The booming sound of the massive stone gates opening in the distance interrupted Song Yao's thoughts.
Majestic spiritual energy surged out from within the gates, spreading like a tide, carrying with it the deep, lingering chill from the heart of the mountain.
Second Senior Sister said coldly, “You must come out in two hours, regardless of whether you have formed a contract with a sword. Do not linger.”
The disciples' spirits lifted, and they scrambled to rush inside, terrified that someone else would snatch away their opportunities if they were a step too slow.
Song Yao sluggishly lagged behind at the very back, sighing to herself that it was nice to be young.
The moment she stepped through the gates, her surroundings suddenly dimmed.
The passage was deep and dark, and the stone walls on both sides were densely embedded with swords, stretching from the ground to the very edge of her vision.
An extremely abundant wave of spiritual energy surged toward Song Yao in an instant, threatening to swallow her whole.
Song Yao had no choice but to compose herself, suppressing the spiritual energy and controlling her absorption speed.
Perhaps because of her Great Perfection in the Sword Dao, the spiritual energy here was exceptionally friendly toward her.
Of course, so were the swords.
As she drew near, the surrounding swords couldn't help but tremble, letting out occasional low hums.
The swords on the outside weren't worth much, so Song Yao didn't rush to choose and kept walking inward.
Before long, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
A massive stone cavern appeared before her. The vaulted ceiling was so high she could barely see the top, and the surrounding stone walls were covered in swords.
The gleam of the swords reflected off one another, casting a flickering, dim light across the entire cavern.
On a high platform in the very center of the cavern, several disciples were lining up to place their palms on the sword-testing stone one by one.
The sword-testing stone glowed faintly. If a sword spirit took a liking to a disciple, a sword would automatically fly down from the stone walls.
Song Yao originally wanted to walk further in, but her footsteps ground to a halt when her peripheral vision caught the people in the queue.
Jiang Jin, Ming Ran, Cheng Yue, and several other Heaven-grade disciples who had entered the sect with them were waiting.
She suddenly remembered something.
Cheng Yue.
She had always found this name familiar, but she hadn't paid much attention to it before.
Looking at this scene, she recalled that in the book the system had given her, this girl seemed to be one of the fish in Jiang Jin's pond.
According to the book, it was right here that when Jiang Jin placed his hand on the sword-testing stone, a divine sword from the depths of the sword tomb broke its seal to acknowledge him as its master. Not only the divine sword, but almost all the sword spirits in the tomb were summoned, allowing him to take his pick.
And he immediately turned around and gifted his previous sword to Cheng Yue.
Song Yao couldn't remember the exact details, but in any case, from then on, the girl's affection for Jiang Jin skyrocketed, she secretly fell for him, and in the end, she even seemed to have lost her life for him.
Song Yao withdrew her gaze, her heart completely untroubled.
The plot was the plot; it had nothing to do with her.
Whomever Jiang Jin wanted to woo, whomever he wanted to gift a sword to, and however much he wanted to show off was entirely his business.
Whether others were love-struck fools or whether they died had absolutely nothing to do with her.
She only wanted to peacefully pick a sword, take it out to sell, and then live the life she wanted.
Only...
She remembered that Cheng Yue was a rather proud and clear-headed person. How could she fall madly in love just because of a sword?
Driven by some strange impulse, Song Yao stopped in her tracks and began eating her steamed bun.
Yes.
If she didn't finish the bun, it would spoil.
Their Baicao Peak couldn't afford such waste.
Before she could take more than two bites, Jiang Jin stepped onto the sword-attracting platform.
Today, he wore a white robe. He was tall and slender, with delicate features. As he walked up the stone platform, his steps were unhurried, and he maintained a refined posture, drawing the gazes of quite a few disciples.
He came to a stop in front of the sword-testing stone and raised his hand, slowly pressing his palm toward the stone surface.
Before he could even touch it, a sudden cry rang out from behind him: “Lin Mu!”
Startled, he whipped his head around, only to see Cheng Yue pull a canteen from her spatial pouch and sprint toward a youth in the corner of the stone wall who was choking so hard her eyes were turning white.
After gulping down two mouthfuls of water, Song Yao finally caught her breath. Raising her head with tear-filled eyes, she saw over a dozen pairs of eyes on the sword-attracting platform staring at her in silence.
There was even a trace of resentment in Jiang Jin's eyes.
Song Yao: “...”
She really hadn't done it on purpose.
Who knew a steamed bun could be so choking?
As a grand Great Perfection sword cultivator, she had almost been solo-killed by a steamed bun twice today. Even she felt it would be incredibly embarrassing to speak of.
The atmosphere on the stone platform was completely ruined by this interruption.
Several Heaven-grade disciples withdrew their gazes and looked at Jiang Jin, their tones tinged with flattery. “Junior Brother Jiang, no one has received a response from a sword spirit yet. We can only rely on you.”
“With your Heaven-grade perfect-tier metal spiritual root talent, you will definitely be able to summon a divine sword.”
“Exactly, exactly! Give it a try quickly!”
“...”
After a few rounds of flattery, Jiang Jin's expression softened slightly.
He cast another glance at Song Yao, who was not far away, before raising his hand and pressing his palm against the stone surface under everyone's expectant gazes.
The stone surface was icy cold and smooth to the touch.
However—
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
Nothing happened.
The sword-testing stone sat quietly embedded in the high platform, without the slightest ripple.
The entire cavern fell so silent it felt as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Song Yao: “?”
Why was this a bit different from what was written in the book?
Wasn't there supposed to be a grand summoning of ten thousand swords?
With his hand still pressed against the stone platform, the gentle curve of Jiang Jin's lips froze.
The disciples nearby, who had been flattering him just moments ago, looked at one another. The expectation on their faces faded bit by bit, replaced by a touch of awkwardness.
Someone couldn't help but whisper, “What's going on?”
“I don't know. Could it be broken?”
“Those senior brothers and sisters earlier didn't manage to summon anything either.”
Jiang Jin's fingertips tightened slightly, then relaxed. He pulled his hand back in an unhurried manner, his voice calm. “It seems my destiny does not lie here. No matter.”
Seeing this, Ming Ran stepped forward and walked straight up to the sword-testing stone. She pressed her palm against it and channeled her spiritual energy inside. “Let me try.”
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
It remained entirely peaceful.
Several youths behind her stepped forward one after another, but none of them received any response.
A senior brother who had entered the sect a few years earlier walked over. He studied the stone for a long time with a frown, his expression turning slightly grave. “I heard that when people entered the sword tomb in the past, at least half of them could obtain a natal sword through the sword-testing stone. Could something really have gone wrong?”
A clamor broke out among the crowd.
It hadn't malfunctioned for thousands of years, yet they had to be the unlucky ones to encounter it. What terrible luck.
Jiang Jin comforted them, “Let's not waste any more time. Let's go inside and see if we can find a suitable sword to form a contract with.”
“Right, time is short. We should pick for ourselves; maybe we'll find an even better grade.”
Standing in the corner, Song Yao brushed the crumbs off her hands and angrily complained to the system in her mind: The plot you gave me is completely wrong! Pirated books will curse you with bad luck for a lifetime!
Unfortunately, the system had never appeared again after finalizing the task, so it was naturally impossible for it to respond to her now.
She shook her head and prepared to head deeper in alongside Cheng Yue.
Just as she lifted her foot—
“Junior Sister Lin.”
In the distance, Ming Ran abruptly called out to her, a hint of hostility in her eyes. “Ninth Elder thinks so highly of you, saying you have exceptional skeletal structure and are a natural-born sword cultivator. It's not surprising that none of us succeeded, but you are different.”
“Wouldn't it be a pity if you didn't give it a try?”
These words were spoken politely, even carrying a hint of praise.
But anyone with eyes could see what she really meant, and even the surrounding Heaven-grade disciples showed looks of anticipation, waiting for a good show.
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