MTLNOVEL Chapter 21:
Chapter 21:
The news that the Saintess of the Soaring Sword Sect, Li Xingyao, had cultivated the True Phoenix Undying Sword Technique to the fifth level spread throughout the Northern Territory’s cultivation world.
Every faction in the region was shaken, and countless powerful figures were astounded.
The Saintess of Soaring Sword Sect truly lived up to her reputation as the most dazzling Sword Dao prodigy in the Northern Territory. At such a young age, she had mastered the fifth level of the True Phoenix Undying Sword Technique.
It was worth noting that even the Sword Master of the Soaring Sword Sect had only reached the sixth level of the same technique.
But how powerful was the fifth level of the True Phoenix Undying Sword Technique?
No one knew.
However, disciples of the Soaring Sword Sect had witnessed Li Xingyao splitting a mountain peak with a single sword strike in the nearby ranges. The force of that strike was unimaginably overwhelming.
Sword cultivators across the Northern Territory eagerly anticipated the showdown between Xiao Yang and Li Xingyao in the upcoming grand competition.
Three months ago, the Saintess of Soaring Sword Sect, Li Xingyao, challenged Xiao Yang at Azure Sun Mountain and was defeated by him. This news created a massive stir in the previously peaceful cultivation world of the Northern Territory.
When the news broke, almost no one believed it.
However, once it was confirmed, it caused an uproar throughout the region.
Now, with Li Xingyao mastering the fifth level of the True Phoenix Undying Sword Technique, the outcome of their next battle was uncertain.
Would Xiao Yang or Li Xingyao emerge stronger? The grand competition would reveal the answer.
When the news of Li Xingyao’s achievement reached Azure Sun Sword Sect, its three top leaders were visibly unsettled.
It wouldn’t be easy for Xiao Yang to defeat the much-improved Li Xingyao in the competition.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yang, who was training in the Azure Sun Secret Realm, knew nothing about this development.
In the Sword Repository Cave, Xiao Yang battled the lingering Sword Intents of the sect’s predecessors. Upon exiting the cave, he fought another intense duel with the old man guarding the swords—the ancestor of Azure Sun Sword Sect.
Xiao Yang’s strength improved rapidly.
His progress astonished the old man, who discovered that when suppressing his cultivation to the Sky Martial Realm, even he was no match for Xiao Yang.
Xiao Yang displayed an aura of invincibility among his peers.
That day, Xiao Yang engaged in another duel with the ancestor.
After exchanging fewer than ten moves, Xiao Yang sent the old man flying with a single sword strike.
Forced to unleash his Divine Martial Realm cultivation, the old man barely managed to fend off Xiao Yang’s relentless attacks.
The two Sword Dao masters moved swiftly through the secret realm, their Sword Qi sweeping in all directions.
They clashed like two divine swords, colliding endlessly in the sky.
The sound of metal striking metal rang incessantly.
“Stop!”
Finally, it was the old man who called off the fight.
The two figures descended from the sky and landed below the Sword Platform.
“You brat, you’re a monster!” the old man sighed.
He had never encountered someone with such extraordinary talent in Sword Dao. Xiao Yang seemed born for the sword, a true prodigy.
“Why stop? Let’s keep going!” Xiao Yang was still eager to fight.
“No more, no more. Why don’t you try ascending the Sword Platform and drawing the Celestial Sword?” the old man suggested, his tone suddenly serious.
“What?”
Xiao Yang instinctively looked up at the Sword Platform.
At the top stood a sword—a sword of immense importance.
Why had Qin Fei, the Demon Sect’s young master, come to Azure Sun Sword Sect as a spy?
It was for the sect’s supreme treasure, the Azure Sun Sword.
“You want me… to draw the sword?”
Xiao Yang withdrew his gaze, looking at the ancestor with disbelief.
As the Holy Son of Azure Sun Sword Sect, Xiao Yang knew very well what drawing the sword represented.
The last person to ascend the Sword Platform and draw the Celestial Sword was his master, Jiang Qitian.
Why had Jiang Qitian become the sect master of Azure Sun Sword Sect?
It was because he drew the Azure Sun Sword, earning the recognition of the sect’s supreme treasure.
Xiao Yang also had a senior martial uncle, who had been more qualified to become sect master.
This senior martial uncle was a once-in-a-millennium Sword Dao prodigy, acknowledged as one of the two strongest Sword Dao practitioners in the Northern Territory during his time.
The other was the Saintess of Soaring Sword Sect of that generation.
Had nothing unexpected occurred, Xiao Yang’s senior martial uncle would have inherited the mantle and become sect master.
However, his luck faltered.
While he was away from the sect, Jiang Qitian ascended the Sword Platform and drew the Celestial Sword.
By the time he returned, it was too late.
Jiang Qitian had already succeeded, and not only did he lose the sect master position, but even the junior sister he loved was married off to Jiang Qitian by their master.
For Xiao Yang’s senior martial uncle, it was as if the heavens had collapsed.
He lost everything.
Everyone knew he and Jiang Ting’s mother were deeply in love.
But because Jiang Qitian drew the Azure Sun Sword, everything changed.
Heartbroken, the senior martial uncle left Azure Sun Sword Sect and disappeared without a trace. Some claimed he had died.
Jiang Ting’s mother passed away a few years after giving birth to her.
How did Xiao Yang know this piece of history?
It was, of course, because of the ancestor before him.
The old man had two hobbies—practicing swords and drinking wine.
Whenever he got drunk, he rambled on about the sect’s past, sharing these stories with Xiao Yang.
Xiao Yang took these tales as mere anecdotes but couldn’t help feeling that the events of the past were far more complicated than they seemed.
The master’s death, Jiang Qitian drawing the Azure Sun Sword, and his rise to sect master—was there truly nothing suspicious about it?
Having lived another lifetime, Xiao Yang knew the kind of person Jiang Qitian was.
Everyone believed their master had died from cultivation deviation and that Jiang Qitian had drawn the sword to save the sect in its time of need.
But was that the truth?
There had to be secrets hidden in this story.
“What’s the matter? Are you afraid?” The old man raised his snow-white brows and sneered.
“Provoking me won’t work,” Xiao Yang replied calmly, pulling his thoughts back to the present.
“Give it a try. There’s no harm in trying,” the old man chuckled.
“Are you setting me up?” Xiao Yang laughed lightly.
The Sword Platform wasn’t something just anyone could ascend.
It had eighty-one steps, and ascending them was no easy feat.
Xiao Yang clearly remembered that in his previous life, he had failed to ascend and draw the Celestial Sword, while Qin Fei had succeeded.
With Jiang Qitian’s help, Qin Fei had eventually climbed the platform and drawn the Azure Sun Sword.
“Why would I set you up? If you draw the Azure Sun Sword, you’ll be the next sect master, ruling everything,” the old man said with an enticing tone.
“Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to stand above everyone else?”
If it had been anyone else, they might have succumbed to the temptation.
But Xiao Yang, with the wisdom of a thousand years from his past life, wasn’t so easily swayed.
“Standing above others depends on my own strength, not on a sword,” Xiao Yang said calmly.
“Hmm?” The old man was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected Xiao Yang to say something like that. His opinion of Xiao Yang rose even higher.
“Still, I’d like to see if I can draw that sword,” Xiao Yang suddenly smiled at the old man and strode toward the Sword Platform.
“This kid…”
The old man was speechless.
So, all his talk had been for nothing. Xiao Yang had planned to ascend the platform all along.
Xiao Yang stepped onto the first step of the Sword Platform.
In an instant, an invisible pressure descended upon him.