Mission

Baishui Town branch.

Chen Xuan sat in his study, holding the secret letter sent by Zhao Yuanshan.

There was no writing on the envelope, but the seal was stamped with the unique wax seal of the Guiyuan Sect—a crane spreading its wings in flight, so lifelike that no one could forge it.

Chen Xuan tore open the seal and pulled out the letter.

There was only one sheet of paper, densely packed with small characters. He read it from beginning to end, his brows gradually furrowing.

This assessment mission for an inner disciple was not issued by the Guiyuan Sect headquarters, but by the Tiannan Prefecture City branch.

When an externally stationed disciple applies for promotion to inner disciple, the specific mission can be issued by the headquarters or by the branch in the prefecture where the disciple is stationed.

Chen Xuan's inner disciple assessment mission was the latter.

"Besiege the Seven Kill Sect?"

Chen Xuan whispered the contents of the letter, a hint of gravity flashing in his eyes.

His inner disciple assessment mission was actually to participate in the siege of the Seven Kill Sect.

The Seven Kill Sect.

When Chen Xuan attended the auction at the prefecture city, he had encountered the Seven Kill Sect as they snatched the Seven Kill Sword and then bloodied the Treasure Pavilion, causing quite a stir.

According to the secret letter, the commotion caused by the Seven Kill Sect was even greater now.

Not long ago, the Seven Kill Sect breached a small city called Fenglin City and set up a Blood Sacrifice Array within it.

Fenglin City is located in the southwest of Tiannan Prefecture; although it is not a large city, it has a population of fifty or sixty thousand.

If it were to be blood-sacrificed, it would be a catastrophic tragedy.

Fifty or sixty thousand innocent lives would become nutrients for the Blood Sacrifice Array, and the entire city would be turned into a dead zone.

At this moment, Fenglin City is sealed off by the Blood Sacrifice Array, and because the city is in a remote location, the news has not yet spread.

However, after the Seven Kill Sect appeared in the prefecture city, the scouts of the Three Great Sects had been tracking their movements, so they quickly discovered this information.

The Three Great Sects were furious.

The Seven Kill Sect's actions were not only a provocation to the authority of the Three Great Sects but also a trampling of the bottom line of the martial arts world.

A blood sacrifice to slaughter a city.

How many years had it been since such a thing occurred?

Even in the years following the collapse of the previous dynasty, when the world was in chaos, no faction dared to slaughter an entire city of people through blood sacrifice.

Fifty or sixty thousand lives are not just numbers; they are living, breathing people.

According to the secret letter, the Seven Kill Sect's Blood Sacrifice Array had only just been completed, many members of the sect were still in the city, and the vice sect leader was guarding the array eye with the Seven Kill Sword.

The elders of the Three Great Sects stationed in Tiannan Prefecture City decided to join forces to besiege the Seven Kill Sect before its members could leave.

Due to the urgency of time, it would be too late to call for reinforcements from the headquarters, so the elders of the Three Great Sects in the prefecture city would lead the team, drawing a number of disciples from the surrounding cities to enter Fenglin City, slay the remnants of the Seven Kill Sect, and recover the Seven Kill Sword.

Chen Xuan's assessment mission was to participate in this siege; as long as he killed one member of the Seven Kill Sect at the Zhuqi Realm, the assessment would be considered passed.

If he accepted this mission, he would have to reach Fenglin City within three days; failing to arrive within the specified time would count as giving up.

"Arrive within three days!"

Chen Xuan immediately put away the secret letter and had someone prepare a fast horse.

With his strength, this assessment mission of killing a Zhuqi Realm member of the Seven Kill Sect posed no difficulty.

Therefore, giving up the assessment mission was out of the question.

As long as he became an inner disciple, he could practice divine arts.

In addition, there were other privileges.

For example, he could exchange silver for Guiyuan Sect contribution points, which could then be used to redeem various cultivation resources.

Chen Xuan possessed the Morning and Evening Points, which could grant him a year's worth of internal energy in a single day, so he did not need resources to increase his cultivation, but he could use contribution points to redeem resources that improved his innate talent.

His current innate talent was only upper-middle.

Above that, there was superior talent and top-tier talent, and the rare treasures capable of elevating one's talent from upper-middle to superior could only be redeemed after becoming an inner disciple.

Before long.

His subordinates had prepared a fast horse.

Chen Xuan changed into clean clothes and walked out of the study.

In the courtyard, Wan Guiyun was practicing his sword.

He held a new precious sword in his hand, the blade light like a streak of silk, sometimes like a meteor falling to earth, sometimes like a spirit snake emerging from its hole; his sword momentum was sharp, and his moves were exquisite.

Chen Xuan watched for a while.

Wan Guiyun's swordsmanship was indeed exquisite; every move and stance had reached the realm of perfection, with no hesitation in his strikes.

But he always felt that something was missing from Wan Guiyun's swordsmanship.

This thing is killing intent.

It is not the kind of vicious killing intent, but rather an indomitable, peerless killing intent; Wan Guiyun's swordsmanship feels more like a performance than a life-or-death struggle.

"True Qi!"

Chen Xuan's heart stirred.

The swordsmanship Wan Guiyun is displaying contains fluctuations of True Qi, which makes the sword moves become even sharper.

The opponent has broken through to the Zhuqi Realm.

Although Wan Guiyun's swordsmanship lacks killing intent, his True Qi is incredibly sharp, possessing a terrifying edge that can cut through anything.

The sword qi is sharp and indestructible.

This is the characteristic of the True Qi possessed by the cultivation technique Wan Guiyun practices.

When True Qi contains the indestructible characteristic, no matter what kind of swordsmanship is used—be it ordinary or superior—its power will be greatly enhanced.

If Chen Xuan were to master True Qi with the indestructible characteristic, then when he uses the Nine Shadow Killing Sword, even at the same level of mastery, the power unleashed would certainly exceed that driven by Vajra True Qi.

Vajra True Qi is better suited for defense.

"Helmsman Chen."

Seeing Chen Xuan come out, Wan Guiyun sheathed his sword and stood, cupping his hands in a salute.

"Your swordsmanship is not bad," Chen Xuan nodded, "but it lacks killing intent."

Wan Guiyun was taken aback, then gave a wry smile. "Helmsman Chen is right. I have practiced at Ten Thousand Sword Villa for ten years and have no equal among my peers, but those were all sparring matches that stopped at a certain point; I have never engaged in a true life-or-death struggle."

"Then go out and travel more," Chen Xuan said indifferently. "Tiannan Prefecture may lack many things, but there are plenty of opportunities for life-or-death struggles."

Wan Guiyun nodded thoughtfully.

"Are you interested in a spar?"

Chen Xuan suddenly said.

"A spar?"

Wan Guiyun was stunned, then a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.

He came to Baishui Town claiming it was at the sect master's arrangement, but deep down, he had not entirely abandoned the thought of challenging Chen Xuan again.

In their last spar, Chen Xuan caught his ultimate sword technique with two fingers, leaving him convinced of his defeat, but that was back in the Body Tempering stage, and he had always wanted to redeem himself.

However, after seeing Chen Xuan kill Liu Feng, a third-layer Zhuqi Realm disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, with a single strike, that thought of challenging him had been extinguished.

Now, with Chen Xuan taking the initiative to suggest a spar, the fighting spirit in his heart ignited once more. He has broken through to the Zhuqi Realm, and the ultimate technique he practices, the Taibai Sword Scripture, can now begin to display its power, along with his ultimate martial skill, the One Origin Sword Art.

He wants to see just how large the gap between himself and Chen Xuan still is.