When the rankings came out, those who made the list beamed with joy, while those who failed hung their heads in dejection.
The heroes who had come from the three mountains and five sacred peaks began making their arrangements. Some packed their belongings to return home, some booked entire inns at the foot of the mountain to await their fellow disciples' triumphant return from the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, and others were called over by their sect elders for private advice and earnest instructions. For a time, the place bustled with activity.
"The secret realm is open. All warriors on the list, enter swiftly and in order. Everyone else may disperse!"
As Elder Xiao Buyi's voice rang out, the crowd stirred. Guided by sword attendants, those on the list began making their way toward the Sword Tomb Secret Realm.
He An followed the crowd past the mist-shrouded Sword-Washing Pool, rounded the great hall whose plaque read "Sword Qi, Vast and Righteous," and headed behind it.
Born in a remote backwater and having never traveled the world, the young man from the Knowledge and Practice Institute had witnessed the ocean's magnificent waves. Now, seeing the mountains surrounding the Vertical Sword Sect-some solitary peaks soaring skyward, some ridge upon ridge, some sheer cliffs towering a thousand fathoms-he could not help gazing up in awe, silently marveling at the wonders wrought by heaven and earth.
Cui Zhixia glanced at He An from amid the crowd and sneered. "A country bumpkin who's never seen the world!"
The two unlucky fellows, Li Xiu and Guo Huai, had been attacked by the Unknown Island Fiends on the offshore reefs, leaving one dead and the other injured. Having lost two helpers before even entering the secret realm, Cui Zhixia was in a thoroughly foul mood.
After roughly