Chapter 60: Tianjian Men and the Immortal Sword

"Detected spatial curvature in the Tianjian Men region: 1.92634."

"According to Article 739 of the Spatial Accord, spatial distortion will not be applied to the Tianjian Men region."

"In accordance with Supplementary Clause 39, compensation will be provided to players."

"Evaluating compensation..."

"Special Training Ground: Tianjian Men fee reduced by 33.33%."

"All training programs unlocked."

"You have gained the proficiency: Common Tongue (Fluent) (Tianjian Men World)."

The sky was clear and the air fresh; a light breeze stirred Fang Shi awake.

He opened his eyes and saw first the blue sky and white clouds, and before him stood a Daoist priest with his hair bound and clad in a long robe.

"Everyone, prepare—we are arriving at Tianjian Men."

No sooner had the robed Daoist spoken than Fang Shi felt a jolt beneath his feet.

His vision tilted as the flying object carrying him plunged through the cloud layer below.

Miraculously, though the object tilted downward, those standing upon it felt no sensation of falling gravity.

As if some mysterious force held them firmly in place.

Upon closer inspection, Fang Shi realized the flying object was a colossal longsword.

The longsword rode the void and wind, its speed reaching the speed of sound.

A thin energy shield enveloped the blade.

To shield the interior from violent winds.

Besides the Daoist standing at the sword’s tip, there was a group of people dressed in wildly varied attire.

Some wore the robes of ancient Chinese nobles, others were martial heroes, merchants, peddlers, farmers, and retainers.

Fang Shi even spotted a beggar standing alone off to the side.

Fang Shi instantly understood: previous training grounds had always teleported trainees to a location for training.

Be it a martial arts school, an army camp, a monastery, or a mage’s tower.

The Special Training Ground: Tianjian Men was no exception.

Fang Shi had quietly inquired, and learned that this group—including himself—were all newly recruited disciples of Tianjian Men.

They were being brought back to the sect for cultivation.

This was the opening of the Special Training Ground.

Yet Fang Shi was puzzled by the data stream that had appeared on his attribute panel.

What did “no spatial distortion” mean?

Did this training ground lack the ability to warp time like “chess pieces rotting under a tree”?

That was Fang Shi’s guess based on literal interpretation.

After all, the only time-related spatial effect in training grounds was time distortion.

Creating the effect of one day in heaven, one year on earth.

Without this vital function, the training ground was half-worthless.

No fee reduction could make up for that loss.

Every hour spent training meant wasted real-world time; Fang Shi planned to complete his proficiency and then advance his cultivation.

And what of “all training programs unlocked”?

Tianjian Men clearly focused on sword cultivation, and so did he—what use were other training programs?

“All training programs unlocked” did not mean the training ground would offer new types of training.

The training programs available had already been selected beforehand.

Conversely, the training ground only boosted efficiency for the program you chose.

Like Fang Shi, who selected the sword proficiency—he would gain no bonus if he trained in other disciplines.

But “all training programs unlocked” was different: any training he did received a 3000% boost.

The problem was, Fang Shi felt he didn’t need it—his goal was sword cultivation alone.

Other training programs were not part of his plan.

Overall, these two compensations were a net loss—zero benefit.

Had the training ground not charged a full day even if used for less than one, Fang Shi would have exited immediately.

He consoled himself: at least it was a Special Training Ground—he should see what made it different before leaving.

But when he looked,

Fang Shi was stunned!

Any thought of exiting vanished from his mind.

As the colossal sword flew into a mountain range, it seemed to pierce through a thin membrane.

The heavens and earth shifted; in the distance, a massive metallic sword floated in the sky, so vast it overshadowed the entire mountain range.

Carved upon the blade were two golden characters.

Resembling divine script, yet subtly different.

Even without knowing the characters, one understood their meaning at a glance.

Tianjian—the meaning of the golden characters—perhaps this was the origin of Tianjian Men’s name.

Most importantly, upon entering the mountain range, Fang Shi was overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of primordial force.

More than ten times greater than in the other world.

Outside the mountains, primordial force was only slightly better than on Blue Star.

Yet within the mountains, a radical transformation had occurred.

The others sensed the anomaly too—they had never encountered so much primordial force.

They felt refreshed, their aches gone, their limbs light, as if rejuvenated by a decade.

Coupled with the distant Tianjian, their longing for cultivation burned fiercely.

The robed Daoist laughed heartily: "Welcome, all of you, to Tianjian Men. That colossal sword is our sect’s gate."

"It is also our sect’s protective formation—and it is a Immortal Sword."

"Any Tianjian Men disciple wishing to leave the mountains must receive a formation talisman from a senior elder to pass freely."

"Otherwise, even an Immortal who forces entry will lose half their life."

"As for non-Immortals, they will be reduced to dust instantly."

Those on the sword gasped in awe—Immortals? Wasn’t that their ultimate goal?

Even the sect’s protective formation could not withstand them—how powerful was Tianjian Men!

The robed sword cultivator continued: "So if you ever anger a powerful figure, simply hide within the gate—you will be safe."

"Besides, this Tianjian Sword has slain Immortals before. We don’t even regard weak Immortals as threats."

These words set their hearts ablaze; a surge of pride rose within them.

"But what if we anger a powerful Immortal? Won’t that bring disaster upon the sect?"

The robed man glanced at the speaker and chuckled: "If you anger a powerful Immortal, do you think you’ll live to return?"

"Besides, with your current strength, you won’t even see an Immortal’s face for centuries—let alone provoke one."

"Enough. Go to the buildings ahead and report in. Someone will tell you what to do next."

With a wave of his hand, a flash of light swept over them, and they were transported from the sword to the ground.

The robed Daoist himself transformed into a blade of light and flew deep into the mountains.

It was a valley, with dozens of houses scattered neatly among the surrounding woods.

Their landing point was the largest building.

Above its central plaque, three simple characters were written: Yingxin Tower.

Before the door of Yingxin Tower stood a Daoist who appeared to be thirty.

He sat on a grand armchair, smiling warmly: "Greetings, younger brothers and sisters!"

"From today, you are all outer disciples of Tianjian Men. I am your senior brother."

"I will now inform you of a few matters; the rest you will learn in time."

"The first, and most important matter."

"Remember: we are only outer disciples of Tianjian Men."

"The sect will not feed or clothe you for free—anything you seek, including cultivation techniques, must be earned."

"We sword cultivators need not gather herbs like alchemy cultivators, nor mine ore like artifact cultivators."

"Our only reliance is the sword in our hands."

"Therefore, as outer disciples, you need only do one thing: hunt demonic beasts."

"Each month, you must submit at least ten corpses of demonic beasts matching your cultivation level."

"And this is merely the minimum standard!"

"The more you submit, the greater the rewards from the sect."

"However, you may only begin this once you reach Qi Refining."

"You are all mortals now—some of you have probably never even held a sword."

"But it doesn't matter—each of you will take a sword, two sets of outer disciple robes, the introductory cultivation manual titled 'Sword Art,' and a small booklet recording sect knowledge."

"You'll also receive a map and a room number. Remember, one person per room—take the room assigned to you, no swapping. Find your exact location using the map."

"Of course, all of this assumes you swear the Heart Demon Oath."

Fang Shi listened in silence, feeling everything was utterly novel.

Throughout the journey, he did nothing but observe everywhere.

In Fang Shi’s view, encountering such abundant spiritual energy and not immediately practicing the Breathing Method would be a massive waste.

Moreover, cultivating in this world benefits from the training ground’s enhancement, making efficiency extraordinary.

Thus, the moment Fang Shi saw the Tianjian Sect’s main gate, he abandoned the idea of leaving this world.

He had originally thought unlocking all training programs was a poor compensation, but it turned out to be a huge windfall.

Fang Shi believed that after leaving the training ground, he would definitely raise the Breathing Method to Level 4.

Besides, he noticed Senior Brother saying something else.

"You are all mortals now."

That statement, spoken on Blue Star, would be laughable.

Fang Shi was so strong—he could even block sonic-speed attacks.

To call someone with that level of power a mortal? What else could it be but a joke?

But Senior Brother not only said it—he said it with certainty.

Fang Shi didn’t believe Senior Brother, a cultivator, was blind.

He couldn’t possibly fail to understand what a mortal was.

He sensed a First Stage aura emanating from Senior Brother.

And Senior Brother was an outer disciple; new disciples must ascend to Qi Refining to shoulder the duties of outer disciples.

Thus, it was reasonable to infer that Qi Refining was very likely the First Stage.

Therefore, the 'Sword Art' provided by Tianjian Sect was undoubtedly a path to cultivation and advancement.

Could players improve through self-cultivation, rather than leveling by killing monsters?

The answer was yes.

And Fang Shi had always had this method—the Breathing Method.

As the Breathing Method advanced, players naturally transformed their life forms, achieving self-advancement.

But humans on Blue Star found that advancing via the Breathing Method was far too slow.

It was nowhere near as fast as leveling by killing monsters.

So they deliberately crippled most of the life-form transformation function and enhanced the ability to boost base attributes.

If Tianjian Sect’s cultivation method were ordinary, Fang Shi wouldn’t care.

But the problem was, Tianjian Sect’s method could produce Immortals.

It was vastly stronger than the Breathing Method Fang Shi currently possessed.

He didn’t know just how strong Immortals were.

But from the array deployed by Immortal artifacts, which could cover vast mountain ranges,

it was clearly beyond the reach of any ordinary Legendary powerhouse.

…

The Heart Demon Oath was sworn before a stone statue of a young sword cultivator.

The statue was life-sized and exquisitely crafted, every texture of its skin clearly defined.

It was said to have been sculpted precisely after the appearance of Tianjian Sect’s founding ancestor.

It could be called the divine image of Tianjian Sect’s founding ancestor.

Anyone who swore the oath would be sensed by the founding ancestor.

Any thought of betrayal would be cut down by the Heart Sword.

"I, Fang Shi, swear here: never to betray my sect. Should I break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me, cast me into the Nether Realms, and condemn me to eternal damnation!"

Fang Shi made no special exceptions—he swore like everyone else.

As for betraying the sect? He didn’t even consider it.

He was only here to train for a while; after leaving, he’d have nothing to do with Tianjian Sect.

There was no question of betrayal at all.

After swearing the oath, Fang Shi collected all his supplies.

Among them, the longsword caught his attention.

"Tianjian Sect Standard Longsword"

"Hardness: 15"

"Sharpness: 5"

"Durability: 10"

"Damage Type: Slashing/Piercing"

"Damage Range: 1d8"

"Critical Range: 18–20/×2"

"Weight: 3200 grams"

"Type: One-handed"

"Evaluation: The worst sword in Tianjian Sect."

Fang Shi ignored the final evaluation entirely.

Just looking at the stats, this sword was far harder than a steel sword and twice as heavy.

It must have been designed with cultivators’ superior physical strength in mind.

So without hesitation, he discarded the steel sword.

A man is known by his clothes, a horse by his saddle—sword cultivators are no different.

A good sword greatly influences a sword cultivator’s power.

As for wielding a wooden sword—or none at all—

That’s just bullying newcomers with raw strength.

In reality, when facing opponents of equal skill, weapon quality decides victory or defeat.

Watching everyone collect their supplies, Senior Brother said, "Everyone, go to the nearby rooms and change into your robes."

"From now on, inside the sect grounds, you must wear these robes at all times. If damaged, report to Jianwutang for replacements."

"Outside the sect, wear whatever you like."

Soon, everyone had changed into their outer disciple robes and stood neatly in the room.

Senior Brother nodded approvingly: "Now I’ll take you to the dining hall for food. Leave the rest of your supplies here—we’ll collect them later."

"Since you arrived, you haven’t eaten anything—you must be hungry."

"Let me tell you, the food in the dining hall comes from beasts killed by your senior brothers and sisters."

"Once you ascend to Qi Refining, you’ll do the same—hunt and bring back meat for your future junior disciples."

Thus, the group followed Senior Brother in a large procession toward the dining hall.

Inside the dining hall, it was packed with disciples wearing outer disciple robes.

But strangely, Fang Shi sensed no Qi Refining aura at all.

Carrying a plate of meat, he walked up to Senior Brother: "Senior Brother, these senior disciples don’t seem very strong."

Senior Brother glanced at Fang Shi: "Good eyesight. Your martial arts training in the mortal world was decent."

"Correct—these senior disciples haven’t ascended to Qi Refining yet."

"They’ve only just entered the sect, less than a month ago."

"Once you reach Qi Refining, you won’t need to come here for meals."

"Now, eat quickly—this meat is precious. You won’t find it in the mortal world."

Fang Shi didn’t care—wasn’t it just meat from a First Stage creature?

Before his rebirth, he’d eaten Third Stage meat—what was so special?

But the moment he swallowed it, Fang Shi’s expression changed.