Chapter 695: The Sixth Sword Holder

Zhang Ruochen spoke seriously. “I’d like to know if the Completion of Sword One is the full extent of her strength. Is it possible that the power that Qi Feiyu has displayed so far is just the tip of the iceberg?”

A melodious female voice interrupted their conversation from behind. “Senior sister apprentice and junior fellow apprentice Lin Yue, are you going to the Sword Pavilion too?”

Zhang Ruochen and Gai Tianjiao stopped simultaneously, looked at each other, and then turned around to glare at Qi Feiyu who was not far away.

It was quite coincidental that she appeared the instant they mentioned her.

Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, “Senior Sister Apprentice Qi, how is everything going?”

Qi Feiyu caught up using her light footwork. A subtle scent emanated from her and a slight smile hovered on her beautiful face. She said, “Beginning today, I will enter the Sword Pavilion to seclude myself for refining and spare no effort to perceive Sword Two. On the ninth day of September, perhaps I, on behalf of the Yin and Yang Sect, will take part in the Sword Technique Conference.”

Qi Feiyu was a top-seeded warrior of the Yin and Yang Sect. Now that her Tao of the sword was at the Completion of Sword One, she would naturally be cultivated emphatically.

Gai Tianjiao mentioned nothing about the Moon Worship Demonic Sect and remained calm. She said, “Is that so? Then, let’s go together!”

The three of them went to the Sword Pavilion.

This time, the person whom Zhang Ruochen met was not Moon-burier Sword Saint but Qi Hong, the sixth Sword Holder of the Sword Pavilion.

Qi Hong looked like a middle-aged man in his forties and was dressed in a plain cotton garment. Although he was a lofty Half-Saint, he did not have the majesty of one but was instead like a gentle teacher.

Qi Hong fixed his eyes on Zhang Ruochen and Qi Feiyu and smiled as he said, “Good, really good. Both of you have practiced Sword One to the Completion. During the Sword Technique Conference, you are bound to shoot to fame.

“But you have a great mission to safeguard the Sword Pavilion. It is far from enough to reach the realm of the Completion of Sword One.

“My task is to help you enter the threshold of Sword Two as quickly as possible, and then reach the first realm of Sword Two, ‘Yin-Yang Alternation.’ I will now explain what it is and how to integrate the inspiration into the Tao of the sword.”

Zhang Ruochen and Qi Feiyu sat cross-legged, a look of concentration on their faces.

As for Gai Tianjiao, she did not listen to the lecture because she had difficulty practicing Sword Two successfully due to her physical quality.

Qi Hong continued speaking. “Yin-Yang Alternation can be interpreted as the interchanging power between Yin nature and Yang nature. For example, the changes between day and night, or dusk and dawn, are moments of Yin-Yang Alternation…”

Qi Hong explained for four whole hours.

What he said was quite similar to the notes of Moon-burier Sword Saint on Sword Two, but he expounded some sections to make them more understandable.

According to Qi Hong’s explanation, if they hoped to practice the realm of Yin-Yang Alternation successfully, they were supposed to grasp its true essence and then integrate the essence into their Tao of the sword.

The deeper the understanding of its essence, the stronger the Tao of the sword would be.

“In the following month, you can practice on the first level of the Sword Pavilion or its second level. Whoever reaches the realm of Yin-Yang Alternation first will be awarded a piece of Swordsoul Hailstone,” Qi Hong said as he smiled.

The Swordsoul Hailstone was a treasure that only existed in the Sword Pavilion. If one were to ingest it, it could improve a sword practitioners’ realm of the Tao of the sword.

Zhang Ruochen knew the value of the Swordsoul Hailstone. If he could acquire it, he could speed up the practice of his realm of Tao of the sword to the Peak of Heart Integrated into Sword. At the same time, the Swordsoul Hailstone was a great aid to practice Sword Two.

A bright gleam appeared in Qi Feiyu’s eyes. She glanced at Zhang Ruochen, chuckled and said, “Junior fellow apprentice Lin Yue, from now on, we are competitors. I will definitely practice Sword Two to the first realm within one month.”

Actually, Qi Feiyu had already reached “Yin-Yang Alternation,” the first realm of Sword Two, but at that time, she had been reluctant to participate in the Sword Technique Conference. She, therefore, showed only the eighth realm of Sword One.

Now that she had decided to take part in the Sword Technique Conference and repress Li Yue, there was no more need for her to conceal her cultivation.

She simply had to wait for one month and then she could reveal the first realm of Sword Two and win the Swordsoul Hailstone. Moreover, there was a chance that she could practice to the second realm of Sword Two.

It was precisely because Qi Feiyu had already reached the first realm of Sword Two that she knew better than anyone how hard it was to practice Sword Two.

She did not believe that Lin Yue could reach the first realm of Sword Two within a month.

She had already won before the competition even started.

“One month is sufficient.”

Zhang Ruochen looked at Qi Feiyu’s impeccably beautiful face and spoke firmly.

Qi Hong was one of the Qis’ forefathers. He knew Qi Feiyu’s accomplishment in the Tao of the sword.

In Qi Hong’s opinion, even with the substantial resources of the Sword Pavilion, Lin Yue would not be able to advance much in Sword Two, let alone reach its first realm.

After all, even with his Half-Saint realm and decades of arduous practice, he was still at the fourth realm of Sword Two.

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That was why he made the “Swordsoul Hailstone” the reward for the contest—it was his way of giving it to Qi Feiyu.

Qi Feiyu headed to the second level of the Sword Pavilion after listening to Qi Hong’s lecture.

Time on the second level of the Sword Pavilion passed by three times faster than in the external world, while on the first level it was twice faster. Obviously, practicing on the second level was superior.

However, Zhang Ruochen remained on the first level of the Sword Pavilion and borrowed two notes on Sword Two. He went to the eighteenth room of Titled Black.

The room was divided into 36 smaller rooms. Five rooms were closed—apparently, sword practitioners were secluding themselves inside for refining.

Zhang Ruochen randomly selected one room near the corner, walked in, and started the array of the room to close it.

Inside, the small room was a completely independent space that was 30 meters long and wide. It was around the size of two basketball courts. The door and wall were engraved with an Inscription of Array. Even Spiritual Power could not penetrate through it.

“Roar!”

Zhang Ruochen banged his fist on the left wall creating whorls of energy ripples. The array on the wall quickly defused the force.

“The defensive power is so strong. Even a Half-Saint won’t be able to rip through the array in the seclusion house.”

Zhang Ruochen was completely reassured. He took out two notes on Sword Two, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began reading.

The two notes had been compiled by Sword Saint Xuanji and Nine Serenity Sword Saint respectively. They not only contained the two sword saints’ ideas, but they also had a lot in common with Moon-burier Sword Saint’s notes.

After finishing the two notes, he borrowed the notes on Sword Two compiled by six Half-Saint geniuses and continued to study and analyze.

While the notes by the sword saints were highly enigmatic, the Half-Saint geniuses’ notes on Sword two also had merit.

Zhang Ruochen was in no hurry to begin practicing Sword Two and did not plan to mechanically follow any notes on Sword Two to practice.

He preferred to read and learn, and then sum up his own Tao of the sword from every predecessor’s notes.

One month later, Zhang Ruochen finally finished six notes on Sword Two. He sat cross-legged in the seclusion house and entered a meditative state to sort and summarize.

The time that elapsed on the first level of the Sword Pavilion was double compared to the external world. In other words, a month was equal to half a month in the external world

Because Zhang Ruochen had stayed in the seclusion house, no one discovered that he had changed back to his original appearance.

Outside Zhang Ruochen’s seclusion house, Qi Feiyu had a confused look in her beautiful, starry eyes. “Half the allotted time has passed. Is he still staying in the seclusion house and only looking at others’ notes on Sword Two?”

“Yes, he is.”

A lump of Holy Qi condensed and transformed into Qi Hong.

Qi Hong laughed and said, “One compilation of notes on Sword Two is quite enough so that the thinking can be clear and the direction precise. Too much reading will result in a mishmash of thoughts. Even worse, the substantial knowledge of Tao of the sword might drive him mad. Has Lin Yue been driven to the brink of madness?”

Qi Feiyu nodded in agreement.

The Wordless Sword Manual was the simplified Tao of the sword that integrated hundreds of thousands of sword techniques into one move and then divided the move into Sword One, Sword Two, Sword Three…

Lin Yue was too smart for his own good. He complicated simple matters by reading and studying every legend’s notes.

A jack of all trades, master of none.

“It seems that I have overestimated him.”

She pursed her red lips, disappointed with Lin Yue. She had thought he was a worthy opponent. She never thought that he would ruin himself this way.

Qi Hong said, “He won’t even compete against you. This Swordsoul Hailstone will certainly belong to you. With the treasure’s help, you have a great chance to practice to the second realm of Sword Two before the Sword Technique Conference.”

“Swoosh!”

The array’s light on the door of the seclusion house dissipated gradually.

Zhang Ruochen opened the door and walked outside. Seeing Qi Feiyu and Qi Hong standing outside, he asked with a glimmer of a smile, “Predecessor Qi Hong and Senior Sister Apprentice Qi, are you going to seclude yourselves for refining?”

Ignoring the astonished look on their faces, Zhang Ruochen returned six notebooks about Sword Two to the bookshelf and stepped straight out of the Sword Pavilion.

Qi Feiyu saw that Zhang Ruochen looked energetic and seemed to have made progress in his realm of Tao of the sword. He did not show any sign of madness at all.

Her long black eyebrows converged slightly. She said, “His Tao of the sword has improved a lot again. It is so strange. I will follow him to see what he has done.”

Qi Feiyu took the form of a shadow and followed Zhang Ruochen out of the Sword Pavilion.