Sky Peak. Sky Hall.

At this moment, Sky Hall was much more bustling than usual. Besides the Peak Master of Talisman Peak, the Peak Masters of all the other six main peaks of the Sword Sect had gathered here.

The Ascension Rankings would begin in a month from now, and it was an important day for the Sword Sect. Because it was related to the Sword Sect’s fate in the next few years.

If someone from the Sword Sect was able to ascend the Ascension Rankings and seize the first position, then the Sword Sect would be able to recruit a good amount of outer court disciples, unlike these past few years where it faced the embarrassing state of only possessing less than 10,000 outer court disciples.

Now, the candidates to participate in the Ascension Rankings had become the issue that the elders and peak masters were discussing.

Why did they have to discuss it? Because no more than 10 disciples from a single sect could participate in the Ascension Rankings!

“Amongst the inner court disciples, there are a total of 120 disciples that are below the King Realm and below the age of 20 as well. Amongst them, 16 possess the qualifications to participate in the Ascension Rankings, whereas, only three amongst them have a chance of ascending the rankings. These three disciples are respectively Murong Yao, Qin Feng, and a senior inner court disciple, Ouyang Yan. Even some outer court elders are inferior in strength to the three of them. So, they definitely have to participate in the Ascension Rankings this time.” An inner court elder spoke slowly.

The Sword Commanding Elder, Yu Lin, that stood ahead and all the others in the surroundings frowned. Practically all the monstrous geniuses on the Ascension Rankings were able to surmount their realms of cultivation to do battle, yet only three of the Sword Sect’s numerous disciples were capable of such a feat. If such a force headed to the Imperial Capital, the situation would definitely be very bad!

“If the Ghost Sect hadn’t sent experts to annihilate the geniuses of my Sword Sect and caused no one from my Sword Sect to ascend onto the Ascension Rankings on that year, how could my Sword Sect have fallen to such a state? I truly wish for nothing more than to immediately charge into the Ghost Sect with his sword in hand and annihilate all those fellows that are neither man nor ghost!” Chi Huo couldn’t help but curse from the side.

The expressions of practically everyone here sank when they heard the Ghost Sect being mentioned. Even though the Sword Sect couldn’t compare with the Origin School and the two Palaces all those years ago, it wasn’t inferior to Ghost Sect and Brightmoon Sect. The reason it had fallen to the bottom of the six great powers was that the Ghost Sect had suddenly sent experts to annihilate the geniuses of the Sword Sect who’d been sent to participate in the Ascension Rankings at that time!

It was exactly because the geniuses of their Sword Sect were killed by the Ghost Sect that no one from the Sword Sect was able to ascend the rankings during that year. Because no one ascended the rankings, the Sword Sect naturally didn’t get any one of the nine states. Not to mention a state, it didn’t even get a single large city, and it was exactly because of this that the number of disciples within the Sword Sect grew fewer and fewer as time went by!

It could be said that the Ghost Sect had contributed greatly in causing the Sword Sect to be at the bottom amongst the six great powers!

“Put the incident from that time aside for now!” Yu Lin said in a low voice, “No matter what, someone from our Sword Sect must ascend the rankings this time. Otherwise, if we merely rely on the few cities around the Sword Sect, then our Sword Sect will definitely be reduced to a second-rate power next year. At that time, we’ll really become sinners of the Sword Sect and would be ashamed to meet our ancestors in death!”

Yu Heng who stood by Yu Lin’s side smiled bitterly and said, “Senior Brother, it isn’t like you’re unaware of what the Ascension Rankings is like. Every single participant is a genius amongst geniuses. Even though we’ve started to foster Murong Yao, Qin Feng, and Ouyang Yan since a long time ago, charging onto the Ascension Rankings with their strengths and especially while being targeted by the Ghost Sect is easier said than done. Besides that, according to the information I received, a young man from the Ghost Sect called Xiu Luo has grasped Slaughter Intent while at the eighth rank of the First Heaven Realm!”

Slaughter Intent!The expressions of everyone in the surroundings changed in unison!

What was Slaughter Intent? It was just like Sword Intent. It was a form of Intent that could greatly increase the strength of the one that had comprehended it. For example, when Yang Ye utilized his Sword Intent, his opponents would be restrained and suppressed by it, whereas, his own strength would be greatly improved instead. Under such circumstances, his opponents would be in an extremely disadvantaged state.

Simply speaking, those that had comprehended Intent were practically invincible before those in the same realm of cultivation.

Yu Lin’s expression changed, and he said in a low voice, “Yu Heng, is this true?”

Yu Heng nodded and said, “I just found out about it recently. He’s probably a trump card of the Ghost Sect’s. Besides Murong Yao, the other disciples of my Sword Sect are probably not a match for this Xiu Luo at all. Moreover, once he intentionally targets that little girl, Murong Yao, then it would probably be very difficult for Murong Yao to ascend the rankings. On the other hand, I presume all of you’re probably clearly aware of whether he would intentionally target her!”

All the others present in the surroundings were naturally very clearly aware that with the enmity between the Ghost Sect and the Sword Sect, how could Xiu Luo not target Murong Yao on purpose?

“Kill that kid!” Right at this moment, one of them spoke these words.

A cold glow flashed in Yu Lin’s eyes as well.

Meanwhile, Yu Heng shook his head and said, “That’s inadvisable. Because the Ghost Sect would have definitely taken precautions. Moreover, Xiu Luo isn’t the main problem. The main problem is the attitudes of the Origin School and Flower Palace. In the past, both these sects have always maintained a neutral position. However, I feel that these two powers seem to have started to side with the Ghost Sect. If both these powers really stand on the Ghost Sect’s side, then the participating disciples from our sect will be in danger!”

“Why would the Origin School and Flower Palace act in that way?” Chi Hong refuted. “There’s no enmity between them and my Sword Sect, nor as there any dispute related to the interests of our sects. So, why would they side with the Ghost Sect and target the disciples of my Sword Sect during the Ascension Rankings?”

“You haven’t forgotten about Yang Ye, right?” Yu Heng said in a low voice, “That day, the Flower Palace had come to our Sword Sect to ask for him, yet they didn’t get him in the end. I presume the Flower Palace is displeased with our Sword Sect. Even though it was because of Master Lin Shan, can anyone guarantee that they wouldn’t vent their rage on our Sword Sect instead? As for the Origin School, you probably still remember about the incident related to Martial Uncle Zui, right? I presume many elders of the Origin School still haven’t forgotten what Martial Uncle Zui had done all those years ago!”

“Who’s Yang Ye?” A peak master suddenly asked this question.

“A young man that comprehended Sword Intent!” Yu Heng said, “At the same time, he’s Master Lin Shan’s disciple, and he was a disciple of my Sword Sect. But….”

“He comprehended Sword Intent?”

The expressions of many changed.

That peak master who asked the question said with shock, “When did someone from our Sword Sect comprehend Sword Intent? Yu Heng, Yu Lin, why did the two of you conceal this matter?”

The others gazed at Yu Lin and Yu Heng with displeasure as well.

Yu Heng laughed bitterly and said, “He was a disciple of my Sword Sect, but he isn’t one any longer!”

That peak master was stunned, and then he asked. “Why?”

Meanwhile, Yu Lin shook his head, sighed, and said, “That was my fault….”

After that, he recounted everything that had occurred on that day!

After a short while, that peak master shook his head and said with slight rage, “Senior Brother Yu Lin, you really made a silly decision with regards to this matter! It’s impossible for you to be unaware of what a person that has comprehended Sword Intent means to our Sword Sect. Moreover, that young man is even Master Lin Shan’s disciple, so he’s a Talisman Master as well. If you didn’t make such a decision at that time, then our Sword Sect wouldn’t just possess a genius that has comprehended Sword Intent, we’ll even possess an ally that’s an extraordinary Talisman Master!”

Another peak master said, “Senior Brother Yu Heng, I knew that you were considering the overall situation at that time, but in this matter…. You ought to know about what happened to Martial Uncle Zui all those years ago. Alas….”

How could all the others here be not aware of the Martial Uncle Zui that this peak master mentioned? Even though Daoist Zui was the Sword Sect’s Protector now, he paid no attention to the Sword Sect at all. Unless the Sword Sect encountered a moment of life and death, otherwise, he wouldn’t return to the Sword Sect. All of them were very clearly aware that even though Daoist Zui was still willing to protect the Sword Sect, he still carried lingering hatred towards the Sword Sect for expelling him because of the incident with the Origin School.

If he had gotten over it, then he wouldn’t have stayed away from the Sword Sect for more than a hundred years now.

That incident from all those years ago hadn’t just caused the Sword Sect to lose an extraordinary genius, it even caused the Sword Sect’s reputation in the southern territory to be extremely damaged. Just think about it, would anyone trust a sect that would sacrifice its own disciples because it was afraid of offending other powers?

Yet now, such an incident had occurred in the Sword Sect once more. So, how could these peak masters and elders not feel infuriated?

“If I knew that he’d comprehended Sword Intent, then I wouldn’t have made that decision even if I had to offend the Flower Palace!” Yu Lin shook his head bitterly and said, “No matter what, this was my mistake, and I’ll resign from my position as Sword Commanding Elder once the Sect Master emerges from his closed door cultivation.”

“That kid has an opinion of my Sword Sect already, so it’s impossible to make him join the sect again. However, we still have to try. Because no matter what, our Sword Sect can’t give up on a genius that has comprehended Sword Intent.” That peak master from before spoke in a low voice.

The others in the surroundings nodded when they heard this. A genius that had comprehended Sword Intent was really too important to the Sword Sect. If such a genius was fostered well, then he might be able to guarantee a few hundred years of safety to the Sword Sect.