So.
Was this really a successful clearance, or had she failed and been expelled?
Everyone simultaneously looked up toward the sky.
There.
The ranking list flickered slightly.
The three names on it suddenly all disappeared.
Everyone's hearts tightened at once.
This was yet another unprecedented development.
Could it be…
Even Qin Ping couldn't help but feel a trace of anticipation rise in his eyes.
Feng Linglong, standing beside him, wore a complicated expression.
During the trial, she had always believed that Yun Jin's talent was slightly inferior to her own.
But who could've imagined.
That someone would grow more formidable the further they went?
Yu Songnian's earlier advice to her indeed hadn't been wrong at all.
Feng Linglong let out a soft sigh.
Originally, she had thought that within Canglan Kingdom, her only real rival was Ma Yuanwu.
Yet now, after merely a small sword tomb trial, she had failed to even enter the top three.
And this was only in Canglan Kingdom.
What about beyond Canglan Kingdom?
In that vast, boundless world outside, how many heaven-defying geniuses and peerless talents must still exist?
What, then, did she, Feng Linglong, truly amount to?
Previously, her master had told her.
That it's far more difficult for dynasty cultivation practitioners to join sects than for others, and that entering a holy land was even more akin to ascending the heavens.
She had found that unfair, believing that with her talent, the world lay open to her.
But now…
For reasons she couldn't explain, Feng Linglong felt dispirited.
Even if the holy lands truly didn't discriminate against dynasty cultivators and granted them equal treatment.
Could she really enter such a place?
That's the supreme land where the world's greatest talents gathered.
As Feng Linglong drifted in thought.
New words appeared on the ranking list.
This time.
Only a single line remained.
"Clearer: Yun Jin."
In the next moment.
Ma Yuanwu and Yu Songnian were both teleported out.
Each of them emerged from their respective trials still holding offensive stances.
Suddenly found themselves outside.
Yu Songnian froze for a moment, then faintly smiled.
Little Junior Sister… had already cleared it?
He looked up, and sure enough, saw Yun Jin's name shimmering with golden light.
Ma Yuanwu's expression instantly changed.
How was this possible?!
He knew the difficulty of the final two trials. A wind-attribute cultivator might have an advantage in the eighth trial, and a lightning-attribute cultivator in the ninth.
He himself possessed an innate mutated lightning spiritual root.
Thus, the ninth trial was advantageous to him, and he had long been preparing to overtake her at the very end.
Yet he had only just entered the eighth trial, he hadn't even passed the first wind ring.
And Yun Jin had already cleared everything?
This was wrong. This was extremely wrong.
That Yun Jin had neither a wind spiritual root nor a lightning spiritual root. His master had personally tested her, she's clearly nothing more than the most useless Five Element Root.
A universally acknowledged trash spiritual root. How could she reach this point? How could she pass the final two trials?
"Impossible!" Ma Yuanwu stared at the ranking list, his eyes turning red.
He absolutely refused to accept that he had lost to such an unknown trash.
"Yuanwu, what are you rushing for?" Mu Lan said in a low voice. "How have I taught you? Where is your composure? Your discipline?"
Mu Lan's tone carried displeasure. Ma Yuanwu recovered himself, pressed his lips together, and said nothing.
Even if he's furious, this wasn't the time.
So many people were watching.
If he appeared unable to accept defeat, who knew how this would be spread afterward?
This was a critical moment for entering a holy land, no mistakes were allowed.
"Head of the Yu Family," Qin Ping suddenly smiled and said, "I've heard that the sword tomb hides a treasure. Now that Yun Jin has cleared all nine trials, could it be that she will obtain it?"
Yu Lin's expression shifted slightly, but he still replied, "After the ninth trial, there is actually a tenth trial that no one has ever seen. Some speculate that there is no test at all, that as long as one walks through it, the treasure may be obtained. Others believe the tenth trial is an assessment by the giant sword at the center of the sword tomb. The truth remains unknown."
The legendary...
Tenth trial.
Ma Yuanwu glared at the water screen with bloodshot eyes.
Since he hadn't cleared it, Yun Jin mustn't be allowed to clear it either.
This tenth trial had better be unimaginably difficult.
So difficult that Yun Jin couldn't pass it.
As long as she failed to take the treasure, he could continue trying. One day, he would succeed!
In that case, it wouldn't be an unbearable humiliation.
When Yun Jin cleared the ninth trial, she obtained the third fragment.
Across the nine trials, she had mastered three sword techniques.
Through comprehension or synthesis, she possessed three high-grade sword intents.
And she now held three fragments whose purpose was still unknown.
Such gains far exceeded Yun Jin's expectations.
And the legendary tenth trial still concealed the sword tomb's true treasure.
And all of this, was merely a B-rank secret realm.
For a moment, Yun Jin felt even more intrigued by higher-rank secret realms.
But for now, she focused on the tenth trial.
She followed the flower-lined path all the way to the tenth trial.
Along the way, there were no more obstacles.
Step by step, she arrived before the giant sword at the center of the sword tomb.
The sword was embedded in the ground at the very heart of the tomb. Its body was so massive that it could be seen from several li away.
Many people who came to Lin City even used this sword as a landmark. Once they saw it, they knew they're close.
Before such a colossal sword, there stood a small tombstone.
Compared to the enormous blade, it was incomparably tiny.
Yun Jin examined it carefully.
The tombstones of the previous swords had all been simple.
Only the sword's name, its grade, and the same repeated line:
Destroyed a thousand years ago.
But this tombstone was different.
The characters carved upon it were bold and unrestrained. With just one glance, Yun Jin felt as though countless sword lights were crisscrossing before her eyes.
She even felt as though her vision were being scorched.
The person who had erected this stele and inscribed these words must have been a peerless sword cultivator!
Otherwise, there wouldn't be endless sword intent flowing even within the characters themselves.
Yun Jin couldn't even focus on the content. With just a cursory glance, she felt her entire body bathed in sword qi, smooth and exhilarating beyond words.
In the next moment.
The sword qi within Yun Jin was stirred.
A transparent sword aura formed around her body. The characters on the tombstone instantly glowed.
At that moment, Yun Jin's sword aura and the words on the stele resonated with each other.
Within the sword domain.
The giant sword watched silently.
Master…
Across a thousand years.
You have finally found your successor.
I…
Have fulfilled my duty!
She is excellent. Her talent is astonishing.
If Master knew, he would surely be immensely gratified.
The giant sword spoke in a deep voice, "Prepare to welcome the little master."
All the swords gathered here.
Upon hearing this, they responded in unison, their eyes filled with anticipation, longing, and joy.
Their little master…
Had finally arrived.