What was Mingtai's identity? He was the personal sword of the Sword Tower Supreme; every spirit sword in the Sword Treasury was his junior.
Yet among swords, there was no distinction between seniors and juniors—that was a human concept. Between spirit swords, there was only strength and weakness; the weak submitted to the strong.
From this perspective, Mingtai was effectively the big brother of every spirit sword in the Sword Treasury. So long as he wished it, every spirit sword would submit to him and follow him out of the treasury.
Mingtai also knew his standing within the Sword Treasury: he was practically an emperor here. If he went inside, there would be nothing left for anyone else.
Thus, being sensible, he walked to the back of the line, intending to enter last so as to give the others a chance.
At the same time, he called out to Lu Yang, "Senior Brother Lu, would you like to enter last with me? There are some things I cannot tell you, but I can promise that when the time comes, if any sword catches your eye, I have ways to make it follow you."
Lu Yang could roughly guess where Mingtai's confidence came from. Since Mingtai was willing to help, refusing would only make things seem distant.
"Alright. Then my thanks in advance, Junior Brother Mingtai."
Mingtai smiled; he wanted to show off his abilities in front of Lu Yang.
Out of respect for Lu Yang, Yun Mengmeng had also been permitted to tour the Sword Treasury. The Sword Tower had even agreed that if she had an affinity with any spirit sword, she could take one with her as well.
"This sword is pretty nice-looking." In a corner of the Sword Treasury, Yun Mengmeng squatted down and looked with great interest at an exquisitely crafted rapier with elaborate patterns and gemstones set into its hilt.
Only the hilt of the rapier stuck out; the blade was buried in the soil.
She poked the sword, but it didn't react at all, which meant the sword shared no affinity with her.
"Come on out and let me see what your blade looks like," Yun Mengmeng said, poking the rapier again.
The rapier transmitted an extremely rude thought, telling this little wench to scram and threatening to teach her a lesson if she kept nagging.
When had Yun Mengmeng ever been cursed at like that? Displeased, she reached out and pulled the rapier straight out of the earth without the slightest effort.
Furious, the rapier vibrated violently, trying to break free from Yun Mengmeng's grip and teach this little girl a lesson!
"Stop shaking." Yun Mengmeng gave the flat of the blade a flick, sending it buzzing loudly.
Seeing Yun Mengmeng bully the rapier, the surrounding spirit swords looked ready to burst out from the ground.
Sensing the commotion, Yun Mengmeng glared at them, scaring the surrounding spirit swords so badly that none dared to stick their necks out.
The rapier also realized that Yun Mengmeng hadn't pulled it out through sheer brute strength, but through total cultivation dominance. Its anger instantly evaporated, leaving it terrified and frozen stiff.
Looking at the bare, plain surface of the blade, Yun Mengmeng found it rather underwhelming. Losing interest, she casually jabbed the rapier back into the dirt.
"I was thinking of giving you to Xiao Zhi as a gift, but you're not pretty enough. Forget it."
Yun Mengmeng didn't care about a sword's quality when picking one—as long as it looked good, it was fine.
"Sword brother, roll with me from now on! We'll work hard together and surely reach the pinnacle of the Sword Dao!" someone said, painting grandiose pictures to cajole a spirit sword out of the ground.
"If you follow me, I promise I can help you evolve into a sword spirit."
"Look, our colors match so well. We're a match made in heaven! Come on out!"
There were also quiet, taciturn sword cultivators sitting silently on the ground, trying to resonate with the spirit swords and move them with sincere devotion.
However, whether through grandiose promises or heartfelt sincerity, every spirit sword remained completely motionless, showing not the slightest intention of paying attention to these cultivators.
"Why aren't you trying to resonate with a sword?" Kun Qiu asked when she saw the big black dog squatting at the entrance like a watchdog.
Before the big black dog could answer, Kun Qiu noticed the drool-covered sword clamped in its jaws.
"Fine, no need to explain. I understand."
Kun Qiu looked at the big black dog with pity. Given how it used its weapon, no spirit sword would ever choose it.
Kun Qiu walked into the Sword Treasury and continually communicated with the spirit swords using her divine sense, hoping one would follow her.
Unfortunately, the spirit swords were dead set on following their Brother Mingtai and ignored Kun Qiu entirely.
She made a wide circuit around the Sword Treasury, and finally, a sword was touched by her sincerity; trembling persistently, it broke through the earth.
Kun Qiu held the sword, overjoyed. The blade was split down the middle into black and white, embodying the way of Yin-Yang and Hundun, making it a perfect match for her.
Mingtai and Lu Yang walked into the Sword Treasury together.
Throughout the ten thousand years following the fall of the Sword Tower Supreme, Mingtai had remained in the Sword Treasury. He could not be more familiar with this place, knowing every single spirit sword resting here.
Just by standing there, he caused numerous spirit swords to stir restlessly, eager to rush into his arms and call him "Brother."
The other sword cultivators noticed the shifting spirit swords and looked toward the treasury entrance in shock, following the swords' gaze.
"Mingtai is resonating with all of these swords?!"
Everyone was flabbergasted. This was utterly absurd; nothing of the sort had ever been heard of in all the history of the Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony.
"Senior Brother Lu, do you know how to choose a sword that suits your heart?" Mingtai asked.
"I would like to hear the details."
Mingtai was an expert in this regard. "A so-called sword of one's heart is a sword that resonates with you. From what I can see, Senior Brother, you likely wish to keep your current sword while wielding a second one?"
Lu Yang nodded.
"In that case, the sword you pick must not only resonate with you, but also with your current sword. Otherwise, your two swords are very likely to clash. Senior Brother Lu, you can try lifting your current sword and releasing your aura alongside its aura. If there is a matching sword, it will stir, and whichever one reacts the most intensely will be the sword that resonates with you best."
Lu Yang knew nothing about this, so he could only do as instructed.
Standing at the entrance of the Sword Treasury, he raised the Green Blade Sword. His Soul Formation stage aura surged, and the Green Blade Sword trembled faintly, dispersing sword qi like ripples spreading across water.
"It has to resonate with the Green Blade Sword as well?" The Immortal Fairy had also been listening intently to Mingtai's theory.
"Since this immortal is now a sword spirit, wouldn't the sword Little Yangzi chooses need to resonate with this immortal too?"
With that thought in mind, the Immortal Fairy secretly released a wisp of immortal rhyme.
This was an immortal rhyme that only spirit swords could perceive; ordinary cultivators could not sense it at all.
The spirit swords sensed Lu Yang's sword spiritual root, sensed the existence of the immortal sword, and sensed that the sword spirit within the immortal sword harbored eternal power. These were the supreme qualities they aspired to above all else!
One spirit sword after another trembled violently in extraordinary excitement. The entire Sword Treasury shook as if struck by an earthquake.
Mingtai was shocked. He assumed some unforeseen accident had triggered a riot within the Sword Treasury and frantically barked orders to placate the spirit swords, but at this moment, none of them obeyed him!
Witnessing this, the Sword Tower higher-ups were even more bewildered, having no idea what was happening. Even if the Sword Tower Supreme had arrived in person, such an anomaly should never have occurred!
Countless spirit swords erupted from the ground and burst from the walls, abandoning their original resting places to fall into neat, orderly ranks. Even the Hundun Yin-Yang Sword that Kun Qiu had painstakingly obtained slipped from her grasp and flew into the air to join the ranks of spirit swords.
Drawn up in immaculate formation like an army awaiting inspection by its general, the spirit swords stood at attention. Wherever Lu Yang's gaze fell, the swords in that direction would flutter with restless excitement, thinking they had been chosen.
Lu Yang turned his head toward Mingtai and said, feeling rather sheepish, "This is my first time doing this, so I don't really have any experience. I can't tell which sword resonates best with me—would Junior Brother Mingtai please offer me some guidance?"
Chapter 990