The Path Toward Heaven

Yes, that master from Xilai Peak had known about Jing Jiu.

And all the disciples by the Stream of Sword Washing, numbering in the hundreds, had also known Jing Jiu.

Although he had stayed at the South Pine Pavilion for the last two years, he had already become a celebrity the moment he stepped into the inner sect.

The reason for this was not simply because he’d given the perfect answer; it was also because of the rumor that he had such a beautiful face that was beyond imagination, as well as a lazy disposition that was equally unfathomable.

The moment Jing Jiu walked into the Hall of Washed Swords, the excited discussion instantly stopped, and countless looked his way.

The disciples at the Hall of Washed Swords were divided into several classes based on their States and performance in the external sect; the young disciples here were the newly admitted externals just like Jing Jiu, totaling a dozen students.

Used to attracting attention, Jing Jiu moved forward and sat at an inconspicuous spot by the window.

But no matter how inconspicuous the spot was, his face was simply too attractive, and even the Master Teacher couldn’t help but look at him once when entering the Hall of Washed Swords.

This Master Teacher, having an immortal air about him and being unthinkably profound, was from Tianguang Peak, a second-generation disciple named Lin Wuzhi.

Lin Wuzhi was unlike his other Brothers on Liangwang Peak; he was aggressive and ambitious, and was also unlike his famous Brother Zhuo behind closed doors. Yet he was the personal disciple of the Sect Master, and so one could imagine just how much emphasis the Green Mountain Sect had placed on the Washing Swords since he was sent to teach the initial knowledge of the Sword Style.

Lin’s lectures were interesting and humorous enough to suit these beginners of the Sword Style, attracting great interest in the topic.

“What kind of sect is our Green Mountain Sect?”

Lin Wuzhi didn’t intend to get an answer from the disciples. “Of course, it’s not the Zen Sect, not the Demon Sect, or the Fire Sect; we are the Sword Sect,” he answered himself with a smile.

Looking out the window at those willow trees by the stream, Jing Jiu thought how over the years they still lectured in a seemingly interesting way, yet it was actually an uninteresting way of conveying useless drivel.

Not sure where Liu Shisui is right now or how he’s doing.

He expected laughter right then.

Sure enough, the cheerful laugh of the young disciples filled the sword hall.

With a gentle smile, Lin Wuzhi continued, “The practice of the Sword Sect obviously involves the sword. First, we need to understand the sword. There are so many sects with their own ways of practicing the sword; the Wu’en Sect uses sword, the Old Ones use swords, and that old guy, the Xilai Sword, also uses one, but why is it that only our Great Green Mountain is regarded as the orthodox sect of the sword? It’s because the Green Mountain has nine peaks that have nine swords, and all nine of these swords can maintain peace in the world!”

Jing Jiu expected a round of laughter right then.

And once again, the excited cheers and handclaps of these young disciples sounded throughout the sword hall.

“The sword of the Tianguang Peak is called Inherited Heaven, meaning to inherit or take on the great task of heaven, and its sword style is also called Inherited Heaven; the sword on Shangde Peak is called the Three-Foot Sword and utilizes the Rolling Snow Style; the sword on Yunxing Peak is called the Sword of Absolute Emptiness and uses the Old Bird Sword Style; the sword on Qingrong Peak is called the Zither, and uses the sword style known as Endless; the sword on the Shiyue Peak is called the Returning Sun and uses the sword style of the Six Dragons; the sword on the Xilai Peak is called the Ancient Sword, utilizing the sword style of the Seven Plums; the sword of the Bihu Peak is called the Tide, and uses the using the sword style of the Eight Sides.”

The disciples felt somewhat confused when Lin Wuzhi stopped jut then, and someone with some degree of courage raised his hand, “What about the Ninth Peak?” he asked.

“The sword of the Shenmo Peak is called the Sword Without Thought, and uses the Nine Deaths Sword Style, but the Great Senior Grandmaster Jingyang ascended with that sword,” Lin said.

The disciples realized that one of the nine swords were still missing and asked, “What about Liangwang Peak?”

“The sword of the Liangwang Peak is called the Unparalleled,” Lin Wuzhi sighed, ” the Great Senior Grandmaster Jingyang ascended with it as well.”

Jing Jiu was still watching the outside world through the window.

The bracelet on his wrist glinted slightly under the reflection of sunshine.

The discussion started in the Hall of Sword Washing.

It was a good thing that the Great Senior Grandmaster Jingyang ascended to heaven, but why bring those two famous swords with him?

If he had only brought Sword Without Thought of the Ninth Peak, that would have been understandable, but why bring the Unparalleled Sword as well?

Nine swords, with two missing; no matter how one regarded the fact, the strength of the Green Mountain Sect had been considerably weakened.

Lin Wuzhi wasn’t quite pleased after hearing the discussions, slightly raising both eyebrows.

“The Great Senior Grandmaster Jingyang’s ascension was the greatest honor of our Green Mountain Sect, and the honor of the two swords.”

While looking at these disciples, he said seriously, “Our strength is weakened just because of two swords? You have to understand that the sword is borne of man. As long as the swordsman is strong enough, his sword will be strong enough. If some day one of you should achieve the State of Heavenly Arrival, then your sword will have the qualification to become the main sword of a peak, replacing the Unparalleled Sword or the Sword Without Thought.”

After hearing this statement, the disciples had their own various thoughts, their faces now showing different expressions.

Some of them felt an increased ambition, their hope stimulated, while others felt the heavy burden on their shoulders, though more of them felt nothing, thinking these things had nothing to do with them.

They had just entered the inner sect and reached the State of Spiritual Stability, which is still extremely far away from the State of Heavenly Arrival.

Even if they were truly gifted in Cultivation, few of them had the confidence that they could reach that far on that path.

Only a few in the whole land had achieved the State of Heavenly Arrival; the Sect Master was currently the only one who achieved that state at the Green Mountain Sect.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Wuzhi knew exactly what they were thinking and said, “No matter how far you ultimately go, if you don’t have the will to take the very last step, why bother choosing this difficult path in the first place? When you eat, you eat one bite at a time; when you walk, you take one step at a time; how can you walk a thousand miles without taking that first step?”

The disciples felt somewhat moved hearing what the teacher had just said.

“You have to study and practice diligently after you receive the Scripture of the Sword. Do you understand?” Lin Wuzhi asked.

“Understood!” the disciples answered in unison, regardless of whether they actually understood or not.

Lin nodded and continued his lecture.

“The Scripture of Swords includes a wide range of content, enough for you to practice before the Inherited Sword Competition. When you have inherited the way of a master at the Inherited Sword Competition, you can then choose to take instruction from the Endless Sword. Before you study the Sword Style, you must first lay down a solid foundation, and raise your states; otherwise, is there any difference between a sword and useless iron to you?”

“During the Washing Swords period, you must pass through the Sub-Realm.”

“There are two states in the Sub-Realm of our sect, those being Knowledge Integration and Perfect Preservation.”

“What is Knowledge Integration? It is to understand that the origin source is connected with God and it should be integrated with God. In this state, you should let your Dao Seed flow to the Spiritual Fountain to help it grow into a big tall tree, forming the Sword Fruit.”

“The Sword Fruit leads to the Will of the Sword and they establish a stable connection with the flying swords, thus you can control your swords to fight your enemies.”

“This state can be also called the Fruit Formation. So I’ve been thinking, an important figure might have learned our sword scripture secretly when the Fruit Formation Temple was built.”

…

…

Jing Jiu turned his sight away from the window and took the Scripture of Swords distributed by the caretakers, turning it open to the first page and recognized familiar handwriting.

He remained silent amid the continuous laughter and cheers in the Washing Sword Hall.

…

…

“Then what is Perfect Preservation?”

“Perfect preservation leads to harmony; this means we have to preserve the Way to obtain harmony.”

“At this state, zhenyuan will flow like mercury and turn into the Sword Source, while the Sword Fruit gradually takes on a gold quality, ta sign of the Sword Pill’s formation.”

“When the Sword Pill is formed and the Sword Will is solidified, the flying sword can cut the stones and gold within thirty yards, just like being controlled by your own hands and fingers; and by simply lowering your eyes, it can kill people.”

“However, the most interesting part for you is perhaps how to drive the flying sword.”

“Without a doubt, I’d like to congratulate you in advance, as once you have formed the Sword Pill, you’ll be able to travel around by riding the sword; if enough Sword Source exists within you, you’ll be able to fly directly to Tianguang Peak.”

“There is another benefit, of course. As mentioned before, you’ll be able to participate in the Inherited Sword Competition after reaching this state, and will become a personal disciple of the peak.”

…

…

The laughter and cheerful discussion in the Sword Washing Hall continued.

Jing Jiu gave it a thought while looking at the familiar four words on the first page of the Scripture of Swords.

…

…

“Somebody has just asked: ‘If the Sub-Realm is different from the Initial Realm and you cannot judge the degree of progress made in practice by observing the Spiritual Fountain; what standard do we use then?’”

“This is a very simple question, at least at our Great Green Mountain.”

“The Soulfire is judged in the Underworld; the Zenheart is judged at the Fruit Formation Temple; and the Sword Fruit is our standard. If the Sword Fruit is formed, then how do we judge? That all depends on your skill in driving the sword.”

“If your sword can kill opponents as far away as a few hundred yards, that is the Inherited Will.”

“If your sword can fly a few miles to kill your opponents, that is Free Travel.”

“If your sword can fly and kill hundreds of miles away, naturally that is the Heavenly Arrival.”

“If you can control your sword to penetrate the sky to kill the celestial demons in the outside world, then you are the strongest man on the land of Zhaoge.

…

…

These standards for judging were so simple and shallow that they sounded like a joke. The disciples in the Hall of Sword Washing were engaged in a heated discussion, and yet the expression of Lin Wuzhi didn’t show any sign of bogus intention, so they had to believe them.

Jing Jiu gazed at those four words all this time no matter how noisy the classroom was:

EVERYTHING IS A SWORD.