Ask-Sword Cliff.
This was where the inner disciples of the Sword Pavilion were tested in swordsmanship, located on an open platform midway up one of the mountains.
There were fewer than a hundred inner disciples in the current generation, yet their average cultivation was at the Seventh Grade. Among them were elite experts of the Sixth and even Fifth Grade.
Disciples like Qiu He and Qi Linghua were among the best of that group.
Inner disciples also included direct disciples; it was common for some of them to surpass elders in cultivation.
The five core elders of the Sword Pavilion, who each occupied one of the five highest peaks aside from Ask-Sword Cliff, were of remarkable strength, three at the Fourth Grade and two at the Third Grade, figures even the direct disciples could only look up to.
From this, it was easy to see how powerful the Sword Pavilion truly was, deserving of its title as the foremost sect of the Southwest.
Though the internal turmoil of the past had damaged its vitality, even a thin camel was still larger than a horse. Its scale and power were still beyond what ordinary sects could contend with.
It could even be said that the current Sword Pavilion was a weakened version of its former self, and only in that state had the Seven Sects of the Four Dao of the Southwest found an opportunity to challenge it.
Even so, those seven sects combined could only barely match the Sword Pavilion's total strength.
And that wasn't even counting Ning Songjun, their ultimate weapon.
No wonder the Seven Sects had resorted to underhanded tactics, plotting against Ning Songjun's sword.
Without such schemes, how could they ever hope to win?
At this moment, though the inner disciples of the Sword Pavilion had faintly sensed some unrest, the elders above them remained calm and composed. Naturally, the disciples were in no hurry either.
Among the current generation of disciples, the most outstanding were Zhan Xuesong, the senior brother of the First Peak, and Xu Yuexiu, a direct disciple of the Third Peak.
Zhan Xuesong was twenty-five years old and already a Fifth-Grade master.
Routine assessments like this had long been waived for him. Nowadays, he even stood among the elders as an evaluator, judging and guiding his juniors' swordsmanship.
According to the rankings published by the Sky-Eye Division, Zhan Xuesong was listed as sixth on the "Lesser Heaven List," making him one of the most outstanding figures of his generation.
The five ranked above him were geniuses among geniuses.
Among them, Gu Youren was ranked second, Gu Yuandao fourth, both household names on the list.
And at the very top sat none other than the "God of War," Xiao Yinghao.
Naturally, since there was a "Lesser Heaven List," there was also its counterpart, the "Heaven List."
The difference between the two was age: those under thirty were on the Lesser Heaven List; those above thirty belonged to the Heaven List.
Of course, only a few names on the Sky-Eye Division's rankings were based on actual battles; the rest were determined through intelligence and comparative assessment gathered by the organization.
Every new publication of these rankings ignited waves of heated debate, discussions and arguments over relative strength as intense as the battles themselves.
Fights, and even bloodshed, often erupted because of them.
One couldn't help but sigh, power-scaling fanatics truly existed everywhere.
As for Xu Yuexiu of the Third Peak, she was somewhat less dazzling, ranked sixteenth on the Lesser Heaven List, recently promoted to the Sixth Grade.
It wasn't that she lacked talent; it was simply that Zhan Xuesong's genius was so overwhelming that others appeared ordinary in comparison.
Gu Lianqian, by contrast, was ranked eleventh, aided by her younger age.
Yet, after surviving the recent ordeal of being hunted by various forces, her record alone might push her straight into the top ten.
Indeed, though Gu Lianqian's experience had been humiliating, from the outside, her accomplishment appeared astonishing, surviving against multiple Sixth Grades and a Fifth Grade, and escaping only thanks to a mysterious, possibly nonexistent figure known as the "Not-a-Taoist."
In short: Gu Lianqian was the MVP, and Not-a-Taoist was the lucky freeloader.
"Next participant, Third Peak, Xu Yuexiu."
A woman in a clean, graceful violet robe stepped into the center of the stage, sword in hand. True to her name, her eyes shone bright and clear, her face delicate as the moon.
Xu Yuexiu was immensely popular among the inner disciples. As soon as she appeared, cheers rose from the crowd, everyone eager to witness the performance of the Pavilion's second-ranked inner disciple.
The presiding elder nodded and raised his hand, ready to activate the wooden puppet. But then, a cold and familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Release control. I'll take over."
The elder's pupils shrank sharply as he froze.
That was... the Young Pavilion Master's voice?!
Why was the Young Pavilion Master suddenly taking it upon himself to personally test an inner disciple today?
How rare...
Even Zhan Xuesong had never received such treatment.
The elder was deeply puzzled. Could it be that Xu Yuexiu possessed some special quality?
Still, confusion aside, he would never object.
If the Young Pavilion Master took personal action, it meant he saw potential in the disciple. Being directly guided by the Sword Saint's heir was a tremendous honor.
The elder silently replied, "Yes."
He released control of the puppet and handed it to Ning Songjun.
The puppet's cultivation was set at the early Sixth Grade, meaning that victory would depend solely on the combatants' mastery of swordsmanship.
Ning Songjun then passed control of the puppet to Gu Fangchen.
Although the puppet's cultivation was higher than Gu Fangchen's own, Ning Songjun had unlocked all of its permissions, so even with his Eighth-Grade Spiritual Dao cultivation, Gu Fangchen could control it smoothly and effortlessly.
Gu Fangchen tested it with a few simple movements and was quite satisfied.
The thing about these sword puppets was that they came with a complete set of the Sword Pavilion's foundational sword techniques, seventy-two forms in total, that could be executed directly through command without manual manipulation.
In other words, it was semi-automatic.
For Gu Fangchen, this was perfect.
Because truth be told, he didn't know any sword techniques at all.
But with the puppet, that didn't matter. The Sword Pavilion's basic forms were more than enough for him to make use of!
The puppet stepped onto the stage and took its stance.
Xu Yuexiu's expression was calm but focused, fully on guard.
From the side, Ning Songjun spoke dryly,
"Xu Yuexiu is the foremost swordswoman among this generation's direct disciples."
"Even Zhan Xuesong falls short of her in pure swordsmanship. Her talent in cultivation may lag slightly, but given time, her achievements might surpass even his."
"Well then, how will you deal with such a formidable opponent?"
Gu Fangchen said nothing.
Xu Yuexiu struck first.
She unleashed "Dark Snow Seals the Throat", a killing move right from the start. The puppet immediately retreated.
Xu Yuexiu changed forms in a flash, the sword tip dipping downward to pierce toward the puppet's dantian.
Ning Songjun commented,
"Excellent transition, she's completely mastered her sword intent, wielding it like her own limb."
"You retreat, are you planning to use 'Empty Pool Reflects the Moon' to evade temporarily?"
Gu Fangchen slung an arm around Ning Songjun's shoulder, took another swig of wine, and grinned.
"Wrong. It's 'Broken String Pierces the Sun.'"
The puppet suddenly shifted, leaning back mid-retreat, sliding downward. Using its sword to block her strike, it drove the blade into the ground.
Then, leveraging the force of Xu Yuexiu's downward thrust, it snapped its own blade in half.
With a sharp crack, the sword broke cleanly. In the blink of an eye, the puppet sprang forward, pressing the broken edge against Xu Yuexiu's neck.
The outcome was decided.
The entire audience erupted.
Every inner disciple stared, wide-eyed, as Xu Yuexiu stood frozen in disbelief, her face pale.
What just happened?!
Senior Sister Xu... lost?!
Lost to a puppet of equal level!