“Sigh, it’s hard to explain. Just go and see for yourself. Earlier, Senior Brother Zhao, who is at the Golden Core stage, was displeased and wanted to teach that person a lesson, but he was sent flying to the ground with a single sword strike.”
“I heard about that too. That guy only seems to be at the Qi Condensation stage. Do you think that’s possible? He must be an imposter who infiltrated our sect. I don’t think he came with good intentions.”
“Hurry up, or we’ll miss the sparring match.”
Amidst the murmurs, Li Fan followed the crowd to an arena where the sparring matches were taking place.
At the same time, he began to understand the details of the body he now inhabited.
Ji Zhaoxuan—Golden Core cultivator, an inner disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
He was a man of few words, disinterested in socializing, and completely devoted to the way of the sword.
“Senior Brother Chen, I appreciate your guidance!”
A pleasant voice suddenly jolted Li Fan back to reality.
Li Fan followed the direction of the voice and saw the speaker, a seemingly unremarkable cultivator who looked nothing like Mr. Bai.
However, the subtle aura he exuded made Li Fan certain—this was indeed Mr. Bai!
“He must have changed his appearance to avoid drawing attention.”
“But why now? And why would he disguise himself as an ordinary person to join the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
A flood of questions surged in Li Fan’s mind.
With these doubts, he continued watching the match.
The Golden Core cultivator surnamed Chen had just been defeated by Mr. Bai, who appeared to be only at the Qi Condensation stage. However, rather than looking devastated, Chen simply clasped his hands in respect and said sincerely, “Thank you, Senior, for your guidance.”
Then, with a hint of excitement, he swiftly departed to enter seclusion and reflect on his insights.
The watching cultivators erupted in an uproar.
Everyone now understood that this so-called “Qi Condensation” cultivator was anything but ordinary.
At that moment, Li Fan finally noticed something.
His gaze locked onto the wooden sword in Mr. Bai’s hand.
“That sword…”
Li Fan was instantly shaken.
He hurriedly asked his fellow disciples about it and soon learned that when Mr. Bai had started his match, he had no suitable weapon.
So he casually broke off a piece from a nearby tree and crafted this wooden sword on the spot.
Upon hearing this, Li Fan was thrown into an even deeper shock.
“There’s no mistake; this wooden sword is the one that will be in Shuo Feng’s hand later on…”
“A Heaven’s Wonder—the [Sword]!”
“How is this possible? Such an extraordinary artifact… was merely something Mr. Bai created on a whim?”
“Just what level of cultivation has he reached?”
This realization sent Li Fan’s thoughts into turmoil.
The Heavenly Wonder, the [Sword], was a manifestation of the very laws of the Dao of the Sword.
In theory, it could only be nurtured through the power of the heavens and the earth.
Yet now, in Mr. Bai’s hands, it was nothing more than a child’s toy, effortlessly created.
Just how profound was his understanding of the Dao of the Sword?
Just how deep was his comprehension of the very laws of the world?
Li Fan could hardly fathom it.
As he stood there in stunned silence, another Nascent Soul sword cultivator suddenly arrived, flying in on a streak of sword light…
A formation of forty-nine paired swords shot out like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, surging toward Mr. Bai.
Mr. Bai raised his hand and lightly waved his sword.
In an instant, all forty-nine swords turned against their wielder, plunging into chaos.
Within mere moments, the sword cultivator had been defeated.
“Did you all notice? He’s even stronger than when he fought Senior Brother Chen just now!”
“He must be hiding his true cultivation, toying with us!”
“Now our Senior Brother has no choice but to step in. I just wonder if he’s sobered up yet.”
As murmurs spread among the crowd, memories of the legendary Senior Brother of the Heavenly Sword Sect resurfaced in Li Fan’s mind.
The eternal senior disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
In truth, his seniority surpassed even that of the current sect master.
However, he was naturally lazy, disliked handling sect affairs, and only loved drinking. Using the excuse of being “the eternal Senior Brother to all junior disciples,” he had monopolized the title of “Senior Brother” for years.
His name: Situ Yao.
Back in the day, Senior Brother Situ Yao was hailed as the strongest combatant in the world. His reputation attracted countless battle-hungry cultivators to challenge him.
Annoyed by the constant interruptions, Situ Yao somehow procured two massive boulders and placed them at the sect’s entrance.
With his sword, he carved two lines into them:
“Idlers, keep out.”
“Challengers, lay down your swords.”
It was said that after carving those words, Situ Yao downed a jug of fine wine and laughed heartily. He declared that, from then on, he would finally have some peace and quiet.
Sure enough, from that day forward, most challengers found themselves unable to even overcome the restriction placed on the boulders.
Realizing the immense gap in strength between them and Situ Yao, they could only leave in shame.
…
“Hiss… It seems that Situ Yao is indeed an extraordinary figure.”
Years later, standing before those now-legendary boulders that had turned into artifacts of heaven and earth, Li Fan couldn’t help but think so.
“However, compared to Mr. Bai, there is still a considerable gap.”
“One is merely a wonder of man, while the other has reached the realm of heavenly wonders…”
“Truly unfathomable.”
Situ Yao’s legendary status only added to the enigma surrounding Mr. Bai.
At this moment, facing the challenges from the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples, the immeasurably powerful Mr. Bai accepted them all.
Yet with a single move, he defeated every challenger.
Surprisingly, rather than feeling frustrated, the defeated disciples were overjoyed, as if they had gained immense enlightenment from their sparring session.
Realizing this was a rare opportunity, the disciples were eager to take their turn.
Seizing the moment, Li Fan stepped forward before anyone else and stood before Mr. Bai.
Even though he could overlook all beings in the Xuanhuang Realm as insignificant, in front of this enigmatic Mr. Bai, Li Fan couldn’t help but feel a slight nervousness.
Since he had entered the Fallen Immortal Realm in an incarnated form, he was unable to use his own divine abilities.
Taking a deep breath, Li Fan recalled the cultivation technique of the body he had possessed—Ji Zhaoxuan.
It was an obscure technique that condensed alchemic energy into swords.
However, mastery of one technique leads to mastery of all.
By relying on sword energy, he could still manifest a portion of the power of his divine ability, Heaven-Shattering Heart Sword.
“Please enlighten me, sir.”
Li Fan spoke in a deep voice.
In the next moment, with a shift of his mind, several sword auras shrouded in black demonic energy materialized around Mr. Bai.
The black swords let out piercing cries, as if they sought to shred Mr. Bai into countless pieces.
“Not bad. The creativity is commendable, but… does your heart truly align with your sword?”
Just as the black swords were about to strike Mr. Bai, they suddenly halted mid-air.
Time seemed to freeze.
In the eerie stillness, Li Fan faintly heard Mr. Bai’s gentle voice.
“If you treat your sword as a mere tool, then your sword will treat you as a tool in return.”
Boom!
Like a bolt of lightning piercing through the fog, countless insights burst into Li Fan’s mind.
Endless possibilities for evolving the Heaven-Shattering Heart Sword unfolded before him.
So many, in fact, that he felt overwhelmed, unable to decide which path to take.