Chapter 45: A Peerless Talent!
Jiang Yun Ge cast a surprised glance at Li Shuang.
Sword Domain? What was that? She had never heard such a term before, yet both Li Shuang and Steward Lin spoke of it as if it were as common as the breeze in the bamboo grove. For Steward Lin—usually as calm as a still pond—to be so animated, it must be something truly extraordinary. [Her curiosity stirred like water in a mountain stream.]
Li Shuang, however, remained as composed as a seasoned swordsman. For ten long years, her inner cultivation had lain dormant. Each day, she toiled to refine her spirit energy, as one polishes a treasured blade, always awaiting a moment of breakthrough. She had even devoted herself deeper to the path of the sword.
Ten years passed. Though her inner power did not grow, her understanding of the Sword Dao deepened with every silent meditation.
Then, on that fateful day, she unlocked the Inheritance Space. Her venerable master, Su Mu Senior, had guided her through ten grueling days of training that pushed her Sword Dao comprehension to its limits. With five more days of careful refinement, she took the final step—mastering her very own Sword Domain. Only when one has grasped the Sword Domain can a true Sword Cultivator be born. And now—she had ascended.
Steward Lin murmured, “I must see this! I must see this!” while fixating on the image in the Recording Stone. Ye Zhao Zhao, noting his excitement, felt a creeping unease in her heart. Sword Domain? What could it be? Though the System had allowed her to steal Li Shuang’s cultivation, it could not steal her deep understanding of the Sword Dao. While she had reached the Nascent Soul Stage over the past decade, her grasp on the art of the sword remained but a mystery.
She studied the imagery on the Recording Stone, but nothing made sense.
[Something was amiss!]
Suddenly, Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes widened as realization struck. When the image was enlarged, the crowd too became astonished. Amid a flurry of sword strikes, Li Shuang walked forward with her eyes closed! Surrounded by a storm of gleaming blades, a gentle smile played upon her lips—as if she were strolling along a quiet mountain path.
With graceful ease, she reached Shi Chu Yun and, with a single swift strike, dislodged the Spring Rain Sword from her grasp.
“Look! A Sword Cultivator who cannot even hold onto their own sword? If this is not a trick, then what is it?” cried Chang Le An. “This proves foul play in the duel between Li Shuang and Shi Chu Yun!” His eyes burned with the need to avenge Little Junior Sister for the twenty strikes she had suffered.
“Steward Lin! Announce the verdict now! Li Shuang and Shi Chu Yun must have colluded—they should be punished!” he declared loudly.
Yet Steward Lin remained absorbed in the recording. The clip was short, and after watching it once, he replayed it from the start. This time, his gaze sharpened with even greater intensity.
“Steward Lin, you—” began Chang Le An, but Steward Lin waved him off and silenced his protest with a surge of spiritual energy. Chang Le An’s face twisted in frustration, his words choked away.
Turning eagerly to Li Shuang, Steward Lin asked, “When did this happen?”
“At dawn today,” she replied calmly.
Steward Lin suddenly slammed the table, exclaiming, “Good! Good! Excellent!” The assembled disciples exchanged puzzled glances. Why was Steward Lin so delighted?
“There was nothing amiss with this match!” Steward Lin declared firmly. Casting a stern look at Chang Le An, he continued, “Focus on your own cultivation instead of scheming. I will keep the Recording Stone. Everyone else, disperse!” His words rang with unwavering authority.
The crowd fell silent. Chang Le An seethed with indignation, trapped in his own fury.
“Li Shuang, cultivate well! Tomorrow, I look forward to your next match,” Steward Lin said earnestly, his eyes brimming with expectation. Li Shuang offered a slight nod. Although Steward Lin had already reached the Divine Spirit Transformation Stage and she was still at the Energy Refining Stage, his admiration was unmistakable.
Admiration? For what? Perhaps for the mysterious Sword Domain she had unveiled? The onlookers were baffled, yet the term “Sword Domain” soon spread among them like wildfire.
Meanwhile, Steward Lin clutched the Recording Stone and hurried to find Pang Zhi Xue. After a careful review of the footage, Pang Zhi Xue sought out the Sect Leader. The Sword Sect, named after the very blade, nurtured rare Sword Spirits. Yet in the realm of sword techniques, they ranked only modestly among the Six Great Righteous Sects. The Primordial Blue Sect held the highest esteem, and within its ranks, the unparalleled genius Yan Fan had already entered the Divine Spirit Transformation Stage before turning fifty. His swordsmanship was peerless, and he had forged his own Sword Domain, making him the strongest among the younger generation.
Now, however, the Sword Sect had produced a genius who had also mastered the Sword Domain. Li Shuang, even younger than Yan Fan, rivaled any genius of the six sects in her pure Sword Dao cultivation.
Meng Yi Fei watched the recording, his eyes alight with brilliance. Yet a sudden thought cast a shadow over his excitement, and regret crossed his face. Li Shuang was undoubtedly a prodigy of the Sword Dao. But her cultivation still lingered at the Energy Refining Stage, and it was unknown if she had overcome the Nascent Soul Stage’s bottleneck. Without breaking that barrier, her achievements would remain confined.
“If she had not faltered these past ten years, Li Shuang might have reached the Divine Spirit Transformation Stage by now! Our Sword Sect’s foremost genius should have already emerged,” remarked Pang Zhi Xue.
When Li Shuang first joined, her cultivation soared, and the elders believed she was the key to the sect’s resurgence. Yet her brilliance was fleeting, and a decade of silence followed. Their hopes had shifted to another rising star. Who could have foreseen that after ten long years, she would deliver such an astonishing display?
“No one truly understands the mysteries of the Grand Supreme Emotionless Art. If her transition to this technique enables her to break the Nascent Soul Stage barrier…” Meng Yi Fei declared firmly, “Prepare the arrangements. Tomorrow, move Li Shuang’s match to the Central Arena! I wish to witness her true strength!” Pang Zhi Xue agreed without hesitation.
As the Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall and one of Meng Yi Fei’s trusted aides, he understood well the Sword Sect’s precarious position. The Sect Leader had sacrificed much to secure their spot among the Top Six Sects. Should they fail to improve, another sect might seize their place. What they desperately needed was a true Peerless Genius—a champion to lead the sect back to glory. The sect had always invested greatly in nurturing its brightest disciples, and Li Shuang had once been one of their cherished ones.
If tomorrow’s match confirmed that she had truly mastered the Sword Domain and could shatter the Nascent Soul Stage’s barrier… then the Sword Sect would witness the rise of a Peerless Genius!
“Li Shuang…” Meng Yi Fei murmured, his eyes darkening. Many whispered that he had once hesitated to administer true justice for the sake of harmony. He knew the rumors, but he cared not. In this moment, what the Sword Sect needed most was stability. But if Li Shuang could prove her worth… then he would spare no effort to favor her from today onward!
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