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Everyone had their own life story and their own experience. Whether they were mighty and grand, or low and humble, they all lived in a brutal, dog-eat-dog world. One’s status couldn’t change the circumstances of the world. Everyone dealt with misfortune and bitterness. And thus, all could understand the gravity of the mission statement.

As the words were spoken by a voice that cracked like thunder, Xu Qing suddenly came to truly realize what the swordsages were all about. Whether or not the swordsages lived up to the mission statement wasn’t important. At the very least, it existed.

This element was the most important element of this swordsage ceremony. The atmosphere was solemn. The words spoken were dignified. Holy sunlight shone while the mission statement was uttered so loudly even the deaf could hear it. All of that ensured that the swordsages’ mission would continue.

At that moment, the hearts of all humans were lifted. Brilliant sunlight shone in the dome of heaven, streaming through the lands, illuminating everything until it landed on Xu Qing and the other candidates.

There, bringing with it all the honor and glory of the swordsage mission, it created a massive staircase! It was fully 30,000 meters wide and it started right in the middle of Netherflight City. However, of all the countless humans that were looking on, only ten people qualified to climb it.

For them, it was a path that led to heaven.

It began on the surface of the earth and ended at the divine likeness of the Grand Emperor. From a distance, it was possible to see that by simply walking up those stairs, one could eventually stand in front of the Grand Emperor. The holy atmosphere in the area grew stronger. The stairs glittered with seven-colored light, and if you counted them, you would find that there were a total of 9,999.

As Xu Qing studied the situation, the voice of the grand elder echoed in his ears.

“Being a swordsage is the greatest honor possible for a human. We strive to create peace and prosperity for 30,000 generations. Thus, the stairs are 30,000 meters wide.

“An emperor represents 10,000 citizens. But an emperor is only one person. Thus, there are only 9,999 steps. That illustrates why the Swordsage Division can execute judgment on anyone except the emperor!”

As his voice echoed out, Xu Qing’s eyes shone brightly. If the grand elder’s previous words represented the soul of the swordsages, then the words he had spoken just now were its bones! The soul represented the mission. The bones represented the spine! The spine of the swordsages was epitomized in how they could execute judgment on anyone but the emperor! The Captain’s eyes glittered with anticipation. Qing Qiu was reacting similarly, as her eyes beneath her mask shone brightly.

Next, the grand elder looked up at the divine likeness of the Grand Emperor. Clasping hands, he bowed deeply and spoke with even more respect than before.

“Grand Emperor, please present the swords.”

The two wings of swordsages all clasped hands in unison, then bowed toward the sky.

The divine likeness responded by sending out a light as red as the early morning sun spreading out over the sea. It was a light that could dispel the darkness of night, and as it shone, three even brighter beams of light emerged from the massive sword on the back of the huge statue. Moving with shocking speed, they flew down toward the 30,000-meter-wide staircase, right to the top of the 9,999 stairs. A thump rang out as they sank into the platform there. Each was 3,000 meters away from the next, and they emanated green light that flowed like water. Just looking at them, they were obviously extraordinary items.

Those three swords were not just swords. They represented authority. They were also the symbol of the swordsages. They were the command swords that swordsages wielded!

“Swordsages are champions of authority. The sword represents authority, used to safeguard the common people.”

The words were spoken like a litany by the gathered swordsages above. Their voices resounded through heaven and earth, shaking everything. As the sound of their voices faded, the old grand elder once again spoke.

“The ten of you below must win a sword to achieve victory. Listen to my orders!”

Xu Qing looked up with his eyes flashing. As of this moment, he was absolutely determined to become a swordsage.

It was the same with everyone else. That included the Captain and Qing Qiu, as well as Zhang Siyun and the young man Ning Yan, who had provoked Xu Qing earlier by attacking him. All of them stood there with eyes glittering. [1]

As they stood there raptly, the grand elder continued, “Qing Qiu, you have 40 battle spirit symbols. You may ascend 400 stairs!”

Under the eyes of all present, Qing Qiu immediately raced up to the 400th stair.

“Chen Erniu, you have 127 battle spirit symbols. You may ascend 1,270 stairs!”

The Captain sped up to the 1,270th step.

“Zhang Siyun, you have 63 battle spirit symbols. You may ascend 630 stairs.”

“Ning Yan....”

As his voice echoed out, everyone solemnly climbed as many stairs as permitted based on the number of battle spirit symbols they had collected.

Finally it was Xu Qing’s turn.

“Xu Qing, you have 279 battle spirit symbols. You may ascend 2,790 stairs.”

Despite the solemnity of the occasion, there was a buzz from the crowd. Previously, the Captain’s result had been a shock to them, but they had been able to stay silent. Xu Qing’s result... was unprecedented and completely unimaginable.

Countless gazes shifted to focus on him. Whether it was the crowd in Netherflight City or the other nine candidates, everyone was deeply shaken.

Xu Qing looked up, his expression placid, and began to walk. Everyone watched as he ascended step by step. He looked like a young prince, walking up into the sky toward the Grand Emperor. He passed Ning Yan. He passed Qing Qiu, whose eyes flickered with mixed emotions. He passed the grim-faced Zhang Siyun. And he also passed the Captain, whose expression was unreadable.

After passing everyone, he kept going, walking up and up to the 2,790th stair. He was in front of everyone else. He was clearly the front runner! And he was only 7,209 stairs away from the Grand Emperor! There were nine people directly behind him, and behind them were crowds of human cultivators.

Standing in this position, Xu Qing finally realized how important it was to get extra points early in the selection process. He wasn’t sure if every event worked this way. But it was certain how the event worked this time. The assessment had actually begun very early.

After Xu Qing reached his position, the grand elder above spoke again.

“Xu Qing, Chen Erniu, Zhang Siyun, you three took first place when climbing the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar. Because you climbed 9,000 meters, you may ascend another 3,000 stairs.” [2]

As the names were called out, the candidates all climbed higher. Xu Qing was still in first place by a longshot. From his position, he had a better view of the statue of the Grand Emperor, as well as the scintillating swords at the top of the staircase. At the moment... he was only 4,209 stairs from the top!

Next, the booming voice spoke again.

“Zhang Siyun, you collected 48 fragments in the ghast hollow. You may ascend 480 stairs!

“Qing Qiu, you collected 213 fragments in the ghast hollow. You may ascend 2,130 stairs!

“Chen Erniu, you collected 301 fragments in the ghast hollow. You may ascend 3,010 stairs!

“Xu Qing, you collected 421 fragments in the ghast hollow. You may ascend 4,210 stairs!”

As the voice boomed, the ten candidates climbed further. With the exception of the Captain, all of them were looking at Xu Qing with mixed emotions.

That was especially true of Zhang Siyun, whose expression was incomparably grim. His killing intent toward Xu Qing was intense; after all, if Xu Qing hadn’t attacked him earlier, he most definitely wouldn’t have come in ninth place. In order to save his own life, he had been forced to use a secret magic, sacrificing his fleshly body to slip out of a predicament like a cicada sloughing its skin. As a result, he had lost his bag of holding and all the fragments within it.

Now, it wasn’t just Xu Qing and Chen Erniu who were ahead of him on the stairs. Qing Qiu had also passed him, although not by much.

Xu Qing didn’t bother to pay attention to the fuming Zhang Siyun. He just kept climbing higher and higher. So far, no one was even close to passing him. He just kept walking higher and higher. And then, the crowd started cheering, as all eyes were focused on him. That was because... based on the stair he had previously been standing on, 4,209 was all he needed to reach the top!

As he walked, he passed the 8,000th stair, and reached the 9,000th. Then he reached 9,990. And finally... he reached 9,999! At that point, he was right in front of the centermost command sword.

The closest to him was the Captain, who was past the 7,000th stair, and after that, Qing Qiu who was at about 5,000. Right behind her was Zhang Siyun, who had just passed 3,000.

Xu Qing had climbed as high as he could, but there was still another step to take.

At that point, it wasn’t just the crowds below who were focused on Xu Qing. The swordsages above were all looking down at him. It wasn’t that something like this had never happened in history. But in the last several thousand years, it had never happened in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. It was the first time here! Even the nine swordsage elders were all looking at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s expression was placid as he stood at the top of the stairs, right below the statue of the Grand Emperor. Then he took his final step. He clasped hands and bowed.

All of the swordsages watched.

The grand elder nodded. “Now, everyone, be on your best behavior as you… take a sword!”

The moment the words left his mouth, the people on the stairs started racing up as fast as they could. They didn’t even hesitate to use secret magics to shoot up toward the 9,999th stair.

Xu Qing, who stood as high as possible on the staircase, reached out, took the command sword, then turned and looked down at everyone. As he stood there, the command sword glittered brilliantly, illuminating him. At the same time, sunlight from the divine likeness behind him shone down.

To everyone below, it seemed like, at that moment, he and the Grand Emperor were superimposed. In that moment of brilliance, with his face as fair as jade, the brilliant light made him seem like he was a Grand Emperor returned to life.

1. Ning Yan attacked Xu Qing during the pillar-climbing event in chapter 359. We did not know his name at that time. He was originally introduced without a name in chapter 357. In the original introduction, he was said to have a nose ring. ☜

2. Now that I think about it, I took it for granted that most readers would realize I convert the traditional Chinese measuring unit “zhang” into meters. To make things simple, I convert one zhang into three meters. In this case, they climbed 3,000 zhang, so they ascended 3,000 stairs. This is the first time in the translation where there has been a direct comparison between “zhang” and some other concrete number. It rarely happens. And in terms of numerology, converting zhang to meters usually doesn’t matter. If I ever notice a spot where it matters what the original “zhang” measurement is, I’ll put a footnote in. ☜