1: Chapter 1 What a sharp sword intent!

Daxia, Cang Prefecture.

Outside the mountain gates of the Qingxuan Sect, it was a sea of people.

The once-in-three-years mountain-opening and Disciple-recruitment attracted all the youths within a radius of several thousand miles who harbored Xianxia dreams.

The thousand-mile-long Qingxuan Mountain, wreathed in clouds and mist, was like a fairyland on earth, a Holy Land of cultivation that was out of reach in the eyes of countless Mortals.

"Bro, are you also here to apprentice? How long have you been in line?"

"Don't even mention it. I came before dawn, and my legs are completely numb from standing."

"I heard that this Qingxuan Sect trial is even harder than in previous years, and I don't know if we have a chance."

"Sigh, why think so much? Just being able to enter the outer Sect and become a Utility Disciple would be enough for me to brag about for a lifetime when I go home."

In the crowd, the youths gathered in groups of three or five, discussing animatedly, their faces full of longing and anxiety for the future.

At the mountain gates, a few Qingxuan Sect Disciples dressed in cyan Daoist robes were maintaining order listlessly.

"Another batch, and it's still the same old story."

"Yeah, getting worse every year. It's hard to even find a decent sapling."

"Think back to our batch, at least we had a Senior Brother with Yellow Rank Ninth-Grade talent. Now? Even a Seventh-Grade is considered a rarity."

"Not to mention talent, our Sect hasn't produced a Personal Disciple in nearly thirty years, right? The Elders are almost bored to death."

One Disciple leaned against the stone pillar of the mountain gate, his tone full of banter.

Another person chimed in: "Personal Disciple? You're daydreaming. That kind of one-in-ten-thousand Prodigy isn't so easy to produce. Anyone who can comprehend a wisp of Sword Intent on the Sect's stone tablet is already qualified to enter the inner Sect."

In a corner of the crowd, a figure was out of tune with the surrounding hustle and bustle.

Zhao Ruoan wore a set of washed-out coarse cloth clothes, his figure slightly slender, and his facial features refined, making him completely inconspicuous in a crowd.

He did not talk to anyone, nor did he look around.

Ever since he arrived at this square, all his focus had been poured into the hundred-zhang-tall Sect stone tablet.

The stone tablet was pitch-black throughout, having experienced who knows how many years, and was covered with crisscrossing incisions of varying depths.

To ordinary people, those were just messy scratches.

But in the eyes of cultivators, every single scratch contained a heart-palpitating sharpness.

This was the foundational treasure of the Qingxuan Sect, the Sword Comprehension Monument carrying the Sect's ten-thousand-year Sword Dao Legacy.

Zhao Ruoan chanted inwardly: "System, use the Extraordinary Comprehension Ability Card."

He had to take a big gamble.

The System missions stated very clearly that the higher the grade of the Revered Master he apprenticed to, the more bountiful the rewards.

If he wanted to reach the heavens in a single bound, he had to make some earth-shattering commotion.

This Sword Comprehension Monument was his only bargaining chip.

As his mind moved, a cool aura spread out from the depths of his mind.

The entire world became completely different in his perception.

Those messy incisions on the stone tablet began to decompose and reorganize in his consciousness.

Streaks of fragmented sword light were peeled away from the incisions, shuttling through his mind.

Some of these sword lights were peerlessly domineering, some were nimble and ethereal, and some were as heavy as mountains.

They evolved various profound sword moves, interpreting the ultimate principles of the Sword Dao.

"So that's how it is..."

Zhao Ruoan's breathing grew long and steady.

He seemed to see a Sword Cultivator standing tall between heaven and earth, swinging the first sword that split the heavens and earth amidst the Chaos.

Hum——

A slight buzzing sound rang out from Zhao Ruoan's body.

At first, this sound was very small, covered by the noise of the square.

But soon, the buzzing sound grew louder and more urgent.

An invisible Qi of sharpness, centered on him, suddenly spread outward in all directions.

"What sound?"

"Wind? No, why is this wind like knives!"

Several youths standing close by felt a tingling sensation on their skin and retreated in panic.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The next instant, an abnormal change suddenly occurred.

All the youths on the square wearing long swords began to vibrate violently out of control.

"My sword! What is going on!"

A luxuriously dressed youth panicked and pressed down on his precious sword, but the sword acted like it had come alive, struggling desperately and emitting a harsh sword hum.

"Mine is the same! I can't hold on to it!"

"What... what is going on? Is it haunted?"

Thousands of long swords emitted a high-pitched lament at the same time, as if paying homage to their king.

That invisible Qi of sharpness transformed into a substantive storm at this moment.

The storm swept across the entire mountain gate square!

Youths with low cultivation felt their legs go weak under this pressure, unable to stand steadily, and fell to the ground in batches.

The scene completely spiraled out of control; screams, exclamations, and the clashing of weapons melted into Chaos.

"Silence!"

In front of the mountain gate, those few Qingxuan Sect Disciples were also badly startled by this sudden turn of events.

The leading Disciple forced his spiritual power to circulate, letting out an explosive shout in an attempt to stabilize the scene.

But his voice appeared so tiny and powerless amidst that heaven-soaring sword hum.

He looked in terror toward the source of the Chaos.

He saw the crowd automatically parting to leave a vacuum area.

In the center of that area, the quietly standing cloth-clothed youth was standing calmly.

The youth's eyes were tightly shut, yet his whole body was surrounded by visible cyan Qi currents. The Qi currents were like swords, tearing through the air.

"Sword... Sword Intent!"

The leading Disciple's lips trembled as he spat out those two words.

The companions beside him all had ashen faces, wearing expressions of having seen a ghost.

"Sword Intent? Senior Brother, you aren't joking, are you?"

"A youth who hasn't even entered the Sect has comprehended Sword Intent? How is this possible!"

"This pressure... At least Third-Order Sword Intent! No, even higher!"

You must know that throughout the entire Qingxuan Sect, those who could comprehend Sword Intent before the age of thirty were rare phoenix-feather geniuses.

And the youth before their eyes had a bone age of at most fifteen or sixteen.

This was no longer a Genius; this was an immortal descending to the Mortal world.

This commotion was simply too big.

The entire Qingxuan Mountain seemed to have been awakened by this heaven-soaring Sword Intent.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several streaks of light pierced through the air from the depths of the Qingxuan Sect, carrying an earth-shattering and heaven-destroying might as they descended upon the mountain gate square.

The lights dissipated, revealing several old men with profound auras.

They were Elders of the Qingxuan Sect!

Big figures who usually kept their heads and tails hidden like divine dragons were actually all startled.

"Disciples pay respects to all Elders!"

The gate-guarding Disciples were frightened to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, hurriedly bowing in salute.

However, not a single Elder paid attention to them.

All the Elders' attention was nailed firmly onto the cloth-clothed youth in the middle of the field.

"Such fierce Sword Intent!"

A white-haired Elder couldn't help speaking, his voice carrying hard-to-suppress excitement.

"This child is a Qilin child of our Sword Dao lineage!"

Another burly Elder had a voice like a great bell.

"Fifteen years old, Fifth-Order Sword Intent... This old man has cultivated for three hundred years and has never heard of such a thing!"

A palace-dressed beautiful woman with a cold expression also showed a moved countenance.

They saw through Zhao Ruoan's true depth at a single glance.

How could this be any Third-Order or Fourth-Order Sword Intent?

This was clearly the top-tier Fifth-Order Sword Intent that had already touched the threshold of the Law!

The palace-dressed beautiful woman was the first one unable to hold back, taking a step forward and speaking firmly: "This child is fated with me. From today onwards, he will be the Personal Disciple of my Zixia Peak."

"Wait!" The burly Elder immediately opposed, "Elder Lin, everything must be spoken of in terms of first-come, first-served, right? This brat is born with the raw material of a Sword Cultivator, he should enter my Battle Sword Peak!"

"Hmph, none of you need to fight," the white-haired Elder stroked his beard, "This old man observes that this child's Heart-Nature is steady, making him just right to inherit the Legacy of my Dan-Cauldron Peak. With Dual Cultivation of sword and elixir, his future is boundless."

Several Elders who were usually high and mighty were actually arguing publicly right then and there just to vie for a single Disciple.