Hum!
With a hum, the seventh spirit sword rose from the ground!
Ten breaths, arrived!
Although only three inches long, the spirit sword had still left the ground and hovered in mid-air!
Yun Ze breathed a sigh of relief, appearing extremely weak.
This weakness was not due to physical exhaustion, but rather... mental fatigue, like someone who hadn't slept for a long time.
He looked ahead and saw Ji Kun walking forward, the first to applaud.
Clap, clap, clap~
"Seven spirit swords!"
Ji Kun stood beside Sun Ming, unable to hide the smile on his lips. "This batch of disciples is truly a hidden dragon and crouching tiger. Even in the thousand-year heritage of Guiwu Sword Sect, fewer than fifty individuals have achieved the Seven Sword Stance!
Young man, your future is promising!"
Elder Sun had said something similar before.
That was to establish Luo Yang's position, and now Ji Kun was doing the same for Yun Ze!
However, it was strange. With the emergence of the Seven Sword Stance, shouldn't some old monsters have come out to take disciples?
But why was no one here now?
As Ji Kun spoke, his spiritual sense had been constantly observing the surroundings. Let alone people, not even a bird had flown overhead.
If one were to rank all the disciples with the Seven Sword Stance in the history of Guiwu Sword Sect, Yun Ze would be the most unremarkable one!
One must know that the last person with the Seven Sword Stance had even attracted the Sect Master to personally descend and take him as a disciple!
Even that could be considered unremarkable!
If the Sect Master of that generation had no successor, those old fellows would never have let it happen.
Why was it like this this time?
Sun Ming's brows furrowed, as if he had thought of something.
However, since no old monsters had appeared, he didn't have to be embarrassed again.
"Hmm, good aptitude, next one!"
He had to praise, but establishing his position was out of the question!
Sun Ming glanced at Yun Ze, then turned to Ji Kun. "You win this round."
"Oh my, thank you, Elder Sun, for bestowing the sword!"
Ji Kun smiled and reached out to touch the second-grade spirit sword. Without thinking, he casually drew out the spirit sword that originally belonged to him and threw it to Yun Ze!
He looked at Yun Ze with a beaming smile.
"Come, little Yun, this sword is called Shan Xiao. It's yours from now on, as a reward for you being ranked as Special Grade!"
He knew that Yun Ze had deliberately gone ahead of him for the test.
However, he only thought that Yun Ze didn't want to take sides and didn't consider any other reasons.
Now that a second-grade spirit sword was placed before him, if he still refused to take sides, then... Ji Kun would have to consider what his true purpose was!
After speaking, Ji Kun stared intently at Yun Ze, observing his reaction.
Yun Ze dared not hesitate. After a moment of surprise, he smiled genuinely.
"Thank you, Elder Ji, for your generous gift!"
He reached out and took the second-grade spirit sword, then fastened it properly to his waist before stepping aside, not delaying the tests of others!
His smile was indeed genuine.
This was a second-grade spirit sword!
Yun Ze had always thought that the price of a second-grade spirit artifact was a hundred times that of a first-grade spirit artifact. If a first-grade spirit artifact cost a thousand first-grade spirit stones, then a second-grade spirit artifact should cost a thousand second-grade spirit stones.
However, after staying in the Immortal Gathering for so long, he realized that prices were not calculated that way!
The price of a second-grade spirit artifact was a thousand times that of a first-grade spirit artifact!
A third-grade spirit artifact was ten thousand times that of a second-grade spirit artifact!
With each increase in grade, the difficulty of refining spirit artifacts increased exponentially, and the same applied to spirit pills, spirit formations, and spirit talismans!
These great paths were all money-making ventures, one more so than the other!
However, they were also equally expensive.
Yun Ze's thoughts were simple: with a second-grade spirit artifact in hand, he had more capital to kill Chen Xiao. Even if he didn't use it, selling it would be enough to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill!
"Elder Ji is truly generous."
Sun Ming gritted his teeth and uttered a sentence, staring at the sword he had carried for hundreds of years, watching it being toyed with by Ji Kun, feeling extremely displeased.
Thinking of Luo Yang losing his Special Grade, he felt even worse!
His gaze swept over Yun Ze, but did not linger for too long.
Although there was resentment in his eyes, there was no anger.
Sun Ming knew that this disciple was recruited by Ji Kun, and it was only natural for him to help him. He himself had been blind not to recognize another Sword Son, so he couldn't blame anyone else.
It was just a pity about his sword...
Fortunately!
Fortunately, he hadn't taken out the Phoenix Blood Meteorite!
Yun Ze sensed Sun Ming's gaze. Once he confirmed that the elder would not try to kill him, he finally felt relieved and looked at Ji Kun not far away.
Although Ji Kun had won the bet, his expression was not good.
He kept looking up at the sky, as if waiting for something to fall from it.
Yun Ze found it strange but said nothing, merely watching the subsequent disciples undergo the test.
Two swords, three swords... at most one person had produced five swords!
When the number of tested individuals reached ninety-seven, the stone that had been hanging over Yun Ze's heart finally fell.
His Special Grade was secure!
The last person to be tested was Su Ling'er.
This fellow had good footwork, but her sword dao aptitude was far inferior to his, at most a Three Sword Stance.
As Su Ling'er stepped forward for the test, as expected, only three spirit swords floated in the air.
Sun Ming sighed, his gaze swept over Yun Ze again, without lingering.
What was meant to happen, still had to happen!
"The test is over, now let's begin the grading! Special Grade, Yun..."
"Wait! There's still one person who hasn't been tested!!"
Just as Yun Ze was about to step forward, a shout suddenly echoed from the sky.
Everyone looked up and saw a figure slowly descending from the sky.
Yun Ze saw clearly that this person was flying down from a mountain a thousand meters high, with a spirit sword under their feet!
Was this the existence Ji Kun had been waiting for?
But why did they appear now? And they said someone hadn't been tested?
What did this mean?
The elders also looked up, but when they saw who the newcomer was, they all lowered their heads and waited with extreme deference.
Yun Ze glanced at Ji Kun, who shook his head slightly, signaling him not to act rashly.
He could only wait and see, silently observing.
The flying sword landed, and two women, one old and one young, disembarked.
The old woman was hunched over, but with every step she took, one could feel a sharp aura. She leaned on a heavy sword, as wide as a door, that only reached her waist.
She put away the flying sword under her feet and, without looking at the disciples, fixed her gaze on Sun Ming. "Little Sun, right?"
"Yes."
Sun Ming replied respectfully, without looking up. "Junior Sun Ming greets Senior Wei."
The old woman was clearly not satisfied with this address, but she said nothing and continued with a smile. "My granddaughter wants to join the sect."
Sun Ming was stunned.
"What? Didn't you understand?" Old Mrs. Wei asked back.
"I understand."
Sun Ming replied, then sighed. "Miss Wei, please step forward and undergo the test."
The young woman said nothing more, merely took a step forward and stood before the nine spirit swords.
She stood still, closed her eyes, concentrated, and then...
Nine swords rose together!
Hum!
Yun Ze felt a buzzing sound in his ears. The second-grade spirit artifact he had just acquired at his waist began to tremble incessantly, as if... it was excited!
No, not just the spirit sword at his waist!
All the spirit swords on the isolated peak were trembling, just like the myriad swords that had sung in unison earlier!
The next moment!
The entire isolated peak seemed to come alive. Numerous dark shadows appeared in the sky a thousand meters above, now swooping down towards this place!
Yun Ze knew that each shadow represented a powerful expert!
In an instant, countless powerful figures appeared in the sky. The sharp aura and pressure emanating from them alone made him gasp for breath!
Fortunately, their gazes were not fixed on Yun Ze, but were intently focused on the woman who had just summoned the nine swords.
It was as if they were looking at some precious treasure!