“No way! Is it really this tiny?”

Chu Huaixu stared at the small pebble on the ground, his face filled with surprise.

Previously, when he and Han Shuangjiang entered the Daoist Ancestor Secret Realm, it was at least a secret space within a large rock.

When Big Ice Cube plopped down her ample behind, it was like she activated success, knowing instantly she was destined for this opportunity, as if the gates swung open at her touch.

But today, just kicking a small pebble opened the Secret Realm!

A green light absorbed him, and nine semi-transparent ripples spread in the air.

The Daughter of Fortune, terrifying indeed.

“So the last inheritance was in Book Mountain, no wonder I couldn’t find it on Medicine Mountain a few days ago.”

Chu Huaixu began to mobilize the Power of Dao Scripture within him, then gently touched the small pebble with his finger.

The next moment, a green light emerged, and he was absorbed into it as well.

The presence of this Secret Realm immediately alarmed Xiang Yan and others.

The upper echelon of the Daoist Sect almost spoke in unison: “This is… the Daoist Ancestor’s Inheritance!”

“Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang have entered the Inheritance Secret Realm again?”

Everyone felt it was indeed a very good time.

The opening of the East and West Continent Competition in the Third Realm was imminent; obtaining the Daoist Ancestor Inheritance now was truly marvelous!

Indeed!

— Destiny works in wondrous ways.

Besides, there was something else quite important.

As everyone knows, the Dao Ancestor left nine mysterious inheritances throughout the Daoist Sect.

The predecessors in the Daoist Sect enjoyed setting up inheritance secret realms within the sect, a tradition valuing destiny, which started with the Dao Ancestor himself.

And the Dao Ancestor had marked the nine inheritances with “numbers.”

When a secret realm opens, if one ripple spreads out, it’s the first inheritance. Two ripples mean the second one, and so on.

But in this millennium, Daoist disciples wouldn’t necessarily search for the inheritances in the “numbered” order.

The secret realm Shen Man entered spread eight ripples.

While the one Han Shuangjiang opened by the Cold Pool spread seven ripples in total.

“The last Inheritance Secret Realm.”

“And it just so happens to be the ninth one,” Xiang Yan and the others thought.

“Nine, the ultimate number!”

“For some reason, this particular secret realm strikes one as extraordinary,” Nangong Yue marveled.

Li Chunsong, hearing this, chimed in: “Over this millennium, haven’t many within the sect analyzed it, saying it’s highly possible the secret of the [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root] lies in the Inheritance Secret Realm?”

“Many speculate that obtaining a Daoist Ancestor’s inheritance is necessary to learn [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root].”

Zhao Shuqi, however, shook his head, saying: “It’s just a pity that, as of now, there seems to be no secret to [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root]; it’s just that few have comprehended it. Didn’t the current Sword Venerable of Sword Sect learn it independently?”

Jiang Zhi listened on the side without interjecting.

Being a member of the Daoist Sect and currently the strongest Sword Dao adept, he too hadn’t learned [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root].

In the end, it was the Sword Venerable of Sword Sect who attained it.

Even though the Dao Ancestor wasn’t stingy, granted [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root] for all the world to comprehend together.

But, honestly, it’s quite embarrassing that no one in the Daoist Sect has learned it, and the only one who has, is an outsider.

….

….

Sword Sect, Nameless Peak.

Nameless Peak isn’t a very tall mountain, but its slopes are extremely steep, and from afar, it somewhat resembles a giant sword thrust into the earth.

This peak is where successive generations of Sword Venerables of the Sword Sect have resided.

Owing to the steepness of the mountain, only the very top is suitable for habitation.

Here exists but a small wooden house, and nothing else.

The wooden door creaked open by a pair of large hands, and a middle-aged man, dressed like a scholar, stepped out slowly from the house, holding a book.

The middle-aged scholar once had an elegant name, but now residing on Nameless Peak, he became a nameless person.

Or rather, his current name is Sword Venerable.

All Sword Venerables throughout the ages are the same.

Upon ascending to this position, he became the Sword of the Sword Sect.

The middle-aged scholar stood on the not-so-tall Nameless Peak, looking up towards the blue sky, as if waiting for something.

After a while, a stream of light streaked across the sky.

Someone approached through the air, and before they even arrived, a voice drifted over.

The words, if revealed, could quite possibly cause outrage.

“Senior Brother! Hurry to welcome me!”

Hearing this, the middle-aged scholar quickly stepped forward with a gentle smile.

Situ Cheng, one of the [Four Great Divine Swords], soon descended from the sky.

His hair was half-white, and he was slightly hunched.

Plus, his demeanor towards the middle-aged scholar was rather superior, making him look almost like an elder when they stood together.

“Junior Brother’s grand visit, won’t you serve tea?” he frowned, sounding extremely dissatisfied.

“Yes, yes, yes.” The middle-aged scholar quickly apologized with a smile, saying, “Situ, it’s been a while since you visited Senior Brother.”

He made a gesture of invitation towards the stone table after speaking.

Situ Cheng’s brow furrowed again: “Lately, I’ve had no insights in Sword Dao, so I’m not here to spar with you. Why else would I come to see you!”

Back when Jiang Zhi was in the Daoist Sect, from his conversation with Situ Cheng, it was clear that he and his senior brother had been competing for most of their lives.

Of course, it was only in Situ Cheng’s own mind… competing?

Every time they sparred, he would always narrowly lose, falling just a tiny bit short.

Back then, Jiang Zhi even had a rather amused look in his eyes.

But Situ Cheng never seemed to mind.

Everyone knows that the Sword Venerable is a person of utmost sincerity, never telling a lie.

There’s no reason for him to be honest with the whole world and deceive his only junior brother.

When they were young, because the senior brother never lied, their mischief always got exposed, leading to frequent scoldings from their master.

At that time, Situ Cheng’s strength far surpassed that of his senior brother, and it always fell upon him, the junior brother, to protect him.

The senior brother back then was like a bookish fool, thoroughly versed in Sword Dao texts, reciting them backwards but couldn’t grasp the basics, with cultivation and swordsmanship no better than ordinary.

When they went down the mountain to complete missions, it was Situ Cheng who had to burn his own lifespan to narrowly escape danger, saving his life, which is why now he looks older than his senior brother.

The middle-aged scholar, while pouring tea for his junior brother, said, “Situ, actually, even when we’re not sparring, you could visit your senior brother more often.”

“What’s there to see about you?” Situ Cheng replied with an unhappy expression.

He took a sip of the hot tea, put down the cup, and said, “I’ve come to tell you something today. You were wrong!”

“Alright, senior brother was wrong.” The middle-aged scholar smiled and continued to pour tea for his junior brother.

Upon hearing this, Situ Cheng felt a fury rise inside, his eyes widened, and his nostrils flared as he glared at the scholar, angrily saying:

“You should be asking me what you did wrong now!”

The middle-aged scholar immediately put down the teapot and said earnestly, “Alright, alright, please enlighten me, junior brother, where did senior brother go wrong?”

Only then did Situ Cheng nod with satisfaction, saying, “Did you ever discuss with me about that promising talent from the Outer Sect, Geng Tianhe, saying he has ambition but lacks intent, and before reaching the Third Realm, he couldn’t fully grasp Sword Intent?”

The middle-aged scholar looked upwards, his face showing contemplation, causing the ribbons on his hair crown to sway slightly backward, as if recalling whether such a casual remark was ever made.

Situ Cheng’s expression grew increasingly displeased, and when he saw no response, he frowned and said, “Don’t think about it, you said it!”

“Yes, yes, I did indeed say that.” The middle-aged scholar quickly nodded and replied with a smile.

Seeing this, Situ Cheng’s tone turned more arrogant, and he emphatically tapped his finger twice on the stone table, saying:

“Well, let me tell you now, when Geng Tianhe fought against Chu Huaixu at the Daoist Sect, he forcibly entered the Sword Intent Realm. After returning to the sect and receiving my guidance, he has stabilized his intent. A month ago, I took him as a disciple, making him my direct disciple.”

“Under my careful guidance, he already shows faint signs of achieving Minor Success of Sword Intent!”

To a common person, this might be cause for debate.

I previously said he was too arrogant to enter the threshold of Sword Intent, clearly it was Chu Huaixu’s provocation that led to his realization, what does that have to do with you?

But the middle-aged scholar replied with a serious face, “Junior brother is truly talented!”

Hearing this, Situ Cheng was evidently quite pleased, giving a light humph, and said, “This boy’s talent is indeed not bad, no less than I was back then.”

“I estimate that, before the Third Realm Competition, he will achieve Minor Success of Sword Intent! Our Sword Sect won’t be embarrassed like last time at the East Continent Competition.”

“It’s just a pity, that kid from the Daoist Sect, I don’t even know why, clearly only just stepping into Sword Intent, already has a Sword Heart within.”

“If not for Chu Huaixu, Geng Tianhe would definitely be the first in Sword Dao Insights among the younger generation!”

Hearing this, the middle-aged scholar marveled, “This Chu Huaixu indeed defies understanding, even breaking the conclusion set by the First Sword Venerable.”

At this point, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Had this child been born twenty years earlier, I would have been delighted.”

The current Sword Venerable stands unmatched in Sword Dao Insights.

Jiang Zhi verifies the Dao with killing, focusing on slaughter, with combat power reaching the heavens.

In terms of strength, the two seem evenly matched on the surface, yet their true superiority would be revealed only through a life-and-death duel.

Moreover, the premise is that the current Sword Venerable actually possesses the Power of Origin, but for unknown reasons, has never reached the Ninth Realm.

As for Sword Dao Insights, although Jiang Zhi is older, he still doesn’t surpass the current Sword Venerable.

Over time, the Sword Venerable became a person tired of victory in Sword Dao.

The position at the absolute peak is too lonely.

The middle-aged scholar wishes Chu Huaixu had been born twenty years earlier, thinking that perhaps this child could keep pace with him, becoming a confidant in Sword Dao.

But now, with the difference in age, their strength naturally lags far behind.

Hearing this, Situ Cheng couldn’t help but snort coldly, retorting, “It seems, senior brother, you don’t consider me a rival anymore.”

Even though I always narrowly lose, you can only ever beat me by a tiny margin!

What’s there to be pleased about!

The middle-aged scholar quickly added, “Fortunately, there is still you, junior brother.”

Situ Cheng didn’t say anything, just snorted again, with a bit less displeasure on his face.

After a while, he sighed.

“I don’t know what stroke of luck you had, enabling you to comprehend the Dao Ancestor’s [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root].”

“If you hadn’t learned it, I would have won the last sparring!”

Their last battle was two years ago.

At that time, the middle-aged scholar had just mastered [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root].

It was with this move that he defeated Situ Cheng.

Before then, they were evenly matched, fighting back and forth.

And [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root] is recognized as the strongest Technique in the world!

Situ Cheng accepted his loss to this move.

But the middle-aged scholar again looked up to the sky, shaking his head, saying:

“Junior brother, I’ve said many times, that wasn’t truly [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root].”

…

(PS: Second update, asking for monthly votes at the beginning of the month!)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep