Chapter 353: Rank 1 True Art!?

Sword Pavilion, Reception Hall.

Lu Yang held three long incense sticks in his hand, faint wisps of green smoke curling around him. In an instant, a thunderous voice questioning him seemed to ring in his ears, as if thousands of people were interrogating him:

“Have you ever colluded with the Demonic Path?”

“Do you harbor malicious intent?”

“Have you awakened your past life?”

Three sticks of incense, three questions. Under the curling green smoke, this clone of Lu Yang had absolutely no room to lie. He couldn’t help but speak out:

“None of the above!”

His voice was righteous and confident, open and aboveboard.

After all, as a clone, he was innocent and clean. He inherently harbored no malicious intent, nor had he awakened a past life. As for colluding with the Demonic Path, that was done by the main body.

What did it have to do with the clone?

In the next second, the clone snapped out of it, only to realize that everything just now was an illusion. Only the three burning incense sticks were still held steadily in his hand.

However, Lu Yang could sense that these three burning incense sticks were likely no ordinary items. The reason he could hold them steadily was that he had just passed the test of those three questions. If he hadn’t passed, these three incense sticks would probably have immediately ignited his body and soul, burning him into a pile of flying ash.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang walked straight into the Reception Hall.

Although he deliberately acted ignorant in front of Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon, through the Ancestor of the Yun Family, he had long since thoroughly understood the ins and outs of the Sword Pavilion.

The Reception Hall is particularly crucial.

This wasn’t just a place to test one’s background; it was also the place that determined one’s inheritance. The better the performance here, the stronger the inheritance obtained!

As expected of the Sword Pavilion; it truly stands shoulder to shoulder with the Saint Sect…

In the Saint Sect, profound cultivation methods had to be exchanged for contribution points. In other words, one had to work like a beast of burden, either turning the tables or becoming a consumable “talent.”

The Sword Pavilion wasn’t much better.

The Reception Hall only looked at background and origin. The benefit was that one didn’t have to be a beast of burden. The downside was that if one’s background wasn’t enough, their life was set; don’t even think about turning the tables.

One could only say, one treats you like livestock, the other treats you like a sword.

The North and South each had their own merits; it wasn’t without reason.

After walking into the Reception Hall, Lu Yang was surprised to find several other young boys and girls inside. Like his clone, they were young in appearance, but they looked slightly illusory.

There is more than one Reception Hall…

Lu Yang realized internally. These young boys and girls were likely undergoing testing in other Reception Halls at this moment, but their images were synchronized to the other halls.

Sure enough, a few young boys and girls noticed him as well.

But they only spared Lu Yang a glance before withdrawing their gazes indifferently, continuing to hold the burning incense steadily, gritting their teeth as they walked toward the interior of the Reception Hall.

“I will definitely make it in!”

Among them was an ordinary-looking boy with a determined expression and eyes like torches, muttering words in his mouth: “Approaching within a hundred steps of the shrine makes one an Outer Sect disciple; within thirty steps makes one an Inner Sect disciple; within ten steps makes one a True Disciple; offering incense to the Patriarch makes one a Natural Born Sword Seed!”

After speaking, he strode forward.

Thud!

Although there was clearly nothing unusual, the boy suddenly began to tremble. Every step was incredibly difficult, and finally, he stopped at eighty steps.

“No… eighty steps!?”

The boy gritted his teeth. Eighty steps only qualified him as an Outer Sect disciple, cultivating techniques below Rank 7. His cultivation would stall at Qi Refining for this lifetime. How could he be resigned to this?

“aaarrghhh!”

In the next second, the boy hardened his heart and took another step forward. But just as this step landed, countless cracks burst open all over his body.

In the blink of an eye, he turned into a bloody figure.

Thud!

The boy fell headfirst to the ground, losing consciousness right there.

Such a bloody scene scared the wits out of the other youths. Those who entered the Reception Hall afterward dared not act recklessly again, decisively giving up when they couldn’t go further.

Their lives were set from this moment on.

Cultivating immortality in the Sword Pavilion isn’t easy either… Lu Yang lamented inwardly.

Fortunately, he had cheats.

[Divining Luck Drawing Lots], draw for me!

The luck accumulated by the clone through eight years of suffering erupted entirely at this moment, finally transforming into a gleaming golden lot fortune that emerged.

[Event: Walk into the Reception Hall and offer incense to the Patriarch]

[Small Auspice: Your background is not bad. Approaching within nine steps of the shrine, ranking as a True Disciple.]

[End Auspice: Although your background isn’t bad, you are a split soul after all, with shallow foundation. You must have a persistent Dao Heart to approach within three steps of the shrine.]

[Great Auspice: Your luck is burgeoning. Coupled with a profound background, you cross the mere Reception Hall as if walking on flat ground, offering incense to the shrine without any obstruction.]

It has to be [Great Auspice]!

In the next second, Lu Yang felt a mystical sensation well up in his heart, as if heaven and earth were conspiring to help him. Immediately after, he strode forward, walking steadily toward the shrine.

A hundred steps, thirty steps, ten steps… three steps!

Boom!

At this moment, inside and outside the Sword Pavilion, numerous Reception Halls lit up simultaneously with light, instantly alerting Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon outside the hall. A look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

In his view, Lu Yang was a Foundation Establishment Perfected One in his past life, and a middle-stage perfection cultivator capable of killing the Heaven-Mending Peak Master at that. Getting within ten steps of the shrine and becoming a True Disciple was only natural. But getting within three steps… that was extraordinary. It indicated an extremely deep understanding of the Sword Pavilion’s Dao!

Could it be another Sword Seed…

Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a joyful look. Eight years had passed since the world’s Perfected Lords went into seclusion, and the resulting chaos had gradually subsided.

The Demonic Path in Jiangbei produced two Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivators to maintain the overall situation.

The Pure Land in Jiangxi remains calm as always; it is said a Buddha Child has descended into the world.

The most affected is actually the Dao Court in Jiangdong. The Emperor, Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Guardian all went into seclusion. The Crown Prince overseeing the state has only barely stabilized the court and the public until now…

It was foreseeable that an era of great strife was approaching!

I will inevitably have to compete in the future as well. If I can cultivate a junior to take charge of the Sword Pavilion on my behalf before that, it would not be a bad thing…

Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had countless thoughts running through his mind.

On the other side, inside the Reception Hall, Lu Yang had already walked to the front of the shrine and steadily placed the three burning incense sticks in his hand into the incense burner.

In the next second, the green smoke surged violently!

Lu Yang felt his vision go dark. As he inhaled the green smoke through his mouth and nose, countless characters suddenly surfaced in his mind, finally converging into a cultivation method:

Sword Lord’s Profound Discourse on Metal Mastery Secret Chapter!

This is…

After thoroughly digesting the information in his mind, Lu Yang’s main body located in the [Hidden Sword Villa] suddenly widened his eyes. This thing is a Rank 1 True Art!?

Before he could react, a sudden change occurred.

“Holy shit!”

Lu Yang looked at his clone through the [Marionette] with eyes popping out of their sockets. He saw that the luck accumulated over eight years through [Fate-Reading and Precept-Holding], which had finally been ready to erupt after profound accumulation, was actually completely plundered by the green smoke in the shrine at this moment. It circled once inside the shrine before slowly returning to him…

However, what returned was no longer his luck.

It was [Sword Pavilion Luck]!

In other words, from today on, I only have the right to use the luck I worked so hard to accumulate? The ownership belongs to the Sword Pavilion, and they can take it back at any time?

What was the damn difference between this and selling oneself into slavery?

What was even more absurd was…

This luck tastes wrong; this isn’t my luck!

This was someone else’s luck! It was just also included within the scope of [Sword Pavilion Luck]!

In a trance, Lu Yang seemed to see numerous karmic ties and countless evil deeds and debts of sin within that streak of luck. At this moment, they were actually imposed onto him along with the luck!

Then where did his innocent luck go?

It wasn’t given to some Sword Pavilion Perfected One, was it?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang was so angry his hands were shaking.

No wonder the Sword Pavilion liked disciples with profound backgrounds. They were perfect scapegoats; who wouldn’t like them?

Sword Bastard!!!

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