"First match of the early Golden Core division, victor: rogue cultivator Zhuang Xuan!"
The gaunt referee announced the end of the first bout. The victor was a completely unknown cultivator.
Whether disciples of major sects or small sects, their cultivation resources were provided by their sects.
Rogue cultivators were different. They lacked resources—wealth, companions, methods, and land were all in short supply. They had no senior masters to guide their practice, and with the slightest carelessness, their cultivation could go astray, accumulating flaws that became impossible to correct.
For this reason, the cultivation realm and quality of rogue cultivators were generally far lower than those of sect cultivators.
The difficulty of defeating a horde of sect cultivators, fighting through city and provincial stages, and making it all the way to the Dao Seeking Sect could easily be imagined.
"Note him down. Highly suspicious," Jiang Qun instructed the Luoshui Guards.
He flipped through the records of Zhuang Xuan's earlier matches. The man had practically crushed his way to the finals. In every bout, he had used at most five moves to conclude the fight. Even after reaching the finals and completing his first match, he had still only needed five moves to defeat his opponent.
Terrifyingly powerful.
"Yes, sir." The Luoshui Guard had already filled more than half a page with names.
"Next time we spar, I will definitely win!" The defeated opponent was an energetic cultivator. Though he had lost to Zhuang Xuan, he was not discouraged in the slightest, immediately calling for a rematch next time.
Zhuang Xuan cast an indifferent glance at his opponent and spat out two quiet words:
"Boring."
"You!"
The defeated cultivator's expression shifted. Zhuang Xuan was far too arrogant.
Zhuang Xuan paid no mind to his reaction. Leaping down from the arena stage, his eyelids drooped as he gave a thoroughly bored yawn.
Had the tournament rewards not been so generous, he wouldn't have bothered playing house with a bunch of children.
Winning wasn't even interesting—there was zero challenge.
Soon, Zhuang Xuan's second match arrived. His opponent was a courteous sword cultivator whose demeanor suggested he was a Confucian cultivator practicing the Gentleman's Sword.
"I am Mingtai of the Sword Tower. Please guide me." Holding his sword in both hands with the tip pointing down, Mingtai gave an obedient bow, a bashful smile on his face.
Zhuang Xuan still wore that half-asleep expression.
He had little fondness for polite cultivators like this. They lacked any savage grit. Fooling around during ordinary times was fine, but once they stepped onto a battlefield in a battle of life and death, people like him were always the first to die.
He had clashed with Body Integration stage Confucian cultivators several times before; such cultivators belonged in the imperial court nitpicking words, with no business charging into the fray on the front lines.
*Chi—*
A streak of azure sword light flashed past. By pure instinct, Zhuang Xuan jerked his head back. The azure sword light sliced right across his neck. A cool breeze swept by, and an instant later, a shallow cut appeared on his neck, quickly staining red with blood.
"To reach such sword mastery at his realm?!" a competing cultivator gasped. Some had not witnessed Mingtai's performance in his first match, but seeing him strike now, they immediately realized he was a formidable foe.
"To possess such sword dao attainment at the early Golden Core stage—he could almost rival Old Scoundrel Buyu," an elder of the cultivation world said in astonishment. It had been a long time since the Central Continent had seen a sword dao genius who could compare to Old Scoundrel Buyu.
"This Zhuang Xuan isn't simple either; he hasn't used his full strength from start to finish," another elder nodded. Truly worthy of the struggle of the Golden Age. The earlier divisions had already opened everyone's eyes, and now in the early Golden Core division, prodigies from all quarters were shining brilliantly.
"This is going to be a fierce clash," a tall cultivator murmured slowly, his gaze cold as ice.
He had lost to Mingtai in the first round and had also studied Zhuang Xuan's combat style. If these two clashed, sparks would surely fly.
"What a pity my Turtle Breathing Technique had no chance to shine!"
On the arena stage, a jade pendant slipped from Zhuang Xuan's neck and fell.
The azure sword light earlier had not only left a shallow bloody mark on Zhuang Xuan's neck, but had also sliced through the cord of his jade pendant.
Zhuang Xuan bent down and solemnly picked up the jade pendant. His voice turned low and hoarse, stripped entirely of his earlier lethargy.
"Fellow Daoist Zhuang Xuan, are you finally going to get serious?" Mingtai's eyes burned with anticipation, eager for the fight.
Zhuang Xuan did not answer directly, speaking aloud as if to himself, yet also to Mingtai.
"This jade pendant holds extraordinary significance. My master left it to me on his deathbed. Master said I was an orphan; when he found me, I was clutching this jade pendant in my hand. It is the only clue my parents left me. I have always kept it close to my person, never once letting it touch the ground.
"You are the first person to make it fall.
"Do you know? A dragon has a reverse scale. Touch it... and you die!"
A beast-like roar tore from Zhuang Xuan's throat, sending chills down the spines of all who heard it. He jerked his head up, glaring murderously at Mingtai, his eyes like those of a demon beast that had lost all reason.
"His aura..."
The Qi Control Sect Master was slightly astonished. At this moment, Zhuang Xuan's aura was almost rivaling that of the early Nascent Soul stage.
One had to remember, Zhuang Xuan was only at the early Golden Core stage.
Zhuang Xuan went wild, lunging violently at Mingtai. A shuddering black aura radiated from his entire body. No one knew what technique it was; the only certainty was that nobody would want to be his opponent!
*Boom—*
Zhuang Xuan was swept away by a blast of sword qi, tumbling down beneath the arena stage.
"Phew, that was close, that was so close." Mingtai patted his chest with lingering fear.
Once his racing heart settled, he walked over to the edge of the arena stage, looked down at the dazed Zhuang Xuan, and cradled his sword in a polite bow.
"A towering aura does not equate to towering cultivation. Mingtai has learned a valuable lesson."
Zhuang Xuan blinked, utterly unable to process what had just happened. Wasn't he supposed to go berserk and tear Mingtai to shreds? How had he become the one who lost?
...
"Where on earth did your Sword Tower recruit such a disciple?" Lu Baqian asked, staring at Elder Sikong in shock.
Others might not have seen it, but as a grand cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, he saw it with absolute clarity. That sword strike contained heaven and earth within, exhausting myriad variations. How could it possibly have been slashed by someone in the Golden Core stage?
Even if a Nascent Soul sword cultivator had unleashed it, they would be hailed as a genius!
Seeing Lu Baqian, who had been strutting around showing off all this time, wear such an expression felt more refreshing to Elder Sikong than eating crushed ice in midsummer.
"Heh heh. I already told you: Mingtai is the only person in our Sword Tower to receive the Supreme's inheritance."
...
"Not bad, that sword strike. That's about the level I'd achieve using the Slash Formula." Inside his spiritual space, the captive Lu Yang observed the battle on the stage through the small window left by the Immortal Fairy.
Mingtai's moves were truly unexpected.
If not for Mingtai, he would have almost forgotten he was a sword cultivator himself.
"That little fellow doesn't look human," the Immortal Fairy said, staring at Mingtai for a couple of seconds before quickly losing interest.
She wasn't interested, but Lu Yang was. He hastily asked what she meant.
"He seems to be a sword spirit that developed true sentience and became a living being. Then someone crafted a physical body for him and invited him inside, uniting spirit and flesh as one, making him a true human."
Lu Yang fell into thought. He had the profile dossiers of all the competing prodigies on hand, and Mingtai's dossier stated that he had earned the recognition of the Sword Tower's Supreme and inherited his mantle.
"Could it be that he is the sword spirit of the Sword Tower's Supreme?"
In that case, everything made sense.
Chapter 490