86: Chapter 85 The Sword-Asking Stone

"Ultimately, these ten Sword Cultivators will be brought before the famous sword. Whoever can obtain the recognition of the sword spirit within the famous sword will become the master of that famous sword."

After Zheng Chen finished explaining all the procedures in detail, a brilliant rainbow glow suddenly flashed in the distant sky of Ten Thousand Swords City.

The speed of this red glow was as fast as lightning, like a thunderbolt tearing through the sky. In the blink of an eye, it galloped like a meteor and appeared above Ten Thousand Swords City.

The red glow paused in the air, instantly blooming with dazzling light, then slowly dissipated to reveal its true form—a massive flying boat over a hundred meters long. The flying boat was entirely a mysterious and solemn dark red, and its deck was prominently carved with the totem of the Great Yu Dynasty.

The many Sword Cultivators in Ten Thousand Swords City could not help but hold their breath at this sight. Their originally calm state of mind was instantly broken, their heartbeats accelerated suddenly, and their eyes revealed an uncontrollable, burning radiance.

Under the eager gaze of everyone in the city, four figures slowly rose from the flying boat, as if Immortals had descended. These four figures were tall and powerful, each exuding a formidable aura that made one afraid to look directly at them. They wore gorgeous robes, their sleeves fluttering in the wind, as if they were one with heaven and earth.

In the hands of the white-bearded elder leading them, he was holding a dark brown sword case.

At this moment, Zhang Lin, the City Lord of Ten Thousand Swords City, flew to the white-bearded elder and bowed respectfully.

After exchanging brief pleasantries in the air, the group landed on the city walls of Ten Thousand Swords City.

"Yuan Hua, I did not expect him to be sent this time." Zheng Chen stared at the white-bearded elder, his brows slightly furrowed and his expression darkening.

"Is there a problem with this person?" Chen Zhiwen asked suspiciously upon seeing this.

Zheng Chen said in a deep voice: "This person is the strongest among the honored guests of our Great Yu Dynasty."

"Besides that, before he became an honored guest of the Great Yu Dynasty, he was a member of the Xiantian Sword Sect in the Sword Domain."

After hearing this, Chen Zhiwen immediately understood what Zheng Chen was worried about.

However, this was, after all, a matter of the Great Yu Dynasty, and as someone from an outside dynasty, it was not his place to say anything.

On the city wall, Yuan Hua stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the Sword Cultivators in the city like a hawk. A kind smile always hung on his face; he seemed to understand exactly what these Sword Cultivators were longing for at this moment.

Yuan Hua slowly extended his right hand and gently patted the sword case beside him.

In an instant, the tightly closed sword case burst open. A dazzling cyan-green cold light shot out from the sword case like lightning, rushing straight into the high sky of Ten Thousand Swords City.

This cold light spiraled rapidly in the air, like a cyan Dragon, exuding a chilling coldness that made one's heart tremble.

Its light was so dazzling that the entire Ten Thousand Swords City was illuminated in a cyan-green hue.

Amidst the flashing light, a crisp and pleasant sword hum suddenly rang out. This sound was like heavenly music, echoing in everyone's ears, lingering for a long time. This sword hum seemed to possess a kind of magic, intoxicating everyone who heard it, as if they were placed in a dreamlike world.

Just as the Cultivators were obsessively staring at this cyan-green light, immersed in the beautiful sword hum, the light was suddenly pulled back into the sword case as if by an invisible force.

"Fellow Daoists, this sword is the most outstanding work crafted by our Great Yu Old Ancestor in the last few decades."

"This sword is named 'green peck', and its grade is absolutely no less than any of the current top ten famous swords!" Yuan Hua said with a smile, his voice spreading throughout Ten Thousand Swords City.

"I believe everyone is clear about the rules for the sword bestowment of our Great Yu Dynasty."

"I will not say any more unnecessary nonsense. Fellow Daoists, let us begin."

As the voice fell, a commotion immediately broke out in Ten Thousand Swords City, and all the Sword Cultivators flocked toward the location of the sword questioning stone.

Arriving at the sword questioning stone, Zhang Lin had already sent some Cultivators to be responsible for order here.

Under the management of these Cultivators, all the Sword Cultivators lined up in several long queues, walking in turn to the sword questioning stone and placing their hands upon it.

In just a single breath, the sword questioning stone would give a corresponding reaction based on the person's Dao of sword talent.

In the restaurant, Chen Zhiwen and Zheng Chen watched this scene with great interest.

The number of Sword Cultivators participating in this test was in the hundreds of thousands, and the time required for this first stage alone would take an entire morning.

Soon, several hundred Sword Cultivators had placed their hands on the sword questioning stone, but their Dao of sword talent was not outstanding; the most outstanding person only managed to stir up six zhang of Sword Qi cold light.

There was still a long way to go to reach the ten zhang of Sword Qi cold light required to pass the test.

After watching for a while longer, only a few people had stirred up Sword Qi cold light exceeding ten zhang and passed the first stage of the test.

Chen Zhiwen gradually lost interest and sat back at the table, sipping tea.

Time passed bit by bit, and about an hour had gone by.

A sudden uproar came from outside the window. Chen Zhiwen looked over and discovered that a middle-aged man in gray robes had actually caused the sword questioning stone to stir up a hundred zhang of Sword Qi cold light.

This was also the person with the strongest Dao of sword talent seen so far today.

After the Sword Qi cold light dissipated, the gray-robed man listened complacently to the envious sounds coming from around him, then slightly raised his chin and waved his sleeve as he left.

"Why does this person look familiar to me?" Someone muttered suspiciously to themselves, and then their face suddenly showed shock.

"I remember now! This person seems to be the Sect Master of the Bai Sword Sect, Qiao Bingbing!"

"This person comprehended the Sword Domain a hundred years ago, and his cultivation had reached the Grandmaster Peak Realm!"

"I really did not expect that even such experts would come!"

The surrounding Sword Cultivators heard this, and all of them showed a look of astonishment on their faces.

Before the look of surprise on their faces could fade, the next second, several more hundred-zhang-high streaks of Sword Qi cold light erupted from the sword questioning stone.

The Sword Cultivators looked over and immediately recognized the identities of those who had caused the hundred-zhang Sword Qi cold light.

"Hiss! Isn't that person the previous Sect Master of the Ancient Sword Sect?"

"Look quickly, everyone, that old man in the black robe seems to be the Sect Master of the Sword Spirit Sect!"

"..."

Without exception, the few Sword Cultivators who caused this phenomenon were all pillars of some top-tier forces in the Sword Domain, long-established experts in the Dao of sword, and their cultivation had long since reached the Grandmaster Peak Realm.

The Sword Cultivators in Ten Thousand Swords City had not expected that the Great Yu Dynasty's sword bestowment would attract even such experts.

Looking at the few hundred-zhang Sword Qi cold light streaks that had just dissipated, many Sword Cultivators felt an invisible pressure in their hearts.

These experts from various Sword Sects looked at each other across the air, then turned and left indifferently.

After this small interlude, in the next hour, no one else was able to stir up a hundred-zhang-high Sword Qi cold light.

In the blink of an eye, the long queue in front of the sword questioning stone had already shrunk by a large margin.