Sword Formation Plaza

The rising sun climbed high, golden light spilling across the Azure Cloud Sword Formation Plaza.

The vast plaza was packed shoulder to shoulder.

Several sect elders sat upon the high platform, Elder Zhang among them. Across the plaza floor, the enormous foundation of the Azure Cloud Sword Formation spread over dozens of yards. Ancient formation patterns lay buried beneath the bluestone ground, their spiritual glow flickering in and out of sight. At the center of the formation foundation stood a Formation Control Platform as tall as a man, covered in countless conduits and Spirit Crystal slots. It was the control core of the entire sword formation.

Quite a few outstanding disciples who had passed the Outer Sect Assessment stood in orderly ranks, waiting for the test to begin. Their expressions varied; some were full of anticipation, while others looked deeply uneasy. Of every ten people who entered the Azure Cloud Sword Formation, only three or four usually made it through alive.

Shen Yuan wore a simple blue cloth training outfit and blended into the line. His true qi was drawn inward, making his aura seem utterly ordinary. He deliberately feigned the weakness of an unstable foundation, matching the rumors that had spread earlier.

Wang Dong could not take part in the test and stood among the spectators around the perimeter. His gaze remained fixed on Shen Yuan. At the same time, his eyes occasionally flicked toward the Formation Control Platform.

Several Inner Sect disciples stood solemnly on guard beside the Formation Control Platform. Their leader was none other than Xiao Wuji.

Clad in a moon-white Inner Sect training outfit, he stood tall and straight, with handsome features. His gaze swept over the test disciples lined up below before finally settling on Shen Yuan. Their eyes met across the distance.

Xiao Wuji's eyes were calm and still, revealing neither joy nor anger, as though he were merely making an ordinary inspection. Yet Shen Yuan could feel the bone-piercing chill hidden beneath that gaze.

Xiao Wuji had already confirmed that the additional High-Grade Spirit Crystals for the seventh level had been secretly connected to the formation mechanism. The moment Shen Yuan reached the seventh level, he would throw the switch and ignite the killing trap.

"Disciples." An Inner Sect elder rose from the high platform, his voice carrying across the entire plaza. "Today, the Inner Sect Admission Test—the Azure Cloud Sword Formation—will begin. The rules are simple: enter the formation and pass all seven formation levels, and you will pass the test and become official Inner Sect disciples. The flying sword puppets within the formation recognize only the challengers. Those outside cannot interfere. Remember this: if you feel your life is in imminent danger, you may activate the sect jade token on your person to trigger the danger alarm, and the grand formation will forcibly halt. But triggering the alarm will be considered a failure!"

After saying that, the elder raised a hand and waved it. "The test begins. Enter the formation in order!"

One Outer Sect disciple after another stepped into the glowing curtain at the sword formation's entrance.

One figure after another vanished into the light curtain.

Everyone in the plaza stared intently at the spiritual light churning above the grand formation. If the light remained steady, it meant things inside were relatively safe. If it roiled and shook violently, it meant the disciples inside were facing a deadly crisis.

Some successfully passed three or four levels but could hold on no longer, crushing their jade tokens to withdraw, their faces full of misery. Others could not endure and were wounded by flying swords, falling into the formation in disarray. Still others were carried out after the spiritual light flashed violently, grievously injured, their fate hanging between life and death.

The brutality of the test was plain for all to see.

Time trickled by.

More than a dozen disciples completed the test in succession. Some succeeded, and some failed.

Before long, it was Shen Yuan's turn.

Countless gazes across the plaza converged on him in unison.

By now, everyone in the Azure Cloud Sect knew Shen Yuan's name. Born a menial disciple, first among the Outer Sect, he had thwarted Zhao Kun's scheme and broken through to the Meridian Opening Realm. Everyone wanted to see whether this legendary disciple could pass the perilous Azure Cloud Sword Formation.

Xiao Wuji stood beside the Formation Control Platform, his fingertip quietly resting on a concealed formation lever. The moment Shen Yuan entered the seventh level, he would pull it and connect the extra Spirit Crystals.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath.

His gaze swept over Elder Zhang on the high platform, then over Wang Dong in the crowd. Wang Dong gave him a slight nod, signaling that he had already prepared his backup plan.

Shen Yuan hesitated no longer. He stepped forward and crossed into the sword formation's light curtain, which shimmered with a faint azure glow.

The scene before his eyes abruptly changed.

The clamorous plaza outside vanished in an instant.

Before him lay a gray, hazy independent formation domain. Countless foot-long flying sword puppets glinting with cold light floated in the sky. Formation patterns flowed around him, and even space itself twisted faintly.

The Azure Cloud Sword Formation's internal space was far broader than it appeared from outside.

The first level of the sword formation officially activated.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several flying swords screamed toward him from all directions!

Shen Yuan's mind tightened, and the true qi of the Meridian Opening Realm immediately circulated through his entire body.

His feet moved through an evasive footwork he had honed through countless deductions. His body drifted like willow fluff in the wind, lightly evading the flying swords' first wave of slaughter.

It has begun, Shen Yuan thought.

There were not many flying swords on the first level, and their trajectories were simple, almost identical to the original sword formation he had deduced. It seemed Xiao Wuji had no intention of wasting Spirit Crystal resources on the lower levels. His alterations had been reserved for the seventh level.

A small stone in his heart settled slightly.

But he did not dare relax in the slightest.

Levels one through six were merely a prelude. The true hell was waiting for him on the seventh formation level.

Perfectly Deduced Formation-Breaking Route

Within the gray, hazy formation domain, flying sword puppets gleaming with cold light whistled back and forth.

There were few flying swords on the first level, and their attack trajectories were simple and direct. Shen Yuan circulated his Meridian Opening Realm true qi, his steps following the evasive footwork polished through thousands upon thousands of simulations in the Martial Arts Simulation Space as his body twisted and darted.

One cold flying sword after another swept past his body. Their razor-sharp Sword Qi made his clothes flap fiercely, yet they could never truly touch his flesh.

He did not choose to withstand the flying swords head-on. Meridian Opening Realm true qi was precious; he had to preserve as much as possible for the seventh level, where the variables were greatest. In the lower formation levels, he would focus on evasion and endurance, never squandering his strength recklessly.

After only a few dozen breaths, the first level's flying sword puppets exhausted their spiritual power, and their sword light dimmed.

The spiritual light in the formation domain flickered. Teleportation power wrapped around his body, and Shen Yuan's figure flashed as he stepped into the second formation level.

On the second level, the number of flying swords doubled, attacking in coordinated pairs.

It still matched the parameters of the original sword formation deduced by the Heavenly Stele. As expected, Xiao Wuji had not made a move on the first six levels.

Shen Yuan understood at once.

His opponent had staked every card on the final seventh level. The first six levels would maintain their normal assessment difficulty. Even if the elders reviewed the formation records afterward, the data from the first six levels would be spotless, without the slightest flaw.

Time passed slowly.

The second level, the third level, the fourth level...

He pushed forward one level at a time.

The farther he advanced, the more the flying swords' speed, numbers, and coordination climbed step by step. Beginning from the fourth level, a thin mist of bewildering illusion rose within the formation, disrupting the senses.

Relying on the experience carved into his soul from hundreds of simulated formation runs in the Martial Arts Simulation Space, Shen Yuan could still determine the direction of incoming flying swords by the sound of them tearing through the air, even when the illusion mist obscured his vision.

Whenever he was surrounded, he would unleash a small burst of true qi and strike with his palm, knocking the flying swords off course rather than directly destroying the puppets, conserving his true qi.

Several shallow bloody cuts gradually appeared on his body. Blood soaked through his sleeves, but they were only superficial flesh wounds and did not affect his overall fighting strength.

He reached the sixth level.

The illusion mist on the sixth level had become incredibly dense, compressing his vision to only inches around him. Flying swords filled the sky like a torrential downpour, attacking from every unknowable angle.

Many challengers had met their downfall on this level.

Shen Yuan's brows were tightly drawn, his mind strained to the utmost. Within his sea of consciousness, memories of collapsing again and again on the sixth and seventh levels in the Martial Arts Simulation Space surfaced without his control. The pain of flying swords piercing his body seemed to rise into his soul once more.

I can't expend too much true qi here.

He clenched his teeth, compressing and drawing in his true qi as he pushed his movement technique to its limit. He weaved through the gaps in the rain of swords filling the sky.

After dozens of hard-fought exchanges.

The spiritual power of the sixth level's flying sword puppets gradually ran dry.

The formation domain shook violently.

A powerful force of teleportation tugged at Shen Yuan's body.

The next moment.

His vision shifted, and Shen Yuan stepped into the seventh level!

The instant he entered the seventh level, Shen Yuan sensed that something was wrong.

The spiritual energy fluctuations in the air instantly surged severalfold.

The number of flying sword puppets floating throughout the sky was nearly thirty percent greater than the number deduced for the original seventh level! The spiritual light on the swords' surfaces blazed with a dazzling intensity, far surpassing the normal power threshold of the assessment.

Xiao Wuji had made his move!

The additional High-Grade Spirit Crystals had all been connected to the formation mechanism!

The seventh level's dead-end trap had opened.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!!

Thousands upon thousands of flying swords all turned their points toward Shen Yuan, locking onto his position. Their piercing shrieks through the air were so harsh they made his eardrums ache.

Shen Yuan's heart sank violently.

The worst scenario he had imagined had truly come to pass.

He rapidly scanned his surroundings and quickly pulled up three pre-deduced contingency plans in his mind.

The conventional formation-breaking route for the original version had completely failed before this altered seventh level.

At this moment, outside in the plaza.

The spiritual light above the grand formation churned violently, azure radiance blazing forth with an intensity far beyond that of the seventh level in previous tests.

Seeing the abnormally violent spiritual light of the grand formation, Elder Zhang's brows furrowed sharply. His body leaned slightly forward as his gaze locked onto the sword formation.

Among the crowd, Wang Dong's heart leaped straight into his throat. Without another word, he desperately squeezed toward Elder Zhang's position on the high platform.

Beside the Formation Control Platform, a nearly imperceptible cold smile curled Xiao Wuji's lips. His hand remained on the lever as he slowly continued pulling it upward, further amplifying the flying swords' killing power.

Within the formation, the sword rain of the seventh level was about to pour down in full.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath and suppressed the stormy waves churning in his heart.

There was no road of retreat now.