"Thirty-six Sword Masters, three hundred and sixty Sword Sect Masters. Those numbers are fixed!"
The old man spoke with certainty.
He glanced at Chen Lin, then remembered that Chen Lin was a greenhorn who had only just ventured into the world, so he explained further.
"The Sword Woman set those numbers. Only when an existing holder dies can someone new advance through the Sword Pond's trial."
"Of course, there's another way: a challenge!"
"A challenge?"
Chen Lin looked puzzled.
"Yes, a fight to the death."
The old man nodded.
"But that only applies to Grandmasters and Sword Masters."
"No matter who you are, if your challenge succeeds, you can claim your opponent's title and take their place."
Understanding dawned on Chen Lin.
Grandmaster and Sword Master were cultivation ranks, but not entirely so. They also denoted the strongest people within those realms.
In other words.
Far more people could actually reach the Sword Sect Master and Sword Master realms than those numbers suggested. The positions were simply limited, leaving most unable to claim one.
But if that was the case.
There was no way to estimate how many powerful individuals this Scenario contained. Its danger had just risen dramatically again!
"Has anyone ever challenged Lady Sword Woman?"
Chen Lin asked cautiously.
"Heh."
The old man scoffed.
He seemed to be mocking Chen Lin for not knowing how high the heavens were or how deep the earth ran.
"A single glance from the Sword Woman can kill a Sword Master. She is the ruler of this world, the object of every sword cultivator's faith. No one would challenge her, and no one would dare."
He paused.
The old man took out a gourd and drank from it.
Smacking his lips, he said, "I've heard there were some outsiders who didn't know