Chapter Fifty-Eight: Return to the Jade Sword Sect

“At this time, the Martial Tournament of the Jade Sword Sect must have already begun!” Long Yun could only smile bitterly to himself; it had taken him eight full days to replace his spiritual bones, leaving him completely unprepared for the current situation.

Yet, he also understood that the benefits brought by this replacement far outweighed anything the Martial Tournament could offer.

When he finally arrived at the gates of Jade Sword Sect, the disciples guarding the entrance had already withdrawn, and the entire outer sect was eerily quiet with not a soul in sight.

“I wonder how many days it’s already been. I suppose I’ve probably already been considered to have forfeited by default,” Long Yun murmured to himself with a slight shake of his head.

The Martial Tournament was being held atop the mountain of the Heavenly Sword lineage, which had always enjoyed a large number of disciples. The martial arena there was much more spacious than those of the other branches. Even with all five main branches and the outer sect disciples gathered together, it never felt crowded. The five Grand Elders, each holding a Seal of Authority, were all seated in their respective places. Surprisingly, even Shangguan Yu had come to watch the matches in person.

This was the first time Shangguan Yu had attended a sect competition. It was well known that he, too, was a prodigy of the Jade Sword Sect, wholeheartedly dedicated to cultivation, and was recognized as the sect’s foremost expert.

If not for Shangguan Yu presiding over the sect, the Hua Ying Sect would never have regarded the Jade Sword Sect with such caution, and even the Azure Sect treated the Jade Sword Sect with a measure of deference because of him.

Shangguan Yu had long since reached the Innate Realm, and just like the Postnatal Realm, the Innate Realm could be divided into eight stages: Unifying Qi, Merging Spirit, Piercing the Heavens, Marrow Cleansing, Fusion of Skills, Crossing Tribulation, Circulating the Heavens, and the Great Path.

Over the years, Shangguan Yu had been utterly absorbed in his cultivation. As to which of the eight stages he had reached, no one in the Jade Sword Sect could say—not even the Grand Elder Qiu Di.

The martial arena was divided into four sections, with each branch selecting ten disciples to participate in this tournament.

All four sections proceeded simultaneously; three whole days had passed since the first round began. Among the five Grand Elders, the most pleased was Xue Renqi.

Of the ten disciples from the Heart Sword lineage, seven had already competed—and without exception, all seven were defeated and eliminated. Only Yuan Chen, Xiao Leng, and the yet-to-appear Long Yun remained.

Nevertheless, while the Heart Sword lineage’s disciples had been eliminated, they were by no means as weak as in years past. This year, they had become the hottest topic in the Jade Sword Sect.

With the infusion of the Five Absolute Killing Sword Techniques, the combat strength of the Heart Sword disciples was greatly enhanced. If not for the disadvantage in their cultivation, they would have surely overwhelmed their opponents.

This was precisely why Xue Renqi was so pleased. If Long Yun hadn’t brought back the Five Absolute Killing Sword Techniques from the Sword Stele, the Heart Sword lineage would have once again become the laughingstock of the sect.

“Yuan Chen, is there still no news of Long Yun?” Although Xue Renqi’s gaze was filled with relief, his heart was still uneasy. The Martial Tournament had already been underway for three days, and Long Yun had yet to return.

This time, if not for the sect master Shangguan Yu’s personal intervention to postpone Long Yun’s match against Chang Yuan, the prodigy of the Human Sword lineage, Long Yun would have been declared to have forfeited outright.

Even so, Xue Renqi knew that today was the final day of the first round. If Long Yun still failed to appear, not even the sect master could say anything further on his behalf.

“Long Yun, oh Long Yun! You haven’t run into any trouble, have you? Damn it, you’ve always been lucky and blessed—just don’t let anything go wrong now!” Xue Renqi prayed silently in his heart.

“Master, Brother Xiao Leng is up!” Yuan Chen’s gaze landed on the arena in the far-right corner, and he immediately spoke up.

Xue Renqi set aside his worries for the moment. If Long Yun couldn’t make it back, Xiao Leng was now the last hope for the Heart Sword lineage. Though he had entered the sect halfway, he was now considered one of their own.

Xiao Leng stood in the arena, cradling his longsword. The blade had not yet left its sheath, but already a chill was spreading through the air.

The Five Absolute Killing Sword Techniques Long Yun had brought back had been a tremendous boon to Xiao Leng as well. Not only had Long Yun taught him these five techniques, but he had also passed on his own comprehension of the Five Swords as One.

Xiao Leng was a remarkable talent himself. With Long Yun’s selfless guidance, he quickly mastered all five techniques. His fighting prowess had soared as a result.

Facing Xiao Leng was a formidable opponent from the Earth Sword lineage, Xu Da, a renowned expert of the Bone Transformation Realm.

“Brother Xiao Leng, to be honest, you’re quite something. A month ago, you gave those Hua Ying Sect bastards a hard lesson. If it weren’t for sect relations, I’d gladly concede this match!” Xu Da looked at Xiao Leng and burst into hearty laughter.

Xu Da was a straightforward man, much like the Earth Sword lineage’s Elder Li Huafei. Though Xiao Leng was cool and aloof, he was not without a sense of propriety.

“Brother, let us fight!” Xiao Leng’s words were few, but his fighting spirit soared.

Sensing Xiao Leng’s aura, Xu Da was momentarily startled, then said, “Since you can’t wait, Brother Xiao Leng, as your senior I’ll accompany you for a few moves!”

With that, his longsword flashed from its scabbard, and a wave of chilling sword energy exploded forth. At the tip of the blade, the Bone Transformation Realm’s peak true energy surged to the utmost, sending out violent ripples.

Xiao Leng’s brow rose. His sword shot out like a silver dragon leaping from the sea, transforming into a thunderous roar. Instantly, his true energy burst forth!

A crisp clang rang out as their sword energies collided and then scattered in all directions.

Xu Da’s expression shifted slightly—the sword energy from Xiao Leng was vast as an ocean. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “The Rebirth Realm!”

“Forgive me, Senior Brother,” Xiao Leng sheathed his sword and gave Xu Da a slight bow before stepping down from the platform.

What was going on? Not only the elders but even the presiding referee were stunned. The two had only exchanged a single blow, and before a winner was determined, Xiao Leng had simply walked off. Had he conceded on his own?

“Haha!” Earth Sword Elder Li Huafei leapt to his feet, laughing heartily. “Congratulations, Brother Xue, on gaining such a fine disciple! And congratulations to the sect master as well—my junior is now another Rebirth Realm expert! In this match, the Earth Sword lineage admits defeat!”

Among all those present, apart from Xu Da himself, only Shangguan Yu, Qiu Di, and Li Huafei—half a step into the Innate Realm—could see the truth.

Li Huafei was a forthright man, loved by his disciples both publicly and privately. His open admission brought no hint of doubt from the others, for Shangguan Yu and Qiu Di both nodded in agreement.

Only Duan Tianyi’s face was dark as thunder. Xiao Leng had actually reached the Rebirth Realm. As far as he knew, there were precious few disciples in the entire Jade Sword Sect at this level.

Besides Chang Yi, the greatest talent of the Heavenly Sword lineage, and Chen Long, the elite of the Earth Sword lineage, Xiao Leng was the third to achieve this.

Originally, this honor should have belonged to the Human Sword lineage, but now Xiao Leng had joined the Heart Sword lineage. The thought made Duan Tianyi’s face even uglier.

Especially when he caught sight of the smug look on Xue Renqi’s face, Duan Tianyi wished he could wring his neck. A cold killing intent flashed in his eyes as he sneered inwardly.

“Enjoy it while you can. I want to see just how long you can keep smiling,” Duan Tianyi thought to himself.

Xiao Leng was, without question, the brightest star in the arena. As a Rebirth Realm expert, his cultivation already surpassed that of some elders, and so the disciples gazed at him with newfound reverence.

With a gust of wind, Xu Da leapt down from the platform, and another figure vaulted up—it was Chang Yuan, the senior disciple of the Human Sword lineage.

Having just witnessed Xiao Leng break through to the Rebirth Realm, Chang Yuan was seething with jealousy. As the senior disciple of his lineage, he wore an even darker expression than Duan Tianyi below.

He was determined to exact revenge on the Heart Sword lineage. This match was between himself and Long Yun, the Heart Sword disciple—a pairing arranged by Duan Tianyi’s covert machinations.

Duan Tianyi had given him only one task: at any cost, cripple or kill Long Yun.

The moment Chang Yuan stepped onto the stage, a murderous aura erupted from him as he called out, “Chang Yuan of the Human Sword lineage challenges Brother Long Yun to the stage!”

At these words, the smile on Xue Renqi’s face froze instantly. My little ancestor, where on earth are you?