddenly realized something; the fire in his heart suddenly began to rise.

He pursed his lips tighter, subconsciously stepped forward with his sword, reached out, and whispered: "This—"

The young man didn't look at him at all, raised his hand and flicked lightly, pushing him away from his front.

A surge of unbelievable anger made Su Xingke completely stiffen; he almost forgot to resist, and also forgot to block.

And on the sword field, there was only the Inspector standing quietly and the young man walking forward with his sword held high.

They looked at each other quietly; Sui Zaihua said nothing and did nothing; perhaps from much earlier, he had already guessed that this moment could not be avoided.

"Inspector Sui." Pei Ye stood still three feet in front of him, and said hoarsely, "I have come to collect my reward."

He raised his eyes to look at him, his golden pupils gorgeous; the moment their eyes met, the world instantly stilled.

A pair of quiet and bright demon eyes of a young man; a pair of silent and deep bright pupils of an old man.

(End of chapter)

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