Chapter 659: Experts Like Clouds
The Liangyi Sect was the foremost sect in the Eastern Domain, and almost every day, thousands of people came from all directions to become disciples. Each year, the three palaces and seventy-two courtyards would each select one or two outstanding geniuses for focused training.
In other words, every year, the Liangyi Sect would select one to two hundred talents for key cultivation.
Over a hundred years, this would inevitably produce many brilliant prodigies. Naturally, among the sacred disciples, there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers, with experts as numerous as clouds.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a purple sword light flew from afar, stopping only when it reached the mountain gate of Ancient God Mountain.
It was a seven-meter-long purple ancient sword, suspended thirty meters above the ground. Purple electric arcs revolved around the blade, emitting a "crackling" sound.
Standing atop the purple ancient sword was a figure who appeared to be twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. His Daoist robe was impeccably neat, and his gaze radiated a haughty light, giving one a feeling of looking down on all living beings.
"Purple Execution Sword—could it be that Qin Yufan has returned to the sect?"
"This freak is probably also back to participate in the sword dao competition. I wonder what level his cultivation has reached?"
...
Outside the mountain gate of Ancient God Mountain, the eyes of all the sacred disciples were fixed on that purple ancient sword. Some showed looks of admiration, while others revealed expressions of reverence.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze also locked onto the man standing atop the sword.
Being able to fly with a sword indicated that his sword dao realm had reached Sword Heart Illumination.
Moreover, the Shangqing Palace was equipped with a flight-prohibiting formation. Generally speaking, only Half-Saints could fly within the Shangqing Palace.
Yet this man could also fly with a sword within the Shangqing Palace, all the way to the foot of Ancient God Mountain. This showed that his strength was undoubtedly formidable.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Who is he?"
Mu Jiji's eyes showed a look of reverence. "Brother Lin, you don't even know him? This man is named Qin Yufan. Twenty years ago, he was ranked first on the Yellow List, the Profound List, and the Earth List—all three lists. Even on the most difficult Heavenly List, he once reached third place, making him a peerless prodigy of the Liangyi Sect."
"When I joined the Liangyi Sect, he had just reached third on the Heavenly List. Overnight, his name shook the Eastern Domain, making him one of the hottest geniuses of that era. Calculating the time, it's been eighteen years since he became a sacred disciple."
"Eighteen years have passed. I wonder what level his cultivation has reached?"
Zhang Ruochen stared at Qin Yufan. "Fish-Dragon Eighth Change."
Mu Jiji said, "With Qin Yufan's strength, he is sure to become the first-place winner of the Fish-Dragon Eighth Change sword dao competition."
Xun Hualiu shook his head with a smile. "Qin Yufan's strength is indeed monstrous. But to take first place in the Fish-Dragon Eighth Change, I'm afraid there's still some difficulty. As far as I know, there are at least two people who can compete with him."
Zhang Ruochen had registered for the Fish-Dragon Eighth Change sword dao competition, so he was naturally very interested in the experts of that level. "Which two?"
Xun Hualiu said, "Congenital Illumination, Qi Feiyu."
"Blood Sword, Can Dong."
Hearing Xun Hualiu say these two names, Mu Jiji also nodded. "Qi Feiyu is one of the Four Beauties of the Liangyi Sect and also the heir of a medieval aristocratic clan with deep ties to the sect."
"It is said that before she was even born, someone used a secret method to implant their own Sword Intent Heart into her mother's womb. The moment she was born, she already had the Sword Heart Illumination sword dao realm. That's why she is called 'Congenital Illumination.'"
"One could say that her starting point has already left us far behind."
Cultivating a Sword Intent Heart was already extremely difficult. For a cultivator, it was even more precious than life itself. Only those ancient clans, in order to train their heirs, would do something so crazy.
Xun Hualiu said, "As for Can Dong, his talent isn't as heaven-defying as Qin Yufan's or Qi Feiyu's. But this man is extremely ruthless—ruthless in his cultivation and ruthless toward himself."
"The mortality rate for cultivating the 'Blood Sword Scripture' reaches ninety percent. No one dared to cultivate it, but he risked his life to do so. In the end, he became the first person in ten thousand years in the Liangyi Sect to successfully master the Blood Sword Scripture."
Mu Jiji's expression turned grave. "This man is a sword maniac. Apart from the sword, he has no interest in anything else."
"Because his aptitude was limited, Can Dong didn't break through to the Fish-Dragon Realm until he was thirty-eight years old, becoming a sacred disciple—not much better than us."
"But after becoming a sacred disciple, he went to the Ruins Realm battlefield to train. Over thirty years passed, and not only did he not die on the battlefield, but he also accumulated a massive amount of military merit through his illustrious achievements. The amount of his military merit even surpasses that of some Half-Saints. What a freak of a man—just thinking about it is terrifying."
Zhang Ruochen pursed his lips. "Can Dong's talent may not be dazzling, but he relies on his own efforts, building up step by step. Making up for innate deficiencies with acquired effort—this kind of person is truly fearsome."
"Once his cultivation accumulates to a certain level, he will naturally break through to the Half-Saint realm. But for Qin Yufan and Qi Feiyu, breaking through to Half-Saint will definitely be much harder."
Zhang Ruochen himself was someone with insufficient talent, far inferior to Can Dong. So he understood very well how difficult it was to catch up with geniuses.
Of course, he was much luckier than Can Dong, possessing things that other geniuses didn't have, which was why his cultivation speed was faster.
Calculating the time, Can Dong had already been cultivating for sixty years. I wonder how terrifying his strength had become?
Mu Jiji sighed. "Brother Lin, signing up for the Fish-Dragon Eighth Change sword dao competition was really a mistake. Besides Qin Yufan, Qi Feiyu, and Can Dong, there are at least a dozen other formidable figures. Some of them are old-timers who have been cultivating for over a hundred years—neither dead nor able to break through to Fish-Dragon Ninth Change. The sheer accumulation of a century's worth of cultivation alone is enough for them to contend with Sacred Bodies at the same realm."
Xun Hualiu said, "For the sake of the Glazed Glass Treasure Pill, these old-timers will probably jump out one by one to compete with the younger generation."
Zhang Ruochen, however, seemed indifferent and smiled. "The older generation of cultivators can spend a lot of time mastering top-tier martial techniques. Their sword dao realm and control over their power must far surpass young martial artists. But they are old after all—their blood qi has begun to decline, and their bodies are stiffening. Who wins and who loses—who knows?"
Mu Jiji and Xun Hualiu certainly didn't believe that Zhang Ruochen could contend with Fish-Dragon Eighth Change cultivators, let alone compete with the strong ones among them.
"Look, Gai Hao and Pang Long are here! Haha! If I weren't about to challenge Ancient God Mountain, I'd really want to fight Pang Long right now."
Xun Hualiu began cracking his knuckles, looking eager to try.
Recently, Xun Hualiu's cultivation had greatly improved, reaching the peak of Fish-Dragon First Change. Naturally, he was brimming with confidence and very much wanted to fight Pang Long again to wash away his past shame.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze, however, was fixed on another man beside Gai Hao. This man appeared to be around thirty years old, with a rather handsome appearance and two enormous ears that hung down to his shoulders.
The man seemed to sense someone watching him, so he turned around. A pair of very sharp eyes locked onto Zhang Ruochen, and he gave a cold, mocking smile.
Seeing the man's front, Xun Hualiu's body trembled as if struck by lightning. "It's him! How could I have forgotten him?"
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Who is he?"
"This man is named Xu Changsheng, a sacred disciple of the Shangqing Palace. His talent is even higher than Pang Long's. His strength is extremely formidable—he once defeated a Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator with his Fish-Dragon Seventh Change cultivation." Xun Hualiu said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Fish-Dragon Seventh Change? No, his cultivation has already reached Fish-Dragon Eighth Change."
Xun Hualiu shook his head. "Brother Lin, I advise you to withdraw from the sword dao competition! Xu Changsheng will definitely participate in the Fish-Dragon Eighth Change sword dao competition. He's on the same side as Gai Hao and Pang Long. When the time comes, how could he not target you?"
Fish-Dragon Ninth Change was called "Glazed Glass Treasure Body." Any cultivator who reached Fish-Dragon Ninth Change had essentially cultivated a kind of treasure body, like "Water Spirit Treasure Body" or "Fire Spirit Treasure Body," causing a noticeable change in their physique.
Thus, the gap in strength between a Fish-Dragon Eighth Change cultivator and a Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator was enormous—not just a single realm apart.
Xu Changsheng was clearly not a Sacred Body, yet he could still defeat a Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator with his Fish-Dragon Seventh Change cultivation. This showed that his strength was far from ordinary.
Now that he had broken through to Fish-Dragon Eighth Change, he was destined to become a strong contender for the top ten.
Behind him, a very pleasant female voice came: "What? Seeing Xu Changsheng has made you afraid? If you regret it, you can still go change your registration and sign up for a lower-level sword dao competition."
Zhang Ruochen sniffed lightly, catching a familiar fragrance. He turned around and fixed his gaze on Han Qiu, smiling. "Pressure? There certainly is, but I wouldn't call it fear."
Han Qiu stood three zhang away, wearing a green Daoist robe with a white belt wrapped around her waist, her graceful figure outlining charming curves.
Her temperament was very elegant, like a holy green lotus on a lake, but her eyes were extremely seductive, giving her a bewitching appearance.
Xun Hualiu exclaimed with both envy and jealousy, "Wow! Brother Lin, Junior Sister Han Qiu is taking the initiative to talk to you. I'm so jealous!"
"Brother Lin's personal charm has reached such a level that I, Mu Jiji, can only worship him." Mu Jiji's eyes were glued to Han Qiu, as if he had lost his soul, with saliva constantly dripping from his mouth.
Xun Hualiu and Mu Jiji's exaggerated remarks naturally caught the attention of the surrounding sacred disciples. Countless pairs of eyes turned to look.
However, their gazes all fell on Han Qiu.
A beauty like Han Qiu would undoubtedly be the center of attention no matter where she was.
Many of the sacred disciples present were seeing Han Qiu for the first time, and they were all struck by an overwhelming sense of stunning beauty.
Xu Changsheng's gaze landed on Han Qiu and couldn't look away. "When did the sect gain such a stunning beauty? With her looks, she is probably not inferior to Qi Feiyu."
"Senior Brother Xu, you've been in seclusion for too long, so you don't know about Junior Sister Han Qiu. Junior Sister Han Qiu is a Dark Body and has long been known as one of the Four Beauties of the Liangyi Sect, alongside Gai Tianjiao, Qi Feiyu, and Hu Xian'er." A sacred disciple beside him laughed.
(To be continued.)