Chapter 34: Chapter 31: Finally Seeing the True Martial
After the Pingyang Taoist left,
Lin Yuan returned to his own Daoist temple.
“Sword Tomb…”
Lin Yuan pondered in his heart.
The Sword Tomb of Dragon Tiger Mountain was where the Celestial Master Mansion’s ancestors had stored their swords.
The Celestial Master Mansion revered the True Martial Great Emperor and had considerable achievements in sword techniques, with the supreme art ‘Zhenwu Seven-section Sword’ being the strongest sword technique of the era.
“If I remember correctly,”
“The location of the Sword Tomb should be one of those places…”
Lin Yuan’s heart stirred.
The so-called ‘those places’ naturally referred to the places that harbored an aura surpassing the Celestial Phenomena Realm.
They were also what Lin Yuan regarded with considerable wariness.
“Things will straighten themselves out when the boat reaches the bridge head.”
“I’ll know in half a month.”
Lin Yuan steadied his spirit and closed his eyes to begin cultivating.
At the top of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
True Martial Hall.
Master Cang Qing of the Celestial Master Mansion, with his hands clasped behind his back, looked up at the towering ‘Zhenwu Divine Statue’ before him.
“In half a month, it will be the trip to the Sword Tomb.”
“I wonder if any of the disciples of our Celestial Master Mansion’s generation will be chosen by the True Martial sword…”
Master Cang Qing sighed.
There were countless swords in the Sword Tomb of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Among them were the swords of the Mansion’s past disciples, past Masters, past Mansion Masters, and even the swords of the thirty-six Celestial Masters.
Of course, the most important was the ‘True Martial sword’.
It was said the True Martial sword belonged to the First Generation Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Mansion and was related to the revered True Martial Great Emperor, hence it was named the True Martial sword.
Only those chosen by the True Martial sword could take that step to become the new Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Mansion.
Five hundred years.
Twenty-five trips to the Sword Tomb.
Not a single disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion had been chosen by the True Martial sword again.
This had led to the position of the Celestial Master being vacant for five hundred years.
Even though the Celestial Master Mansion was still considered the ancestral home of the Daoist sect without a Celestial Master, no one dared to take it lightly.
But in terms of high-end combat power, it ultimately fell short by a great deal. For decades, the Myriad Demons Sect had been resurgent, causing untold slaughter.
If the Celestial Master Mansion had a Celestial Master in this generation, would the Myriad Demons Sect have the audacity?
“The Mansion Master need not worry,”
said a plump Taoist who had started to speak beside him.
This plump Taoist showed no hint of his aura, yet he was a Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouse, one of the three Celestial Phenomena Realm experts of the Celestial Master Mansion.
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.
On this day.
Lin Yuan had just left the Daoist temple.
He was immediately approached by a Taoist who came hurrying from the summit.
“All Daoist boys under the age of twenty, come with me,”
he said. The Taoist seemed to be in his thirties or forties, but he was a Ninth Grade expert.
In the current system of cultivation, it ranged from Ninth Grade to First Grade, with Ninth Grade experts already at the peak of the middle three grades, and they could be regarded as masters in their own right at the foot of the mountain.
“Is it time for the trip to the Sword Tomb?”
Lin Yuan felt a slight move in his heart and obediently stood in place as the Taoist commanded.
Soon enough,
all the eligible Daoist boys in the temple had almost assembled.
Lin Yuan took a quick glance around and estimated there were over a hundred.
“Follow me,”
“Don’t fall behind, and don’t run off,”
the Taoist ordered once he saw that everyone had gathered. His voice contained a hint of martial skills like sound waves, and all the Daoist boys felt a ringing in their ears, not daring to cause trouble.
After half a day,
under the guidance of the Taoist,
Lin Yuan and many other Daoist boys arrived at a valley behind Dragon Tiger Mountain.
There were already many other Daoist boys gathered there, presumably from the other seven temples.
“So many people…”
commented a slightly thin Daoist boy next to Lin Yuan, unable to contain his amazement.
“Shanfeng, what are the Masters bringing us here for?”
The slight boy leaned closer to Lin Yuan and whispered.
“I don’t know,”
Lin Yuan shook his head.
The thin Daoist boy was named Qingping, and he got along quite well with Lin Yuan; to be more precise, he looked up to Lin Yuan.
After all, because of Changqing’s reasons, Lin Yuan had ‘second generation’ status on Dragon Tiger Mountain and wasn’t bullied, so naturally, he naturally attracted a group of young Daoist boys.
Even in Dragon Tiger Mountain, the ancestral home of the Daoist sect, there would still be factions, and the young Daoist boys would naturally form small groups to stick together.
Another half an hour passed.
Another Taoist came quickly, holding several booklets in his hand.
After distributing the booklets to each Daoist boy, the Taoist said, “The booklet contains a Sensing Skill.”
“Everyone begin cultivating according to the Sensing Skill, and then enter the Sword Tomb in succession.”
“Maintain the Sensing Skill continuously during this time, and look for a suitable sword for yourself in the Sword Tomb.”
The Taoist quickly finished speaking and then repeated it several times. After confirming all the Daoist boys understood, he went on to other places.
“This Sensing Skill is so difficult…”
Qingping complained as he flipped through the booklet.
The other Daoist boys were similar, working hard to grasp it.
“Sensing Skill?”
Lin Yuan opened the booklet and quickly scanned through it.
[Your perceptiveness is against the heavens. Reading ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’, you have comprehended ‘Supreme Sword Sensing Chapter.’]
In an instant, copious insights about the sword path and sword intent flooded in.
Even Lin Yuan, who had already stepped into the Celestial Phenomena Realm, spent half an hour absorbing it all.
“This Sensing Skill…”
Uncertainty flickered in Lin Yuan’s heart.
After mastering and elevating this perception technique,
Lin Yuan faintly resonated with the nearby Sword Tomb.
Atop the Sword Tomb,
stood a high platform.
Three figures were sitting there, looking down upon the Sword Tomb below.
The leading figure was Master Cang Qing, the current master of the Celestial Master Mansion.
In the era without a Heavenly Master, the Celestial Master Mansion’s master was the absolute authority.
The one to the left was the unkempt Pingyang Taoist.
And to the right was a plump Taoist.
These three figures were indeed the three Grandmasters of the Celestial Phenomena Realm from the current Celestial Master Mansion.
“The journey to the Sword Tomb…”
“It’s crucial for the birth of a Heavenly Master in our Celestial Master Mansion.”
“Let’s hope we won’t be disappointed this time.”
Pingyang Taoist muttered to himself.
From his perspective, he could clearly see everything within the Sword Tomb below.
“In the Sword Tomb, it’s not only people choosing swords, but also swords choosing their bearers.”
“Every sword that can be placed in the Sword Tomb contains sword intent.”
“If one can cultivate the ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’ to minor completion, one can sense many sword intents and possibly select a sword once worn by previous Celestial Masters…”
The plump Taoist spoke.
As for why they didn’t let the disciples practice ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’ in advance… the ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’ is not only about sensing but also a measure of one’s own aptitude.
If one can cultivate the ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’ to minor completion within just a few hours, their swordsmanship aptitude must be extraordinary, and the sword they select will also reflect their true level.
Besides, if one’s swordsmanship aptitude is not up to par, even ten years of practicing the ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’ would hardly bring it to minor completion.
As for the major completion level of the ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’… it has been a long time since it appeared in the Celestial Master Mansion.
That is something only a prospective Celestial Master seed could achieve, capable of being sensed by the ‘Zhenwu Seven-section Sword’.”
Half a day later,
as the disciples began to enter the Sword Tomb and select the swords suitable for themselves,
smiles gradually appeared on the faces of the three Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouses watching from the platform above.
So far, four disciples had chosen swords once wielded by previous Celestial Masters.
This meant that these four possessed the potential to step into the Celestial Phenomena Realm.
Additionally, thirty-one disciples chose swords that were once worn by previous mansion masters. Even if they could not become Celestial Phenomena Realm cultivators, reaching the Ninth Grade Realm would not be a problem for them.
This scene filled Master Cang Qing with immense satisfaction.
Before the journey to the Sword Tomb, he had wished, albeit extravagantly, that a disciple might select the ‘Zhenwu Seven-section Sword.’
But extravagant hopes were just that, hopes. With no one resonating with the ‘Zhenwu Seven-section Sword’ for five hundred years, why would it happen this time?
Compared to this ephemeral possibility, the current outcome was more in line with the actual situation of the Celestial Master Mansion.
As long as they could produce a few more Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouses, even without a Heavenly Master, there would be no major issues.
“No, no, no,”
“These sword intents are all too weak.”
Inside the Sword Tomb, Lin Yuan was also selecting a sword.
After elevating his ‘Sword Intent Sensing Skill’ to the ‘Supreme Sword Sensing Chapter,’ all the ‘sword intents’ in the Sword Tomb were as clear to Lin Yuan as the patterns on the palm of his hand.
And whenever Lin Yuan slightly exerted the ‘Supreme Sword Sensing Chapter,’ he could sense that countless swords were sending eager signals to him.
Those swords were extremely powerful to the disciples, but as Lin Yuan was already at the Celestial Phenomena Realm, naturally, he was not impressed.
“There is a path of sword intent over there…”
Following the resonance, Lin Yuan walked towards the depths of the Sword Tomb.
Almost at the same time,
the three Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouses above turned their attention toward Lin Yuan.
“Who is that person, not selecting a sword properly and heading deep into the Sword Tomb?”
The plump Taoist furrowed his brows, speaking out.
“Is it Shanfeng?”
Pingyang Taoist recognized Lin Yuan, his expression equally puzzled.
He indeed told Lin Yuan to perform well, but performing well didn’t mean wandering around there.
Moreover, deep within the Sword Tomb, sword qi was rampant, which could easily harm the disciples with sword qi entering their bodies, leaving behind problems.
Seeing this, Master Cang Qing was also puzzled.
“I’ll bring him back,”
The plump Taoist saw Lin Yuan showing no sign of stopping and was about to go down to halt him.
However,
in the next moment,
Lin Yuan looked solemn, raised his right hand, and plunged it into a pile of swords.
“Come out to me!”
Lin Yuan operated the ‘Supreme Sword Sensing Chapter’ and began to draw out slowly.
Sssssshhhhh!!!
A faint frictive sound emerged.
Then, under the incredulous gaze of everyone,
inside the Sword Tomb, thousands of swords uncontrollably quivered.
This caused the Sword Tomb to shiver.
And the mountain behind the tomb quivered as well.
Lastly, the entire Dragon Tiger Mountain trembled too.
In the Extreme Northern Ice Field, a majestic man with golden eyes stood up abruptly, looking toward Dragon Tiger Mountain in shock.
On a street, a fortune-telling Taoist in a Daoist robe was slowly hawking his services when he suddenly twisted his body, nearly falling over, much to the surprise of the nearby children. After all, the old master was one of the world’s strongest, how could he stumble? But the Taoist’s face showed an unfathomable look: “The Celestial Master?”
In a desolate land, an old man, half-buried in the earth, couldn’t help but crawl out, his expression vacant as if in disbelief.
At Dragon Tiger Mountain, in the Sword Tomb,
Lin Yuan’s right hand slowly drew out a sword with a worn hilt and the words ‘Zhenwu’ engraved on it.
With Lin Yuan as the center, thousands upon thousands of swords trembled simultaneously.
All the disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion were shaken and knelt toward the ‘Zhenwu Seven-section Sword.’
Thirty-nine real people of the first grade from the Celestial Master Mansion bowed to Lin Yuan respectfully.
Master Cang Qing, this generation’s master of the Celestial Master Mansion with strength at the Celestial Phenomena Realm, was at this moment tearfully overwhelmed.
Dragon Tiger Mountain had not seen the True Martial for five hundred years.
Today, True Martial finally reveals itself to us.