Chapter 11: Night Rain Sword Sovereign

After all the disciples had completed the initiation ceremony.

"From today onward, you are all disciples of my Profound Heaven Sect. You may enter the Scripture Pavilion to select a cultivation art, then the Armory Pavilion to choose a weapon that suits you." The sect master of the Profound Heaven Sect announced this via spiritual qi from the stage.

"Come on, you two junior brothers, Senior Sister will take you to the Scripture Pavilion." Having said that, Yue Ning led Ling Feng and Ling Ye to the Scripture Pavilion.

"Hello, Old Zhang. I've brought the new disciples my master just accepted to pick two cultivation arts." Yue Ning said this while slightly bowing to the old man sweeping at the Scripture Pavilion's entrance.

Old Zhang glanced at them and then let them in.

After entering, Ling Feng asked Yue Ning, "Senior Sister, what's the background of this old man?" Ling Feng had seen all the elders of the Profound Heaven Sect, but never Old Zhang; he thought anyone capable of managing the Treasure Pavilion must be extraordinary.

"You little brat, you've got good eyes. Old Zhang is the oldest person in our Profound Heaven Sect; even the sect master yields to him three parts." Yue Ning replied with a smile.

Not long after, Ling Ye and Ling Feng were brought into the Scripture Pavilion, where many floating light orbs hovered above the grand ceremony, each containing a cultivation art or martial technique.

"Step forward and select; as soon as you extend your hand into a light orb, you'll know the general content of the cultivation art inside."

Upon hearing Yue Ning's words, Ling Feng and Ling Ye walked inside.

Ling Ye and Ling Feng both wanted to find a cultivation art about the sword dao, but after examining them one by one, they saw none concerning the sword dao.

They walked out feeling disappointed. Seeing this, Yue Ning couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, you two junior brothers? Didn't you find a suitable cultivation art?"

Ling Ye replied, "Senior Sister, we two are sword cultivators; there isn't a single martial art about the sword dao here."

"What? You're actually sword cultivators?" Yue Ning stared, stunned. It's no wonder she reacted this way—sword cultivators are exceedingly rare on the Profound Heaven Continent; people have almost forgotten such cultivators, yet there's no doubt sword cultivators are formidable. Within the same realm, sword cultivators are invincible. That's not an empty boast.

After a moment of shock, Yue Ning said, "Wait a moment; I'll go ask Old Zhang."

When Yue Ning told Old Zhang about this, his eyes gleamed with a hint of light, though he wasn't as shocked as Yue Ning.

Thus Old Zhang walked up to Ling Feng and Ling Ye and said, "Follow me." Ling Feng and Ling Ye then followed Old Zhang to the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

"Show me your sword dao," Old Zhang said to the two Ling brothers.

Ling Ye and Ling Feng rose, drew their personal swords—Ling Feng performed the Azure Lotus Sword Decision with one hand, while Ling Ye executed the Instant Kill Sword from the manual the old man had given him.

As Old Zhang watched Ling Feng and Ling Ye display their sword technique, he kept muttering, "Sword intent, this is sword intent—heavens help me, heavens help me!" He spoke through tears welling in his eyes.

Sword intent is the threshold for sword cultivators—who knows how many talents it has blocked? As everyone knows, only those in the Myriad Laws Realm can condense sword intent, yet Ling Feng and Ling Ye are merely at the Elemental Spirit Realm! No wonder Old Zhang is so excited.

"Is sword intent that hard to grasp?" Ling Feng wondered, looking at Ling Ye, because the moment he first performed the Azure Lotus Sword Decision, sword intent had already appeared.

Likewise, Ling Ye had also manifested sword intent while cultivating the technique the old man had given him.

After hearing their complaints, Old Zhang felt only admiration—truly geniuses.

Thus Old Zhang gave each of them a sword manual—one titled One Sword Breaks the Void, the other One Sword Seals the Throat. These two renowned techniques, created tens of thousands of years ago by the Night Rain Sword Sovereign who ruled the Profound Heaven Continent, are what he used to attain the Dao there.

Ling Feng and Ling Ye each received a manual—Ling Feng took One Sword Breaks the Void, and Ling Ye took One Sword Seals the Throat.

Amid the doubtful gazes of the Ling brothers, Old Zhang also said lightly, "I am a descendant of the Night Rain Sword Sovereign, but I am mediocre; I cannot fully manifest our ancestors' techniques, so I must rely on you."

The Ling brothers stared in shock—never expecting that Old Zhang before them was a descendant of the Night Rain Sword Sovereign. He then produced two boxes.

"These are my ancestor's swords; I'll now entrust them to you—one named Dragon's Roar, the other Phoenix's Cry."

Everyone knows what the Night Rain Sword Sovereign is most remembered for is his self-created Dual Blade School.

Gazing at the two, Old Zhang handed Dragon's Roar to Ling Ye and Phoenix's Cry to Ling Feng.

Ling Ye and Ling Feng received the swords, bowed deeply to Old Zhang, and then departed. After returning, they began cultivating; Ling Feng, however, was training inside the little tower, so outwardly he still appeared to be sleeping in.

Upon learning that the Ling brothers were sword cultivators, Yue Ning hurried to inform her master Xuan Ming. Hearing this, he could hardly stay seated; he went with Yue Ning to Ling Ye's residence, and upon discovering that Ling Ye had received the sword manual and named sword from Old Zhang, he burst into loud laughter.

"My Profound Heaven Sect has hope of rising." Xuan Ming sighed, growing ever more pleased with Ling Ye's talent; after leaving him a pile of cultivation resources, he departed to visit Ling Ye's dwelling.

Along the way he said to Yue Ning, "Ling Ye truly lives up to being a genius—grasping sword intent at the Breaking Elemental Realm is rare indeed. Yet Ling Feng is also a sword cultivator; how strange."

"Yeah, I hadn't expected that either; we'll find out by checking the past." Yue Ning replied.

When Yue Ning and Xuan Ming rushed to Ling Feng's dwelling, they saw no sign of him coming out to greet them, which struck them as odd—given how close they were, Ling Feng couldn't possibly fail to sense their presence.

Thus Yue Ning entered the room, saw Ling Feng snoring loudly with drool at the corner of his mouth, and flew into a rage, kicking him straight in the face.

"Damn it, you're sleeping in broad daylight!" Yue Ning pointed at Ling Feng and exclaimed, furious at his laziness.

Ling Feng stumbled out of the little tower in a daze, immediately feeling his head spin.

"Senior Sister, didn't you take your medicine today? Does the Profound Heaven Sect forbid sleeping during the day?" Ling Feng rubbed his head and said.

The Profound Heaven Sect indeed has no such odd rule, but everyone who joins does so to cultivate; someone like Ling Feng, who sleeps all day, is still a first-time case of boredom.

Yue Ning was about to say a couple of things when Xuan Ming stepped forward and cut him off: "Little brat, what's wrong with you? Your older brother is training—aren't you afraid he'll leave you far behind?"

"What's there to fear? That's my older brother—when he gets stronger he'll protect me. Besides, cultivation requires balancing work and rest."

Xuan Ming's face twitched. He had intended to use Ling Ye to ignite Ling Feng's fighting spirit, but he hadn't expected Ling Feng to be so thick‑skinned. He left with a dark face, thinking that if he stayed he wouldn't be able to resist giving Ling Feng a lesson.