Martial Cultivator

As he reached the end of the iron chain and peered beyond the depths of the dense fog, the young man was stunned into silence by the spectacle before him.

Before him stood a tall mountain suspended in the air, its form shrouded within a sea of clouds. Surrounding the mountain, countless flying swords traversed the area, as if guarding the towering peak, yet also appearing as ordinary wanderers. Beyond that, an endless amount of sword qi emanated, as if there existed a peerless sword between heaven and earth, its sharpness clearly evident.

At this moment, no one would doubt that this mountain before them was the most mysterious sect in the world.

The sect that dared to claim that only sword cultivators that came from my Sword Sect were true sword cultivators!

The young man calmed his mind, placing his hand on the flying sword that was trembling uncontrollably at this moment, and then spoke softly, "Don't be hasty."

After taking a deep breath, the young man spoke in a deep voice, "The Academy's Liu Banbi, has come to Sword Sect to seek a sword inquisition from Seniors!"

His voice was not loud, but it was enough to reach the top of the mountain.

But before his words could fade, a flying sword shot forth from the mountain towards Liu Banbi with roaring sword qi, its commotion immense.

Liu Banbi remained silent, drawing out his flying sword Embracing Cicada at the same time, and sent out a sword strike. It was similarly filled with sword intent. Then Liu Banbi released Embracing Cicada, allowing the two flying swords to engage in a fierce battle. Liu Banbi continued saying with a smile, "This junior has come to Sword Sect for a sword inquisition. I'm not asking for the Sect Master to give guidance, but I would like to exchange a few moves with a sword immortal senior no matter what."

Laughter echoed from the mountain, "Liu Banbi, if you want to see the Sect Master's sword, it's not difficult. If you can challenge all the sword cultivators on the mountain, you'll naturally see the Sect Master send out his sword."

Liu Banbi smiled and asked, "May I ask how many sword immortals are there in Sword Sect?"

There was no answer from the other side, he just said, "That depends on how many swords you can withstand."

Liu Banbi smiled and did not say anything. At this moment, his sword intent had reached its peak. Facing this mysterious sect, he dared not relax at all. Though the Sword Sect had not been involved in worldly affairs for many years and just cultivated the sword in seclusion, they were still regarded as a holy land by sword cultivators worldwide. This indicated the extraordinary nature of the Sword Sect.

Liu Banbi's sword inquisition this time was not to suppress the entire Sword Sect until it could not breathe, but rather to at least defeat one of the sword immortals, so that Sword Sect would know that not all sword cultivators in the world were inferior to those from the Sword Sect.

The flying sword quickly returned after breaking free from the Embracing Cicada. Then a majestic voice echoed from the mountain, "Rather impressive, no wonder you didn't die on that Great Wall."

Afterward, the clouds dispersed, a middle-aged sword cultivator with a sword hanging from his waist appeared in Liu Banbi's sight.

The middle-aged sword cultivator hovered in mid-air and quickly reported his background, "Sword Sect, Chen Tianzhen."

Liu Banbi was taken aback. He had never heard of this sword cultivator's name before, indicating that this person had never traveled the world. However, the manifestation of his sword qi showed that he was undoubtedly a sword immortal.

Was this the foundation of the number one sword sect in the world?

Liu Banbi recalled the flying sword Embracing Cicada and did not rush to take action. Instead, he asked, "I have two questions, may I ask Senior to answer?"

Chen Tianzhen smiled and nodded, "Ask away."

"I dare to ask Senior, in the past hundred years, how many battles have the sword cultivators who came to Sword Sect for a sword inquisition fought?" The question of how many battles they had fought was actually asking how many times the sword cultivators of the current era had defeated the Sword Sect's sword cultivators.

Chen Tianzhen replied calmly, "In the past hundred years, barely any sword cultivators have come, and none have defeated the sword cultivators of my Sword Sect."

Liu Banbi chuckled, "It seems that this junior will be the first to do so."

Chen Tianzhen smiled and looked at the young man before him. Although the Sword Sect was the number one sword sect in the world, they did not view other sword cultivators as adversaries. As for the saying that all sword cultivators in the world were from the Sword Sect, it was nothing but a fact.

"Your other question?"

Liu Banbi nodded, "My second question is, how can this junior enter the mountain to witness the splendor of the Sword Sect?"

Chen Tianzhen shook his head, "The Sword Sect has never allowed outsiders to ascend Sword Mountain. If you truly wish to step into the Sword Sect, other than being a disciple of my Sword Sect, if you can defeat the Sect Master, then no one in the Sword Sect will stop you."

Liu Banbi smiled bitterly and said, "This junior has some self-awareness. I saw the Sword Sect's great talisman of the Sect Master a few days ago. This junior is no match for him."

Chen Tianzhen remembered something and said with a smile, "A junior in the sect has mentioned your name with much praise."

Liu Banbi took a deep breath. He naturally knew that the person mentioned was Yu Xiyi. However, at this moment, this sword cultivator who walked out of the academy was unwilling to mention it. He simply said, "Then, please give guidance, Senior."

Chen Tianzhen gestured with his hand, indicating for Liu Banbi to make the first move.

Without wasting his breath, Liu Banbi extended his hand. Embracing Cicada rose into the air, surrounded by swirling sword qi, creating quite a spectacle.

Chen Tianzhen praised, "The flying swords of Sword Qi Mountain are said to be the strongest in the world, and it's not without reason."

After thinking about it, he continued calmly, "At your age, I did not possess your level of Sword Dao cultivation."

Liu Banbi did not waste any words. With a sword imbued with his lifetime swordsmanship, he delivered an attack after a moment. The surging sword intent was extremely terrifying. Even if it was in front of this Sword Sect with countless flying swords, it still shone brightly.

Chen Tianzhen muttered under his breath "come out". At the same time, the flying sword at his waist left its sheath. The rolling sword qi cut through the surrounding sea of clouds as this strike came forth. This sword cultivator who had never had much fame in the world, had actually been cultivating on the mountain for years. When he occasionally ventured out into the world, he remained extremely low-key, never once disclosing his identity as a sword immortal to the world. Being unheard of for decades was unacceptable to many cultivators, but for the sword cultivators of this Sword Sect, it was just commonplace. If they cared about worldly reputation, they would not be qualified to enter this Sword Sect and learn the sword.

Moreover, even the Sect Master, who was called the number one sword immortal in the world, rarely traveled the world. What face did they, this bunch of sword immortals, have to seek fame?

Just like the name of the Sword Sect itself, without any additional titles, the two words "Sword Sect" were enough to explain everything.

Liu Banbi's Embracing Cicada had already flown towards that flying sword. As the two swords clashed for the first time, Chen Tianzhen's flying sword retreated more than an inch, and the sword qi surged and scattered, advancing layer by layer in the sea of clouds.

Chen Tianzhen's expression changed slightly. This junior sword cultivator in front of him was humble enough, but his sword intent was compelling and aggressive, without any intention of holding back.

Knowing full well that this person had been killing demons in the north for many years, and in his Sword Dao, he was more concerned with the word "kill," Chen Tianzhen's thoughts stirred. He manipulated the flying sword to leave the battlefield and then returned it to his hand before sighing, "I underestimated you."

Liu Banbi remained silent, his figure moved slightly as he arrived in midair, gripping Embracing Cicada. Then, he delivered a sword strike relentlessly. At that moment, it was as if there was a tide between heaven and earth, roaring and surging to the extreme.

Chen Tianzhen blocked horizontally with his sword. But after a moment, his figure could not help but retreat several steps.

Afterward, he sheathed his sword and said calmly, "I lost."

Since it was a sword match, there was actually no need to fight to the death, nor was there a need to persist stubbornly when knowing one was at a disadvantage. Most of the sword cultivators who went to challenge the Sword Sect were like this. However, as a sword cultivator of the Sword Sect, he still had the grace to admit defeat.

This sword match was decided within minutes, leaving Liu Banbi somewhat unsatisfied.

Chen Tianzhen turned his head and said loudly, "Senior Brother Ji, this junior brother has lost."

Following that, a burst of laughter echoed from the mountain, "Junior Brother, you should practice your sword more diligently."

Chen Tianzhen ignored the sound from the mountain and just smiled at Liu Banbi, "The second match will be between Senior Brother Ji and Sword Immortal Liu. I will observe on the side."

Liu Banbi nodded, feeling a sense of reverence towards the Sword Sect before him. He came to seek a sword inquisition, claiming it was just sparring. But in reality, in the eyes of other sects, this was a matter concerning the honor of the sect. Sending someone to fight was best done in the first match, where defeating him would be ideal.

But it seemed that the Sword Sect did not care about matters of face. Chen Tianzhen was about on par with his own Sword Dao cultivation. He was not the strongest of this generation in the Sword Sect. Sending him out as the vanguard was actually the Sword Sect's way of hospitality.

All sword cultivators in the world were friends.

After a moment, a handsome sword cultivator in black appeared not far from Liu Banbi, clasping his hand and smiling, "I'm Ji Baili, my companion sword is Green Apricot. Please give me guidance, Sword Immortal Liu."

Liu Banbi was not in a hurry to draw his sword, he just asked, "May I ask, how many sword immortals are there in this generation?"

Ji Baili shook his head, "It's the same sentence, if Sword Immortal Liu wants to know how many sword immortals there are in the Sword Sect, it will have to depend on your own abilities."

Liu Banbi took a deep breath, becoming increasingly impressed by the Sword Sect's foundation.

There were probably no fewer powerhouses in the Sword Sect than there were in the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

Liu Banbi smiled and said, "Speaking of which, if I had known I wanted to learn the sword, I should have come to the Sword Sect to find a master."

Knowing the background of the sword immortal before him, Ji Baili smiled and said, "Saying so, I'm afraid the Dean will be heartbroken."

"Teacher has a good temper, I believe he won't be so."

As Liu Banbi's words fell, his hand reached out again. Embracing Cicada was grasped in his palm once more, and the sound of cicadas chirping immediately filled the air.

Ji Baili's sword qi rose gently, like a spring breeze, devoid of any murderous intent; only the warm sense of spring.

The flying sword in his sheath slowly emerged, its blade green like the color of spring.

The flying sword named Green Apricot had a slender body, its sharpness evident.

Two flying swords from Sword Qi Mountain, each held in the hands of its respective master, exuded their own sword qi.

A great battle was about to begin.

……

……

Deep within the Sword Sect, there was a cave filled with sword qi. In front of the cave, several rusty flying swords were half-inserted into the mountain.

During the first battle between Liu Banbi and Chen Tianzhen, there was no sound within the cave. It was not until the chirping of cicadas filled the air that a faint "hmm" could be heard from within.

Somewhat satisfied, but not enough.