The truly mighty of the 10-month long Battle of Swords and Immortals were actually a good 300 zhang above the Mountain of Swords and Immortals.
To Wu Yu, this was already past the clouds, and was considered a prohibited space for ordinary dan disciples of the Shushan Immortal Sect. Naturally, Wu Yu could not see them. He did not know where the 40-year-old Galaxy Sword Sage that the black-robed elder had described was.
And even when he refused the black-robed elder's suggestion to change his opponent, Wu Yu was inwardly aghast.
"40 years old, that's twice my age, not even that of Senior Brother Snow. He's already a Heaven sword rank disciple, and the best of them at that?" Wu Yu remembered that the Heaven sword rank disciples had their own Heaven Sword Leaderboard. The Heaven Sword Leaderboard did not change frequently. Could this Galaxy Sword Sage be the first on the Heaven Sword Leaderboard?
"He's still a Heaven sword rank disciple, but already hailed as the Galaxy Sword Sage. That goes to show that this person is already not far from becoming a true Shushan Sword Sage. He might even already have their level of power - that's why he's hailed thus!"
Who would have thought that the Heaven sword rank disciple who organized this had such an important reputation. Compared to him, Zhang Futu wasn’t worth shit.
In truth, it was Wu Yu who was the ignorant one. The Galaxy Sword Sage Shen Xingyao's reputation preceded him. Besides those newly initiated disciples, virtually everyone knew his name. Wu Yu rarely interacted with the other disciples, so he did not know about this legend.
Shen Xingyao was one of the dominators of Shushan, and one of the personal disciples of the Seven Immortals of Shushan. At the same time, he had also received the full legacy of the ancient martial cultivator Celestial Sword Emperor. He was one of the future talents slated to reach immortalhood. The Sword Sage level was not the end point. The word was that he would at least reach the level of the Seven Immortals of Shushan.
Not many stories had been passed down about the ancient martial cultivator Celestial Sword Emperor, but it was known that he had been someone who caused ripples throughout the entire divine continent. It was said that he had died in the process of becoming immortal, and he had been so close to reaching immortality. Shen Xingyao had received everything since young. Therefore, he had flown past obstacles that others faced. In terms of natural talent, there were few who could compete with him at his age.
Many ordinary dan disciples idolized Shen Xingyao.
300 zhang above the Mountain of Swords and Immortals, there were five martial cultivators. They had no swords, but they stood on the air itself. They were old and young, male and female, but all of them were martial cultivators of a fairly high level.
They were of the Earth sword rank. In truth, they were the true supervisors of the Battle of Swords and Immortals.
These were basically all Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm cultivators. Passing Jindan Dao Realm was already a huge jump, and their every move could affect the battlefield significantly.
Although there were hundreds of battles ongoing, not a single one was overlooked. Each disciple's bottomline, ability, and talent was encompassed within their gaze. In fact, the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals had been expressly created for them to choose the best and brightest from amongst the ordinary dan disciples.
One was a girl wearing a purple sword lanyard. Her black hair tumbled down to her waist, and her sword lanyard was ornate. Yet it did not hide her petite figure and generous curves. It seemed like the divine had taken a hand in her making, and she was a flawless beauty. Especially that fair skin, glowing so delicately as though a single puff of air would shatter it. And that expressive face. Each expression and smile tugged at one's soul. Her eyes spoke volumes, able to see straight to one's heart.
This was the kin sister of that Galaxy Sword Sage. She was slightly younger but had reached the Earth sword rank, and she was also considered one of the elite talents in Shushan. She was Shen Xingyu.
At this time, there was a beautiful matron in blue beside her, also an Earth sword rank martial cultivator, who pointed downwards, saying, "Xingyu, there's a second tier Jindan disciple who actually rang the old bell. And he's going to challenge your youngest disciple. What a mad lad."
"An interesting child. See how he fares. As long as he doesn't make my little Canghai cry," Shen Xingyu spoke liltingly, punctuated with an enchanting laugh.
"Aye, you're but a child too, not much older than them. Stop acting like you're old."
Shen Xingyu replied, "That won't do. Although our age is not that different, I'm at the Earth sword rank. To me, they're all children down there."
Actually, she had watched Wu Yu for a while, and her final conclusion was: "The child's Jindan quality is strangely high. He might very likely have a unique quality. That is already very rare. And who knows what kind of body refining technique he used. To build his body thus strongly at such an age is a rare sight indeed. A pity that he is slightly old. If he was 10 years younger, then he could compare to my big brother, save for the difference in legacy."
Thinking of her brother, she looked up. 100 zhang above her, there was a dark purple star winking. The star was small and emitted purple light. This light was absorbing vast quantities of spiritual qi and storing it within.
"A true dao fanatic. I asked you out to take a breather and watch over the Battle of Swords and Immortals. But you threw the duty to us and continued to cultivate. And in broad daylight. Really...." Although she was scolding him, Shen Xingyu's look contained admiration.
Actually when Wu Yu lifted his head, he could make out the star above his head. Perhaps because it was daytime, the star was not very obvious. Everyone knew that at night, this star would shine brighter than any ordinary star. It was the revered Galaxy Sword Sage.
And now, Wu Yu mounted his Onyx & Pearl Dao Sword and flew towards a battlefield. Because it was in the air, it was huge, and other battles proceeded in all directions.
When he arrived, he saw a Huang sword rank disciple, a middle-aged martial cultivator. He was tall and bulky, his gaze indifferent. He stood arms folded, saying, "You've raised quite a stir. If I were you, I would enter the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals first. You have no business challenging Li Canghai and wasting your chance. Even if you win, you might end up offending his master and suffering for it."
Wu Yu had nothing to say in response. His only goal was to get his name out today! The higher the status of this Li Canghai, the greater his reputation would rise!
Their battle had suddenly become the most watched fight of the entire field! Hundreds of thousands of spectators were watching now.
At this time, Wu Yu saw a blue sword shadow streaking over from the Mountain of Swords and Immortals. The speed of the sword was comparable to his own speed record. Clearly, this opponent would not be easy to deal with! Besides, Wu Yu had never fought against a fourth tier Jindan Dao Realm cultivator before!
"That's right. His Jindan is at least deep gold. At that level, the advantage of my Jindan essence is mitigated." Wu Yu prepared himself.
Before long, a youth wearing an aqua-blue dao robe appeared before Wu Yu. His features were delicate and handsome, one of the most elegant faces that Wu Yu had seen before. His blue eyes were like his name: Canghai , fathomlessly deep. His skin was fair as snow, and his long hair floated in the breeze. He had a clear look in his eyes that showed no arrogance or anger. This was a beautiful youth that was hard to dislike.
"This humble person is called Li Canghai. May my friend on the dao road teach me his skilled ways." The youth's voice was soft as water, and he had a clean manner to his moves. After he spoke, he retrieved a spiritual immortal treasure, an aqua-blue longsword. There was a huge jewel on the pommel with an immortal treasure spirit design carved on it.
This spiritual immortal treasure seemed to hide the vastness of the sea within. It was definitely far superior to Wu Yu's own twin swords. As the sword turned, he felt like the entire sea was at its beck and call.
"The sword is called: Sword of the Overflowing Sea," Li Canghai said.
All eyes were turned this way.
This person specialized in water dao techniques. His battle with Wu Yu would be a clash between fire and water! In terms of nature, Wu Yu was fiery, while his opponent was soft as water.
In Wu Yu's mind, a true genius would be exactly like Li Canghai was - neither proud nor impetuous.
But now he was his opponent!
In the corner, he could feel Zhang Futu's cold gaze.
If he lost this battle, then he would be sent slinking back to Futu Hall, to be carved up as fish meat for Zhang Futu.
Whoosh!
Wu Yu took a deep breath. But here on Shushan, the clash of swords had yet to be concluded. He pulled out the Sword of the Blazing Rainbow and the Sword of the Mystic Eye. Ironic that they had been gifts from Zhang Futu.
The golden longsword and rainbow-fire longsword's appearance caught everyone's attention!
On Shushan, drawing one's sword signalled the start of the battle. And Li Canghai did not stand on ceremony. His right hand wrapped around the sword and his left hand flipped, pulling out a pearl the size of his thumb. Seawater was trapped within the pearl, as though it held a whole sea.
"Sea Summoning Bauble!"
Wu Yu heard many people exclaim. Evidently, this was a fairly powerful spiritual immortal treasure.
Ping!
The Sea Summoning Bauble cracked open before Wu Yu's eyes, dissolving into powder that shifted again into seawater. In an instant, Wu Yu was immersed in seawater!
All around him, seawater glowed. Wu Yu had been into the East Sea once before, and this sensation reminded him of it. And from the pressure of the water, it had to be the deep sea.
From the outside, the entire battlefield looked like a huge globe of water, and Wu Yu and Li Canghai were trapped within!
This meant that for this battle, Wu Yu could only fight Li Canghai in the water. Once he left the perimeter of the water, that meant that he had left the battlefield. By the rules of the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals, Wu Yu would have lost.
Seeing this, Zhang Futu laughed coldly from his corner.
"Fighting water with fire is suicidal. To think I had thought you a sharp one."
Actually, Zhang Futu's sentiment was one that many spectators shared.
Wu Yu was completely shut down, while Li Canghai was like a fish in the water. Without the slightest hesitation, the Sword of the Overflowing Sea came slinking through the water!
Whoosh!
Before Wu Yu's eyes, Li Canghai was like a man of water. Immersed in the water, it was indeed hard to act. This must’ve been his immortal root at work.
"Alright, nothing to do but go for it." Wu Yu had not expected Li Canghai to be so difficult to deal with.
But since he had made his choice, there was no retreating now. Only battle, and victory!
1. T/N: Canghai, literally Vast Sea