Chapter 252 - Ten Resonances, Supremacy Over All Swords?
In a world where attention was a currency, Ling Chen was a millionaire, but Yun Xiao... well, he was more like a penny in a fountain.
It was already dark by the time it was his turn. The crowd had dwindled to a handful of stragglers and a bored janitor sweeping up. Yun Xiao was last on the list because he'd shown up late, and in the Sword Baptism Ceremony, there was no such thing as saving the best for last. The latecomers were usually nobodies.
"Go on," the elder in charge of the ceremony said, his voice as tired as a marathon runner. He was just waiting for Yun Xiao to finish so he could clock out.
"Right," Yun Xiao agreed. He stepped onto the black altar, his feet squishing in a thick layer of dried blood. He stood under the dazzling, multi-colored Eternal Sword, suspended above.
The night was a quiet companion, and the breeze carried a hint of coolness. The air was thick with the scent of blood and the lingering enthusiasm for the Sword Judge.
"Ah, the path to immortality, crawling with demons and devils, swarming with gods and Immortals from every corner. It's a regular circus," Yun Xiao mused to himself, intrigued. Was this chaos because the Creator Immortal had fallen, throwing the cosmic order into disarray?
Breathing out a murky breath, Yun Xiao felt a strange calm settle in his heart. "Come on!" he called, alone, standing between heaven and earth. He drew his three-foot azure blade, gazing at the Eternal Sword, glowing a thousand feet tall.
"Sword, descend!" The Eternal Sword trembled slightly, just as it had before, gradually descending to meet the tip of the Heaven Burial Sword Soul.
"A million Sword Intents!" Yun Xiao hadn't yet formed a Dao Heart. So, there was nothing to bridge his Sword Soul with the Eternal Sword.
But the moment those million Sword Intents touched Heaven Burial, he felt like he'd plunged into a colorful sea of swords. In this vast ocean, every sword seemed to come alive, turning playful and interesting, like sprites dancing around Yun Xiao.
"So, Sword Intent is like life?" Yu Xiao wondered aloud. No wonder they all thought Sword Intent was so crucial. He got it in an instant. This wasn't life in the ordinary sense, but a kind of spirit, existing in the universe, formed from concentrated thought.
The Sword Soul might perish, but the Sword Intent lived forever!
In a flash, Yun Xiao's mind was engulfed in a storm of Sword Intents. A million of them whirred past, leaving a trail of vibrant colors in his pupils.
In the hush of the night, everything was eerily quiet, except for Yun Xiao slowly closing his eyes, a warm, peaceful smile hiding at the corner of his lips.
"Not a peep, huh?" The elder overseeing the ceremony sighed. He'd seen Yun Xiao's impressive Sword Aura and thought he'd be the grand finale, a true prodigy. It turned out the kid couldn't even enter the Sword Ruins! Well, that meant he was just another passerby on the road to the Eternal Sword Prison.
The elder stood up, ready to pack up and leave. But then—
DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG! The night echoed with six clear, hurried hums of the Eternal Sword. It sounded particularly crisp and melodious in the quiet of the night.
"A Supreme Disciple?" The elder's eyes lit up. He turned back, relieved, looking at Yun Xiao and beckoned to his disciples, "Go to the Adjudicator Pavilion, tell the Supreme Adjudicators that the last one in the Sword Baptism Ceremony is a Supreme Disciple. They should come and take him as a pupil."
"Yes!" The disciples glanced enviously at Yun Xiao and scurried off. They didn't need to say much. Those urgent, continuous six resonances had already spread throughout the Sword Ruins, drawing a lot of attention.
Sword Cultivators, who were about to leave, were now drawn to the Sword Cleansing Altar by the six hums. Just as everyone's gaze shifted back to the altar, another clear hum of the Eternal Sword echoed through the sky.
DONG!
"Seven resonances, the Sword Warden Gate opens! A Sovereign Star Child?" The elder was stunned, his gaze fixated. Indeed, in front of the young man in white, the golden gate of the Sword Gate opened again!
A towering figure appeared within, equally surprised at Yun Xiao.
"Today, in the Sword Ruins, we witness the birth of an Exiled Sword Immortal and a Sovereign Star Child?"
BOOM! The Sword Ruins trembled. Many people heard the commotion and rushed back. And those who had left, hearing the uproar, immediately turned their Sovereign Swords around and headed back.
Tens of thousands of Sword Judges, hundreds of Peak Masters, a dozen Supreme Adjudicators, and even the venerable Overseer Sikong, all flew out on their Sovereign Swords, their gazes fixated on Yun Xiao.
"Who's this kid?"
"I don't know him, never seen him before."
Confusion reigned among the masses.
Even the mighty ones of the Sword Ruins were baffled.
"It's him!" In a corner, the already pale-faced Bai Wuque collapsed to the ground.
"How can this be..." His mother, Bai Qingxue, also seemed unsteady, her beautiful eyes filled with bewilderment. She brought back two wallflowers to make her son's brilliance shine all the more. Yet, one turned out to be an Exiled Sword Immortal, and the other a Sovereign Star Child?
Bai Wuque, who had surpassed his grandfather, now seemed as insignificant as a stray dog in front of these two monsters.
"Our Eternal Sword Prison has produced another swordsmanship genius!"
The previously silent night boiled over once more. It wasn't as grand as the daytime event, but it was a beautiful finale nonetheless.
Suddenly, amidst the trembling of the Eternal Sword, an eighth resonance burst forth!
DONG!
A sound that shook the world.
"Eight resonances, a Heavenly Sun Child!" Bai Wuque gasped for air.
"This..." Bai Qingxue tightly gripped her son's arm, fearing his heart might crumble.
The Sword Ruins were thoroughly shaken. Peak Masters, Supreme Adjudicators, and Overseers streamed out. From the distant lands, countless people returned on their Sovereign Swords to witness this unbelievable miracle.
Even the Heavenly Sword Warden stood up again, his eyes blazing like wildfires.
"One Heavenly Sun Child is enough for our Eternal Sword Prison to dominate the Nine Hells. And now..."
It was absolute madness, yet again...! What had been a cooling Sword Baptism Ceremony now nearly reached its zenith again. Countless hearts and minds surged out of the Sword Ruins, converging above Yun Xiao!
And in front of the Ancestral Sword Tomb, Ling Chen was about to step in with the Withered Bone Keeper.
BOOM! The Ancestral Sword Tomb shook once more, unfurling a majestic path that extended to the Sword Cleansing Altar!
Ling Chen and the Withered Bone Keeper were suddenly thrust into the limelight, appearing before the awe-struck crowd.
"Huh? He got eight resonances?" Ling Chen caught sight of Yun Xiao, his face a picture of disbelief, quickly replaced by a smile.
"No wonder he chose to save me; he must be a man of great destiny. With him, he could indeed be my shadow, accompanying me in battles across the lands," he thought, quite pleased with himself.
Ling Chen felt genuinely happy for Yun Xiao. "Too bad I set the bar high. Otherwise, today, you would've been the unrivaled star of this realm, basking in all its glory."
Ling Chen's smile grew as he watched Yun Xiao, his fondness for the young man evident.
Suddenly—
DONG! The Eternal Sword let out the loudest ring in history.
In that instant, Ling Chen's smile froze, his eyes shifting from perplexity to a growing coldness... He was the only one like this.
The whole world was holding its breath.
"An Exiled Sword Immortal!"
"A second Exiled Sword Immortal!"
Two miracles, once thought impossible to occur on the same day?
The Sword Ruins erupted! So did the Eternal Sword Prison! Every soul was moved to tears at this moment. Even the Overseers of the Sword Ruins knelt down. "Thank the forefathers! Thank the heavens!"
BUZZ! The Sword Warden of the Eternal Sword Prison and Withered Bone Keeper appeared before Yun Xiao, their eyes blazing, speechless.
Over a million people gathered, their excited words stuck in their throats!
The cheers were like a tidal wave, overwhelming and joyous.
It was as if the entire world had caught fire.
"Mother..." Bai Wuque knelt down, his spirit nearly shattered. He couldn't make heads or tails of this mystifying world anymore.
"An Exiled Sword Immortal..." High above, Ling Chen's eyes were deep pools of contemplation as he gazed at Yun Xiao for a long, long time. "How interesting! A mere mortal matching the gods? Even at my weakest, this is a glory worth a lifetime," he mused, just as everyone was still celebrating the birth of a second Exiled Sword Immortal.
But then—
DONG! Another, even louder resonance thundered through heaven and earth. This hum from the Eternal Sword silenced all the revelry. After the hum, a hush fell.
Everyone, including the Sword Warden and a million others, stared wide-eyed at Yun Xiao and the Eternal Sword, dumbstruck.
"Ten resonances? What does that mean?"
Countless people exchanged bewildered looks, their minds blank.
"Our ancestors never recorded such a thing..."
Now, they were truly flabbergasted.
"This means, his Sword Intent talent surpasses even that of an Exiled Sword Immortal!" Overseer Sikong's voice trembled with excitement, roaring out the revelation.
The place erupted!
"AHHHH!" A cacophony of voices merged, their words indistinguishable. But one thing was clear; they were ecstatic! This frenzy surpassed even that for Ling Chen!
It was evident that both the Sword Warden and the Withered Bone Keeper didn't deny Overseer Sikong's statement. They even stood before Yun Xiao, as if welcoming the arrival of a new king!
And Ling Chen, he was the new king but for half a day...
"Ten resonances, the Supreme of All Dao!" The cheers were earth-shattering, almost flattening Yun Xiao under their weight. This was the pinnacle moment of the Sword Baptism Ceremony, surpassing even that of Ling Chen!
There was Ling Chen, suspended in mid-air, staring at Yun Xiao with an expression of utter disbelief. "Impossible!" His sword-like eyebrows furrowed deeply.
The overwhelming cheers had completely overshadowed him, stealing his limelight clean away.
"Yun Xiao? What's up with you?" Ling Chen's eyes flashed with sword light, his heart in turmoil. How could he, the reborn Divine Sky Sword Emperor, be eclipsed by a mere mortal? He was invincible!
"Damn!" Yun Xiao, too, was frowning. When the ninth resonance sounded, he thought that was plenty. He was ready to withdraw his sword and start enjoying the perks of being an Exiled Sword Immortal. But then he found that the Heaven Burial Sword Soul was stuck to the Eternal Sword!
It was stuck so tight; he couldn't pull it off! So, the unprecedented ten resonances just happened.
"Whatever, ten resonances it is then." Yun Xiao looked around, clearly seeing his talent had conquered this slice of heaven and earth.
After the tenth resonance, he was ready to pull out his sword.
"Damn?" He tugged hard, but it wouldn't budge! In a daze, Yun Xiao felt like the Heaven Burial Sword Soul in his hand was a dog, and the Eternal Sword was a juicy bone it had found... Despite his desperate tugging, the hungry dog wouldn't let go!
"Come on! Stop messing around!" Yun Xiao mustered all his strength and yanked hard! The Heaven Burial Sword Soul didn't move an inch!
DONG, DONG, DONG... The Eternal Sword hummed ten more times! Each of these ten hums was louder than the last, echoing for miles!
"Damn?" Even Yun Xiao was taken aback.
Twenty resonances from the Eternal Sword? These hums from eleven to twenty swept through, thoroughly quelling the boiling Sword Ruins! After the hums subsided, over a million Sword Cultivators gawked at Yun Xiao and the Eternal Sword, struck speechless.
"Twenty! Twenty!" It took a long while before someone finally managed to shout, their voice hoarse and trembling.
Twenty resonances! What kind of monster was this?
The Sword Warden, the Withered Bone Keeper, and several Overseers of the Sword Ruins stared blankly at Yun Xiao and the Eternal Sword.
Ling Chen stepped back, his gaze at Yun Xiao sharpening like the edge of a sword.
"Let go!" Yun Xiao was at his wit's end, "Enough, no more humming!" He tugged hard at his sword, but instead of retreating, the Heaven Burial Sword Soul bit even deeper. It plunged into the Eternal Sword, starting to devour its Sword Intent! It was literally eating it!
"This isn't right..." Yun Xiao's vision darkened. The Eternal Sword was the testing sword of the Sword Ruins for generations and the ultimate weapon in times of crisis!
"Everyone look—"
A cry pierced the night.
"Why is the Eternal Sword twitching?"
This was the faith of all Sword Cultivators, the sword intent of a million ancestors, the soul of the Sword Ruins! And it was truly twitching! Not just twitching, but screaming with hums.
DONG, DONG, DONG...! Each hum sounded once in a breath, each louder than Ling Chen's ninth hum.
Before people could even grasp what was happening, the Eternal Sword's hums had already surpassed a hundred resonances! And it kept going, with no sign of stopping...!
DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG... It grew more urgent, more thunderous.
"What's going on..." A million Sword Cultivators of the Sword Ruins were parched and bewildered, each more clueless than the last.
DONG, DONG, DONG...
It continued! Yun Xiao and the Eternal Sword seemed frozen atop the altar.
Everyone else stood like statues, motionless. The whole world was filled only with the sound of the sword ringing, continuously reverberating through the Eternal Sword Prison.
Half an hour later...
"It's hummed 1,000 times!"
Half a day later...
"It's hummed 10,000 times!"
On the third day...
"My primordial ancestor of the dao... It's hummed 100,000 times...!"
Seven resonances, a millennium rarity, heralding the birth of a Sovereign Star Child.
Eight resonances, unseen in ten thousand years, a Heavenly Sun Child descends.
Nine resonances, a historical miracle, the reincarnation of an Exiled Sword Immortal.
Finally, 100,000 resonances, what in the mother of all creation had descended!?
Three days later, around the altar, tens of millions had gathered! They had become like petrified trees, staring transfixed at the young man in white and the now dim and feeble-looking Eternal Sword.
BUZZ! Finally, at a certain moment, the radiance of the Eternal Sword dissipated like fireworks.
The Sword Baptism Ceremony seemed to have ended.
However, Yun Xiao knew that from this moment on, the Eternal Sword Prison would never get to see another Sword Baptism Ceremony again...
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