Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Selection

By the very name of the hall, there could be no doubt that the Sword Dao Hall stood on the same level as the Spirit Medicine Hall and the Spirit Artifact Hall.

The news set off a tremendous storm, first within the Spirit Battle Pavilion and then across the Holy City itself.

At the mention of the Sword Dao Hall, people immediately thought of swordsmanship, and the earlier move to recruit masters of the sword only confirmed that suspicion.

Yet amid their astonishment, everyone was deeply perplexed by this sudden and sweeping decision. They could not understand why the Spirit Battle Pavilion would place such unprecedented importance on swordsmanship. Was it truly necessary to elevate it to such a height? And what was even harder to comprehend was that Chu Feng, who had dazzled all during the Holy Trial, had become the hall master of the Sword Dao Hall. No matter how brilliant his performance had been, he was still only an early stage sixth rank earth-spirit warrior.

One had to know that a hall master, especially one among the Heaven Camp, held a position of great honor within the Spirit Battle Pavilion, ranking nearly just below the pavilion master.

The crowd was baffled, and speculation spread everywhere, but the holy-spirit warriors who had attended the Holy Trial at the time instead understood the elders’ intentions.

In any case, the Sword Dao Hall had now been officially established. Compared with the other halls of the Heaven Camp, however, it was undoubtedly small, for there were not many people in the Sword Dao Hall.

Before the storm from this news had even subsided, the Heaven Camp and Earth Camp were stirred once more.

Through the instructors, the students of both camps learned that Chu Feng’s astonishing combat strength had in fact stemmed from his connection to the Sword Dao Manual, and that the Sword Dao Hall had been founded precisely for that reason.

At that revelation, everyone recalled the classic text that had nearly been forgotten. Yet no one could find it in the scripture repositories anymore, because the elders had already sent people to remove the Sword Dao Manual from every camp’s collection.

Then another message reached the two camps: among the students, a select few with especially extraordinary talent in swordsmanship would be chosen. These students would be allowed to go to the Sword Dao Hall to train in swordsmanship, as preparation for comprehending the Sword Dao Manual in the future.

Chu Feng’s reputation as a master of the sword had long since spread far and wide. At this, the students immediately understood that comprehending the Sword Dao Manual likely required an exceptionally profound level of swordsmanship.

They were not told what secrets the manual concealed, but it was certain that if anyone truly glimpsed those secrets, their combat power would soar at a speed no different from Chu Feng’s.

As for that genius who, for the first time in thousands of years, had peeked into the secrets of the Sword Dao Manual, the students all held him in the deepest admiration.

Thus, whether in the Heaven Camp or the Earth Camp, many confident students promptly signed up for the selection. Inevitably, some of them were driven by blind enthusiasm and feverish excitement.

Of course, among the two camps there were still those who were rational. After all, if the secrets of the Sword Dao Manual had remained undiscovered for thousands upon thousands of years, how could they possibly be so easily comprehended? The selection would surely be strict as well. They knew their own aptitude in swordsmanship to some extent, and many chose to give up sensibly on the spot. Others, seeing that their time there was almost up and that they would soon be leaving the Spirit Battle Pavilion, naturally abandoned the attempt without hesitation.

The reason the selection was conducted only within the Heaven Camp and Earth Camp was mainly because of a second requirement: the ability to release spiritual will.

Someone like Chu Feng was almost impossible to find a second time, so to meet this condition one would have to be a heaven-spirit warrior. Yet among the Heaven Camp students, there were only a few such people.

Thus, the requirement was revised to demand exceptionally high cultivation talent.

After all, at present they were not being asked to directly comprehend the Sword Dao Manual. They would first need to spend a long period training in swordsmanship. Therefore, those chosen had to possess the talent and potential to become heaven-spirit warriors, or even holy-spirit warriors. Clearly, very few people from the Mysterious Camp and Earth Camp could satisfy such a standard.

There were indeed many applicants, though relatively fewer from the Heaven Camp. After all, the Heaven Camp students already possessed very high cultivation talent. Some felt that their chances of comprehending the Sword Dao Manual were slim and did not wish to divide their attention from cultivation with sword practice. Others simply could not bring themselves to do it, because the hall master of the Sword Dao Hall was Chu Feng.

As for Yuwen Feng and Mo Chen, there was no need to mention them at all. They were certainly not going to apply.

More than five thousand people applied, and all of them came from either the Heaven Camp or the Earth Camp, so the condition of extremely high cultivation talent was considered satisfied.

The test of great perseverance was presided over by experts sent by the elders, and this was quite easy. Whether one’s will was firm, whether one possessed great endurance—under the power of a formidable illusion barrier, a single trial would reveal the answer.

In truth, all of these people did possess perseverance. It was only that the standard here was undoubtedly much higher. In the end, from those more than five thousand, only a little over nine hundred remained.

As for the selection of swordsmanship talent, Chu Feng did not take part. It was directly overseen by the nine Sword Lords, with assistance from eighteen Sword Masters. These swordsmanship experts had been sect leaders in the secular world to begin with, and when it came to selection, each of them had their own experience. These were things that Chu Feng did not possess.

These swordsmanship experts had all been personally chosen by Chu Feng after testing their moves one by one, and he had full confidence in both their swordsmanship and even their teaching experience.

Most of these masters of the sword were middle-aged men, and some were even older, but toward the youthful Chu Feng, they all felt the deepest admiration. They had all witnessed his swordsmanship with their own eyes, and in their minds Chu Feng was nothing short of a legendary existence.

After a full day of selection, only exactly ninety people remained out of the nine hundred and more. By then, the selection had finally come to a complete end, and these ninety people would be granted the qualification to train in swordsmanship at the Sword Dao Hall.

In the training grounds of the Sword Dao Hall, the ninety-person team stood in neat ranks, while the nine Sword Lords stood on the other side.

Soon, Chu Feng arrived. He was calm and composed, but as soon as he appeared, he noticed familiar faces among the group.

For a moment, Chu Feng was at a loss for words. Sun Xuan, Wang Chengfei, and Zhu Miaomiao were actually among them. That was not all—Long Yue, Liu Yantao, and Murong Qiuxue were there as well.

In truth, Long Yue, Liu Yantao, and Murong Qiuxue felt that their swordsmanship was not yet strong enough, and following Chu Feng to study would only waste his time a little, so they decided to come to the Sword Dao Hall and learn for a while first.

What left Chu Feng most speechless was that when he noticed Murong Qiuxue, she actually shot him a flirtatious wink. Faced with the temptation of the jewel of the Heaven Camp, even Chu Feng could not help feeling his heart stir.

Then, from beside Murong Qiuxue, Long Yue sent him a resentful look.

Seeing this, the nine Sword Lords could not help letting a faint smile creep onto their lips. Chu Feng himself felt a little awkward, though fortunately he had a skin thicker than most. He immediately cleared his throat twice and delivered the words he had prepared earlier.

“I believe everyone already knows why the Sword Dao Hall was established. Yes, it was for the Sword Dao Manual. As for why I am standing here, I imagine you all know that as well. There truly is a mysterious path hidden within the Sword Dao Manual, and by chance I happened to step onto that path.

“But I can tell you plainly that none of you yet possesses the conditions necessary to comprehend the Sword Dao Manual. Whether from the standpoint of swordsmanship or cultivation, you are not there yet. Let me put it clearly: setting swordsmanship aside for the moment, no one can comprehend the Sword Dao without first becoming a heaven-spirit warrior.

“This is not a matter of looking down on you; it is simply the truth, and I am only a little unusual myself. As for how I am unusual, I can also tell you this: even before the Holy Trial, I was already capable of launching spiritual attacks.”

At first, when the students heard Chu Feng speak, they admitted he was formidable, but they still harbored some degree of unwillingness in their hearts. Yet upon hearing that he could already unleash spiritual attacks, everyone drew a sharp breath. There was truly no room for disbelief now. At last they began to understand why Chu Feng had been able to comprehend the mysteries of the Sword Dao Manual. After all, who among them, before this, could have released spiritual will while still an earth-spirit warrior, let alone used it to launch spiritual attacks?

Everyone straightened with renewed respect, looking at Chu Feng with nothing but admiration in their eyes. They too knew how mysterious and difficult the Sword Dao was. Even with a guide before them now, they could sense that it was far from as simple as they had imagined.

The people before him were all geniuses, and Chu Feng knew that his words might sound somewhat harsh. But he had to say them. He wanted them to regard the Sword Dao Manual properly and avoid pursuing it with blind fanaticism.

He then continued, “Becoming a heaven-spirit warrior should not be too difficult. What will truly be hard for you, naturally, is swordsmanship. That is because the Sword Dao Manual places extremely high demands on swordsmanship.

“The nine Sword Lords behind me are all grand masters of the sword. Their swordsmanship has already reached its peak, but for the Sword Dao Manual, that is still far from enough. Above that peak lies another realm—the realm of the Sword God—which is the truly difficult part. Its challenge is no less than becoming a holy-spirit warrior. Of course, that is under the premise that no one is guiding you. So training in swordsmanship is destined to be a long process. Remember this well: do not grow restless or eager, and do not put the cart before the horse.

“I can tell you plainly that the path hidden within the Sword Dao Manual was once something only a holy-spirit warrior had a chance to touch, so you can imagine how difficult it is. If you succeed, that is certainly cause for joy. Even if you ultimately fail, there will be no regret.

“To tell you the truth, I have not only reached the realm of the Sword God, but have even reached its very pinnacle. My swordsmanship has already broken through great completion and attained perfection. Since you have come here, then not only must you have confidence in yourselves, but you must also believe in me. Do you understand?”

“We understand!” everyone answered in unison, their blood surging with excitement.

Even the nine Sword Lords were stirred. In their lifetimes, they had all longed to reach the Sword God realm, yet they had never imagined that this young hall master’s swordsmanship had already attained perfection. They believed that with such a hall master, there was great hope of reaching the Sword God realm.

From that point on, the ninety students would come every day to practice swordsmanship for one or two hours. At present, there was no need for Chu Feng to personally make a move at all; the nine Sword Lords were more than enough.

As for Chu Feng himself, he mainly devoted himself to comprehending the second realm recorded in the Sword Dao Manual, the unity of man and sword, while also tempering his physique. Occasionally, when he visited the Sword Dao Hall, he would offer appropriate guidance to the nine Sword Lords and eighteen Sword Masters.

As for the matter of recruiting exclusive students for the Sword Dao Hall, Chu Feng entrusted it entirely to the eighteen Sword Masters, since that was also their main duty.

In his spare time, Chu Feng set aside time to organize his own understanding and insights into swordsmanship. In the end, he recorded them in writing and turned them into a book that deeply expounded the principles of change in swordsmanship.

This book had a profound influence on the various swordsmanship masters and was regarded as a treasure of the sword world. Their worship of Chu Feng became something impossible to express in words.

And so, the Sword Dao Hall quickly moved onto the right track. Chu Feng also became completely free on the Sword Dao Hall’s side, and in regard to his own cultivation, he began a new round of planning.