East Continent, Wushang Sword Sect, Ten-Mile Slope Sword Tomb.
The night had grown deep.
Chen Xuan, dressed in white robes and holding a three-foot longsword, leisurely walked along the barren path of the Sword Tomb where no grass grew.
Clang!
The sword in his hand slid from its sheath. A streak of sword light tore through space, and in an instant, a giant wolf-like resentful spirit ten feet away split in two and fell to the ground, then transformed into specks of white light that entered his body.
"Three years... finally level 121."
"When will I become a peerless expert?"
Looking at the desolate Sword Tomb in the night, Chen Xuan's expression fell as he muttered to himself.
He was a transmigrator from Blue Star, having come to this cultivation world over three years ago.
He had thought he would be like the protagonists in novels - cultivating with his left hand while romancing beauties with his right, accomplishing great deeds.
But reality quickly defeated him. He had neither a mysterious old grandfather nor a system.
Aside from a panel that let him level up by killing monsters, all he had was a handsome face.
"But in this world full of danger, where demon lords, monsters, and evil cultivators roam everywhere, good looks alone are useless. Strength is what matters."
Chen Xuan's gaze swept around before finally landing on the three Emperor Swords standing atop the mountain peak. Legend said they were the paired swords of three Immortal Emperor-level experts.
One sword could part heaven and earth.
But a thousand years had passed. The Wushang Sword Sect had been in decline for a millennium. In its glory days it had tens of thousands of disciples; now only a handful remained - just the sect master and a few disciples.
The sect's heritage had been completely lost. Even their mountain gate had shrunk from vast territories to a single low, small peak, along with a Sword Tomb full of broken and severed blades.
Every day it merely spawned weak resentful spirits, serving as grinding tools for Chen Xuan's leveling.
"I wonder what kind of resentful spirits these three Immortal Emperor swords will spawn today. It'd be nice if they gave more experience..."
"Then my volunteering to guard this desolate Sword Tomb won't have been in vain, spending every night swinging my sword at these spirits."
"Unfortunately, I've ground them too many times. Now each one only gives one point of experience. Who knows when I'll level up again."
Chen Xuan glanced at his leveling panel. He needed 100,000 experience to reach level 122, and a single ordinary resentful spirit gave only a pitiful one point!
"Sigh, when will I reach max level and become a peerless expert!"
"Hmm... a real man must endure loneliness, slay resentful spirits, and level up."
"To the mountain!"
As he spoke, Chen Xuan's eyes grew bright, his face filled with determination. Gripping his precious sword, he strode rapidly toward the summit.
Upon reaching the peak, Chen Xuan had barely drawn his sword when a demon radiating supreme majesty drifted out from one of the divine swords. The moment it opened its eyes, heaven and earth changed color, and the demonic qi it emanated covered the sky and moon.
In an instant, the giants and ancestors of the East Continent who were in seclusion or feigning death all opened their eyes, exclaiming: "This is the aura of a Heavenly Demon! Has a Heavenly Demon appeared?"
They issued orders for their disciples to investigate the source of the demonic presence.
Meanwhile, Chen Xuan, the culprit behind all this, looked at the demon before him with excitement. He could clearly sense that this resentful spirit was the strongest he'd encountered so far - which meant more experience points.
"Finally, a worthy opponent."
Before he finished speaking, he casually swung the sword in his hand. Sword light flashed, and the demon exploded into specks of white light.
"Indeed, my swordsmanship still needs improvement. If its true form were here, that single strike wouldn't have killed it. I need another strike!"
With that, Chen Xuan sheathed his sword and walked down the mountain.
Accompanied by moonlight and riding the breeze, Chen Xuan strode forward with sword in hand. Soon he spotted an old pavilion.
Every brick and tile of the pavilion bore the marks of time, yet it was spotless. An ancient plaque bore three characters - Wenjian Pavillion.
Chen Xuan pushed open the gates. Inside, lanterns illuminated the space. What caught his eye were three statues of Sword Emperors - these were the former giants of the Wushang Sword Sect, each one an existence that had shaken the eight wastelands.
He bowed to the three Sword Emperors. Just as he was about to close the door and wash up, he heard hurried footsteps approaching from afar.
He subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound. Under the moonlight, a figure rushed toward Ask Sword Pavilion, the voice arriving before the person.
"Senior Brother Chen Xuan, something terrible has happened! Eldest Brother Zhao Youqian has been captured by a monster!"
As soon as the words fell, a young woman in green robes, sword in hand, landed before Chen Xuan. It was the Wushang Sword Sect's junior sister Zhou Yuanyuan, who had only joined the sect last year.
Zhou Yuanyuan seemed to have rushed a long way. Her pretty face was flushed, her cherry lips constantly panting, her green robes heaving.
Terms like "baby-faced with a mature figure" and "legal loli" flashed through Chen Xuan's mind, but his expression remained serious as he asked, "Who was captured?"
"Eldest Brother Zhao Youqian."
Zhou Yuanyuan said anxiously. After all, Eldest Brother had been captured by that monster while helping her Zhou family resolve a problem. If something happened to him, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.
She had originally wanted to ask the sect's elders for help, but then remembered that the sect master who had recruited her wasn't even at the sect - he was wandering the world recruiting disciples.
Now the highest-ranking members of the entire sect, besides the captured Eldest Brother, was only the Sword Keeper Senior Brother before her eyes.
As for the other senior brothers... better not mention them.
"That bull demon has some nerve, daring to capture my Wushang Sword Sect's eldest disciple. Today I will execute justice and slay that monster!"
Chen Xuan said righteously. He had originally planned to cultivate until mastering his peerless sword technique before descending the mountain, but the current situation wouldn't allow him to continue training at the Sword Tomb.
Eldest Brother Zhao Youqian, while not matching him in strength or looks, was truly wealthy - he had even won the title of Eldest Brother through money alone.
What Chen Xuan appreciated most was Zhao Youqian's generosity. The entire Wushang Sword Sect's daily expenses were covered by him alone.
If this wealthy patron were gone, the entire Wushang Sword Sect would be eating dirt. Chen Xuan wouldn't be able to level up in peace either. So saving Eldest Brother was urgent.
Zhou Yuanyuan was bewildered by Chen Xuan's attitude. The senior brothers in the sect all said the Sword Keeper was reclusive and rarely interacted with others. This wasn't reclusive at all - he was clearly a warm-hearted cultivator with a chivalrous spirit!
But she hadn't lost her head. She knew good intentions alone were useless. She warned him earnestly:
"Senior Brother Chen, that bull demon is a True Destiny realm great monster with over five hundred years of cultivation. More than a dozen cultivators from my Zhou family plus Eldest Brother couldn't defeat it together!"
In this world, cultivators were divided into twelve realms: Shedding Mortality, Dao Foundation, True Destiny, Heavenly Essence, Nurturing Spirit, Fusion, Fish-Dragon, Half-Sage, Sage Venerable, Divine King, Divine Emperor, and Immortal Emperor.
In the entire Dongyang Prefecture, there were only a handful of True Destiny cultivators among human cultivators. Zhou Yuanyuan worried that this Sword Keeper Senior Brother might meet the same fate as Brother Zhao.
"Oh."
Chen Xuan didn't pay the slightest attention to his junior sister's words. Picking up the precious sword at his side, he said confidently, "Don't worry, this sword is enough!"