Chapter 5

At noon, Huang Laoliu returned with a strong smell of alcohol, holding a gourd that could hold three catties of wine, swaying as he walked.

As soon as he entered the Sword Pavilion, he darted to the long table, his movements extremely agile.

On the long table, there were three spirit stones.

Reaching out to touch and polish the spirit stones, Huang Laoliu grinned, "Xiao Han, you're quite capable. You've only been here in the Sword Pavilion for a short time, and you've already earned some spirit stones."

As he spoke, he stuffed one spirit stone into his pocket and pushed the other two toward Han Muye.

There was an unwritten rule in the Sword Pavilion: when there were benefits, the observer and the sword guardian split them 30-70.

Currently, there were only Han Muye and Huang Laoliu here. Han Muye had collected ten spirit stones and gave three to Huang Laoliu.

"Keep them; you'll need them soon."

Hearing this, Han Muye smiled and shook his head, "They're all yours, Brother Liu. I've already taken my share."

Taken?

The three on the table weren't all of them?

"Ten spirit stones? Who's the fool—?" Huang Laoliu widened his eyes, looking at Han Muye and lowering his voice, "Don't tell me it's some elder, direct disciple, or inner gate elite. Their spirit stones aren't easy to get."

Previously, Huang Laoliu had explained the rules of the Sword Pavilion to Han Muye. It was fine to take some benefits, but one had to have a good eye.

Elders and direct disciples of the sword gate, as well as elite disciples of the inner gate, all had bright futures. If you took their spirit stones, they might come back to haunt you when they became powerful.

Although the life of a sword observer was often short, there was always a chance they might live longer and settle old scores.

Hearing Huang Laoliu's words, Han Muye smiled and waved his hand, spreading out the book in front of him: "Outer gate, one hundred, Jiang Han."

"Outer gate, one hundred? You managed to get ten spirit stones from such a guy..." Huang Laoliu took all the spirit stones on the table, muttered a few words, and then walked into his small room with the wine gourd.

Just as he reached the door, he turned around and said, "I'll guard the Sword Pavilion this afternoon. You should go around the sect and see things for yourself."

Pausing, he added, "Seven spirit stones can buy you two Solidifying Pills at the Alchemy Hall."

"These pills can strengthen your muscles and bones, allowing you to live a few more days under the erosion of sword qi."

"Alright, thank you, Brother Liu." Han Muye smiled and bowed.

Watching Huang Laoliu shake his head and walk away, Han Muye wasn't sure if he was genuinely concerned or just wanted to guard the Sword Pavilion in the afternoon to catch a few more "fat sheep."

But being able to leave the Sword Pavilion was exactly what Han Muye wanted.

He hadn't infiltrated the Nine Profound Sword Gate just to wait for death in the Sword Pavilion.

After lunch at the nearest dining hall, Han Muye didn't return to the Sword Pavilion.

The Nine Profound Sword Gate had hundreds of thousands of people, and the Nine Profound Mountain stretched for a hundred miles, divided into various areas. There were thousands of dining halls for the disciples alone.

Nearly a hundred thousand servants were there to take care of the disciples' daily needs.

Han Muye didn't go to the Alchemy Hall that Huang Laoliu mentioned right away. Instead, he asked around and found the Skill Hall where new disciples practiced.

Outer gate disciples didn't have their own masters and practiced in various Skill Halls. After three years, those who showed outstanding talent could enter the inner gate.

Of course, three years was the minimum. Some stayed in the outer gate for eight to ten years, or even a lifetime as outer gate disciples.

When Han Muye arrived at the Skill Hall, a few young disciples were already practicing martial techniques and strengthening their bodies on the hundred-foot square stone plaza.

The plaza was equipped with various stone locks, iron chains, and weapons of different lengths.

Not all disciples in the Nine Profound Sword Gate practiced swordsmanship; other weapons were also allowed.

Han Muye glanced at the disciples and shook his head slightly.

They were terrible.

Their techniques were poor, and their learning was even worse.

He had no interest in this.

"Coach Lin is here!"

As he turned halfway around, a commotion arose on the plaza. A man in a gray robe strode over.

The man wore a gray martial uniform, had a bronze complexion, and large limbs, with a large sword on his back.

He walked straight to the stone steps of the plaza and sat down. The new disciples quickly sat in front of him, straightening their backs and focusing their eyes.

Han Muye found a spot a bit to the side and sat down.

"Yesterday, I taught you the basics of boxing and kicking. You must practice diligently to strengthen your muscles and bones. Today, I will teach you a sword technique."

Hearing that they would learn a sword technique, the seated disciples all lit up with excitement.

They had come to the Nine Profound Sword Gate to learn swordsmanship, after all.

Han Muye also sat up a bit straighter.

"Cough, cough. Before I teach you the sword technique, I must introduce the heritage of our Nine Profound Sword Gate."

Coughing lightly, Coach Lin straightened his posture and looked solemn.

Han Muye knew this was a necessary step before teaching any skills in any sect.

Ideological shaping, the cultivation of sect honor, and the fostering of collective consciousness were more important than teaching sword techniques.

Otherwise, no matter how good the skills were, what if they all turned into ingrates?

Coach Lin's voice was loud and passionate as he introduced the glorious history of the Nine Profound Sword Gate, making the disciples almost cheer.

But to Han Muye, the Nine Profound Sword Gate was indeed quite impressive.

In the western border of the Heavenly Profound World, it was one of the top nine sects, ranking third among the four top sword cultivation sects in the western border, not at the bottom.

The western border spanned countless miles, with countless sects. To be one of the top sects showed its strength.

Cultivation in the world was divided into three realms and nine stages: the Human Realm, the Earth Realm, and the Heaven Realm, with three minor stages in each realm.

In the Nine Profound Sword Gate, there were several experts who had reached the Heaven Realm.

"Do you think sword cultivators are the same as ordinary martial cultivators?"

Coach Lin's face was full of pride as he looked around and shouted, "We, sword cultivators, are invincible at our level—"

Invincible at our level!

This bold and grand statement made the new disciples, who had just entered the gate, extremely excited, eager to learn the sword technique and become invincible at their level.

"Our sword experts from the Nine Profound Sword Gate can fight multiple opponents and are revered as sword immortals."

The burly Coach Lin stood on the stone steps, legs apart, head held high.

"Of course, sword cultivation is also one of the most difficult paths in the world."

Slowly drawing his long sword, Coach Lin seemed to emit a strange aura.

"Our sword techniques in the Nine Profound Sword Gate are divided into five elements, each starting from the Profound Origin Sword Technique and progressing to the sect's supreme Nine Profound, with ten levels in total."

"Today, I will teach you one move, the Profound Origin Sword Technique, Stone Splitting!"

As he spoke, he raised the large sword high and brought it down with a heavy chop.

"Boom—"

The stone railing in front of the plaza cracked and split into two halves!

Debris flew everywhere, scaring the new disciples sitting in front to roll and crawl away in a panic.

Coach Lin laughed and held the large sword horizontally, the hilt pointing forward.

"Did you see clearly?"

"Who wants to demonstrate it?"

See clearly?

Demonstrate?

All the disciples shook their heads.

They had been too focused on the performance to see how the sword was chopped down.

Coach Lin frowned, about to speak, when he suddenly heard a voice.

"Coach Lin, I want to try."

He turned to see Han Muye walking forward, reaching out and lightly grabbing the hilt of the large sword he offered.