https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-352-Never-Underestimate-the-Young-Man-s-Poverty-/13506653/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-354-The-Sword-Sovereign-s-Treatise-on-the-Golden-Mysteries-of-Emptiness/13506655/
Chapter 353: First-Rank True Art!?
Chapter 353: First-Rank True Art!?
Sword Pavilion, Hall of Reception.
Lv Yang held three long incense sticks, delicate wisps of smoke curling around him. Suddenly, thunderous voices echoed in his ears, as if ten thousand people were interrogating him:
“Have you colluded with the demonic path?”
“Do you harbor ill intent?”
“Have you awakened memories of past lives?”
Three incense sticks, three questions. Under the swirling smoke, his Avatar had no room to lie, his voice ringing out instinctively:
“None!”
The declaration was bold and unflinching.
After all, as an Avatar, he was innocent by design—no ill intentions, no past-life awakenings. As for colluding with demons? That was the True Body’s doing. What did it have to do with him?
The next moment, the Avatar snapped back to reality, realizing the questions had been an illusion. Only the three burning incense sticks remained in his steady grip.
Lv Yang sensed these weren’t ordinary artifacts. He’d held them because he’d passed the test. If he’d failed, they would’ve ignited his soul, reducing him to ash.
With this thought, he strode into the Hall of Reception.
Though he’d feigned ignorance before Dangmotrue Man, he’d long studied the Sword Pavilion through the Yun Clan’s patriarch.
‘The Hall of Reception is critical.’
It wasn’t just for testing origins—it determined inheritance. The better one performed here, the stronger the legacy received.
‘No wonder Sword Pavilion rivals the Holy Sect.’
In the Holy Sect, advanced cultivation techniques required contribution points—essentially, becoming a workhorse. Either rise or be consumed. Sword Pavilion wasn’t much better.
The Hall of Reception judged only by one’s roots. The upside? No servitude. The downside? Poor origins sealed one’s fate. No room for redemption.
Two paths, two masters. The balance made sense.
Inside the Hall, Lv Yang spotted several Shao Nian youths, their appearances young but insubstantial.
‘There are multiple Halls of Reception.’
He realized these Shao Nian were undergoing tests in other Halls, their images synced here.
Indeed, a few glanced at him, then refocused on their burning incense, stepping forward.
“I’ll make it inside!”
One plain-featured Shao Nian muttered, eyes blazing: “Approaching the shrine within a hundred steps grants Outer Sect status, thirty steps Inner Sect, ten steps True Transmission Disciple. Only those who offer incense to the Ancestral Master are Innate Sword Prodigies!”
He stepped forward.
“Boom!”
Despite no visible obstacles, his body trembled. Each step grew harder until he halted at eighty.
“Eighty!? No!”
Reaching eighty steps meant only Outer Sect apprenticeship—cultivating Seventh-Rank techniques at best, stuck forever in Refining Qi. He clenched his teeth, then forced another step. Instantly, his body split open, blood spraying.
“Thud!”
He collapsed, unconscious.
The gruesome scene terrified others. Those who couldn’t proceed no longer risked further steps. Their fates were sealed.
‘Even Sword Pavilion cultivators struggle,’ Lv Yang mused.
Luckily, he had an ace.
‘[Fortune-Drawing Fate-Sign], activate!’
The Avatar’s eight years of saved fortune erupted, forming a golden omen.
[Event: Entering the Hall of Reception, offering incense to the shrine.]
[Minor Auspice: Your roots are decent, reaching nine steps—True Transmission status.]
[Fleeting Auspice: Your roots are shallow as a split soul. Only relentless resolve reaches three steps.]
[Great Auspice: Your fortune surges! Combined with deep roots, the Hall of Reception bends to you. You approach the shrine unimpeded.]
‘Great Auspice again!’
A cosmic surge coursed through him. He strode forward—hundred steps, thirty, ten… three!
“Boom!”
The Sword Pavilion’s Halls blazed with light, startling Dangmotrue Man outside. His eyes widened.
Lv Yang’s past life was a Foundation Building True Man, capable of slaying Heaven-Mending Peak Masters. Reaching ten steps was expected, but three? A sign of profound Sword Pavilion understanding!
‘Could he be another Sword Seed?’
Dangmotrue Man’s face lit with hope. The world had stabilized after eight years of chaos. Jiangbei Demonic Sect had two Foundation Building experts maintaining order. Jiangxi Pure Land remained calm, rumored to have a Buddha Child. Jiangdong Dao Court faced upheaval—the Son of Heaven, Grand Preceptor, and others had vanished, leaving the crown prince to govern.
A grand struggle loomed.
‘I’ll need to compete too. Finding a successor to lead Sword Pavilion before then would be wise.’
Inside the Hall, Lv Yang reached the shrine, placing the incense.
Suddenly, smoke roared!
He inhaled the fumes, and countless characters flooded his mind, coalescing into a technique:
The Sword Sage’s Secret Discourse on Gold!
Back at Hidden Sword Manor, his True Body’s eyes widened: ‘A First-Rank True Art!?!’
Before he could react, the incense smoke siphoned his Avatar’s accumulated fortune—eight years of oaths and patience—then returned it as…
Sword Pavilion Fortune!
‘So my fortune’s now on loan? The Pavilion can reclaim it anytime?’
Worse, the fortune tasted foreign—it belonged to others under Sword Pavilion’s domain! Karmic debts now clung to him.
And his original fortune? Given to some Sword Pavilion True Man?
Lv Yang trembled.
‘Cursed sword cultivators!!!’
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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