Testing the Sword

Qin Family Meeting Hall.

The four elders had just left when the atmosphere in the hall grew tense.

A dozen or so Qin family disciples swarmed forward, surrounding Shen Zhou and his three companions with hostile expressions.

Seeing this, Ximei cowered behind Shen Zhou in fear.

A Dai and San Mazi also stiffened, their hearts pounding with tension.

Shen Zhou, however, wore a cold smirk, thinking to himself: "It seems I won't have to wait for those elders to finish their discussion. I can use these fools to sever ties with the Qin family right now."

Given what he already knew, it wasn't hard to guess what they were after.

Sure enough, someone soon made a move.

Qin Mingshu, as Qin Mingyue's younger brother, had been more concerned than any other clan youth about who pulled out the ancestral divine weapon ever since he learned of it. Now, looking at Shen Zhou before him, he made no effort to hide his contempt. "You've got no strength, no talent, no skill, no background... A nobody like you thinking you can marry my sister? What a delusion. If you know what's good for you, get out on your own, or I'll have to throw you out myself!"

The other Qin disciples said nothing, but their expressions were all dripping with scorn and mockery toward Shen Zhou.

Shen Zhou wasn't bothered. Instead, he gave a playful smile and said, "You're right. The Qin family is a second-rate clan, and who knows, maybe it'll drop to third-rate later. A family that's already in decline and struggling, yet whose disciples don't bother to work hard and just strut around with arrogance—I really wouldn't dare to 'rise above my station.'

Since you look down on me too, that's perfect. Let's just part ways.

Farewell!"

With that, Shen Zhou turned and led the three little ones away without a hint of hesitation.

Qin Mingshu was stunned.

He hadn't expected to drive Shen Zhou off so easily.

Shouldn't the guy have been begging on his knees to cling to the Qin family's coattails?

But someone quickly snapped out of it and blocked Shen Zhou. "Wait... you can leave, but leave our ancestor's divine weapon behind."

Hearing this, Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow.

He didn't care about marrying Qin Mingyue.

He didn't care whether the Qin family liked him or not.

But giving back the Taixuan Sword? No way.

So Shen Zhou turned and shot back, "I pulled the sword with my own skill. Why should I leave it for you?"

"But that's our ancestor's divine weapon! You have no right to take it!"

"Since I pulled it, it's mine now. I have no right? Do you?"

"You..."

The other choked, then flushed with rage. "No matter what you say, the sword belongs to the Qin family. You have to leave it behind, or you're not stepping out of our gates!"

Shua shua shua!

Over a dozen Qin disciples stepped forward in unison, pressing down on Shen Zhou with their presence.

The message was clear—they were ready to use force!

Seeing this, Shen Zhou only grinned wider. He reached out, and the Taixuan Sword materialized in his right hand. With a curl of his lips, he said, "Right, why bother with reason? Truth is, I'm not that fond of it either.

Now, the sword is right here.

If you've got the guts, come and take it!"

With that, Shen Zhou shielded the three little ones behind him, gave his wrist a light flick, and the blade hummed like a dragon's roar from the deep, vibrating without end.

At the same time, a defiant, fearless aura spread from him.

Don't like it? Come at me.

That was Shen Zhou's stance.

Sensing the shift in his presence, many Qin disciples turned to look, but soon their attention was drawn back to the Taixuan Sword.

A divine weapon...

A secret trove...

A god-king's inheritance...

Thinking of all the rumors about their ancestor's divine weapon, the younger Qin family members couldn't contain their excitement.

Then, a young disciple named 'Qin Zhong' was the first to lose his restraint and charged forward. "Kid, you dare act arrogant in the Qin family? Let me teach you some manners. Watch my sword!"

As he spoke, Qin Zhong's blood energy erupted, pushing his Blood Coagulation Ninth Realm to its peak. His momentum was even fiercer than many martial hall masters in White Sheep County who had trained for twenty or thirty years.

But his skill was nothing before Shen Zhou.

"You want to teach me manners? Afraid you're not qualified. Get lost!"

Shen Zhou barked, swung his longsword, and a violent Sword Qi burst forth, carving a rainbow through the air before slamming into Qin Zhong.

Before Qin Zhong could even get close, his sword snapped and he was sent flying back, spraying blood all the way. The entire exchange took no more than a blink.

The Qin family crowd's faces changed color.

A Blood Coagulation Ninth Realm like Qin Zhong couldn't even last one move?

If you find this book enjoyable, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose track of it.

Wasn't that guy called Shen Zhou supposed to have no blood energy at all? How could he still slash out Sword Qi?

Amid their confusion, someone turned their gaze back to the Taixuan Sword in Shen Zhou's hand and immediately realized something, their pupils contracting sharply.

"That guy really has no blood energy, but he's holding the Taixuan Sword!"

"Could that last sword strike have been the power of the Taixuan Sword?"

"An ancestral divine weapon can give someone who knows nothing about martial arts such immense strength in an instant? That's too heaven-defying!"

At this sight, the thoughts and reactions of the Qin family disciples mirrored those who had scrambled for the sword on the arena earlier.

After seeing Shen Zhou defeat Qin Zhong with the divine sword's might, their first thought wasn't how untouchable Shen Zhou had become, but rather: "If someone who doesn't understand martial arts can be this formidable with the Taixuan Sword, what would happen if I got my hands on it?"

As the saying goes, greed makes people foolish, and desire turns them into idiots.

These young juniors of the Qin family were now utterly captivated by the heaven-defying power the Taixuan Sword had displayed, unable to extricate themselves.

Immediately, three more youths leaped out, their sword tips pointing at Shen Zhou as they shouted, "How dare you! You still have the nerve to act out in our Qin family? You're asking for death!"

"Less talk with him—seize him!"

"Hand over the sword!"

As they spoke, the three simultaneously erupted with blood energy and launched a coordinated assault on Shen Zhou, each move a killing blow.

Shen Zhou's eyes sharpened, and the tip of his sword lifted again. "You push your luck. Since that's the case, don't blame me for holding back!"

Boom...

"What? The Taixuan Sword can give someone who doesn't understand martial arts such power in an instant?"

While the battle raged in the front hall, the four elders, who had been secretly observing from the rear hall, were also startled by the strength Shen Zhou had just displayed.

Qin Changfeng and Qin Yihu were fine—they had seen it before at the arena—but the Great Elder Qin Changlin and the Fourth Elder Qin Suyun were witnessing it for the first time.

Qin Changlin was visibly moved, a sharp light flashing in his eyes as he said, "Truly worthy of being an ancestral divine weapon!"

Qin Suyun immediately urged, "Big Brother, with the Taixuan Sword's power, I now believe even more in the prophecy left by our ancestors: 'When the Taixuan Sword emerges, the Qin family will rise again.'

This concerns the great matter of our Qin family's resurgence. I think we must take the sword back!"

Qin Yihu chimed in, "Fourth Sister is right. If this sword is this powerful in the hands of a boy who can't fight, then if it were given to our ancestor at the Celestial Firmament Realm, what would we have to fear from the five great families of Yang, Xu, Chu, Wu, and Lin now?"

Qin Changlin had calmed down from his earlier excitement. After hearing their words, he didn't make an immediate decision but instead pondered for a moment, then looked at the Second Elder Qin Changfeng and asked, "Second Brother, what do you think?"

Qin Changfeng thought it over and said, "Third Brother and Fourth Sister make good points, but there's a premise here: that anyone can use the sword once it's taken back. If the sword only recognizes the one who drew it, then what's the point of taking it back?"

"This..."

Qin Yihu fell silent.

Qin Changlin also furrowed his brow slightly.

A sword that chooses its wielder—that was the most troublesome part.

Qin Suyun narrowed her eyes, then decisively said, "This is too important. Regardless, we should take the sword back first and try it. If it doesn't work, we can still control that boy later."

Qin Changfeng frowned. "If we use him after the fact, aren't you afraid he won't cooperate then?"

Qin Suyun sneered, "With someone like him who has nothing, it's his great fortune that our Qin family even has a use for him. Would he dare not cooperate?"

Qin Changfeng glanced at the battle situation in the meeting hall and said with a worried expression, "I'm not so sure about that..."

Violent Sword Qi rampaged through the meeting hall, tearing everything around it to shreds and scattering it in chaos.

In a short time, the only ones still standing in the hall were Shen Zhou and the three little ones. As for the Qin family disciples, they were all lying on the ground, each injured and groaning incessantly.

Even Qin Mingyue, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, was now on one knee, her sword planted on the ground, her face pale as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth onto the floor.

She looked up at Shen Zhou with a complex expression, gritting her silver teeth. "Why? Why couldn't I be the one to draw the ancestral divine weapon? Why?!"

Qin Mingyue had never felt such resentment before.

She had devoted herself to martial arts since childhood, vowing to reach the peak. Though her talent wasn't the absolute best and being a woman came with many inconveniences, none of that had ever shaken her resolve to grow stronger.

Over more than a decade, through relentless effort, she had become the leader of the Qin family's younger generation, her strength rivaling even Xu Baxia at the same age.

But just now, she had been taken down in a single move by a boy who knew no martial arts, relying solely on a divine weapon. It made all her years of effort seem like a joke.

Along with the blow came deep envy and jealousy.

Why couldn't she be the one to wield such a divine weapon?

Wasn't she a true Qin family disciple, and the most outstanding of the younger generation? Why hadn't the ancestral divine weapon chosen her when she drew it?

"If the sword were in my hands, reaching the peak of martial arts would be effortless, just around the corner!"

Qin Mingyue stared at Shen Zhou, suddenly clenching her fist, a hint of madness radiating from her.

It was this aura that made Shen Zhou take a second look at her, but that was all.

Withdrawing his gaze from Qin Mingyue, Shen Zhou swept his eyes over the fallen Qin family disciples and said calmly, "It seems you lot have no way to take back the Taixuan Sword."

As he turned to leave, a rough voice came from behind, saying, "Hold on. This old man would like to give it a try too."

Looking back, he saw Qin Yihu striding out from the rear hall with a dignified expression, eyes gleaming, moving with the vigor of a dragon or tiger.