At this moment!
A younger boy beside Cheng Qing'er, about fourteen years old, tugged at her sleeve and whispered:
"Sister Qing'er, but what he just said... it sounded so stirring!
Are there really such overbearing lines in the Ancestor's Life Record?
I-I haven't read that far yet..."
Prompted by Cheng Qing'er, the other children realized it too and immediately laughed even harder.
"Hahaha, he really had me fooled just now!
I was even wondering when Xiaohai had become so eloquent!"
"So those were the Ancestor's sayings!
Xiaohai, aren't you ashamed?
Using the Ancestor's words to put on airs!"
"Exactly, exactly! I thought they were lines from some storybook!"
The little bit of "profoundness" Cheng Benhai had been forcing onto his face instantly collapsed. He flushed from the roots of his ears down to his neck, then stiffened his neck and argued with insufficient confidence:
"So-so what if the Ancestor said it!
Th-this is my ambition!
Isn't it?
I-I'm going to become that kind of Sword Immortal someday!
Riding my sword through the sea of stars, ranging across the four seas!"
"Sure, sure, future Starry River Sword Immortal—first get your sword-riding technique to ten zhang!
During the last assessment, your object-manipulation technique couldn't even lift a stone!"
"Hahaha..."
Amid a burst of cheerful horseplay...
Cheng Ping'an, the clan chief who had been watching all along, had an increasingly gentle smile in his eyes.
These children reminded him of his own youth.
Meanwhile, Cheng Huixiang and several older young Mortal Cultivators were much steadier.
They silently put away the treasures bestowed by the Ancestor and exchanged a few quiet words.
"Brother Xiang, this 'Floating Cloud Sword' seems particularly suited to you."
Cheng Wenxuan said softly. In her hands, she held a long sword whose blade shimmered with rippling light like flowing water.