The gathered swords seemed inexplicably tense.
All of them turned their gaze toward the giant sword.
Now what?
Should they lend a hand, just a little?
If they helped this Yu Songnian, wouldn't Yun Jin owe them a favor?
But they were the impartial guardians of the Sword Tomb. Wouldn't this be bending the rules?
The giant sword was silent for a moment before speaking in a deep, slow voice, "Actually, we're only helping suppress his condition for a while. We're not helping him pass the trial. That shouldn't count as favoritism."
Yes, yes, exactly that.
The gathered swords nodded rapidly.
A flash of light ran across the heavy body of the giant sword.
Then—
A powerful surge of energy descended from above. Yu Songnian, who had already turned to stone, slowly began to recover his human form.
Ma Yuanwu, who had been gloating just seconds ago: "???"
Yu Songnian himself: "????"
He remembered the onset of his symptoms just moments ago, yet in the blink of an eye, it had vanished?
It reminded Yu Songnian of how, after joining the Tianxing Sect, his master would help him suppress the petrification. In the beginning, his master could barely manage it, but as the condition worsened, even that wasn't enough.
Eventually, his master suffered a serious injury and lost much of his cultivation, and after that, had no way to help him at all.
The sensation just now felt very similar to when his master used to suppress the condition.
Someone... had intervened?
That person's strength must be at least above the Unity stage!
Yu Songnian's heart was filled with confusion and suspicion.
Just then, a calm and steady voice rang out in his mind.
Lent you a hand just now. Once Yun Jin clears the trial, put in a good word for us.
Yu Songnian: "???"
He stood frozen in shock.
Could there really be someone with such powerful cultivation hidden within the Sword Tomb?
And this mysterious helper... was doing it for Little Sister?
Yu Songnian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
All he could say was—
As expected of Little Sister!
Turning back, Yu Songnian saw that Ma Yuanwu was still there and couldn't help asking, "Why haven't you left?"
Ma Yuanwu's expression darkened. Without another word, he spun on his heel and left.
He had made up his mind.
He would never speak to that pair of Senior Brother and Little Sister again.
He might die from sheer frustration.
So Yun Jin was only one trial ahead of him?
He could catch up.
He definitely could!
Ma Yuanwu silently encouraged himself as he made his way to the eighth trial.
Yun Jin, unaware of the swords' interference, had already entered the space of the final sword.
The Thunder Sword.
It was a sword imbued with thunder attributes.
Within the sword's realm, black clouds filled the sky, laced with constant flashes of lightning that looked ready to strike at any moment.
Her only foothold was a tiny mountain peak.
Endless lightning surrounded it, ready to crash down at any second.
Yun Jin looked up at the clouds.
"Thunder attribute, huh..."
Inside the sword space. All the swords watched with anticipation. This was the final hurdle before reaching the giant sword. If Yun Jin could comprehend the true essence of thunder, the last shard would no longer be a problem.
Yun Jin calmed herself and slowly sat down. The moment she settled into position, the first bolt of lightning came crashing down. She remained perfectly still as the thunderbolt slammed into the ground before her, carving a massive crater, its edges scorched black.
This was the power of thunder.
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes.
A second bolt struck.
Another crater, just as destructive.
At the edge of the slope where she sat, a large chunk of earth fell away. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before she had nowhere left to stand. The reward for this trial was probably a fragment.
But—
What exactly was the trial?
And how was she supposed to pass it?
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes, then suddenly reached out her hand.
Thunder, was it?
Good. She could use a bit of that too.
Once her Mystic Codex reached the Golden Core stage, its water attribute had evolved into water-infused thunder.
Perfect time to test it out.
Let's see how her thunder compared to this sword space's thunder.
As another bolt came crashing down, Yun Jin's water dragon surged upward to meet it.
Inside the sword space—
None of the swords blinked.
Using water against thunder?
That couldn't possibly end well.
But in the next instant—
Every sword body trembled in unison.
Yun Jin's water wasn't ordinary.
When the water dragon collided with the thunderbolt, the moisture evaporated instantly, revealing streaks of blue lightning beneath.
This wasn't water against thunder.
It was thunder against thunder!
Yun Jin's water-element spiritual root had long since gained the qualities of lightning. If she wished, she could likely transform all her water-element spiritual power into thunder at will.
Another thunderbolt fell.
Yun Jin calmly summoned another water dragon to intercept it.
Above, massive thunderclaps collided and crackled, lighting up the space in blinding flashes. The whole realm seemed on the verge of collapse.
Yun Jin's small figure, surrounded by all that chaos, looked as if it could be shattered at any moment. Yet she stood firm, the storm of thunder serving only to frame her silhouette.
The giant sword was stunned.
This was... water-infused thunder.
And—
It wasn't something Yun Jin had just comprehended.
She already knew it.
It was—
A trait of her own cultivation technique.
The giant sword recalled Yun Jin's performance through every trial. Its blade began to tremble slightly.
This was...
The Mystic Codex!
The same Mystic Codex its master had once cultivated.
After the master's fall in that great war, most of their techniques and scrolls had been destroyed.
The Mystic Codex had been lost along with its true legacy.
If Yun Jin was truly cultivating the Mystic Codex, then hers might be more authentic than any surviving version.
Even the master had only grasped water-infused thunder at the Mahayana stage.
But Yun Jin?
She was only in the Golden Core stage.
"Master...
Did you foresee that someone like her would come, and that's why you placed me here?"
This thousand-year wait—
In this instant, it was all worth it.
The master must have refused to let the sect's legacy disappear. So they brought in a monster like her to inherit everything.
One day...
She would let the brilliance of the Wushuang Sect shine once more upon this land.
How many years had passed?
A thousand years of numb, motionless silence.
In this moment, the giant sword felt its blade grow warm and damp.
It had waited—
Too long.
"Will Yun Jin pass the trial?"
Outside the water screen, the crowd began to murmur.
"I heard the last two trials are extremely difficult. It's still too early to say."
"She's only been in the ninth trial for an hour. Way too soon to tell."
"Exactly. The ninth trial is the hardest. It should take at least a few days."
Otherwise, Yun Jin's speed would be downright unnatural.
"The last trial isn't something you just breeze through! Sure, speed matters, but one small mistake and you're out. Don't be surprised if she gets teleported out in the next moment! The one who'll truly pass is still Senior Brother Ma," snorted Yu Liangping.
He harbored deep resentment toward Yun Jin and refused to let anyone praise her in his presence.
But as soon as Yu Liangping finished speaking—
In the next instant—
Yun Jin appeared in the water screen.
She had—
Come out.
Everyone stared, momentarily dazed.
It had only been an hour?
How could she pass this trial even faster than the first one?
How... was this even possible?