The Path Toward Heaven

After a long while, Jing Jiu stopped looking at the window and lifted his head.

At that moment, he happened to hear the last words of Lin’s lecture for the class.

“But before achieving all this, you have to find a sword that belongs to you.”

…

…

Lin Wuzhi brought a dozen or so disciples with him, leaving the Hall of Sword Washing and traveling upstream along the Stream of Sword Washing, ultimately coming to foot of a tall mountain peak.

Compared to other peaks, this mountain peak had less vegetation and not that much forest. One mostly saw rocks on rugged cliffs; it felt barren.

There were numerous small holes beneath the peak, their sizes small and their edges smooth, as if the holes were pierced through by a sharp object.

The top half of the peak was surrounded by patches of thick and heavy clouds that made them impossible to see clearly.

This was the Fourth Peak of the Green Mountain, known as Yunxing Peak.

The disciples of the Green Mountain Sect were used to calling it Sword Peak, simply because there were countless swords hiding there, just waiting to be found by their rightful masters.

The Yunxing Peak was very special, with clouds surrounding it all year long. It was quite damp between the peaks, and a great number of swords were hiding within. It was very difficult to live inside it, and so the disciples and masters all had their residences close to the foot of the peak, and this is where they practiced their Cultivation, while the meetings for the Peak Master were held on Tianguang Peak.

When the swordsmen of the Green Mountain Sect reached their twilight years, they came to this peak to return their flying swords.

Of course, if a swordsman wanted to bring his sword with him as a burial object, he was not forced to do otherwise.

However, since the Green Mountain Sect started, no matter how many swords were returned by the swordsmen, they were far surpassed by the number of swords taken by the disciples of later generations.

Why were there so many swords here? Where did the initial swords come from? Nobody could answer these questions.

It was said that this Sword Peak was a natural sword stove created by heaven and earth themselves, and it was also said that this Sword Peak was a huge grave for the swordsmen of previous generations who fought great battles and died, but the Green Mountain Sect investigated this thoroughly over the years, finding no evidence to support this.

The disciples, standing at the foot of the peak, looked up at it as it was surrounded by clouds, listening to Lin Wuzhi’s instructions and feeling a tickle in their eyes, some of them actually shedding tears.

But they were not moved by the events of ancient times or the deeds of previous masters; their eyes were hurt by the Will of Swords.

There were tens of thousands of swords hidden in this mountain peak. When all the wills of swords were combined, the power was too much for these new inner sect disciples to withstand, even if it were from a long distance.

How do we get up this Sword Peak? Or should we just search for them among the cliff walls close to the ground?

Some disciples thought this to themselves.

Lin Wuzhi knew what these disciples were thinking, and he wasn’t angry at all, saying with a smile, “What you have thought of was also thought of by the disciples of previous generations; I can tell you that all these holes on the cliff walls are sword holes that have been searched through for many years; and if you can find a sword there, then you must be really talented…or is luck a talent as well?”

The disciples had nothing to say now, thinking that it was already dreadfully unbearable to stand at the foot of the mountain peak; did they really have to climb up, even all the way to the top?

“Don’t forget that the higher the elevation of the peak, the better the quality of the flying sword,” Lin Wuzhi reminded them.

One disciple suddenly remembered something, asking, “I heard Sister Zhao is practicing on Sword Peak. Is it true?”

Lin nodded, “It is true; she can sometimes be found right inside these clouds.”

The disciples were shocked and started talking.

Standing at the foot of the mountain peak, they could already experience the horrifying feeling disbursed from the clouds, so what kind of a horrifying sense would they have if they actually went into those clouds?

Even the masters of Yunxing Peak were not willing to remain on the peak that long, yet Zhao Layue stayed on the peak all the time?

“Obtaining swords on Sword Peak is also about testing your willpower and intelligence.”

The word “intelligence” meant something, but Lin didn’t explain further.

“Zhao Layue has a strong will, a good example for the disciples of the third generation to follow, and so you must to learn from her.”

He glanced indiscernibly at Jing Jiu once after saying that.

Jing Jiu understood what it meant. He didn’t turn away to avoid his glance and didn’t respond to it either, instead looking up at a patch of clouds on the top of the peak, thinking, “Tempering the Body with the Will of the Sword?”

Tempering the Body with the Will of the Sword was a hard and dangerous magical method, usually practiced only by those who were near the end of their lives, though nobody else would use this method; the risk was simply too great.

Zhao Layue was the most favored disciple at the Green Mountain Sect and had a bright future, being merely a teenager and thus having a lot of time for Cultivation, though she instead chose the hardest path for it.

Her choice made Jing Jiu develop some admiration for her.

As Li Wuzhi spoke, a few caretakers of Yunxing Peak came out from the building at the foot of the peak and began registering for Jing Jiu and others while handing out the Sword Cards.

They patiently told these new inner sect disciples about how to use the Sword Card, how to judge if you couldn’t carry one, and what to do in case of danger.

The disciples were somewhat stunned when hearing all these, feeling even more weight on placed on their shoulders. “Are we going to climb the peak to get the sword today,” someone couldn’t help but ask.

Today was just the first day for many of these new inner sect disciples, including Jing Jiu, and they had to encounter such a challenge now?

Lin Wuzhi looked at them and smiled, “You didn’t know that climbing the peak to obtain the sword was the first lesson of our Great Green Mountain?”

…

…

All of a sudden, the caretakers registering stopped what they were doing, staring at something.

Seeing a man walking toward the Sword Peak, the caretakers’ expressions turned solemn, and they quickly stood by the road, bowing in courtesy as they showed the outermost respect.

The disciples were a bit surprised, thinking he must be an important figure, and looked in the same direction.

He was an old man in black clothing, his head completely covered in white hair, his face dried and wrinkled, though his age couldn’t be guessed. There was nothing too special about him.

Lin’s expression turned solemn as well. He bowed slightly and said gently, “Farewell, Senior Master Mo.”

The old man in black stopped and saw Lin, holding his hands in front of his chest to show courtesy; when he saw Jing Jiu and others, he asked, “Are they the disciples of this generation?”

“More are coming later on,” Lin Wuzhi replied.

The old man in black looked these young disciples over, smiling happily as he said, “Not bad. Very good in fact; better than we were.”

The old man in black had already seen quite clearly what States they were in with just a glance of his Piercing Discernment.

The old man in black spoke with the disciples, gently asking them where they were from and where they had their outer sect practice, giving them many words of encouragement. They didn’t know who this old man was, but guessed from Lin Wuzhi and the caretakers’ attitude that he must be an important figure, and so answered his questions carefully with a great deal of patience.

Lin Wuzhi listened quietly off to the side; he didn’t interrupt or rush the conversations.

Jing Jiu felt somewhat strange about all this; among the nine peaks of the Green Mountain, there was no swordsman who wore black cloth.

He couldn’t identify the state of this old man in black, but he could feel his mind and body were weak, even weaker than Lin Wuzhi.

But why does Lin Wuzhi pay him such respect?

He suddenly thought of something.

It was at that moment that the old man in black looked at Jing Jiu, and was stunned a little, saying, “This kid looks really handsome.”

“Everybody knows he is good-looking, only you spent all day, every day, copying books on the Shiyue Peak, never really paying attention,” Lin said while smiling.

The old man laughed. “Work hard from now on,” he said to Jing Jiu seriously.

Jing Jiu didn’t answer him, simply looking at him silently.

The old man in black felt somewhat strange.

The atmosphere turned a bit strange as well.

A few disciples signaled Jing Jiu with their eyes, but Jing Jiu seemed unaware of it, still watching the old man in black silently.

When Lin squinted his eyes and was about to admonish Jing Jiu, the old man in black waved his hand for him to stop, sneered to himself, and turned around to walk toward the Sword Peak.

“Leaving?”

Lin Wuzhi asked.

“Yes, leaving, ” the old man in black said.

.

Suddenly, a voice blurted out.

“How is your sword now?”

Jing Jiu called out behind the old man in black.