Jiang Yunge glanced at Li Shuang in surprise.
Sword Domain?
What was that?
She had never even heard of such a concept, yet Li Shuang and Deacon Lin clearly knew what it meant. And to see the usually reserved Deacon Lin this excited—it immediately stirred her curiosity.
Li Shuang, however, remained calm.
For ten long years, her cultivation had stagnated. On one hand, she never gave up, continuing to cultivate spiritual power every day, clinging to the hope of a miracle. On the other, she immersed herself more and more in the way of the sword.
Ten years without progress in cultivation—But ten years of steadily sharpening her comprehension of the sword.
Then came the day she opened the inheritance space.
Senior Su Mu had been a true mentor.
Ten days of focused guidance had pushed her sword comprehension to the critical point. After five more days of painstaking concentration, she finally crossed the threshold—mastering her own Sword Domain.
For a true sword cultivator, the Sword Domain was the first true step toward the peak.
And she had taken it.
"Let me see, let me see," Deacon Lin muttered, his eyes fixed hungrily on the image stone.
Ye Zhaozhao, watching him, suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Sword Domain? What was that?
She could steal Li Shuang's cultivation with her system, but she couldn't steal Li Shuang's comprehension of the sword.
Even after advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage, she was still nothing more than a novice in swordsmanship.
She tried to study the projection, but no matter how she looked, she couldn't understand it.
Wait—no. Something was wrong.
Her eyes widened in realization.
The moment the image was magnified, everyone finally saw it clearly.
As Li Shuang walked through the storm of sword strikes, her eyes were closed.
Closed!
And yet, despite the overwhelming rain of blades, her lips held a serene smile, her steps light and unhurried, as though she were strolling through a garden.
With a single graceful strike, she had knocked Shi Chuyun's Spring Rain Sword aside.
"Look, look!" Chang Le'an shouted eagerly. "She didn't even hold on to her sword! This Shi Chuyun is acting—it's obvious this match was fake! This proves Li Shuang bribed her!"
His eyes burned with hatred. This time, he would avenge the twenty strikes his junior sister had suffered!
"Deacon Lin! You can announce the result now! Li Shuang and Shi Chuyun staged a fake fight—they both must be punished!"
But Deacon Lin ignored him.
He was still staring at the video, playing it again with rapt attention.
"Deacon Lin, you—" Chang Le'an tried to continue, but Deacon Lin impatiently waved a hand. Spiritual power sealed Chang Le'an's mouth shut.
The young man thrashed in fury, but he could no longer utter a sound.
"When did this happen?" Deacon Lin asked, his gaze fixed on Li Shuang.
"This morning," Li Shuang replied calmly.
Deacon Lin suddenly slammed the table. "Good! Good! Excellent!"
Everyone stared at him in shock.
What was good?
Why was Deacon Lin so excited?
"There is nothing wrong with this match!" Deacon Lin declared firmly. He shot Chang Le'an a cold glance. "Focus on your own cultivation instead of slandering others. This photo stone will stay with me. Now leave."
His tone was final.
Everyone stood frozen.
Chang Le'an's face twisted with rage. If his mouth hadn't been sealed, he would have screamed in protest.
Deacon Lin, however, turned back to Li Shuang, his eyes gleaming. "Li Shuang, practice well. Tomorrow, I look forward to your next match."
Li Shuang nodded slightly.
The crowd exchanged puzzled looks.
Deacon Lin was a cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Stage. Li Shuang was only in the Qi Training Stage.
And yet… when he looked at her, there was a trace of envy in his eyes.
What could make a Spirit Transformation expert envy a Qi Training disciple?
Could it truly be because of this so-called Sword Domain?
Though confused, the disciples eventually dispersed.
But the word had already spread like wildfire—Sword Domain.
Meanwhile, Deacon Lin clutched the image stone like a priceless treasure as he hurried off to find Pang Zhixue.
Pang Zhixue studied it carefully, then immediately sought out the headmaster.
The Sword Sect prided itself on its unique sword spirit cultivation techniques, but in terms of sheer swordsmanship, they ranked low among the Six Sects.
Cangyuan Sect, the current number one, had produced a peerless young genius: Yan Fan.
Before reaching fifty, Yan Fan had already entered the Spirit Transformation Stage, and his mastery of the sword was so profound that he had condensed a Sword Domain—making him the undisputed leader of the younger generation.
But now, the Sword Sect also had a prodigy.
Li Shuang.
Though slightly younger than Yan Fan, her sword comprehension was already comparable to any genius among the Six Sects.
Meng Yifei's eyes gleamed as he watched the image, though regret soon clouded his expression.
Li Shuang's talent was unquestionable.
But her cultivation was still stuck at the Qi Training Stage.
And her mysterious stagnation after reaching Nascent Soul years ago had never been resolved.
If the same problem resurfaced later, no matter how great her swordsmanship, her future achievements would be limited.
"If not for her ten-year silence, Li Shuang would likely already be in the Spirit Transformation Stage by now," Pang Zhixue said regretfully. "The foremost talent of this generation should have been from our Sword Sect."
Back when Li Shuang had first joined, her progress had been astonishing. She had given them hope for the sect's rise.
But then she vanished from the stage for ten years, and their faith shifted to other disciples.
Who could have imagined she would return with such a shocking display?
"The true power of the Supreme Forgetfulness Technique is still unknown. If she has truly switched to it, perhaps she can overcome the Nascent Soul bottleneck," Meng Yifei said. His voice grew sharp. "Arrange for Li Shuang's next match to be on the central stage. I want to see her skill with my own eyes."
Pang Zhixue bowed.
As the head of the Law Enforcement Hall and Meng Yifei's trusted confidant, he understood better than anyone how precarious their sect's current position was. Without a peerless talent, they risked losing their place among the Six Sects.
That was why the sect had poured so many resources into nurturing gifted disciples.
Li Shuang had always been one of their brightest hopes.
And now, she might truly prove herself.
"If tomorrow confirms she has mastered the Sword Domain… and if she can continue to break through her limits…" Pang Zhixue thought, his heart pounding.
Then their Sword Sect would finally have the genius they so desperately needed.
"Li Shuang…" Meng Yifei murmured, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
Others in the sect whispered that he had been too lenient, too concerned with harmony. He had heard the rumors but never cared.
For him, the only thing that mattered was stability.
But if Li Shuang truly displayed overwhelming value—
Then he would not hesitate to show his bias.
From that day forward.