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Chapter 618: Chapter 624: Competition
Of course, besides advancing the Spirit Vein, one could also purchase a plethora of Spiritual Objects and Methods to enhance the family’s foundations, or even acquire fourth-order Dragon Beast eggs.
In short, these nine million-plus Spirit Stones greatly alleviated the burden on the Li family.
Ever since this Spirit Stone Vein was discovered, it reignited the enthusiasm of clan members to search for more veins, with Loose Cultivators joining in the effort as well.
Unfortunately, no good news has been heard to date.
Li Zhirui’s attention, however, remained focused on Da Qing and Xiaoqing; fortunately, their evolution was nearing its end, and all that was needed was to wait patiently.
——
"A Sword Dao competition?"
Li Zhixuan, who was training in the central region, happened upon this news and felt her heart stir. After decades of training outside, she had yet to find her breakthrough opportunity, and perhaps this event might present her with a chance.
As she did not practice the Wanling Sutra but rather a Sword Dao Cultivation Technique she had found, Li Zhixuan’s breakthrough might differ from that of other clan members.
This was also why she had traveled a great distance to train in the central region, not only because the place was a gathering of prodigies and treasures but also because there were more Sword Cultivators here.
Though the Eastern Domain hosted a top-tier Sword Cultivator power, the Sword Sect, could Li Zhixuan, a mere Golden Core cultivator, possibly dare to challenge them?
Whether she won or lost, she would be the one to suffer in the end.
Once Li Zhixuan inquired more about the event, her desire to participate intensified because many Sword Cultivators had signed up, including even Nascent Soul Sword Cultivators!
Even though she knew she stood no chance and was not qualified to compete with Nascent Soul cultivators, witnessing their Sword Qi and Sword Intent up close might bring her a different insight.
Since the competition site, the Immortal City, was quite distant, Li Zhixuan had to set out early to avoid missing the registration period.
On her way to the City of Thousand Swords, she saw many Cultivators, some casually attending for the excitement, while others, like her, were going to compete.
A few days later, Li Zhixuan arrived at the City of Thousand Swords.
Looking at the towering and imposing city, with Spirit Swords embedded in its walls and various Sword Qi intersecting fiercely, her heart and mind were shaken.
Before this, Li Zhixuan had learned about the City of Thousand Swords, which was the base of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. The Sect had several Divine Transformation elders and dozens of Nascent Soul True Lords.
As for Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was no need to elaborate further; coupled with the formidable combat strength of Sword Cultivators, the power of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect was impressively strong.
As for the Spirit Swords embedded in the city walls, they ranged in quality, but each one was discarded or a relic of the Sect members.
Initially, the embedding of Spirit Swords in the walls was meant for paying respects to predecessors and highlighting one’s status. However, as time passed and the number of Spirit Swords increased, they gradually formed a natural Formation.
The Formation was not only integrated in offense and defense but could also nurture the Spirit Swords!
As a result, it became the place for disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to choose their Spirit Swords.
The reward for this Sword Dao competition was the opportunity to enter the Great Sword Array of Thousand Swords and select a Spirit Sword. No matter the rank, if one could take it away, even a fifth-order Spirit Sword would belong to them!
Of course, such a reward varied greatly, so the Ten Thousand Swords Sect also offered other options, like selecting some top-grade Spirit Materials for sword forging.
Li Zhixuan regarded the rewards as secondary; she just aimed to do her best. Her primary goal was to observe other Sword Cultivators, to see if she could learn something from them that would help break through her bottleneck.
After successfully registering, she went straight to the inn designated for resting participants. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to explore the City of Thousand Swords, but there were simply too many Cultivators, and it was overcrowded. What was there to see in such chaos?
Upon entering, Li Zhixuan attracted the attention of many Sword Cultivators. Just as Cultivators can vaguely sense each other’s strength, Sword Cultivators can do so even more clearly.
Her arrival made many Golden Core Sword Cultivators feel as if they were facing a great enemy, under considerable pressure.
But this also aroused the curiosity of some sword cultivators, because female sword cultivators were a rare existence. In the hall sat dozens of people, yet there were only two female sword cultivators!
"Are you here alone, Daoist?" one of them asked with a smile.
Li Zhixuan thought for a moment, then walked towards them, "Are you two also alone?"
"I am Hongyan, a disciple of the Sword Sect from the Eastern Domain, here with my master to attend this grand event."
"I am Zhengyin, a disciple of the Qingcheng Sword Faction from the Southern Domain, also here with my master."
"I come from a loose cultivator background, and by a stroke of fate, I obtained a sword sutra called Jiang Ye," Li Zhixuan lied and asked, "Has this kind of competition been held many times?"
Upon hearing Li Zhixuan claim to be a loose cultivator, surprise flickered in their eyes, but they still harbored some doubts. However, if what she said was true, then her talent in the Sword Dao far exceeded theirs!
"The Ten Thousand Swords Sect holds it every two hundred years. It is said that this was originally the graduation test for disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, but gradually it expanded in scale, and now all sword cultivators in the world can participate," explained Hongyan.
"I see."
Li Zhixuan then asked, "I heard that even Nascent Soul sword cultivators participate, is that true?"
"Yes, so for us, it’s also a great opportunity to broaden our horizons," said Zhengyin. "However, the sparring among Nascent Soul cultivators will not be public. Only a select group of outstanding Golden Core cultivators will be invited to watch."
They did this mainly because the destructive power of sword cultivators was too strong. If the protective barrier was destroyed, it would be very troublesome to rescue a large number of spectators.
Moreover, laymen couldn’t really understand the depth of such high-level competition; they would only sense that the competitors were very strong and fearsome.
"It looks like I’ll have to give it my all to compete for this spot," Li Zhixuan certainly hadn’t forgotten that her main reason for competing was to break through her own limits.
"With Daoist Jiang’s strength, securing that spot should be no problem at all!"
"You flatter me too much, Daoist."
Since the three had only just met, they weren’t familiar with each other. They had come together simply because they shared the same gender, so the conversation soon cooled down.
"My master is summoning me, I must go."
Zhengyin stood up and said, "You two should also rest early. The competition starts in a few days, and I hope to encounter you both on the stage then. Don’t hold back so I can see the skill of other female sword cultivators!"
"It’s a deal!"
"That’s good to hear!"
After speaking, the three of them shared a smile, seemingly bringing them a little closer to each other before they left the hall in succession.
"Tsk! These female sword cultivators are even more fierce than us men."
"You speak the truth, Daoist!"
Many male cultivators nodded in agreement.
In the following days, Li Zhixuan didn’t step foot outside her room, quietly waiting for the competition to begin.
Dang dang dang——
A grand series of bell tolls echoed throughout the City of Thousand Swords, reminding all cultivators that the competition was about to begin, urging them to head to the venue as soon as possible.
"It’s finally starting!"
Li Zhixuan’s eyes snapped open as she rose from her seat, full of energy, and left her room.
