Yun Ze returned to the eighth-tier high platform and found no one else beside Su Ling'er. He figured that, thus far, no third person had managed to pass.
He walked slowly towards the crowd, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Ji Kun say, "Alright, now that everyone is here, we can depart."
"Elder, we're leaving now?" Yun Ze was taken aback. The Ascension Tournament hadn't even concluded, and the Guiwu Sword Sect had only recruited two disciples. Why were they preparing to leave already?
"Matters of the sect."
Ji Kun initially didn't want to explain, but seeing curious gazes cast from the ninth-tier high platform, he spoke, "A Supreme Elder is about to return to the sect. The sect is summoning all those who are currently away to return and pay respects to the Supreme Elder. This matter cannot be taken lightly!"
Supreme Elder?
This was the first time Yun Ze had heard of such a title. He wondered what kind of cultivation was required for a sect of immortals to regard it with such importance.
Of course, now was clearly not the time to ask such questions.
Ji Kun first cupped his hands in farewell to the representatives of the various immortal sects on the same tier. Then, he gathered all the disciples, including Chen Xiao, to the eighth-tier high platform, preparing to leave the Ascension Tournament.
Yun Ze stood beside Su Ling'er, bowed to the senior disciples, and then stood aside, looking at Ji Kun with great confusion.
When leaving the Ascension Tournament, one should be going down, shouldn't they? What was Ji Kun doing by having everyone come up here?
Just as Yun Ze was pondering, he saw Ji Kun pull out a cloth pouch from his embrace and then retrieve a wooden boat the size of a leaf.
The leaf-boat was casually tossed out and landed on the ground, instantly transforming into a real wooden boat capable of carrying over ten people!
Ji Kun boarded the boat first, followed closely by the disciples, including Chen Xiao. He turned to look at the two still standing there, bewildered, and called out, "What are you two standing around for? Get on."
Yun Ze, not understanding the reason, still boarded the immortal boat.
The moment the two stepped onto the immortal boat, it instantly soared into the sky!
Yun Ze's pupils trembled. Although he had the precedent of Brother Donkey flying, he was still immensely shocked to see another wooden boat capable of flight.
No, this shouldn't be called a wooden boat anymore; it should be called an immortal boat!
Yun Ze turned to look at Su Ling'er. Her expression was calm, showing no hint of panic.
If this girl could maintain such composure, then he certainly couldn't falter!
He quickly calmed his mind, his expression gradually returning to normal. Looking at the scenery of the Tangshan Dynasty flashing by, he felt a myriad of emotions.
On this journey to the immortal path, who knew when he would return.
Yun Ze then turned to look at Chen Xiao.
He could only hope that his parents' spirits in heaven would protect him, and that when he returned, he could bring back their remains and erect a new tombstone for them.
"Alright, you all can rest for a bit now."
Ji Kun's voice rang out again. He looked at Yun Ze and Su Ling'er. "Little Yun, you and Little Su, come here for a moment."
"Yes."
As Yun Ze and Su Ling'er approached, they heard Ji Kun speak.
"Although you were both carefully selected from countless rogue cultivators, do not become arrogant. The Ascension Tournament is held once every hundred years, but it is not only conducted within the Tangshan Dynasty.
The Xuan Yuan Realm is not small, nor is it insignificant. The Tangshan Dynasty is merely a tiny speck. A thousand miles away lie even more powerful dynasties and kingdoms.
Besides the team I am leading, there are eight other teams responsible for recruiting rogue cultivators into the sect. The dynasties they are heading to each have at least five recruitment slots."
"So many!"
Su Ling'er exclaimed, then muttered softly, "If I had known, I would have gone further away. I could have earned more!"
"Little Su, what did you say?" Ji Kun asked, as if he hadn't heard clearly.
"N-nothing," Su Ling'er quickly denied, then smiled charmingly at Ji Kun. "Elder Ji, please continue."
"Listen carefully; it will benefit you."
Ji Kun actually knew what she had said. He sighed and continued, "I just received news that among this batch of recruits, a Sword Son has emerged!"
"Sword Son?" Yun Ze had never heard this term.
"Jianzi?"
Su Ling'er tilted her head. "Like the one for kicking?"
"It's Sword Son! Not Jianzi!"
Ji Kun gave a helpless, wry smile but explained, "The so-called Sword Son is a title given to those with exceptional talent in the way of the sword.
Little Yun, your talent in swordsmanship is also good. To comprehend sword intent within fifteen minutes is considered excellent. But compared to a Sword Son... it's no exaggeration to say there's a world of difference."
Yun Ze became curious upon hearing this. "Elder Ji, what is so special about this Sword Son?"
"Let me first explain what it is," Ji Kun said with a kindly demeanor, patiently explaining, "Whether it's the way of the sword or any other great dao, it is divided into four realms.
They are Dao Entry, Dao Condensation, Dao Attainment, and the legendary Dao Return realm. If classified by rank, Dao Entry Low Grade is equivalent to Qi Refining, Middle Grade to Foundation Establishment, and High Grade to Core Formation."
"Taking the way of the sword as an example, the standard for the Dao Entry realm is sword qi. As long as one can unleash sword qi without using spiritual energy, they have entered the Dao. The power of the sword qi is the measure of the Dao Entry realm."
"Sword qi? Is it like what Senior Brother Yun unleashed?" Su Ling'er asked.
"It's different."
Ji Kun explained again, "That was sword intent, not sword qi. It was the resonance of sword intent that caused the stone tablet to shatter, not sword qi."
"True sword qi is like this."
As Ji Kun spoke, he raised his hand and waved forward.
Innumerable clouds were instantly swept away!
A clear blue path appeared in the air. Yun Ze could feel an piercing sharpness just by looking at it, his body tingling.
Only by closing his eyes, or not looking, did he feel slightly better.
What realm was this?!
Yun Ze clearly saw that Ji Kun had no sword or any other object in his hand. How did he accomplish this?
If he had stood in front of this so-called sword qi just now, he would have been utterly annihilated, wouldn't he?
"This is sword qi of the Dao Entry Middle Grade. I didn't use a single bit of spiritual energy, yet it possesses such power."
Ji Kun acted as if he had done something trivial. "Little Yun, although you can comprehend sword intent, if you cannot unleash sword qi, you are not considered to have entered the Dao. You can only be said to have considerable talent in swordsmanship."
"But that Sword Son is different. He is currently only at the first level of Qi Refining, having only begun cultivating three days ago, and he has already entered the Dao of the Sword! With a single sword strike, he can destroy a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining! If you have the chance to befriend such a monster after entering the sect, do so well. If you cannot befriend him, then be sure not to offend him!"
"Yes, Elder, we understand."
Yun Ze cupped his hands in response.
Although he said so, in his heart, he wanted to see if this so-called Sword Son truly had two heads.
"Alas, it's a pity you are in the same generation!"
"Huh? Elder Ji, what do you mean by that?"
Su Ling'er asked curiously, "Isn't it a good thing to have a senior brother in our generation who is stronger than us? That way, we can use him as a role model!"
"Little girl, you are too naive!"
Ji Kun sneered. "Hmph, role model? The way of the sword speaks of an invincible posture of forging ahead without fear. If, among your peers, someone is always superior to you, then your understanding of the way of the sword will never progress!"
"Forget it, forget it. It's too early to talk about these things with you now. You'll understand after you enter the sect."
"Alright, go back and rest first."
"We are still some distance from the sect. Meditate and cultivate properly. In a few hours, we will have to welcome the returning Supreme Elder. We must not be negligent."
"Yes."
Yun Ze and Su Ling'er responded in unison and sat down to meditate and cultivate.
Before long, Chen Xiao went to find Ji Kun. They talked for a long time in the sword realm, and it was unclear what they discussed.
Even if Yun Ze wanted to know, it was useless. They either wouldn't tell him, or they would only tell him lies. Why bother with such effort to inquire? It would be better to think about that Supreme Elder!
He wondered how many years old that Supreme Elder was. Would his face be full of wrinkles or something?
There were also centenarians in Hanshan Village before. The wrinkles on their faces were so deep that even a mosquito wouldn't dare to land, for fear of being crushed to death in a smile!
Yun Ze thought this and felt a bit more curious.
But when he saw the so-called Supreme Elder several hours later, he almost fainted from fright!