Chapter 368: Opening the Precedent of Yinghuang Prefecture

The land was utterly silent, not a sound to be heard. Only the sound of breathing, born from surging emotions, rose and fell. Most human cultivators present felt their hearts stir after hearing that single sentence.

Each of them had their own story, each had their own experiences.

Whether they were high above or mired in the mud, in this cruel world, this tragic realm, this desolate world where humans preyed on humans, the differences were actually minimal.

All faced misfortune, all were adrift in a sea of suffering.

The Sword Holders' declaration of purpose, like a clap of thunder, exploded with a resounding boom, allowing Xu Qing to truly understand their essence.

Regardless of whether the current Sword Holders could truly live up to their stated purpose, it had, at the very least, once existed. This was also the significance of the Sword Holders' ceremony.

The solemn atmosphere, the grave words, the sacred radiant light, the deafening declaration of purpose—all of these served to ensure the Sword Holders' mission would be carried on.

At this moment, as all human cultivators' hearts surged, the sky's radiant light once again shone, flowing towards the ground, continuously spreading until it reached the feet of Xu Qing and the other nine.

Before them, this brilliant radiant light, symbolizing the Sword Holders' mission, formed a long staircase ten thousand *zhang* wide!

The staircase, ten thousand *zhang* wide, appeared before everyone, within Taichu Liyou City. Countless human cultivators watched, but only ten individuals could truly approach this magnificent staircase!

This was a heavenly path created specifically for these ten individuals.

It appeared between heaven and earth, its pinnacle reaching the Emperor's statue.

From afar, it seemed as if one could walk all the way to the Emperor's presence simply by ascending the staircase before them.

That sense of sacredness intensified at this very moment.

The staircase's multicolored radiant light was particularly luminous and clear. Counting carefully, it had a full nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, each rising higher, soaring straight into the clouds.

As Xu Qing gazed at all this, his expression grew more solemn, and the exceptionally grave voice of the Grand Elder of the Sword Holders reached his ears.

“The Sword Holder lineage, establishes the highest glory for humanity, creates eternal prosperity and peace; thus, the staircase is ten thousand *zhang* wide.”

“The Emperor represents all, yet lacks one. Thus, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps signify that our Sword Holder division can strike down anyone beneath the Emperor!”

The voice resounded through heaven and earth, and a strong light appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. If the previous words were the soul of the Sword Holder lineage, then these two sentences were the very bones of the Sword Holders!

The soul dictates purpose, the bones dictate backbone! The Sword Holders' backbone is the power to strike down anyone beneath the Emperor!

The captain's eyes gleamed with intense desire.

It was the same for Qingqiu; a bright light flickered in her eyes beneath her mask.

Immediately after, the Grand Elder of the Sword Holders in the sky raised his head, gazed at the Emperor's statue, seemed to take a deep breath, his expression serious, and bowed deeply with an even more solemn tone.

“Great Emperor, please bestow the Sword.”

As his voice rang out, all the Sword Holders, arranged in a formation in the sky, simultaneously cupped their fists and bowed towards the heavens.

With this bow, the Emperor's statue immediately radiated light like a red sun rising from the sea, spreading with an aura that dispelled all darkness from heaven and earth. As this light swept across the world, three long rainbows flew out from the great sword carried on the Emperor's statue's back.

Their speed was incredible, directly descending to the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth step, the very top of the ten thousand *zhang* wide staircase, beneath the Emperor's statue.

With a buzzing sound, three great swords pierced into the top step, spaced a thousand *zhang* apart. They emitted a greenish light that flowed like water along their blades, producing a deep sword hum and exuding an extraordinary aura.

At a glance, they were clearly no ordinary items.

These three swords were both weapons and tokens—symbols of the Sword Holders, and their official Sword Holder commands!

“Sword Holders are also Command Holders. They wield the sword as a command to protect all living beings.”

All the Sword Holders in the sky simultaneously spoke at this moment, their voices like booming bells, shaking heaven and earth, surpassing thunder, suppressing eternity.

“Among the ten candidates below, whoever obtains a sword wins! You all, heed my command!” As the echoes of all the Sword Holders resonated, the ancient voice of the Grand Elder of the Sword Holders suddenly rang out.

As the voice began, countless hearts hung in suspense.

It was the same for everyone else. Whether it was the captain, Qingqiu, or Zhang Siyun, as well as the human youth who had once offended Xu Qing, and several others, all of them had bright, eager eyes at this moment.

Just as the ten of them were fully focused, the solemn voice from the sky spread across heaven and earth.

“Qingqiu, you have forty war marks within your body. Advance four hundred steps!”

Qingqiu's body trembled, and she swiftly moved forward, climbing continuously.

Under countless converging gazes, she directly reached the height of four hundred steps, standing high above.

“Chen Erniu, you have one thousand two hundred and seventy war marks within your body. Advance one thousand two hundred and seventy steps!”

The captain's speed was extraordinary. He instantly dashed out, and after continuous climbing, reached one thousand two hundred and seventy steps.

“Zhang Siyun, you have six hundred and thirty war marks within your body. Advance six hundred and thirty steps!”

“Ning Yan…”

As the voice echoed, each person, according to the war marks within their body, ascended different steps as the solemn announcement continued.

Finally, it was Xu Qing's turn.

“Xu Qing, you have two thousand seven hundred and ninety war marks within your body. Advance two thousand seven hundred and ninety steps.”

Even at this extremely solemn moment, the crowd below could not help but burst into commotion. The captain's number of steps had already shaken their minds, but they had managed to hold back. However, Xu Qing's marks now… surpassed everyone's imagination, reaching an unprecedented level.

Immediately, gazes filled with disbelief converged on Xu Qing from all directions. Whether it was the cultivators of Taichu City or Qingqiu and the others standing at different heights, all their hearts trembled. Xu Qing raised his head, his expression calm, and stepped forward.

Under the gaze of countless people, he walked step by step, like a young king, heading towards the sky, towards the Emperor. He surpassed the other few individuals: the human youth Ning Yan, Qingqiu (whose eyes showed complexity), the cold-faced Zhang Siyun, and the captain (whose face was filled with disbelief).

After surpassing everyone, he continued for a long time, until he reached the peak among them all, standing between heaven and earth.

He was far ahead!

At this moment, he was still seven thousand two hundred and nine steps away from the Emperor!

Behind him were the other nine individuals, and further back, the countless human cultivators on the ground.

Standing at this position, Xu Qing completely understood that after arriving at the Taichu Liyou Pillar, every one of those bonus points had a specific meaning.

Their meaning might not be the same every time, but this time, it manifested here.

The assessment, in reality, had been ongoing from the very beginning.

Because after he stood at this height, the ancient voice from the Grand Elder of the Sword Holders in the sky once again rang out with solemnity.

“Xu Qing, Chen Erniu, Zhang Siyun, the three of you ranked first in Taichu Liyou, and are granted an additional three thousand steps.”

As the names were called out one by one, Xu Qing and the other nine individuals successively moved forward. Xu Qing remained firmly in the first position, unshaken.

From that even higher position, he gazed at the Emperor's statue at the very top, and the three brilliantly radiant command swords beneath it. At this moment, he was still four thousand two hundred and nine steps away from his goal!

Immediately after, a voice that resonated through the clouds, like striking gold and stone, rose.

“Zhang Siyun, from the Secret of the Ghost Cave, you obtained forty-eight soldier essences. Advance four hundred and eighty steps!”

“Qingqiu, you obtained two hundred and thirteen soldier essences. Advance two thousand one hundred and thirty steps!”

“Chen Erniu, you obtained three hundred and one soldier essences. Advance three thousand and ten steps!”

“Xu Qing, you obtained four hundred and twenty-one soldier essences. Advance four thousand two hundred and ten steps!”

Under this heaven-shaking and earth-shattering voice, the ten individuals on the staircase all moved forward. Except for the captain, the others looked at Xu Qing's back, their gazes filled with extreme complexity.

Zhang Siyun, in particular, looked incredibly grim, harboring strong murderous intent towards Xu Qing. If not for Xu Qing's intervention, he would not have been merely ninth this time.

Indeed, to escape with his life earlier, he had to activate a secret technique, sacrificing one of his physical bodies in a 'cicada shedding its shell' maneuver. But he also lost his storage bag and the fragments within it.

Furthermore, he discovered that not only were Xu Qing and Chen Erniu ahead of him, but Qingqiu was also, and the distances between them were not small.

Xu Qing had no interest in Zhang Siyun's resentment. At this moment, he began walking towards the steps ahead, one step at a time, heading towards the pinnacle.

There was no one else at his level.

As he advanced, all the human cultivators on the ground were utterly astounded, their eyes fixed solely on Xu Qing, no longer seeing any other figure.

Because… the remaining steps Xu Qing needed were four thousand two hundred and nine, a number fewer than the four thousand two hundred and ten steps he had just gained! As Xu Qing advanced, he ascended past the eight thousandth step, the nine thousandth step, the nine thousand nine hundredth step, reaching… the final nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth step! Upon stepping onto it, he arrived before the central command sword.

Behind him, the closest was the captain, at over seven thousand steps; then Qingqiu, at over five thousand steps; and then Zhang Siyun, at over three thousand steps.

And at this moment, he had already reached the very peak, but he still had one step's worth of progress remaining.

At this instant, not only did countless gazes from the ground converge, but all the Sword Holders in the sky also lowered their heads, looking at Xu Qing.

Such an occurrence was not unheard of throughout history, but the earliest instance was thousands of years ago and not in Yinghuang Province.

In Yinghuang Province, this was a first!

Even the nine Sword Holder Elders fixed their gazes on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's expression was calm. He stood at the peak, with no more steps ahead, only the Emperor's statue.

Thus, he transformed his final step into a bow.

Under the gazes of all the cultivators and Sword Holders, he cupped his fists and bowed deeply towards the Human Emperor.

“Excellent!” In the sky, the Grand Elder of the Sword Holders in the very center nodded slightly, then spoke, issuing a decree.

“All candidates, seize your swords!”

As these words were uttered, everyone on the staircase instantly unleashed their full speed, pushing themselves to their absolute limits.

All sorts of secret techniques emerged endlessly as they sprinted towards the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth step.

They were sprinting.

Xu Qing stood at the highest point, raised his hand to draw the command sword before him, and turned to look down at the crowd below. He stood there, the command sword in his hand shining with brilliant light, illuminating himself while the Emperor's statue behind him was enveloped in radiant light.

For a moment, in the eyes of everyone below, Xu Qing at this instant seemed to merge with the Emperor's statue.

His extraordinary talent and elegant demeanor, his face as fair as jade, within that radiant light, made him seem like the Emperor returned.