Chapter 47: 47. Chapter Forty-Seven

47. Chapter Forty-Seven

Guan San is currently stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! "Miss Bai is the last person."

Tan Tianming ignored Zhao Kuo, who looked as if he had lost his parents, and instead closed the ledger and nodded amiably at Atian.

"In this way, the Ascension Ceremony can be held as scheduled."

"The last person?" Atian asked, puzzled.

"This old man cast a divination," the Daoist said, stroking his beard. "According to the hexagram, there are three thousand and one people participating in this Ascension Ceremony. Adding you, young lady, it makes an even number."

As he spoke, he took a yellow brass Token from his bosom and handed it to Atian. The latter took it and saw the two characters "Sword Cleansing" engraved on it.

"This Token is the only proof for participants of the Ascension Ceremony. You must keep it safe, young lady."

Proof? What does issuing a Token prove?

Atian's brows furrowed slightly.

For the Beihai Sword Sect, it did not matter who participated in the Ascension Ceremony; those with aptitude would be kept, and those without would be driven away. There was no need to put any effort into identifying people, so the Token was certainly not for them to look at.

Then who was it for?

Three thousand and two, to make an even number...

Combining this with what Tan Tianming had said earlier, Atian suddenly had a startling conjecture about this Ascension Ceremony.

To make an even number—what for? Naturally, to facilitate pairing up for combat.

How to pair up? By using the Token to identify one another.

"Immortal Elder Tan, to join the Beihai Sword Sect, must one defeat everyone?" Atian asked calmly.

"At the very least, one cannot lose." Tan Tianming answered with a smile, which served as a tacit confirmation of her implication.

"Alright, I understand." She rolled up her sleeves and bent down to tuck up her wide skirt, revealing a pair of delicate embroidered shoes hidden beneath. This was not an outfit suitable for fighting, but compared to her usual maiden attire, the outdoor clothes she wore now were light enough.

By the time Atian finished tidying up, she realized that both the Daoist-dressed Tan Tianming and the dejected Zhao Kuo had vanished. Only the fortune-telling stall remained lonely in its place. Not only that, but the once bustling street had also turned into an empty city in an instant.

The endless stream of people had disappeared, replaced by a yellow wind sweeping through the alleys. With the force of a thunderbolt, it rolled toward Atian. The young girl closed her eyes as the rolling yellow sand surged from all directions, swallowing her slender figure. When she opened her eyes again, the surroundings were already a desolate wasteland.

"The sword is the sovereign of all weapons. Sword Bone, Sword Bone—the sword is the bone, and the bone is the sword. To open the edge of the sword, there is only one path to take."

Tan Tianming's voice rang out above her head.

"You are all now within my Beihai Sword Sect's Sword Washing Pool. Whether you hone yourselves to seek the opening of the edge, or surrender your Token to seek self-preservation, only those who follow their true heart may leap over the pool and transform into a dragon."

"Temperament, root bone, wisdom, luck... those are things for Dharma Cultivators to test and weigh. For a Sword Cultivator, to observe their sword is to observe the person."

"If you possess even a trace of the self-awareness of a sword-wielder within you, then, draw your sword!"

As the three words "draw your sword" echoed in the air, the entire space where Atian was located changed. The sky overhead turned murky and dim, and ruins appeared on the desolate earth. One after another, beams of light descended from the sky, bringing with them participants who were either bewildered or excited.

Before long, quite a few people were transported into the area where Atian was.

... Twenty... fifty... one hundred...

She silently counted the beams of light she could see in her heart. The participants before her had just barely reached over a hundred. Thinking of the three thousand and two the Daoist had mentioned earlier, this was merely a fraction of the total number.

Clearly, the scope of the Sword Washing Pool was shockingly large, but such are the methods of the Immortals; it would be disappointing if it weren't shocking.

Atian thought for a moment, took out the Token Tan Tianming had given her, and hung it at her waist.

He said participants should follow their true heart. Her true heart was simple: it was to join the Beihai Sword Sect. Since that was the case, she had to strive to do so.

"Little girl, if I were you, I wouldn't hang that thing out."

A rough male voice came from behind Atian. She turned her head slightly and saw a burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist circle around to her front, eyeing her with a look of indifference.

"Look at how frail you are. You'd better obediently hand over the Token, lest you scratch that pretty face of yours."

Following the appearance of this first bird to stick its head out, many others moved toward Atian without a sound. Clearly, they all regarded her as the primary target. Among these people were many old hands who frequently participated in various Xiuxianmen disciple-recruitment trials. Although Tan Tianming's words had been vague, it did not prevent them from grasping the subtext: "Defeat others and seize their Tokens."

Whether it was because few women participated in the Ascension Ceremony or they simply hadn't been assigned to Atian's area, she was the only female among these hundred-plus people. Compared to their brawny peers, everyone's target naturally shifted to her.

"Atian appreciates this big brother's good intentions," the young girl, surrounded by covetous gazes, said with a smile behind her hand. She raised her right hand into a fist and said softly, "It's just that if I throw this punch, you might die."

Atian's tone was not high, and her volume was not loud, but this sentence, which shocked everyone present, not only reached the ears of the person involved but was also heard clearly by those outside the magic array.

"Good! That's the spirit!"

Someone slammed the table and jumped up, rushing to the Water Mirror to cheer for the girl who had made such a bold declaration.

"Yes, yes, yes! Give him a punch! Kick him in the crotch! Kick! Use more strength!"

Seeing the exciting part, this person even stepped onto the grand armchair, wishing they were the one in the Sword Washing Pool, leaving the rest of the sect members in the room with black lines on their faces.

"Ahem," the leader could not watch anymore and coughed a few times feignedly. "Junior Sister Luo... Junior Sister Luo!"

"What is it! Can't you see I'm in the middle of the excitement!" The person called "Junior Sister Luo" turned her head impatiently. Seeing the speaker, she was immediately frightened into sitting back on her chair properly, lowering her head and calling out, "Grandmaster Senior Brother."

Seeing that the most difficult troublemaker was no longer causing a scene, the Grandmaster of the Beihai Sword Sect pretended not to see her stealing glances at the Water Mirror, cleared his throat, and said to the others in the room, "This is an unexpected joy."

"That is why I gave her the Token," Tan Tianming was still dressed as a Daoist, his two little mustaches twitching with his movements. "That little girl is also extraordinary; her root bone is already formed. Even with the naked eye, this poor Daoist can also... ouch!"

As soon as he said "this poor Daoist," he was elbowed by another Elder beside him. The Daoist, having suffered a painful blow, swallowed his exclamation and grinned, making amends, "Oh my, I've been fortune-telling for people these past few days and let it slip. This old man stopped cultivating the Dao long ago; I only cultivate the Sword, only the Sword, hehehe."

Naturally, no one was willing to pay him any mind.

"Isn't this a good thing?" Junior Sister Luo said indifferently.

"She has a Sword Bone, so doesn't that mean the requirements for the Bai boy are naturally fulfilled? Why not assign her to my sect?"

"What if it's a Talisman Soul or a Demonic Thought?" The Elder sitting on the other side of Junior Sister Luo poured cold water on the idea.

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the room frowned. According to the agreement between the major Xiuxianmen, once a seedling of another Dao Lineage was discovered, they had to inform each other. That was how Tan Tianming had been sent over by the Taixuan Sect.

"Hasn't Senior Brother Tan seen her in person?" A chubby Elder tried to smooth things over. "Why not let him share his thoughts?"

Tan Tianming, who had been named, stroked his beard. "In my opinion, it is indeed a Sword Bone, but the baleful aura is too strong. I cannot see it clearly; it does indeed have a bit of the feeling of a Demonic Thought."

"Then isn't that a Demonic Sword?" The Elder who had raised the objection earlier clicked his tongue in wonder. "Our Beihai Sword Sect has never produced a Demonic Sword before! In the future, can we also earn a Demon Sect title to show off?"

"Demon Sect?" Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

"... Junior Brother Li, I'm afraid your skin is itching." Junior Sister Luo, whose mood had been ruined, cast a sinister glance at him.

Junior Brother Li, having provoked public anger, immediately sat up straight, eyes fixed on his nose and nose on his heart.

In the end, it was the Grandmaster Duan Xuan who gave everyone a sense of reassurance, "Among the Three Thousand Great Daos, all paths eventually lead to the same destination; since she cultivates the Sword, she is one of our own."

Atian naturally did not know that her Fate had been decided in these few short sentences, as she was currently trying to find a way to deal with the formidable enemy before her.

Yes, a formidable enemy.

Amidst a field of wounded people lying in disarray, only one man with a thick beard stood panting, and at this moment, he was looking at the energetic Bai Tian with eyes mixed with disbelief and apprehension.

"Come again!" a crisp voice rang out from the young girl's mouth.

Come again?! I feel like my body has been completely hollowed out!

The bearded man wailed in his heart.

He was originally a mountain bandit from the Qixia Kingdom, possessing a body of steel and immense strength since he was small, and ordinary swords could not easily harm him; relying on this, he had owned a mountain stronghold of his own, but later, after being guided by an expert, he learned that his innate talent was actually a manifestation of possessing a Sword Bone, which was why he left the stronghold to try his luck at the Beihai Sword Sect.

Who would have known that instead of finding luck, he would run into a disaster.

A numbing pain traveled from the spot where he had just traded blows with Bai Tian; even though he knew the wise choice was to hand over his Token like the others, a stubborn streak in his heart made him unable to show weakness.

"Come again!" the girl's voice sounded; she was no longer as tidy as she had been at the start, but her eyes were frighteningly bright, showing not a hint of fatigue.

"Is this person a monster?"

The bearded man gritted his teeth, ultimately unable to convince himself to give up, and summoned a burst of strength from within his body, charging toward Bai Tian.

"Boom!"

The two traded another punch.

The pain of bones fracturing traveled from the point of contact, and he could not help but let out a roar, bracing his feet firmly and using all his strength to withstand the attack from the girl.

"Snap!"

A sound of something breaking came from within his body, and a force as heavy as a mountain suddenly surged out from inside him, instantly enveloping the bandit's body and infusing him with new vitality.

"This is..." he looked down in surprise at his palm, which had recovered as if nothing had happened, and discovered a layer of lustrous white radiance on his body.

"Song Zhicheng, awakened Sword Bone, qualified." Tan Tianming's voice came from high above.

I qualified? I can join the Beihai Sword Sect?