"Level 2 Sword Saint!"
This shocked Ling Yu even more.
One had to know that the head of a nation was designated at the Sword Saint level. While most were around Level 1, it was inevitable that Level 2 masters would emerge from time to time!
Beyond the Sword Ancestor level, a difference of even a single minor realm spanned a distance of eighty thousand miles.
To have repelled several people of his own realm with Level 2 Sword Saint strength showed just how formidable his great-grandfather's power had been!
"Although your great-grandfather has already passed away, his divine soul did not perish. It's just that... nowadays, the spiritual energy of this world is becoming increasingly scarce, and this old man had no secret technique to protect a divine soul. The year before last, his elder's divine soul finally dissipated."
"Then did he say anything before his death? Did he leave anything behind?"
Ling Yu asked.
Although his great-grandfather had died in battle sixty years ago, his divine soul had managed to persist in the world for a full sixty years. Combined with the fact that Ling Yu had never seen any secret technique capable of sustaining an undying divine soul in the Ling Family's Scripture Pavilion, his great-grandfather must have had some profound secret technique of his own!
Furthermore, to face several opponents of the same realm alone meant his personal spiritual energy must have been far higher than others in the same realm.
Dao Zhangming said, "Your great-grandfather instructed that should the Ling Family ever face disaster, I was to give you my all."
"Ah? But why did you look for me?"
Ling Yu pointed at himself and asked in confusion.
"You are the eldest son of the Ling Family head, and the family head's fate remains unknown. When my disciples from Tianling Peak descended the mountain to travel and heard about this matter concerning the Ling Family, they rushed over to investigate."
"Then what happened to the Ling Family?!"
Ling Yu said urgently.
His father's life or death was uncertain, and the highest cultivation in the clan was his father, a Level 2 Sword Saint. Next were the family elders, with the First Elder having the highest cultivation at Level 3 Sword Ancestor, while the remaining four elders were all at the Sword Ancestor level.
The strongest Demon Beast that day had been a Level 1 Demon King Wind Demon Wolf. This beast was extremely fast, and its sharp claws could easily slice a person in two. Yet it should not have posed a fatal threat to his father. However, there had also been countless Spirit Demons and Dharma Demons in an unimaginably vast quantity.
The strange thing was that he had been knocked unconscious by just a single palm strike from it. Given his realm and physical body, it was completely impossible for him to withstand that blow—he should have been smashed into a pulp of flesh and blood. Why, then, were only his meridians shattered inch by inch?
Dao Zhangming lowered his head and sighed.
Seeing Dao Zhangming's expression, Ling Yu guessed roughly what had happened. His face instantly collapsed, his body going limp as if boneless, slumping to the ground. Supporting himself with both hands, tears fell to the ground, drop by drop.
Seeing Ling Yu like this, Dao Zhangming felt a sliver of helplessness. "By the time I arrived, the Ling Family gates were tightly shut, and a trace of blood was seeping out from the crack in the door."
"When I opened the gates, the courtyard was full of blood, but not a single corpse was to be found. It was very strange..."
"Your great-grandfather asked me to do my utmost to help the Ling Family. Now is the time for this old man to repay that favor. Ling family boy Ling Yu, would you be willing to take me as your master?"
Without the slightest hesitation upon hearing this, Ling Yu immediately knelt on both knees, cupped his fists, and said to Dao Zhangming, "I ask the Mingyun Sword Immortal to accept this junior as your disciple!"
Seeing Ling Yu agree so readily, Dao Zhangming burst into loud laughter. "Good! Good! Very good!"
Dao Zhangming handed the precious sword in his hand right before Ling Yu's eyes. "This sword is called 'Fall'. It is no mortal item, forged from rare heavenly and earthly treasures. Your Ling Family's Scripture Pavilion surely has records of it."
"When I stepped into the Sword Immortal realm back then, I lacked a suitable spiritual sword, so I traveled all over the world. Just as I was at my wit's end, bursts of phoenix cries and dragon roars reached my ears. When I rushed over, I discovered a dragon and a phoenix locked in fierce combat, and both were at the Demon Venerable level."
"The phoenix was the guardian deity of that realm, while the Gu Long wanted to usurp and conquer that realm to use as its nest for ascending to immortality. When I saw the phoenix was no match for the Gu Long, I hurried forward to assist."
"Although the Gu Long was defeated, the phoenix's days were numbered. She had me use the pure phoenix blood essence within her body, combined with the blood essence of the Gu Long's carcass and the extraterrestrial meteorite 'Dragon Fall Ore' to forge a sword, fusing their souls into it."
Ling Yu stood up and asked, "This sword contains the souls of both a Gu Long and a phoenix. Won't they repel each other?"
Dao Zhangming replied, "They won't. When I forged it back then, I used heavenly lightning to suppress the Gu Long's soul, but that was only a temporary measure. After all these years, it probably can't be suppressed much longer..."
Before Dao Zhangming could finish, Ling Yu interrupted him, standing up to say, "So you're dumping this rotten mess on me, expecting me to suppress it?"
He was amused. Even with Dao Zhangming's strength, he couldn't suppress the Gu Long's soul and had to rely on heavenly lightning as an aid—let alone a good-for-nothing Level 2 Swordsman with shattered meridians like himself.
Dao Zhangming looked somewhat awkward and gave two light coughs. "Not quite. I'm passing this sword to you not to have you suppress it, but to conquer it."
Amused once more, Ling Yu laughed again. "No, wait, are you kidding me? Even a Sword Immortal like you could only suppress it and couldn't conquer it, and you expect a greenhorn like me to conquer it? Is this a joke?"
Seeing that it was impossible to reason with Ling Yu and having no way to explain it to him directly, Dao Zhangming handed the sword to Ling Yu, left behind a single sentence, and his figure slowly dissolved into nothingness.
"Heavenly secrets cannot be divulged. When the time comes, you will naturally understand."
"Come visit this old man on Tianling Peak when you have time..."
Shortly after, Ling Yu withdrew from his Spiritual Realm. He thought he had just had a dream, but when he reached out to grope beside him, a sword appeared in his hand. It was precisely Dao Zhangming's personal sword, "Fall"—or more accurately, his own personal sword now.
At that moment, Mu Qingxue had also finished cooking the meal and carried it over to Ling Yu's side. "The soup is ready."
Ling Yu snapped back to reality, tossed the sword aside with one hand, and received the bowl with both hands. "Thank you, Miss Mu!"
"No need for thanks. Although this place cannot compare to the outside world with its delicacies of land and sea, simple home-cooked meals are no worse than those, are they?"
"Miss Mu is quite right."
Mu Qingxue also noticed the sword beside Ling Yu. The aura emitted by this sword made her feel extremely oppressed, as if her own soul deeply feared it.
"When did this extra sword appear by your side? I remember you didn't have anything on you when I found you."
Ling Yu recounted his encounter in the Spiritual Realm to Mu Qingxue, though he omitted Dao Zhangming, referring to him instead as a mysterious old man...
Mu Qingxue seemed to think of the sword's origin, a flash of horror crossing her eyes, but she quickly returned to normal.
"It's a good sword. It should be able to help you reforge your Sword Soul, bringing your Sword Soul to new heights..."
At this mention, a heavy look crept onto Mu Qingxue's pretty face.
Seeing Mu Qingxue's expression, Ling Yu felt somewhat puzzled. Wasn't reaching new heights for the Sword Soul a good thing? Why did she look like this?
"What's wrong, Miss Mu? Isn't this something worth celebrating?"
Mu Qingxue nodded, then shook her head. "Yes, and no."
"Why do you say that?"
"The Sword Soul is a part of the sword-wielder's soul; it can be said to be the sword-wielder's second soul."
Mu Qingxue sat down on the edge of the bed and continued, "Reforging a Sword Soul requires a stronger spiritual sword to shatter the original Sword Soul, using the spiritual sword itself as a guide and your Dantian as the vessel. The spiritual consciousness of the spiritual sword will merge with the spiritual energy in your body. By then, if your body cannot withstand the sword's spiritual energy, or if this sword does not acknowledge you, your body will burst apart and you will die!"
"Leaving aside whether your body can handle it, the sheer pain of shattering your Sword Soul alone is many times more agonizing than being skinned and having your tendons pulled out!"
Hearing this, Ling Yu broke out in a cold sweat. Dao Zhangming was trying to kill him! If he had known, he never would have taken this sword!
"Then how can I prevent this sword from reforging my Sword Soul?"
"Simply by not signing a contract with it."
Ling Yu nodded. This sword was still far too powerful for him; his current body probably couldn't absorb even a tiny shred of its spiritual energy. He had better wait until his meridians recovered before thinking about it!
Signing a contract was something a person did with a sword that had awakened its spiritual consciousness, accomplished by fusing one's own blood essence into the sword body—provided the spiritual sword deemed you worthy.
Ling Yu was just about finished drinking his soup. He had kept drinking while Mu Qingxue was talking to him, and this time the flavor was noticeably much better than the previous bowl.
After handing the bowl back to Mu Qingxue and expressing his thanks, he pondered further: since "Fall" contained the souls of two Demon Venerables, perhaps he could establish a connection with them.
Ling Yu picked up "Fall" and slowly released his spiritual energy, attempting to forge a connection with the sword. To his utter astonishment, the sword actually absorbed all of his spiritual qi—or to be precise, devoured it...