Everyone waited for around two hours before the sound of footsteps resounded from within the hall. Xiong Shan's short and chubby figure walked out slowly with a solemn expression.
A hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes when he saw that the hall was filled with people.
"Greetings, Vice Daolord Xiong!" Everyone in the hall stood up at the same time and bowed to Xiong Shan.
"There's no need for formalities. Come with me." Xiong Shan waved his hand slightly, and then he turned around and walked towards a corner door in the hall.
Everyone in the hall hurriedly followed him. They silently followed Xiong Shan through the corner door, passed through a long corridor, and arrived at a place that seemed like a training ground.
The place was around three thousand meters in size, but apart from the ten enormous stone swords that were laid flat on the ground, it seemed to be empty, and there was nothing else there.
Every single one of these stone swords was around seven or eight meters tall, and their bodies were extremely thick. Extremely complicated patterns were inscribed on them, and they emitted a strange aura that seemed like sword qi, yet it was completely different from sword qi.
Han Li glanced at the stone swords, and his eyes revealed slight surprise before he seemed to understand something.
"I'm sure all of you know the contents of this mission.
I need the assistance of ten people who are proficient in the Sword Dao to help me refine a magic treasure.
Since there are over forty of you here, I've arranged for this test to test your cultivation in the Sword Dao, "Xiong Shan said straightforwardly.
Everyone present had some guesses about this before this, so not many of them revealed expressions of surprise. However, when the earth-born elders, Qi Liang, and the other non-earth-born elders looked at each other, their hostility deepened.
"Vice Daolord Xiong is the number one sword cultivator amongst the 36 Vice Daolords of our sect. I believe that even if we only participate in this test, it'll be greatly beneficial to our cultivation and comprehension in the future.
You've really put a lot of thought into this. "Zhu Feng suddenly stood out from the crowd and laughed heartily.
He was arrogant when he faced the others, but he was smiling at this moment, and he seemed extremely humble.
Many people turned their heads to look at Zhufeng the moment those words were spoken.
Xiong Shan's gaze also swept towards the front. Although his expression did not change much, his originally cold gaze unconsciously became a bit warmer. He then said indifferently, "The test that I have arranged this time is actually very simple. I believe all of you have seen the stone swords at the side. They are the 'Yuan Ni Stone Swords' that I have refined using a unique method. There are special restrictions inside, and only those who are truly proficient in the Imperial Sword Technique can control them.
All of you come forward and try. The result of the test will be determined by the number of stone swords you control. "
When Han Li saw this, just like the others, he shot his gaze towards those stone rooms.
This testing method was indeed novel.
However, this was the first time everyone present had heard of the Origin Defying Stone Sword. Although there were only ten of them, Xiong Shan said it so solemnly. Everyone looked at each other and hesitated for a moment. No one stepped forward to try. Even Zhu Feng showed a trace of hesitation.
"Brother Han Li, what do you think?" Qi Liang moved closer to Han Li with an uneasy look in his eyes.
"I can't see anything for the time being.
However, this Origin Defying Stone Sword is definitely not as simple as it looks on the surface. I'm afraid it won't be easy to activate, "Han Li pondered for a moment and replied with a voice transmission.
The others were also communicating with their Divine Thoughts and discussing animatedly.
When Xiong Shan saw everyone's hesitation, he was a little displeased and snorted coldly, "I only need to find ten people who meet my expectations. When the ten candidates are filled, the test will be declared over."
As soon as he said that, everyone's expression changed. Without hesitation, a bald inner court elder immediately flew to the stone swords.
"I'll go first!"
When Xiong Shan saw this, he nodded slowly.
Qi Liang glanced at the surrounding people who were looking at him fervently and transmitted his voice to Han Li, "Brother Li, when are you going to enter and try?"
"There's no rush.
Although Xiong Shan said that, the word 'intention' was completely up to him.
Since so many people have come, he will definitely select the best and will definitely see to the end.
Let the people in front test out the truth of these stone swords and take the opportunity to observe a little, "Han Li replied with a voice transmission.
"Brother Li is wise!" Qi Liang was startled and immediately understood.
There were a few people who seemed to have the same opinion as Han Li. They had a leisurely expression and seemed to be in no hurry to go forward.
At this moment, the bald elder in the field lightly exhaled, a faint white light emitted from his body, and a bone-piercing chill instantly appeared in the surroundings.
Om!
A dazzling white light erupted from this person's body and condensed into the shadow of a snow-white greatsword.
A ghastly icy Sword Insight emitted, and countless crystalline snowflakes immediately appeared in the nearby void. They fluttered in the sky beautifully.
Han Li raised his brows slightly. This bald elder's Sword Dao cultivation isn't weak.
These snowflakes looked ordinary, but they weren't formed by the condensation of cold air from the water vapor in the void. Instead, they were formed by the released strands of Sword Qi. This kind of technique required an extremely exquisite control of the Sword Dao, and it wasn't simple.
"Rise!"
The bald elder shouted in a low voice. He formed a sword gesture with his hand and pointed out.
The greatsword shadow above his head immediately split apart, and a snow-white sword shadow flew out and entered a stone sword.
The greatsword shadow flashed and immediately shrank a little.
A layer of snow-white light immediately appeared on the stone sword. At this moment, the rune patterns on the sword suddenly lit up with rays of black light, and they flickered quickly like dancing flames.
The snow-white light on the sword seemed to have met its nemesis, and it immediately dissipated by more than half.
Seeing this, the bald elder hurriedly formed sword gestures again and again. The greatsword shadow around him lit up, and another sword shadow split apart. It was several times larger than the previous one, and it flashed and disappeared into the stone sword.
The greatsword shadow suddenly trembled and immediately shrank a lot.
A rich snow-white light appeared on the stone sword, and there were countless small white sword-like runes in the light.
Although the black light on the surface of the stone sword flickered again and attacked the snow-white light, the snow-white light was much more resilient at this moment. It didn't immediately disperse, and it seemed to be resisting tenaciously.
"Rise!" The bald elder's eyes slightly widened, and he lightly shouted again.
The greatsword trembled and slowly floated up.
Although it had flown up, the black light on the stone sword did not stop. Instead, it flashed even more violently, causing it to tremble unstably.
The bald elder's face froze, and he quickly formed hand gestures with his hands. He continuously used secret techniques, and with great difficulty, he managed to stabilize the stone sword.
He exhaled, and sweat appeared on his forehead. He looked at the other stone sword.
When the people behind saw the bald elder's situation, their expressions all became solemn.
A layer of faint blue light appeared in Han Li's eyes. He stared closely at the stone sword floating in the air, as if he was trying to figure out something.
The bald elder did not pause for long. He once again formed hand gestures, and a white sword shadow entered the second stone sword. His hands formed hand gestures, and his face gradually turned from red to white.
The surface of the second stone sword flashed wildly, and after a while, it finally slowly floated up.
Bean-sized beads of sweat appeared on the bald elder's forehead. His face had already become as pale as paper, as if he was carrying a great burden.
He panted slightly, gritted his teeth, and suddenly turned his head to look at the third stone sword. He formed hand gestures with both hands.
Controlling the two stone swords was already close to the bald elder's limit. Now that he was distracted again, the two stone swords in the air immediately began to tremble.
He let out a low shout, and his eyes widened. He did his best to stabilize the two stone swords in the air, and with the last bit of his concentration, he used the Sword Kinesis Technique.
Buzz!
The shadow of the greatsword above the bald elder's head, which had already shrunk by more than half, trembled and shot out, entering the third stone sword.
The surface of the stone sword flashed wildly, and it looked like it was about to float up.
At that moment, the black light on the surface of the three stone swords suddenly trembled at the same time. As if they were resonating with each other, the light on the surface of the three stone swords brightened at the same time.
Bang bang bang!
The white light on the surface of the three stone swords shattered, and with a dull thud, they fell heavily to the ground, creating two deep pits.
The bald elder panted heavily, and a deep sense of loss appeared in his eyes.
"Two stone swords," Xiong Shan said calmly, and shook his head slightly.
The people behind him were silent, and each of them had a heavy expression.
When the bald elder saw Xiong Shan shake his head, his heart sank. He knew that he had no hope of being elected. After a light sigh, he walked to the side.
"Let me try!"
As soon as he came down, a Youth with thick eyebrows and red hair flew into the arena with a shout, and a dazzling red light instantly bloomed from his body.
Chi chi chi!
Rays of sword qi shot out, and condensed into a huge red lotus around his body. Each lotus petal was formed by countless red sword qi, and it submerged his body.
Buzz!
The lotus suddenly lit up, and a red ripple shot out from the lotus pistil, entering one of the stone swords.
A layer of red light immediately appeared on the stone sword.
At that moment, the lines on the surface of the stone sword flashed, and a layer of black light appeared. However, the black light now faintly appeared in the form of flowing water, and it fiercely attacked the red light.
"I see … That's why it's called the Inverse Yuan Stone Sword." A blue light flashed in Han Li's eyes, and he nodded slightly.
"Brother Li, this stone sword is really strange. Did you find any clues?" Qi Liang asked telepathically.
"If I'm not wrong, the lines on the stone sword are not a simple restriction. They will react differently according to the situation of the user, and interfere with the spellcasting," Han Li said slowly telepathically.
When Qi Liang heard this, he nodded thoughtfully.
As the two of them were talking, the red-haired Youth had already used two stone swords consecutively. However, at that moment, he seemed to have reached his limit, and the red lotus light around him had begun to become unstable.
Buzz!
Another red ripple shot out from the lotus, and it entered the third stone sword.
The third stone sword trembled, and it seemed like it was about to float up.
The black light on the surface of the three stone swords resonated again, and it shone brightly.
Bang bang!
The two stone swords in the air immediately lost control, and they fell to the ground.
"Two stone swords, next," Xiong Shan said expressionlessly.
The lotus disappeared in a flash, and the figure of the red-haired Youth appeared. He had a helpless look on his face, and he walked to the side.
"It seems that using three stone swords at the same time is a bottleneck …" Han Li thought to himself.
Immediately, the third person walked up. At that moment, his Sword Principle cultivation was rather weak, and he had reached his limit after using one stone sword. He retreated to the side in shame.