Chapter 5

5. Chapter Five

In the end, the two of them sat on the Duan Yue Sword and flew to the shore. The only difference was that, perhaps knowing he had caused trouble, the Duan Yue Sword was unusually obedient this time. It never again stopped abruptly or shook, which left Zhao Kuo, as its master, moved to tears of joy amidst his astonishment.

If it caused any more trouble, he might as well stop being a Sword Cultivator and just buy a block of tofu to smash his head against and die.

In truth, young Zhao had his own unspoken grievances. He had just stepped from the age of fifteen into the age of twenty, a few years younger than Atian. His time spent cultivating was still short, and his Sword Bone had only just begun to take shape. The Duan Yue Sword was his Life-bound Sword, originating from the Sword Bone he carried; it was the root of his Sword Heart and was vastly different from ordinary dead objects, possessing the temperament and disposition of a Spirit Sword itself.

Every disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect would have such a Spirit Sword forged from their own self, and their entire foundation of Sword Cultivation was entrusted to it. How to get along with these Life-bound Spirit Swords had become a difficult problem that plagued everyone.

The Sect Master of the Beihai Sword Sect, the current number one Sword Cultivator of the cultivation world, Duan Xuan, had voiced the inner thoughts of his vast number of fellow disciples:

"Sometimes I really want to snap it in half."

Zhao Kuo and the Duan Yue Sword were in the most chaotic period of adjustment, causing trouble all day long. That the Beihai Sword Sect could send someone like him to welcome Atian showed one important characteristic of this Xiuxianmen: they were thick-skinned.

"Do your best, just do your best," the Deacon Elder who assigned him the task said with a chuckle. "In any case, the worst outcome is that Xin Li comes out of seclusion and beats you up. It's not like you could actually lose the young lady, could you?"

Elder, I didn't lose her, but I almost got her killed. I likely won't survive that beating.

Zhao Kuo felt a lingering fear.

But if one were to think that Immortal Elder Zhao Kuo was useless because of this, they would be greatly mistaken. As a miserable child raised by thick-skinned masters, his daily spells had long been practiced to perfection. With one set of Cleaning Spells, he had tidied the two drowned rats until they looked bright and clean.

"Immortal Elder Zhao," Atian said with a look of admiration, speaking sincerely, "you must be a cultivator specializing in housekeeping, right?"

A stifled Zhao Kuo indicated that he wanted to be left alone.

However, having already reached the gates of the Beihai Sword Sect, the escort mission was more than half complete, and the mouth-watering reward was dangling right before his eyes. He could only force himself to keep his spirits up, praying that this final step would not go wrong.

As one of the Four Great Immortal Sects, the Beihai Sword Sect was naturally not a place one could just enter at will. Not to mention the island-protecting formation that was active year-round, the only entrance and exit were also set with layers of Daoist techniques. Although these spells had no effect on Zhao Kuo, Bai Tian was here to participate in the Ascension Ceremony, so he couldn't just bring her in directly. Therefore, the transit station by the North Sea became a must-visit stop.

On the Yuanguang Continent, cultivators were high and mighty, far removed from the mortal world, but there were always times when they had to come into contact with the secular world. Thus, transition zones between the cultivation world and the secular world came into being, and Shengxian Town by the North Sea was one of them.

Shengxian Town, as the name implied, originated from the Beihai Sword Sect's Ascension Ceremony held every fifteen years. Through years of evolution, it had completely become a part of the Beihai Sword Sect and was also the only way for outsiders to visit the Floating Island.

"People with the aptitude for Sword Cultivation are one in ten thousand. Many who are weeded out, either unwilling to leave or having missed the ceremony for various reasons, stay here to wait for the next opportunity. Over time, it formed a town."

Zhao Kuo led Atian through the bustling crowd. The small port town adjacent to the sea was vibrant with life due to the new Ascension Ceremony. Countless people with dreams of becoming immortals poured in from the Qixia Kingdom and even neighboring countries, creating its peak prosperity that occurred every fifteen years.

Compared to Atian's already fading memories, the small town had not changed much. From the post station at the entrance to the port at the far east, various merchants hadn't even changed their plaques. It seemed that as long as something was related to immortal cultivation, it was very difficult for it to change again. The town was like this, the rules were like this, and the people were like this.

More than a month ago, the inns in the whole town, even the stables, were fully booked. Most ordinary households also had guests staying with them, and it was not uncommon for seven or eight people to be squeezed into one room. Zhao Kuo naturally wouldn't let Atian, a young lady, squeeze into a room with strangers. He took her directly to the Beihai Sword Sect's stronghold in Shengxian Town. Once he handed this little ancestor over to the person in charge stationed at the stronghold, he would be rid of this hot potato and could happily go collect his reward.

"What exactly is the aptitude to become a Sword Cultivator?" Atian asked.

"Aptitude..." The young man touched the back of his head and gave a hollow laugh. "It's just aptitude."

Atian smiled upon hearing this and nodded in agreement. "That's true. After all, Immortal Elder Zhao is a housekeeping specialist. Atian was being presumptuous."

"... Can you forget the words 'housekeeping specialist'?" Zhao Kuo, stifled to the point of internal injury, looked desperate. "I'll tell you, just don't hurt me anymore. I'm still a child."

Atian assumed a posture of listening intently.

"Ahem," knowing he had been played, Zhao Kuo clenched his right hand into a fist and placed it over his mouth to clear his throat. "First, you must know that a Sword Cultivator and a cultivator who uses a sword are different. The latter just happens to choose a sword as their weapon, or perhaps they know a few sets of famous Sword Techniques, but they are merely 'people who use swords.' The sword could be replaced by a saber, spear, halberd, or even a meteor hammer or a treasure gourd; they are far from being called 'Sword Cultivators.' Most cultivators in the cultivation world who carry swords belong to this category. Only a very small number of people can earn the title of 'Sword Cultivator'."

Zhao Kuo considered this speech to be stirring and was just about to enjoy the look of admiration from the beauty, only to see that the highly anticipated beauty was looking at him with a complex expression, which could be translated as: "Then how did a weakling like you manage to mix into the ranks of Sword Cultivators?"

The young man's face turned red in an instant, and he even started stuttering. "Y-you, what do you know! M-my aptitude is top-tier! I have a S-Sword Bone!"

"Sword Bone?" Atian caught the key point.

"Yes, Sword Bone," Zhao Kuo said, frustrated. "The only requirement to become a Sword Cultivator is to possess a Sword Bone. It is not a specific bone, but rather that your body contains a 'sword' that is gestating."

"Gestating a sword... in the body?" Atian blinked in confusion.

"Everyone possesses Essence, Qi, and Spirit. When they converge, a qualitative change sometimes occurs," he held up a finger and shook it. "For ordinary mortals, just living a lifetime is rare enough. Those born with the potential for qualitative change have the qualifications to pursue higher and more profound truths of heaven and earth. They are cultivators."

"Sword Cultivators have Sword Bones, Dharma Cultivators have Talisman Souls, the Demon Sect has Demonic Thoughts. The aptitude for immortal cultivation is ever-changing and not limited to one kind. But before verification, no one knows if they possess aptitude, or what kind it is. That is why the Ascension Ceremony exists..."

"Ah, we're here."

The two stopped in front of a fortune-telling stall. The stall owner was a middle-aged Daoist with two thin mustaches. He sat on a rattan chair, with copper coins, an Eight Trigrams diagram, and other items laid out on the table in front of him. On the left stood a flag that read "Where is the Immortal Bone," and on the right was a flag that read "One Touch and You'll Know."

The fortune-telling stall's business was good, and a long line of customers waiting for their bones to be felt had formed. Even though most people knew it wasn't necessarily accurate, they didn't mind buying a good omen before the Ascension Ceremony began.

Zhao Kuo straightened his expression, stepped over the people in line in two or three strides, walked up to the Daoist who was muttering to himself while feeling someone's bones, and bowed deeply. "Living Immortal!"

The Daoist called "Living Immortal" lifted his eyelids, withdrew his hand from the wrist of the burly man in front of him, took the opportunity to close the coin box full of copper coins on the table, and waved his hand at the others waiting.

"Stall closed for today. Everyone, please come early tomorrow."

The burly man whose turn it was wasn't having it. "Living Immortal! You haven't told me my result yet!"

"What's there to say?" The Daoist stroked his beard. "Strong on the outside but weak on the inside, poor performance in the bedroom. Go to the pharmacy across the street and get a prescription!"

The crowd burst into laughter. The burly man, having had his secret exposed, had no choice but to walk away sheepishly, and he actually entered the pharmacy across from the stall.

"Scatter! Scatter! Everyone scatter!" The Daoist shouted in a sing-song voice, shooing away the remaining onlookers.

It was the first time Atian had seen such a strange scene. She took small steps to the side of Zhao Kuo, who was still maintaining his bowing posture, squatted down, and asked in a low voice, "Who is this Daoist?"

Zhao Kuo's thread-thin voice reached her ears. "This is Elder Tan of our sect, nicknamed the Living Immortal."

A dignified Elder of the Beihai Sword Sect, setting up a stall here to feel bones and tell fortunes?

Atian was stunned, completely unaware that this question and answer had fallen into the Daoist's ears without missing a word.

Elder Tan stroked his beard and introduced himself: "I've let the young lady see a joke. This old man is Tan Tianming, the master of this stinky brat. I learned a few country tricks when I was young, so it can be considered a hobby."

"Elder Tan joined the Taixuan Sect when he was young, and only switched to Sword Cultivation after his Sword Bone awakened, so he is also proficient in talisman arts." Zhao Kuo explained from the side, and even quietly pointed at his head toward Atian, likely implying that the Elder Tan before them had something wrong with his brain.

Atian tensed up; she didn't laugh.

"Since the brat Zhao Kuo has appeared here, this must be Miss Bai Tian," Elder Tan, standing to the side, rolled his eyes. He pulled a thick ledger from somewhere, opened it to a page, picked up a brush soaked in ink, and put a checkmark in one of the columns. "Let me see, Bai Xinli entrusted Zhao Kuo to go to Guangkai Town in the Qixia Kingdom to escort his fiancée to the sect. As for the reward... one session of study guidance."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuo couldn't care about bowing anymore and jumped three feet high.

"Yo, many people beg for study guidance from Bai Xinli and can't get it. You brat are in for a great stroke of luck, you must grasp it well," Elder Tan said, shaking his head. "This old man just calculated it with my fingers; you've experienced many dangers on this journey. Wait for me to write down the process in detail so your Senior Brother Bai knows how difficult it was for you."

Zhao Kuo's face turned ashen instantly, and he slumped to the ground, deeply feeling the malice of his own Elder.

Senior Brother Bai's entrustment was to escort Bai Tian safely to the Beihai Sword Sect, but what did he do?

He threw someone's fiancée into the sea!

"... I'm afraid I won't survive this study session."