Chapter 1970: You Had a Sword During Your Assessment?

Opening the door, I immediately saw Elder Lu Yun and Shan Xiaotian looking at me, clearly very tense.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Xuan frowned. Hadn't he only been testing for a short while? Why were they so nervous?

"You're not hurt?" Seeing him safe and sound, Elder Lu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, his face full of bewilderment.

"Injured?" Zhang Xuan was dumbfounded. "Testing sword intent... does it require getting injured?" He wondered if there was some special technique involving injury for this sword intent test, where one couldn't achieve a good distance without getting hurt.

"No, look..." Seeing his teacher's confused expression, Shan Xiaotian scratched his head and pointed around.

Zhang Xuan looked up, and what he saw stunned him. Every cultivator emerging from the surrounding testing rooms was spitting up large mouthfuls of blood, their faces deathly pale, as if their vital energy and spirit had been utterly crushed.

Zhang Xuan was stunned. "Does testing sword intent really need to be this dramatic? You didn't seem to be spitting blood just now, did you?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but turn to Shan Xiaotian. Shan Xiaotian hadn't spat blood during his test, so why were so many people looking this way?

"It's not the test itself," Elder Lu Yun explained. "Just now, during the test, an extremely powerful sword intent suddenly manifested! Others were too weak and were suppressed by it, leading to their current state." As an outer elder, his comprehension of swordsmanship was profound, and he possessed extensive knowledge. Though he hadn't participated in the test, he had clearly felt the immense power of that sword intent. It was like a flood dragon gazing down upon all living beings; in its eyes, all the disciples present who had comprehended sword intent were nothing more than ants.

"Powerful sword intent? Could it... have reached the Sword God level?" Zhang Xuan was startled and couldn't help but look over.

"More than that, it likely reached ten li!" Elder Lu Yun nodded. He had never witnessed a ten-li Sword God, but according to the sect's historical records, this was the highest recorded achievement. The oppressive sensation just now, a single burst of sword intent, challenged everyone, and no one could resist it—a clear testament to its power! He estimated that even if it wasn't a true ten-li Sword God, it was remarkably close. As for anything higher, he dared not even conceive of it. After all, in the Lingyun Sword Pavilion's thousands of years of history, no one had ever surpassed that level.

"A ten-li Sword God?" Zhang Xuan gasped, his eyes gleaming. "Elder, do you know who it was?" He himself couldn't even reach one meter, yet this person's sword intent extended for ten li... their power was truly terrifying! Such an individual was someone he absolutely had to witness! He had previously envisioned sweeping through the Hall of Deification with his peerless strength and earning a title like 'World-Sweeper.' Now, it seemed, things wouldn't be so simple! A ten-li Sword God... This was an exceptionally rare genius. Even if he were to sweep the world, he would likely have to kneel before a ten-li Sword God!

"I don't know..." Elder Lu Yun shook his head. When testing sword intent, unless one witnessed it directly or obtained the jade token, only those in adjacent rooms could potentially see each other's scores. Outsiders had no way of knowing.

"By the way, what was your score... from the test just now?" Elder Lu Yun couldn't help but ask. He was still quite curious about Zhang Xuan. Shan Xiaotian obeyed his every word; even if they were close friends, such obedience was unusual! More importantly, Cao Chengli and Elder Yi also showed him immense respect. However, Zhang Xuan had always been very low-key. Several attempts to glean information from him had failed, and sometimes he seemed genuinely clueless about many matters on the continent, so Elder Lu Yun had stopped pressing. He had only agreed to Zhang Xuan's insistence on taking the test because he harbored a desire to gauge his abilities. Otherwise, if everyone demanded tests, even an outer elder would find it financially and energetically unsustainable!

"Me?" Zhang Xuan's face instantly turned green. "If you don't bring that up, we can still be friends!"

"If you won't tell me, I'll just go see for myself..." Seeing Zhang Xuan's reluctance, Elder Lu Yun shook his head, pushed open the door, and entered. A moment later, he emerged holding a jade token inscribed with Zhang Xuan's recent test score. He offered a faint smile, then looked down at the token. After a brief glance, his mouth twitched. "Two feet five? Less than... one meter?" Elder Lu Yun's face was flushed with embarrassment. No wonder Zhang Xuan didn't want to mention it; that score was truly unmentionable!

Shan Xiaotian, glancing at the token, then looked at his teacher again, his admiration intensifying. His teacher had always claimed to be low-key. Shan Xiaotian had initially wondered if it was just talk, but now he truly understood what genuine low-key meant! To casually impart swordsmanship that allowed him to achieve 499 meters, while his teacher couldn't even manage one meter... What a powerful heart, what noble qualities, what utter disregard for reputation one must possess... A true teacher! Not at all ostentatious like himself! He hadn't achieved it himself, yet he was putting on an act... He was truly ashamed!

Seeing Elder Lu Yun pull out the jade token and display it in front of his disciple, Zhang Xuan wished he could just bash his head in. He had taken on so many disciples on the Master Teacher Continent, yet he had never suffered such profound humiliation! His heart was heavy with dismay.

"Let's go back!" Elder Lu Yun broke the awkward silence. Having just witnessed so many people spitting blood while Zhang Xuan remained perfectly fine, he had entertained the thought that Zhang Xuan might be the ten-li Sword God. Upon seeing the record on the jade token, he realized... he had been mistaken! A sword intent of less than one meter was effectively nonexistent. Without sword intent, one naturally couldn't perceive the other's immense power, and thus wouldn't sustain injuries! As for the true identity of this Sword God, as an outer elder, the matter was far beyond his scope. How to investigate would, naturally, be decided by the sect's higher echelons.

Back at the residence, Elder Lu Yun turned to take his leave. Now that Shan Xiaotian's test was complete, he needed to take the jade token to the Elder Council to apply for an inner disciple token on his behalf. Recruiting a super genius capable of extending his sword intent to 499 meters would undoubtedly bring immense rewards from the sect. Perhaps, through this achievement, he could break through his current bottlenecks, advance to a higher cultivation level, and even become an inner elder!

He swiftly rode his flying sacred beast, arriving at the Elder Hall in short order. Before he even reached the entrance, he spotted several familiar elders, all rushing towards him with anxious expressions. These were all inner elders, who had once been his friends. However, after they broke through their personal bottlenecks and advanced to higher levels of strength, their interactions had steadily decreased.

"Elder Mu, why the rush? What's going on?" Seeing everyone hurrying with anxious faces, Elder Lu Yun could no longer restrain himself. He stopped one of them, a former close friend, and inquired.

"Such a big thing happened, and you don't know?" Elder Mu was a somewhat thin old man with a greenish beard and a light gray robe. "Oh, right, you're just an outer elder; you're not qualified to attend the Elder Council, so it's normal that you wouldn't know..."

Elder Lu Yun felt awkward. "Don't be angry, you know I've always been direct and speak my mind..." Elder Mu said with a blank expression, "Grand Elder He Tian, you've heard of him, right?"

"Yes!" Elder Lu Yun nodded. He Tian was the most core elder of the sect, and also the number one Grand Elder. When the sect leader was not in the sect, he had the authority to handle all matters.

"It's fine if you don't know, no need to be embarrassed. After all, your status is what it is, no need to pretend..." Elder Mu continued.

"Cough, cough, why don't you just tell me what happened with Grand Elder He Tian!" Knowing that this friend was quite verbose but not malicious, Elder Lu Yun quickly interrupted.

"Well, it's like this," Elder Mu said, nodding. "Elder He just sent a message to all elders of inner rank and above, stating that... the mountain gate and the giant sword... have collapsed! Your rank is too low, so you wouldn't have received the notification..."

"The mountain gate collapsed?" Elder Lu Yun's eyes widened, no longer hearing the rest of Elder Mu's words. The mountain gate and the colossal sword were the very symbols of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, embodying the 'ambition to pierce through the nine heavens and soar above the clouds!' Their collapse... would inflict immense damage to the sect's prestige!

"Why did it collapse?" He interrupted the other party's rambling and quickly looked over.

"I don't know either," Elder Mu said, shaking his head, equally bewildered. "Just now, an incredibly powerful sword intent suddenly appeared—you must have felt it too. It seems that sword intent somehow resonated with the sword intent within the colossal sword, causing the collapse... Anyway, let's not discuss this further. I need to attend the Elder Council now, so I can't chat any longer..." With that, he vanished in a flash, without even turning his head.

"That fellow, still the same as ever, hasn't changed a bit..." Elder Lu Yun's face was filled with helplessness. This man had offended many with his blunt words. He hadn't expected that after so many years, he would remain unchanged, still not particularly pleasant to listen to.

Nevertheless, through Elder Mu, he had learned the astonishing news that the mountain gate had collapsed! "That sword intent, could it be the ten-li Sword God from earlier?" His heart stirred. He had clearly felt that sword intent and knew it was remarkable, but he hadn't imagined it could be *this* remarkable! It could even communicate with the sword intent sealed within the colossal sword of the mountain gate... Who could it possibly be?

"The elders are all in a meeting right now. Would it be inappropriate for me to go and report an inner disciple?" Everyone was engaged in discussing a major issue. For him, an outer elder, to suddenly barge in merely to report about an inner disciple seemed highly ill-timed.

"Never mind, I'll go in anyway," Elder Lu Yun decided, gritting his teeth after a moment of hesitation. "Shan Xiaotian's first test, at 499 meters, is immeasurably stronger than that of many core disciples. And crucially, his current cultivation is only at the first level of Ancient Sage... With so many elders present, he's sure to receive even more attention, and my rewards will be greater too!" More elders being present was indeed beneficial; he was reporting a genuine genius, not a fraud, and perhaps he could gain even greater recognition because of it!

No longer conflicted, he hurried towards the Elder Hall.

As Elder Lu Yun headed to the Elder Hall, Zhang Xuan looked at the disciple before him, no longer able to suppress the doubts in his heart. "You... how did you manage to extend your sword intent for over four hundred meters?" He himself couldn't even reach one meter, yet this inexperienced student had achieved such a distance; he truly couldn't fathom it.

"I..." Shan Xiaotian replied, his face flushing with embarrassment at his teacher's question. "I used the sword technique you taught me, just threw the sword straight out, and I never expected the sword intent... to travel so far!"

"Throwing a sword? The sword intent behind that move is indeed not weak... Wait!" Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched, and he stared at Shan Xiaotian. "Are you saying... you had a sword during the test?"