novelraw Chapter 1141 - 1135: That’s It?
Chapter 1141 - 1135: That’s It?
"Pull it out?" Yun Senhai raised an eyebrow. Although he thought this young Zhang Menglong was not bad, currently, his mindset surpassed that of the average person his age, but as for his gift, it was still an unknown.
Ever since the Cang Lan Sword Sect was established, countless people have tried to pull out this sword. After all, the inheritance of the Sword God is too enticing. Once you obtain his inheritance, you will become one of the most peak individuals on the Haotian Continent.
But till this day, not to mention pulling it out completely, even those who could pull it out by three inches are rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, while ordinary disciples of the Cang Lan Sword Sect can only pull it out by two inches at most.
This sword has a characteristic: no matter how high your realm is, the strength required to make it move increases exponentially, so even a martial artist at the peak of the God-breaking Realm might not pull it out longer than a martial artist at the True Martial First Grade.
Of course, another factor is talent. As long as your gift is strong enough, this divine sword will recognize you, and you might not need to exert any strength at all to pull it out. Once ten sword shadows appear, you can effortlessly pull it out by two inches.
So this divine sword not only tests a gift but also examines a martial artist’s level within the corresponding realm, serving as a litmus test for recruiting disciples to the Cang Lan Sword Sect.
"If you can pull it out, then perhaps the entire Iron Sword Dynasty would merely be the starting point of your martial dao," Yun Senhai seemed to be coaxing a naive young boy.
Everyone clearly understood that if someone truly pulled out the divine sword, it meant they could inherit the legacy of a martial artist at the peak of the God-breaking Realm, top-notch cultivation techniques, top martial arts, and even this divine sword of unknown grade itself.
Not to mention for the Cang Lan Sword Sect, but even for all the top martial artists on the Haotian Continent, it would hold a deadly attraction. Those martial artists who haven’t even reached the Heaven-breaking Realm would likely just become cannon fodder, and ultimately these items would fall into the hands of the strong.
"Hahaha, is he drunk on fake wine? Does he really think he can pull out the divine sword?"
"He’s the super talent ranked first in the first assessment, so watch what you say."
"He’s just a piece of trash relying on trickery and deceit. If he truly had the skill, he wouldn’t stoop to such underhanded methods. I bet he couldn’t even pull it out by an inch."
"If he can pull out the divine sword, I’ll eat it on the spot!"
For Zhang Menglong’s outrageous claims, everyone merely treated it as a joke. Even Yun Senhai thought it was merely an innocent tease. However, Zhang Menglong had already set his sights on this divine sword in his heart.
"Gou Dan, can you determine the grade of this thing?"
[Dean, the divine sword should be a Primordial Level Divine Weapon, considered the craft peak of the Haotian Continent.]
"Do you think I’ll look cool using it?" Zhang Menglong’s current alchemy skills were already capable of forging Primordial Level spirit weapons, but collecting materials and the crafting process were troublesome and time-consuming.
[This thing is nothing. If you want it, the Anti-Pornography Task Force alone has tens of thousands of Primordial Level Divine Weapons, all crafted by in-house alchemists for practice, gathering dust in warehouses.]
"Really? Even our Anti-Pornography Task Force’s God-breaking Realm martial artists are in their tens of thousands. They don’t want them?"
[Dean, for the artisans of the Haotian Continent, being able to forge Cosmic and Universe Level Divine Weapons already qualifies them as grandmasters. Even those top forces might only have one Primordial Level Divine Weapon, so why would they bother with these? They’re cumbersome to carry.]
"What you say makes so much sense that I have nothing to say in response!"
Only then did Zhang Menglong realize that his family had long dominated the entire Haotian Continent, surpassing this world in cultivation, artifact refining, alchemy, and other fields. He guessed that even if he wanted a pair of underwear, it would be a Primordial Level Artifact capable of nurturing a "Divine Artifact".
...
"Now, according to the numbers on your assessment tokens, I will call whoever’s number it is, and they will come forward to be assessed!"
After a few minutes of enthusiastic exchanges, the assessment officially began.
"Number 3!"
A young man shook his arms and walked up to the black sword hilt. Obviously, numbers 1 and 2 had already been eliminated in the first round of the exam.
The youth looked around fifteen or sixteen years old, at True Martial Third Grade, which was already quite commendable for that age, and he seemed quite confident in himself.
He slowly placed his hands on the sword hilt, and in an instant, he felt a sword-like sharp will sweeping through his body, exposing his realm, spirit root, potential, and everything else before this will.
"Buzz buzz buzz..." The black sword hilt began to tremble, and other discarded swords in the Sword Tomb trembled along with it.
When a weapon reaches the cosmic level, it births its own artifact spirit. Though these decayed spirit weapons had been destroyed for ages, their artifact spirits remained dormant within their decayed bodies. Awakened by the black sword’s summons, some artifact spirits awoke from their centuries of slumber.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
White sword shadows shot out from the decayed swords, swirling around him like little elves.
The white sword shadows were the lowest-grade weapons in this Sword Tomb. If they were in their prime, even a single sword shadow could annihilate a whole swath of True Martial Realm martial artists, but now they were merely powerless phantoms.
"Seven sword shadows, not qualified!"
The disciple responsible for recording results at Cang Lan Sword Sect announced his score.
But that did not signify failure in the assessment. Since talent was insufficient, he’d have to rely on strength!
A most ordinary martial artist could pull it out about an inch. To pull it out by two inches, one needed at least twice the strength of an average martial artist, and powerful cultivation techniques and martial arts could help increase one’s strength.
Though the number of activated sword shadows wasn’t up to standard, the youth wasn’t discouraged—he still had a chance.
"Barbarian King Art!"
A wild power surged through the youth, his aura transforming into a humanoid monster.
"Crack!" The ground emitted a crisp sound as signs of cracking appeared around the black sword.
"It’s moving!" The crowd watched the slowly withdrawing divine sword in excitement and trepidation, hoping the youth would pull it out to boost their confidence, yet also wishing he wouldn’t, for passing the assessment would reduce their own slots.
"An inch!"
"An inch and a half!"
"Ah!" The youngster roared, muscles bulging fiercely on his arms. Yet the sword seemed to be clamped firmly by pliers, no longer shifting even a fraction.
After five full minutes, the youth couldn’t maintain his strength and finally collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with unwillingness and disappointment, the outcome clearly before him beyond his control.
"Number three, assessment failed, number five ready!"
"Eight sword shadows, failed!"
"One inch 7 points, failed!"
"Number five assessment failed, number six ready!"
...
"What a bunch of trash!" The sixth youth glanced at the failures, casually extending a single hand to grip the sword hilt. Immediately, it seemed all nearby swords sensed his summons and began to hum.
"This kid has good affinity with the sword, he should score well!" Yun Senhai smiled faintly.
One sword shadow, two sword shadows... seventeen sword shadows!
The youth stood surrounded by countless sword shadows, forming an oppressive sword array.
"Seventeen sword shadows, number six passed!"
...
"Zhang Brother, he’s amazing!" Kong Lan cast a look of envy.
Zhang Menglong didn’t even lift his head, "Is that it?"