This was Tai Mountain. If Tai Mountain held any secrets...
’Wait!’
’A bolt of lightning suddenly struck Lin Yan’s mind. Could it be related to that Martial Saint?’
’Or was Tai Mountain itself just that special, prompting the Martial Saint to come here and carve the two words, "Mighty Martial"?’
"Let’s go."
He Qiaosheng said no more and led Lin Yan and Jian Sheng away. By the time they returned to the plaza with the Saint Sealing Stone, Lin Yan’s gaze had once again fallen upon the massive rock.
The Saint Sealing Stone was unchanged. The two words "Mighty Martial" remained as forceful and powerful as ever.
"I wonder if it was the Martial Saint who lent me his aid. If it was you, Senior, this junior is eternally grateful."
Lin Yan paused and bowed deeply to the Saint Sealing Stone. To He Qiaosheng and his disciple, Jian Sheng, who witnessed this, it simply looked like Lin Yan was showing his admiration for the Martial Saint.
Never mind just bowing; plenty of Martial Artists even knelt and kowtowed before it.
"Senior He, let’s go."
「North Sea Lineage, Celestial Sword Peak.」
The peak pierced the heavens like a sharp sword. Its slopes were steep, with sheer cliffs on all four sides, and it was perennially shrouded in clouds and mist, its base forever hidden from view.
Yet in stark contrast to the perilous steepness of the mountain, the summit was unnaturally flat. A vast platform, thousands of feet across, had been carved out by someone of immense power. At its very center stood a black Sword Stele.
At this moment, a figure stood at the very edge of the summit, hands clasped behind his back. His robes whipped about in the fierce winds, yet his form remained perfectly still. His features were as cold as a sword covered in frost, and his deep blue brocade robe was without a single crease, as if the very dust of the world was unworthy of settling upon him.
The young man’s gaze rested on the distant sea of clouds, his expression so placid it bordered on apathy.
It was not a deliberate coldness, but an aloofness that emanated from his very bones, as if everything before him—the sea of clouds, the mountain peak, even the entire world—was beneath his notice.
Faint footsteps approached from behind, unhurried and measured, carrying an air of deliberate, suppressed reverence.
"First Senior Brother."
The newcomer stopped about ten yards behind him and cupped his fist in salute. His voice was not loud, but it was clearly audible on the wide-open summit.
"Mm."
The man did not turn around, only giving a faint reply.
"A moment ago, I sensed your Sword Qi, Senior Brother. Have you achieved another breakthrough?"
The speaker’s tone was probing, yet filled with reverence.
The man fell silent for a moment before slowly raising his right hand. His fingers were long and slender, his knuckles well-defined. He traced a line through the air. Though he held no sword, an incredibly fine thread of Sword Qi emerged from his fingertip, leaving a faint white trace in the air that vanished in an instant.
"Someone used some unorthodox method to comprehend ten types of Perfect Sword Intent. They tried to use the Sword Inquiry Stone to get a Rank A Talent, so I crippled them with a single sword strike."
"An unorthodox method?"
"Without an Innate Sword Heart, how could anyone in the Blood Exchange Realm comprehend ten different types of Perfect Sword Intent? It must have been through some unorthodox method."
The junior brother behind him looked surprised. ’Comprehending ten different types of Sword Intent in the Blood Exchange Realm without a Sword Heart... that’s truly shocking. But isn’t First Senior Brother’s action a bit too arbitrary?’
"And what if my judgment was wrong? They’re crippled, and that’s that. Let’s go."
The young man turned and walked away. The junior brother sighed inwardly. ’First Senior Brother must have crippled that person because he failed to achieve his breakthrough.’
’You could only blame the poor fellow’s bad luck, testing his sword right when First Senior Brother failed to break through.’
’The Sect had spent a fortune establishing Sword Inquiry Stones in every Lineage. If anyone taking the test reached Rank A, the Sword Stele here in the main sect would sense it. For a true Middle Rank A or Upper Rank A talent, the Sect would dispatch an Elder to recruit them immediately, lest they be snatched up by the Taiyi Sword Sect.’
’And for the past few days, First Senior Brother had been in front of the Sword Stele, meditating on his breakthrough. He just happened to be there when it happened.’
’As for the faction backing that unlucky person, would they dare demand an explanation from the Celestial Sword Sect?’
A proud look appeared on the young man’s face. ’Any faction that needs a Sword Inquiry Stone to test the Sword Dao talent of its juniors wouldn’t be able to withstand a single strike from the Celestial Sword Sect.’
’Ten types of Perfect Sword Intent... does that make someone a genius?’
’Of course it does. But if there’s one thing the Celestial Sword Sect doesn’t lack, it’s Sword Dao geniuses. And there is only one First Senior Brother.’
What this junior brother failed to notice, however, was the cold glint that flashed in his First Senior Brother’s eyes as he turned to leave.

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