511 Righteous Spirit
As the voice echoed, a person walked over from the sky.
This person looked to be in his mid-twenties. He wasn’t burly and only had a medium build.
His appearance wasn’t the delicate type either. Instead, he had thick brows and large eyes.
His arms were slightly longer than ordinary people and his eyes were bright, as though they contained the stars, causing his entire person to emit a heroic aura.
He strode over from the sky, letting out a majestic aura.
He didn’t deliberately spread out his cultivation base energy but the pressure emitted from his body was so strong that it seemed to be able to suppress everything. What shocked Xu Qing even more was that the Golden Crow totem on his body emitted an intense burning sensation.
Previously, when he faced Shan He and others, although the Golden Crow also emitted heat, it was far inferior to what it was emitting now.
The youth who walked over also had an emperor-level cultivation art. The void behind him tore apart and a golden dragon roared out, coiling between the heavens and the earth with a shocking aura.
Every dragon scale emitted a dazzling light, and every dragon beard contained divine light. The sharpness in its dragon eyes made it look like it was a lord looking down on the world.
Not only that, but the golden dragon also had a sword in its mouth.
That was… the Emperor Sword of the Sword Holders!
This person was someone who had successfully comprehended the Emperor Sword.
If that was all, it would be fine. What caused Xu Qing’s heart to stir even more was that he could sense life lanterns in the other party’s body.
There weren’t just one but three!
In Xu Qing’s perception, the light of the three life lanterns in the youth’s body was suppressed by his body. It wasn’t easy for outsiders to sense it and only those who possessed life lanterns could sense them.
Strong, extremely strong!
This was what Xu Qing felt most directly.
He had only felt that Shan He and the others were dangerous but it wasn’t that he couldn’t fight them. However, at this moment, the feeling the youth who walked over gave Xu Qing was like an immovable mountain.
The other party’s aura was shockingly dense and incomparable.
At the same time, as he arrived, the surrounding Sword Holders cupped their fists respectfully. However, most of them had smiles on their faces.
“Brother Kong!”
“Greetings, Brother Kong!”
“Brother Kong, it’s been a long time since we last met. Your cultivation has improved again.”
The youth laughed. When he returned the greeting to everyone, the young girl who had wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth seemed to have become a pretty girl from a small family. She ran to the youth’s side and seemed to have plucked up the courage to speak.
However, the youth pinched her face.
“Little Night Spirit, I haven’t seen you for more than a year. You’ve grown taller.”
As he spoke, Shan He and Wang Chen also quickly walked over and greeted the youth.
“Little He, don’t be gloomy all day. Smile more.”
“And you, you sleep in the coffin every day. Come drink with me later.” The youth’s voice was hearty. While he was reminiscing with these old friends, the captain was also transmitting his voice to Xu Qing.
“Do you see him? The monster I’m talking about is this person, Kong Xianglong. He’s the number one person in the current generation of the human race in Fenghai County. A 24-year-old Golden Core with ten palaces. Such a talent hasn’t appeared in a thousand years!”
“In the information I bought, there is a lot of information about this person. He has three life lanterns on him.”
“He also possesses two emperor-level cultivation arts. One is the Emperor Sword and the other is the Golden Dragon Heaven Surveying Art.”
“The information also mentioned that he has a Taboo magic treasure fragment that has been sacrificially refined five times.”
“Also, a year ago, this person killed a Holy Wave Race Nascent Soul cultivator when he had a combat strength of nine Heavenly Palaces!”
The captain’s voice was filled with emotion. When Xu Qing heard this, he was also moved.
“This Kong Xianglong has a heroic personality. He’s open and aboveboard and has a wide range of friends. In the end, most of the human cultivators who fight against him will become his good friends. However, he’s extremely savage to other races. It’s said that he dismembers them into pieces!”
“But these aren’t the main points I want to talk to you about.” The captain transmitted his voice as he looked at Kong Xianglong, who was laughing and chatting with others. A hint of admiration appeared in his eyes.
“Little Qing, some people look very good but they are actually sanctimonious. However, some people are really what they seem. After I saw his information previously, I originally didn’t believe that this person was really open and aboveboard.”
“Hence, I used my method to investigate him. In the end, I discovered that this person is the same as what he shows!”
“His three life lanterns weren’t given to him by the elders but obtained with his strength. Although he is a new Sword Holder, it’s said that he has lived in the Sword Holding Palace since he was young and was born in a family of laborers.”
“After that, because he risked his life to obtain military contributions, he was allowed to cultivate with military contributions. He fought in many battles against the nonhuman races and was at the frontline every battle, resulting in him being on the verge of death many times as he continue to rise.”
“He used his military contributions to exchange for one of the three life lanterns and an emperor-level cultivation art. Among them, he successfully comprehended the Emperor Sword twice!”
“The second life lantern was given to him in front of everyone after his best friend sacrificed himself, allowing him to walk the unfinished path on behalf of the other party.”
“He snatched the third life lantern from the Holy Wave Race!”
“I, your Eldest Senior Brother, also admire such a person.” The captain said in a rare admiring tone.
When Xu Qing heard this, the waves in his mind were intense. Hence, he looked at Kong Xianglong.
Almost at the same time that he looked over, Kong Xianglong had also finished exchanging pleasantries with his old friends. His gaze swept over and landed on Xu Qing as he laughed loudly and walked over.
“I’m guessing that you’re the glorious Xu Qing of the Yinghuang Province!”
“Greetings, Senior Brother Kong.” Xu Qing cupped his fists and bowed.
“Xu Qing, I’ve heard about the matter with you and the Law Palace. I’ve long disliked that woman from the Yao family. She only knows how to scheme from behind and use the rules as her weapon. What she does is only things done by those gutless b*stards.”
“You did well!”
“Let’s go drinking together later. My treat!” As Kong Xianglong laughed, another person walked over from afar. It was Zhang Siyun.
His expression was gloomy. When he heard those words, he coldly glanced at Kong Xianglong.
However, the moment his cold gaze glanced at Kong Xianglong, Night Spirit’s gaze turned hostile. Shan He narrowed his eyes while Wang Chen smiled with killing intent in his eyes.
They all stared at Zhang Siyun.
Zhang Siyun was stunned for a moment before he immediately restrained himself and silently walked to the edge of the crowd.
Kong Xianglong turned his head and glanced over, a hint of displeasure appearing in his eyes. He knew that Zhang Siyun’s mother was Yao Yunhui from the Law Palace.
He also understood that the other party’s mother was standing up for her son, but he couldn’t stand such a thing. He had grown up in the Sword Holding Palace and had worked there. He had been influenced by the Sword Holding Palace’s mission to protect the human race.
Hence, it was fine for Sword Holders to compete with each other, but that kind of internal strife with no justifications was what he hated the most. Hence, he hated Zhang Siyun’s actions.
However, he truly admired Xu Qing.
However, they were unrelated to each other and if he said too much, it would cause a misunderstanding. Hence, after smiling at Xu Qing, he turned and left.
Throughout the entire process, he didn’t even glance at the captain.
Just ten feet light, he felt that there was a high chance that the other wasn’t a good person.
After he left, his friends immediately gathered together. Qing Qiu didn’t like to interact with too many strangers, so she declined Night Spirit’s invitation and stood alone.
“Brother Kong, why are you so enthusiastic about that Xu Qing?”
After Qing Qiu left, Shan He was a little puzzled and asked Kong Xianglong.
Wang Chen and Night Spirit also looked over. In reality, they didn’t have a bad impression of Xu Qing but they didn’t have a good impression of him either.
This was because the Great Emperor personally appointed him. They were a little unconvinced.
“Let me tell you guys. It’s fine if you have hostility toward others, but don’t have hostility toward this Xu Qing,” Kong Xianglong said with a smile.
“Emperor’s appointment is just an empty title. It’s not important. What’s important is that Xu Qing got 100,000 feet long light in the heart inquisition. Such a person is the most trustworthy comrade.”
“Brother Kong, you got 87,000 feet long light. You’re also trustworthy!” Night Spirit spoke softly from the side, her admiration even more obvious.
“It’s precisely because of this that I understand the inner quality represented by the 100,000 feet light even more. Believe me, I have never misjudged people. Moreover, the Great Emperor has endorsed him. If you can become friends with such a person, they will be friends for the rest of your lives.”
“However, in the future, I have to find an opportunity to remind Xu Qing to be careful of his eldest senior brother who only got 10 feet light. I took a glance just now and felt that that fellow doesn’t look like a good person.”
While Kong Xianglong and the other three were communicating here, the captain was also persuading Xu Qing.
“Little Qing, I take back what I said earlier. I think that although this Kong Xianglong has a good personality, you guys shouldn’t get too close.”
Xu Qing was surprised and looked at the captain.
The captain coughed.
“You have to remember that I’m your eldest senior brother!”
Earlier, he had sensed that Kong Xianglong was very enthusiastic about Xu Qing. This enthusiasm and the other party’s personality made it very easy for others to treat him as their eldest senior brother. This made the captain a little vigilant.
Xu Qing smiled when he heard that. He then took out an apple from his storage bag and handed it to the captain.
“Eldest Senior Brother, eat an apple.”
The captain was immediately happy. He took the apple and took a bite. He felt that this apple was so sweet, so he waved his hand.
“Forget it, the spirit stones you owe me will be… Uh, 30% off!”
The smile on Xu Qing’s face silently retracted. He then lifted his head and looked in the direction of Kong Xianglong.
The captain sighed.
“70% off!”
Xu Qing was about to speak but at the next instant, his expression turned solemn. The captain also immediately stood up straight. The Sword Holders in the surroundings were all the same. All of them instantly lifted their heads and looked at the Sword Holding Palace in front of them.
This huge palace building of the Sword Holding Palace seemed to only have one building, but in reality, it contained a large cluster of halls. At this moment, these new Sword Holders were only at the periphery.
In front of them was the outer hall of the Sword Holding Palace.
This hall had a gilded treasure roof with blue tiles, red pillars, and raised eaves.
It also had another name, the Oath Hall.
As this place fell silent, footsteps rang out from the hall ahead. Very soon, five figures walked out of the palace. Under the illumination of the sunlight, they fell into everyone’s eyes.
Among these five people, one was at the front and the other four were at the back.
The one at the front was a middle-aged man with a tall and straight figure. He wore an official’s uniform and exuded a dignified aura.
His body was covered in overlapping shadows, as though there were ten thousand of them in his body. It also gave off the feeling that it was about to accumulate to a hundred million.
The four people behind him were all old men. Every one of them seemed to have countless shadows overlapping on their bodies, as though they could envelop the sky and form countless bodies.
Although they were still very far from a hundred million, the dignity they emitted from standing there was still earth-shattering.
“I’m Ling Chengzi, the Deputy Palace Master of the Sword Holding Palace in Fenghai County.”
“The four people behind me are the four deacons of Fenghai County’s Sword Holding Palace. Today, the five of us will read the Dharma rites for you, teach you the rules, assign your posts, and witness your oaths.”
“Now, read the rite,” the Deputy Palace Master said calmly. A Sword Holder deacon walked out from behind him and his voice spread in all directions.
“The first rule of the Sword Holder…”
This time, there weren’t many complicated rituals. Everything was very simple. The words fell into the minds of every Sword Holder.
Xu Qing’s expression was solemn. The others were the same.
A long time later, the ceremony ended.
“The Sword Holder has three rules, seven principles, and sixty-nine articles, which you must firmly remember.”
“You come from various provinces and have your own rules of survival in your respective provinces. You all have your own personalities and ways of living.”
“You might act arrogant and think you are outstanding, and this is acceptable, but only during the early stages when you are joining the Sword Holders. From now on, you have to remember one thing.”
“Sword Holders can trust their backs to their comrades!”
“This is completely different from the sects you come from.”
“In the sects, the interests are paramount. But in the Sword Holding Palace, duties are paramount, the human race is paramount, and friendship is equally paramount.”
“This is the first concept you have to engrave in your minds after becoming Sword Holders!”
“After that, you will have a secret training that will last for seven days. During these seven days, you will master all kinds of secret arts that only Sword Holders can possess. During this time, there will also be the inheritance of the human race’s history and the explanation of the customs of the myriad races.”
“If you pass the assessment in seven days, your posts will be assigned.”
“However, one of you doesn’t need to take the assessment. Your post will be arranged now.”
“Xu Qing, take nine steps!”
Xu Qing took a deep breath. Under the gazes of the surrounding Sword Holders, he walked out with a solemn expression.