Library of Heaven’s Path

Elder Bai Ye did not have the time to report Zhang Xuan’s true identity before everything happened, which resulted in this huge misunderstanding.

As such, no one in the room had known that this incredible genius who had comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent was not a core disciple, not an inner disciple, not an outer disciple… Heck, he was not a disciple of the sect at all!

Well, this sure made things awkward.

A person who was not even a disciple of the sect had comprehended the Sword Intent of the founder and pummeled everyone from the inner disciples upward.

The faces of Han Jianqiu, Elder He, and the others turned bright red as their breathing became a little ragged. They were contemplating if it was possible to vanish on the spot.

What the heck was this?

They would be utterly humiliated if others learned of this matter!

”Have you really been in our sect for a single day? Furthermore, you comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent while passing by the massive sword?” Elder He was on the verge of crying.

He had stood outside the mountain gate to comprehend the profoundness of the Sword Intent for more than thirty years, only to make hardly any advancement at all. On the other hand, this young man had managed to comprehend it while he was walking by.

Was there anything in the world that was more traumatizing than this?

”I guess so… I reckon that it took me several breaths!” Zhang Xuan replied.

Elder He immediately felt everything around him becoming dark.

”It seems like the Gods’ Sword Intent is not something that can be comprehended with time,” Han Jianqiu consoled when he saw the desolate look on Elder He’s face.

Following which, he turned to Zhang Xuan and said, ”The fact that you have comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent means that you are the next leader of our sect. In a way, it’s good that you aren’t a disciple. From this moment on, you will be a core elder of our sect, and you’ll enjoy all the privileges of one!”

Whether the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion would be able to become the Ascendant Cloud Sword God Pavilion or not depended on the young man before him. Naturally, there was no way he could allow the young man to leave like that.

The young man was not a disciple yet, but it was clearly inappropriate to place him among the inner disciples or core disciples. After all, as someone who had defeated the five strongest experts of the sect, there was no one there who was qualified to teach him swordsmanship.

Since that was the case, he might as well confer the young man the position of core elder. With such a position, it would be easier for him to succeed him as the sect leader in the future.

”Core elder?” Zhang Xuan was a little stunned.I have become the core elder of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion just like that?

”Indeed. Of course, due to safety concerns, it will be an honorary role for the time being. We won’t be announcing the matter until your cultivation finally reaches the High Immortal realm!” Han Jianqiu replied.

It was just a moment ago that it was revealed that a genius had comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent. If a Pseudo Immortal realm cultivator was abruptly promoted to the position of core elder, would it not be as good as telling the entire world that this person was the very same genius?

Thus, while it might bring about some inconvenience, it was still best to maintain a low profile for the time being.

”If so, can I access the library of the elders?” Zhang Xuan asked.

He was perfectly fine with the current arrangements; he did not like being in the spotlight after all. As long as he could get whatever he needed, the rest was unimportant.

”Of course,” Han Jianqiu replied. ”This is your Elder Token. Your name isn’t inscribed on it, but I have imprinted my aura on it, so you will still be able to access any facilities available to the core elders. At the same time, you can use the resources available in the sect freely, but of course, I’ll have to ask you not to use them wastefully!”

”Thank you, Sect Leader Han!” Zhang Xuan received the Elder Token delightfully.

With this, he should be able to gather True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals and successfully push for another breakthrough!

As long as he could reach the Heavenly True Immortal realm, he would be able to put up a fight even against High Immortals, thus allowing him to ensure his safety.

”Un. Usually, every elder is allocated their own independent residence, but for your own safety, we’ll have to ask you to bear with your current residence for the time being,” Han Jianqiu said awkwardly.

Considering that it was their future sect leader, such treatment was unacceptable.

”It’s fine. There’s no need to worry about it,” Zhang Xuan replied calmly, paying the matter no heed at all.

If he was allocated an elder’s residence, it would be no different from having his identity announced. It would be hard for him not to catch anyone’s attention.

After dealing with this issue, Han Jianqiu hesitated for a moment before saying, ”Since you are a core elder, I hope that you can avoid entering the inner disciples’ and core disciples’ Ethereal Halls too often…”

Zhang Xuan replied with an affirmative nod.

With the token given by Kong shi, he would not lack cultivation resources. Naturally, he would not have to earn money from those inner disciples and core disciples anymore.

”I’ll be taking my leave then!”

After asking all that had to be asked, Zhang Xuan turned around and walked out of the Elder Council. Elder Bai Ye quickly followed along to escort him back to his residence.

As soon as Zhang Xuan left the room, the surroundings turned incredibly silent. Not a single person said a word or moved at all.

It was some time before Elder He finally turned to Han Jianqiu and said, ”Sect Leader Han, considering that Zhang Xuan has comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent, it would be best to take him into the Palace of Sword Intent to cultivate. That way, he would be able to advance his cultivation faster. He has already met the prerequisites to do so. But why did you…”

The Palace of Sword Intent was the most elusive location of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. Generations of sect leaders had tempered their Sword Intent at that venue in order to achieve a breakthrough to the Semi-Divinity realm.

Since Zhang Xuan had comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent, it was a done deal that he would become the sect leader. Thus, their priority should be helping the young man advance his cultivation as quickly as possible, and the most direct route to doing so was indubitably the Palace of Sword Intent. But why did Han Jianqiu not raise the matter at all?

”Stored in the Palace of Sword Intent are the precious Sword Intents of the preceding leaders of our sect. They are there for the later generations to learn from and temper themselves. It would indeed enhance the growth of normal cultivators, but…”

A bitter smile crept onto Han Jianqiu’s lips as he continued. ”Zhang Xuan has comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent, and it’s likely that his conceptualization of swordsmanship has reached a level higher than our predecessors. I fear that if he enters the Palace of Sword Intent, not only will he learn nothing at all, he might even end up unintentionally destroying the place. Considering his previous track record, I think that it will be for the best to preserve the dignity of our predecessors…”

”…” Elder He’s eyebrows shot up.

What Han Jianqiu said made perfect sense.

That fellow had gone around challenging everyone that he saw. If he headed to the Palace of Sword Intent and challenged the predecessors instead of learning of them, what would become of the dignity of their predecessors?

It was fortunate that Sect Leader Han had thought things through properly, or else, if a mishap occurred, they would not dare face their predecessors after their passing.

”Elder He and Elder Chou, even the sect might not necessarily be safe anymore. I’ll need to trouble the two of you to keep a lookout and take care of Zhang Xuan. He has already comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent a day after arriving here, so I believe that he might be the key to restoring the sect’s glory. If it really happens, we might become an existence similar to the Ethereal Hall, towering above the other five sects!” Han Jianqiu said agitatedly.

While Zhang Xuan did not seem too reliable as a human being, his strength was indeed formidable. His mastery of swordsmanship was far above theirs and anyone else on the Forsaken Continent.

As long as he could advance his cultivation to the same level as the rest of them, it was likely that the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion would be able to snatch the other half of the ’神 (God)’ character from the Hall of Gods and rise above the Six Sects. There was no saying that it might even surpass the Ethereal Hall and the Hall of Gods.

The possibilities were endless!

”Rest assured, Sect Leader Han!” Elder He and Elder Chou replied with a nod.

For the sect, they would do everything they could to help and protect Zhang Xuan!

…

After returning to Dan Xiaotian’s residence, Zhang Xuan quickly looked over Dan Xiaotian and Bai Ruanqing’s swordsmanship and gave them some pointers before returning to his room.

He set up an isolation barrier around the area before taking out Kong shi’s token with a flick of his wrist. He dripped a droplet of blood on the token in order to claim ownership of it. Soon, he found out the true purpose of the token.

Unlike what he had thought, this token was not an Ethereal Token, so he could not enter the Ethereal Hall through it. Rather, it was some kind of insignia.

With it, if he entered any Ethereal Halls outside, he would be able to freely purchase any resources from the Ethereal Halls without spending any money at all.

In other words, it was like a black card that he could swipe again and again without paying a single cent!

Kong shi sure was generous!

I’ll have to try it out when I finally leave the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion,Zhang Xuan thought as he placed it back into his storage ring.

It was impossible to access external Ethereal Halls within the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, so he would have to leave the area in order to enjoy the benefits of endless credit.

After placing the card back into his storage ring, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took out the Tongshang Sword that Han Jianqiu had given him.

As soon as the sword appeared, slight cracks immediately appeared in the surrounding space. It was as if the fabric of the world could not withstand the tremendous energy that the sword was emanating, causing it to seem as if it was being torn apart.

As expected of a Heavenly High Immortal artifact, its prowess was indeed formidable.

The Tongshang Sword harrumphed coldly. ”Brat, it’s under Han Jianqiu’s orders that I have reluctantly come along with you. You are still far from strong enough to tame me, so I advise you not to waste your strength. Also, you’d better not bring me out for no reason, or else I fear that I’ll lose my temper and beat you up!”

It felt that it was a huge humiliation for a Heavenly High Immortal artifact like itself to acknowledge a Pseudo Immortal realm lad as its master.

”You’ll beat me up?” Zhang Xuan burst into laughter. He tapped his finger lightly on the Tongshang Sword’s blade and said, ”If I’m not mistaken, you were forged by Ouyang Qingfeng, the third greatest blacksmith on the Forsaken Continent, right?”

”Indeed!” the Tongshang Sword replied proudly.

Ouyang Qingfeng was a renowned blacksmith of the Forsaken Continent, and the weapons that he forged were much sought after by those in the top echelons. In his entire life, he had forged seven High Immortal artifacts, thus becoming a legend in his field.

It was precisely due to this that the Tongshang Sword was extremely proud of its origins.

”Ouyang Qingfeng’s sword forging technique is indeed formidable. He combined the rare Xuanyang Metal and Oceanbed Xuan Crystals together using his superior forging techniques in order to create you. However, given how valuable the materials that were used to make you are, don’t you find it regrettable how you have only reached Heavenly High Immortal-tier?” Zhang Xuan asked.

The materials that were used to make the sword before him were incredibly precious on the Forsaken Continent, and the forging method was ingenious as well. With enough luck, there was a chance that the eventual product would have reached Semi-Divinity. It was honestly a huge pity that it had only reached Heavenly High Immortal-tier.

”Only reached Heavenly High Immortal-tier? Do you know that only a handful of Semi-Divinity artifacts exist across the entire continent? The conditions required to forge a Semi-Divinity artifact are so extreme that it’s nigh impossible to succeed. Don’t bother using such words to beguile me!” the Tongshang Sword sneered.

”If you think that you can win me over with just a few words, don’t bother. You are wasting your time!”

An artifact of the Tongshang Sword’s tier had its own pride, so it would not easily acknowledge anyone as its master.

Even its previous master had gone through a lot before he eventually won its recognition.

”Beguile? You are really thinking too much. All I am doing is stating a fact. Given the materials and forging method used to make you, the chances of you becoming a Semi-Divinity weapon are roughly ten percent, and that’s under the assumption that the conditions are perfect!” Zhang Xuan replied with a nonchalant shrug.

”But with me, as long as I will it, I can ensure that you’ll be able to reach the Semi-Divinity realm with zero percent chance of failure!”

”You seem to be very confident. Sure, I’ll listen to what you have in mind then!” the Tongshang Sword replied coldly, clearly harboring no confidence in Zhang Xuan.

If it was that easy for a weapon to reach Semi-Divinity, there would not be so few of them on the Forsaken Continent.

Even the powerful Han Jianqiu was unable to do so, so there was no way a mere Pseudo Immortal realm cultivator would be able to pull it off.

”It’s very simple.”

Zhang Xuan focused his Sword Intent on the tip of his finger before infusing it into the Tongshang Sword.

It was the Gods’ Sword Intent that he had comprehended!

Feeling the deep conceptualization behind the Sword Intent, the Tongshang Sword felt as if it had been kissed by the gods. It was a profound yet warm sensation. It exclaimed in astonishment, ”You have comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent?”

”Indeed. You should also be aware that a sword practitioner who possesses the Gods’ Sword Intent wields the power to oppose even the gods. You should also know how likely you are to reach Semi-Divinity if I nourish you with the Gods’ Sword Intent,” Zhang Xuan said.

If a High Immortal-tier sword wished to advance to higher realms, there was no better way than for it to be nourished with Sword Intent. Naturally, there was no better Sword Intent than the powerful Gods’ Sword Intent for this.

”I concede. It’s highly likely that I will be able to reach Semi-Divinity under your nourishment. However, your cultivation is still too weak. I won’t submit to you.” The Tongshang Sword hesitated a little, but it still chose to turn Zhang Xuan down.

Hu!

At that moment, the Dongxu Gourd suddenly appeared and swallowed the Tongshang Sword whole.

”Why are you wasting so much time on it? If it refuses to submit to you, just eat it!” the Dongxu Gourd replied in displeasure.