Chapter 154: Six Peaks Gather
…The first day of the sixth month, auspicious for purification rites.
The Sword Cleaning Grand Assembly was officially inaugurated upon the Debate Stage of Sword Trial Peak.
Sword Trial Peak actually comprised four mountains: one principal peak and three lesser peaks.
Atop the main peak’s summit, a colossal stone sword stood erect upon the crest.
Its blade was inscribed with dense rows of characters, and upon close inspection, one would discover that most read something to the effect of “such-and-such disciple defeated so-and-so disciple here.”
Some of these inscriptions had been crossed out.
Grudges among the sect’s disciples could not be resolved through mere verbal sparring alone.
Only by settling matters through combat could one compel the other party to hold their tongue.
Defeated cultivators, in turn, would train with redoubled fervor, harboring the hope that one day they might wash away their former shame.
The atmosphere of fierce combativeness upon Sword Trial Peak had been forged in precisely this manner over time.
Song Yan ascended the mountain path toward the main peak, and midway, he encountered Li Qingfeng and Sun Zhengfu.
The three of them chatted casually as they walked upward together.
The master of Sword Trial Peak bore the name Luo Xiaming. This Elder Luo appeared to have a particular fondness for bamboo, for the entire journey was lined with bamboo groves of every variety, each distinct from the others.
The bamboo-lined path had originally been serene and tranquil, its atmosphere well suited to those who cultivated the Sword Dao.
Yet today was different. Cultivators from all six peaks who were participating in the Sword Cleaning had gathered here, and the mountain path teemed with disciples from every peak, their discussions rising and falling without cease.
One need not even deploy divine sense to hear those conversations clearly.
Most were speculating about which disciples would distinguish themselves during the selection phase of this Sword Cleaning Grand Assembly, and which among them might secure a place among the top twelve in the dueling phase.
“Senior Sister Yuwen Yao of Lotus Seclusion Peak, Senior Brother Kong You of Sitting Forget Peak…”
Several names were repeated over and over by the cultivators around them.
Among these, Song Yan’s name was occasionally mentioned as well.
“I hear that Song Yan of Sword Trial Peak previously defeated Senior Brother Kong You upon the Debate Stage. This time, he may well claim one of the top twelve positions.”
“Surely not? Has this Song Yan not been an inner disciple for barely over a year?”
“Could it be that he has had some extraordinary fortune and has already broken through to the eighth level of the Qi Refining Stage?”
After the events at Changping, the name Song Yan had become well known among many Qi Refining Stage disciples. Some even brought up the earlier incident at Silent Valley.
All rumors held that this person possessed a mere triple spirit root, an unremarkable talent, and his cultivation speed should not have been that swift.
“Not exactly…”
“Perhaps Senior Brother Kong You had suppressed his realm or his spiritual energy?”
“You say this fellow might achieve a modest ranking in this Sword Cleaning, which is not impossible. But to claim that he defeated Senior Brother Kong You with the strength of the seventh level of Qi Refining? Top twelve… that seems rather far-fetched, does it not?”
The surrounding discussions reached the ears of the three.
Yet Song Yan showed no reaction. Instead, it was Senior Brother Sun Zhengfu who first broke the awkward silence.
“As it happens, I have a close friend who cultivates at Demon Subjugation Peak. We gathered not long ago, and over drinks, the matter of this Sword Cleaning arose. I heard that there are three slots available for entry into Demon Subjugation Peak.”
He spoke with a grave expression. “Junior Brother Song, with your strength, if you were to give your all in the contest, the opportunity is not beyond your reach.”
“In the past, when Demon Subjugation Peak selected new members, the process involved layer upon layer of screening and evaluation. There were strict requirements for both age and realm, and the sect would even dispatch several Foundation Establishment stage senior brothers to conduct assessments.”
“This Sword Cleaning Assembly may well be the closest we ordinary disciples have ever come to the gates of Demon Subjugation Peak.”
Demon Subjugation Peak was composed of the most elite disciples selected from across all the major peaks.
Throughout the Profound Abyss Sect, there were tens of thousands of official disciples, yet over the past three hundred years, the peak had held no more than thirty-seven members in any single year.
Roughly one in a thousand.
“I shall do my utmost.”
For this Sword Cleaning, apart from his killing techniques such as Sword Dao True Essence, Song Yan truly intended to hold nothing back.
On one hand, he wished to secure the maximum reward in resources. On the other, he sought to test the fruits of his own cultivation. The path of cultivation was inherently a defiance of heaven, and without the competitive spirit to contend with others, one could never rise to prominence.
Moreover, the Dao he cultivated was that of the sword, pressing ever forward without retreat, demanding above all courage and relentless progress.
At the summit of Sword Trial Peak’s main peak, disciples from all six peaks gathered in a throng, the scene bustling and lively beyond measure.
Several elders were seated beneath the great stone sword, conversing with one another in high spirits.
Grandmother Qin was among them.
Looking around, the remaining areas were filled to capacity. One section was entirely occupied by female disciples, their chatter and laughter like the songs of orioles and swallows, drawing the attention of many disciples from the other peaks.
This was naturally the seating of Lotus Seclusion Peak.
Song Yan glanced over and spotted Junior Sister Gu Qingqing and Yang Yuerong engaged in conversation. Xiang Zhaoling sat beside them.
She looked utterly bored. Beside her, a young girl had actually fallen asleep amid such a lively scene.
Seemingly taking no interest in the two girls’ conversation, she raised her head slightly and gazed around, her eyes meeting Song Yan’s gaze just then.
She offered a radiant smile and waved to him.
Song Yan did not know what to say, so he merely nodded in acknowledgment.
A moment later, the opening ceremony of the Sword Cleaning Grand Assembly formally commenced. Among the elder seats, an elder whom Song Yan had never seen before read aloud the rules, the procedures, and the points of attention.
At first, every disciple listened with rapt attention, fearful of missing a single word.
But before long, few were still listening attentively.
They were merely formalities, containing nothing of particular substance.
The idle chatter and discussions around them gradually increased in volume.
“Sigh, this generation of new disciples truly has had incredible luck. The selection phase of this Sword Cleaning is to be held within the Minor Heavenly Secret Realm.”
“What is there to fuss about with them? They will only be playing around when they go in.”
“If I had been given the chance to enter it during my own Sword Cleaning, who knows what I might have achieved…”
Discussions of this nature arose among the disciples of every peak.
Certain senior disciples seemed to harbor considerable resentment.
Not all disciples were eligible to participate in this Sword Cleaning Assembly.
The majority of cultivators in the early and middle stages of the Qi Refining Stage, possessing sufficient self-awareness, had chosen merely to observe as spectators.
Nevertheless, according to intelligence from well-informed inner disciples, even with the restrictions of age, cultivation, and other conditions, approximately sixteen hundred cultivators were participating in this Sword Cleaning.
They were predominantly the new generation of disciples born to Foundation Establishment cultivators of the previous era.
It was hardly surprising that these senior disciples felt aggrieved. Anyone would consider it somewhat unfair.
The Minor Heavenly Secret Realm, Grandmother Qin had told her about.
It was in truth a spiritual treasure in the possession of the Sect Master of the Profound Abyss Sect, Daoist Li Jun. Within it lay a small world suffused with dense spiritual energy and abundant opportunities.
It was ordinarily reserved as a cultivation reward for outstanding inner disciples. That it was being used for the selection phase this time was entirely unexpected.
The spatial extent within was impossible to gauge, though for the purposes of this Sword Cleaning, it would likely encompass only a small portion.
A single day of cultivation within was equivalent to three or four days in the outside world. Should one possess the fortune and destiny to discover rare materials of the four types, there was no need to surrender them to the sect; they belonged entirely to the individual.
It was rumored that three Foundation Establishment stage direct disciples of the Profound Abyss Sect trained within on a permanent basis.
Whether this rumor was true or false, however, no one could say.
Soon, the opening ceremony drew to a close.