My Divine Ability Is Called Sword, Come!

Chen Yuanba seemed to realize that his last remark had gone too far. His voice trailed off, and he went back to scratching his head with a sheepish grin. "Heh, heh, heh..."

"Once that thought clicked, my soul felt clearer than ever before. Then, before I knew it, I'd comprehended this divine ability!"

"Heh, heh, heh..."

Chen Yuanba kept grinning foolishly. He stole another glance at Chen Changqing and added in a low voice, "Ancestor, you're not angry, are you?"

Chen Changqing stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the big man, whose guileless manner was almost endearing. The corners of his mouth rose little by little, until they formed a knowing smile.

"Yuan Ba, you did very well!"

"This Greater Divine Ability—Ancestor Blesses Me!"

"By using one's faith in the ancestor as a guide, one can call down a wisp of the ancestor's Dao resonance and instantly gain the power of a projection of some of his divine abilities."

"The stronger that faith, the stronger the projected divine ability! With enough faith, one could even perfectly reproduce the effects of any Greater or Lesser Divine Ability the ancestor had used in the past!"

Chen Changqing spoke slowly, revealing the divine ability's true power, word by word.

When the Chen Family Members learned what it could do, they all sucked in sharp breaths, their faces full of shock.

Heavens!

Didn't that mean Chen Yuanba might be able to use all the divine abilities Chen Changqing had shown them?

"Brother Yuan Ba, that's incredible!"

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"Why struggle to comprehend a divine ability yourself when you can cling to the ancestor's leg?"

"No, I have to try again... Ancestor Blesses Me! Ancestor Blesses Me! Why hasn't the ancestor blessed me yet?"

For a time, voices rose across Purple Sun Peak as everyone tried it for themselves.

Many Chen Family Members closed their eyes and muttered incantations, hoping to follow Chen Yuanba's path to success.

Some strained until their faces turned red. Some chanted aloud. Others sat cross-legged with great solemnity, looking as though they would not stop until they had comprehended something.

But no matter what they tried, their seas of consciousness remained empty.

Forget a Greater Divine Ability—not even the faintest ripple of Dao resonance appeared.

After carrying on for quite a while, they finally faced reality and gave up, one by one, their heads hanging low.

Watching them, Chen Changqing shook his head, a helpless smile touching his lips.

Everyone's insights were different, and their gifts for comprehension varied. How could a Greater Divine Ability like this be copied simply by tracing a cat to draw a tiger?

Chen Yuanba had comprehended Ancestor Blesses Me because he had traveled the entire path from despair to acceptance. A flash of insight had struck him in the narrow space between surrender and faith, allowing him to catch that wisp of Dao resonance.

No one else could recreate that stroke of fortune.

Of course, Chen Changqing did not stop them.

It was good for his clansmen to think and seek understanding.

Even if they failed to comprehend a Greater Divine Ability, one or two of them might have a flash of insight and grasp a similar Lesser Divine Ability. That alone would make the effort worthwhile.

His gaze returned to Chen Yuanba, and a hint of amazement flickered in his eyes—one he did not even notice himself.

Chen Yuanba's comprehension of a Greater Divine Ability like Ancestor Blesses Me had not merely intrigued him. More importantly, it had given him an entirely new line of thought!

It had opened a window he had never noticed in his understanding of Divine Ability Methods.

In that brief instant, aided by his terrifying power of comprehension, countless sparks of insight had surged through the depths of Chen Changqing's sea of consciousness.

Taking Ancestor Blesses Me as his foundation, he had drawn parallels and followed them to new possibilities...

If Chen Yuanba could use faith to summon a wisp of his ancestor's Dao resonance, why couldn't Chen Changqing use the same method to summon an even mightier being?

If Dao Ancestor's Blessing existed in this world, then beyond the higher dimensions there truly were powers beyond imagination.

He could not reach those beings yet. But as long as his Dao Tree kept growing and bore more Dao Fruits, a day would come when he could summon those legendary gods for real.

Before then, he could use his own comprehension to build the basic framework of the divine ability.

Sometimes, finding another path is a way to comprehend the Dao too, Chen Changqing thought. He then gave the still-incomplete Greater Divine Ability a name: Deity Invocation Art.

Through this divine ability, he could summon a "god" of his choosing to help him—perhaps the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, or the True Lord of Pure Source and Wondrous Dao.

For now, he could probably summon only the "gods" he imagined. But once his Dao Tree grew strong enough, summoning true gods in the future might not be impossible.

With that settled, his gaze naturally shifted to the two figures who still sat cross-legged on the platform.

Chen Yuanba had awakened and even comprehended a Greater Divine Ability.

What surprises would Chen Musen and Chen Qingshuang bring him?

Just as Chen Changqing looked forward to finding out—

Suddenly!

Hum!

An exceedingly faint sword hum sounded across Purple Sun Peak without warning.

Then came a second!

A third!

Chen Qingshuang still sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, but her brows suddenly drew together, as though a fierce struggle were raging in her sea of consciousness.

The next instant—

An utterly terrifying power of the sword erupted from her body.

It was so sharp and pure that it seemed nothing existed between heaven and earth but swords.

In a flash, the earth shook, the mountains swayed, and the sky changed color.

All of Purple Sun Peak trembled violently, while countless loose stones pattered down its slopes.

High above, the clouds churned as though an invisible blade had cut a fissure a thousand miles long through them.

What happened next made everyone's scalp prickle.

Hum, hum, hum—

Countless swords trembled as they flew into the air from every direction.

The long swords at the young disciples' waists, the spare blades the Chen Family Members kept in their storage rings, the bonded swords the Supreme Elders had tempered with their own blood for tens of thousands of years...

No matter their grade!

No matter whether they had an owner!

At that moment, all of them slipped free of control. They shuddered wildly and wailed... then soared into the air together, surging toward Chen Qingshuang.

More absurdly still, even the heavily guarded Armory Pavilion deep within Purple Sun Peak did not escape.

Many precious ancient swords sealed inside burst free at once. They streaked through layer after layer of formations and flew above Chen Qingshuang's head.

Some still bore rust and grime, having gathered dust in the Armory Pavilion for untold tens of thousands of years. Now they circled Chen Qingshuang slowly, tips down and hilts up, as though on a pilgrimage.

And then—

Several dozen unknown swords suddenly shot out of the surrounding empty air.

They belonged neither to the Chen Family nor to anyone else. They had drifted through the chaotic void.

Yet now, as if drawn by Chen Qingshuang, they had all come expressly to pay homage.

Ten thousand swords hung in the sky, blotting out the sun.

Purple Sun Peak lay beneath a canopy of blades too numerous to count.

Sword light interwove, and sword intent swept in every direction.

It was as though the whole world had become a kingdom of swords.

Everyone held their breath and stared at the overwhelming sight of ten thousand swords paying homage. Not one of them could speak.

At the center of the circling swords, Chen Qingshuang slowly opened her eyes.

There was no longer any confusion in her cool gaze. In its place hovered the phantoms of two exquisitely sharp little swords.

She rose slowly, her white robes like snow, sword intent surging around her like a tide.

"Every path of the sword dwells within my heart!"

"Every sword under heaven is mine to command."

Hum, hum...

The swords filling the sky rang out together, clear and bright, as though answering her call.

"My divine ability—"

"Is called Sword, Come!"