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Only about 2,000 people had joined the recruitment event. Of those, most had teleported out before the conclusion, and now stood there with lingering fear visible on their faces. Their experiences in the ghast hollow had been profoundly frightening. Just as the middle-aged man in the government uniform had mentioned three days before, the dangers inside could indeed be deadly.

Xu Qing stood in the crowd. He was in the last group of people to be teleported out. The moment he had materialized, he’d looked around to see who else came out with him.

The Captain was there, covered with wounds. However, he still had all four of his limbs. That said, he was missing an eye and both his ears, plus he had a huge gash on his belly which he held together with one arm. Seeing Xu Qing, he flashed a grin. Even though he only had one eye left, he still looked very pleased with himself. Clearly, he was happy with how he had benefited in the tunnel. Xu Qing had seen a god, but there were many side tunnels that others had entered, and they had surely seen other strange things.

Xu Qing also spotted red-garbed Qing Qiu. She had come out in the same group as Xu Qing, which meant she stuck it out to the very end. Her mask was covered with blood, as was the rest of her body. And her evil ghost scythe seemed to be chewing something, while at the same time struggling to breathe.

There was someone else that Xu Qing had hoped not to see.

It was Zhang Siyun. He clearly had life-saving strategies that had kept him from dying. That said, he was in a very weak state. He had incredibly high mutagen levels, and was popping pills like mad in the hopes of cleansing himself. He had a wound stretching from his forehead down to his chest, a very deep scratch mark that revealed bone. Were it any deeper, it probably would have sliced him in half.

Xu Qing looked at Zhang Siyun. Zhang Siyun looked back, his expression grim and his eyes cold. Xu Qing’s face was completely expressionless as he looked away.

There was no way the Swordsage Court didn’t know about the god in the ghast hollow. And given that, it seemed possible that the swordsages were the one who had set up that pentagonal log cabin to keep that god asleep.

Of course, that was all speculation. Maybe the log cabin had existed before the Swordsage Court showed up. Either way, it didn’t change the final result. And that was... the red life lamp in the log cabin couldn’t be taken away. If the Swordsage Court set the whole thing up, then they naturally wouldn’t let anyone just take it. If it existed before them, and the swordsages hadn’t been able to take it, then there was no way a candidate in the recruitment event would be able to.

Then what exactly was Zhang Siyun doing there?

Without more information, Xu Qing couldn’t come up with any good theories.

However, when he thought back to the song the woman in the log cabin had been singing, he was struck with a sudden sensation. From the very beginning, it seemed as if the singer were using two lines of song to explain the story of the ghast hollow. In frustration, someone had cut their lovesickness into countless flower petals. Those petals were like paper money that floated endlessly in mourning. Each petal contained longing. And whether in a past life or the current one, that someone was waiting. They were waiting for all of that lovesickness to gather together into a whole, and reveal the subject of longing. The only question was whether the individual in waiting was the woman in the log cabin, or the god at the bottom of the ghast hollow.

Xu Qing sat there in silence. The more he learned about the world he lived in, the more complicated and mysterious it seemed.

Looking over, he noticed another cultivator who had teleported out at the same time as him. He was trembling. And then, a beam of light shot out from the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar and wiped him out of existence. The man’s death instantly dispelled Xu Qing’s speculations about the ghast hollow. As his pupils constricted, an emotionless voice echoed out from the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar.

“Inspection revealed he killed a fellow human. Punishment: eradication.”

Xu Qing had previously speculated that the teleportation jade slips were also able to check whether or not they were following the rules. Now it seemed he was right. What was more, after checking, he noticed that he didn’t have any pillar fragments. The fragments must have been taken away when he teleported out, and then added back into the pillar. Clearly, the swordsages had their ways of checking the records.

As the cold wind blew, and the candidates all stood there waiting, brilliant light appeared in the dome of heaven. Numerous figures descended, all of them clad in government uniforms. At first there were a few dozen that came to hover overhead, but more and more appeared, until there were hundreds. The pressure they emanated weighed down everywhere as more continued to arrive. The candidates were all shaken, while the observers in the crowd, as well as the dao protectors from the various sects, all looked on somberly.

Before long, there were several thousand figures hovering in the air above. All of them emanated extraordinary cultivation base fluctuations, with the weakest being the Gold Core level. There were also Nascent Soul and Spirit Trove experts present. Each and every individual had the exact same type of greatsword strapped to their back.

It was green and inscribed with the character ‘yuan.’ [1]

With that and their government uniforms, they seemed like members of a well-oiled machine. Their auras mixed, creating a massive force that could crush all enemies and destroy foes from any and all species!

What a majestic display!

These were all of the swordsages who were members of the Swordsage Court in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. They were arrayed in two formations, almost like huge wings.

Netherflight City was completely silent. Not a single person in any of the tents spoke. Everyone held their breath as they looked up into the sky. They all knew that in a moment... a grand swordsage ceremony would take place! This was what always happened before the second phase of the swordsage recruitment event. It was a very important ceremony with very specific formalities.

After all, the swordsages represented one of the Five Greater Celestial Divisions of humankind. As a result, this ceremony represented the dignity of all humans.

As everyone looked on reverently, the clouds parted and an intense rumbling sound echoed out. As it grew louder, a seven-colored vortex appeared high above. Nine massive beams of light emerged from the vortex. They were Void Returning experts, any of whom could be the patriarch of a major sect in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. Instead, they were... the nine highest-ranking elders of the Swordsage Court!

Their expressions were somber as they emerged. Four moved to the left and four to the right, taking up positions by the two wings. And in the middle was one person. This person was the grand elder of the Swordsage Court in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, and as such, was the highest ranking swordsage.

When Xu Qing laid eyes on him, his jaw nearly dropped. The grand elder was the very same old man whose alchemy lectures he had attended, the one who reminded him so much of Grandmaster Bai. Xu Qing had assumed all along that the old man ranked high in the Swordsage Court. But it had never even occurred to him that he could possibly be the leader!

As Xu Qing reeled in shock, a middle-aged man stepped out from the left wing. His expression was grave as he looked at the grand elder, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“The Swordsage Court of Emperor-Receiving Prefecture has a total of 4,311 swordsages. Today, all 4,311 are present. Not a single one is missing. We humbly submit to your scrutiny, Grand Elder.”

The grand elder nodded. “Reveal the name list.”

“Yes, Grand Elder!” said the middle-aged cultivator. Expression solemn, he looked down at the ground and spoke in a resonant voice. “After being reviewed by the Swordsage Court, the following name list has been reported to the Swordsage Palace. Based on the number of fragments collected, ten humans have been selected to qualify for an imperial audience as swordsages!

“The name list is as follows.

“Xu Qing. Chen Erniu. Qing Qiu. Zhang Siyun. Ning Yan....” [2]

Every name that was spoken was accompanied by gasps from the crowd. Eventually, all ten names had been listed out. “The ten of you... step forward!”

Xu Qing took a deep breath and stepped out of the crowd. The Captain did the same, as well as all the others. They stood in front of the group of other candidates, about 30 meters apart from each other. They were the complete center of attention.

At that point, the middle-aged swordsage bowed to the grand elder and then returned to his spot.

The grand elder looked down at Xu Qing and the others for a moment. Then he solemnly turned toward the seven-colored vortex, clasped hands and bowed. When he spoke, his ancient voice was hoarse and filled with incomparable solemnity.

“We hereby request that Yuan Zaiji, Grand Emperor of Immortal Ultrabrilliance, Uniter of Humanity and Exalted Celestial of Swordsages, deign to visit our court.”

As soon as he finished speaking, all of the other swordsages in both wings, including the eight elders, all bowed deeply to the vortex and joined their voices to say the same thing.

“We hereby request that Yuan Zaiji, Grand Emperor of Immortal Ultrabrilliance, Uniter of Humanity and Exalted Celestial of Swordsages, deign to visit our court.”

It was a ceremony carried out with utmost formality, and it put the orthodox traditions of humanity on full display. Xu Qing’s expression was somber and dignified.

As the voices of the swordsages echoed into the vortex, brilliant light shone out. Scintillating shafts of multi-colored sunlight filled the sky, illuminating the lands and lighting up the clouds. [3]

Then, a divine likeness appeared within the vortex, a statue that could cause anyone who looked at it to feel shaken down to the soul. It was a statue so majestic it seemed capable of propping up heaven and earth. It bore the likeness of a middle-aged man whose expression was threatening without being angry. His eyes glittered with bright light, and he wore a flowing imperial robe with nine dragons on it. He had a heavenly imperial crown, and strapped to his back was a green greatsword with the character “yuan” carved on it, just like the swords worn by all the swordsages!

The arrival of this divine likeness caused everything in the dome of heaven to tremble. Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth, and winds screamed!

All the humans below were deeply shaken, and they felt their energy and blood surging beyond their control. It was like a connection built into their bloodline that caused their minds to reel.

This was the Grand Emperor of humankind! This was the founder of the Swordsage Division!

Without thinking about it consciously, everyone bowed their heads, even Sir Bloodsmelter and the other sect patriarchs. They willingly, and with the utmost respect, offered obeisance to the divine likeness of the Grand Emperor of humanity.

Xu Qing did the same, his heart pounding.

All of a sudden, he found himself thinking of the Ghost Emperor. Clearly, compared to the Grand Emperor of humanity, the Ghost Emperor was somewhat deficient. Looking at the Grand Emperor’s facial features, Xu Qing realized that it was about seventy percent similar to the statues he had seen of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity.

As everyone offered obeisance, the swordsage grand elder spoke in a solemn tone.

“In accordance with the orders set forth by that most Ancient of Emperors, Dark Serenity of the fourth stage of the Heavenly Dao, our Swordsage Palace wields the sword for the sake of humanity, severs any vile destiny from the commoners, and spreads sunlight into heaven and earth. Therefore, Grand Emperor, by way of corroboration of our mission, please disseminate the light of sunrise throughout the lands!”

His voice echoed like thunder through the dome of heaven, into the hearts of all the swordsages, and into the minds of all the onlookers. They were especially moving to Xu Qing and the other candidates. They were like bells ringing throughout all heaven and earth with deafening loudness! That was because... this was the mission statement of the swordsages!

Sever vile destiny from the commoners, spread light through heaven and earth!

That… was what it meant to be a swordsage!

1. Yuan is a character that has many meanings. Because it’s associated with a name (as explained later in this chapter), I’m transliterating it. However, in the context, it comes across as carrying the meaning of “origin, original, first.” ☜

2. Ning Yan: Ning does not appear on the list of the top 100 most common Chinese surnames. It’s a surname that also means “peaceful, tranquil.” Yan means “flame, blazing, power, etc.” Madam Deathblade said that this comes across as a nice-sounding, but generally ordinary, name to her. When I pressed her, she said that considering Yan means “flame,” perhaps he has a fiery personality. Yan is also a component in a common idiom that relates to the sun, so she also speculated that maybe his parents hoped that he would “shine like the sun.” But again, those are just random speculations based only on the name itself. As with many things, Chinese naming conventions aren’t always deeply meaningful. ☜

3. There is a fairly specific word for light used throughout this and the next couple chapters. It refers to “gorgeous, multi-colored rays of morning or evening sunlight.” To make things simple, I’m going to translate it as “sunlight.” So, as this ceremony/event plays out, every time you see “sunlight,” you will know that it’s the more complex definition listed above. ☜