Chapter 1092: Single-Handedly Taking on the Five Swords

Ye Guan was momentarily stunned. What kind of sword intent was this?

Little Pagoda said, "This should be Order Sword Intent."

Ye Guan looked surprised. "Order Sword Intent?"

Little Pagoda explained, "Yes, it's similar to the World Sword Intent of your father."

Ye Guan was puzzled. "Why did I suddenly obtain this sword intent?"

Little Pagoda replied, "It relates to one's personal purpose. What you just said amounted to a declaration of intent. As for how powerful this Order Sword Intent ultimately becomes, it will depend on how much you're able to uphold this order."

Order Sword Intent!

Ye Guan was taken aback, as he hadn't expected to grasp the Order Sword Intent. He had introduced his own order a long time ago, but at that time, he hadn't manifested in the form of a sword intent.

As if sensing his thoughts, Little Pagoda added, "Although you had the idea of building your own order earlier, back then, it was merely lip service. Others were the ones actually doing the work. Now, you've truly recognized your responsibility and the importance of your order."

Ye Guan smiled and opened his hand. A wisp of sword intent emerged in his palm. Compared to his Invincible Sword Intent, the Order Sword Intent was much gentler, with a restrained edge. Its strength was also far inferior to the former.

Little Pagoda said, "The strength of this Order Sword Intent depends on the completion rate of your Great Dao Order. Keep working hard."

Ye Guan nodded and asked, "Will anyone recognize this sword intent?"

"If you don't say anything, no one will know. Only those who have established an order themselves will recognize it."

"Good."

With that, Ye Guan went to sleep. Things were different now; he needed to eat and sleep just like everyone else. In his dreams, he single-handedly took on the Five Swords, and they all bowed toward him in submission.

The next morning, the sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the Sword Sect.

With only two months left until the Wanzhou Martial Contest, everyone in the Sword Sect was busy training, especially the inner sect disciples. They were the main participants in the competition, as the true disciples were older and ineligible to compete.

The outer disciples were training hard as well, knowing that despite not being the main participants, they could probably still showcase their skills.

The contest would be hosted in Qingzhou. The rules had changed, and the next Wanzhou Martial Contest would be held in the state of the previous winner according to the rules. Since Qingzhou was the defending champion, this year's contest would take place there.

In two months, the top talents and prodigies from all of Wanzhou would gather in Qingzhou. With all of these elites coming together, fierce competition was inevitable.

Thus, even though outer disciples wouldn't participate, they were busy training as well.

Ye Guan arrived at Sword Sect Training Peak, a dedicated training area for inner sect disciples. There were twelve cultivation towers here, and each was focused on different aspects like speed, strength, mental power, and sword techniques. It was a comprehensive setup.

However, entering any of the towers required spiritual crystals.

He approached one of the towers and learned that it would cost twenty spiritual crystals to train inside—twenty crystals for just one hour.

With a sigh, he thought of Fu Ji, realizing that someone like him would never be able to afford training in a place like this. Surely, there were more disciples like Fu Ji across the Sword Sect. This system had to be adjusted to give the common-born disciples a fair chance at becoming a rising star.

After paying twenty spiritual crystals, Ye Guan entered the tower designed for speed training. The moment he stepped inside, he realized that the gravity was twice as strong as outside.

Just then, a sword-wielding puppet appeared before him.

The puppet moved like a gust of wind, disappearing from its spot and thrusting a sword toward him.

Ye Guan took a step forward, and in a flash, the sword puppet dissipated. He then moved up to the second floor, where the gravity was twice as strong as that on the first floor.

***

While Ye Guan was busy with his training, Yang Yian made her way to the inner sect's Task Peak, a place specifically for taking on tasks.

In the Sword Sect, apart from regular classes, disciples needed to earn their own techniques and artifacts by exchanging task credits. This system was designed to encourage self-reliance and growth. In addition to outer and inner sect disciples, the servants of the disciples could also accept tasks.

Simply put, as long as one was part of the Sword Sect, even if one were a servant, one could change one's fate. Over the years, many servants had advanced to become outer sect disciples.

One of the main reasons the Sword Sect maintained this system was that the renowned Qingshan Sword Master was once a servant as well. In other words, even servants could have great potential.

Who could say that there wouldn't be another Qingshan Sword Master one day?

Yang Yian looked around with curiosity when a voice echoed from nearby. "Are you here to take on a task?"

Yang Yian turned and saw an elder sitting not far away, watching her.

Yang Yian nodded. "Yes."

The elder smiled and explained, "Since you're not a cultivator, you can only take tasks of the lowest level."

He pointed at the wall on the far left and said, "The beginner tasks are over there, and they're all suitable for you."

With that, Yang Yian walked to the left, but after a few steps, she paused, turned back, and gave the elder a respectful nod. "Thank you."

She then approached the far left section, where a light screen displayed various tasks. They were all easy one-star tasks, things like cleaning certain peaks or assisting others.

In the end, Yang Yian selected a task to gather medicinal herbs. She needed to collect a herb called Cold Smoke Grass, a small, white, feathery plant with one stem and five leaves. This herb was used as an ingredient to refine a true essence pill.

The reward for the task was minimal. Ten stalks of Cold Smoke Grass could be exchanged for just one spiritual crystal. After receiving the task scroll, Yang Yian set off toward the back mountain of the inner sect.

Carrying a small hoe, she walked along a narrow path for half an hour until the trail ended, leaving only a rugged mountain track. She followed it while looking around at the towering ancient trees, jagged rocks, and strange formations around her.

Although it was quiet, she wasn't scared. She had always been brave, and the sect members had already reassured her, saying that there were no beasts in the back mountain, provided that she didn't venture too far.

The mountain path grew steeper as Yang Yian continued walking. Eventually, her eyes lit up, spotting something in the distance.

She ran toward it, but in her haste, she tripped over a tree branch and fell to the ground. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt. She got up and made her way to a tree, where a small spirit grass was growing.

It was the Cold Smoke Grass.

Yang Yian smiled brightly and dug up the herb carefully before wrapping it and placing it into a cloth pouch hanging at her waist. She pressed on, and luck was on her side. Along the way, she found two more stalks of Cold Smoke Grass.

After two hours, she reached a large boulder. Looking out, she saw distant mountains, a sea of bamboo, and a cloud of mist. A solitary peak stood tall like a sword piercing the sky at the edge of the cloud of mist.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued onward, gathering other herbs she came across in addition to the Cold Smoke Grass. By dusk, she had finally collected ten stalks of Cold Smoke Grass, along with a few other miscellaneous herbs.

Glancing at the sky, she turned around and left. She was brave, but she was terrified of the dark, especially when she was deep in the woods.

She finally made it back upon nightfall. She hurried into the Task Hall and carefully placed the ten stalks of Cold Smoke Grass and her task token on the counter. A refined young lady behind the counter checked the herbs and nodded, saying, "Everything's in order."

With that, she handed Yang Yian a single spiritual crystal.

Yang Yian accepted it with trembling hands, thrilled. It was her first time earning some money on her own.

Just then, she remembered something and took out the other herbs she had gathered before placing them in front of the lady.

"Are these worth anything?" she asked.

The young lady glanced over the herbs, and her eyes lit up when she noticed a small, blood-red herb. It was only as big as two fingers, but it was vibrant and alluring, like a drop of fresh blood. Her eyes flickered for a moment, and then she smiled, saying, "For all these herbs together, I can give you two more spiritual crystals. How about that?"

Yang Yian was overjoyed and quickly nodded. "That'll be great!"

The young lady handed her two more spiritual crystals.

Yang Yian gratefully accepted them and bowed. "Thank you, thank you!"

She turned around and dashed away in excitement.

Meanwhile, the refined young lady's lips curled into a slight smirk as she stared at Yang Yian's departing figure.

"What a fool," she murmured and walked over to a task board where a token read, "Blood Spirit Grass, twenty spiritual crystals."

***

When Yang Yian returned to the courtyard and saw that Ye Guan was still out, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried into her room, rolled up her pants, and examined the countless scratches on her legs. Some of them were still bloody.

She filled a basin with water and washed the wounds as best she could before wrapping her legs in strips of cloth.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside her door.

Yang Yian hurriedly pulled her pants down right before Ye Guan could enter the room.

"You're back?" Yang Yian asked with a grin.

Ye Guan smiled and approached her. "Time to read."

Yang Yian nodded eagerly. "Alright!"

Every day, no matter the weather, they would always read together. Ye Guan pulled out an ancient scroll and began teaching her, guiding her through each line. One taught with focus, while the other listened with full attention.

Two hours later, Ye Guan quietly left Yang Yian's room and returned to his own room. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he reflected on his long day at the Training Peak. He had gained a lot, especially on the ninth floor of the Gravity Tower, where the gravity was nine times that of the outside world.

Initially, he struggled to adapt, as he was no longer as resilient as he once was. It took him an entire day just to get accustomed to the gravity there, but he knew that he had only begun pushing his limits.

He wanted to reach his true limits!

He was planning to participate in this year's Wanzhou Martial Contest, and he dared not underestimate the younger generation. If he were to lose, it'd be a huge humiliation.

He could accept losing to the old veterans, but if he couldn't even beat the younger generation despite his plenty of experience, then he'd better retire to some backwater region.