Library of Heaven’s Path

Countless people wanted to learn the Old Sword Maestro’s Three Swords of Lingxu. To be honest, the reason he had been severely injured back then was also due to his enemies wanting to acquire his sword art manual.

Here he was, offering the Three Swords of Lingxu to the young man, but the young man actually rejected him with such a look of disdain on his face.

The overwhelming frustration he felt left his chest feeling a little stifled.

“While I’m not interested in your sword art, your sword is indeed of some use to me.” Zhang Xuan turned to the Old Sword Maestro and asked, “If it’s not too much, can I take it away with me?”

As powerful as the Old Sword Maestro had made the Three Swords of Lingxu out to be, through the Sword Intent the other party had emanated earlier, Zhang Xuan could tell that there were still many flaws in the other party’s comprehension of swordsmanship.

Instead of learning swordsmanship from the other party, he would be better off collecting ordinary Saint-tier sword arts and compiling them into the Heaven’s Path Sword Art.

He would be able to improve faster that way, his foundations would be stronger, and most importantly of all, he would not have to become the Old Sword Maestro’s student!

To be honest, he had become so used to being a teacher himself that he found it a little awkward to become the student of another individual, even if just in title.

Seeing that the young man was still reluctant to learn his sword art, the Old Sword Maestro said with a frown, “I have sealed the Lingxu Sword in the stone platform using a technique from the Three Swords of Lingxu. If you don’t learn my sword art to a certain level of mastery, it’ll be impossible for you to draw out the Lingxu Sword.”

He had sealed the Lingxu Sword in the stone platform using the Three Swords of Lingxu. Only those who had mastered the technique to a certain level would be able to free the Lingxu Sword and take it away. Naturally, the purpose for doing so was to ensure that his heritage was properly passed down.

Those who did not inherit his heritage would never be able to take the Lingxu Sword away.

After explaining that, the Old Sword Maestro was just about to begin round two of convincing Zhang Xuan to acknowledge him as his teacher when the young man suddenly bent down and touched the ground casually. Then, he kicked the four corners of the stone platform once.

Kacha!

The crisp whirring of mechanisms filled the air.

Zhang Xuan gave the stone platform one powerful stomp.

Hu!

The Lingxu Sword leaped out of the stone platform and fell into Zhang Xuan’s hand.

“You… You are actually able to undo the seal and mechanism I have put in place?” The Old Sword Maestro’s figure flickered in astonishment. Had he not suppressed his emotions in the last moment, he might have dissipated on the spot!

It was just a moment ago that he had told the other party that he had to learn the Three Swords of Lingxu before he could extract the sword when something like this happened.

Are you here to tear down my show?

More importantly… he had put a lot of effort into crafting the stone platform and the seal so as to ensure that nothing would go wrong, such that it would be impossible for even him to forcefully extract the sword without going through the proper means. Yet, that fellow actually succeeded in retrieving the sword with just a few casual kicks.

In that moment, the Old Sword Maestro felt like he was just a dancing clown before the young man. All of the preparations he had made were nothing more than a joke to him!

“The seal and the stone platform you have prepared are not too bad, but it’s pity that they have fatal flaws in them…” Paying no heed to the other party’s current state, Zhang Xuan chuckled as he lowered his head to assess the sword in his hand.

The Lingxu Sword had a black blade, so there was no sharp glint typical of a sword to it. At the same time, there was no sword qi that could be felt from it either. On the surface, it appeared to be no different from any ordinary sword out there.

It was only when Zhang Xuan held it in his hand that he realized what a frightening weapon it was.

He found that there was absolutely no impediment when he drove his zhenqi through it. Even with a casual swing, he would be able to bring forth power far beyond his imagination.

His cultivation was still too lacking for him to be able to bring out the full prowess of the sword, but even if he could just wield a tenth of it, he would still be able to slay a Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator easily!

This was how frightening the Lingxu Sword was!

Weng!

Just as Zhang Xuan was feeling the overwhelming strength of the Lingxu Sword, the latter suddenly began trembling intensely, seemingly trying to free itself from Zhang Xuan’s grasp.

“Hmm?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

“It’s due to the nourishment of my Sword Intent over many years that the Lingxu Sword managed to become this strong. Without learning the Three Swords of Lingxu and my sword cultivation technique, it’ll be impossible for you to tame the Lingxu Sword. You should understand that a sword that can’t be tamed is unusable in battle…” the Old Sword Maestro explained proudly.

He had forged and nourished the Lingxu Sword personally, and his will was infused into it. How could others possibly tame the Lingxu Sword so easily?

But before the Old Sword Maestro could finish his explanation, the young man had already bellowed furiously, “Stop thrashing around!”

Following which, he tapped the Lingxu Sword on several points with his fingers.

Kacha! Kacha!

A series of crisp echoes rang in the air, and it did not take long for the Lingxu Sword to tremble in astonishment. It hurriedly halted its shaking and kneeled respectfully on the ground.

“Paying respects to Master!”

“Un.” With a wave of his hand, Zhang Xuan stowed the Lingxu Sword into his storage ring. Then, he turned his sight back to the Old Sword Maestro and asked doubtfully, “What did you say earlier? I wasn’t really paying attention!”

Zhang Xuan had been so busy trying to examine the strength of the Lingxu Sword that he did not hear what the Old Sword Maestro was saying.

“I-it’s nothing much…” The Old Sword Maestro’s mouth twitched uncontrollably, and the body he had formed out of Sword Intent began to dissipate.

Even though his death had left the Lingxu Sword free to take any master, he knew his sword very well. He had forged the Lingxu Sword personally, and he knew that it was an incomparably arrogant individual. Yet, to submit to the young man in the blink of an eye… this was a blow that he could not take.

“Alright. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave first!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist before turning around.

“This… You haven’t even learned the Three Swords of Lingxu yet; how can you leave like that?” the Old Sword Maestro exclaimed in agitation. “The area is shrouded by the Sword Intent I have infused into the stone platform previously. Unless you learn my Three Swords of Lingxu, forcefully barging through will make you severely inju…”

Before the Old Sword Maestro could finish the word ‘injured’, the young man had already placed his finger casually on the barrier of Sword Intent, and with a light ‘hu la!’, the entire barrier of Sword Intent vanished without a trace.

“Cough cough!” The Old Sword Maestro’s face turned completely crimson. At this point, he could not bother keeping up the impression of an expert anymore. A pleading look surfaced in his eyes as he spoke. “Why don’t you reconsider the matter? My Three Swords of Lingxu is really, really formidable…”

“I know, but I truly can’t become your student!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

The Old Sword Maestro hesitated for a moment shaking his head in resignation. “It’s fine if you don’t become my student. All I ask is that you pass down my heritage down to the later generations.”

He had thought that as long as he could accept a talented student, he would be able to bring honor and glory to his heritage. But… the young man before him was simply too outstanding! Considering how even he could not see the depths of the young man before him, it was clear that it would be nigh impossible for him to get the young man to acknowledge him as his teacher. At this point, all he could hope was for the young man to impart his heritage to a suitable person and pass down his lineage.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before turning around. “I can help you find a suitable successor to the lineage of your swordsmanship. Where’s your sword art?”

“It’s over here.” A light flickered through the Old Sword Maestro’s eyes, and a surge of Sword Intent flew straight for Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan did not dodge, and in an instant, he saw countless surges of sword qi flashing across his eyes. They swiftly formed a sword art manual.

Just as the Old Sword Maestro had said earlier, there were only three moves to this battle technique. However, every single move wielded might that could not be underestimated.

In fact, even the Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm, which Zhang Xuan had learned earlier, paled in comparison to it.

Most likely, this is a Saint high-tier battle technique… Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.

The Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm was a technique that Ancient Sage Qiu Wu had come up with in his earlier years, and limited by his knowledge and experiences, it only met the mark of a Saint intermediate-tier battle technique. On the other hand, the Three Swords of Lingxu clearly wielded far superior might, reaching the level of Saint high-tier.

It was no wonder the Old Sword Maestro was so confident in his heritage. There was indeed a basis for his confidence.

A moment later, Zhang Xuan sighed grudgingly. But… why are there so many flaws in it? How am I supposed to learn it like that?

Sea Severing Sword, Ocean Cataclysm Sword, and Heaven Desecration Sword—each of these techniques harnessed strength and speed far greater than the last. However, the number of flaws they possessed were also so numerous that they left him completely speechless. Putting everything aside, even the most basic Sea Severing Sword had a total of 336 flaws.

Just by looking at it, Zhang Xuan had already lost his interest in learning the sword art.

“More importantly, these sword arts require the complementation of 108 swords in order to execute…”

Typically speaking, it would be impossible for a battle technique to have so many flaws, or else there was no way one could practice it without one’s cultivation going berserk. The main reason the Three Swords of Lingxu had so many flaws was because the sword arts did not consist of the movement of a single sword. Rather, it was a Sword Formation, requiring a total of 108 swords in order to execute!

With each of the 108 swords moving individually, it was inevitable that there would be many more flaws in the sword art compared to other battle techniques.

Seeing the look of disgust on the face of the young man after receiving his heritage, to the point where it almost seemed like he would just vomit, the Old Sword Maestro sighed deeply and said, “This is the Three Swords of Lingxu, which I devoted my entire life into creating. If you don’t wish to learn it, I hope that you will at least find a successor for it. Please don’t let my lineage end here!”

“Don’t worry. Even though the sword arts in your Three Sword of Lingxu are plagued with flaws—just the depletion of zhenqi is a nightmare in itself—the might they harness is still considerable. I’ll try to find a way to make some improvements in them before passing them on to a suitable successor in your stead.” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist sincerely.

In truth, he was only irked by the high number of flaws in the sword arts, and just the thought of the number of high-tier sword art manuals that he had to gather in order to perfect the Three Swords of Lingxu was enough to leave him feeling deeply fatigued. On the whole, he still thought that the Three Swords of Lingxu was a decent technique, wielding considerable strength.

“Ah…” Stifled by the young man’s words, the Old Sword Maestro’s figure flickered once more. “I’ll be counting on you then…”

After saying those words, ‘pah!’, he dissipated on the spot.

All he wanted to do was to pass down his heritage… but never in his dreams did he expect to meet such a fellow. In the end, he even dissipated from sheer indignation and rage before he could even pass down his comprehension of swordsmanship.

“Jeez!” Seeing the figure of the Old Sword Maestro disappearing before him, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply. “Since I have learned your sword arts and taken your sword, I’ll see your wish to the end and bring honor and glory to your swordsmanship!”

The fact that the Old Sword Maestro had gone to the trouble of setting up these trials despite the severely wounded state he was in back then was more than enough to show his determination to pass his heritage down. He did not want the sword arts he had created with much difficulty to disappear from the world just like that. He hoped to pass them down to the later generations and have them shine in their hands.

Since that was the case, Zhang Xuan would help him pass down the Three Swords of Lingxu to the right successor after he had improved it so that his name could be sung through history.

This stone platform is a treasure as well. I should take it with me!

The fact that the stone platform was able to trap the Lingxu Sword showed that it was made from decent materials. So, Zhang Xuan threw it into his storage ring with a flick of his hand.

If he could not find a use for the stone platform for the time being, using it as a sheath did not sound too bad. At this point, Zhang Xuan could not help but remember that, in his previous life, sword experts in novels were able to defeat their opponents with just their sword sheath. In the future, while his sword was still sheathed in the stone platform, he could lift the ten-meter-long stone platform to smash his opponent, too. The thought of it left him tingling a little in excitement.

After the stone platform was removed, the flow of the stream reverted to normal. Zhang Xuan stretched his back lazily before slowly making his way out. Barely after taking a few steps, he saw Ji Lingzhen lying on the ground, his breathing halted.

“I only told you to teach him a lesson, why did you kill him?” Zhang Xuan turned to his clone and frowned.

“I wasn’t the one who did it. It was them!” The clone gestured to the area behind Ji Lingzhen.

Turning his gaze over, Zhang Xuan first noted that the mist that had been shrouding the area was dissipating along with the gradual collapse of the Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation. Next, he saw several hundred people lying unconscious all around the area.

They were the sword practitioners who had been studying the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character in front of the stone wall earlier.

Zhang Xuan swiftly assessed their conditions and confirmed that they were just unconscious, not dead, and he heaved a sigh of relief. Soon, a hint of doubt arose in his mind.

Shouldn’t they have been busy studying the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character outside?

Why would they have fainted there?

“The rising pillar of Sword Intent earlier made it known to everyone on the island that a treasure has surfaced, so they rushed over here in hope of claiming the treasure. So, I told them that Ji Lingzhen had managed to obtain the treasure, and they immediately rushed forward and lynched him to death. However, they were not able to find anything on him, so they turned their sights to me instead. So, I could only knock all of them out!” Zhang Xuan’s clone replied with a casual shrug.

His clone wielded the strength to defeat even the Grand Dominion realm primary stage Ji Lingzhen easily. Even though the cultivators gathered in the area were not weak, they were still far from matching up to him.

“I see. It’s good that they aren’t dead, or else things could get troublesome.” Hearing his clone’s explanation, Zhang Xuan knew that he would also have made the same call if he were in the same position.

Men blinded by greed are irrational. Force works better than words on them.

Zhang Xuan quickly put his clone back into the Myriad Anthive Nest before making his way out of the mist. Soon, he heard numerous footsteps outside, and shortly after, Brother Sun and the other candidates of the secondary selection appeared in his sights.