Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Swordless

As an Array Grandmaster and a powerhouse of the Eighth Realm, the Silence Array laid down by Lu Pan seemed powerless in the face of Shen Man.

As soon as the array broke, Chu Yinyin started making a fuss.

Everyone listened to her wailing, each wearing an expression of helplessness.

They’d all been fellow sect members for years, and in fact, everyone knew Shen Man doted on Chu Yinyin the most.

In the end, it was Sect Leader Xiang Yan who spoke up: “Little Junior Sister, it’s not that we’re making things difficult for you on purpose. Matters at this level of secrecy are not open to those below Seventh Realm. That’s the rule for this tier of secrets.”

Chu Yinyin’s thoughts jumped around as usual, always off the beaten track: “Then why don’t you just lower the secrecy level!”

Everyone: “???”

As the Law Enforcement Elder, Lu Pan’s face darkened—it was already stern to begin with. He immediately said in a low voice, “Little Junior Sister, mind what you say. The secrecy level here was set personally by Junior Martial Uncle.”

The skinny Daoist Nun sitting atop the giant boulder finally spoke up.

“Mas…ter.”

“I…will talk.”

Her voice was still pleasant to the ear, but her tone and phrasing were still odd, occasionally swallowing a word or two out of habit.

Although everyone present referred to each other as senior and junior brothers and sisters, they didn’t share the same master; it was just that they were all of the same generation’s direct disciples back in the day.

Junior Martial Uncle had only one disciple—the Daoist Nun sitting with her back to everyone on the giant rock.

Seeing Shen Man take the initiative to bear responsibility, no one said more.

One person breaking the rules would never fly, but all of them breaking the rules together—well, when they were all direct disciples, that happened quite a lot.

The especially ugly Sect Leader Xiang Yan even found a reasonable excuse: “Little Junior Sister, obviously you can break through to the next realm anytime, but you just won’t. If you moved up to the Seventh Realm, wouldn’t all this fuss be unnecessary?”

Chu Yinyin heard this, looked down at her stubbornly petite, undeveloped body, and frowned: “It’s enough, it’s enough! Sixth Realm is enough! If I break through again, I’ll really lose my mind!”

No one could do anything with her, so they started discussing the real business.

Like a big marinated egg, Sect Leader Xiang Yan looked up and asked, “Seventh Junior Sister, our divine sense wasn’t wrong, was it? It really is Sword Heart Clarity?”

The word-sparing Daoist Nun didn’t speak, only nodded slightly.

Everyone exchanged glances, clicking their tongues in amazement.

“How can a disciple in Acupoint Opening Stage reach the Realm of Sword Heart Clarity?”

“That’s right, among sword cultivators with this level of Sword Dao Insight—excluding the Four Great Divine Swords—you can count them on one hand.”

“Well, that’s not for sure—there are still some reclusive seniors in the Profound Yellow Realm, but at most, you couldn’t count them on both hands.”

Sword Heart Clarity meant one’s understanding of the Sword Dao had reached its absolute peak!

Li Chunsong thought for a moment and said, “If I remember right, Seventh Junior Sister reached this realm right when she first entered the Seventh Realm? That was already considered extremely rare in the world.”

“Yeah, where on earth did Junior Martial Uncle pick up this freak from down the mountain?” Everyone looked at Li Chunsong, who’d gone to Wumeng Mountain to fetch the person.

The Charitable Gambling King instantly shrugged with both hands: “Don’t look at me. I just got the letter, went down the mountain to fetch someone—I know nothing else.”

“But I did my job perfectly! I brought everyone that Junior Martial Uncle told me to bring up the mountain. Shouldn’t I get a few sect contribution points for this?” Li Chunsong was already begging for handouts.

“All you did was fly down the mountain. How do you have the nerve?” Sect Leader Xiang Yan immediately started getting stingy.

The gentle and tolerant Ninth Elder, Nangong Yue, stood to the side, exuding a gentle aura. Although she didn’t have a Dao companion, she still felt kind of wifely.

She smiled and said with emotion, “Even the current Sword Venerable of the Sword Sect—hailed as a once-in-a-millennium Sword Dao prodigy—and said by the Sword Sect to rival the Dao Ancestor of yesteryear, only achieved Sword Heart Great Perfection when he entered the Realm of the Great Cultivator, right?”

On hearing this, everyone’s stance instantly unified—they began to roast the Sword Sect together.

“Why do those Sword Sect folks always use our Dao Ancestor as their comparison?”

“Exactly, talk about slapping gold leaf on their own faces!”

“It’d be one thing to compare to their First Sword Venerable, but Dao Ancestor? There’s no such person in this world.”

Even Chu Yinyin was shouting, “Pah, pah, pah! The Sword Sect people have no shame!”

Even the skinny Daoist Nun sitting on the boulder nodded repeatedly without a word.

Everyone was dismissive—it showed just how exalted Dao Ancestor’s status was in the hearts of Daoist Sect members.

In East Continent, the oldest history among the Four Great Sects actually belongs to the Sword Sect, which was always the holy land for sword cultivators.

Until the Dao Ancestor’s sudden rise suppressed every Sword Sect sword cultivator of that era until they couldn’t lift their heads.

Some grudges went all the way back to that time.

As for grudges in recent years, most were thanks to that Junior Martial Uncle who’d gone down the mountain.

Back then, he’d been one of the Four Great Divine Swords.

Lu Pan, his expression severe, let out a cold snort: “Forget Sword Heart Clarity—looking at 1,500 years of Sword Sect history, has ANY disciple in the Acupoint Opening Stage ever even produced a Sword Heart? They can’t even get in the door!”

Everyone looked at each other—what are you waiting for?

Laugh, of course!

“Hahahahahahaha!”

In the Purple Bamboo Forest, a group of Daoist Sect leaders burst out laughing, merriment unrestrained.

Actually, even now, Chu Yinyin still didn’t know which registered disciple beneath the Cold Pool had managed to reach the Realm of Sword Heart Clarity.

But she loved the excitement, so she joined in the laughter: “Hahaha!”

Because of last time’s bet, Chu Huaixu had gotten Li Chunsong to win for once, so his opinion of the kid was unusually high.

He joked, matching up people: “This kid is bound to enter the Inner Sect sooner or later. Seventh Junior Sister, want to make an exception and take him as your direct disciple?”

“Yes indeed—Seventh Junior Sister teaching Chu Huaixu is truly the perfect match,” Sect Leader Xiang Yan added with his crow-screech of a horrible voice.

Only now did Chu Yinyin realize in her heart, “So among those three under the Cold Pool, the one causing all that ruckus is Chu Huaixu, huh.”

She was immediately unhappy: “I’m a sword cultivator too! I don’t have a direct disciple—why can’t he be apprenticed to me?”

Everyone shot her a sideways glance. First Senior Brother Lu Pan was the bluntest: “He’s at Sword Heart Clarity. Do you think YOU’RE fit to teach?”

“You…he…I…” Chu Yinyin couldn’t even think of a comeback, almost crazy with frustration.

I’m a dignified Sixth Realm Great Perfection expert, and you people won’t even let me teach a low-tier cultivator?!

Fifth Elder Zhao Shuqi had perpetually squinted eyes—when he smiled, you couldn’t see them at all. He added, “Little Junior Sister, don’t ruin the kid.”

“That’s right. We’re counting on him to go slap the Sword Sect’s face for us in the future.” Li Chunsong chimed in.

Chu Yinyin was fuming but her two fists couldn’t beat their four hands. Her quick but clumsy little mouth was no match for all of them. She could only silently vow to find a chance to meet this Chu Huaixu herself!

“Shen Man has the Dao Ancestor’s inheritance—who knows how long she’ll be in seclusion? Teach? Yeah, right,” she grumbled internally.

“Besides, what if I don’t have Sword Heart Clarity? Sword Heart Clarity is already the limit. Once you’re there, there’s nothing more to teach. So what?” Chu Yinyin always found a way to angle things in her favor.

She made up her mind: even if she had to use every trick in her arsenal, she’d make him call her ’Master’!

This direct disciple, I, your lady, am ABSOLUTELY determined to get!

In the Purple Bamboo Forest, these giants of the cultivation world chatted merrily.

They couldn’t really understand either—how had this Sword Heart Clarity appeared?

“Don’t tell me there really are people born knowing everything?”

“Also, if I’m not mistaken, he’s just a Pseudo Spiritual Embryo, right?”

“Sixth Junior Brother, when he finishes his seclusion in the Secret Realm, bring him here for us to meet,” said Sect Leader Xiang Yan.

Study him. Bring him here to study him.

“Yes.” Sixth Elder accepted the order.

“He really is a monster. Where DID Junior Martial Uncle pick up such a monster?” Li Chunsong kept lamenting—unaware that, in fact, he’d been the one to pick the kid up.

As the discussion swirled, the always-silent, skinny Daoist Nun suddenly spoke up—still as sparing with her words as ever:

“No…no sword.”

Everyone looked up at once, confused.

But after so many years together, they were used to the way Shen Man swallowed words, and could piece together her meaning just fine.

Those three words instantly woke them all up.

Only now did everyone realize that this young disciple, whose Sword Dao insights had reached Great Perfection—apparently, up to now…

—he didn’t even have a sword!

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep