Chapter 68: 68. Chapter 68

68. Chapter 68

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

Tan Tianming ignored the devastated-looking Zhao Kuo, instead closing the ledger and nodding at Atian with a pleasant expression.

"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, the number of people participating in this Ascension Ceremony is three thousand and one. Adding you, it makes for an even number."

As he spoke, he took a 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 of participation in 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 didn't 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, making an even number...

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

Making an even number, what for? Naturally, to facilitate pairing up for combat.

How to pair up? By using the Token to identify them.

"Immortal Elder Tan, to join the Beihai Sword Sect, must one defeat everyone else?" 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 lady's attire, the outdoor clothes she was wearing were already 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 alone in place. Not only that, the once bustling street had turned into an empty city in an instant.

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

"The Sword is the lord of all weapons. Sword Bone, Sword Bone—the sword is the bone, and the bone is the sword. If one wishes for the sword to be unsheathed, there is only one path to take."

Tan Tianming's voice rang out above her head.

"You are all now within the Sword Washing Pool of my Beihai Sword Sect. Whether you hone yourselves to seek the unsheathing of the blade, 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."

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

"If you possess even a shred of self-awareness as a Sword Cultivator, then... draw your sword!"

As the words "draw your sword" echoed in the air, the entire space where Atian was located changed. The sky overhead became murky and dim, and a stretch of broken walls and ruins appeared on the desolate earth. One after another, pillars 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 pillars of light she could see in her heart. The participants before her had only just exceeded one 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 and took out the Token Tan Tianming had given her, hanging it at her waist.

He said participants should follow their true heart. Her true heart was simple: to join the Beihai Sword Sect. Since that was the case, she had to work hard 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 dismissive look.

"Look at how scrawny you are. You'd better obediently hand over the Token, lest you get that pretty face of yours scratched up."

Following the appearance of this "first bird," many others moved toward Atian without a sound. Clearly, they had all marked her as their primary target. Among these people were many old hands who frequently participated in various Xiuxianmen disciple recruitment trials. Although Tan Tianming had been vague just now, it didn't stop them from grasping the subtext: "Defeat others and seize their Tokens."

Whether it was because there were few women participating in the Ascension Ceremony to begin with, or because they hadn't been assigned to Atian's area, she was the only female among these hundred-plus people. Compared to the brawny men, everyone's target naturally shifted to her.

"Atian appreciates this big brother's good intentions," the young girl, surrounded by hostile glares, covered her mouth and smiled. She raised her right hand into a fist and said softly and gently, "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!"

One person 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 fellow sect members in the room speechless.

"Ahem," the person in the lead couldn't watch anymore and coughed 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 instantly frightened into sitting back on her chair properly, lowering her head to address them, "Grandmaster Senior Brother."

Seeing that the most difficult troublemaker was no longer acting up, 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's why I gave her the Token," Tan Tianming was still dressed as a Daoist, his two small mustaches twitching with his movements, "That little girl is also extraordinary. Her root bone has already formed. Even with the naked eye, this poor Daoist can... oh!"

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

Naturally, no one wanted to pay him any mind.

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

"She has a Sword Bone, so wouldn't the requirements of that Bai boy be fulfilled naturally? 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 seed of another Dao Lineage is discovered, they must share the information. 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 called upon, stroked his beard, "In my opinion, it is indeed a Sword Bone, but the baleful aura is too strong. I cannot see it clearly, and it does indeed feel a bit like 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 hasn't produced a Demonic Sword yet! Can we earn a Demon Sect title to show off in the future?"

"Demon Sect?" Everyone looked at each other.

"... 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 heart.

In the end, it was Grandmaster Duan Xuan who gave everyone a sense of reassurance: "Of 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; she was currently trying to find a way to deal with the formidable enemy before her.

Yes, a formidable enemy.

Amidst a field of fallen and wounded people, only one man with a thick beard stood panting, and at this moment, he was looking at the high-spirited Bai Tian with eyes mixed with disbelief and apprehension.

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

Again?! I feel like my body has already been 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 iron 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 and wanted to come to the Beihai Sword Sect to try his luck.

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

A numbing pain spread from the spot where he had just traded blows with Bai Tian, and although 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.