Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 349: Arriving at the Sword Pavilion

Chapter 349: Arriving at the Sword Pavilion

Three days later, a Sword Boat whistled through the sky above the sea of massive boulders.

"Damn it, the Sword Pavilion has found us!"

"The Sword Pavilion never used to care about us rogue cultivators, right?"

"Are they trying to force us into battle?"

The rogue cultivators despaired.

The Sword Boat picked up Pang Jian and Huang Qi before sailing away from the sea of massive boulders.

"Junior Brother Pang!" a tall Sword Pavilion disciple enthusiastically greeted. "I'm a disciple of Elder Guang He, just like Zhuang Yuyan. I'm her senior brother and my name is Yu Shi.

"I was escorting a group of outer sect disciples to the Third World to prepare for the war against the foreign races. My master sent me a message, instructing me to bring you back to the Sword Pavilion, so I hurried over."

Yu Shi was a tall, burly man in his thirties or forties, with Soul Wandering Realm cultivation.

Pang Jian bowed respectfully.

Yu Shi glanced at Huang Qi. "And this is?"

"A rogue cultivator, Huang Qi."

Yu Shi frowned.

"He's a friend of mine," Pang Jian added.

Only then did Yu Shi relax, smiling as he nodded. "In the future, rogue cultivators will have plenty of opportunities to join major sects and be treated as honored guests."

The Sword Boat soared through the sky.

The boat's layout was identical to the one that had entered the bizarre mist, except Yu Shi was the only one on board.

"I was originally going to escort a group of mortals and cultivators below the Profound Abode Realm from the Red Mountain Sect to the Heaven Awakening Continent in the Second World. But my master urged me not to delay, so I came to bring you up first," Yu Shi explained when he noticed Pang Jian's confusion.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Brother Yu." Pang Jian clasped his hands in gratitude.

"It's my duty." Yu Shi laughed heartily.

The two continued to chat, with Yu Shi asking about the Absolute Heaven and sharing news about the Sword Pavilion.

After a while, Yu Shi got up.

"You two chat. I'm going to replenish some spirit jades," he told Pang Jian and Huang Qi.

At that moment, Pang Jian recalled Qi Qingsong mentioning sect infighting back in cave dwelling number fifty-six on the First Peak of the Primordial Wilderness.

Qi Qingson had been slow to advance to the Innate Realm and had tactfully returned to being an outer sect disciple, only to experience the fickleness of human relationships.

According to him, inner sect disciples under the same master fought openly and covertly. There was no real harmony among disciples and plenty of underhanded schemes.

Despite this, all the Sword Pavilion disciples Pang Jian had encountered seemed quite kind, even the ones in Eternal Crossing.

He had not experienced any of the things Qi Qingsong had described.

Puzzled, Pang Jian quietly mentioned this to Huang Qi.

"That's because your status is high—you're a personal disciple of the Pavilion Master. It's only natural for your fellow disciples to fawn over you." Huang Qi chuckled. "If you were an outer sect disciple or a low-ranking inner sect disciple, you'd see how they'd really treat you."

Then, lowering his voice, he added, "If you were only an inner sect disciple, that person down there would've delayed for days before even considering giving you a ride.

"If you were an outer sect disciple, he wouldn't even pick you up. You'd have to figure out how to get to the Sword Boat yourself. And you'd have to arrive at the agreed-upon place and time, or they wouldn't even bring you along."

As a rogue cultivator, Huang Qi was well-versed in the unspoken rules and discriminatory nature of sects.

"If you hadn't said we were friends, do you think he would have even looked at me twice, given my status as a mere rogue cultivator?" Huang Qi sneered.

The four elders, Guang He, Liu Junhong, Wang Ce, and Xu Yu, all stared expectantly at the Sword Pavilion. It was clear they already knew about this.

"Can he really choose a divine sword?" Yu Shi could not help but ask.

"A divine sword has a soul. He's not choosing the sword—the sword is choosing him." Guang He snorted. "The so-called opportunity to choose a sword is actually just the chance to be chosen. I'd like to see whether the one Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan have praised so highly, and whom the Pavilion Master has taken as his final disciple, is worthy of being chosen."

"Master, how many people in our recorded history have been chosen by a divine sword?" Zhuang Yuyan asked in a low voice.

Guang He sneered, "How many divine swords are there? How many can be chosen?"

***

Liu Junhong pressed his fingers to his forehead and used his divine soul to study Pang Jian. "I can't quite gauge his cultivation realm. I can't directly enter his sea of consciousness to investigate, but his divine soul feels different from yours.

"You refined your divine soul with divine sense imbued with divine essence, but the aura of your divine soul is still faint and ethereal.

"But he's different. His divine soul's aura is solid and much more refined.

"That's not typical for a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm," Liu Junhong said, slightly perplexed. "Even some Soul Wandering Realm cultivators don't have that aura. It's strange."

Qi Qingsong scratched his nose and laughed. "I guess my talent isn't quite on par."

"No, it's not just about talent." Liu Junhong shook his head.

Qi Qingsong pondered aloud, "There are only three divine swords left. Do you think Pang Jian can win one of their approval?"

"Getting a sacred sword would already be quite an achievement." Liu Junhong frowned., "There are only a few exceptional cases, like that freakish girl from the Li Family. Most people can't expect a divine sword to recognize them right away. Don't aim too high and lose sight of reality."

***

"So, that's Pang Jian, the new personal disciple of the Pavilion Master."

"I heard the Pavilion Master holds him in very high regard. Supposedly, his potential surpasses even Senior Brother Zhao's and he's likely to inherit the Pavilion Master's legacy. Some elders have even said he'll restore the Sword Pavilion to its rightful place."

"Is the Pavilion Master planning to pass down his position to him?"

Several female disciples of the Sword Pavilion watched the distant Heaven Departure Peak, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Elder Wang Ce stood nearby, and hearing their conversation, said calmly, "In our Sword Pavilion, we value both cultivation talent and one's talent with the sword."

***

On the Heaven Departure Peak, Pang Jian's senior brother, Chen Weihuang gave a few instructions before coldly saying, "Go on. Many are watching. Don't bring shame to our master, and don't let anyone question his judgment in choosing you."

"I understand," Pang Jian acknowledged

Everyone Pang Jian had met so far from the Sword Pavilion had been warm and friendly toward him, and Chen Weihuang was the first person to treat him indifferently.

After reflecting on it, Pang Jian realized that Chen Weihuang did not need to be particularly kind to him due to his status as Li Zhaotian's eldest disciple and his late-stage Soul Wandering Realm cultivation.

Pang Jian grasped his new sword token, infused it with spiritual power, and used it to rise into the air.

Whoosh!

He flew straight toward the nine-story Sword Pavilion.

"My disciple, I wish you the best of luck. Bring back a divine sword and make your master proud." Li Zhaotian's cheerful voice echoed from the sword token.

Curious and scrutinizing gazes from the surrounding mountain peaks converged on Pang Jian as he sped toward the Sword Pavilion from the Heaven Departure Peak.

As Pang Jian flew, he sensed dozens of faint soul threads, like strands of seaweed, lightly resting on his shoulders and back, attentively monitoring his every move.

Boom!

Pang Jian landed on the ninth floor of the Sword Pavilion.

A cacophony of strange noises erupted around him the moment his feet touched the ground.