Ye Wuxin extended her hand, and the Cold Jade Ice Soul Sword flew into her grasp of its own accord.
The instant the famous sword entered her hand, the spiritual light on its surface flared brilliantly. Its icy aura grew even stronger, perfectly harmonizing with her ice-element spiritual energy.
“Excellent!” Ye Qingtian laughed, clapping his hands.
Ye Wuxin sheathed the sword and stepped down, a satisfied smile on her face. It was obvious that she adored the Cold Jade Ice Soul Sword.
Next, Ye Wuming stepped forward. A fierce sword intent shot into the heavens!
The sword intent surged like a dragon, soaring straight into the sky!
Every sword in the Sword Tomb trembled.
A moment later, a resounding sword cry came from the depths of the Sword Tomb!
A golden sword burst from the ground and transformed into a streak of light, flying toward Ye Wuming!
The sword was four feet long, its blade engraved with dragon patterns. A golden gemstone was set into its hilt, radiating a majestic, imperial aura.
“An upper-grade Profound-Rank Dragon Emperor Sword!”
Even Ye Qingtian was visibly moved this time.
The Dragon Emperor Sword was said to have been obtained by an ancestor of the Ye Family from an ancient ruin. Although it was only an upper-grade Profound-Rank weapon, its unusual materials gave it power no weaker than a low-grade Earth-Rank weapon.
For hundreds of years, no one had been able to subdue it. Yet today, it had taken the initiative to acknowledge Ye Wuming as its master!
Ye Wuming gripped the Dragon Emperor Sword. Golden light burst from its blade, merging completely with the sword intent surrounding him.
“Sixteen years old, at the peak of Qi Condensation, having comprehended sword intent, and now acknowledged as master by the Dragon Emperor Sword…”
Second Elder Ye Qingshan murmured, “This child Wuming is destined for limitless prospects! The heavens have eyes! Heaven blesses the Ye Family—heaven blesses the Ye Family!”
Ye Wuming was the legitimate son of the Ye Family. Although Ye Wuxin’s performance had clearly been superior, the Second Elder’s reaction to Ye Wuming’s achievement was far more intense.
Ye Wuming held the sword and stepped down, his expression still composed. A trace of pride flashed in his eyes.
After that, the other disciples tried one after another. By comparison, their performances seemed much less impressive.
Some attracted the resonance of one or two swords and obtained Yellow-Rank weapons. Others returned empty-handed, their faces filled with disappointment.
However, when Ye Wushuang entered the Sword Tomb, mocking laughter rang out from the crowd.
“Second Miss is choosing a sword too?”
“Can she really make a sword resonate? Don’t make me laugh.”
“She’s failed for so many years. This time won’t be any different.”
“She probably won’t even be able to sense a single sword.”
“Looks like her methods amount to nothing after all.”
Ye Wuxin and Ye Wuming looked over as well, their eyes filled with undisguised contempt.
Ye Wushuang acted as though she had heard nothing and slowly walked to the center of the Sword Tomb.
“Wushuang, focus your mind and have a famous sword acknowledge you as its master.”
Ye Qingtian could not help reminding her.
Ye Wushuang nodded and closed her eyes, sensing the swords around her.
Three breaths passed.
Ten breaths passed.
A gentle breeze swept by, yet the Sword Tomb remained utterly silent.
“As expected…”
“I told you so.”
“What a disgrace.”
The mocking voices gradually grew louder.
Ye Wuming could not help speaking up. “Ye Wushuang, if you can’t do it, don’t force yourself. Otherwise—”
His words abruptly stopped.
Because at that very moment, a sword cry suddenly rang out from within the Sword Tomb!
The entire Sword Tomb shook as every sword began trembling at the same time!
Buzz—
The sword cries grew louder and louder, eventually merging into a torrent that shook heaven and earth!
Ten thousand swords cried out in unison!
Every disciple was stunned. Even the elders abruptly rose to their feet.
Then, an even more astonishing scene unfolded.
The tens of thousands of swords embedded in the Sword Tomb rose into the air simultaneously!
Rusty swords, broken swords, spirit swords, ancient swords… Regardless of rank, regardless of whether they were intact or damaged, every one of them left the ground and floated in midair!
Their tips pointed downward and their hilts upward, arranged in perfect formation as though they were bowing before an emperor!
And at the center of their worship—
stood Ye Wushuang!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Sword cries surged like waves, and sword qi shot into the heavens!
The Dragon Emperor Sword in Ye Wuming’s hand suddenly began trembling violently, as though it were about to fly free!
“What?!”
Ye Wuming was horrified and gripped the hilt with all his strength.
But the Dragon Emperor Sword seemed to have come alive. With a dragon’s roar, golden light flashed violently from its blade.
Crack!
The web between Ye Wuming’s thumb and forefinger split open, blood flowing freely.
At last, the Dragon Emperor Sword tore itself from his grasp and transformed into a streak of golden light, flying toward Ye Wushuang and joining the ranks of the swords bowing before her!
“My sword!” Ye Wuming cried out in shock.
The Cold Jade Ice Soul Sword in Ye Wuxin’s hand began trembling as well. She exerted all her strength to suppress it, barely managing to keep hold of it.
The other disciples’ swords—whether they had just obtained them from the Sword Tomb or had brought them with them—were all trembling violently, as though they were about to break free of their masters’ control and fly toward Ye Wushuang!
“What’s happening?!”
“My sword is trying to fly away!”
The scene descended into chaos.
On the elevated platform, every elder had risen to his feet, their faces filled with shock.
Ye Qingtian’s pupils contracted. Even his voice trembled.
“This is… the legendary phenomenon of Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage?!”
Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage was a legendary phenomenon that could only be triggered by someone with astonishing swordsmanship talent or someone possessing an unparalleled sword physique!
Throughout the history of the Ye Family, only the Founding Ancestor had ever caused a hundred swords to cry out in unison. He had been hailed as a once-in-a-thousand-years swordsmanship genius.
But Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage…
It had never been heard of before!
Inside the Sword Tomb, Ye Wushuang was somewhat surprised as well.
She had not expected that releasing merely a trace of the aura of her Nine-Phoenix Flame Phoenix Physique would cause such a tremendous commotion.
The Nine-Phoenix Flame Phoenix Physique was an ancient, supreme-grade constitution containing a trace of the origin of phoenix true fire.
The phoenix was an ancient divine beast, while swords were weapons of slaughter. They possessed an innate awe and submission toward supreme bloodlines.
That was what had caused the spectacular phenomenon of Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage.
With a thought from Ye Wushuang, she restrained her aura.
In an instant, the ten thousand swords stopped trembling and fell in unison, embedding themselves back into the Sword Tomb.
Only the Dragon Emperor Sword remained suspended before her, giving off soft, ringing cries.
Ye Wushuang reached out and grasped the Dragon Emperor Sword.
The instant it entered her hand, the golden light receded, and the sword became utterly docile.
[Ding! The system has detected that the host has intercepted Ye Wuming’s key opportunity. A hundredfold return reward has been triggered. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the mid-grade Earth-Rank Yin-Yang Tai'a Sword.]
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared blankly at Ye Wushuang, unable to accept what had just happened.
No one knew how much time had passed before someone finally spoke in a trembling voice.
“Ten… Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage…”
“Second Miss triggered Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage?”
“She actually made the Dragon Emperor Sword acknowledge her as its master. Even Third Young Master couldn’t suppress it…”
“How is this possible?!”
Doubt, shock, disbelief… Every kind of emotion interwove across the faces of the crowd.
Ye Wuming’s face was livid. He stared fixedly at the Dragon Emperor Sword in Ye Wushuang’s hand, his fists clenching so tightly that they crackled.
Ye Wuxin’s eyes were filled with astonishment and suspicion. She simply could not believe that the younger sister she had looked down on since childhood possessed such astonishing ability.
On the elevated platform, Ye Qingtian took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart. In a deep voice, he said, “Ye Wushuang, you have passed the second trial.”
He paused, then looked toward Ye Wuming. “Wuming, do you have any objections?”
Ye Wuming gritted his teeth. “Now that the Dragon Emperor Sword has acknowledged her as its master, I have nothing to say. But whether Second Sister used some special method still needs to be investigated!”
“That’s right! Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage is far too unbelievable!”
“How could Second Miss possibly possess such ability?”
“She must have used some kind of forbidden technique or magical treasure!”
Many disciples echoed his words.
Ye Qingtian frowned and was just about to speak—
Boom!
A vast pressure, as immense as the sea, suddenly descended!
The force of it was so overwhelming that every disciple found it difficult to breathe. Even the elders felt their hearts tremble.
An aged yet imposing voice rang out from deep within the rear mountain:
“Who has triggered the phenomenon of Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage?!”
Before the voice had even faded, a figure had already appeared above the Sword Tomb.
The old man wore gray cloth robes and stood in midair, surrounded by a terrifying aura that left everyone breathless.
“Ancestor!”
“The Ancestor has emerged from seclusion!”
Ye Qingtian and the others hurriedly bowed in greeting.
Ye Family Ancestor Ye Tianwen, a mighty cultivator of the Golden Core Realm, was the pillar of Famous Sword Manor. He had been in seclusion for thirty years and had not shown himself once.
Yet today, he had actually been roused by the phenomenon of Myriad Swords Paying Homage!
Ye Tianwen’s gaze swept across the entire scene before finally settling on Ye Wushuang. When he saw the Dragon Emperor Sword in her hand and sensed the faint, strange aura emanating from her, his pupils narrowed slightly.
“Little girl, was it you who triggered Myriad Swords Paying Homage?” Ye Tianwen slowly descended and came to stand before Ye Wushuang.
Ye Wushuang bowed respectfully, neither servile nor overbearing. “Answering the Ancestor, yes.”
“What is your name?”
“Ye Wushuang.”
“Ye Wushuang…”
Ye Tianwen repeated the name in a murmur, a trace of reminiscence flashing through his eyes.
