Chapter 389: 363 Sun

"The most important sword?"

Perhaps they had never been asked this before, as the several Sword Guests on the Fire Seed Carriage all felt a bit bewildered.

"All swords in the world are important. Because every sword has infinite possibilities. Before becoming a Sword Guest, a master will always guide: 'One should become a sword through the person, not a person through the sword.' It seems there are no bad swords in the world, only bad Sword Guests."

Chen Yingxia swept her gaze over everyone and smiled slightly, which looked somewhat mocking no matter how one viewed it: "But we all know this is false. Swords are naturally divided into nine grades, just as people are divided into nine grades. Otherwise, there wouldn't be various designations, such as Dragon Sword, Phoenix Sword, Ox Sword, and Ouroboros Sword. Are these distinctions all false? And there are others... that probably don't fall into any category; we might as well call them Club Sword."

Everyone was silent.

In fact, each of them knew what Chen Yingxia meant, and understood what that designation referred to.

While it is said that swords have no unified classification, there are indeed various conventional designations used to distinguish the different characteristics of swords.

Dragon Sword is used to describe a sword that is powerful from the start and whose subsequent development is also extremely powerful; it can be called a "heaven-chosen" sword. Those who hold a Dragon Sword are a step ahead at every turn and are all heroes of their time.

Phoenix Sword describes a sword that is unremarkable at the beginning, but whose stamina is very strong, becoming increasingly powerful, and finally unfolding like a magnificent "phoenix tail."

Ox Sword is the opposite of Phoenix Sword, referring to those swords that are incomparably powerful at the start but lack stamina, having no development later on, and ending up with a mere "ox tail."

As for Ouroboros Sword, it refers to those mysterious, peculiar swords that one cannot say are powerful or not, but which possess their own profound mysteries, are accompanied by rules from the very beginning, and have many strange uses.

Of course, regardless of Dragon Sword, Phoenix Sword, or even Ox Sword, their thresholds are not low. Most swords do not count as any of these.

You say your sword is no good at the start, but could its stamina be any good?

If it is not powerful now, will it be powerful later?

For those swords that are no good in any respect, there is no need to use a unified designation; you can call them "Club" sword, "miscellaneous" sword, or "shattered" sword—it refers to the same thing anyway.

Among the swords Tang Zhao has used, the authority-wielding Xiezhi Sword could be called an "Ouroboros Sword"; it existed by adhering to rules from the start, and while one could say it was powerful, one could also say it was useless. Moreover, even after becoming a Sword Hero or Sword Immortal, it continued to uphold the rules of "Killer Dies" and "Evil Must Be Punished," leaving many people completely unharmed.

The Pi Gan Jian has similarities to the Xiezhi Sword, and it seems it could also be classified this way. Besides that, Tang Zhao feels the "Yanggu Sword" counts as a "Dragon Sword," while the most powerful Kun Sword can only be counted as a "Phoenix Sword"; at first, it was just playing with earth and was not strong at all, only becoming suddenly powerful at the level of Sword Technique.

As for his own sword, it has just started, so it is hard to evaluate, and even harder to boast about, but Tang Zhao himself feels... the start is alright, right?

However, only Tang Zhao could evaluate it calmly and objectively, and even ruminate on the Dragon Swords and Phoenix Swords he possessed; the others all had displeased expressions upon hearing "Club Sword," and felt a piercing sensation when they heard "swords are divided into nine grades."

Tang Zhao spoke up: "Even so, it is hard to say there is a 'most important' sword in the world, right?"

If there had to be an order, Tang Zhao felt he could choose from the "Sword Manual" in his Glasses. The one ranked first is the most powerful.

It is a pity he does not yet know who is ranked first.

Perhaps he will not know who is ranked first for a while. He can only wait for the unknown future.

If he can still see the Sword Manual in the future.

Chen Yingxia sighed: "It seems you are all unaware of the lore. Let me tell you. Although this Suiyu is shattered, it did not shatter randomly. Why are there still large areas of Suiyu that can build cities, house people, and stabilize a region of heaven and earth? Those Suiyu without swords to protect them have long since turned to dust. Only Suiyu that possess a true needle to calm the sea can remain stable for hundreds or thousands of years, allowing us to multiply and thrive here."

Qiao Hai and the others had not heard this story either, so they could not help but perk up their spirits to listen attentively.

"What this piece of our Suiyu was called originally, I do not know, but today, it is called the Sun Domain, one of the four great domains."

Sun Domain... what a straightforward name.

"The Sun Domain can exist for a long time and become one of the four corners pinning down the Suiyu because it is protected by four great Immortal Swords. These four Immortal Swords are the Jinwu, Yanggu, Fusang, and Six-Dragon swords."

Hearing the name of the "Yanggu" sword, Tang Zhao could not help but feel his heart jump.

Yanggu... is it actually one of the four great Immortal Swords of the Suiyu?

Thinking carefully, it seems to make sense; the Yanggu Sword is already one of the top twenty swords in the Sword Manual. Don't look at the dozen or so swords ahead of it; it is "merely" an Immortal Sword. Is it not high for an Immortal Sword to be ranked in the top twenty?

The Kun Sword, ranked ninth, is a Saint Sword. There is no telling how many Saint Swords are listed alongside it.

The Yanggu Sword itself must be one of the best among the Immortal Swords, which is why it can shoulder the heavy responsibility of stabilizing a domain. It was still so brilliant when Tang Zhao simulated holding it; I wonder what kind of demeanor that true Immortal Sword has?

Is that Sword Immortal Ming Hao, who wields the Immortal Sword, still alive?

However...

The names of these four swords—Yanggu, Fusang, Jinwu, Six-Dragon—all seem to refer to the sun?

Perhaps their Sword Images are also similar?

As expected of the Sun Domain, they are all Sun Swords.

It is fortunate that the sun has many names; one can pick a name from any lore. If it were other Sword Images, the names might have collided.

When they met, it would truly be: having the same name is not scary, whoever is weak is the one who is embarrassed.

Speaking of this, Chen Yingxia paused and said: "What I am about to say is of great importance. If you all still wish to listen, please take an oath: once heard, it must rot in your stomach; if it spreads, may you be destroyed by heaven and earth. If you are unwilling to swear, I will not say it, and we shall disperse."

The few looked at each other; having heard this much, could they really give up halfway? Would they even be able to sleep tonight? The few considered themselves not the type to spread gossip, and keeping a secret was not difficult, so they all took an oath one after another never to spread it.

Only then did Chen Yingxia nod and say: "Our domain has a checkered fate. Originally, with the four great Immortal Swords sitting in town, the Sun Domain should have been as stable as a rock. However, the Sun Domain has been declining continuously over these years because the Jinwu Sword, which supports one corner of the Sun Domain, has lost its Sword Guest."

Everyone was shocked; this was truly a secret of great importance! If it spread outside and those with ill intentions learned of the Sun Domain's crisis, disaster would surely arise. Even if ordinary domain residents learned of it, they would certainly be terrified and lose confidence, triggering turmoil.

"So, the Sun-Holding Envoy refers to... finding a Sword Guest for the Jinwu Sword?"

"Exactly. The Jinwu Sword is not only one of the four great Immortal Swords of the Sun Domain, but it can also be said to be the most important sword. Yanggu is the place where the sun rises, Fusang is the place where the sun sets to rest, and Six-Dragon is the carriage for the sun to patrol the sky. Only Jinwu is the sun itself. Without Jinwu, the other swords have no backbone."

"The so-called Sun-Holding Envoy does not hold the 'sun' that is Jinwu; they hold the 'sun' that is the Sun Domain. Once one wields the Jinwu Sword, one holds up the entire Sun Domain, just like the saint in legends who mended the heavens."

"And our Caiyun Gui exists to find the Sun-Holding Envoy. It was founded by the various Sword Immortals of the Immortal Court back then, and finding the true Sun-Holding Envoy is the mission of our generation after generation, and also the meaning of our existence."

Hearing this, Tang Zhao suddenly remembered a line of ancient poetry:

Lush colorful clouds hold the sun high, scattered flower rain cleanses away the mud.

That is likely the meaning.

However...

"Since it is about finding a Sword Guest, it shouldn't be too hard to find, right? Every year there are so many children with outstanding Inspiration. Your faction is not small; you could gather them all and test them one by one. Could you really not find one? Many small sects find people to inherit the only sword in their sect, and the inheritance never breaks. Don't talk about one in a thousand; even one in ten thousand should have been picked out, right?"

Just as Tang Zhao was thinking this, Shanye Gang had already said it.

Chen Yingxia sighed and said: "It is not that simple. The Jinwu Sword is an Immortal Sword, and it does not hide itself like ordinary swords that have lost their Sword Guest; it is in a different state."

She did not continue to describe what that state was; presumably, this was another layer of secret that could not be spoken, only saying: "The current Jinwu Sword cannot accept young children; it can only accept handsome youths with a foundation of Gang Qi, and they must have upright character, a resilient temperament, and possess both focus and courage—only a young person like the sun will do."

When she said this, everyone's eyes brushed over to Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao felt a bit creeped out by being stared at; this long string of praise almost sounded like flattery. If it were usual, he would not be comfortable accepting it, but now was not the time to care about such things.

Fortunately, Qiao Hai immediately thought of the crux of the matter and laughed: "What a pity, if our Sword Guest Tang were still a young Loose Practitioner, that would be perfect, but now he is already a Sword Guest, and an outstanding Sword Guest at that, with exceptional Sword Art and a limitless future. This is heaven's will not letting him be any Sun-Holding Envoy."

Chen Yingxia said softly, "Are the words of Heaven's Will important to us Sword Guests? If we followed Heaven's Will, a corner of the sky should have collapsed. The Suiyu should have crumbled into powder, the Heavenly Demons should have invaded the Human World and turned it into a purgatory; all of this would be logical, yet it has not happened yet, all because our generation of Sword Guests acts against Heaven."

"It is the Sword Guests who held up the Suiyu, and it is the Sword Guests who blocked the invasion. For this, how much did the sages of antiquity pay? Countless people gave up their lives, countless people left no bones behind, and many of them have even vanished without a trace to this day, with not even a single Bone to be found. Compared to the sacrifices of our predecessors, what does the fate we face today count for? Can we only enjoy the sacrifices of those who came before us, unwilling to make even the slightest contribution? Can we only care about our own selfish interests and not speak of the greater good at all?"

Just then, with a "clatter," a wine bowl was smashed onto the ground, shattering into pieces.

It was Shanye Gang who jumped up, slapped the table, and shouted, "What are you saying? Don't think that just because I'm a bit slow that I can't understand you mocking people; are you trying to hold up a banner to force Sword Guest Xiao Tang to withdraw his sword?"