When One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Arts burst into the world, the assembled cultivators erupted in an uproar. Yet staring at the dueling platform that had vanished entirely into thin air, they had no choice but to face reality, harboring resentment while keeping their mouths firmly shut.
Huddled in their private box, the disciples of the Sword Palace were shielded by an isolation formation, allowing them to freely voice their opinions and criticize the unfolding events.
"You call that One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Arts?!"
"Never in history has anyone hung out a sheep’s head and sold dog meat so flagrantly!"
"He is truly a disgrace to sword cultivators—"
The disciples were seething with righteous indignation, particularly irked by that fellow’s title of 'Western Sword Saint,' and showered him with constant cold mockery and cutting remarks.
Yet mockery was just mockery; not a soul intended to step onto the stage to teach him a lesson. Everyone possessed self-awareness. Taking the sun itself as a sword and bringing it crashing from the sky—who could possibly block that?
A few younger disciples who were worse at hiding their feelings cursed enthusiastically with their mouths, yet their eyes were filled with envy they could not conceal. As sword cultivators, who wouldn’t want to loudly proclaim a title like 'Western Sword Saint' under the gaze of tens of thousands?
They certainly wished they could yell it too, but alas, they couldn't take a beating.
Amidst the chorus of indignant Sword Palace disciples, no one noticed Bai Kaishui standing alone by the window, gazing down with a complicated expression.
Soon afterward, the steel puppet took the stage once more. It pinned down another opponent beneath a furious bombardment of heavy fire, finally clinching a narrow victory just before expending all its ammunition.
Right as it occupied the final dueling platform by the skin of its teeth, the surrounding cultivators saw through its exhaustion, and those with sharp eyes noticed its beehive pods were completely empty!
The cultivators rubbed their palms together, eager to mount the stage and display their might, when out of nowhere leaped a tattered rag doll. Holding a small banner enveloped in immortal mist, it snatched the initiative and landed upon the dueling platform.
The ragged doll stood barely three feet tall, and even with the banner, it was less than five feet—scarcely taller than the steel puppet’s instep. Xu Wenwu couldn't find an appropriate weapon to hit such a tiny target on short notice, so he raised a massive foot to stomp it flat.
The rag doll raised its hand and wrote Xu Wenwu’s three-character name upon the banner. Instantly, the steel puppet froze in its tracks, crashed to the ground with a deafening rumble, and vanished on the spot.
This was the final opportunity. Several cultivators threw caution to the wind and sprang onto the platform together. In response, the doll continued scribbling names across the banner. Whoever it wrote down collapsed immediately, without a single exception.
The sinister doll’s baleful aura was simply too terrifying. For a time, no one dared step onto the stage to seek their own doom. With that, the free-for-all across the dueling platforms came to a close, producing the twelve challengers.
At this moment, the 'Western Sword Saint' Li Ye looked around, taking in the entire scene.
In this great contest, Wei Yuan had naturally taken full advantage of home ground, throwing the doors wide open for himself. Using immortal spirit qi to fashion Dao soldiers, he had unleashed everyone from the Battle Saint Hall to have some fun. Naturally, prior to the final round, they had either taken a loss or withdrawn, quietly slipping away without seizing the candidate slots. Otherwise, the final outcome would have been hard to predict.
Wei Yuan merely felt that the consumption of immortal spirit qi was a bit excessive, as if he hadn't molded just five Dao soldiers. Yet no matter how thoroughly he investigated, he found nothing amiss.
During this grand assembly, even among the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning, some deliberately chose to conceal their strength, intentionally avoiding the candidate slots for Celestial Idols to fight across the dueling platforms instead.
Part of the reason was to engage in many more battles to hone their combat skills. Feng Tingyu, for example, had deliberately hidden her prowess and failed to make the candidate roster purely because she wanted to find people to fight.
Another reason was that some did not want their dharma idols linked to their true identities—such as that charred-edge black jade plantain orchid.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Wei Yuan would never have believed that the Bell Orchid Fairy could have blackened to such an extent. Yet there was no doubt that this several-zhang-tall charred orchid was terrifyingly powerful at present, and the nocturnal orchid immortal could even abduct people by sheer force.
However strong the charred orchid might be, Xu Henshui did not want anyone knowing this was his immortal orchid, so he kept his face covered the entire time, without showing even his eyes.
According to the tournament schedule, the next phase was to challenge the Celestial Idol candidates. Cultivators who earned challenger qualifications were free to choose one candidate as their opponent, and candidates were not permitted to refuse. This round would be conducted one match at a time, moving to the next only after the current one concluded. Once a candidate had been challenged, they could not be challenged again until all candidates had faced a match, preventing an unfair war of attrition.
As Princess Ningguo announced the start of the duels, Li Ye’s figure flashed, arriving upon the central grand dueling platform. Facing the thatched cottage scholar disciple of Duke Yansheng, he called out, "Li Ye, the 'Western Sword Saint,' is here to experience your Dao arts!"
"It is Orthodox Confucian Dharma!" a scholar corrected, stepping onto the platform.
Once upon the stage, a cold sneer played across his lips as he measured Li Ye up and down. "Do you think having an embryonic grotto-heaven makes you invincible under heaven? Today, I will let a frog in a well like you witness what a Supreme Sage Immortal Treasure truly is!"
The scholar gestured with his sleeve, and his thatched cottage idol materialized once more. The fair, breathtaking Red Sleeve reappeared, gracefully carrying over a chair and a tea table for him, then serving a bowl of fragrant tea. Dutiful and uncomplaining, her display stirred silent heartache among many young male cultivators.
The scholar nudged aside the tea leaves with the bowl's lid, took a dainty sip, and only then said, "Please present the Second Sage's Sacred Treasure!"
The fair Red Sleeve retrieved a book casket and set it before the scholar.
Clearing his throat with a soft cough, the scholar rinsed his fingertips in a jade basin, dried them on a pristine white towel, and slowly opened the casket.
The instant the lid was moved aside, a pillar of light shot straight into the firmament! Within that beam of light appeared an elderly man, at times writing with furious vigor, at times furrowing his brows in deep contemplation. Those of vast experience cried out on the spot, "That is the remnant divine intent of the Second Sage! This treasure is extraordinary!"
Hearing this, the scholar's smile grew even more pronounced. He stood, bowed three times to the book casket, and the light pillar’s brilliance surged by another thirty percent as celestial music began to chime.
Li Ye, an incarnation of Wei Yuan, stood nearby and quietly watched his performance.
Although Wei Yuan felt that this amount of time was enough to stab him to death seventeen or eighteen times over, as the saying went: the longer the windup, the harder the ultimate move. The scholar was currently building up the drama for Wei Yuan, and doing so far better than Wei Yuan ever could have himself.
The scholar finally lifted the ancient book from the casket. Holding the ancient scroll in his hands, he shot Wei Yuan a bizarre smile and said, "I was waiting for you to ambush me, yet you managed to restrain yourself from making a move. I must view you in a higher light. What a pity, though—"
Wei Yuan played along tactfully, asking, "Pity what?"
The scholar replied calmly, "You possess an embryonic grotto-heaven and have comprehended the One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Arts that Senior Xihe once relied upon to roam the realm unopposed. You should have shone with immense brilliance, your name resounding across the world! But unfortunately, you shouldn't have chosen me as your opponent. Many years from now, you may walk further than I, but whenever people speak of this battle, they will only remember that I triumphed over you."
These words carried deep undertones. Wei Yuan saw through them with crystalline clarity; his true identity was likely no secret to the scholar.
After all that pompous talk, Wei Yuan simply replied with two words: "Shall we?"
A gleam of mockery flashed in the scholar's eyes. "Very well. Let me show you what it truly means when Words are Followed by Law!"
He raised a hand and pointed toward the heavens, letting out a roar that shook the four wildernesses: "Sun Ban!"
The surrounding world warped and transformed, actually imposing a ban upon Wei Yuan’s Great Sun Grotto-Heaven! Though it lasted only a brief instant, that instant was more than enough.
The scholar did not follow up with an attack, instead asking, "Do you concede?"
A smile surfaced on Wei Yuan's face. "What a pity. I... still have another sword!"
A small sword appeared in midair, dragging behind it an ancient full moon even more colossal than the sun!
The ancient moon descended in total silence, turning everything in its path to ash.
The dueling platform was obliterated once again. In the ruins, the scholar lay unconscious.
Wei Yuan let out a hearty laugh, his Dao heart feeling exceptionally lucid!
Fortunately, countless immortals were watching at this moment; otherwise, he might have blurted out, "In the name of Taiyin, I will destroy you!"
At this point, from top to bottom, left to right, inside and out across the entire venue, not a trace of ridicule or doubt remained; even the private boxes fell into dead silence. Before mocking Wei Yuan, one first had to weigh whether they could withstand alternating bombardments of the sun and the moon!
Having eliminated this greatest rival to the real Li Zhi, Li Ye’s mission was practically complete. Once a new dueling platform was shifted into place, Li Ye leaped up once again, this time challenging Star Lord Shaoyang.
Star Lord Shaoyang had long known this day would come. Resigned to his fate, he opened the bout by summoning a blazing sun that rose steadily into the sky.
Had the scholar not fallen unconscious and caused the Sun Ban to lapse, Star Lord Shaoyang wouldn't even have been able to unleash his most magnificent strike.
After the sun rose into the sky, only Star Lord Shaoyang remained on the dueling platform. Li Ye had been blasted off the stage, whereupon he retreated in apparent shame and vanished without a trace.
Xiaoyu suddenly felt a sting at the bridge of his nose.
With one victory secured, Xiaoyu’s place among the Twelve Celestial Idols was firmly locked in. Otherwise, given the situation in the arena, whether he could hold on to the top twelve remained doubtful. Who could have imagined that so many ferocious dharma idols would take part in this gathering?
Next, the ugly cultivator took the stage, specifically challenging the free-and-easy monk of the wild mountains. The battle between the two was utterly bizarre. The monk continued chanting sutras and carrying water, while the ugly cultivator chanted sutras and carried water in identical fashion, his mouth babbling incessantly the entire time.
Soon, the monk was plagued with blunders, and in the end, he accidentally knocked down his own little shrine, leaving him no choice but to admit defeat.
Following that bout, a deep and majestic voice suddenly echoed from the sky: "Does this dharma idol of yours have a name?"
This was the very first time an immortal had spoken to make an inquiry. Before this, even when the bizarre doll and One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Arts had appeared, the immortals had uttered not a single word.
The ugly cultivator wore a complicated expression, knowing that while his objective had been achieved, he might not leave here alive. Hesitating for a moment, he said, "My idol is named: Words Defied by Law."
The cultivators erupted into clamor; none had ever heard of such an idol. Yet the more one pondered it, the more terrifying it became!
Next, the Stupa Blood Sea submerged Sun Yu’s Desolate Ancestor Cinnabar Scorpion. The sinister doll then sought out the pureblood phoenix, but it did not finish writing the name, penning only the single surname 'Li' before stopping. That single character alone shaved off a third of the phoenix's vitality and blood. As a result, the pureblood sacred beast retained only enough strength for self-preservation, unable to sweep away the gathered fiends.
Then Feng Tingyu took the stage. Instead of targeting a candidate, she set her sights on the ugly cultivator.
This battle held not a shred of suspense. Though the ugly cultivator possessed the terrifying divine ability of Words Defied by Law, he still needed to speak. Trapped beneath Feng Tingyu’s black mist, all five of his senses were severed; unable to utter a single word or drag a good brother down with him, he suffered a swift, crushing defeat.
Finally, the charred orchid stepped forward and challenged the Floating Immortal Sword. From the opening breath of the match, the Floating Immortal Sword fell into black hands, kneaded and pummeled until it was in utter agony, leaving it no choice but to concede.
Other challengers went after that green sprout, but all met inexplicable defeat. As for the final Exquisite Nine-Layered Pagoda, for some unknown reason, no one dared challenge it at all.
With that, the Twelve Celestial Idols were determined: Xiaoyu, Honglian, Li Zhi, Shangguan Qianmo, Bao Yun, Xu Henshui, Wang Hu, Feng Tingyu, Ji Liuli, Li Qiwu, and Feng Chutang.
Because Li Ye had won first and lost later, the roster of idols was short by one person. After deliberation among the immortals, another disciple from the Four Sages Academy who held a sacred treasure was selected to fill the vacancy. As for who Li Ye truly was, everyone already knew, yet kept silent.
Following further appraisal by the immortals, Bao Yun claimed the title of Number One Dharma Idol Under Heaven by virtue of her Heavenly Demon Wondrous Idol, which had attained true intent from beyond the heavens. Li Zhi tied with Bao Yun on the strength of his Ancient Hall of the Human Sovereign.
This ranking was both well-deserved and a matter of worldly tact.
The moment the results were announced, a phrase suddenly surfaced in the hearts of everyone present: The sea of bitterness is boundless, turn around to find the shore.
Immediately after, from high in the void, a silent sliver of killing intent carrying the boundless Dao intent of the bitter sea came meandering downward, winding its crooked descent directly toward Zhang Sheng.
Everything in Qingming seemed to grind to a halt. The myriad immortals present were entirely excluded from karmic cause and effect, incapable of interfering.
It had finally come!
Tens of millions of mortal fortune burned away in Wei Yuan, instantly elevating his karmic status to an endless height. He pointed a finger forward, and the Buddhist intent of 'the sea of bitterness is drained dry; all living beings ferry themselves across' coalesced into a myriad-zhang torrent, slashing toward the realm beyond the heavens!
The Great Dao of heaven and earth trembled violently. In an instant, countless gazes peered across from the supreme heights, from the furthest distances, and from antiquity to the present.
Beyond the heavens, something seemed to burst like a soap bubble. A severed fingertip stained with golden blood tumbled from the void, plunging into Qingming.
Chapter 1029