His Favorability had reached seventy-five points. It probably wouldn't be long before the status went from "Like" to "Admiration."
Gu Chengming felt a faint sense of anticipation.
What new skill would Hundred Bones unlock once Favorability reached its max?
Before he could think any further, one of the elders on the High Platform had already risen to his feet.
The elder was an old man with hair and beard as white as snow. They said he was Elder Zhou, responsible for recording the results of this assessment.
He held a Jade Slip in his hands and gently infused it with Spiritual Power.
In the next instant, a screen of light projected from the Jade Slip, hovering above the Sword Seeking Platform. Names began arranging themselves across it in dense rows, following some sort of pattern.
It was the overall ranking for the Dao Heart assessment.
The disciples all looked up, searching for their names. Some were delighted, others disappointed, while a few wore expressionless faces, clearly having expected their results.
When everyone saw the name at the very top, the entire place fell silent for a moment.
[Gu Chengming]
[Dao Heart Rating: Grade A-Plus]
[Comment: Broke free of the illusion in mere dozens of breaths; showed no injury or hesitation under the Spirit Guiding Art. His Dao Heart was unshakable, discerning delusion and returning to truth. Rating: Grade A-Plus.]
The comment was especially striking. It meant not only that he had been the first to break free of the Illusion Realm, but also that his performance inside it had been judged flawless.
Even among Inner Sect disciples, very few could earn such a commendation.
Countless gazes converged on Gu Chengming.
There was surprise, confusion, admiration, and a faint trace of jealousy.
Some people knew Gu Chengming and had heard of his deeds, leaving them feeling rather out of sorts.
This world really was becoming harder and harder to understand.
Jiang Lu stared at the name in first place on the Golden List, mouth hanging open. It took him a long moment to close it.
"Senior Brother Gu... your Dao Heart truly is admirable."
Before the disciples' murmuring below could die down, another elder in a purple robe, a sword strapped to his back, drifted down from the High Platform.
"Silence."
His voice was not loud, yet it rang as clearly as a sword's chime, instantly suppressing the clamor.
“Next, the Sword Dao test.”
After the elder left, the disciples were given a short break, and whispers began to spread among them once more.
Seeing this, Jiang Lu immediately moved beside Gu Chengming and explained:
"That was Elder Gongsun from Xijian Peak. The Daoist Art used in the next test is called the Mirroring Sword Art."
"The Mirroring Sword Art?" Gu Chengming asked curiously.
Seeing his interest, Jiang Lu filled him in:
"That's right. They say this Daoist Art was brought back in the early years by the legendary Life-Defying Tribulation-Slaying True Monarch, who, er... helped himself to it from Yunyue Sect."
After a pause, he added:
"Senior Brother should know that although Yunyue Sect is a major Sword Cultivator sect, it used to be the Law Sect and excels at the art of music. They believe in wielding swords through sound, making Sword Qi blaze like a rainbow. The original version of the Mirroring Sword Art was called the Myriad Phenomena Harmonious Domain. It was originally used to test disciples' aptitude for Daoist rhythms."
"Our True Monarch thought the method was brilliant. Music rises and falls in rhythm, while Sword Intent varies in strength and clarity; though their paths differ, they lead to the same destination. So he borrowed it and made a few changes, turning it into the Mirroring Sword Art we have today, which can reflect the true form of one's Sword Intent."
At the familiar name, Gu Chengming nearly lost his composure.
That "Life-Defying Tribulation-Slaying True Monarch" again?
The Flowing Light Sword Shadow had apparently also been stolen by this Life-Defying Tribulation-Slaying True Monarch from Yunyue Sect's Flowing Cloud Following Moon Sword.
Why keep shearing wool from the same sheep?
Just as Gu Chengming was grumbling to himself, Elder Sun in the arena formed a seal with both hands.
"Rise!"
At his low shout, an invisible wave instantly enveloped the entire Martial Arts Platform.
The air seemed to fill with some unseen medium, like taut strings, magnifying the sound of the wind, the disciples' breathing, even their heartbeats several times over. Sword Intent filled the air.
This was the "Mirroring Sword Art."
The Sword Domain was a bright mirror, reflecting all phenomena.
Elder Gongsun closed his eyes and focused, hovering in midair as his Spiritual Sense spread out.
"Hum—"
A faint white light first appeared above one disciple's head. It flickered like a candle flame, weak yet carrying a sense of tenacity.
Gongsun Ye sensed it with his heart and gave a slight nod.
His Sword Momentum is like a pine tree, with a steady foundation. Average.
One after another, more lights began to shine across the Martial Arts Platform.
Countless Sword Intents descended like a river of stars, each point of starlight representing a disciple.
Under the Mirroring Sword Art, nothing was hidden: the strength of each radiance, the speed at which it flowed, and the distinction between clarity and murkiness.
Yet just then, a sudden change occurred.
As the musical vibration known as the "Mirroring Sword Art" swept over Gu Chengming's body and penetrated his meridians and Sea of Qi, a line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Flowing Cloud Following Moon is kind of disgusting]
The words seemed to carry resentment, steeped in a gloomy, world-weary tone.
[This is so annoying. Why do I have to be examined with a sound like this?]
Gu Chengming's heart tightened. This is bad.
[So many Sword Cultivators... so many self-important Sword Intents...]
[I want to die.]
Then the text's tone shifted, its world-weariness turning aggressive.
[It would be great if there were no Sword Cultivators in this world.]
Outside.
Gongsun Ye, who had been sensing the Sword Intents throughout the arena with his eyes closed, suddenly furrowed his brow.
He had sensed an extremely discordant aura.
"What is this..."
Gongsun Ye abruptly opened his eyes. Above Gu Chengming's head, unlike everyone else's, no distinct sword shape or beam of light had appeared.
Instead, there was a roiling mass of... mist, scarlet as blood.
The blood mist was not large, but so dense it looked as though it could drip blood.
The Sword Intents of the disciples around it, which had been vying to outshine one another, dimmed the moment this "Blood Sun" appeared, as though they had encountered their natural enemy. Some even crumbled outright.
"This Sword Momentum..."
Although Gu's Sword Intent, which "targeted only Sword Cultivators," was strange,
there was no question about its strength: it was top-tier.
Compared to the other points of starlight, that blood-red Sword Intent shone like a blazing sun.
Elder Gongsun, of course, remembered Gu Chengming. After all, Gu had just claimed first place in the Dao Heart test by an overwhelming margin.
At the time, Elder Gongsun had cursed Ren Wencai's dog luck for taking in a disciple with such a resolute Dao Heart. He had then comforted himself by thinking the boy looked to be only at First Realm Level Five and was probably just a blockhead with poor aptitude.
But now, that slap had left his face stinging.
How could this be poor aptitude?
Such Sword Momentum was like the sun hanging in the sky, domineering and unrivaled. It had clearly already brushed against the threshold of "Intent Condensation"!
Most of the disciples present had not even figured out Sword Momentum yet, much less condensed such a substantial embryonic Sword Intent.
This young man was a true Sword Dao prodigy!
But... the shock in Elder Sun's eyes gradually gave way to confusion.
Wasn't this Sword Intent far too "extreme"?
Ordinary Sword Intent might spread like a prairie fire or flow like a gentle stream; it might be fierce or soft.
But Gu Chengming's Sword Intent made him feel as though... Gu hated swords.
As though he hated every Sword Cultivator beneath the heavens.
"Strange... very strange."
Elder Sun furrowed his brow, unable to stop all sorts of guesses from rising in his mind.
Could this young man be burdened with some blood feud?
There had been similar cases in Wenjian Sect's history.
Some disciples had lost their entire families, while others had been persecuted by certain Aristocratic Clans, planting seeds of hatred in their hearts.
They did not practice the sword to seek the Dao or pursue immortality. They did so purely for revenge.
Such disciples often had such deep obsessions that their Dao Hearts were exceptionally firm, and they advanced by leaps and bounds.
But that path was too bitter and too perilous.
More often than not, they ended up burdened with a mountain of sins and met a tragic end, leaving others to lament their fate.
Looking at Gu Chengming's calm, placid face, Elder Sun felt a pang of sympathy.
Alas, another poor child. Such intense hatred... who knew what terrible injustice he had suffered?
Elder Sun gathered his thoughts and stopped letting his imagination run wild. He simply resolved to look into Gu Chengming's background records later. If the boy had truly suffered an injustice, perhaps the sect could guide him and keep such a promising talent from going astray.
As the red light slowly faded, the Sword Dao test came to an end.
There was no specific ranking for this round.
After all, the Sword Dao followed the natural order in myriad ways.
Some excelled at attacking, others at defending; some wielded light and nimble swords, while others wielded heavy swords without an edge.
There was no absolute measure of superiority, making it difficult to assign a numerical score as they had for the Dao Heart test.
Even so, judging from the strength of the light reflected by the Mirroring Sword Art, everyone had their own sense of how things stood.
Gu Chengming's rating was beyond doubt—Grade A-Plus!
Of course, this time he was not the only standout.
Besides him, several disciples from other gates had also shown talent in the Sword Dao, and all received Grade A-Plus ratings.
Meanwhile, on the High Platform.
The atmosphere had turned strange.
Several elders could no longer sit still.
If they could still comfort themselves after the first test by saying Gu Chengming was simply strong in one area, this Sword Dao test left them no way to keep doing so.
A resolute Dao Heart and extraordinary Sword Momentum.
He was practically born to be a Sword Cultivator!
The elders looked at Ren Wencai with shock, envy, jealousy, and resentment.
A red-faced elder slammed his teacup onto the table and said sourly:
“Elder Ren, that's not very sporting of you, is it? That's no way to keep a talent hidden. You let a Sword Dao prodigy like him languish for three years? If you'd sent him to the Inner Sect for special training sooner, he'd probably already have reached the Second Realm by now.”
The other elders chimed in one after another.
As if! Were they really going to let Ren Wencai enjoy the spoils and still play the humble one?
Ren Wencai slowly blew the tea leaves floating on the surface of his tea and sighed:
Before you continue