Su Bei walked quietly toward the Sword Hidden Pavilion with a calm expression, his earth-shakingly handsome face radiating a profound and unfathomable aura.
A sword hovered behind him as he walked with his hands clasped behind his back, letting the cold, biting snow whip wildly across his face.
Especially those eyes—they looked down upon everything with utter detachment, as if all people in the world were mere ants and commoners.
Every single Sword Sect disciple held their breath, staring in a daze at the peerless figure in white before them.
Gasps of admiration and endless discussions echoed ceaselessly in front of the Sword Hidden Pavilion!
"Ah! Now *that* is an expert!"
"They all say the Fifth Elder has the lowest cultivation realm among the elders! But I feel this must be the Fifth Elder keeping a low profile!"
"Indeed, indeed! How could the Fifth Elder possibly be only at the Soul Formation Stage?"
"Just this temperament completely crushes the other elders..."
"After all, the Fifth Elder is the only normal person among these elders."
"..."
Right at that moment, a Sword Sect disciple dressed in a blue robe imitated Su Bei's proud and aloof demeanor, clasping his hands behind his back, closing his eyes, and acting profoundly pretentious as he said in a faint voice:
"I dare guarantee that the Fifth Elder is definitely not at the Soul Formation Stage."
"..."
The moment the blue-robed disciple's voice fell, it instantly piqued the interest of countless people.
One of the female disciples had already pulled out a small notebook, looking at the blue-robed disciple with a solemn and dignified expression.
Vaguely visible on the notebook were some intermittent fragments of information:
[Su Bei, Fifth Elder, likes eating chicken, often wears black underwear, has gone to the Sword Hidden Pavilion thirty-two times in the past fifty years, likes to step out with his left foot first, always claims to be eighteen centimeters (do not understand), likes to kick off the quilt when sleeping, has abdominal muscles, has a mole on his left buttock...]
"Oh?"
"How so?"
"How did Brother Dadao arrive at this conclusion?"
"Quickly enlighten us!"
The blue-robed man sneered. Beneath the dazzling sunlight, he tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky in an extremely elegant posture.
A line of cranes circled gracefully across the vault of the heaven, and a drop of bird droppings landed right on the tip of the man's nose:
"Hmph, a hundred years ago, I entered the Sword Sect, and back then the Fifth Elder was already at the mid Soul Formation stage, famous throughout the world."
"Now a hundred years have passed, and with my poor talent, I have only cultivated to the peak Golden Core, and am about to step into the Spirit Unity realm."
"In a hundred years, even a pig! In the Sword Sect's treasure-land of such abundant Spiritual Energy, could cultivate to the Golden Core Stage."
"How could Elder Su—so graceful and dashing, of such refined taste, extraordinary bearing, possessing both talent and beauty, a gentleman of virtue, tall, mighty, and striking, standing a full seven chi tall, a magnet for lonely maidens and grieving widows, a solitary wild goose, and a paragon of steadfastness—possibly stand still and make no progress?"
"There's no telling, Senior Brother Su's current realm might already be at Peak Void Return, or even stepped into the Dao Integration stage!"
"..."
The female disciple holding the small notebook frowned and asked doubtfully:
"Then why would the Fifth Elder hide his cultivation realm? Wouldn't it be better to just say it?"
"That's right! Is there anything to hide about this realm?"
"There's nothing wrong with just saying it, right?"
"..."
The blue-robed man let out a derisive laugh. With a ringing *clang*, he drew the precious sword from his waist and let out a furious roar:
"Great Precious Sword!"
Then he sheathed his sword, calmed the surging emotions in his chest, clenched his fists tight, and said with a voice strained to its limit:
"This is precisely what makes the Fifth Elder worthy of our admiration!"
"The vastness of the Fifth Elder's bosom, the boldness of his heart."
"Over the past few days in the Sword Hidden Pavilion, I have thoroughly studied the masterpiece *A Mortal's Journey to Immortality* written by the Fifth Elder."
"Su Fengnian in there carries his own rugged fate and hides his capabilities. I reckon the Fifth Elder must have hardships unspeakable!"
"For the greater good of the sect, the Fifth Elder resolutely bears the infamy of having the lowest cultivation realm among the Sword Sect elders. Letting the people of the Twenty-One Provinces hurl insults without ever talking back, he silently endures it all!"
"His heart is long beyond what mortal beings like us can comprehend!"
"His realm has already far surpassed the realm we can possibly imagine; it is another world! A vast world blooming with a hundred flowers..."
"Ah, the Fifth Elder's Dao heart is just like that resilient chrysanthemum blooming stubbornly in early winter!"
"..."
Hearing the blue-robed man's words, the disciples could not help but suddenly understand. Looking at the proud, sword-bearing figure in the distance, their eyes were filled with deep admiration.
Old tears welled up as an aura of encompassing the entire world spread through the hearts of all the disciples.
As expected of the Fifth Elder!
An unmatched genius of the Sword Sect!
They must never let the Fifth Elder suffer any grievances! At this moment, everyone present made up their minds to head out of the Sword Sect shortly and spread the Fifth Elder's greatness far and wide!
The woman with the small notebook nodded solemnly as well, writing down a few profoundly meaningful sentences furiously in her notebook!
[The Fifth Elder is large, thick, likes to hide his capabilities, dislikes common mortals, and wants to find another vast world where chrysanthemums bloom.]
[He is already at the Dao Integration stage and will soon step into Mahayana.]
...
Su Bei walked leisurely into the Sword Hidden Pavilion.
The moment his left foot stepped across the threshold, an overwhelming sense of extreme unease surged into his heart.
Oh, crap!
That crazy woman is coming!
Su Bei swallowed hard and jerked his body to the side.
In a split second, a streak of sword light darted out from Su Bei's right side.
A fierce, whistling sword wind blew past, scattering Su Bei's hair.
A short-haired woman in purple robes appeared right beside Su Bei.
Her skin surpassed snow, her slender eyebrows curved like the crescent moon, her teeth were pearly and bright, and beneath a fair, exquisite nose, her cherry lips resembled a blooming plum blossom.
The purple robes embroidered with starlight at the cuffs further set off her delicate, slender, jade-like fingers.
A sword hovered right by her side.
The Starlight Sword Immortal! Shan Wuque!
All the disciples held their breath, staring blankly at that peerless woman.
This was the Eighth Elder! The Eighth Elder of the Early Void Return!
Sure enough, the Fifth Elder had come here this time specifically for the Eighth Elder!
"Fifth Senior Brother, where are you headed?"
Shan Wuque looked at Su Bei with a steadfast gaze.
Su Bei looked into those eyes and let out a faint sigh:
"To tread the Sword Hidden Pavilion and choose secret manuals!"
"And if you go and never return?"
"Then I shall never return!"
With a resolute expression, Shan Wuque nodded, leveled the sword in her hand horizontally, looked at Su Bei, took a deep breath, and said solemnly:
"Fifth Senior Brother! This junior sister wishes to inquire about the Dao!"
"Two years ago, you taught me that 'Sword Heart Clarity'—man can become the sword, and the sword is man—and this junior sister has already gained some insights!"
"Yet to this day, I have still not reached the realm you spoke of, where a mere blade of grass in one's hand can sever thousands of stars!"
"Just what kind of realm is that? What kind of sword intent is it?"
"This junior sister does not understand!"
"..."
Every single Sword Sect disciple looked at Shan Wuque in utter shock.
Their gazes turned deeply toward Su Bei.
Just what was the Fifth Elder's cultivation realm?
To sever the sun, moon, and stars with a mere blade of grass in hand?
What kind of terrifying realm was that?
They all halted whatever they were doing, preparing to listen devoutly to Su Bei's supreme maxims of the Dao!
—Su Bei stared with dark lines all over his forehead at this stubborn, brainless martial-obsessed junior sister.
How the hell would I know how to sever the sun, moon, and stars with a blade of grass?
I clearly just made that up on the spot because I found you annoying...
Yet looking all around, every single disciple was staring at him with expectant eyes.
Clearly, if he failed to give a very reasonable explanation, his reputation of a lifetime would be utterly ruined!