The referee stared blankly at the black hole on the ground, then looked at the nebula that was slowly dissipating in the sky. He sucked in a breath of cold air and patted his face hard to confirm that he was not dreaming.
He still could not believe what he had seen with his own eyes. The sword intent that filled the sky just now was a domain that he had never come into contact with. It was something that he had spent his entire life trying to comprehend.
However, this sword intent that could only be encountered by chance and not sought after had actually appeared from a young disciple's hands!
How could he calm down!?
"Referee, you can announce the results now." Su Ze saw that the referee was distracted and kindly reminded him.
The referee suddenly came to a realization. His voice trembled as he said, "In this year's sect competition, the first place winner is the Pillheart Sect's Su Ze! !"
This voice was like a raging fire, lighting up the deathly silent square.
The entire square was filled with gasps of cold air. Their eyes were fixed on the hole in the square, their eyes filled with disbelief!
In the next moment, shocked discussions swept across the entire square like a wave.
"Sword intent! Sword intent that can only appear at the Emperor Realm actually appeared on a Martial Master Realm! Impossible! Absolutely Impossible!"
"Su Ze actually knows sword intent! I wasn't imagining it!"
"I actually saw a Martial Master Realm using the legendary sword intent!"
"This Su Ze, isn't he too strong? The reason why he was able to easily defeat all the disciples was because he knew sword intent!"
"This is unprecedented! He cut a hole through dimensions! Martial Master Realm disciples with sword intent are simply overpowering everyone else!"
The audience was dumbfounded.
The disciples were even more dumbfounded!
Some of the eliminated disciples saw the incredulous expressions in each other's eyes.
"Is this true? This Su Ze has really mastered sword intent?"
"It's true! We might not be able to witness something like this in our lifetimes, but Su Ze has earned it at such a young age!"
"How is he a disciple?! I'm afraid that some old monster deliberately disguised himself as a young man to participate in the competition!"
"Sword intent! At first, I was experiencing second-hand frustration watching Su Ze entering the finals empty-handed. But after seeing the sword intent, I admit that I was blind!"
Liu Xue's eyes were lit up. After her match with Su Ze, she received the news that her junior sister had been killed by Su Ze. She had been a little angry at first, but after witnessing Su Ze's sword intent, she gave up on taking revenge.
Any sect would treat such a disciple as a heavenly treasure. If she went against him, it would be the same as going against the Pillheart Sect itself. Wouldn't this even spell the end of her own sect?
On the contrary, Liu Xue did not just stop at the point of giving up on taking revenge. She also wanted to build a good relationship with him! Even if they couldn't become friends, there was no way she wanted to be enemies with him!
Su Ze's future was too terrifying to even fathom. Just from what Liu Xue could guess, he would at the very least end up as an Emperor Realm! After all, Su Ze already possessed a key component of breaking through to the Emperor Realm.
...
In the elders' balcony, the elders looked at each other, each of them taking in the shock in each others' faces.
"That was an actual sword intent! A disciple has grasped sword intent, and from the looks of it, it was just as potent as full-fledged Emperors like us!"
"And that martial art, it's at least at the high-level Earth rank. The difficulty of grasping this martial art is as difficult as ascending to the heavens. This Su Ze is still a kid, yet he was able to use it skillfully!"
"When did such a rare monster appear in the Pillheart Sect? Keeping such a big secret from us?"
"Old Lin! Tell us more about him! This is huge news!"
"That's right! Lin, where did you pick up such a treasure? Share it with us!"
Elder Lin looked at the surrounding elders and chuckled. He then said, "This is a treasure of our Pillheart Sect. Don't even think about coveting him!"
"That's true. No wonder the Great Empress and Old Demon Lin would accept him as their disciple. Even I am envious of his talent."
"Lin! You should still consider giving Su Ze to our Profound Nether Sect! It's really suitable for his path!"
Elder Lin could not help but laugh when he heard the surrounding elders' words. "If you want Su Ze, you should ask the Great Empress before coming to me."
The surrounding elders suddenly fell silent. These two important figures placed so much importance on Su Ze that it would be impossible for them to poach him. Therefore, these elders instantly fell silent.
"Wait, I remember that you said that Su Ze is the Empress's disciple and that you're just dropping him some tips. Does that mean that Su Ze knows how to refine pills?"
Suddenly, an elder discovered something worth pondering.
The other elders immediately reacted.
"Oh shit! If that's the case, now it makes sense. Although the Great Empress Mu Wanqing is dangerous in combat, she still rules over the path of alchemy! Lin, does Su Ze know how to concoct pills?"
"Oh ho, his sword is mighty, but he also knows his way around pills. Hiss! Would he save some talent for others?"
Lin slowly retracted his smile. "You old fogeys, take your time to guess! In any case, I won't say anything more. Also, let me add one more thing. Don't harbor any ill intentions toward Su Ze. The Great Empress won't sit idly by!"
The surrounding elders sensed the great change in Elder Lin's temperament and instantly lost any intention to continue joking around. At that moment, they deeply realized how much importance the Pillheart Sect had placed on Su Ze.
In fact, Elder Lin could have shocked these old fogies even more with the news of Su Ze refining the Clear Heart Pill, but it would put too much heat on Su Ze!
Elder Lin sincerely hoped that Su Ze could grow up safely!
At the thought of this, a command token appeared in Elder Lin's hand. Countless runes appeared, and several rays of golden light flew in the direction of the Pillheart Sect.
The first thing he wanted to do was to report the good news to the entire sect!
...
Under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, Su Ze successfully obtained the Mountain River Map.
After obtaining it, Su Ze carefully examined it. This so-called map took the form of an ancient painting in a scroll. It had the texture of goatskin paper and a pale yellow tone. These characteristics all indicated that it was very old.
When Su Ze focused his gaze on the scene above, his mind could not help but sink into it.
While he was lost in his thoughts, the system jumped out at this moment and pulled Su Ze's attention back.
[Congratulations, host, for completing the mission. You have received 10,000 justice points!]
Su Ze returned to his senses and put the map into his interspatial ring. He followed Elder Lin and headed back to the sect.