Sword Scar Palace

In the dead of night, a cold wind howled, and snow began to fall again in Tai'a Divine City.

It's snowed twice in the past few days during the new player ranking matches.

Cities like Tai'a Divine City are equipped with layers of grand formations. Activating these formations would keep the city warm and spring-like all year round, but this would waste a lot of energy and is unnecessary. The vital energy gathered by the grand formations of Tai'a Divine City is meant to support martial artists' cultivation.

Yi Yun walked alone on the street, and with each step he took, he could hear the crunching sound of the snow being compacted.

The rows of houses lining both sides of the street exude a rustic charm.

Yi Yun kept replaying the battle from the daytime in his mind.

Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu are undoubtedly strong, and most importantly, they each have their own unique characteristics and strengths.

Chu Xiaoran's comprehension of the laws, Qiu Niu's powerful physical body...

The two of them have become so powerful in their respective fields that they inspire a sense of powerlessness and a lack of confidence in facing them!

Of course, Yi Yun wasn't without confidence. Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu were strong, but Yi Yun possessed the <Tai'a Sacred Law>.

However, the problem is...

The Tai'a Sacred Law cannot be considered Yi Yun's strength.

The Tai'a Sacred Law is powerful. A martial artist who has mastered the Tai'a Sacred Law can completely crush those with ordinary techniques. Fighting opponents of higher levels is as easy as eating and drinking.

However... the Tai'a Sacred Law cannot be considered a "special skill"!

The Tai'a Sacred Law is an absolute power suppression technique. However, if one faces someone who also knows the Tai'a Sacred Law, or even someone whose level of mastery of the Tai'a Sacred Law is higher, such as Qin Haotian, then the advantage of the Tai'a Sacred Law disappears. What remains is a contest in other aspects.

Compare strength, compare laws, compare speed, compare combat experience...

So what were his advantages? How did he manage to defeat Qin Haotian?

Even those at the same level would likely lose!

Yi Yun suddenly realized that his combat strength was still too weak. Apart from the <Tai'a Sacred Law> and the advanced Movement Technique at the Subtle Movement Realm, he had no other advantages.

Yi Yun had great ambitions. Most martial artists would be incredibly excited to have mastered the legendary Tai'a Sacred Law in such a short time. But Yi Yun felt that wasn't enough. He needed to improve every aspect of himself and become an all-rounder without any weaknesses!

For example... swordsmanship!

Yi Yun's swordsmanship has always been weak; in fact, one could say he has no swordsmanship at all.

The sword techniques derived from the Nine Heavens Profound Sword are utterly insignificant to a master.

With that thought in mind, Yi Yun changed his direction and walked along a street for about fifteen minutes before stopping in front of a palace.

Looking up, one sees a ten-foot-long plaque hanging above the palace, bearing three large, bold characters: Sword Scar Palace!

Each of the three characters, every stroke, exudes a sharp and piercing quality, clearly the work of a master.

Yi Yun had heard of the Sword Scar Palace long ago and had always wanted to see it for himself. It was a place where the trial participants of Tai'a Divine City honed their compatibility with their weapons.

Sword Scar Palace: Entering for one hour requires paying one thousand Dragon Scale Rune, equivalent to the Desolate God Hall.

For Yi Yun, a thousand Dragon Scale Rune were nothing. After paying the Dragon Scale Rune, Yi Yun entered the palace.

The palace was not large. In the center of the palace, there was a large square stone. This stone was Eternal Stone produced in the Divine Wilderness. Once something was carved on this stone, even if it was left in the wild for millions of years, the carving would not be weathered away.

The stone walls surrounding the Eternal Stone are covered with various marks, all left by the sages and powerful figures of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom. There are sword marks, knife marks, claw marks, and fist marks!

Regardless of the weapon used, a corresponding mark can be found in the Sword Scar Palace. Within these marks lies the attack intent left by the attacker.

The purpose of coming to the Sword Scar Palace is to comprehend these artistic conceptions.

Just as Yi Yun was about to begin his comprehension, he caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye.

This was a thin, old man with messy hair and beard like straw. Strangely, a blood-red gem was embedded between his eyebrows, which glittered under the light of the eternal lamp in the main hall.

At this moment, the old man was wearing a large gray robe and was comfortably reclining in a grand chair, his eyes half-closed, almost asleep.

Beside the old man was a table with a fruit plate filled with grapes that looked like crystals.

The old man would occasionally reach out, lazily pluck a grape, and pop it into his mouth, looking quite content.

"Senior, you're here too?"

Yi Yun was taken aback. He had seen this old man once before, and the blood-red gem between his eyebrows left a deep impression on Yi Yun.

When Yi Yun went to the Desolate God Hall to absorb the energy of the Ancient Remnant Species, he happened to meet this old man when he came out of the temple. Without warning, the old man attacked and defeated Yi Yun in one move. Then he scolded Yi Yun, saying that Yi Yun's swordsmanship was not good.

At that time, the old man recommended that Yi Yun come to the Sword Scar Palace, Yi Yun actually came here, unexpectedly running into him again.

The old man opened his eyes, glanced at Yi Yun, and laughed heartily, "Kid, you finally remembered this old man's place?"

"Greetings, senior." Yi Yun bowed respectfully. "I've come to study the sword marks left by the sages."

"Knife marks, tsk tsk!" The old man picked a grape, threw it into his mouth, and said, shaking his head, "To comprehend knife marks... do you know which place in the Sword Scar Palace of Tai'a Divine City has the deepest understanding of knife marks?"

In response to the old man's question, Yi Yun shook his head and said, "I don't know."

The old man chuckled, seemingly having anticipated Yi Yun's response. He said, "I'll take you to a wonderful place; I guarantee you'll benefit greatly from it!"

Hearing the old man's words, Yi Yun was overjoyed. It would be wonderful if someone could offer guidance.

"Thank you, senior."

"Hey, it's nothing!" The old man waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, right..."

The old man held out his right hand in front of Yi Yun's eyes, his thumb and forefinger pinched together, revealing a somewhat lewd smile. "Have you brought enough Dragon Scale Rune? The place I'm taking you to will cost an extra fee."

Yi Yun paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's enough."

Collecting more Dragon Scale Rune? That's nothing!

In terms of Dragon Scale Rune, Yi Yun is worth 100,000 coins. There are probably very few places in Tai'a Divine City that he can't afford to enter.

Now, Yi Yun uses cultivation resources without asking about prices, only seeking the best.

"Hmm... that's good!" The old man looked relieved. He said, "The place I'm taking you to later requires 10,000 Dragon Scale Rune, and... one Glory Points as well. By the way, do you still have any Glory Points left? Didn't you pay for the Primordial Relic Medicine once? You should have gained quite a bit, right?"

The old man asked with a grin, and Yi Yun froze.

What!?

10,000 Dragon Scale Rune... plus one Glory Points!!

He didn't hear wrong, did he?

Although he doesn't ask about prices and only seeks the best, there's no reason to charge such a high price.

Is this a robbery?!

Looking at the old man's still lewd smile, Yi Yun felt a chill run down his spine. This old guy looked like a conman. Could he be trying to scam him?

"Senior, are you mistaken? I only spent two Glory Points to buy the <Tai'a Sacred Law>..."

Yi Yun's inquiry was relatively tactful.

The old man shook his head vigorously, "How could that be wrong? That's the price. And this is only because you know me, so I'm giving you a friendly price. Most people wouldn't even be able to get in for this price! That place is no ordinary place. You might find something great inside. As for the two Glory Points you mentioned for the <Tai'a Sacred Law>, that's only the first three volumes. The fourth and fifth volumes will cost five Glory Points, and the price of the last few volumes will increase exponentially. Do you think the complete <Tai'a Sacred Law> will be cheap? So, are you going or not? You can stay there for a whole day once you go in. Don't regret it if you don't go!"

The old man was seducing Yi Yun.

Yi Yun hesitated for a moment. This old man, although he looked like a conman, as a manager of Tai'a Divine City, even if he had no integrity, he couldn't possibly deceive a newcomer.

Is it really worth that price?

Ten thousand Dragon Scale Rune are nothing compared to one Glory Points... This is a precious resource that even the top experts in Tai'a Divine City would cherish!

Just entering to comprehend the teachings requires paying Glory Points, meaning that 99% of the trial participants in Tai'a Divine City have not had the opportunity to enter even once in the past six years!

Even those who can earn Glory Points might not be willing to go in!

Yi Yun now has only three Glory Points left. Two Glory Points were given for breaking the herb gathering record, and with the Primordial Relic Medicine reward, he has one left.

"This trial ground can be entered for a day, which is quite long. As for the rookie ranking competition, there are still seven or eight days left. No one has challenged me in the last two days, so it's fine not to watch the competition..."

Yi Yun was intrigued; he really wanted to see this place for himself.

If he really can't figure out anything, he can't really afford to lose a Glory Points.

So Yi Yun nodded and said, "Senior, please lead the way!"

"Hehe, that's great!" The old man chuckled, patted Yi Yun on the shoulder, and gave him a thumbs up, saying, "Young man, you have a bright future!"

Seeing the old man's money-grubbing expression, Yi Yun grew increasingly suspicious. Was the old man getting a commission for promoting that mysterious trial ground?

Surely the Tai'a Divine City wouldn't make such an unprincipled rule.

Just as the old man was about to leave, he thought for a moment, then picked up a large bunch of grapes from the fruit plate, stuffed them into his pocket, and while picking and eating them, said to Yi Yun, "Come with me, I guarantee you won't regret it!"

[The update is late because some settings weren't finalized. These settings are crucial to the entire book, and due to the tight update schedule, I was worried about potential issues with some settings. Please don't wait for the second update; it will be after midnight...]

...(To be continued~^~)