The elders had spent many years in the Vertical Sword Sect, yet this was their first time hearing its hidden secrets. They could not help gasping in astonishment.
"I know you still have many questions after hearing this... Don't be impatient. Let me tell you the story slowly..."
Patriarch Peng gazed into the distant darkness and sighed before continuing slowly, "Hundreds, then thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye, but that remarkably spiritual short sword never awakened again, as though it had fallen into an eternal slumber... The Spirit Liquid secreted by the stalactites in the cave dwindled, too. Eventually, they cracked and collapsed, crumbling into dust...
"As the stalactites disappeared, however, the spiritual energy within the cave grew richer than ever. Even the originally pitch-black stone tablet seemed to be nourished, its color growing whiter and whiter...
"As for that broken sword, your Patriarch Qiu buried it deep beneath this ground. That is why this place is called Buried Sword Peak. And that cave is the Sword Cavern you see today...
"You must be curious why the final name on the Sword Cavern's stone tablet is Patriarch Qiu rather than Sect Master Dongfang. The sword is a sacred thing, but the Way has more than one path. Among our sect masters through the generations, there have always been some who had no need to enter the Sword Cavern to comprehend sword intent, because they themselves... were born for the Way of the Sword!"
Before the others could recover from their shock, Patriarch Peng continued, "Sect Master Dongfang possesses exceptional talent and extraordinary comprehension. Back then, we old fellows unanimously hailed him as the greatest person our sect had produced in three hundred years...
"I know some of you are not entirely convinced. Little Shao, let me