Two days later, Yan Liqiang stood outside the mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect. Staring at the gate, he couldn't shake off the amazement that filled his heart...
Within a radius of more than two thousand kilometers from him, lofty mountains which touched the skies filled his field of vision, the summits of the mountains were like sword tips. The steep mountains were amazing sights to behold. They rose steeply from the ground and penetrated through the blue dome of heaven. The summit of the highest mountain was invisible. Clouds and mist shrouded the mountain at its waist and waterfalls could be seen cascading down from the summit. The view around him was like a paradise. Even the shortest mountain stood about a thousand meters. They were scattered about like the stars in the sky, imposing and magnificent.
Yan Liqiang simply couldn't imagine just what kind of extraordinary workmanship it took to create such a marvel.
The entire mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect was made up of nine towering gates connected together. There was a flight of staircase with no less than a total of three hundred and sixty steps leading towards the gate. Yan Liqiang ascended the steps slowly and saw a wide and spacious field akin to a public square in front of the mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect. The mountain gate faced that public square.
Countless youths were passing through the mountain gates, carrying a longsword on their back. Each and every one of them seemed to be in high spirits. Under the sunlight, the reflection of sword blades shone from time to time on the distant mountain peak. It seemed like many people were practicing swordplay on that peak.
Seeing Yan Liqiang standing outside of the Divine Sword Sect's mountain gate, quite a number of youths passing through the mountain gate glanced at him out of curiosity. They were secretly amazed by Yan Liqiang's attractiveness.
"Wow, this guy is really handsome. Is he a new disciple in our sect? Why have I never seen him before?!"
"Perhaps he wishes to join our sect!"
"But the sect isn't recruiting right now…"
"Maybe he's just here to take a look around…"
The discussions among the people in the surrounding area traveled to Yan Liqiang's ears from time to time.
Two rows of swordsmen stood outside the gate. All of them were dressed in black swordsman attire and exuded powerful auras. Each of them had a hand placed on the hilt of their sword which hung by their waist as they stood watch, looking steadily forward.
Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, fondling the key he held in his hand before he walked towards the Divine Sword Sect's gate with large strides.
Liu Guiyuan wasn't at the Divine Sword Sect currently. He was only going to return after a few months, deliberately picking a different time from Yan Liqiang's arrival at the sect so that no one would suspect the connection between them. Even when Liu Guiyuan returned, he wasn't supposed to notice a normal disciple like Yan Liqiang who wasn't even a Martial Warrior yet. Therefore, before Yan Liqiang advanced as a Supreme Martial Warrior which allowed him to enter the inner Divine Sword Sect, he might not be seeing Liu Guiyuan for a long time or even a few years. He would have to rely on himself for everything. From Liu Guiyuan's perspective, this was merely a small trial for him to join the Divine Sword Sect. The Sect Guardians of the Divine Sword Sect were also once disciples of the sect before becoming Sect Guardians.
Every Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect came with heavy responsibilities of protecting the key people who could ensure that the lineage of the Divine Sword Sect was passed on at crucial moments. People holding this kind of role were definitely not flowers in a greenhouse. They were powerful candidates destined to be rigorously trained by the Divine Sword Sect through various ways and methods. Only the most excellent disciples of all could earn the right to undertake such heavy responsibilities.
Yan Liqiang knew very well that if he wished to take revenge, then this sect before his eyes, this very platform, was his biggest hope. If he could earn a reputation in the Divine Sword Sect, only then was there a possibility for him to exact his revenge.
"Halt! The mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect is an important place!"
When Yan Liqiang neared the entrance of the Divine Sword Sect's gate, a swordsman in his thirties raised his hand, stopping Yan Liqiang dead in his tracks. He exuded an intense aura and was fully dressed in a purple-colored swordsman attire, with a longsword hanging by his waist.
Yan Liqiang recalled the briefing Liu Guiyuan had given to him before. The people wearing purple swordsman attire were the official gatekeepers of the Divine Sword Sect's mountain gate. As soon as he saw one of them, he could take out that key and loudly state his purpose in coming here.
"I am here to return a key from the Divine Sword Sect. Please unlock the Lock of Requital!" Yan Liqiang announced loudly and raised the key he had taken out high above his head so that everyone in the surrounding area could see.
Upon hearing Yan Liqiang's announcement, quite a number of disciples who were passing through the gates abruptly stopped in their tracks. The official gatekeeper who was dressed in purple swordsman attire came towards Yan Liqiang with large strides. When he stopped in front of Yan Liqiang, he didn't take the key. Instead, he took a good look at that key and then at Yan Liqiang before speaking in a deep voice, "Please come this way…"
Seeing the reaction of this swordsman dressed in purple, Yan Liqiang could guess that although cases like this were rare, they had happened before. Hence, even though this swordsman in purple before his eyes was a little surprised, he was still quite calm and collected.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone in the surroundings, the swordsman in purple immediately led Yan Liqiang through the mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect. After walking a few hundred meters past the mountain gate, they arrived at a building surrounded by bamboo. A maid deftly served Yan Liqiang a cup of tea and the swordsman told Yan Liqiang to wait here patiently before he quickly left.
Yan Liqiang was left waiting for more than half an hour before the swordsman returned with two other people.
One of them was an elderly man with a long and narrow face, a pair of sharp eyes and a dignified demeanor. The other was a young man who followed behind that elderly man, holding two wooden boxes.
"Elder Jiang. This is the youth who brought the key with him!" The swordsman bowed towards the elderly man and reported to him.
"Alright, I will take over from here. Wuxin, you may attend to other matters!" The old man waved his hand lightly at the swordsman in purple.
"I shall take my leave then!" The swordsman then excused himself.
Elder Jiang came over and took a seat beside Yan Liqiang. His eyes were staring at Yan Liqiang's face before he took a careful look at him from head to toe. Yan Liqiang stood up respectfully and bowed to the old man. "Greetings, Elder Jiang!"
"Let me have a look at the key…"
Yan Liqiang handed over the key. Elder Jiang picked up the key and carefully studied it. After caressing it a few times, he finally nodded rather emotionally. "There's no mistake about it… The pattern on this key has the secret seal of our Divine Sword Sect. Tell me, where did you get this key? What are the orders of the person who gave you the key?"
Yan Liqiang recited the script that had been prepared for him by Liu Guiyuan, which was naturally flawless— Yan Liqiang was the grandson of a wandering physician. The wandering physician had handed over this key to him before he passed away and told him to take this key to the Divine Sword Sect to search for an Elder there with the surname Shi.
After listening to Yan Liqiang, Elder Jiang made a gesture for the young man standing beside him to open one of the wooden boxes he was holding up. There were bronze locks inside the wooden box, and each of them had a different inscription on them. The inscriptions were the names of people. Elder Jiang picked up a bronze lock with 'Shi Yunfei' engraved on it and inserted the key he was holding. With a slight twist, the bronze lock was unlocked with a snap.
Elder Jiang nodded. The young man put away the key and the bronze lock before he opened the other wooden box, revealing a rather aged book within. Elder Jiang picked up the book and flipped through it, then shut it and put it down again. He nodded to Yan Liqiang, the tone of his voice was a lot more friendly, "This key was indeed Elder Shi's. The Elder had also reported to the sect about being rescued by a wandering physician at Hu Province so he bestowed upon him a key. Unfortunately, Elder Shi had already shuffled off this mortal coil a few years ago. I'm afraid you won't be meeting him. Please do not hesitate to let me know if there's anything you wish for the Divine Sword Sect to help!"
Yan Liqiang took a deep breath before he spoke, "I wish to join the Divine Sword Sect and become a disciple. I'd appreciate your assistance, Elder Jiang!"
Elder Jiang took a single glance at Yan Liqiang but didn't seem to think that his request was too outrageous. "Let me take a look at your hand…"
Yan Liqiang extended his hand. When Elder Jiang grabbed his outstretched hand, a wave of icy cold energy instantly scurried from the meridian in Yan Liqiang's wrist and then into his body like a little mouse. It coursed through Yan Liqiang's entire body for two rounds before it returned.
Yan Liqiang knew that Elder Jiang was checking if he had learned any internal cultivation of the other sects, or if there were any Gu [1] or poison within his body, or if he was under control by someone else. Liu Guiyuan had already mentioned this procedure to him previously and told him that this was one of the methods to screen for spies from other sects.
"Wait here for a moment …" Elder Jiang left with the young man who was holding the boxes as soon as he finished speaking.
Yan Liqiang instantly breathed out a sigh of relief at Elder Jiang's departure because he knew that he had successfully joined the Divine Sword Sect. However, there was still some work to be done before he could get into the inner sect. Elder Jiang had to make some arrangements so all he needed to do was to just wait here. He would get an update in a moment's time. Based on his age and strength, even if he managed to get into the Divine Sword Sect, he would be nothing but an ordinary external disciple [2]. For the caliber of the Divine Sword Sect, recruiting an external disciple wasn't that much of a big deal as the number of external disciples the sect recruited annually through connections was already quite staggering...