Chapter 778: September Ninth, the Swordsmen are Gathered

The conversation with Xue Wuye had clearly affected Zhang Ruochen. Since Xue Wuye could guess that he had an uncommon relationship with Chi Yao, then other people must be able to guess it too. It was just believed that Zhang Ruochen had died, so they didn’t look too deeply into it.

But once news spread that Zhang Ruochen hadn’t died, people would definitely start digging for the secrets. In the end, they would start investigating the Crown Prince of the Sacred Central Empire from 800 years ago.

Xue Wuye was smart. He wouldn’t do things that would hurt himself. If he wanted to spread the news, he would’ve done so long ago instead of waiting until now. It was possible that he still wasn’t sure if Zhang Ruochen was friend or foe.

Thus, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t very worried. He would just go with the flow and there would be a result in the end.

Zhang Ruochen had come to Sword Saint Xuanji’s residence to see Huang Yanchen. After all, they wouldn’t have many chances to meet after the Sword Technique Conference.

However, he knew that Huang Yanchen had isolated herself to refine a drop of Dragon King’s blood to try for the Eighth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. Thus, he didn’t disturb her.

That day, Zhang Ruochen used all his time to give Han Xue pointers on sword techniques. He didn’t return to the Sword Pavilion until the next day—the eighth of September.

First level of the Sword Pavilion, Qingzi Room 18

This was a huge room, hundreds of feet in either direction. It looked dazzling and vast. The top ten sword geniuses of every realm, determined by the sword challenges, were gathered here at the moment.

Gai Tianjiao, Chan Dong, Zhao Wuyan, Han Qiu, Gai Hao, Mu Jiji, Xun Hualiu… These ten were the top sword geniuses of the Yin and Yang Sect.

Everyone stood on the ground and bowed to the Moon-Burier Sword Saint. “Greetings, Sword Saint,” they said in unison.

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint sat cross-legged on the tall podium in the heart of the room. He wore a purple robe and a violet gold crown. He looked very majestic. “Tomorrow is the Sword Technique Conference,” he said. “You are the wings of the Holy Sect disciples. You will attend this grand event, representing the Yin and Yang Sect. After the recent training, everyone has improved greatly. I’m sure you’ve all prepared well.”

Next, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint gave them more advice before telling them to leave. Only Gai Tianjiao and Zhang Ruochen remained.

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint’s expression was very somber. “The Tao of Sword competition has indeed chosen the elites. Unfortunately, they’re still too young. The battle tomorrow will still depend on you two.”

“I will do my best and protect the honor of the Yin and Yang Sect with my life,” Gai Tianjiao said.

“I will do everything I can to keep the Sword Pavilion,” Zhang Ruochen said.

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint nodded. He looked over at Gai Tianjiao and asked, “Tianjiao, how many drops of divine blood have you refined?”

“Including the three from the Holy Spring, I’ve refined five drops,” Gai Tianjiao said.

“Would you try for the sixth after the sacrificial ceremony tomorrow?” the Moon-Burier Sword Saint asked.

Gai Tianjiao smiled. “If I don’t drink from the Holy Spring, I can try to refine another drop of blood. However, I’ve already reached the extent of the Fish-Dragon Realm. Once I start refining sacred blood, I won’t be able to repress my cultivation realm. I’ll quickly reach the Half-Saint Realm. Once I do so, refining divine blood would be less significant. It’ll be more of a waste.”

The more divine blood a Monk in the Fish-Dragon Realm refined, the better. This was because the Saint Soul wasn’t formed yet. This way, they could cultivate a Deity Print and meld it into the Saint Soul.

The more Deity Prints a Monk’s Saint Soul had, the stronger the Monk was. They would be more sensitive to knowledge of the Saintly Way as well. If they controlled their Saint Soul and released the Deity Prints’ power, they could crush Half-Saints of the same class.

But once a Monk reached the Half-Saint realm, their Saint Souls would already be formed. Even if they refined divine blood and cultivated Deity Prints, they couldn’t meld them into their Saint Souls.

Of course, if a Half-Saint had refined enough divine blood, they could turn their physical body into a Saint. However, even powerful families from the middle ages had very little sacred blood. They could only bring out a few drops every generation to create a Saintly Way foundation for the most excellent Fish-Dragon Realm Monks. This was already a lot.

No one had the divine blood to develop a physical Saint.

As the saying went, good metal should be used on the blade. However, there wasn’t enough good metal. Who wouldn’t want to forge the best sword in the world if there was enough?

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint looked towards Zhang Ruochen. “Lin Yue, you haven’t started refining divine blood, right?”

Zhang Ruochen nodded. “That’s right.”

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint pulled out a three-inch metal box from his sleeve. Pushing his palm lightly, he created a breeze that sent the box flying to Zhang Ruochen. “This is a drop of divine blood. Take advantage of the sacrificial ritual before the Sword Technique Conference starts tomorrow and use the power of the gods to refine it.”

Zhang Ruochen accepted the box. His lips quivered as if he wanted to speak but stopped himself.

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint naturally sensed something wrong with Zhang Ruochen’s expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Do you have any questions?”

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“I only need one drop?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint was taken aback. He quickly smiled and said, “Try it this time. If you can refine it, it’s naturally good news. If you can’t, you won’t feel guilty for wasting a drop of divine blood. When you reach the Ninth Change, the sect will naturally give you another drop. The sect is never stingy towards geniuses.”

“Can’t I refine two drops at once?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

Hearing this, Gai Tianjiao burst into laughter from the side. “Junior Brother Apprentice Lin Yue, I know you’re a genius. However, you might not know how powerful a drop of divine blood is. If you can refine a drop in the Eighth Change, it’s already a huge feat, but you want to refine two at once?”

“Has no one ever done so?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

Gai Tianjiao shook her head. “The Monks who could refine two drops of divine blood in the Fish-Dragon Realm in the entire Kunlun’s Field can be counted on two hands. After refining one drop, it will take one or two years to get used to the Deity Print’s power. They won’t try to refine a second drop until they temper their bodies. No one has refined two drops of divine blood since the middle ages.”

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint also said, “Lin Yue, don’t get too cocky. Talent in the Tao of the Sword doesn’t mean you can withstand the divine blood’s power. A drop of divine blood can burn through a Hundred-Pattern Saint Weapon. Can you imagine how much power is contained in it? Is your body stronger than a Hundred-Pattern Saint Weapon?”

Zhang Ruochen looked at the metal box and asked, “If divine blood is so powerful, how can a Monk refine it?”

Hearing Zhang Ruochen’s unconfident question, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint nodded in satisfaction. “Tonight, I will teach you how to refine divine blood.”

After that, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint told Zhang Ruochen the method of refining divine blood and some things to be careful of. It took until dawn of the next day for Zhang Ruochen to learn everything.

Next, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint led Zhang Ruochen to the square outside the Sword Pavilion. They walked up, step by step, to the top of the altar.

There were thousands upon thousands of beasts chained up on the altar. Later, when the ritual started, they would all be butchered. Their blood would be used to activate the holy bridge to communicate with the various gods.

According to the Moon-Burier Sword Saint’s instructions, Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged in a 70-foot-long pool in the center of the altar.

“Remember, refining divine blood is very dangerous,” the Moon-Burier Sword Saint warned again. “If you aren’t careful, you may die. If you sense that you can’t withstand the divine blood’s power, you must cut off connection immediately.”

“I understand.”

Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and started adjusting his mindset.

The Moon-Burier Sword Saint studied Zhang Ruochen at the bottom of the pool and sighed deeply. He really hoped that Zhang Ruochen could refine the divine blood. That way, he’d be able to compete with Shao Lin. Otherwise, he would be defeated without a doubt.

Of course, he kept these words inside him and didn’t say them aloud. He was afraid that giving Zhang Ruochen too much pressure would make things worse.

Then he walked down the altar. He went out the square’s main entrance to welcome the guests of the Sword Technique Conference.

The sky gradually brightened. A five-colored divine ship, more than hundreds of feet long, flew over from the distance. It was blanketed in multicolored sunlight. It passed through the ancient mountains and landed on the peak of the third mountain.

The swordsmen that would attend the Sword Technique Conference all walked down from the five-colored divine ship. They entered the square outside the Sword Pavilion and gathered around the altar.

The Martial Market Bank, the Imperial Court, the Ministry of War, the Four Symbols Sect, the Demonic Sect, the Eight Trigram Sect … All the top forces of the Kunlun’s Field had Saints leading their groups.

Other than them, there were also some individual swordsmen of high cultivation realms. They’d been invited by the Yin and Yang Sect to be guests at the Sword Technique Conference.

Without a doubt, the swordsmen who could come to the Sword Pavilion were either extraordinary geniuses or big names in the Half-Saint or Saint Realm. There were even some ancient swordsmen who had also appeared here.

After all, swordsmen of the Saint Realm could enter the seventh level of the Sword Pavilion during the Conference and read the Wordless Sword Manual together. Even the ancient figures couldn’t help but be tempted by this.

“Look, the Nine Serenity Sword Saint has arrived. Apparently, he wants a final battle with Sword Saint Xuanji. I wonder who’ll be the one that lives to the end.”

The young swordsmen were all excited after seeing the Nine Serenity Sword Saint. If not for the Conference, they probably wouldn’t be able to see a Sword Saint in their entire lives. But today, many Sword Saints had already appeared. They were all renowned figures.

The Nine Serenity Sword Saint wore a blue-gray cloth robe and simple grass-woven slippers. He seemed common and completely unlike a powerful figure.

Other than him, his five major disciples, Saints and Half-Saints of the eastern Black Market, and some talents of the Fish-Dragon Realm—close to 100 people in total—appeared behind the Nine Serenity Sword Saint.

Soon after, Sword Saint Xuanji brought the swordsmen of the Eastern Region Saint Academy to the Sword Pavilion.

More and more swordsmen were brought over by the five-colored divine ship. The Sword Pavilion became more and more lively too. Legendary figures appeared every now and then, creating a commotion.

Everyone gathered below the altar. Tritons, horns, bells, chimes…all the ritual instruments were played. The Sword Technique Conference’s sacrificial ritual had finally begun.