**Measures Sword Soul!**
Jiang Yue once again stood at the center of attention, her teacher Ye Tiance standing by, full of pride as he brought his beloved disciple to the Four-Pole Sword Stone.
"That stone operates by the powers of the four cardinal elements, drawing from the essence of the world itself," Yu Xuanzhou explained, recounting the scene to Zhang Jian, the seventh Sword Reverent. "Unlike the Diode Sword Stone, the Four-Pole can be activated by one individual's strength alone."
"Let's begin!" Zhang Jian announced.
Jiang Yue's Ice Moon Sword Soul glowed as she touched the Four-Pole Sword Stone. An icy mist swirled around the stone, blanketing it in what seemed like a world of snow and frost.
A collective gasp filled the arena.
"The truly gifted always rise to the top!" voices murmured in admiration.
In her mind, Jiang Yue recalled every bitter memory, each setback, and betrayal. The path to becoming immortal lay vividly before her, fueled by three bitter defeats and the determination to surpass them.
"Yue, measure your Sword Soul!" Ye Tiance's voice echoed in her ears like a booming bell. "Your name will be written in Blue Soul history!"
Her spirit surged, fueled by anger and indignation. Her voice, laced with pride, shouted into the silence, "Yun Xiao, look carefully! Soon, I will be an immortal, you a mere mortal! Such as you will bow to me, showing obeisance wherever I go!"
As she placed her Ice Moon Sword into the sword hole of the Four-Pole Stone, Jiang Yue braced herself for the surge of power that would proclaim her worth to all present. Her heart pounded wildly, each beat a drumroll toward triumph.
But as she waited, a strange silence hung in the air.
One breath… two breaths… three… no cheering erupted.
The suspense stretched to six breaths, and Jiang Yue's heart sank. She called out, trying to laugh off the tension, "Teacher? No result yet?"
"Again! Try again!" Ye Tiance's voice sounded distant, strained, and almost desperate.
A chill crept over Jiang Yue. She repositioned her sword, but her hand trembled violently. A rough grip took her wrist, pushing her hand to align with the sword hole, and the Ice Moon Sword once again settled in place.
More breaths passed.
Silence.
Her composure cracked as tears of frustration spilled over. Darkness closed in around her. "Teacher, even if it's low-grade Yuheng… that's still progress, right?" she stammered.
"Test again!" Ye Tiance's voice roared near her ear, raw with anger and disbelief.
Why was her teacher—usually so composed and indifferent—so agitated? Jiang Yue's trembling hand again tried to insert her sword, but she felt as if she were suffocating, drowning in the weight of a million unseen expectations.
"Teacher," she sobbed, clinging to him. "What is my Sword Soul rank?"
A sudden force pushed her away from the Sword Stone. She stumbled and fell to the ground.
At last, a noise swept over the audience—not cheers but shocked cries.
"Low-grade Kaiyang!!"
These four characters, resembling four swords, pierce through Jiang Yue's head, throat, heart, and chest cavity right before everyone's eyes!
Kaiyang level! Low-grade! Not high-grade—definitely not!
Low-grade Kaiyang! Wang Feng's rank! Only slightly higher than Cai Maomao, but still beneath Yao Zijin and Tianyuan!
"I, I must have misunderstood..."
Jiang Yue's voice turned cold, her will to crawl away rising.
"Low-grade Kaiyang!!"
A wave of monstrous energy emanates, shaking the ground beneath her.
Everyone can see, with utmost clarity, the significance of these four words.
Low-grade Kaiyang has little worth. It can be said that those with a minor talent in swordsmanship can join the ranks of revered disciples, with boundless prospects ahead.
However!
She can't possibly assume the lofty position she holds at this moment!
She cannot connect to the Divine Sea pill; she cannot count on her 119 fellow apprentices and senior sisters to protect her.
She cannot rely on the revered Buddhist elder who personally brought the four-pole sword stone from Ten Thousand Swords Sea for the 'program effect' and then made her wait until the next day!
Pū! Pū! Pū!
The shocked gasps pierce through Jiang Yue's five vital organs, her bloodied nails digging into the ground.
"No! This is impossible! My sword stone is not low-grade! I, Jiang Yue, am a person of extraordinary ability!" She crawls, facing the crowd, her voice a mix of sorrow and desperation.
What a pity she cannot see the faces of those present.
Countless sword cultivators watch as she collapses, her spirit crushed, suddenly silent.
A sigh escapes the crowd!
After the halo fades, she falls from the heights to the ground below, brutally beaten!
From a peerless figure of extraordinary ability, she has become a mere joke among the Blue Soul cultivators!
Is she destined to be remembered for this?
Indeed, this joke will leave its mark in history.
The sword cultivators who once held her in high regard now look upon her with the utmost disdain.
"Teacher!"
Jiang Yue feels the remnants of her supernatural powers.
Her wails, crawling toward Ye Tiance, grasping at his sword robe.
"Get away!"
Ye Tiance kicks her away, sending her sprawling one zhang (3.33 m) from him.
"..."
Jiang Yue's entire body hits the ground, a cold breath escaping her lips.
"This... is the immortal road..."
She lies face down in the dirt, spitting blood!
Around her, gasps continue!
Ye Tiance's kick has crushed her lower abdomen, nearly destroying her dantian, and the pain still lingers!
She cannot see!
Because of this, the endless darkness feels even more terrifying as she curls up in the dirt, tears and blood flowing from her like a dyeing shrimp.
She knows everyone is silent, watching her pitiful condition...
Moreover, this moment will be etched in her memory for a lifetime.
Low-grade Kaiyang level!
Without the disruption of the sword stone, she could have become a disciple of Jianzun, soaring freely and unfettered.
But now!
As she rises to the sky only to fall again, everything has changed.
She has embarrassed Ye Tiance beyond repair, leaving him without dignity.
Ye Tiance's uncontrollable fury is akin to Jiang Yue's torment; his innermost feelings of distortion and tearing are not much better than hers.
Jiang Yue is now in despair.
"Senior Brother Ye, Senior Brother Ye, save me, please...!"
Her voice is hoarse as she calls his name.
Sand fills her throat!
What a pity, the person she calls for is not in Blue Soul.
Even if he were in Blue Soul, would he be able to rescue her from the vast desert at this moment?
She is only low-grade Kaiyang, just another Wang Feng!
She has none of the high-grade Kaiyang that Ye Guying hoped for.
"The sword stone broke..."
In her despair, Jiang Yue recalls that fateful day.
Suddenly!
The image of a young man in white robes, who measured the Sword Soul, flashes into her mind.
"Clouds, Yun Xiao!"
Her sad and shrill cry shifts her entire focus toward the blood-robed young man!
All the cultivators on the first Jianfeng look pale!
Including Ye Tiance, whose face is now ashen!
They suddenly turn to stare at Yun Xiao, their innermost feelings awakening a sense of crisis.
In Sword Pavilion!
Yun Xiao, from start to finish, watches Jiang Yue court her own destruction with a calm expression.
Just as he said: "If you don't act, you won't die!"
Falling from high to low, her situation is even more miserable compared to Yun Xiao.
"Misery? This is all due to the enmity you owe me. The death of my Yun Kingdom's common people rests upon you and Ye Guying. You must continue to pay for it."
Yun Xiao's heart is as cold as a world of ice and snow.
If her misery is the only reason to evoke sympathy, then who would sympathize with those extinguished by a sword?
Who would mourn for the common people killed by a poisonous snake?
Misery?
Yun Xiao finds it insufficient!
And then, the truth must also come to light.
"I knew it!!"
A strong middle-aged man suddenly bellows from above the stage!
He leaps down and rushes toward Yun Xiao.
Yu Xuanzhou of the seventh Jianfeng!
"Yun Xiao, do you remember me? On that day when you received the sword stone, I also spoke up for you!"
Yu Xuanzhou scratches his head and smiles gruffly.
"I remember." Yun Xiao nods.
But he also remembers that Yu Xuanzhou advised him against choosing the seventh Jianfeng, and he recalls the disgust on Yu Xuanzhou's face as he supported Ye Tiance during the sword sealing ceremony.
"Good to see you remember," Yu Xuanzhou says as he approaches Yun Xiao, patting him on the shoulder. He turns to the crowd and continues, "Jiang Yue is merely a low-grade Kaiyang Sword Soul, yet she shattered the sword stone, and I'm sure everyone has doubts about that. I was one of the elders inspecting the heavenly ascension that day, and I will tell you the truth!"
"Truth?" Suddenly, everyone's eyes are fixed on Yun Xiao, their hearts racing.
"Right! The truth is—" Yu Xuanzhou points at Yun Xiao, his eyes filled with admiration, "the person who broke the sword stone along with Jiang Yue was Yun Xiao!"
"What?!"
Questions from the crowd cause a stir.
Yun Xiao has been continuously conquering the Blue Soul!
His only flaw was that his Sword Soul talent was too low!
But now, according to Yu Xuanzhou, the crowd is left in shock...
"Hasn't everyone suspected? The Yun Xiao sword technique is undoubtedly strong, and his Sword Gang level is high. But if he were truly only low-grade Yaoguang Sword Soul, it would be impossible for him to be this formidable?"
"Therefore, I, Yu Xuanzhou, affirm 100% that the person who broke the sword stone is Yun Xiao! The true peerless figure of extraordinary ability is my Sword Pavilion disciple, Yun Xiao!"
"And if this is inaccurate, let my Brother Yun Xiao measure his Sword Soul and make it known?"
Yu Xuanzhou's voice booms!
His words reverberate through the hushed crowd, igniting their wills.
Sword Gang and sword technique talent!
Along with an extraordinary Sword Soul... this is the perfect swordsmanship talent!
"There are always some people who broke the sword stone, right?"
"Therefore, as long as he measures his Sword Soul as soon as possible, all doubts will be resolved..."
The sword cultivators, lips dry and expressions stiff, gaze at the bloodstained figure who seems to have risen to the occasion, hearts racing with apprehension.
"Yun Xiao, measure the sword stone!" many voices shout frantically.
"Shut up!"
Ye Tiance steps forward, blocking the path to the four-pole sword stone, his dreadful gaze fixed stubbornly on Yun Xiao!
"This sword stone was specially brought by the Buddhist elder from Ten Thousand Swords Sea. Only the qualified may test it!"
"Are you afraid? Afraid that my Junior Brother Yun's Sword Soul rank is too high and will attract the attention of powerful figures from Ten Thousand Swords Sea?" Zhao Xuanran's cold voice mercilessly cuts through Ye Tiance's facade.
Ye Tiance's complexion pales!
The first Jianfeng sword cultivators, gathered around the four-pole sword stone, show no signs of letting Yun Xiao pass.
At this moment!
Bang!
A heavy aura emanates from a formidable old man, who lands in the center of the crowd.
Buzz!
The air thickens, forcing everyone to step back twelve paces.
It's the Buddhist elder!
The crowd hasn't forgotten how he previously broke the sword sealing array with extraordinary strength to save Jiang Yue.
But now, what does he need to do for the first time?
"Is he going to help Ye Tiance kill Yun Xiao...?"
A chill runs through the crowd!