Chapter 394: Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords
Only Luo Shuihan had no half-saint expressing an intention to take her as a disciple.
Because the ancestor of the Luo Holy Clan, Luo Xu, was already a member of the Saint Academy, and Luo Shuihan had long been his successor. Even if other half-saints wanted to take a disciple, they could not compete with Luo Xu.
At the Saint Academy, there were twenty-seven departments.
Eighteen martial arts departments and nine spiritual power departments.
The eighteen martial arts departments were: Sword Dao Department, Blade Dao Department, Palm Technique Department, Fist Technique Department, Finger Technique Department, Spear Dao Department, Whip Dao Department, Staff Dao Department, Buddhist Department, Daoist Department, and so on.
The nine spiritual power departments were: Artifact Refining Department, Alchemy Department, Beast Taming Department, Illusion Technique Department, Lightning and Thunder Department, Wind and Fire Department, and so on.
As the saying goes, every path leads to sainthood.
Whether one cultivates the Sword Dao or the Blade Dao, reaching a certain realm can lead to becoming a saint.
In the Heavenly Extreme Realm, a martial artist's cultivation speed slows down significantly. Even for a genius, it might take several years to break through a single realm.
If one continues to dabble in various martial arts, their ultimate achievements will be very limited. Breaking through the Fish-Dragon Realm would already be impressive, and reaching the Half-Saint Realm would be extremely rare.
Therefore, the greatest function of the Saint Academy is to help martial artists choose the path most suited to them, abandon all distractions, and focus on cultivating a single one.
At the same time, it brings in the best lecturers to impart knowledge and resolve doubts for the saint disciples, providing them with the best environment to unleash their greatest potential.
Only in this way can a martial artist's cultivation speed become faster.
Zhang Ruochen, of course, chose the Sword Dao Department.
Joining Zhang Ruochen in choosing the Sword Dao Department were Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling. Chen Xi'er chose the Finger Technique Department, while Si Xingkong and Chang Qiqi chose the Buddhist Department.
Originally, Zhang Ruochen thought Luo Shuihan would choose the Fist Dao Department, but unexpectedly, she chose the Daoist Department.
According to Luo Shuihan, the inheritance of the Luo Holy Clan seemed to have some connection with Daoism. Senior Luo Xu also advised her to choose the Daoist Department.
The Sword Dao Department was considered the largest department in the Saint Academy, attracting the most applicants. Even after the first round of screening, the registration site still had a long line.
At the registration desk, there were no lecturers, only six senior saint disciples from the previous cohort, considered senior brothers and sisters. Each was a top-tier expert.
Zhang Ruochen glanced over and saw through the martial arts cultivation of all six.
Five of them were at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, and one was at the Fish-Dragon First Transformation realm.
Of course, after ten years of advanced study and training at the Saint Academy, these disciples were far from comparable to ordinary Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists.
After Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, and Duanmu Xingling registered, they received the scrolls for the second round of the exam.
That Fish-Dragon First Transformation disciple was named Xu Hai, a half-saint's disciple. He was already forty-five years old but looked only about twenty, wearing a golden disciple robe and exuding an aura of unfathomable depth.
For martial artists in the Fish-Dragon Realm, even at forty years old, they could appear to be around twenty.
Xu Hai infused his true qi into his voice, standing on a stone platform, and said, "This year, a total of sixty thousand martial artists have come to the Saint Academy from all over to take the exam. Each one is a genius selected through layers of screening. With their qualifications, most should be able to pass the first round."
"The Sword Dao Department is the largest department in the Saint Academy. In each cohort, roughly one-third of the applicants choose it. However, the Sword Dao Department only admits five thousand people per cohort. Therefore, the competition in the Sword Dao Department is the fiercest, with over seventy percent ultimately failing to pass all three rounds."
"Before I announce the exam questions, let me ask you one more time: Do you really want to continue applying for the Sword Dao Department? You still have a chance to choose now. If you apply for the Spear Dao Department, Whip Dao Department, or Staff Dao Department, your competitive pressure will be much lighter."
The Saint Academy only accepted a new cohort once every ten years, so one had to be cautious.
If you missed this cohort, applying for the next one might exceed the age limit.
The Saint Academy set the age limit quite broadly to give a chance to older martial artists who had accumulated strength over time, but it was still limited to those under forty-five.
If you were over forty-five, no matter how high your talent, you had no chance of entering the Saint Academy.
After hearing Xu Hai's words, some applicants who lacked confidence in their own strength quietly put down their scrolls and left the Sword Dao Department registration area, preparing to apply for other departments.
Seeing those leaving applicants, Xu Hai gave a cold, mocking smile and shook his head.
Below, Zhang Ruochen said in a low voice, "Actually, the exam has already begun. That senior brother Xu Hai was testing everyone's resolve and self-confidence. Those who couldn't withstand the pressure or lacked confidence in themselves have already voluntarily withdrawn. In this round of the exam, they belong to the batch that has been eliminated."
Xu Hai seemed to hear Zhang Ruochen's voice, glanced in his direction with a somewhat unfriendly expression, and continued, "Now, I will tell you the content of the second round of the Sword Dao Department exam. The scroll in your hand records a set of spirit-grade upper-class sword technique martial skill called 'Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords.'"
"Although this sword technique is only spirit-grade upper-class, it is extremely difficult to cultivate. Once successfully cultivated, it can definitely be considered a peak martial skill among spirit-grade upper-class sword techniques, enough to rival ghost-grade lower-class sword techniques."
"Now, you have three days to cultivate this sword technique. Within three days, if you can master three of the 'Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords,' you will pass the second round."
"Therefore, this round tests your comprehension and your aptitude in the Sword Dao."
"If you cannot complete the exam, it means your comprehension is not high enough, or your aptitude in the Sword Dao is not excellent enough, and naturally, you cannot enter the Sword Dao Department of the Saint Academy."
For Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists, a spirit-grade upper-class sword technique was quite profound martial skill, not something that could be mastered in three to five days. It required a lot of time for comprehension and practice.
This round of the exam was quite strict, and a large number of people would definitely be weeded out.
One applicant stepped forward and asked, "Since the second round tests everyone's comprehension, could it be that some people have already comprehended it in advance?"
The question he asked was also what other applicants wanted to know.
Xu Hai said in a deep voice, "The 'Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords' was created by a half-saint of the Sword Dao Department just seven days ago. It has been kept in the Saint Academy and never leaked out. Therefore, no one could have cultivated it in advance. Everyone can rest assured."
"In addition, to encourage everyone to work hard on comprehending the sword technique, the Grand Elder of the Sword Dao Department has offered a 'Sword Heart Pill' as a reward. The applicant who performs best in the second round will receive this pill."
"Boom!"
All the applicants were shaken.
The Sword Heart Pill was a seventh-grade pill, worth over a million spirit crystals. It was astonishingly expensive, and even many Fish-Dragon Realm martial artists couldn't afford it. Moreover, even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy it.
The main function of the Sword Heart Pill was to help sword-wielding martial artists condense their "Sword Intent Heart" and impact the realm of Sword Heart Illumination.
Of course, the Sword Heart Pill was only an aid. Whether one could reach Sword Heart Illumination mainly depended on the martial artist's own understanding of the Sword Dao.
Even so, the Sword Heart Pill was still a treasure that all martial artists below the Half-Saint realm would fight over. Even Duanmu Xingling and Huang Yanchen's beautiful eyes shone with bright light.
Taking a Sword Heart Pill, even if one couldn't reach the realm of Sword Heart Illumination, would still greatly advance one's Sword Dao realm.
Only Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. Since he had already reached Sword Heart Illumination, he viewed the Sword Heart Pill with indifference.
The applicants below opened their scrolls one after another, racing against time to begin comprehending the "Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords."
Zhang Ruochen opened the scroll. On it were printed tiny characters of the mental method, over a thousand words in total.
Below the mental method were drawn thirteen sword diagrams, corresponding to thirteen sword techniques.
At a glance, the thirteen sword-wielding figures on the scroll seemed to come to life, emerging from the scroll to begin demonstrating the sword techniques.
"A peak spirit-grade upper-class sword technique would be a top-tier treasure in the Demon Ridge. Once it appeared, it would surely trigger competition from many sides, causing rivers of blood to flow. The Saint Academy is truly extraordinary, casually producing a sword technique for all the applicants to comprehend."
All the martial artists who came to the Saint Academy were disciples of the Martial Market Academy, so the Saint Academy naturally didn't care about the technique being leaked.
With Zhang Ruochen's Sword Dao attainment and spiritual power intensity, cultivating a spirit-grade upper-class martial skill was already an easy task.
It only took him half a day to fully comprehend the first three sword techniques. All the subtleties of the sword moves were clear in his mind, and even some details couldn't escape his Heavenly Eye.
However, he didn't immediately start practicing the sword techniques. Instead, he continued to comprehend the fourth sword technique.
The Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords corresponded to thirteen sword techniques. Zhang Ruochen planned to comprehend them all, striving to win first place in the second round.
Even if he didn't need the Sword Heart Pill himself, he could give it away as a gift.
In the distance, Nie Wenlong stood beside Xu Hai, staring in Zhang Ruochen's direction with a cold look in his eyes. He transmitted his voice, saying, "Senior Brother Xu Hai, that person is Zhang Ruochen. He has reached Sword Heart Illumination. On the Saint Ascension Stairway, he single-handedly defeated the successors of four saintly clans. Your younger brother Xu Qing was severely injured by him. Your Xu Holy Clan has lost a lot of face this time."
Nie Wenlong was also a saint disciple from the previous cohort, having cultivated at the Saint Academy for ten years, reaching the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection.
Although he hadn't broken through to the Fish-Dragon Realm, he had entered the Heavenly Ranking, making him quite powerful.
Xu Hai gave a cold smile and said, "So what if he has Sword Heart Illumination? Compared to the saintly clans, he's still too green."
Xu Hai was the successor of the Xu Holy Clan from a decade ago, with even higher talent than Xu Qing. Naturally, he didn't take Zhang Ruochen seriously. With his current strength, playing with Zhang Ruochen to death would be an easy task.