Chapter 27

Each of the four aspirant cultivators had been selected, and each of them had been claimed. However, the elders did not disperse. These aspirant cultivators were led away by each branch.

The elders were still waiting for Chen Jingzhai. The Luo Sheng Sword School’s test of the twenty-eight had the distinguishing feature that each level was more mysterious than the last.

This was especially true of the third level, which the outsiders were unable to fathom. Whatever was experienced and gained, it was only known to the one being tested.

Generally speaking, cultivators possessed the virtue of great patience. Everyone waited in the Cloud Palace until the break of dawn. When the sun finally rose in the east, the morning light broke through the clouds and spread throughout the sky, and the sound of bells ringing could be heard.

The ringing was as majestic as it was loud, breaking the quiet of the morning. The sound of the bell spread gradually until it rang throughout the significant peaks of Luanyun Mountain Range.

“Good!” Headmaster Fuyun laughed as he stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Several other elders also displayed smiles of relief on their faces. Once the third level test had been passed, the testing bell of the Luo Sheng Sword School would be triggered. This signified that the trial had been satisfactorily completed, and one had been successfully admitted into the school and ranked among the proper heirs.

To the Luo Sheng Sword School, this held great significance. Every person on the roster of true heirs was the hope of the sect, and they represented the future to which every one of them was looking forward.

“Everyone, let’s head to the Hall of the Masters together!” Headmaster Fuyun proposed, standing up.

All the elders stood up with him; even Su Qinghuang followed him wordlessly. Her silent compliance compelled Headmaster Fuyun to cast another glance at her. It was astounding that younger sister Su Qinghuang didn’t lose her temper. Even younger sister Su seemed to want a successor for Hongluan Peak!

Headmaster Fuyun stepped out of Cloud Palace with a smile on his lips and instantly levitated into the air. He and the other elders flew directly to the Ancestral Peak, hidden deep within clouds and mist inside the mountains.

The Ancestral Peak was not particularly tall, nor was it particularly exceptional. But here was the place where the Luo Sheng Sword School laid its foundation and created its clan. The Hall of the Masters was not located on top of the mountain but halfway up and appeared to be a completely ordinary temple.

Chen Jingzhai stood still in front of the temple. His eyes were closed as he seemed to have fallen into deep meditation.

The vitality all around him slowly poured into his body, and a colorful radiance appeared on his face.

Headmaster Fuyun and the others did not show the slightest impatience but waited quietly.

The testing bell not only announced that the Luo Sheng Sword School had added another heir to its roster; it was also meant to benefit Chen Jingzhai.

The mystery of the bell was akin to the sound from the heavens and was capable of leading the hearer into entering a state of comprehension.

This was an opportunity that belonged only to Chen Jingzhai, but it was also an opportunity for every disciple who had the good fortune of passing this third level.

A good five minutes passed before Chen Jingzhai finally opened his eyes.

As the feeling left him, he saw a group of masters clad in long robes standing in front of him. Immediately, he paid his respects to them.

“Disciple Chen Jingzhai greets the headmaster and the elders.”

As soon as he woke up, he heard a voice transmission in his ears, and this voice was as sweet as water from a clear spring.

The content of the voice transmission was to inform him of the people’s identities in front of him.

“As you were. Congratulations, you have passed the twenty-seven levels and successfully arrived here at the Hall of the Masters. As the Headmaster, I have to ask you if you truly desire to join the Luo Sheng Sword School one last time. If you have doubts, it is still not too late!” Headmaster Fuyun’s face was calm as he asked in a nonchalant voice.

This was somewhat of a convention, but also an ironclad rule. The Luo Sheng Sword School was stringent as far as regulations were concerned.

Chen Jingzhai looked solemn. “I am willing and will never regret my decision!”

“Very well!” Headmaster Fuyun was rather noncommittal as he made his acknowledgment and continued, “Follow me into the Hall of the Masters!”

“Yes!” Chen Jingzhai lowered his head and followed behind everyone.

There seemed to be no one guarding the temple, as the surroundings were empty and extremely quiet. Elder Qin pushed open the doors to the temple, and Chen Jingzhai saw the meditation mat on the ground right away.

Some portraits were hung in front and also above them.

“Kneel!” Elder Qin commanded.

Chen Jingzhai stepped forward and knelt on the meditation mat.

“The Luo Sheng Sword School was established by the Archmage Tianluo, who passed down the Luotian Celestial Scripture to lay the foundation.”

“Luo Shengzi, Ren Mingyue, Xu Liuan, and others were the second-generation Masters.”

“So far, it has been 5,421 years,” Headmaster Fuyun said softly.

The Luo Sheng Sword School appointed a headmaster every 1,000 years, and he was the sixth-generation headmaster. After breaking through to the Nascent Plane, he took over the responsibilities of the previous headmaster. 360 years have passed since then. His voice was gentle as he slowly spoke of the clan’s history.

From the founding master to the second-generation master, to the third-generation master, and so forth, he was recounting their history. He stopped when he got to the fourth generation. Instead, he began to speak of the Luo Sheng Sword School rules.

Rules and precedents were paramount in the Luo Sheng Sword School, but there were not many restrictions as far as the clan was concerned. In addition to regulations such as not betraying the line, not allowing killings among those of the same family, and not allowing one to rebel against one’s superior, there were other moral codes to follow, intending to safeguard the clan’s absolute position.

The rules were not many, but each one was of great importance. Chen Jingzhai memorized all of them mindfully.

Next, Elder Zhang of Yunchao Peak handed Chen Jingzhai three thin incense sticks.

“As soon as the incense is lit, the Master will ask for you.”

“When the time comes, your name will be recorded in the Hall of the Masters.”

“If you break through to the Spirit Plane in the future, your name will be inscribed on the testing bell.”

“When you are ready, use your blood to ignite the incense,” Elder Qin said, standing aside.

Meeting the masters at the Hall of the Masters and then lighting the incense for the name asking was a whole procedure that had to be completed before the ordeal was over. The title asked by the masters was the last of the tests of the twenty-eight. No one knows why this was so, but no disciple has ever failed at this level.

Was blood essential?

Chen Jingzhai’s heart quivered slightly, but he remembered the secrets that Hermit Guangmiao spoke of with the others.

It was said that all significant clans had some means of lighting the spirit torch for their disciples and thus were able to observe their fates. If they fell in the future, the family would know of it.

Therefore, many rogue cultivators hesitated to provoke disciples from those clans. One must use one’s blood to light the incense—could this be another method similar to the lighting of the spirit torch?

Even though he was guessing secretly, he was not slow in his actions. He sliced open his finger as drops of blood fell.

Three drops of blood fell on the incense, and they spontaneously ignited without fire.

Three fine incense sticks flew out of his hand and stopped in mid-air.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the incense burned more than half as large amounts of smoke began pouring into the portrait of the masters.

When they saw this, Headmaster Fuyun and everyone else appeared highly solemn. As soon as the portrait of the masters absorbed the fragrance from the incense, the masters manifested immediately.

The first person to manifest was the second-generation master, Ren Mingyue. She wore a veil, and her physical body was made real as she walked out of the portrait. Her eyes fixed on Chen Jingzhai, who was kneeling in front of her.

After that, other second-generation masters manifested as well. Some were expressionless, while some were smiling. Some had their eyes closed, while others stared coldly. In short, all of them wore different expressions.

The incense was about to be burnt down when the founder of the sect, Archmage Tianluo, appeared. He was wearing a purple and green robe of the eight trigrams, with a sword slung on his back. He was holding a whisk in his hand. With a benevolent smile on his face, the gaze in his eyes was gentle.

“What is your name?”

The master was asked for his name, and his voice was full of magic, as if there were thousands of different agents within it.

A simple question like this impacted Chen Jingzhai’s mind beyond his expectations.

Chen Jingzhai felt slightly dazed, as if thousands of people were asking the same question in his ears.

He seemed to see his past and present lives played out in front of his eyes.

“Jing…Zhai,” Chen Jingzhai whispered, replying with his name.

An appellation without a surname; this was his automatic response.

This was because he did not belong to the Chen family in his previous life, but the name Jingzhai had followed him from his past life to the present.

A whispering voice was coming from the Hall of the Masters.

It was an inaudible whisper, but it passed through all the peaks of Luanyun Mountain Range like a spring breeze.

Jingzhai!

Jingzhai!

Jingzhai!

Sage Lu heard the voice and immediately walked out of Golden Jade Peak of the Golden Jade Sword Sect. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the Hall of the Masters, with envy in his eyes.

Lijian Peak!

Yunchao Peak!

Blazing Sun Peak!

Heavenly Artisan Temple!

Elixir Peak!

Daoxuan Peak!

And so it went. All the cultivators who had reached the Golden Core stage or above could hear whether they were main branches or hidden branches. Most of the cultivators showed a look of joy mixed with complex expressions of envy and yearning.

The Hall of Masters was taking names, and the test of the twenty-eight had come to an end.

From now on, there will be one more person added to the clan’s roster!