This was the first time Lu Yang had ever seen a bona fide sword spirit; it was worlds apart from the phony sword spirit inside his Green Blade Sword.
Yue Chuan's sword spirit was definitely of an exceptionally high level; otherwise, Lu Yang would have been able to spot something amiss.
Yue Chuan chuckled, unable to conceal the smug pride on his face. "When I first began cultivating, I had the good fortune of obtaining a sword imbued with consummate spirituality. By nourishing the sword with my heart, I gradually fostered A'lan."
His sword was named the Misty Smoke Sword, so the sword spirit had named herself A'lan.
To deepen his bond with A'lan, he cuddled and embraced her during the day, and at night he used sword nourishment arts to care for her form. Who knew how many people envied him?
"He talks as if he's the only one with a sword spirit! Little Yangzi, take this immortal out and open their eyes!" The Immortal Fairy couldn't stand seeing someone outshine Lu Yang.
Their Great Bean Dynasty possessed vast land and abundant resources, despite its sparse population. As a pillar minister of the Great Bean Dynasty and the future Bean Emperor, how could Little Yangzi not have a sword with a sword spirit?
The Immortal Fairy felt she was doing quite a competent job as emperor. She served as Little Yangzi's second Nascent Soul, and she was even acting as a sword spirit to hold up appearances. In all of history, no emperor had ever been so attentive to their ministers.
"Don't, don't, don't! Fairy, you just recuperate your body and mind inside the Green Blade Sword." Lu Yang hurried to dissuade the Immortal Fairy. If she popped out, that would be disastrous. If anyone asked how he bonded with his sword spirit, the game would be completely up.
Senior Sister Xiaomi and the others discussed the Sword Dao with Lu Yang, feeling as if they had met far too late. Lu Yang possessed remarkably distinctive insights into the Sword Dao, and after hearing him out, they experienced sudden flashes of revelation.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed.
"Let's go. The Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony is about to begin," Senior Sister Xiaomi said, leading the group downstairs.
The venue for the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony was set up beside the Sword Tower—a temporary structure erected right next to the Sword Treasury.
According to Mingtai, just like previous iterations, the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony was divided into three stages: the first stage was an address by the Tower Master; the second stage was the sword inquiry, where cultivation levels did not determine victory and participants competed purely on their comprehension of the Sword Dao; and the third stage was heading into the Sword Treasury to trigger resonance with the spirit swords.
For the sword cultivators attending the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony, their goal was always the second stage, the sword inquiry. This was the chance to prove one's Sword Dao comprehension to all the sword cultivators in the world, representing absolute honor.
Daoist Buyu had once taken first place in a past Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony, after which he had advanced triumphantly, defeated the Sword Tower Master, and gained the title of the foremost figure of the Sword Dao.
"Take my sword!"
"Kunlun Sword Technique!"
"Heaven and Earth Single Sword!"
"Peacock Display Sword Art!"
Taking advantage of the brief lull before the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony began, quite a few sword cultivators engaged in friendly bouts to exchange pointers, fighting right there on the grounds.
Some unleashed a brilliant sword strike capable of tearing space apart; some wielded swords like a peacock fanning its plumage, displaying countless illusory strikes simultaneously while hiding the real attack within; and an octopus held eight swords, spinning around like an iron top so no one could get close.
Previously, having only encountered sword cultivators here and there, Lu Yang had not felt much. But now that the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony was officially convening and sword cultivators from across the world were gathered here, he truly felt shaken as a surging, heaven-engulfing sword intent washed over him.
Aside from special exceptions like Daoist Buyu, most sword cultivators appeared proud, aloof, and taciturn to outsiders because their hearts were entirely devoted to the sword, leaving them with no common language with others.
Once at the Sword Tower, the sword cultivators had finally found kindred spirits. They gathered in twos and threes; though most had never met before, a few words were enough to make them friends.
The immense attention the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony received from sword cultivators was partly for this very reason.
Every sword cultivator possessed an "intent" unique to themselves. Brought together, without any deliberate guidance, these intents coalesced into a sword intent that soared straight toward the heavens. Without utilizing even a wisp of magical power, it dispersed the clouds in the sky, leaving a clear expanse overhead.
Gazing at the blazing sun overhead, Lu Yang thought to himself, *You could at least leave me a patch of cloud. Back in my past life during military training, even the drill instructors took pity on us and knew to pick a shady spot for us to stand at attention.*
Had the setting not been inappropriate, Lu Yang would have wanted to unleash One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords just to block out the sun.
The Sword Tower Master stood at the highest point delivering a speech. Lu Yang didn't catch the contents of the speech because Mingtai was continuously sending him voice transmissions, introducing several sword cultivators who warranted special attention.
"That tall, thin fellow dressed entirely in green is Duan Changqing, a sword cultivator from the Demon Domain. He is a green bamboo that gained sentience, and he shaved off a segment of his own body into a bamboo sword, using himself as a weapon."
It was difficult for spiritual plants to attain sentience, but once they did, they possessed heaven-blessed talent. Among all spiritual plants that attained sentience, none achieved greater heights than Immortal Suiyue.
Even though he had now reincarnated as Li Haoran and was constantly fussed over by Su Yiren every day.
"That androgynous one is Kun Qiu of the Chaos Clan. Supposedly, he is deeply valued by the Chaos Clan's Tribulation Transcendence stage ancestor and has already been confirmed as the next clan patriarch."
Lu Yang took a couple of extra looks at Kun Qiu. Back in the Good Fortune Ancient Realm in the Demon Domain, he had encountered a prodigy of the Chaos Clan, but he had been too busy beating people up at the time to care what race anyone was, so he hadn't gotten a good look.
This Kun Qiu wasn't the Chaos Clan prodigy he had run into back then. Lu Yang estimated that Kun Qiu's age and realm were both higher than his own; he just didn't know by how much.
The Chaos Clan had indeterminate genders, capable of turning male or female, and often possessed an androgynous appearance that made people keep a respectful distance.
Kun Qiu sensed Lu Yang's gaze. The moment he turned his head toward Lu Yang, Lu Yang quickly snapped his head back straight.
"Kun Qiu, what's wrong?" a large black dog beside Kun Qiu asked.
He was a prodigy from the Heavenly Dog Clan, carrying a sword in his mouth. During his youth, he had practiced swordsmanship in his true form; later on, although he was able to take human form, he still preferred wielding a sword in his original form.
"I felt like someone was looking at me. Probably just my imagination."
"Maybe someone was trying to guess your gender again," the large black dog chuckled wryly. Back in the Demon Domain, demons often speculated about Kun Qiu's gender.
Kun Qiu shot a glance at the large black dog. "Shut up. Your drool is leaking out."
Carrying a sword in one's mouth had one major drawback: it made drooling all too easy.
"That one over there is Xuanxuan of the East Sea's Black Tortoise Clan. The Black Tortoise Clan is renowned for defense, yet he chose to abandon defense altogether and immerse himself in the sword. Supposedly, even the turtle shells of his peers in the clan can't withstand his sword."
Xuanxuan had a dark complexion and a burly build. He carried a broadsword on his back, with a little turtle drawn on the hilt—drawn by himself.
At the Old Dragon Emperor's birthday banquet, Lu Yang had seen the Black Tortoise Clan's old patriarch at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, but he hadn't yet had the chance to meet anyone from the younger generation.
Seeing that the Sword Tower Master was still giving his speech, Yun Mengmeng opened a sheet of oilcloth paper, pulled out two pastries, and began secretly nibbling on them.
Lu Yang had bought them for her on their way to the Sword Tower.
Finally, the Sword Tower Master announced the start of the highly anticipated stage: "We now proceed to the second stage: Sword Inquiry!"
Lu Yang wore a confident yet reserved smile. He hoped that during the sword inquiry stage, he could avoid fighting members of the demon race as much as possible. As the senior brother of Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi, fighting demon juniors would only lower his standing.
Chapter 982