176: Wisdom Sword Cuts Through the Dao

In the midst of silence, in the center of the plaza, the final divine monument emerged silently. It was not a physical entity, but rather a condensed, illusory light and shadow that constantly changed its form. At times it was like an ancient sword piercing the sky, at times like a pagoda suppressing the world, at times like a bright mirror hanging high... Its form was unfixed, yet it exuded a grand pressure that pointed directly to the Soul Origin and interrogated the Dao Heart and will—the Questioning Heart Sword Monument!

This monument did not measure strength, nor did it measure Law; it only measured that which was forged by the Martial Artist's lifelong will, wisdom, Dao Heart, and Soul Origin—the Origin Will Wisdom Sword!

The rules appeared: Release the Origin Will Wisdom Sword and pierce the heart of the monument!

The divine monument would make a comprehensive judgment based on four dimensions: the purity of the will contained within the Wisdom Sword, the sharpness of its wisdom, the resilience of the Dao Heart, and the strength of the Soul Origin.

The radiance of the Wisdom Sword could illuminate the Heart Demon and sever falsehoods; the higher the purity, the higher the score! Legend had it that only those with a clear Dao Heart and a will as undying as a star could reach a perfect score!

This trial had nothing to do with strength or Law; it was only concerned with the essence of will and the Soul! This was the most internal and least trickable assessment!

Luo Hou took a deep breath, his Destruction Battle Intent condensing at his brow. A strange Wisdom Sword, entirely dark red and wreathed in destructive thunder, shaped like an axe blade, shot out with the determination to sever all obstacles, piercing into the Heart Sword Monument!

The light and shadow of the monument fluctuated violently, transforming into the form of a giant Destruction battle axe! Upon the axe blade, blood-colored light and thunderous light intertwined, finally manifesting: 【Destruction Temple Luo Hou, Axe Destruction Wisdom Sword, Final Score: 730】

Luo Shen's expression was solemn. A point of eternal ice crystal emerged at her brow, transforming into a translucent, flawless ice crystal sword that seemed capable of freezing time, shooting into the heart of the monument. The Heart Sword Monument's light and shadow shifted, transforming into an eternal ice mirror, within which was reflected Luo Shen's eternally cold and aloof countenance. 【Eternal Temple Luo Shen, Eternal One Wisdom Sword, Final Score: 760】

Clear Emptiness activated the Time-Space Jade, and a Wisdom Sword woven from countless tiny spatial trajectories and energy threads flew out, submerging into the heart of the monument. The Heart Sword Monument transformed into a spatial compass, its needle pointing steadily toward the unknown depths of time and space. 【Time-Space Divine Temple Clear Emptiness, Void Destruction Wisdom Sword, Final Score: 845】

The scores were all high, but no one could break the 900-point barrier. A perfect score on the Origin Will Wisdom Sword test was as difficult as ascending to heaven!

When Lin Yuan stood before the illusory and unfathomable Questioning Heart Sword Monument, the entire world fell silent. Having experienced the shock and subversion of the previous five items, everyone wanted to know: what level had the inner will and Soul of this youth, who had created countless miracles, truly reached?

Lin Yuan closed his eyes. It was not a preparation, but a state of absolute calm. It was as if the clamor of the outside world, his own glory or disgrace, and even the golden ranking list hanging high above, had nothing to do with him.

The vertical Chaos mark at his brow slowly lit up. There was no earth-shattering Aura explosion, no sharp edge piercing the heavens. There was only a glimmer of Chaos-colored light that quietly emerged from the vertical mark, condensing into a small sword no more than three inches long, entirely shrouded in misty Chaos, its blade flowing with Primordial Purple Qi, and its hilt branded with the Aura of the Origin.

This small sword looked plain and unremarkable, even somewhat rustic. It drifted slowly toward the ever-changing Questioning Heart Sword Monument.

Just as the Chaos small sword was about to touch the monument—the entire Taichu Divine Palace assessment plaza, along with the endless sky above, suddenly plunged into absolute darkness! It was not the disappearance of light, but rather that all colors, all sounds, and all perceptions were swallowed by a more ancient, more essential "Nothingness"!

In this absolute darkness, only that three-inch Chaos small sword radiated the sole light source. That light did not illuminate; rather, it reflected the darkness itself! It reflected what was hidden deep within the darkness, entwined in the deepest parts of all living beings' consciousness—the Heart Demon and falsehoods!

Countless twisted illusions bred and roared in the darkness: There was the greedy craving for power, transforming into a gluttonous mouth that devoured everything! There was the trembling fear of death, condensing into a despairing tomb that buried hope! There was the obsessive attachment to eternity, freezing into a cold prison that imprisoned the Soul! And there were countless familiar or unfamiliar faces, bringing temptation, pleading, threats, mockery... weaving into a giant net sufficient to make any Dao Heart sink!

These were the Heart Demons hidden within all living beings, the most sinister obstacles on the path of asking the Dao! At this moment, under the illumination of the Chaos Wisdom Sword, they had nowhere to hide. Like enraged venomous snakes, they crazily pounced toward that sole light source, attempting to pollute, swallow, and extinguish it!

However, facing these towering demonic shadows, that small Chaos Wisdom Sword merely trembled gently.

"Zheng—!" A sword hum! It was impossible to describe its clarity and antiquity in words! It did not ring in the ears, but sounded directly in the deepest part of all living beings' Souls, at the root of endless time and space!

Within the sound of the sword hum, there was no earth-shattering Sword Qi crisscrossing, no world-destroying energy explosion.

There was only a kind of "Reason" being cleared.

There was only a kind of "Dao" being opened.

There was only a kind of "Truth" being established.

Like the first ray of light after the creation of the world, it tore through the darkness of eternal Chaos!

Wherever the sword hum reached—that gluttonous mouth of greed shattered silently like a bubble! That despairing tomb of death instantly weathered and disintegrated, returning to dust! That cold prison of eternity shattered inch by inch, dissolving into ice crystals! That intertwined net of Heart Demons, like spider silk thrown into a raging fire, hissed and vanished into ashes!

All falsehoods, all demonic barriers, all obstacles, under this sword hum originating from the "Origin" and carrying supreme wisdom and absolute will, instantly melted away like thin snow under the scorching sun!

The darkness retreated like a tide.

Light descended upon the plaza once more.

Everyone felt as if they had just experienced a long and thrilling nightmare, waking up abruptly, gasping for breath, their clothes soaked with cold sweat. They looked toward the center of the plaza, their eyes filled with indescribable awe and lingering fear.

That illusory Questioning Heart Sword Monument now clearly manifested its form—it was exactly an enlarged, proportional version of Lin Yuan's three-inch Chaos Wisdom Sword! Upon the sword body, Chaos flowed, all things were born and destroyed, and the Origin Dao seal shone brilliantly! Where the sword tip pointed, the space presented a state of clear transparency after being absolutely "purified"!

And above that huge Chaos Wisdom Sword phantom, a number, pure to the extreme and seemingly condensed from the most primal light, slowly emerged: 【Spirit Martial Hall Lin Yuan, dao slaying wisdom sword, Final Score: 1000】

A perfect score!

The Questioning Heart Sword Monument, with its final form—the projection of Lin Yuan's Wisdom Sword—gave this ultimate judgment! His will was as pure as the beginning of Chaos, his wisdom was sharp enough to sever the falsehoods of eternity, his Dao Heart was as resilient as if bearing the heavens, and his Soul Origin pointed directly to the Origin of all things!

At this moment, there was no need for words, no need for comparison. That huge Wisdom Sword phantom standing in the center of the plaza, exuding the dao rhyme of creation, was the most irrefutable proof! Supreme of Myriad Laws, a title well-deserved!