Chapter Eleven: The Heaven-Pointing Sword

On the third floor of the pavilion, dust lay thick everywhere, and even cobwebs hung in dense veils. Seven or eight swords were scattered haphazardly about, prompting both of them to grumble inwardly.

“This third floor is really in a miserable state…” Niu Shisan said, crestfallen.

Lin Cheng spread his hands in resignation and casually picked up a sword. In an instant, the blade seemed to come alive, radiating a golden light that seized their attention. They stared, transfixed, at the sword, on whose hilt were carved the words “Sun-Splitter.”

“What a fine Sun-Splitter Sword!” Lin Cheng exclaimed in awe. Just as he was about to select it, the voice of the white-robed sword cultivator echoed in his mind.

“Pick up the sword in the corner ahead…”

“Ah? Senior, you’re still here?” Lin Cheng said, delighted.

“Would you rather I were gone?”

“No, no, I was just excited… just got carried away…” Hearing the white-robed sword cultivator’s voice again, Lin Cheng was overjoyed.

Beside him, Niu Shisan stared at Lin Cheng as if he were mad. “Senior Brother Lin, have you lost your mind? Why are you talking to yourself? It’s just a sword, not worth that much…”

Lin Cheng looked embarrassed. At that moment, the white-robed sword cultivator said, “Use your mind to communicate with me.”

Lin Cheng tossed the Sun-Splitter Sword into Niu Shisan’s hands. “It’s nothing, really, I just got too excited. If you like this sword, it’s yours.” With that, he walked toward the sword lying quietly in the corner.

“Senior, is there something special about this sword? It doesn’t seem as impressive as the last one.” Lin Cheng turned it over in his hands, but apart from being rusty, he found nothing remarkable.

“You’ve only just started cultivating—how could you possibly tell? Infuse your Five Elements Sword Art into it and drop a bit of your blood to claim it as your own,” the white-robed sword cultivator instructed.

Lin Cheng did as he was told, quietly circulating his Five Elements Sword Art and letting a drop of blood fall onto the blade. Soon, the sword began to tremble. A clear sword cry rang out, a white light flared, and the once rusty, dust-covered sword was utterly transformed.

The hilt shone like red agate, entwined with black threads. The blade was three feet long, three fingers wide, with slightly thicker edges. Yellow and black clouds adorned the blade’s surface. Most striking of all was the exceedingly sharp tip, which now glimmered with a chill that made one’s heart quail. Near the tip, the words “Skyward” were carved in bold, domineering strokes.

“What a sword!”

“What a marvelous Skyward Sword!”

“Senior, what grade is this sword?” Lin Cheng could not stop caressing the blade.

“Stop calling me ‘senior’ all the time. Do I look that old? This sword was once passable, but now, without its spirit, it’s barely a middle-grade spiritual weapon—better than trash, I suppose…” the white-robed sword cultivator replied carelessly.

Lin Cheng was left speechless. To call a middle-grade spiritual weapon “trash”—though he didn’t know the precise hierarchy of weapons, he could tell this sword was extraordinary.

After hesitating, he asked, “Uh… uncle, what are the weapon grades?”

The white-robed sword cultivator seemed disinclined to answer such a basic question, but replied anyway: “In your world, weapon quality runs from lowest to highest as follows: Profound, Spiritual, Saint, Imperial, and Divine. Each grade is divided into low, middle, high, and supreme.”

“For heaven’s sake, try to learn the basics of the cultivation world in your sect first, will you?”

Lin Cheng scratched his head, blushing. “I just haven’t had time…”

He resolved inwardly to make time in the coming days to study up.

Leaving the Sword Repository Pavilion, the two were in high spirits, glancing back every few steps, wishing they could have taken a few more swords. At the pavilion entrance, the old man watched their chosen swords, his heart pounding—he could see at a glance they were both extraordinary.

They bowed deeply to the old man.

Since neither of their swords had a scabbard, they carried them openly on their shoulders, striding off and leaving the old man behind, his face a picture of pain.

Behind Cangfeng Pavilion, after parting ways with Niu Shisan, Lin Cheng found a secluded cave dwelling. He took out the Yellow-Grade cultivation manual given by his master and began to read.

He found within it the methods for cultivating from the True Qi Realm to the Spirit Realm. Though he already possessed the Five Elements Sword Art taught by the white-robed sword cultivator, he still studied the manual carefully.

He found that both systems shared a common foundation—drawing upon the powers of heaven and earth—though his Five Elements Sword Art could refine the energies of the five elements into sword essence, which was clearly a more advanced form of energy.

Lin Cheng read with relish, poring over every page. The manual included not only cultivation techniques but also basic introductions to the cultivation world.

For example, the world they inhabited was called the Celestial Azure Realm, composed mainly of the Azure Continent, Red Flame Province, Yak Continent, and Central Province, with five forbidden zones no one dared approach.

Looking at the map at the back, Lin Cheng realized how insignificant the Zhao Kingdom, where he lived, truly was. He could not help but yearn for the wider world.

He read on.

At last, his heart stirred as he came across a sword technique.

“Wind Listening Sword,” a top-tier Yellow-Grade martial art, which, when mastered, could split mountains and shatter the earth. The manual included detailed instructions.

He studied it intently. He was somewhat troubled, for the Heavenly Peak Five Clouds Sword Art taught by the white-robed sword cultivator was far beyond his current level, making it impossible for him to practice. Thus, this new technique was especially important to him now.

Having carefully read through the sword technique, Lin Cheng was deeply impressed. The art consisted of three moves: the first, Mountain Severing; the second, Sword as Roaming Dragon; the third and final, Listening to the Wind.

He closed the book and took a deep breath, his face aglow with excitement.

“What a set—the Wind Listening Sword.”

Picking up the Skyward Sword at his side, Lin Cheng left the cave to practice.

In the woods, Lin Cheng held the sword level at his chest, eyes half-closed, a glint of focus in their depths. With a sudden thrust, the sword shot forward, his body moving in harmony, the wind swirling up fallen leaves all around.

As he shifted from move to move—thrusting, chopping, sweeping—his shouts echoed through the trees.

He practiced until sunset. By then, the first move, Mountain Severing, was already second nature to him, and he had begun to grasp the second, Sword as Roaming Dragon. He felt sure mastery was not far off.

His stomach rumbled.

Though he was now a third-level True Qi cultivator, he was still far from the realm of fasting.

Rubbing his stomach, Lin Cheng dashed off toward the main hall at Sword Repository Peak.

“Senior Brother Lin, Senior Brother Lin…!”

From afar, he saw Niu Shisan waving at him.

He called back and approached the hall with a smile. “You must be hungry too…”

“Of course! I haven’t had a drop of water all day. As soon as I finished reading Master’s manual I came looking for Senior Sister—but Senior Sister Hanmeng still isn’t back… What are we going to do for dinner…” Niu Shisan complained.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Cheng said, “Come on, let’s go find something to eat…”

With that, he led Niu Shisan into the forest behind Qingyang Sect, planning to hunt some game to satisfy their hunger.

The whole of Qingyang Mountain was vast, linked with other mountain ranges rumored to be home to many high-level spirit beasts.

They wandered deep into the forest.

“Senior Brother, is there anything to eat here? I haven’t even seen a wild fruit,” Niu Shisan grumbled.

Lin Cheng was silent.

“Who said we’re eating wild fruit? Watch this…”

Stealthily approaching a large tree, he peered through the undergrowth and caught sight of a bristly wild boar rooting for food, its long, curved tusks glinting on either side of its snout.