Chapter 69: 69. Chapter 69

69. Chapter 69

Guan San is currently stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! If another incident occurs, he might as well stop being a Sword Cultivator and just buy a block of tofu to bash his head against and die.

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

Every disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect possesses such a Spirit Sword forged from their own being, and their entire foundation of Sword Cultivation is entrusted to it. How to get along with these Life-bound Spirit Swords has become a difficult problem that plagues everyone.

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

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

Zhao Kuo and the Duan Yue Sword are currently in the most chaotic stage of adjustment, causing trouble all day long. That he could be sent to welcome Atian shows an important characteristic of the Beihai Sword Sect as a Xiuxianmen—they are broad-minded.

"Do your best, just do your best," the Deacon Elder who assigned him the task said with a chuckle. "Besides, the worst-case scenario is that Xin Li comes out of seclusion and gives you a sound beating. It's not like you could actually lose the young lady, could you?"

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

Zhao Kuo felt a sense of trepidation.

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 in a free-range manner by broad-minded teachers, his daily spells had long since reached a state of perfection. With a single set of Cleaning Spells, he tidied up the two drowned rats until they looked bright and clean.

"Immortal Elder Zhao," Atian said with a look of admiration and sincerity, "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 entrance 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 pull himself together, praying that this final step would not go wrong.

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

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

Shengxian Town, as the name suggests, originated from the Beihai Sword Sect's Ascension Ceremony held every fifteen years. Through years of evolution, it has completely become a part of the Beihai Sword Sect and is also a necessary passage for outsiders visiting 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, a town was formed."

Zhao Kuo led Atian through the bustling crowd. The small port town adjacent to the sea was brimming with vitality 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 and prosperity that occurs 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 seems that as long as something is related to immortal cultivation, it is difficult for anything to change again—the town is like this, the rules are like this, and people are like this.

More than a month ago, the inns in the whole town, including the stables, were full. 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 would not 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 have shaken off the hot potato and could happily go collect his reward.

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

"Aptitude..." The youth rubbed 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 four words 'housekeeping specialist'?" Zhao Kuo, feeling so stifled he had internal injuries, looked desperate. "I'll tell you, just stop hurting me. I'm still a child."

Atian assumed a posture of listening intently.

"Ahem," Zhao Kuo, knowing he had been played, put his right hand into a fist over his mouth and cleared 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 famous Sword Techniques, but they are merely 'people who use swords.' The sword can be replaced by a saber, spear, halberd, or even weapons like 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 about to enjoy the admiring gaze 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 rookie like you manage to mix into the ranks of Sword Cultivators?"

The youth's face turned red in a flash, and even his speech became stuttered. "Y-you, what do you know! M-my aptitude is top-tier! I am someone who has a S-Sword Bone!"

"Sword Bone?" Atian grasped 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 you have a 'sword' gestating within your body."

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

"Everyone possesses Essence, Qi, and Spirit. When they converge, sometimes a qualitative change occurs," he held up a finger and shook it. "For ordinary mortals, just living a lifetime is rare enough, while 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 a small mustache. 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, a flag that read "One Touch and You'll Know."

Business at the fortune-telling stall was good, and a long line of customers waiting for bone-touching had formed. Even though most people knew it wasn't necessarily accurate, they didn't mind buying a good omen before the start of the Ascension Ceremony.

Zhao Kuo straightened his expression, stepped over the people in line in two or three strides, walked up to the Daoist who was muttering incantations while touching 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.

"Closing the stall for today. Everyone, please come early tomorrow."

The burly man whose turn it was refused to accept this. "Living Immortal! You haven't told me my result yet!"

"What is 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 his secret exposed, had no choice but to walk away, 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 maintaining his bowing posture, squatted down, and asked in a low voice, "Who is this Daoist?"

Zhao Kuo's thread-thin voice entered 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 touch 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 have let the young lady see a joke. This old man is Tan Tianming, the teacher of this brat. I learned a few country tricks when I was young, which I suppose is a hobby."

"Elder Tan once joined the Taixuan Sect when he was young, but later, due to the awakening of his Sword Bone, he switched to Sword Cultivation, so he is also proficient in talisman arts." Zhao Kuo explained from the side, and even secretly pointed at his head to Atian, likely implying that the Elder Tan in front of 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 on the side rolled his eyes, pulled a thick account book from somewhere, opened it to a page, picked up a brush dipped 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?!" Zhao Kuo, upon hearing this, didn't care about etiquette 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, so you must grasp it well," Elder Tan said, shaking his head. "This old man just calculated with his fingers that you have experienced many dangers along the way. Wait for me to write down the process in detail so that 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 commission was to escort Bai Tian safely to the Beihai Sword Sect, but what did he do?

He threw the man's fiancée into the sea!

"... I'm afraid I won't survive this guidance."

The benefits after forging the sword were obvious. According to Zhao Kuo, she skipped the tempering of Qi Refining and succeeded in Foundation Establishment directly. Her limbs and bones were filled with an indescribable power. Atian could even hear the sound of flames surging and burning in her meridians, which meant she had officially stepped onto this path of no return in search of longevity.

However, she was effectively a scholar before even passing the preliminary exam; she had to learn the Four Books and Five Classics before she had even learned all the characters. If she wanted to go further, she would inevitably have to cram frantically.

"Elder Li Ke's Enlightenment class must continue," Su Ying took out a scroll, spread it open on the table, and then began writing and drawing on it with a brush, "Hmm... Master's Star Astrology, Eight Trigrams, and Guide to Good Fortune—whoever chooses this is an idiot, cross it out, cross it out."

Atian sat obediently to the side, watching her motherly Senior Sister Su Ying help her choose her classes, not daring to even let out a breath.

Logically speaking, having already successfully reached Foundation Establishment, she should be able to withstand the power of "White Colt," but the problem lay in the fact that she was self-taught and had reached Foundation Establishment in a muddled state; she possessed the cultivation of Foundation Establishment but did not know how to use it in the slightest, and the direct manifestation of this was—the Sword, Wanjie, had no scabbard.