"As far back as three or four hundred years ago, he already had no rivals among Blade Cultivators."
"An old friend of mine, now in the Upper Realm, once told me during a casual conversation that Cultivators who had never crossed blades with Yang Ben of Tianfen Island could not imagine how powerful he was."
"Because every stroke you exchanged with him felt like facing the life and death that lay between you."
"He truly carried the Blade Cultivators' maxim-no-self, no-blade, no-Dharma, no-heaven-to its utmost extreme."
"It was also then that the Blade Cultivators of the Shangqing Realm hailed Yang Ben as the Blade Emperor."
"For a time, his fame was unrivaled."
After hearing Elder Lu's assessment, Lü Hu of Ningchan Cave, who stood nearby, immediately asked in astonishment:
"Why has someone so powerful remained in the Lower Realm until now?"
Elder Lu did not answer. Instead, he turned to look at Qingshi of Ningchan Cave and asked mildly:
"Have you heard anything about this, Qingshi?"
Qingshi smiled faintly.
"I have indeed heard a little."
Then, still watching the images in the Spirit Mirror intently, he explained to the puzzled Lü Hu and Thousand Threads of Ningchan Cave:
"Over three hundred years ago, many Upper Realm Sects and powers, including our Ningchan Cave, invited Yang Ben to join them once he broke through to the Heaven Shocking Realm and reached the Upper Realm."
"At the time, Yang Ben was already on the verge of a breakthrough, and with no rivals left in the Lower Realm, he accepted an invitation from one of those powers."
"But no one knew which power it was."
"However, in the tenth year after he accepted that invitation, a youth who was utterly unknown at the time suddenly came to Tianfen Island to challenge him to