A young, freckled female cultivator smiled and promptly said, “So you’re Han Li. The Martial Ancestor has already notified us of you. Junior Martial Brother Han may directly head to the Phoenix Court Pavilion at the top of the mountain. Martial Ancestor is waiting for you there.
Han Li uttered a word of thanks before immediately flying up the mountain.
However, not long after he departed, the three female disciples began to gossip without restraint once they believed Han Li was out of earshot.
“Is Junior Martial Brother Han truly a disciple that will be participating in the Sword Trial Assembly? His cultivation doesn’t seem very high.”
“He doesn’t appear to be anything special.”
“Hehe! So you two don’t know. I’ve seen all of Junior Martial Brother Han’s fights. Let me tell you...”
Having heard all of that, Han Li recalled his spiritual sense with a wry smile. After shaking his head, he fly towards the mountain peak.
White Phoenix Mountain wasn’t very tall. After only a moment, Han Li managed to reach the top of the mountain, a flat plateau that spanned three hundred meters. It was surrounded with white clouds with abundant spiritual Qi as if it were an otherworldly realm.
Within this fantastic scene stood a sole pavilion that was only sixty meters tall and was divided into three stories. The building was constructed from a unknown white wood. Its natural untouched form produced an air of simple elegance.
Han Li landed in front of the pavilion and loudly shouted, “Disciple Han Li pays his respects to Martial Ancestor Song!” Once that was said, Han Li felt a trace of spiritual sense sweep over him. He stood in place with a calm expression, feigning ignorance of the matter.
A long while later, a woman’s gentle voice said, “Since you’ve arrived, come up to the second story of the pavilion. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
“As you bid!” Han Li then walked forward and gently pushed open the wooden doors which swung freely.
The first floor of the pavilion was completely empty apart from a spell formation to aid in cultivation.
Han Li swept his gaze past the first floor and directly headed towards the second floor.
The second floor was also quite bare. Apart from a few racks of jade slips and magic tools, there were only a few chairs and a short stone table.
Han Li also saw a blue-clothed woman sitting in one of the chairs. She was looking at a worn jade slip on the table as if she were attentively reading through it.
After a moment of hesitation, Han Li thought to say something when the woman raised her head, revealing a heart stirring beauty. She appeared to be in her mid twenties and was an early Core Formation cultivator.
“You’re Han Li?” The woman calmly asked.
“Yes, Martial Ancestor!” Han Li respectfully replied.
She stared at Han Li with her bright, clear eyes and said, “Since you were able to come here, then it can be considered fate. I will instruct you as best I can. However, you will only remain at the Phoenix Court Pavilion for three days before you depart. What you will learn during this time will depend on yourself.”
For some reason, although her cultivation wasn’t very high, Han Li felt as if both his body and mind were clearly revealed underneath her gaze, and he couldn’t help but feel alarm. Given Han Li’s immense spiritual sense, it was extremely strange for him to experience this sensation. Clearly, she had used some sort of mind reading divine ability.
Without any further thought, Han Li gave her a polite reply as he stealthily circulated the entirety of his Great Development Technique throughout his body, shielding his true thoughts.
As Han Li became inwardly alarmed and vigilant, a strange expression appeared in the blue-clothed woman’s eyes before closing them with a tired expression.
The woman gently said, “First, recite the chant for your cultivation art and then head down to the second layer. Do not come back up without my command. After I’ve obtained some enlightenment of your cultivation art, I will give you a detailed explanation on any of its intricacies. Now, start!”
“Yes. Disciple cultivates the technique that Martial Aunt Mu had given him, the Profound Ice Arts. This cultivation art...” Han Li began to slowly recite it with a calm expression.
After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Han Li had finished. The woman nodded her head and waved an arm, indicating for him to go down. Han Li saluted her and wordlessly climbed down the stairs.
The blue-clothed woman looked at Han Li’s departing figure and motionlessly sat down in her chair with a frown.
She then took out a sound transmission talisman and calmly said a few words into it. It turned into a streak of fire and flew out the window without a trace.
...
At the center of the main mountain of the Drifting Cloud Sect where the Core Formation cultivators had last met, a white-haired old man was leisurely standing at the window when his eyes suddenly began to shine as a streak of fiery light flew towards him from across the sky.
The old man wordlessly raised his hand and emitted a mist of white light, catching the fiery light. It fiercely burned, releasing the curt voice of the blue-clothed woman, “Han Li passes, but Du Dong harbors malice.”
With an icy expression, old man coldly muttered, “Humph! Habors malice? I knew something was amiss. The Du Clan had a deep relationship with the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion’s Fu Clan. If he truly was a descendant of the Du Clan, he should’ve entered the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion rather than our Drifting Cloud Sect.”
The white-haired old man thought a moment more before muttering to himself with an expression of admiration, “However, Junior Martial Sister Song’s Harmonic Mind is becoming truly fearsome. I myself am uncertain as to whether or not I can block it. I know only my two Martial Uncles to be capable.”
...
Two months later, at the western portion of the Dreamcloud Mountains in a deep valley surrounded by mountains, there were several thousands of Hundred Possibilities Pavilion disciples converging at the heart of the valley. They were excitedly talking with each other as their clamor filled the air.
There were many disciples that repeatedly gazed to the skies with impatient expressions as if they were feeling anxious.
Chapter 627: Sword Trial Battles (1)
At the very front of the several thousands of disciples in the plaza, there stood several tens of rather noteworthy individuals. Eight of them were Core Formation cultivators who stood with calm poise, with several tens of Foundation Establishment cultivators standing behind them. They were the Hundred Possibilities Sect’s institute masters and elders, but a majority of them were merely stewards.
“They’re coming!” A sharp-eyed disciple saw something off the horizon and shouted in excitement. Suddenly, many low grade cultivators began to look expectantly up at the sky, catching glimpses of light in the distance. Soon, a large group of variously colored dots of light began to fly towards them.
“It’s the Ancient Sword Sect. They’re all using sword magic tools.”
As soon as that was said, the crowd began to roil. Many of them began to point to the incoming lights with varied expressions.
“Silence! Do you wish to make a joke of us to the other two sects?” A tall old man coldly uttered with a sullen expression. His voice resonated to everyone present and caused a few of the overeager disciples to shut their mouths, bringing silence to the plaza in an instant.
When the tall old man saw this, his expression relaxed and the other Core Formation cultivators glanced at one another with a smile. They didn’t seem surprised at all by this.
At that moment, the Ancient Sword Sect cultivators arrived at the plaza. A vast majority of them had flown on swords with hardly any exceptions.
A short and small old man flew out from Ancient Sword Sect cultivators and descended with a chuckle. “I didn’t expect that Brother Fu would personally come to greet us. I am truly overwhelmed by your grace!”
A blue-robed scholarly man and a white-clothed young woman both descended at his side with a faint smile. From their appearance, they appeared to be married.
At that moment, the Ancient Sword Sect’s young, low-grade cultivators each began to descend onto the plaza.
The tall old man calmly saluted the three and said, “So it is Brother Jiang Yun who is bringing the disciples this time. We extend a respectful greeting to you. And there is also the famous Bai Bi Swordmates, we welcome you as well.”
“Enough, let’s not flatter each other or we’ll make a laughingstock of ourselves in front of our juniors. However, it seems that the Drifting Cloud Sect has yet to arrive. They’ve become increasingly disinterested in the Sword Trial Assembly. Don’t tell me they’ve grown cowardly because they’ve placed last a few times?” The cultivator surnamed Jiang seemed to dislike the Drifting Cloud Sect and spoke with a trace of schadenfreude.
The old man surnamed Fu wore a wry smile, not daring to rashly reply. The Hundred Possibilities Pavilion differed from the Ancient Sword Sect. If such words left his mouth and they managed to reach the upper echelon of the Drifting Cloud Sect, they would certainly cause trouble.
But before Old Man Fu thought of how he should reply, a middle-aged man with long dark-green robes grinned and interrupted him from behind, “There is no need for Fellow Daoist Jiang to be so impatient. I’ve heard that White Phoenix Mountain’s Fairy Song is escorting the Drifting Cloud Sect disciples this time around. She is a fine beauty that is rarely seen in our three sects. It is a pity that Fairy Song has always kept herself hidden away. Now, we finally have a chance to look upon her!”
Jiang Yun wore a face of excitement and nodded his head, “Brother Shi mentioned the Fairy of White Phoenix? I’ve long heard rumors that this woman’s beauty is incomparable. If this woman is truly escorting their disciples, then there is no harm in waiting.”
When the Ancient Sword Sect pair cultivators heard this, they wore a surprised expression. The azure-robed scholarly man astonishedly said, “I’ve heard the Fairy of White Phoenix possesses Heavenly Spiritual Roots, and that she was able to easily enter Core Formation in less than a hundred years. She could be said to be a cultivation genius that is only spotted once in a thousand years. It is quite surprising that we’d be able to see such a figure at the Sword Trial Assembly!”
Although the white-robed woman’s expression was calm, she spoke with an enchanting voice, “That’s true! Even as a woman, I hold quite some curiosity towards the greatly renowned Fairy Song. I have yet to catch sight of her. Surely she must be wondrously beautiful!”
Old Man Fu smiled and thought to say something when he suddenly shouted towards the sky, “Huh!? It seems the Drifting Cloud Sect members have arrived!”
When the others heard this, they gazed upward and saw that a huge black dot was gradually growing closer to them from the east.
“That’s...” Jiang Yun’s expression stirred. It seemed he knew what it was.
Once it grew closer, the others were able to clearly see what is was – a huge, monstrous bird that was flying towards them with astonishing speed. There seemed to be many cultivators standing on the bird’s back.
Upon spotting the huge bird, Jiang Yun sourly said, “Humph! The Drifting Cloud Sect is merely showing off its mutated Azure Hawk. The only thing impressive about it that has mutated is its size. It is still only a grade five demon beast!”
Old Man Fu and the other Hundred Possibilities Pavilion cultivators pretended to have not heard this. However, the youths nearby gasped at the sight of such a large spirit beast. They all stared at the huge bird's astonishing figure with awe.
Each flap of its glowing azure wings brought it forward with astonishing momentum, and in the blink of an eye, it had arrived in front of the plaza. It’s huge wings cast a shadow upon the entire stage and blew fierce winds downward, causing a few of the low grade disciples to lose their balance and turn pale from fright.
“Stop!” A man’s voice suddenly sounded out from atop the bird. The huge bird folded its wings and floated motionlessly in the air as many cultivators began to drop down from its back.
“Yi! Isn’t that Firecloud Mountain’s Brother Duan? What a pleasant surprise!” When Old Man Fu saw the red-robed old man in the front, his eyes brightened and he hastily went forward to meet him.
The old man chuckled and smiled, “Hardly. I’ve held quite the impression of you ever since I last saw you in the Yun Province!” At the same time he was speaking, he swept his gaze past the many people behind him.
Old Man Fu casually said, “Brother Duan wishes to look for Chang Zhen? That’s too bad. Junior Martial Brother Chang is currently handling affairs outside of the sect. However, he should return by the end of the assembly!”
The red-robed old man appeared slightly disappointed, but his expression soon recovered. “So it’s like that. It can’t be helped. Being able to talk about old times is quite a problem of chance. Back to the matter at hand then! This is Junior Martial Brother Yu. There should be no need for introductions, as everyone should recognize him. As for Junior Martial Sister Song, I believe this should be everyone’s first time seeing her. Let me introduce you!” He pointed to the stunning blue-clothed woman behind him.
Old Man Fu looked at Cultivator Song with narrowed eyes and gasped. “I’ve known of your grand reputation for many years as the Fairy of White Phoenix! Now that I’ve witnessed your elegance, I must say that your reputation is well deserved!”
The blue-clothed woman gently smiled and replied, “Senior Martial Brother Fu wrongfully flatters me. I hardly deserve the title of Fairy!” The woman had an aura of peaceful charm to her, causing the nearby low grade male cultivators to look on with thumping hearts. Although a few of the high grade cultivators were better off then their bewitched juniors, passion flared within their eyes as well.
Next, the Drifting Cloud Sect’s Core Formation cultivators greeted the Ancient Sword Sect.
Although Jiang Yun appeared indifferent, he reluctantly uttered a few words. As for the white-robed young woman, she stuck close to Cultivator Song and began to enthusiastically speak with her as if they were sisters.
Despite this, Cultivator Song maintained an elegant demeanor throughout, revealing not the slightest flaw in her actions.
The following matters were simple enough. Once the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion finished their formailies, they brought the two sects to their respective huge courtyards and had them rest for the day. The official competition would begin on the next morning.
The night peacefully passed by. With the coming of the second day, the three sects fiercely began the competition.
The competition was conducted in three groups of thirty with each sect sending ten of their own disciples into each group. Each group would then battle among themselves in a single elimination format until only four were left. The final twelve disciples would then draw ballots and fight for the top ten rankings.
Because there weren’t many disciples competing, there was no need to have multiple fights occuring at the same time. The fights were to be held sequentially on the same stage. As for how the order was decided, there were lots that were drawn by each of the group’s leaders. As for the judges, they would come from the sect that didn’t belong to either of the competitors, making it quite fair.
With countless Hundred Possibilities Pavilion disciples densely surrounding the stage, a bald man stood at the center of the stage and slowly announced, “The first fight is between the Drifting Cloud Sect’s Han Li vs the Ancient Sword Sect’s Yao Feng!”
Following the bald man’s announcement, a disciple walked out from each group of disciples. A torrent of whispers began to pour from the surrounding Hundred Possibilities Pavilion disciples once they clearly saw the contestants.
“Am I not mistaken? One is a Qi Condensation cultivator at the eleventh layer and the other is a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”
“The difference in their cultivation
is far too great!”
The Ancient Sword Sect cultivator looked at his opponent with a strange expression. Soon after, disdain momentarily appeared on his face. He felt it would be extremely easy to deal with an opponent with such shallow cultivation.
As for his opponent, he was a youth with a common appearance that was tightly frowning as if he felt perplexed and anxious.
Of course, the Core Formation cultivators of the three sects were separated from the rest of the disciples. They were floating in empty space above the light barrier and leisurely chatting.
“Brother Duan, does the Drifting Cloud Sect truly plan on abandoning this Sword Trial Assembly? How was an eleventh layer disciple able to prevail through the selections? Was he someone you brought to make up for a lack of numbers?” Jiang Yun couldn’t help but laugh upon seeing the Drifting Cloud Sect disciple.
The red-robed cultivator calmly replied, “Huh, eleventh layer? Not bad! I recall that he was only at the tenth layer when he acquired victory in the selections. It is quite impressive for him to have cultivated so quickly!”
Jiang Yun wore a doubtful expression. “What? He made it through the selection at tenth layer? Are you joking?”
This time, the red-robed cultivator merely replied with a silent smile.
When Jiang Yun saw this, he felt slightly apprehensive and said nothing else. He began to pay attention to the stage below.
“Match start!” The bald man from before suddenly shouted.
As soon as the Ancient Sword Sect youth heard this, he had a red and a blue sword fly out from the sheathes on his back. They floated above him as green light flickered from his hands, forming a green light barrier around him. Afterwards, the youth quickly formed a hand incantation, intending to have his flying swords attack.
But before he could carry out this well-practiced series of actions, he suddenly spotted sixty fireballs heading towards him in an overbearing wave of blistering heat.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 337