Xu Household, was a woman dressed in a neat and tidy short outfit. Upon hearing the order, she stepped forward without hesitation.
She glanced coldly at Ye Chen and Ye Jinzhi, a hint of sarcasm flashing in her eyes.
After withdrawing her gaze, Xu Ling straightened her expression, carefully lifted her leg, and stepped onto the first white jade staircase.
The moment she stepped onto it, she immediately felt an indescribable pressure, as well as Sword Qi pressing in from all directions, as if it wanted to skin her alive on the spot, making her instinctively want to draw her sword to fight back.
But Xu Ling endured it.
She could sense that this inheritance required not confrontation, but understanding.
It has nothing to do with the strength of the Sword Qi; what matters is innate talent.
In other words, the stronger one's talent, the more paths one can take on these white jade steps.
Bearing the pressure that almost crushed her, Xu Ling broke out in a sweat, exhaled softly, and took a difficult step.
step.
She stood steadily on the steps.
But the second step was that he couldn't lift his toes at all.
He tried to lift his toes, but couldn't even make an inch of progress.
Xu Ling struggled for a long time, sweat dripping from her head onto her clothes. Her face was pale, and she couldn't take her second step while gripping her sword.
After a long while, she finally gave up, let out a heavy sigh, and regretfully took a step back, leaving the white jade steps.
At the very top of the sword platform, a flash of sword light appeared, and a pale white light emerged, swiftly penetrating Xu Ling's body.
Along with that, a voice also came.
"Your talent is inferior, but considering the difficulty of your breakthrough, I bestow upon you a wisp of Sword Qi. Study it carefully!"
The voice was rude and tinged with annoyance, as if such talent was completely unworthy of its attention, or even unworthy of stepping onto the white jade steps.
Xu Ling blushed, tightened her grip on the sword, lowered her head, and returned to Xu You's side, speaking softly.
"I'm sorry, brother, I only went up one step."
Xu You could even speak, Ye Jinzhi, who was standing next to him, seized the opportunity to mock him.
"Tch, I thought with such a big commotion, you could go quite a distance in one go. Turns out, you're not all that great. Inferior talent, tsk tsk."
Xu You rolled his eyes at Ye Jinzhi and retorted with a cold laugh, "So what?"
"At least the prodigies of my Xu Household can advance to the next level, unlike your so-called prodigies of the Ye Household, who can't even take a single step forward, ha!"
"That's right," Xu Ling said, her guilt towards her brother replaced by disgust as she glared at Ye Jinzhi. "At least I got a wisp of Sword Qi, and that's Saint Realm Sword Qi. Once I comprehend it, it might not be any worse than other rewards. Ye Chen from your Ye Household, on the other hand, got nothing."
These words struck a chord with Ye Jinzhi.
Her face was tense, her anger overflowing, but she had no way to vent it on her nephew, so she could only glare fiercely at Duan Yangqiu beside her.
At the same time, Ye Jinzhi also felt somewhat uncertain.
Even Xu Household's prodigy, who had already comprehended the Fifth-Level Sword Intent, was considered to have inferior talent in the mouths of this lineage.
How terrifying must one's talent be to obtain the Sword Domain inheritance?
Her face was somber as she racked her brains, but she couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock.
The prodigies from other factions also went up to try.
However, practically no one can get to the top floor.
The two who managed to climb to the next level, like Xu Ling, exhausted all their strength and could no longer take another step.
Ye Jinzhi breathed a sigh of relief.
If no one receives the inheritance, then...
Before she could even finish her thought, she suddenly heard a gasp.
"Quick, look!"
"Someone has ascended the fifth step of the Sword Qi staircase!"
What!?
Ye Jinzhi suddenly looked up, her face grim, her eyes following the figure that had already put a considerable distance between itself and the others.
When she saw that the person was actually standing on the fifth step, she almost gritted her teeth to pieces.
How could this be...?
It was at this moment that someone beside her revealed the person's identity.
"This... hiss, isn't he the Holy Son from the Sword-Washing Pool?"
The others eagerly looked around, and then, as if confirming something, nodded with a sigh.
"Yes, that's him."
"It's actually that Holy Son... I heard that this Holy Son Wu has already reached the Seventh-Level Sword Intent, and the World Honored One is even a Saint Realm sword cultivator, is that right?"
"That's right, exactly. Alas... it seems the legacy here will be taken away by this holy son."
Sword-Washing Pool...
Those who overheard the discussion were left helpless.
If it were the Sword-Washing Pool, it would be reasonable to be able to climb to the seventh level.
The Sword-Washing Pool is a top-tier power in the Sword Ruins. The sect has two Saint Realm, among whom Holy Son Wu, a prodigy, is particularly renowned.
He is now standing on the fifth step, sword in hand.
However, upon arriving here, his face turned pale, and he couldn't take the next step.
Holy Son Wu did not force himself to take another step, but shook his head regretfully and retreated to the lower position.
He knew very well that the fifth floor was his current limit.
If we continue to push our luck, we might damage our foundation, which would be a losing proposition.
As he descended the white jade steps, a faint voice, tinged with approval, rang out.
"Hmm... mediocre talent, barely passable. You can use this insight into Sword Intent Sword Intent to study. Whether you can master it is entirely up to fate."
They didn't mention the matter of inheritance at all.
Although Holy Son Wu was mentally prepared, he still sighed helplessly, accepted the Sword Intent comprehension, and bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you for bestowing upon me your Sword Intent, senior."
"This junior's Sword Heart is impure, and his Sword Intent is insufficient; I am unworthy to receive the previous reward."
The silver Sword Intent flashed and disappeared, disappearing into Holy Son Wu's forehead.
He closed his eyes, seemingly in a state of enlightenment. After a moment, a look of joy crossed his face, and he quickly opened his eyes, thanked them again, and then retreated to the rear of the Sword-Washing Pool's forces.
It seems he's going to digest the insights he just gained on the spot.
This immediately caused a huge uproar.
"This... this, even Holy Son Wu from the Sword-Washing Pool is only considered to have average talent?"
"The talent requirements for this Sword Dao inheritance are a bit too demanding!"
"Indeed, if even Holy Son Wu only possesses mediocre talent, is it really possible for anyone to obtain the inheritance here?"
"Is it only those few monstrous talents with the most terrifying abilities in the Sword Ruins who can be considered to have top-tier talent?"
The crowd discussed amongst themselves, their eyes filled with awe and bewilderment as they gazed at the white jade staircase Sword Qi.
Holy Son Wu had already tried once, and the other Sword Dao prodigies who considered themselves to be on par with him, or even stronger than him, no longer held back and stepped forward one after another.
Unfortunately, the evaluation criteria for this white jade staircase were indeed very stringent.
More than a dozen outstanding talents stepped forward, but the final evaluations they received were mostly just average.
The only one with superior talent also stopped at the seventh step, gaining two strands of Sword Dao comprehension and ten Sword Qi.
This result surprised the onlookers even more.
You should know...
This person is ranked third in the Sword Domain!
The prodigy who received the highest evaluation stepped back with a grim expression, clenching his fist as he stared at the long white jade staircase before him.
He gritted his teeth and said, "This level of difficulty... even Gongsun Ruo couldn't possibly reach the top!"
Gongsun Ruo is the number one prodigy in the Sword Domain.
The Duan Household could only watch from the sidelines, their eyes filled with envy.
Unfortunately, the Duan Household doesn't have any outstanding Sword Dao to boast of. The lineage here, and the Duan Household, are completely unrelated...
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a Duan Household caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, and his face lit up with joy as he exclaimed in surprise.
"Fourth Miss!"
"It's the Fourth Miss! The Fourth Miss has arrived!!"