Chapter 6

A hoarse and aged voice came from upstairs, stopping the gray-robed steward in his tracks.

"Head of the Hall!"

At the top of the stairs stood a stern-faced old man in black, his gaze severe, exuding an overwhelming pressure.

"Pay respects to the Head of the Hall!"

The other outer disciples in the main hall of the Hall of Affairs, upon seeing the old man, changed their expressions and knelt down to pay their respects.

This old man was the Head of the Hall of Affairs, with his cultivation reaching the ninth level of Martial Dao.

The tenth level of Martial Dao had three major thresholds, each step bringing one closer to the limits of the physical body, making it increasingly difficult to advance.

Within the entire Green Cloud Sect, apart from the Sect Master, there were very few who had reached the ninth level of Martial Dao. Even in the entire Tian Shui Kingdom, the Head of the Hall was considered one of the few formidable experts, with formidable strength.

On a regular basis, this old man oversaw the Hall of Affairs and rarely interfered in specific matters.

"Steward Yang, I know what happened. You did nothing wrong, but since he has passed your test, don't make things difficult for him. As an apology, you are responsible for providing him with the sect's clothing, entry-level cultivation techniques, and weapons."

"Yes, yes, the Head of the Hall is right. I will certainly follow your instructions."

The old man nodded slightly at this, glanced at Lin Yun, and then turned to leave.

The gray-robed steward let out a huge sigh of relief, grateful that the Head of the Hall did not punish him. Today, he had been quite lucky.

But thinking that he, a steward, had to personally provide this sword slave with clothing, select cultivation techniques, and weapons, he felt somewhat displeased.

"Follow me."

He said this without much enthusiasm and led Lin Yun upstairs.

As Lin Yun disappeared upstairs, the Green Cloud Sect disciples in the main hall all thought that Lin Yun had good luck.

If the Head of the Hall had not appeared, Lin Yun would have certainly faced more hardship today.

As for the fallen Zhou Ping, he could only consider himself unlucky, and no one cared about him anymore.

The second floor of the Hall of Affairs was a crucial area of the sect.

Most of the cultivation techniques and martial arts collected by the entire Green Cloud Sect were stored here. New outer disciples had one free opportunity to choose cultivation techniques and martial arts, and after that, they would need to make contributions to exchange for them.

"Choose a cultivation technique first. Reaching the third level of Martial Dao allows one to cultivate inner strength. This is where the inner strength cultivation techniques are placed."

Steward Yang led Lin Yun to a row of bookshelves, pointed, and did not wish to say more.

Lin Yun did not hesitate, came to the bookshelf, and quickly flipped through the cultivation techniques.

"Green Cloud Technique, Wind and Thunder Strength, Green Water Technique..."

Seeing the speed at which Lin Yun flipped through the books, a mocking smile appeared on Steward Yang's lips. A sword slave is a sword slave; flipping through them so quickly, he probably wouldn't understand a single one.

If he had a bit of discernment, he would have asked for my guidance on how to choose.

"Steward Yang, I choose this one."

"Pure Yang Technique."

Steward Yang took it and looked at it, his expression becoming strange, inwardly sneering.

Those who cultivate the Pure Yang Technique have heavy and fierce inner strength, but this technique is slow to cultivate, and most who choose it in the sect eventually give up.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

The gray-robed steward smiled and said, "You have good discernment. This technique is quite suitable for you."

Lin Yun read the expressions and knew that this gray-robed steward was insincere and had ill intentions.

However, in just a moment, he had already read through the summaries of all the cultivation techniques on the bookshelf.

Every word was imprinted in his mind.

After careful consideration, he chose the Pure Yang Technique. The ten levels of Martial Dao are all about refining the physical body. The heavy and fierce inner strength of the Pure Yang Technique undoubtedly suited him the most.

Next, he chose a martial art. Martial arts, like cultivation techniques, are divided into basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Lin Yun chose an intermediate sword technique, the Flowing Wind Sword Technique, known for its immense destructive power and agility.

"Don't blame me for not warning you. The Flowing Wind Sword Technique has high requirements for comprehension. Many inner disciples find it difficult to master."

Steward Yang saw that Lin Yun had chosen another "wrong" technique.

He thought, since it was a task given by the Head of the Hall, he should give some guidance to avoid any trouble.

"No problem, thank you for the warning, Steward Yang."

"You're ungrateful!"

Steward Yang's face darkened, and he muttered under his breath, then ignored Lin Yun.

In the Hall of Affairs' weapon vault.

Since he had chosen a sword technique, the weapon naturally had to be a sword. Steward Yang did not give him a chance to choose and casually handed him one.

Lin Yun drew the sword and examined it, finding the three-foot blade satisfactory.

This sword was made from refined blue steel, the standard sword for sect disciples. As a sword slave, Lin Yun had seen many of them.

Judging by the patterns on the blade, it was of a high quality among blue steel swords.

Snap!

Without warning, the blade suddenly broke and clattered to the ground.

In his hand, only half of the sword remained.

"What's going on?"

Steward Yang snatched the blade, examined it for a long time, and cursed, "Change it. The person in charge of purchasing blue steel swords for the sect has been passing off inferior ones as good ones again."

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Three more swords were changed, and each one broke without warning. Steward Yang looked Lin Yun up and down. "You, a sword slave, aren't causing trouble, are you?"

Lin Yun's sword-nurturing technique was somewhat famous within the Green Cloud Sect.

The continuous breaking of four blue steel swords made Steward Yang suspicious.

Lin Yun was also puzzled and said, "I don't have that ability, and I wouldn't cause trouble. How about, Steward, let me choose myself?"

"Nice try, wait here!"

Steward Yang glared at Lin Yun, rummaged through a pile of discarded swords in a corner of the weapon vault, and his eyes lit up.

He pulled out a rusty, dusty old sword and handed it to Lin Yun without a word.

Before Lin Yun could draw the sword, he pushed him out, "Go back and test the sword. Don't cause trouble here. If you break it again, I won't have any swords left for you."

After breaking four swords, Lin Yun felt a bit embarrassed and had to give up.

As they parted, Steward Yang looked at Lin Yun and said, "Are you sure you won't change the Flowing Wind Sword Technique?"

"Change?"

"Ha, you have spirit. The comprehension required for this technique is far beyond what a sword slave can imagine. If you don't change it now, don't come begging me to change it later. I won't do it!"

"Goodbye."

Steward Yang sneered inwardly at Lin Yun's persistence, thinking, "There will be a time when you'll come begging me!"

Two hours later.

In front of Lin Yun's small wooden house, he changed into the sect's uniform. He wore a white robe inside and a blue long robe outside, making his handsome face look more spirited.

On the empty ground in front of the wooden house, the sound of the sword whistled as Lin Yun wielded it, his movements fluid and graceful.

If Steward Yang were here, he would have been shocked and disbelieving.

The Flowing Wind Sword Technique, which ordinary people could not master in half a month, was effortlessly performed by Lin Yun.

"It's not that difficult."

In just two hours, Lin Yun had grasped the basic sword techniques of the Flowing Wind Sword Technique.

Besides the basic techniques, the Flowing Wind Sword Technique had three major killing moves: Gathering Sword into Wind, Reflecting Light and Flowing Shadow, and Wind Passing Without a Trace.

The sword technique was still far from mastery, but it wouldn't take long.

Examining the sword, Lin Yun was thoughtful. This was the old sword given to him by Steward Yang.

The sword was two fingers wide, three feet and three inches long, and the blade was dull. The body of the sword was dark green and brown, looking old and worn, with no luster.

Tapping it lightly, the heavy sword did not produce a clear metallic sound.

Lin Yun deduced that it was likely made from a metal tree, directly polished.

Besides metal, bones, stones, and metal trees could also be made into swords, though they were rare.

Metal trees were not their official name but referred to sharp plants that could match the hardness of metal.

When Old Hong taught him the sword-nurturing technique, he gave him a book of famous swords, which recorded many renowned swords in the world.

Among them were some rare treasures made from natural plants.

Many plants could be made into swords, the most famous being the ancient Jianmu.

The source of this sword in his hand was unclear.

However, its dull color and lack of spiritual energy suggested that it was likely a broken sword, no matter its origin.

For a plant to be made into a sword, the most important thing was the natural Dao aura and spiritual energy. Without special care, over time, the spiritual energy would dissipate, and the Dao aura would fade, making it no better than an ordinary sword.

But Lin Yun was still happy. At least this sword didn't break.

With proper care, it would be sufficient.

Sheathing the sword, Lin Yun took out the Pure Yang Technique, looking forward to it. "It's time to cultivate inner strength."

Without cultivating inner strength, there would be no way out. The third level of Martial Dao was the true beginning of a martial artist.

Sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes, Lin Yun sensed the inner strength within his body and carefully circulated it using the Pure Yang Technique.

At first, he was not proficient.

The inner strength moved chaotically within his body, hard to control, like an eel.

By the time he mastered it, it was already dark.

Under the starry sky, Lin Yun's anticipation reached its peak. He finally succeeded in circulating the Pure Yang Technique.

His mind sank, and as the Pure Yang Technique circulated, Lin Yun entered a mysterious state.

As the inner strength flowed within his body, he could see his internal organs clearly, a wondrous experience.

Internal vision!

After reaching the third level of Martial Dao and cultivating a technique, one could internally visualize the body's organs, thus truly embarking on the path of a martial artist.

However, Lin Yun, immersed in the cultivation of the technique, did not notice.

In the mysterious space above his dantian, an ancient broken sword existed alone, its hilt wrapped in nine chains extending into the darkness.

As he circulated the Pure Yang Technique, a faint spiritual light fell upon the broken sword, causing ripples.

With the falling of the spiritual light, the ends of the chains stirred in the darkness.

It was strange and mysterious.