Beneath the main peak of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, the pitch-black Sword Tower stood like a pillar holding up the heavens. Its surface was covered in sword scars a thousand years old, and pale golden ancient Sword Qi lingered within every groove. Whenever the wind blew, the tower gave off a deep sword hum, as though the Will of the Ancient Sword Cultivators still slumbered within. Several hundred inner sect disciples stood in formation before the tower, their azure sword robes snapping in the morning breeze, their eyes filled with anticipation and tension—the Sword Tower Trial only opened once every half year, making it the best opportunity for inner sect disciples to break through their realms and obtain resources.
Ling Yun stood at the very end of the line, the Sky-Rending Sword still wrapped in coarse cloth, utterly out of place among the gleaming standard-issue swords around him. He raised his eyes toward the top floor of the Sword Tower. Clouds and mist swirled there, and he could vaguely sense an even more formidable Sword Qi. That was likely the seventh floor where the Sword Elder had said the "Sword Intent Stele" was located.
"Silence!" The chief inner sect steward stepped onto the high platform with a bronze command token in hand. His voice spread through the entire grounds by way of sword intent. "The Sword Tower has seven floors, each with its own trial. Those who fail will be automatically teleported out. Your lives will not be harmed, but there will be no reward. The more floors you clear, the richer the rewards! The first floor, the 'Gale Trial,' requires you to use 'Wind Chant' amid raging winds to shatter the formation cores. The time limit is one incense stick!"
Before his words had even faded, the stone doors at the base of the Sword Tower slowly opened. A biting gale carrying fine strands of Sword Qi surged from within, sending the robes of the disciples in the front rows fluttering wildly. Murong Shuang was the first to step forward. Her Green Peak Sword pointed diagonally at the ground, and as her Wind Spirit Physique activated, pale blue rings of wind formed around her body, forcibly blocking the oncoming gale outside her.
"What a powerful Wind Spirit Physique!" the surrounding disciples cried out. Yet Murong Shuang did not pause. Her figure swept into the stone doors like drifting wind and vanished into the gale in the blink of an eye.
The disciples entered the Sword Tower one after another. Some were overturned by the gale the instant they stepped inside, crying out before being teleported away in flashes of white light. Others barely managed to stand firm, only for the wind to disrupt their sword techniques as they performed "Wind Chant," causing their Sword Qi to scatter and sending them out in failure as well. Half an hour passed, and nearly half the disciples had fallen on the first floor. Fewer than ten had successfully used "Wind Chant."
"Ling Yun, it's your turn." The steward's gaze fell upon him, carrying a trace of scrutiny—an outer sect disciple without spiritual roots attempting the Sword Tower was an exceptionally rare sight even in the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's hundred-year history.
Ling Yun nodded and slowly entered through the stone doors with the Sky-Rending Sword in hand. The moment he stepped into the tower, fierce winds slashed at him like blades. The fine Sword Qi mixed within scraped against his skin, bringing a faint stinging pain. The space inside was vast, and twelve azure crystals were embedded in the surrounding walls. They were the formation cores of the Gale Trial, glowing faintly as they continuously drove the winds onward.
"Don't resist it head-on. Use the Chaos Sword Body to absorb the Sword Qi within the wind." The Sword Elder's voice rang out in his mind. "These gales are no ordinary wind. They were formed from the residual sword intent of ancient sword cultivators, perfect for replenishing your Sword Qi expenditure."
Ling Yun followed his instructions. Rather than deliberately resisting the wind, he released the Chaos Sword Qi within his body and used it like a net to catch the fine strands of Sword Qi in the gale. Sure enough, the Sword Qi that had been pricking his skin was assimilated the moment it touched the Chaos Sword Qi. It slowly flowed through his meridians into his dantian, neatly replenishing the energy he had spent during his earlier cultivation.
Holding the Sky-Rending Sword, he advanced with steady steps. With a light flick of his wrist, the scabbard traced an arc along the wind—he used the "Wind Chant" sword technique once more. The pale blue wind blade was no longer fighting alone. It stirred the surrounding gale into a spinning vortex of wind and slashed straight toward the nearest azure crystal.
Crack!
The crystal shattered in response, and the winds within the tower immediately weakened by a fraction. Several surprised gasps sounded nearby. They came from disciples who had already passed the first floor and were waiting at the entrance to the second. They had not expected Ling Yun not only to stand firm, but to shatter a formation core so effortlessly.
Ling Yun did not stop. His figure darted left and right through the gale, and every strike followed the flow of the wind without wasting a shred of Sword Qi. He crushed half a Qi Condensing Powder between his fingertips. Milky-white spiritual energy flowed into his meridians, intertwining with the sword intent he had absorbed and making "Wind Chant" even more powerful. One after another, the twelve crystals shattered beneath his sword techniques. Each broken crystal weakened the winds inside the tower by another fraction. When the final crystal shattered, the gale completely dissipated, leaving only faint Sword Qi lingering in the air.
"Gale Trial, passed!"
A cold mechanical voice rang through the tower. The stone wall ahead slowly opened, revealing stairs leading to the second floor. Richer Sword Qi than that of the first floor lingered around the steps. Ling Yun had just stepped onto them when he saw Murong Shuang standing on a platform not far away. The Green Peak Sword was planted in the ground, and she held a pill between her fingers—though she had passed the first floor a step ahead of Ling Yun, she had clearly expended no small amount of energy and was replenishing her spiritual energy.
"I didn't expect you to actually pass." Murong Shuang looked up at him. There was no longer any disdain in her eyes, only a greater degree of seriousness. "The first floor was merely an appetizer. The second floor's 'Stone Sword Puppets' are where the trial truly begins. Those puppets never tire, and their sword techniques are only more forceful than 'Wind Chant.' If you have no way to deal with them, you would be better off withdrawing early."
Ling Yun did not respond. He merely raised his head toward the entrance to the second floor. He could vaguely make out the black outlines of puppets within, emanating heavy Earth Element Sword Intent—an attribute that restrained the wind element. He tightened his grip on the Sky-Rending Sword. At this moment, the advantage of the Chaos Sword Body became ever clearer: immunity to elemental restraint meant that he did not need to worry about being suppressed by Earth Element Sword Intent as Murong Shuang did.
"Come on. Don't make me wait too long." Seeing that he remained silent, Murong Shuang put away the pill and stepped into the second floor first, her figure vanishing into the heavy Sword Qi.
Ling Yun took a deep breath. The Chaos Sword Qi within him completely fused with the sword intent he had absorbed, and the previous sluggishness was gone. He stepped onto the stairs, and the instant he entered the second floor, he heard the clang of metal striking metal—three puppets forged entirely from black iron rock were slowly approaching him with heavy swords in hand. Every step made the ground tremble faintly, while dense Earth Element Sword Intent coiled around their blades.
"Stone Sword Puppets possess boundless strength, and their sword techniques have no flaws. You can only seek out the weak points at their joints." The Sword Elder's voice sounded at the right moment. "Use the force-borrowing method of the Heaven and Earth First Form to deflect their sword force, then use 'Wind Chant' to attack their joints. Remember, the Chaos Sword Body can absorb the Earth Element Sword Qi on their swords. Do not waste such an excellent cultivation opportunity."
Ling Yun tightened his grip on the Sky-Rending Sword, his eyes locking onto the foremost puppet. When the puppet's heavy sword came crashing down, it carried a howling gust. The Earth Element Sword Qi had nearly condensed into substance, pressing down until even the surrounding air became heavy. Instead of retreating, he advanced to meet the incoming blade. The scabbard struck precisely against the spine of the heavy sword—the force-receiving method of the Heaven and Earth First Form was used once more. Earth Element Sword Qi flowed into his body along the scabbard and was instantly assimilated by the Chaos Sword Qi. Not only did it fail to harm him, it made the Sword Qi in his dantian even more abundant.
"Now!"
Ling Yun twisted his wrist, and the Sky-Rending Sword slid along the puppet's arm. A wind blade condensed through the "Wind Chant" sword technique slashed straight at the gap in the puppet's elbow joint—that was the weak point where the black iron rocks joined together, and also where the Earth Element Sword Qi was thinnest.
Clang!
The wind blade struck the gap, and the puppet's movement instantly stalled. A crack appeared at its elbow joint. Ling Yun did not pause. His figure circled behind the puppet like a ghost, his sword techniques flowing forth in rapid succession as wind blades repeatedly slashed at its other joints, every strike incomparably precise.
Outside the tower, at the stone doors of the Sword Tower's first floor, the chief inner sect steward watched Ling Yun's figure on the crystal screen, surprise flashing through his eyes. The crystal screen could display the circumstances of disciples on every floor. At this moment, Ling Yun was using agile footwork to maneuver among three Stone Sword Puppets. Not only had he not fallen into a disadvantage, he was constantly absorbing the puppets' Sword Qi to replenish himself—this method of nourishing oneself with one's enemy was difficult even for the foremost inner sect disciples to achieve.
"Ling Yun's physique is truly strange." The steward muttered to himself, his fingers brushing the sword at his waist. "Perhaps he really can reach the seventh floor and see that Sword Intent Stele."
Inside the tower, Ling Yun shattered the first Stone Sword Puppet. The Chaos Sword Qi in his body was already nearly twice as dense as it had been when he entered the second floor. He looked at the other two puppets rushing toward him, and determination flashed through his eyes—the Sword Tower Trial was not only an opportunity to obtain rewards, but also the perfect battlefield for him to solidify his foundation in the sword path and become familiar with the abilities of the Chaos Sword Body. He would clear all seven floors. He would see the Sword Intent Stele. And on this path of the sword, he would grow stronger step by step, until he possessed the power to avenge his clansmen.
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