Chapter 205: Origin Defying Stone Sword
After roughly another two hours had passed, the sound of footsteps rang out from inside the palace, and Xiong Shan's short and stocky figure emerged.
A pleased look appeared on his face at the sight of the 40 or so elders gathered in the palace, and everyone rose to their feet in unison before extending respectful bows toward him.
"We pay our respects to Deputy Dao Lord Xiong!"
"No need for formalities. Come with me, everyone," Xiong Shan said with a dismissive wave of his hand, then made his way toward a door in the corner of the hall.
Everyone in the hall hurriedly followed along, while Xiong Shan made his way out of the hall and through a long corridor, then arrived in what appeared to have been a drill ground.
The area was over 10,000 feet in size, and it was completely empty aside from 10 huge stone swords laid flat against the ground.
Every single one of these stone swords was around 70 to 80 feet tall, and their blades were extremely thick with countless complex patterns engraved upon them, giving off a peculiar aura that resembled sword qi, but was also completely different.
Han Li swept his gaze over the stone swords, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, followed by a look of realization.
"I'm sure all of you already know what this mission is about. I require 10 fellow daoists who are proficient in the way of the sword to help me refine a treasure. There are more than 40 of you here, so I've arranged a trial to examine your level of proficiency in the art of the sword," Xiong Shan declared in a direct and straightforward manner.
Everyone present had already roughly guessed that this would be the case, so no one was surprised by this announcement. However, the animosity between the native and non-native elders had only become more pronounced in the wake of this declaration.
Zhu Feng suddenly stepped forward with a smile as he said, "Deputy Dao Lord Xiong is the number one swordsman among all of the 36 deputy dao lords, so I'm sure just participating in this trial alone will be extremely beneficial to our future cultivation. How thoughtful of you, Deputy Dao Lord Xiong."
He was very cold and arrogant to everyone else, but in the presence of Xiong Shan he had adopted a humble facade paired with a fawning smile.
Many people immediately turned to look at Zhu Feng upon hearing this, and Xiong Shan's gaze was also drawn to him.
His expression remained unchanged, but a hint of warmth had crept into his cold eyes, and he continued, "The trial that I've arranged is very simple. These stone swords here are Origin Defying Stone Swords that I personally refined using special methods.
“There are special restrictions set up in the swords, making it so that only those who are truly skilled in the art of sword manipulation can control them. You can all come and give them a try, and the outcome of your trial will depend on the number of stone swords that you manage to control."
Everyone directed their attention toward the stone swords upon hearing this.
This was a very unique examination.
This was the first time that everyone had heard of these Origin Defying Stone Swords, and even though there were only 10 of them present, Xiong Shan's words clearly implied that this was not going to be an easy trial, so everyone was feeling rather hesitant. No one was willing to go first, and even Zhu Feng was looking a little unsure of himself.
Qi Liang approached Han Li with a slightly uneasy look in his eyes as he asked through voice transmission, "What do you think, Brother Li?"
"I don't see anything amiss for now, but there's definitely more to these Origin Defying Stone Swords than meets the eye, and I presume they won't be easy to control at all," Han Li replied.
Everyone else was also communicating with one another through voice transmission.
Xiong Shan was rather displeased by the hesitance that everyone was displaying, and he said in a cold voice, "I only want 10 people who can meet my standards. Once the 10 spots are filled, the trial will be over."
Everyone's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this, and they knew that they couldn't hesitate any longer.
A balding inner sect elder instantly flew over to the stone swords as he volunteered, "I'll go first!"
Xiong Shan gave a slight nod upon seeing this.
"When are you preparing to have a go, Brother Li?" Qi Liang asked through voice transmission.
"There's no hurry. Despite what Xiong Shan's saying, the fact that he's offering such a large reward for this mission indicates that he'll definitely want the best possible team that he can assemble. Hence, he'll definitely wait until everyone's attempted the trial before deciding who to select. Let's allow these people to go ahead of us so we can learn by observing them," Han Li replied.
An enlightened look appeared in Qi Liang's eyes upon hearing this. "That's a great idea, Brother Li!"
There were a few other people who seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as Han Li, and they were looking on with relaxed expressions, seemingly in no hurry to attempt the trial.
Right at this moment, the balding elder gently exhaled, and a burst of faint white light appeared over his body, releasing a bone-chilling aura through the air.
A burst of dazzling white light then erupted out of his body before forming a projection of a giant white sword.
The sword projection was giving off glacial sword intent, and countless snowflakes immediately appeared in the nearby space, dancing through the air in a beautiful sight to behold.
Han Li couldn't help but be rather impressed with the balding elder's mastery over the way of the sword.
These snowflakes appeared to have been rather unremarkable, but they hadn't been formed by freezing the moisture in the air. Instead, they had been manifested by the countless streaks of sword qi that he had unleashed, and an exceptional degree of control was required to accomplish this feat.
The balding elder let loose a low roar as he made a hand seal with one hand while pointing directly forward with the other, and the giant sword projection above his head instantly split up into two, with one of the split sword projections flying into one of the stone swords.
The original sword projection instantly shrank a little as a result.
A layer of glacial white light appeared over the surface of the stone sword, yet right at this moment, the runes on the sword began to glow with faint black light while flashing rapidly like dancing flames.
Most of the white light clinging to the sword was instantly dispelled like a layer of melting ice.
The balding elder hurriedly made another string of hand seals upon seeing this, and another sword projection that was several times larger than the previous one split off from the giant sword projection above his head before surging into the stone sword in a flash.
The giant sword projection shrank down significantly once again, while a layer of bright white radiance appeared over the stone sword alongside countless white runes that resembled tiny swords.
At the same time, a layer of black light re-emerged over the surface of the stone sword to combat the white light, but on this occasion, the white light was far more resolute and was able to hold its own.
"Up!" the balding elder yelled in a forceful voice, and the stone sword shuddered momentarily before slowly rising up into the air.
Even though it had risen up from the ground, the black light released by the stone sword hadn't faded. Instead, it was only beginning to flash even more insistently, causing the stone sword to tremble incessantly.
A solemn look appeared on the balding elder's face, and he made a rapid string of hand seals, expending a great deal of effort to finally stabilize the stone sword.
After doing all of this, a faint sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead as he cast his gaze toward the other stone swords.
Upon witnessing the trouble that the balding elder was having with the trial, everyone was becoming quite apprehensive.
Meanwhile, a layer of faint blue light appeared within Han Li's eyes, and he was staring intently at the stone sword that was hovering in mid-air, seemingly contemplating something.
The balding elder wasted no time as he made another string of hand seals, and a white sword projection vanished into a second stone sword, while his complexion gradually grew paler and paler.
White light flashed erratically over the surface of the second stone sword for a long while before it finally rose up into the air as well.
At this point, sweat was pouring down the balding elder's face, which had become as pale as a sheet of paper, as if he were under extreme strain.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, he gritted his teeth and turned to a third stone sword as he began to make a string of hand seals.
Controlling two stone swords was already close to his limit, and now that he was diverting his attention to a third sword, the two stone swords that were hovering in mid-air immediately began to tremble.
He let loose a low roar, doing everything in his power to stabilize the two airborne stone swords while focusing on lifting the third stone sword as well.
At this point, the giant sword projection above his head had already shrunk down significantly, and it flew through the air before vanishing into the third stone sword in its entirety.
The surface of the third stone sword began flashing with white light, and it looked as if it were about to rise up into the air, but right at this moment, the three stone swords shuddered in unison while emitting bright black light as if they were resonating with one another.
The white light on the surfaces of the three stone swords dissipated in unison, and the two airborne stone swords came crashing back down, plunging themselves deep into the ground.
The balding elder was panting heavily as a look of deep disappointment appeared in his eyes.
"Two stone swords," Xiong Shan declared in an indifferent voice with a slight shake of his head.
Everyone had fallen completely silent with grim looks on their faces.
The balding elder's heart immediately sank at the sight of Xiong Shan's reaction. He knew that there was most likely no chance that he would be chosen, and he heaved a faint sigh before backing away from the stone swords.
"Let me have a go!"
As soon as he stepped down, he was replaced by a red-haired young man, who strode toward the stone swords as dazzling red light began to radiate from his body.
Streaks of sword qi shot forth through the air, forming a massive crimson lotus flower around him. Every single flower petal was formed by countless streaks of crimson sword qi, and he was completely concealed within the lotus flower.
All of a sudden, a burst of crimson ripples erupted out of the lotus flower's stamen before surging into one of the stone swords.
A layer of crimson light instantly appeared on the surface of the stone sword, but just like before, a layer of black light emerged as well to viciously combat the crimson light.
I see... So this is why they're called Origin Defying Stone Swords.
Han Li nodded slightly to himself as blue light flashed within his eyes.
"You were right, Brother Li, there's definitely more to these swords than meets the eye. Can you tell what's so special about them?" Qi Liang asked through voice transmission.
"If I'm not mistaken, the patterns on the stone swords aren't just one type of restriction. Instead, they're able to react differently to those trying to control them in a bid to disrupt any such efforts," Han Li replied.
Qi Liang nodded with a contemplative expression upon hearing this.
While the two of them were conversing with each other, the red-haired young man had already picked up two stone swords, yet this seemed to have been his limit, and the crimson lotus flower around him was already beginning to waver.
Yet another burst of crimson ripples shot out of the lotus flower before surging into a third stone sword, and the stone sword shuddered momentarily, looking as if it were about to rise up into the air as well.
However, right at this moment, the three stone swords began to resonate with each other once again, and the two airborne stone swords instantly came plummeting back down onto the ground.
"Two stone swords. Next," Xiong Shan declared in an expressionless manner.
The crimson lotus flower faded to reveal the red-haired young man, who backed away with a dejected expression.
It looks like controlling three stone swords at once is a bottleneck, Han Li remarked to himself.
A third person immediately stepped up to the plate, but his proficiency in the art of sword manipulation was rather mediocre, and he was only able to lift one stone sword before backing away in embarrassment.
Before long, eight people had attempted the trial, but the most that anyone could lift at once was two stone swords, while the third stone sword stood before everyone like an insurmountable obstacle.
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