Gu Qingfeng instantly widened his eyes and stared at Sword Maniac.
Damn it!
That’s not what you said back in the Hanging Heaven Secret Realm!
You claimed you weren’t afraid of death—you just didn’t want to die because you were pursuing the supreme path of the sword. Turns out it was all a lie! Who’d have thought someone as thick-browed and big-eyed as you could be such a fraud?
So you cultivated just to show off, huh?
Dammit, I should’ve known. A guy who pretends to be blind all day—how serious could he be?
Sword Maniac felt the heat of Gu Qingfeng’s gaze and blushed, turning his head away slightly.
Among the seven peak masters, a middle-aged swordsman with a goatee—clearly Sword Maniac’s master—was also awkwardly studying the ceiling as if fascinated by its patterns.
"Gu Qingfeng, the Heart-Questioning Stone isn’t faulty. Answer again," Dugu Wei said, his expression grim.
He never expected that what he assumed was slight exaggeration from Gu Qingfeng—just a bit of embellishment that triggered the stone—was, in reality, not just a drop of water but an entire ocean of lies!
Gu Qingfeng’s face also darkened. Damn it, are they forcing me to tell the truth now?
Fck!
This ruins my image as a peerless genius!
But with no other choice, he steeled himself and spoke honestly.
"I cultivate... to..." He hesitated, struggling to get the words out, then finally threw caution to the wind.
"To live a better life! To have beautiful concubines and women, wealth and luxury, to sleep with the most stunning ladies, ride the wildest horses, drink the finest wine—to do whatever I want, unrestrained, unbound by rules!
Under heaven and earth, I alone reign supreme!"
This time, the Heart-Questioning Stone remained silent.
Everyone stared at Gu Qingfeng in stunned silence, the atmosphere turning eerily still.
Sword Maniac, who had been drowning in embarrassment, suddenly revived like a phoenix.
After a long pause...
"Vulgar!" one peak master spat.
"Utterly tasteless!"
"Beautiful concubines and women? They’re nothing but rotting skeletons! A true cultivator should prioritize the Great Dao!"
"Sect Master, this boy’s temperament is truly—"
"Good!" Dugu Wei suddenly exclaimed. "Such genuine honesty!"
The peak masters: "..."
"As the saying goes, food and lust are human nature. A man’s desires are natural. Your words reveal a heart untainted by pretense."
While speaking, Dugu Wei quickly sent a voice transmission to the other peak masters: "Enough. With talent like his, minor flaws in temperament are acceptable—as long as he doesn’t harm the Sword Sect."
Seeing the sect master’s stance, the peak masters reluctantly conceded. After all, dual-saint physiques were rare. If he wanted to indulge in lust, so be it. Geniuses always had their quirks.
"Now, the third question," Dugu Wei swiftly changed the subject.
"Answering the first two already means you’ve passed the trial. This last one concerns your path in the sword—it will shape your future cultivation. Think carefully before answering."
"Sect Master, please ask."
"You’ve likely heard the saying: ‘All sword techniques originate from the Sword Sect.’ Our sect’s sword path divides into two schools. One focuses on mastering a single sword—the path of ‘one sword to break all techniques.’
The other is the path of sword formations.
Every Sword Sect disciple must choose one. Which will it be?"
Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. Sword cultivation was just sword cultivation—why split it into single-sword mastery and formations?
Wasn’t the essence of a swordsman to break all techniques with one blade?
Sword formations were just a supplementary method. Did they really need their own discipline?
He hesitated, sensing there might be nuances he didn’t understand. Having never studied sword dao systematically, he asked, "Sect Master, why is sword cultivation split into two schools? Is there a deeper reason?"
"That’s a long story," Dugu Wei sighed.
"Then please keep it short."
"Uh..."
"It traces back five thousand years. Back then, the Sword Sect wasn’t divided—all swordsmen focused on mastering a single sword.
But then, disaster struck. The sect suffered heavy losses, with countless disciples perishing and vital manuals destroyed. The deaths of so many experts left the sect weakened, creating a generational gap.
Other forces, seeing the Sword Sect’s decline, circled like vultures, eager to carve it up. But with too few high-level fighters and single-sword mastery requiring lengthy training, the sect teetered on collapse.
At that critical moment, a disciple named Feng Yuan emerged. In an ancient ruin, he obtained one of the Nine Forbidden Arts—the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art.
The Nine Forbidden Arts are the world’s most powerful taboos, and the Heaven-Sealing Art specializes in arrays and seals. At its peak, it’s said to seal even the heavens!
Yet, no matter how strong, it was still an array—not a destructive force capable of saving the sect.
But Feng Yuan was a prodigy. Not only was he a swordmaster, but he also had a gift for arrays. With unparalleled creativity, he fused the Heaven-Sealing Art with the sect’s sword dao, pioneering the path of sword formations.
He devised several formidable sword formations, the strongest being the Seven Swords Immortal-Slaying Formation!
Seven swords united—invincible under heaven!
Your Reverse Scale Sword is one of those seven.
With this formation, even if individual strength fell short, seven swordsmen wielding seven blades could sweep aside all enemies. Thus, the Sword Sect was reborn.
With traditional teachings fragmented and single-sword mastery too slow, more disciples turned to sword formations. Over time, the sect split into two factions.
Of course, both are part of the Sword Sect—neither superior nor inferior. Though disputes arise, they’re merely clashes of pride.
Now that you understand, make your choice. Don’t consider mastering both—these are divergent paths. You can study both, but one must dominate. Every Heavenly Emperor reaches the apex by perfecting a single path.
Sword formations lean more toward array dao than sword dao.
My advice? Choose single-sword mastery. Though its power takes time to mature, its late-stage potential is unmatched. The Sword Heavenly Emperor is proof!"
Ahem. The sole female peak master interjected, "Sect Master, that’s biased. Without sword formations, the sect would’ve fallen long ago. Moreover, high-level sword formations rival any technique.
Just because no one has become a Heavenly Emperor through them yet doesn’t mean it’s impossible."
"Gu Qingfeng, you possess the Seven Apertures Exquisite Body, with peerless innate talent and comprehension. Such a constitution is undoubtedly the most suited for the path of sword formations. If you join my Frostpeak Sect, I will impart the entirety of the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Arts to you without reservation."
"Junior Sister Lin, Gu Qingfeng is the master of the Reverse Scale Sword. By both reason and principle, he should join our Reverse Scale Peak. Your actions here are somewhat excessive," Meng Yan interjected swiftly.
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
