“I remember the Second Miss is eighteen now, isn’t she? How is she still only at the early Qi Condensation stage?”
Ye Wushuang acted as though she hadn’t heard the whispers and slowly walked toward the stone stele.
She was dressed in a simple blue martial outfit, her long hair tied into a ponytail that made her look neat and spirited.
“Begin,”
the steward said expressionlessly. He clearly didn’t expect much from Ye Wushuang either.
Ye Wushuang secretly considered her options and decided to hold back. She would use only ten percent of her strength and keep a low profile.
She raised her right fist and threw a seemingly weightless punch at the stone stele.
The next moment—
Boom!!!
A deafening roar rang out. The stele began to tremble violently, and before the testing light could even illuminate, cracks had already appeared across its surface.
Crack! Crack!
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, the black-iron stele exploded into dozens of fragments that scattered across the ground.
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the scene in disbelief.
On the high platform, a figure suddenly shot to his feet. The chair beneath him was pushed several yards backward.
“This… How is this possible?!”
Ye Qingtian cried out in shock.
Ye Wuxin and Ye Wuming’s expressions also changed as they stared at the shattered stones in disbelief.
After a long moment, someone finally came to their senses.
“Am I seeing things? The testing stele… shattered?”
“You’ve got to be kidding! This is a black-iron testing stele capable of withstanding more than ten thousand pounds of force!”
The discussion surged like a tidal wave, and everyone turned to look at the graceful figure in blue standing in the center of the arena.
Ye Wushuang withdrew her fist and looked innocently at the steward.
“Steward, this stone stele… doesn’t seem very sturdy. How about we replace it with another one?”
The steward’s lips twitched. He had no idea how to respond.
Ye Qingtian flew down from the high platform and carefully examined the fragments. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.
The stele had been completely destroyed from the inside. To cause this kind of damage required a terrifying force far beyond the stele’s limit.
“Wushuang, you…”
Ye Qingtian looked at Ye Wushuang with a complicated expression.
“Grand Elder, this really isn’t my fault. I had no idea the stele was so fragile. You’re not going to make me pay for it, are you? I’ve already spent all my pocket money for this month.”
Ye Wushuang eyed Ye Qingtian warily.
Ye Qingtian’s eyelid twitched at her words.
After pondering for a moment, he waved his hand.
“Someone, bring out a new testing stele!”
Before long, several stewards carried another black stone stele over and set it in the center of the arena.
“Test her again,” Ye Qingtian said gravely.
Ye Wushuang had no choice but to step forward once more.
The reason the previous stele had been destroyed was not that she wanted to show off. She simply had yet to fully adapt to the power of her Nine-Phoenix Flame Emperor Physique.
This time, she was even more careful and reduced her strength by another five percent.
Once again, she threw a seemingly weightless punch.
Boom!
The new testing stele shattered again.
Ye Wushuang helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. She had already tried her best to restrain herself, yet the stele had still broken.
The entire arena once more fell into deathly silence.
“Is the stele… broken?”
one disciple asked in a low voice.
“It must be broken! Otherwise, how do you explain this?”
“That’s right. It must have been damaged when the First Miss and the Third Young Master were tested earlier.”
“The Second Miss is really lucky.”
“Maybe the Second Miss tampered with it somehow…”
“That’s possible! It’s not as though something like this has never happened before.”
“This concerns the family’s Sword Canon…”
The discussions began anew. Nearly everyone believed that the testing stele had malfunctioned or that Ye Wushuang had tampered with it somehow.
No one believed that Ye Wushuang truly possessed such strength.
Ye Qingtian frowned deeply as he examined the stele again. Its internal formation had been thrown into disorder, and structural damage had caused it to shatter. Yet if one claimed that it had simply malfunctioned, that did not seem quite right either.
He took a deep look at Ye Wushuang and said in a deep voice, “Ye Wushuang, you have passed the first trial.”
“Thank you, Grand Elder.”
Ye Wushuang smiled faintly and returned to the line.
As Ye Wuxin passed by her, she said coldly, “You were lucky.”
Ye Wuming made no effort to conceal his ridicule.
“You passed by relying on a broken stele. Second Sister, you really do have quite a few tricks.”
[Name: Ye Wuming]
[Realm: Peak Qi Condensation]
[Fate: One Above All]
[Life Script: In the original book, after Ye Wushuang was killed by Liu Ruyan, Ye Wuming not only failed to avenge her, but was instead captivated by Liu Ruyan’s beauty and pursued her relentlessly. Later, he was killed with a single slap by Lin Langtian.]
[Recent Opportunity: Half an hour from now, during the Famous Sword Recognition Ceremony, he will obtain the Profound Rank, Supreme-Grade Dragon Emperor Sword.]
“Sorry, but I’m not familiar with you.”
Ye Wushuang’s words left Ye Wuxin and Ye Wuming momentarily speechless. Just as they were about to lose their tempers, Ye Wushuang had already walked away on her own.
On the high platform, Third Elder Ye Canghai asked in a low voice, “Big Brother, do you really think the testing stele was broken?”
Ye Qingtian pondered before replying, “What other explanation is there? That girl Wushuang has never liked cultivating since she was young, and her foundation is weak. Even if she encountered some fortuitous opportunity recently, it would be impossible for her to gain the strength to shatter a black-iron stele in such a short time.”
“But for two testing steles to malfunction in succession… Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”
Ye Canghai was still doubtful.
“Perhaps there was a flaw in this batch of testing steles when they were forged.”
Second Elder Ye Qingshan joined the conversation. “I’ll investigate it afterward.”
Ye Qingtian nodded and said nothing more.
The first trial came to an end. A total of eighty-seven disciples from the Ye Clan had passed. Those who succeeded would proceed to the second stage of the Sword Canon—the Famous Sword Recognition Ceremony.
Only those who held a sword in their hearts and were acknowledged by the Sword Dao had a chance of being recognized as a master by one of the famous swords in the Sword Tomb.
Behind Famous Sword Manor lay the Sword Tomb.
It was a naturally formed valley filled with tens of thousands of swords.
Most of these swords had once belonged to the Ye Clan’s ancestors, while others had been collected from various places.
After being nourished by the sword aura within the Sword Tomb for so many years, most of these swords had developed a degree of sentience and could choose their own masters.
Standing at the entrance to the Sword Tomb, Ye Qingtian announced in a clear voice, “All disciples, enter the Sword Tomb and use your own understanding of the Sword Dao to make contact with the swords. If you can draw a response from a sword, you may take it with you. Remember, you must not forcibly seize one. Those who violate this rule will suffer the backlash of the Sword Tomb. At best, you will be severely wounded. At worst, your sword will be destroyed and you will lose your life!”
After he finished speaking, the disciples entered the Sword Tomb one after another.
Sword aura crisscrossed the valley, filling the air with a solemn, murderous presence.
Tens of thousands of swords were embedded in the rocks and earth. Some were covered in rust, some gleamed with chilling light, and some were even broken or incomplete.
Ye Wuxin stepped forward first.
She closed her eyes and activated her Swordheart Clarity talent. Pure sword intent began to radiate from her body.
Hum—
Hundreds of swords within the Sword Tomb trembled at the same time!
In the next instant, dozens of swords rose into the air on their own and began circling Ye Wuxin. They emitted clear sword cries, as though competing to acknowledge her as their master.
“As expected of the First Miss!”
“With Swordheart Clarity, a hundred swords bow before her!”
Ye Wuxin slowly opened her eyes and surveyed the flying swords around her.
In the end, her gaze settled on a three-foot-long sword that was entirely ice-blue.
The sword’s blade resembled a crystal of ice, radiating a biting chill. Its grade was astonishingly that of a high-grade Profound Rank weapon!
“It’s the Jade-Crystal Ice-Soul Sword!”
One of the elders who recognized it cried out in shock.
“That was the personal sword of Zhao Lingshuang, the Ice Swordsman, from three hundred years ago. It’s the finest of all high-grade Profound Rank swords!”
