CHAPTER 192: CHAPTER 296: STOPPING HERE?

Sword Peak!

Two figures stood on the edge of the mountain, quietly observing the situation below.

Their ages seemed not too young, appearing just over thirty from their looks. The man wore a long blue robe with a hairpin on his head, not particularly handsome, yet exuding an indescribable aura that involuntarily commanded respect.

The woman wore a moon-white dress with a jade flute at her waist, exceptionally beautiful, but her demeanor appeared somewhat cold, giving off a sense of unapproachability.

"On this journey, Qingxuan has made remarkable progress. Even if I personally guided her, it would only be thus," the man smiled and said, "But now having her ascend the Sword Tier, it might be intended to draw your attention, hoping you’ll accept her as a disciple."

"Sect Leader shouldn’t indulge her too much. She hasn’t joined the sect yet, and she’s already ascending the Sword Tier, which is against the rules." The woman replied coldly.

"Haha, what rules? My words become the rules," the man said indifferently.

Sect Leader Xuan Yue!

This man was none other than Zhou Dongfei, the Sect Leader Zhenren of the Profound Moon Sword Sect. In the sect, his words naturally were the rules.

"Qingxuan is my disciple. I say it’s a punishment, then it is. If Wang Junze hasn’t joined the sect, he’ll be punished to practice in the Sword Pool for half a year!"

The woman didn’t show any intention of conceding to the Sect Leader, coldly responded.

"Haha, it seems you’re quite optimistic about this kid." Zhou Dongfei didn’t mind, chuckled lightly, "Don’t worry, Su Yuwei won’t take him back to the capital. After the setback in the Northern Domain, she herself will also leave the Judgment Department."

Frowning slightly, the woman didn’t bring up Su Yuwei again, but turned her attention to Wang Junze, evaluating, "He indeed has a remarkable talent in Sword Dao, but I wouldn’t say I’m optimistic. I don’t think he can complete the Sword Tier."

"One hundred and eight tiers of the Sword Tier correspond to one hundred and eight moves of the Profound Moon Sword Technique. Without any foundation and still in the Condensing Realm, it is indeed challenging to reach the top." Zhou Dongfei nodded lightly, not refuting this time, merely smiled, "But if he can get through halfway, he’s already considered exceptional. If he can pass eighty-one tiers, among the sect’s True Disciples, his talent might rank within the top ten."

"If he truly passes eighty-one tiers, I’ll fulfill this girl’s wish and personally accept this disciple." The woman replied indifferently.

"And if he completes it?" Zhou Dongfei teased.

"Impossible! There’s no second Qu Lishang in this world!" The woman denied without hesitation.

"What if?" Zhou Dongfei seemed to enjoy arguing with the woman, asked again.

"Then even if he wants to marry Qingxuan, I won’t oppose." The woman answered with a faint sneer.

"..."

This sentence immediately changed Zhou Dongfei’s expression, scolding resentfully, "Nonsense, Qingxuan isn’t someone any random punk can covet!"

With a cold glance at Zhou Dongfei, the woman’s mouth curled into a hint of ridicule, yet she couldn’t be bothered to engage further with him.

...

Twenty tiers, thirty tiers... fifty tiers!

In less than an hour, Wang Junze had almost completed half of the Sword Tier, though his speed noticeably slowed down.

This finally allowed the surrounding disciples of the Profound Moon Sword Sect to breathe a sigh of relief.

Fifty whole tiers of the Sword Tier, Wang Junze nearly walked through them at the same pace; it was absurd. If he continued this way, wouldn’t there truly be hope to reach the top of the Sword Tier?

Though hearing from Luo Qingxuan about Wang Junze’s outstanding talent, reaching the Sword Tier all at once was incredibly intimidating!

Of course, even so, it’s already impressive enough!

It should be noted, even many True Disciples find it impossible to return and reach the top of the Sword Tier, as for Inner Sect Disciples... in the past decade, the best achievement was around fifty or sixty tiers, and later, nobody dared challenge the Sword Tier anymore.

"What a pity, it seems he can only stop here."

Looking at Wang Junze, Lu Qing commented with some regret, "However, Wang Junze isn’t originally a disciple of the Profound Moon Sword Sect. The difficulty of his first ascent of the Sword Tier is inherently much higher than the sect’s disciples. Achieving this already is remarkable."

"It’s just slowing down, who said he definitely can’t finish?" Wang Xin asked, slightly displeased.

"It’s different!" Lu Qing explained with a bitter smile, "The Sword Tier of the Profound Moon Sword Sect gets harder towards the end. Wang Junze suddenly slowing down means his insight has likely hit a bottleneck, even if he forces a few more tiers, it’s probably his limit..."

Although Lu Qing also was visiting the Profound Moon Sword Sect for the first time, clearly he understood the Sword Tier well, easily deriving results from past records.

In fact, Lu Qing was unaware that, on the Sword Peak, Luo Qingxuan’s master, the Elder of the Profound Moon Sword Sect, gave a similar judgment.

Generally speaking, this was indeed the limit.

Only Luo Qingxuan, having genuinely experienced the relic’s Sword Array test, knew something was off.

Capable of surpassing her in the final test, even though Wang Junze opted to risk everything at the time, it was enough to prove his talent in Sword Dao. Fifty tiers of the Sword Tier was ordinary True Disciple level, far from Wang Junze’s true potential.

If it stops here, although it can be considered genius, it certainly wouldn’t be astonishing, nor earn everyone’s respect.

...

In fact, Wang Junze wasn’t stuck on insights regarding the Profound Moon Sword Sect.

If merely grasping sword techniques and Sword Intent, Wang Junze would have long since completed it, with speeds several times faster.

What truly halted him was the Chess Swordsmanship’s disassembly of sword techniques.

After ascending so many Sword Tiers, Wang Junze had long guessed that the sword techniques inherent in the tiers were indeed the Profound Moon Sword Technique. Ascending the Sword Tier equated to comprehending it in one go.

For ordinary geniuses, that was difficult, but for Wang Junze who mastered the Chess Swordsmanship from just a fragment, it wasn’t particularly challenging.

However, with the deeper insights into the Profound Moon Sword Technique, Wang Junze increasingly felt his understanding of Chess Swordsmanship seemed incorrect.

If truly facing someone, when the opponent exhibited swordsmanship to this extent, Wang Junze seemed to only have the option to forcibly employ the Strangulation move and fight desperately.

If it truly came to a life and death struggle, there wouldn’t be time for such thoughts; one must go all out.

But now, ascending the Sword Tier inevitably made Wang Junze contemplate further.

Judging by Ye Piaoling’s strength in the relic, the intricacies of Chess Swordsmanship certainly surpass the Profound Moon Sword Technique. Yet... if forced to employ Strangulation recklessly, that seemed quite wrong.