Gloomy dark clouds spanned across 1,500 kilometers in the sky above the capital of Jin Nation and lightning flashed.
Be it in the Jin Nation Academy or the capital of Jin Nation, many powerful experts had sensed the terrifying sight.
The ones who were the most nervous were the people in the Jin Nation Palace, but they all heaved a sigh of relief when they learned that it was an elder of the academy who was condensing the sword intent.
In the academy, by the Sword Washing Pool.
Li Mocheng looked at Li Jiang in a daze.
As the head of the Jin Nation Academy, he knew what Li Jiang was doing.
However, as Li Jiang’s close friend, he knew even better what condensing sword intent meant to Li Jiang.
Li Jiang’s realm had been stuck at the Golden Core realm, and he needed to condense his sword intent in order to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
However, Li Jiang had been stuck in this realm for 500 years.
A thousand years in the Golden Core realm and ten thousand years in the Nascent Soul realm.
The lifespan of a Golden Core realm cultivator was about a thousand years. In other words, there were only 500 years left in Li Jiang’s lifespan.
The older he is, the harder it would be to break through. If Li Jiang waited another two hundred years but still could not condense the sword intent, his path would come to an end.
However, everyone in the entire Jin Nation Academy knew that the sword intent that Li Jiang had condensed must be very strong.
He was the best Sword Dao powerhouse in Jin Nation.
Hence, his sword intent was definitely much, much stronger than ordinary Sword Dao cultivators.
Today, Li Jiang was going to condense his sword intent quietly, which was a good thing for the Jin Nation Academy and the Jin Nation.
However, Li Mocheng felt a little sour.
Although he had long broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, the issue was that once Li Jiang condensed his sword intent, Li Jiang’s future achievements would definitely surpass his.
While being sour, Li Mocheng was also extremely curious about why Li Jiang was suddenly going to condense the sword intent.
However, at this moment, the dark clouds rolled above the sky, a bucket-thick lightning bolt descended.
It blasted directly onto Li Jiang’s body.
It was the sword intent Thunder Tribulation.
Some people exclaimed in shock, feeling overwhelmed with amazement.
Everyone in the entire Jin Nation Academy was astonished as no one thought that Li Jiang would be able to attract the Thunder Tribulation when condensing the sword intent.
This time, even the senior members of Jin Nation Academy were shocked, let alone the disciples.
In fact, even the king of Jin Nation, who was standing outside the main hall inside the Jin Palace, could not help but look astonished.
“Is this the Sword Dao Thunder Tribulation?”
The king of Jin Nation’s eyes widened in shock, and he seemed to be unable to process what was going on. However, he gave off an indescribable mighty aura while wearing the king’s robe.
“Your Majesty, it is indeed the Sword Dao True Dragon, an elite is truly going to appear in Jin Nation this time.”
There was a middle-aged man standing next to the king, who had a square face and seemed rather mighty. Clad in an embroidered robe with a long jeweled sword hanging on his waist, he was obviously esteemed.
“Sword Intent Thunder Tribulation. I didn’t expect the Jin Nation to be able to produce such an elite existence. I wonder what exactly happened.”
“However, no matter what, this is a good thing for the Jin Nation. This time, the Jin Nation can at least emerge as one of the top five in the Ten Nations Grand Tournament.”
“Pass on my decree to reward the Jin Nation Academy.”
The king of Jin Nation said slowly as he gradually looked less shocked.
On the other hand, the middle-aged man at the side nodded and said, “Yes.”
After saying that, he couldn’t help but look at the lightning above the sky dome, his eyes filled with envy.
The sword intent itself was extremely difficult to condense.
A Sword Dao genius would usually need to cultivate for several hundred years before he could condense the sword intent.
For ordinary sword cultivators, condensing the Sword Dao sword intent was simply impossible.
There were naturally divisions in the sword intent that was condensed.
The strongest sword intent would attract the Thunder Tribulation when it was being condensed.
Now that Li Jiang had forgotten the 360,000 sword moves he mastered previously, he severed his old path and embarked on a new one, only to condense his own supreme sword intent.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The swords in the entire capital of Jin Nation were clanging.
Gloomy dark clouds spanned across 1,500 kilometers in the sky above, while a wild gust of wind blew in the Jin Nation Academy.
The bucket-thick lightning struck Li Jiang.
On the cliff.
When the lightning was about to fall on Li Jiang, the flying sword under his feet suddenly appeared in his hand.
“The level of Sword Dao is not dependent on the sword, but one’s competency!”
“True craftsmanship is not manifested through delicate touches!”
As Elder Li Jiang hollered, a terrifying sword momentum emerged, and he was extremely fast with his sword.
Various sword momentum and sword shadows resisted the Thunder Tribulation.
That was the first realm of perceiving things as they really were.
360,000 sword moves poured out at this moment, turning into an unparalleled sword river that blasted and dissipated the Thunder Tribulation.
Boom!
The second thunderbolt struck. It was several times more ferocious than before.
The people exclaimed in awe and amazement. Under the brilliant power of heavens, such Thunder Tribulation was impossible to resist. Even if one was not transcending the tribulation, they would be able to feel the terrifying pressure from afar.
However, among the crowd, Ye Ping was the only one watching the Thunder Tribulation calmly.
“As long as one does not have any desires, they can achieve greatness.”
When the second Thunder Tribulation struck, Elder Li Jiang once again struck with his sword, and at this moment, all of his sword moves disappeared and turned into a single sword technique.
The blazing light surged into the sky and crushed the thunderbolt to shatter it.
That was the first realm of perceiving things as they really were.
Li Jiang had always been piling his sword moves and using them as a foundation, constantly learning and breaking through. However, that was precisely why he lost.
He had forgotten the true meaning of the Sword Dao.
Now, he chose to forget everything but not entirely. Instead, he merged the 360,000 sword moves into a single technique.
That sword lit up the entire Jin Nation capital.
Everyone saw the power of this sword.
All the Tribulation Clouds above the sky dome had completely been shaken apart.
The sky was clear.
There was no third Thunder Tribulation.
An unparalleled sword intent appeared behind Elder Li Jiang.
That sword intent was almost solid and was emitting an incredible pressure that frightened everyone present.
Elder Li Jiang had transcended.
He had transcended the sword intent Thunder Tribulation.
He successfully condensed his own sword intent.
At this moment, a terrifying force emerged from his body and spread everywhere.
The Golden Core in his body shattered immediately and turned into a Nascent Soul.
Elder Li Jiang’s strength also broke through to the Nascent Soul realm in an instant.
The bottleneck that he had been troubled about for 500 years had been broken.
At this moment, the sky was clear and the wind was calm.
Above the cliff, Elder Li Jiang had completely evolved, and below the cliff, countless people witnessed it.
The swords had already stopped contending.
Their clamoring was replaced by an inexplicable peace and calmness.
The disciples did not know how strong Elder Li Jiang’s strength was anymore.
However, the elders of the Jin Nation Academy could see at a glance how strong Li Jiang had become.
He was strong.
He was very powerful!
He was outrageously strong.
Although Elder Li Jiang had just broken through the Nascent Soul realm, his strength, however, had skyrocketed by at least a hundred times. Even the mid-stage and late-stage Nascent Soul realm were no match for Li Jiang.
In particular, Li Mocheng was well aware that after Li Jiang condensed this sword intent, the position of the best in Jin Nation would go to Li Jiang. He could even be among the top ten in the Ten Nations.
Indeed, the top ten of the Ten Nations were ranked so because of the supreme sword intent.
It was not a small breakthrough, but a qualitative leap. Being among the top ten best sword cultivators of the Ten Nations was an extremely terrifying title that could shock countless people.
He was sour and envious.
However, before the crowd congratulated him, Elder Li Jiang, who was on the cliff, snapped back to his senses.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Elder Li Jiang appeared in front of Ye Ping.
He knelt in front of Ye Ping under the gaze of the crowd.
He then said, “Thank you for your teachings, Master.”
Li Jiang knelt on the ground, his body trembling.
It was impossible for Li Jiang not to be excited about breaking through the bottleneck and reaching the Nascent Soul realm while also condensing his sword intent.
He had been stuck in this realm for a full 500 years, and to be frank, he had fantasized about condensing the sword intent before.
However, he wouldn’t have been able to do it even after a thousand years if he stuck with his previous path. Li Jiang and everyone else were clear of that.
However, today, Ye Ping’s pointer allowed him to snap out of his dilemma and break through the bottleneck. He also managed to condense the supreme sword intent, so how could he not be agitated and shocked?
He was willing to worship Ye Ping as his master, as he felt that Ye Ping had done him a huge favor.
However, Li Jiang’s words caught everyone off guard.
Li Mocheng and the elders of the academy in particular.
Wasn’t it Li Jiang who taught Ye Ping the sword technique and wanted to take him as his disciple?
Why did it become the other way around?
‘What does this mean?’
‘You condensed the supreme sword intent and you’re the best Sword Dao cultivator in Jin Nation. Yet, you’re acknowledging Ye Ping as your master?’
All the elders were dumbfounded.
The other disciples were astonished too. They were aware of the cause, but they did not expect Li Jiang to take Ye Ping as his master.
‘This… is a little too exaggerated, isn’t it?’
Under the cliff, Ye Ping looked at Li Jiang, who was kneeling in front of him, and could not help but smile bitterly.
“Elder Li, please don’t do this. You’re my senior, how can I take you as my disciple?”
Ye Ping seemed a little helpless. He had merely casually stated some Sword Dao theories. He couldn’t take Li Jiang as his disciple, nor did he dare to.
“No, no, no, there is no division in seniority in the academy. Master Ye, you allowed me to break through the realm and understand the true logic with just a few words. You’ve shown me great kindness and it’s only right that I acknowledge you as my master.”
“Please don’t mind me for being foolish and having a poor aptitude.”
Li Jiang ignored the gazes of everyone and remained on his knees as he sincerely begged Ye Ping to accept him as his disciple.
“Elder Li, I really can’t accept you as a disciple. Besides, I already belong to a sect and I have no right to take in a disciple. What you said was not my insight but my Senior Brother’s.”
Ye Ping immediately explained that he really did not want to take Li Jiang as his disciple and could not do so either.
However, his words made everyone present dumbfounded.
‘Not your insight?’
‘Whose is it then?’
‘Your Senior Brother?’
‘Who is your Senior Brother?’
The disciples of the academy were a little surprised, and the elders of Jin Nation Academy roughly understood what had happened, and thus couldn’t help but be shocked.
Li Jiang, who was kneeling in front of Ye Ping, was the most shocked.
He raised his head and looked at Ye Ping with his eyes full of bewilderment. “Senior Brother?”
“Yes.”
Ye Ping nodded, his eyes full of admiration at the mention of Su Changyu.
“All the sword techniques I know, I learned from my Senior Brother.”
Ye Ping said with a serious expression.
“Who is your Senior Brother then?”
Li Jiang couldn’t help but continue to ask.
He could see that Ye Ping’s Sword Dao attainment was extremely extraordinary, but he didn’t expect the person who taught Ye Ping the Sword Dao to be his Senior Brother. He thought that it would be Ye Ping’s master.
“A peerless Sword Immortal, Su Changyu.”
Ye Ping said slowly, revealing Su Changyu’s identity.
Li Jiang was speechless.
When Ye Ping said Su Changyu’s name, all the people present could not help but be filled with curiosity as they had never heard his name before.
However, they somehow felt that his name sounded impressive.
“Where is your Senior Brother now?”
Li Jiang continued to ask because he wanted to meet Su Changyu.
However, Ye Ping immediately shook his head and said,
“My Senior Brother is a supreme sword immortal, but he has been living in reclusion in the mountain because he’s tired of the battles in this world. I don’t know where he is.”
Ye Ping explained, he indeed did not know where Su Changyu had gone, so he could not give an answer.
At that moment, Li Jiang’s eyes were filled with disappointment, but soon, he continued, “Can you introduce me to him if there’s an opportunity, Fellow Daoist Ye?”
Ye Ping insisted on not accepting him as a disciple, and hence, Li Jiang did not continue to insist. However, he did not have the cheek to call Ye Ping a junior and thus addressed him as ‘Fellow Daoist’ which was a term used for people of the same level.
“Yes, if there is an opportunity, I will see if I can invite my eldest Senior Brother to the academy and preach to all of you.”
Ye Ping nodded and answered.
However, whether or not he could invite Su Changyu was another story.
“Elder Li, is today’s lesson over?”
Ye Ping asked.
“Yes, it’s over. Fellow Daoist Ye, you don’t have to be so polite. If you don’t mind, just call me Old Li, you and I are of the same generation. If you call me Elder, that’d be distant.”
Li Jiang stood up and hurriedly said.
“In this case, I’ll take my leave.”
Despite saying that, Ye Ping did not want to be careless with the seniority, and hence, he was as polite as he could be.
“Sure, Fellow Daoist Ye, if anything happens in the future, you can come to me directly. No matter what, I will bear this kindness in mind.”
Li Jiang was extremely excited to have broken through his realm in one go and condense the supreme sword intent.
He had also gotten a definite answer.
Ye Ping bowed and bade farewell.
However, this time, Ye Ping did not go to the Kṣitigarbha Pavilion, but he returned to his own residence which was in a separate courtyard.
There was a supreme sword intent hidden in the Jin Nation Academy.
Ye Ping had not forgotten about it.
He originally wanted to see if he could find any relevant information from the Kṣitigarbha Pavilion, but after reading the books in the Kṣitigarbha Pavilion, he did not find any records about the supreme sword intent.
Ye Ping planned to comprehend it himself.
Ye Ping thought that since the Jin Nation Academy had a supreme sword intent, it definitely wasn’t hidden in a book. If it was, it would have been discovered long ago.
Hence, he reckoned that the sword intent should have been hidden in the Jin Nation Academy.
Ye Ping did not know where it was hidden so he could only perceive it through his own comprehension.
That was also the reason why Ye Ping sat cross-legged and began to comprehend the sword intent after returning to his residence, in hopes of detecting the supreme sword intent.
After Ye Ping left, in the Sword Washing Pool, the rest of the elders had also completely snapped back to their senses.
They came forward to congratulate Li Jiang, their eyes full of envy.
However, there were many elders who could not help but ask Li Jiang what had happened.
Li Jiang didn’t hide anything and told the elders what happened.
After that, all the elders were shocked.
“The true Sword Dao is dependent on one’s competency and not the sword.”
“As long as one does not have any desires, they can achieve greatness.”
After hearing the process of everything that happened, Li Mocheng couldn’t help but freeze on the spot. He looked extremely astonished as he repeated those two phrases over and over again.
Who would have thought that a newly matriculated disciple would have such a high attainment in the Sword Dao?
They were shocked.
However, in the end, they were at a loss for what to say for a long time.
“I didn’t expect my disciple to have such a terrifying attainment in the Sword Dao.”
Some elders couldn’t help but speak up in disgruntlement.
“Have you got any shame? Your disciple? He’s obviously my disciple.”
“What a joke, are you guys worthy?”
“Exactly, Ye Ping is obviously my disciple.”
“Stop arguing, stop arguing, it doesn’t matter whose disciple Ye Ping is, as long as I’m his Uncle-Master.”
The group of elders started arguing again.
They thought that although Ye Ping had extremely terrifying attainments in the Sword Dao, the problem was that they were not practicing the Sword Dao.
It had nothing to do with them whether or not Ye Ping’s Sword Dao was strong or not. After all, they had their own agenda.
However, Li Jiang could not help but speak.
“For some reason, I suddenly feel that Ye Ping is definitely not as simple as we thought. All of you want to take him as a disciple, I suggest that you should dismiss that thought as soon as possible.”
Li Jiang advised them to drop the idea as soon as possible
However, when he said that, the other cultivators couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Elder Li, it’s true that Ye Ping’s Sword Dao is extraordinary. But is his attainment in alchemy that impressive too?”
“Yeah, even if he’s good at alchemy, he can’t be that good in array formations.”
“I don’t believe that none of us can teach Ye Ping.”
The elders said with immense confidence.
Li Jiang did not argue about anything, but he was eager to head back and solidify his cultivation.
Everyone gradually left too.
Soon, the events that happened in the academy today were spread like wildfire.
Firstly, under the publicity of more than four hundred disciples, all sorts of versions of the matter of Ye Ping instructing Elder Li Jiang spread within the Jin Nation Academy.
Next, there was the Jin Nation palace. In the beginning, only the king of Jin Nation knew about it, but soon, all the officials, princes, and princesses found out.
In fact, in less than half a day, all the powerful people in the entire capital of Jin Nation had heard about the matter.
In an instant, Ye Ping’s name spread throughout the entire capital of Jin Nation.
Everyone was asking about what Ye Ping had done, and as they investigated, they found out that Ye Ping was actually the master of the Crown Prince of Jin Nation.
All of a sudden, there was an uproar in the imperial courts.
However, none of this affected Ye Ping.
On the very next day, a piece of news was released.
It took the Ten Nations by storm and led to heated discussions. It even overshadowed Ye Ping’s deeds yesterday.