Chapter 207: The Fourth Stone Sword
Han Li inhaled slightly as he stood in front of the Origin Defying Stone Swords, then began to chant an incantation while making a series of hand seals.
Streaks of azure spiritual light flew out like swords, surging into the first stone sword in a flash.
All of the non-native elders were rather disappointed to see Han Li adopting such a mundane approach, while all of the native elders looked on with mockery on their faces.
In their eyes, Han Li would've been lucky to control even a single stone sword with such a clumsy approach.
In fact, many of the elders had already turned their eyes elsewhere in disinterest.
The stone sword was enveloped by a layer of azure light, then slowly rose up into the air.
It was constantly releasing black light to combat the azure light, but the latter remained resolute, even though it was flashing erratically.
Han Li pointed a finger forward upon seeing this, and more streaks of azure swordlight surged out of his fingertip before vanishing into a second stone sword.
A burst of azure swordlight enveloped the second stone sword as well, and it also slowly rose up into the air.
Many people turned to Han Li with surprise in their eyes upon this, and they finally returned their attention to the ongoing trial, realizing that they had underestimated Han Li.
Han Li's face had paled slightly after lifting two stone swords, but he didn't appear to have been struggling very much at all.
Is this going to be another three sword performance?
Meanwhile, Qi Liang was watching with a confident smile. He was more aware of Han Li's sword mastery than anyone else present, and he knew that three swords definitely wasn't a problem for Han Li.
What he was concerned about was whether Han Li would be able to lift a fourth sword and rebuke the native elders.
Han Li took a moment to catch his breath, then extended a finger yet again to send a streak of azure light surging into a third stone sword.
Following a string of hand seals, the third stone sword rose up into the air as well, but it did so in a far more sluggish manner than the first two swords, indicating that Han Li was approaching his limits.
"That's three swords!"
A chorus of surprised voices rang out from the elders of both camps.
Xiong Shan was also quite taken aback to see this, and a hint of intrigue had appeared in his eyes.
It seemed that despite Han Li's terrible aptitude, he was quite a master of sword manipulation.
The black light released by the three stone swords was causing the azure light to flash erratically, looking as if it would shatter at any moment.
Han Li's complexion paled even further as large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He made a rapid string of hand seals to release one streak of azure light after another, most of which surged into the first three stone swords to stabilize them, while the rest began surging into the fourth stone sword.
The surprise in Xiong Shan's eyes grew even more pronounced upon seeing this, while the chatter among the elders grew even louder.
Even Zhu Feng's brows had furrowed slightly upon seeing this.
Qi Liang couldn't help but take a step forward as he stared at the fourth stone sword with a tense look on his face, as if he were the one taking the trial instead of Han Li.
A layer of dazzling azure light appeared over the fourth stone sword, and everyone was watching with bated breath.
The fourth stone sword shuddered slightly before rolling over on the ground and rising up in a shaky fashion. However, in the next instant, dazzling black light erupted from all four of the stone swords in unison, tearing all of the azure light apart.
The four stone swords fell back down onto the ground, while Han Li gave a muffled groan as blood began to trickle down from the corner of his lips.
Everyone present was displaying different reactions to Han Li's performance, including elation, disappointment, relief, and surprise.
Qi Liang lowered his head as he heaved a long sigh, while Zhu Feng remained as expressionless as ever, but the looks in his eyes clearly betrayed his relief.
A wistful look appeared in Xiong Shan's eyes as he nodded and said, "I didn't think you would possess such outstanding aptitude in sword manipulation. You're not far away from the four sword level."
"Thank you for your kind praise, Deputy Dao Lord Xiong, I'm still far from reaching that level," Han Li replied in a modest manner.
"It's quite remarkable that you were able to reach this level as an itinerant cultivator. Make sure to work hard in your cultivation so you don't waste your talent," Xiong Shan praised in an uncharacteristic fashion.
Han Li felt this change in Xiong Shan's aptitude to be rather strange, but he still nodded in response.
A dark look appeared in Zhu Feng's eyes upon seeing this, but he quickly composed himself.
Han Li stepped away from the stone swords before taking a seat on the ground with his legs crossed, then took a Core Formation Stage pill that he was planning to bestow upon Meng Yungui and the others to aid in his recovery.
Some of the non-native elders were about to approach him to strike up a conversation, but they could give up on the idea upon seeing this.
The trial continued, and up to this point, Xiong Shan hadn't selected anyone, so it was clear that he was waiting until the end.
Upon making this realization, those who had gone earlier in the trial were left regretting their decision. Perhaps the outcome would've been different for them had they observed for a while longer.
As for those who were still yet to participate in the trial, they were all content to continue to observe, so no one stepped up to take Han L's place.
Xiong Shan's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this. "Why is no one stepping up? Are you forfeiting your right to take the trial? In that case, the trial concludes here..."
"I'll go next, Deputy Dao Lord Xiong," Qi Liang declared, then took a deep breath before striding toward the stone swords.
At this moment, faint azure light was flashing over Han Li's body, making it appear as if he were focusing on his own recovery, but in reality, he was pondering his own performance.
These Origin Defying Stone Swords did indeed provide quite a unique challenge, and Han Li was confident that he would've been able to at least control five swords had he gone all out. Perhaps he could've even challenged a sixth sword, but unfortunately, there was no way to find out, and that left him feeling a little forlorn.
However...
A thought suddenly occurred to him, and a barely detectable smile appeared on his face.
All of a sudden, the ground trembled violently as three stone swords came plummeting back down to earth.
Qi Liang's face had turned quite pale, but his eyes were full of elation.
Thanks to Han Li's guidance, he had put up a stellar performance, lifting three stone swords before also moving a fourth stone sword, so he had all but assured himself of one of the 10 available spots.
Han Li gave an undetectable nod of approval upon seeing this.
He had offered Qi Liang this guidance in order to repay him for acting as the guide that integrated him into the Blaze Dragon Dao.
"Three swords," Xiong Shan declared with a slight nod.
It didn't take long before all of the remaining elders had attempted the trial, but no one else was able to control three stone swords after Qi Liang.
Han Li opened his eyes before rising to his feet.
Out of the 40 or so inner sect elders who had taken on this mission, a total of 13 had managed to control three or more swords.
Among them, six were native elders, only one fewer than the non-native elder camp, and Zh u Feng was the only one who had managed to control four swords. However, Han Li and Qi Liang had both been able to budge a fourth sword, so ultimately, the two camps were quite evenly matched.
During the past contests between the two factions, the native elders had always held the upper hand due to the advantages that they enjoyed when it came to many aspects, such as resource allocation, so this outcome was naturally an extremely encouraging one for the non-native elders.
Only then did Xiong Shan slowly make his way toward the center of the room before sweeping his gaze over all of the elders assembled.
Those who had only managed to move one or two swords knew that they had no chance of being selected, so they were quite relaxed, and Zhu Feng's selection was obviously guaranteed. Hence, the only ones that were nervous were the 20 people who had managed to move three swords.
After a brief pause, Xiong Shan declared, "Zhu Feng, Li Feiyu, Qi Liang... Zhen Qi. The 10 of you can stay, the rest can leave."
Out of the 10 chosen, five were native elders, while the other five were non-native elders.
The bearded man with the Nan surname approached Han Li and Qi Liang, then cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "Congratulations, Brother Li, Brother Qi. If it wasn't for the two of you, we'd be looked down on again!"
His sword mastery wasn't of a very high level, and he was only just barely able to lift two stone swords, so he naturally wasn't selected, but he had quite an easygoing personality and wasn't bitter about it.
"I was just lucky," Qi Liang replied with a smile.
The other non-native elders expressed their congratulations to the five who were chosen, then promptly departed, leaving only Xiong Shan and the 10 selected elders in the hall.
A pleased look appeared on Xiong Shan's face at the sight of the 10 people standing before him, and he was just about to say something when a streak of black light suddenly appeared in the distant sky.
It was approaching like a bolt of black lightning, arriving directly above everyone in the blink of an eye amid a deafening thunderclap.
The streak of black light crashed down onto the drill ground, causing the entire area to shudder slightly, following which a purple-robed man was revealed.
The man wasn't exactly hideous in appearance, but his entire body was pitch-black in color, as if he had been smoked. He was over twice as tall as the average person, and his arms were as thick as a normal person's waist, while his fists were the size of washbasins. His entire body was comprised of thick bands of muscle that resembled black steel, causing his purple robe to bulge in many places.
"Brother Mo, this is my cave abode, not your Immortal Origin Palace. Don't you think it's a little inappropriate for you to just barge in like this?" Xiong Shan asked in a cold voice.
"My apologies, Brother Xiong. I heard that you were gathering sword cultivators to activate an array, so I immediately came here," the purple-robed man chortled, and his voice was so loud and penetrative that Han Li and the others could feel their eardrums ringing slightly.
Even though he was extending an apology, there was no hint of apology at all in his expression and the tone of his voice.
Xiong Shan gave a cold harrumph and didn't pursue the matter any further.
"Come to think of it, why didn't you tell me that you were going to use that sword array, Brother Xiong? According to our agreement, I lent you those things under the promise that I would be present when you refine your bonded treasure. Are you planning to go back on our agreement, Brother Xiong?" the purple-robed man asked.
"Is there any need for me to inform you? You know every little thing that goes on on my Heavenly Sword Peak like the back of your hand," Xiong Shan replied in a cold voice.
"Surely you jest, Brother Xiong," the purple-robed man chortled.
"Brother Li, this is Elder Mo Xie of the Immortal Origin Palace. It's said that he ran for the position of deputy dao lord 10,000 years ago, and after failing, he went into seclusion for close to 10,000 years, emerging far more powerful than before. I've heard that he's extremely close to reaching the pinnacle of the True Immortal Stage," Qi Liang informed.
Han Li gave a slight nod in response.
After hearing Xiong Shan refer to the purple-robed man as Brother Mo, Han Li had already guessed that this was Elder Mo Xie.
"Looks like these are the sword cultivators that you've gathered to help you. Tsk tsk, they don't look that great. I hope they can pull their weight," Mo Xie said as he took a condescending glance at Han Li and the others.
"That's not something for you to worry about. Let's go!" Xiong Shan harrumphed coldly, then flew into the distance as a streak of golden light.
Han Li and the others quickly followed along, while Mo Xie also sprang up into the air as a streak of black light.
……
Not long after the departure of Xiong Shan and the others, a group of white-robed servants of the Heavenly Sword Peak made their way onto the plaza in an orderly fashion. All of them were at the Core Formation Stage, and they quickly set about carrying the Origin Defying Stone Swords away.
Not only were these stone swords very difficult to control, they were also extremely heavy, and it took around a dozen Core Formation cultivators just to be able to lift a single one of them.
Right as these people were beginning to lift the fourth stone sword, one of them suddenly let loose a cry of surprise, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"What's going on, Senior Martial Brother Wang?"
"Look at the underside of this sword!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢