Yun Jin glanced at the sky. On the list, only three names remained.
Third Senior Brother was still among them. That meant his petrification hadn't flared up during this stage.
Yun Jin felt slightly relieved. And with that relief came the urge to grumble.
"So pushy. Always rushing people like it's life or death. Why is Ma Yuanwu still allowed to stay in there? How is this not blatant favoritism?"
Inside the Sword Dao space—
All the swords: "..."
Maintaining the Sword Dao space consumed energy.
Yet Ma Yuanwu staying inside for three months had cost less than Yun Jin's energy usage in just a single hour.
At the next trial, the Feng Xing Sword was already getting nervous. She quickly turned to the Giant Sword.
"Boss, what if she ends up cultivating in my Sword Dao space too?"
Feng Xing Sword's gaze was hopeful, clearly begging the Giant Sword to intervene just like in the last round.
The Giant Sword fell silent for a moment. "I'll keep an eye on it."
Only then did Feng Xing Sword breathe a sigh of relief.
Heavens above.
Let this walking disaster pass the trial already and go torment some other sword.
Even better, let her go torment the boss directly.
The boss had the most energy anyway, and he could handle the punishment.
Still muttering to herself, Yun Jin stepped into the eighth trial.
What else could she do, stare at the tombstone and have a blinking contest?
Unless something went wrong, this eighth trial should yield another strand of sword intent.
Not bad, really.
She sat down cross-legged and, without hesitation, entered the Feng Xing Sword's space.
Feng Xing Sword's space was filled with howling gales so fierce that standing upright was impossible.
Yun Jin stood for a while, feeling the wind sting her cheeks raw. But she wasn't in a rush. Instead, she began studying the environment with calm curiosity. This world was built on the foundation of five elemental roots: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Beyond these basics, some cultivators were born with variant roots or special physiques.
Wind, for example, was a derived attribute, a mutation.
But to Yun Jin's surprise, she felt a strange sense of affinity within this wind-based realm. Absorbing the drifting wind element particles came naturally to her.
"As expected, the five elemental roots are the foundation of everything."
The five elements give birth to all things. No matter the variant attribute, it all comes back to the core five—just arranged in different combinations.
Take wind, for instance. Yun Jin explored it for a while and quickly discovered that wind-type spiritual energy was a specific ratio of water, fire, and earth attributes blended together.
To Yun Jin, this wasn't even a challenge. She adjusted the ratio between the three elements and, just like that, her spiritual energy transformed into wind-type energy.
Once she'd made the shift, the space no longer pressed down on her. Yun Jin now stood firmly, unaffected by the chaotic winds.
Watching this absurd maneuver unfold—
Even the swords inside the Sword Dao space were momentarily speechless.
Seriously?
Just like that?
She completed a spiritual energy transformation in a matter of minutes? And looked like she'd done it a dozen times before?
They all knew—
This space did indeed contain a strand of sword intent. It was a general sword intent, known as the Swift Sword Intent. Those with wind-type spiritual roots could comprehend it faster, and its effects were stronger when wielded.
But cultivators with other attributes weren't completely barred from understanding it either.
And yet Yun Jin—
She had actually altered her own spiritual energy on the spot.
With wind-type energy now supporting her, she'd comprehend the sword intent even faster. And if she could switch attributes during combat to match each sword intent perfectly… wouldn't that make her… unstoppable?
But—
Was this something a human was even capable of?
All the swords turned in unison toward the Giant Sword.
Back then, their boss's original wielder also had all five elemental roots. But even he hadn't pulled off something like this. He had eventually developed a thunder attribute on top of his five roots, but it stopped there. Switching between attributes hadn't been this seamless either.
The Giant Sword fell into a long silence.
Finally, he spoke in a low voice, "Looks like we won't have to wait for the next chance. Our mission… is coming to an end."
There was a faint sense of relief in his tone.
The other swords, still reeling from Yun Jin's outrageous display, felt a collective shiver run through their blades at those words.
Only two trials remained.
Both involved variant attributes.
One trial for wind, one for lightning.
That's why, even with Yun Jin's shocking pace, none of them had expected her to pass all ten trials in one go.
Without the relevant spiritual attributes, the difficulty would spike dramatically. They figured she'd fail a few times, gradually get the hang of it, and eventually squeak through by a hair's breadth.
But now—
She had unraveled the essence of the five elemental roots on the spot and transformed her energy into wind-type within minutes. If she could do the same for the next trial and convert to lightning-type energy too…
Then this time—
She might really clear all ten trials in one attempt.
For a moment, the swords forgot everything else and just stared at Yun Jin.
Meanwhile, she walked steadily through the gale winds, not even seeking out the trial's core challenge. With every step, her wind-type spiritual energy grew smoother, more attuned to her body.
There was no denying it—
She was the type to squeeze every last drop out of these Sword Dao spaces. Not a single strand of insight escaped her grasp.
But still—
They had waited long enough.
A thousand years.
An entire millennium of waiting.
And now, at last, they glimpsed the light of freedom.
The more Yun Jin took her time, the more agitated they became.
Couldn't the refinement part come later?
Just clear the stage first!
It was so rare to find a sword cultivator with talent this monstrous. Why not strike while the iron was hot?
The swords were growing restless. Seeing that the Giant Sword remained calm and silent, they reluctantly pulled themselves together.
Right.
She would clear the trial eventually.
They should learn from the boss—don't be too impatient.
That was the thought going through their minds when, suddenly, all the raging winds inside the Feng Xing Sword's space stopped.
Yun Jin, in the middle of her refinement, blinked and tilted her head. A few question marks practically floated above her head.
What was this supposed to mean?
It hadn't even been that long, and they were rushing her again?
The next moment—
A row of miniature tornadoes appeared before her.
These little whirlwinds moved with extreme speed. Though they didn't follow straight lines, they still outpaced anything linear. There was something mysterious hidden in their flow.
Yun Jin instinctively sensed it.
And then her expression darkened.
Were they seriously trying to force-feed her insights just so she'd move on?
Trying to shove sword intent down her throat now?
Was it really that urgent?
Frustrated, Yun Jin gave in and directly exchanged for a moment of Insight.
She would've liked to take her time.
But there was nothing else to do here besides comprehend sword intent. Deliberately dragging things out felt unnecessary.
So even as she grumbled, she quickly entered a state of deep comprehension.
Her talent—truly astonishing.
Watching her, the swords' sharp auras softened all at once.
She really was something special.
Yes, she might turn out to be a bit annoying as a successor—
But that was still better than having no successor at all.
They still had so much left to teach. Once she completed the final trial, they'd have all the time in the world to pass it down to her.
The question was—
Who would get to teach her first?
That thought struck them all at once. The swords exchanged looks, then subtly drifted apart.
Once comrades.
Now, future rivals.
The little Sword Complaints Alliance? Already dissolved.
An alliance?
What alliance?
Complaints?
What complaints?
All they knew was that their thousand-year wait… was about to end.