About ten days passed.
Over at Kunlun, the matter of becoming Dao Companions with Xu Yinglian seemed to have been settled.
The junior sister herself had made no further objections. She merely practiced the Kunlun Sword Control Art outside her cave dwelling, day and night without rest.
She was putting all her strength into beating her senior brother at swordsmanship!
Of course, becoming Dao Companions was ultimately just a matter of status.
What truly mattered was that after becoming Dao Companions, he could bring up Dual Cultivation openly and legitimately...
But that could wait. Since it involved Xu Yinglian's obsession and perhaps even her heart demon, they would have to wait for further arrangements from the Ziwei Sect Master.
These past few days, Qiu Changtian had simply circulated his qi with the Circulating Qi Refining method, enjoying this precious, hard-won time without his junior sister disturbing him.
Every so often, he used the Kunlun Mirror to travel through time and space, returning to Shushan at the point of his previous save. There, he continued patiently lying low as Ling Yunpo, pretending to cultivate.
Unfortunately, since he hadn't shown off for several days, the synchronization value of Qiu Changtian's Invincible Persona had begun to slowly decline.
One morning, Ling Yunpo finally "struggled" through the three trials and reported the good news to Senior Sister An.
"Wonderful, junior brother!" An Zhisu said with delight. "As far as I know, the fastest anyone at Shushan has ever cleared the three trials took about seven days."
"Entering the Qi Refining Stage within ten days proves that your cultivation aptitude is top-notch, too. It's a shame Master is in seclusion. Otherwise, I'd have to tell him this wonderful news..."
"Senior Sister." Seeing that she was about to lapse into sadness again, Ling Yunpo hurriedly changed the subject and asked curiously, "Someone at Shushan opened their qi sea in just seven days? They were even more impressive than me? Who was it?"
"Me." An Zhisu said sheepishly. "Really, whether it takes three days more or three days less doesn't matter much. We Sword Immortals of Shushan don't insist on fast qi refining. What matters most is our signature skill, the Sword Control Technique."
"I see." Ling Yunpo pretended to be disappointed. "So clearing the three trials in ten days doesn't count as particularly impressive aptitude after all..."
"No!" Seeing the disappointment on her junior brother's face, An Zhisu hurriedly backtracked. "The time it takes to clear the three trials can still reflect the quality of one's aptitude!"
"It's just that there isn't such a big difference between seven days and ten..."
She stammered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject again.
"Oh, right! Now that you've mastered the Sword Control Technique, I'll take you to the Sword Pool to choose a sword!"
As she spoke, An Zhisu summoned her own flying sword with a radiant smile. She took Ling Yunpo aboard, and they rose straight into the sky.
"Senior Sister, that flying sword of yours is..." Ling Yunpo asked curiously, pretending he had never seen one before.
"It's my Destiny Sword Artifact, a Tenth-Order Water Element sword called Shuangjiang." An Zhisu explained.
Ling Yunpo murmured in acknowledgment, then asked:
"What's a tenth order? And what's the Water Element?"
"I was just about to explain it to you, junior brother." An Zhisu beamed.
"Depending on the materials used to forge a flying sword, the environment and time, and even the swordsmith and the Daoist magic used to seal it, swords can be classified according to the Five Elements into Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth."
"Likewise, based on the materials used and the swordsmith's skill, the Heavenly Stems Sword Forging Method ranks them from lowest to highest as Gui, Ren, Xin, Geng, Ji, Wu, Ding, Bing, Yi, and Jia. But we generally refer to them by number, from First to Tenth Order."
"The First through Ninth Orders correspond respectively to the Nine Realms of Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. If a flying sword's order is higher than its Sword Immortal's, that can still be addressed by sealing it. But if its order is lower, it's like a general wielding a weapon that doesn't suit him. The Sword Immortal won't be able to bring out his full strength."
"As for the Tenth-Order flying swords at the very top, they're 'flying swords whose power even immortals can unleash.' That's why they also have the nickname 'Immortal Swords.'"
"I see." Though Ling Yunpo already knew all this, he still smiled and asked, "I wonder if I might be lucky enough to receive an Immortal Sword?"
"Tenth-Order Immortal Swords are extremely rare among the flying swords in the Sword Pool." An Zhisu hesitated, then comforted him. "But don't take it too much to heart, junior brother."
"The most ingenious aspect of Shushan's Sword Control cultivation method is 'Nourish Sword with Body.'"
"As long as the flying sword itself isn't too low in order, once you refine it into your Destiny Sword Artifact, it can be tempered as your cultivation improves. There's even a chance its order will rise."
Ling Yunpo nodded, though he thought to himself:
If I'm going to get a Ninth-Order sword and nourish it with my body until it reaches the Tenth Order, why not just get a Tenth-Order sword to begin with?
What if I manage to raise it to the Eleventh Order?
Of course, going by what Senior Sister had implied, it wasn't as if he could simply pick whichever flying sword he wanted from the Sword Pool.
Perhaps he would have to pass some kind of test.
An Zhisu piloted her flying sword, carrying Ling Yunpo to the skies above Sword Peak.
The Sword Pool was a pond of emerald-green water.
They said that every drop of water in the pool was actually a transformed flying sword.
Shushan's Sword Immortals loved a fight and were obsessed with swords, even more so when they were out in the wider world.
Whenever they crossed swords with other cultivators and won, they would often seize their opponents' flying swords and toss them into the pool after returning.
Over time, that had created the Sword Pool.
Countless flying swords clashed and honed one another within it. From the outside, all one saw was a pool of spring water, rippling on its own without a breeze—a truly breathtaking sight.
As for Shushan disciples who needed a sword, all they had to do was stand near the Sword Pool and circulate Shushan's Sword Control cultivation method. Any flying sword willing to answer their summons would emerge.
Whether the flying sword was good or bad, though, was beyond their control.
An Zhisu brought Ling Yunpo down in a streak of sword light. As soon as they touched down, she began explaining the history of the Sword Pool, recounting its origins in detail.
Ling Yunpo listened in amazement, clapping his hands in admiration.
The two had only just walked forward when a Shushan disciple guarding the Sword Pool came over to check their identities.
"Wait. You are..."
The moment the female disciple got a clear look at An Zhisu's face, she cried out in shock.
"You're the Grass Cutting Sword Immortal..."
Before she could finish, the male disciple beside her dragged her behind him and glared sternly to silence her. Then he turned around and asked, bracing himself:
"Senior Sister An, have you come to take a sword?"
"If I've come to the Sword Pool, what else would I be here for?" An Zhisu smiled gently. "To challenge you to a sword fight?"
The male disciple immediately panicked and blurted out:
"I injured my meridians while practicing my sword the other day, so I can't fight! Please don't challenge me, Senior Sister An. That nickname wasn't even made up by anyone from our peak—it came from another peak! If you're looking for someone to blame, blame the person who started it. Please don't mistake me for them!"
"Now, junior brother, there's no need to say that." An Zhisu laughed in disbelief. "You're a Marrow Cleansing Stage disciple, while I'm at the Abode Transformation Stage—an entire realm above you. How could I challenge you to a sword fight? That would be bullying someone weaker than me and breaking the sect rules, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, yes, of course. Senior Sister An, have you come to take a sword? This way, please. This way." The male disciple was so relieved he nearly collapsed. He hurriedly bowed and ushered them through.
An Zhisu walked forward unhurriedly, with Ling Yunpo following behind her. He saw the male disciple wiping sweat nonstop, while the female disciple hid behind him, looking frightened and bewildered.
After they had left the two disciples behind, Ling Yunpo stepped forward and smiled.
"I've seen just how famous Senior Sister is."
"What fame?" An Zhisu shot him a glance and said helplessly. "It's just that after Master abruptly entered seclusion, the other Shushan peaks began targeting Green Snail Peak. Every few days, they'd send disciples to provoke us and demand a sword fight."
"After enough fights, everyone got to know each other. It wasn't anything like fame."
"I see. So this is what they mean by 'you don't know someone until you've fought them.'" Ling Yunpo nodded. "But who was that senior sister talking about just now, the 'Grass Cutting Sword Immortal'?"
An Zhisu was mortified. After a long pause, she muttered:
"Who came up with that awful nickname?"
"After Master went into seclusion, far too many people came to challenge me to sword fights. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to make an example of them, so I was forced to be a little heavy-handed... How did that turn into 'cutting grass'?"
Ling Yunpo put on a look of sudden realization, then said coldly:
"I understand. Those challengers must have been sore losers, so they spread rumors and slandered Senior Sister."
"Just hearing the name 'Grass Cutting Sword Immortal,' I'd have thought Senior Sister had once slaughtered countless people. Whoever started that rumor sullied your good name. They're truly despicable!"
"When have I ever slaughtered countless people?" An Zhisu gritted her teeth and said, burning with embarrassment. "When have I ever killed indiscriminately?"
"If someone came to challenge me politely, I'd stop after a few exchanges."
"If they spouted nonsense or showed malice, I'd generally just sever their Destiny Sword Artifact, damage their cultivation, and teach them a lesson."
"On the odd occasion, I'd lose control and run them through the chest... But afterward, I did my best to save them!"
"Senior Sister handled it properly." Ling Yunpo nodded. "Those who came here to provoke you out of malice deserved to die! Um... So how many died?"
"About... one or two times out of every twenty, I'd lose control." An Zhisu grew uneasy.
Ling Yunpo: ?
Before you continue