"Ah, it's hard to explain—just go see for yourself! Earlier, Senior Brother Zhao of the Golden Core stage grew indignant and tried to teach him a lesson, only to be knocked flat on the ground with a single sword strike."
"I heard about that too. That guy looks like he has only Qi Condensation cultivation. Do you think that's even possible? Some scoundrel must have slipped into our sect. I'd say he's up to no good."
"Hurry up, or we won't make it in time for the matches!"
...
Amidst the commotion, Li Fan followed the crowd and arrived at an arena.
At the same time, information about his current host body surfaced in his mind.
Ji Zhaoxuan, Golden Core cultivation, an inner disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
He was a man of few words who disliked socializing, wholly devoted to the way of the sword.
"Senior Brother Chen, thank you for humoring me!"
A pleasant voice gave Li Fan a violent jolt, instantly snapping him back to attention.
For he was all too familiar with the voice's owner—it was none other than Mr. Bai!
Li Fan looked toward the sound, only to find an ordinary-looking cultivator who seemed like an entirely different person from Mr. Bai.
Yet the demeanor he casually radiated left Li Fan in no doubt: this was Mr. Bai himself without question!
*His original appearance must have drawn too much attention, so he altered his features.*
*Still, what era is this? And why did he disguise himself as an ordinary cultivator and join the Heavenly Sword Sect?*
Countless questions surged in Li Fan's mind.
Harboring these doubts, Li Fan continued to watch the arena.
The Golden Core cultivator surnamed Chen, having just suffered defeat at the hands of Mr. Bai—who appeared merely to be at Qi Condensation—did not look devastated or humiliated at all.
Instead, he cupped his fists, utterly convinced, and said, "I thank Senior for the guidance."
Then, with a hint of delight, he brushed past the onlookers and vanished into thin air, off into secluded meditation to comprehend what he had learned.
An uproar broke out among the spectating cultivators.
Everyone realized that this "Qi Condensation" cultivator was definitely not as simple as he appeared.
It was then that Li Fan finally noticed something.
His gaze locked onto the wooden sword in Mr. Bai's hand.
*This sword...*
Li Fan's heart quaked violently.
He hurriedly made inquiries with the fellow disciples beside him and learned that when Mr. Bai began sparring, he had no weapon suited to his hand.
So he had casually snapped a branch from a nearby tree and fashioned this wooden sword.
Hearing this fact plunged Li Fan into even deeper shock.
*There's no mistake—this wooden sword is the very one Shuo Feng wields in the future.*
*A wonder of Heaven: [Sword]!*
*How is this possible? A marvel of this caliber was just casually whipped up by Mr. Bai?*
*Just what is his cultivation realm?*
This discovery threw Li Fan's thoughts into complete disarray.
The wonder of Heaven [Sword] was an aggregation of the world's sword laws.
By all reason, it could only be nurtured through the profound miracles of heaven and earth.
Yet now, in Mr. Bai's hands, it had been casually fashioned like a child's toy.
Then how deep was Mr. Bai's comprehension of the sword dao—and even the principles of heaven and earth?
This completely exceeded Li Fan's imagination.
Just as Li Fan stood practically dazed, another sword cultivator arrived, flying on sword light—a Nascent Soul cultivator.
He unleashed a set of seven-times-seven, forty-nine Mother-and-Child swords, raining attacks upon Mr. Bai like a torrential storm of pear blossoms.
Mr. Bai raised his hand and lightly waved his sword once.
In an instant, all forty-nine Mother-and-Child swords turned traitor, dissolving into chaotic disarray.
In mere moments, the sword cultivator was defeated.
"Did you notice? He's even stronger than when he fought Senior Brother Chen just now!"
"He's definitely concealing his cultivation to toy with us!"
"Eldest Senior Brother will have to step in now. I wonder if he's sobered up yet."
Amid the chatter of the crowd, memories concerning the Eldest Senior Brother of the Heavenly Sword Sect flashed into Li Fan's mind.
The ten-thousand-year eldest disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
In truth, his seniority was even higher than the current sect master's.
However, he was indolent by nature, had no interest in managing sect affairs, and loved only wine. Using the clumsy excuse of being the "eternal senior brother to all junior disciples," he had clung to the title of "Eldest Senior Brother" ever since.
His name was Situ Yao.
Back in those days, Eldest Senior Brother Situ Yao was hailed as having the world's foremost combat strength, attracting countless battle-hungry cultivators to challenge him at his doorstep.
Exasperated by the endless nuisances, Situ Yao had dragged two massive boulders from who knows where and placed them before the mountain gate.
With his sword, he carved two inscriptions: "Idlers Halt" and "Cease Arms Upon Arrival."
It was said that after carving the words, Situ Yao downed a jug of fine wine on the spot, burst into hearty laughter, and declared that things would finally be quiet from then on.
Sure enough, from that day forth, the vast majority of challengers could not even break past the restrictions on those two giant stones.
Instantly realizing the enormous gulf in strength between them, they could only slink away in defeat.
...
*Hiss... it seems Situ Yao is quite an extraordinary figure as well,* Li Fan thought to himself, having encountered those boulders many years later after they had transformed into wonders of heaven and earth.
*Yet clearly, there is still a considerable gap between him and Mr. Bai.*
*One is merely a wonder of Man, while the other has reached the realm of a wonder of Heaven...*
*Truly unfathomable.*
Situ Yao's legendary status cast an even greater veil of mystery over Mr. Bai.
At this moment, with his unfathomable strength, Mr. Bai accepted all challenges from Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.
Every single one was defeated in a single move.
Far from being despondent, the defeated Heavenly Sword Sect cultivators were overjoyed, as if they had gained immensely from the spar.
Realizing what a rare opportunity this was, the disciples were eager to try their hand.
Li Fan's heart stirred. Seizing the opportunity, he dashed ahead of the other disciples and stood before Mr. Bai.
Even though Li Fan could regard the myriad beings of the Xuanhuang Realm as insignificant, facing this supremely mysterious Mr. Bai still made his heart flutter with nervous anticipation.
Since he had entered the Fallen Immortal Realm in possession mode this time, he could not utilize his own divine abilities.
Taking a deep breath, Li Fan recalled the cultivation technique of his host, Ji Zhaoxuan.
It was an obscure method that condensed elixir qi into a sword.
Yet all arts lead to the same source.
With the qi sword as a medium, he could unleash a portion of the might of his comprehended divine ability, [Sky-Breaking Heart Sword].
"Sir, please enlighten me," Li Fan said in a deep voice.
In the next instant, with a shift of his thought, several sword intents thick with black baleful qi suddenly materialized around Mr. Bai.
The black swords let out shrill wails, threatening to cleave Mr. Bai into countless pieces.
"Not bad. A clever concept, but is your heart truly one with the sword?"
Just as the black swords were about to strike Mr. Bai, they abruptly froze, suspended in midair.
For reasons unknown, time itself seemed to have ground to a halt.
By Li Fan's ears, Mr. Bai's pleasant voice faintly sounded:
"If you treat the sword as a mere tool, the sword will treat you as a tool in kind."
Boom!
Like a bolt of lightning cleaving through the fog, countless sparks of inspiration flared in Li Fan's mind.
Endless deductive possibilities for Sky-Breaking Heart Sword laid themselves bare before him all at once,
leaving Li Fan dazzled, utterly at a loss for which path to choose.
Chapter 679