336: Chapter 346 Understanding its Form and Understanding its Principle! Su Jin's Doubts

"Sigh... If that man in the rain cape hadn't been in such a rush to achieve his Breakthrough to Golden Immortal outside, perhaps with his Heaven-Defying Aptitude, he would have had a real chance to compete for a spot in the top ten of this Trial of the Sword!"

In the Void Realm outside the Linchuan Realm, the Grand Elder of the Spirit Sword Villa watched the projection on the sky and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh of regret.

The high-level figures from the top Sects present nodded in agreement one after another.

As the ruling class of the Sword Domain, they naturally understood the hidden rules of the Heavenly Ladder better than the Loose Cultivators.

The best Realm to participate in the Trial of the Sword is not Golden Immortal, but the Peak of the tenth stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm!

Because the trial becomes stronger as the participant is stronger, the backlash of Sword Intent and the difficulty a Golden Immortal Cultivator faces when pulling the swords on the stairs are far greater than those for a Heavenly Immortal Cultivator!

If a powerhouse above the Golden Immortal Seventh Path entered, they might be able to tough it out with their formidable cultivation; but if a Cultivator who has just stepped into the Golden Immortal First Path, like that man in the rain cape, enters... it is simply Hell-level difficulty!

Because the trial formation only identifies you as a Golden Immortal, the intensity of the backlash it releases is exactly the same whether it is targeting a Golden Immortal First Path or a Golden Immortal Ninth Path!

"Although his premature Breakthrough ruined his chance to compete for a ranking, being able to enter the trial will yield some gains, more or less. Let's just consider it training for his Heart-Nature."

Qingfeng, carrying a sword case on his back, spoke indifferently, then shifted his gaze away from Su Jin and towards the peerless Prodigies from the major Sects, such as Mu Linglong and Young Master Yifeng, who were at the very front of the Heavenly Ladder.

In the eyes of these big shots, that man in the rain cape had already been eliminated ahead of time.

And the reality inside the Secret Realm of the trial seemed to confirm the speculations from the outside world.

When he stepped onto the first step and grasped that rusty iron sword, Su Jin, beneath the rain cape, frowned almost imperceptibly.

"Such heavy Sword Intent..."

Su Jin was slightly surprised in his heart; it took him a full three breaths of time before he slowly pulled out that iron sword.

Afterward, he did not continue climbing upward but sat cross-legged directly on the stairs, holding the iron sword in his hand, and began to close his eyes and contemplate.

This "snail-like" action of his caused the Loose Cultivators outside, who had originally held a sliver of expectation for him, to be greatly disappointed, shaking their heads and sighing repeatedly.

On the other hand, Mu Linglong of the Ten Thousand Sword Ancient Clan, Young Master Yifeng of Sword Emperor Mountain, and others were advancing with irresistible force!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

A series of crisp sword-drawing sounds echoed on the Heavenly Ladder.

In just half an incense stick of time, they had already easily pulled out the first ten swords as if they were snapping dry twigs!

"First, follow the established plan and pull out fifty swords as a baseline."

Mu Linglong took a deep breath, her stunningly beautiful face filled with solemnity.

She did not even stop to comprehend, but strode directly toward the higher steps.

The Prodigies from other surrounding Sects also made the same move.

For the first thirty steps, everyone's speed was extremely fast.

But after passing the thirtieth level, the backlash of Sword Intent on the stairs suddenly increased, and the speed of the main group climbing began to slow down visibly.

Gradually, only a few hundred of the top Prodigies, such as Mu Linglong and Young Master Yifeng, were left who could maintain their rapid sword-drawing pace.

They were the absolute main force of this Trial of the Sword!

"Clang—!"

Accompanied by a crisp sword hum, when Mu Linglong grasped and pulled out an Ice-Vein Sword that exuded an extremely cold aura on the fiftieth step, she finally stopped, breathing out a mist containing ice shards.

"Phew... All fifty swords have been pulled out. There is too much Sword Intent accumulated in my body; if I continue to force my way up, I fear it will damage my Sword Heart. I must stop and refine it."

Mu Linglong adjusted her chaotic Qi, preparing to start refining the Sword Dao insights absorbed from the first fifty swords.

Her beautiful eyes turned slightly, scanning her surroundings.

She discovered that only a dozen familiar figures, such as Young Master Yifeng, were on the same level as her or a few steps ahead.

Impulsively, Mu Linglong lowered her head and looked toward the lower part of the Heavenly Ladder.

"I wonder which level that man in the rain cape has climbed to? He should be following closely behind, right?"

The fortieth level... she could not find the person wearing the rain cape.

The thirtieth level... still nothing.

The twentieth level... still nothing!

Below the thirtieth level, the vast crowd of Loose Cultivators were all climbing upward with difficulty, but at the very end of the bottom level, a figure sat alone, appearing extremely out of place.

It was exactly that man in the rain cape!

At this moment, he was actually still sitting cross-legged on the seventh step!

Holding the refined iron sword he had just pulled out in his hand, he was motionless, like a piece of wood.

"Only the seventh level?"

Mu Linglong's dark eyebrows beneath her mask furrowed tightly, and a flash of disappointment and suspicion crossed her eyes: "Could my intuition have been wrong? Is he really just someone with good luck?"

"Forget it, I'd better first integrate this Sword Intent into my own Sword Dao. Only then will I have a chance to challenge the legendary eightieth level and get the admission ticket!"

Mu Linglong withdrew her focus, closed her clear, spring-like beautiful eyes, and became completely immersed in comprehension.

At this very moment, everyone on the Heavenly Ladder who had stopped was doing the same thing.

Every sword that was pulled out contained the sword-practice insights of the Wuji Sword Emperor from different Realms and different periods!

This Sword Emperor, who was number one in slaughter, was like a guiding beacon standing in the long river of time. He allowed everyone participating in the trial to repair and perfect the Sword Dao they had previously cultivated through comparison.

"So that's how it is! When Lord Sword Emperor was in the Immortal Realm, his Sword Intent was actually this sharp and pure!"

"If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die without regret in the evening! Lord Sword Emperor has only the sword in his heart; from today on, his sword... is my sword!"

As their comprehension deepened, the aura of everyone on the Heavenly Ladder was undergoing varying degrees of transformation.

If one had to use a word to describe it, it would be that they had become even "sharper"!

They were infinitely imitating the Sword Dao of that Sword Emperor from back then!

However, on the seventh step.

"Hum..."

Su Jin's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and a trace of deep confusion and puzzlement flashed in them.

He looked down at the ordinary refined iron sword in his hand.

Having walked up these seven steps, he had not greedily absorbed the Sword Intent within the swords like the others.

Because he possessed the Eternal Sword Body and the Legacy of the Su Family, he did not need to imitate anyone's Dao!

The reason he stopped here was because he had discovered the most fundamental problem in this Trial of the Sword, one that everyone else had ignored!

"If I am not mistaken, the swords inserted into the first dozen or so steps are not any Immortal Artifacts, but ordinary weapons that the Sword Emperor used in his early mortal days."

Su Jin's fingers gently stroked the rough surface of the sword.

An ordinary iron sword that could not be any more ordinary.

"But... how did this Emperor, who is number one in slaughter, allow an ordinary refined iron sword that doesn't even have Spiritual Qi to carry his terrifying Sword Intent that is enough to tear apart the Heavens and Earth?!"

This is the point that Su Jin had been sitting for so long and still could not figure out.

One must know, an ordinary iron sword, let alone bearing the Sword Intent of an Emperor. Even if Su Jin were to release just a little bit of his pressure now, this broken iron sword would shatter into dust in an instant!

Yet this sword before him had not only been preserved intact through the ages, but it also had a wisp of pure Sword Qi tightly sealed within it!

"It's not just this one; the previous six wooden swords and bamboo swords are the same."

Su Jin's eyes became brighter and brighter.

He vaguely felt that the true Opportunity of this Myriad Sword Heavenly Ladder was not to learn the Sword Emperor's Sword Intent at all!

It was to comprehend... the Sword Emperor's absolute control over the sword as a carrier!

"Why is this? How can ordinary iron... carry the Heavenly Dao?"

At this moment, in Su Jin's mind, that Heaven-Defying Aptitude belonging to the Su Family, [Comprehension Ability 999], began to flicker wildly!