Wu Yun'er was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with joy. She completely ignored Shi Junfei behind her and flew after him.
Shi Junfei stood there, watching the two figures disappear into the distance. His gentle smile remained on his face, but a hint of amusement and coldness flickered deep in his eyes.
He slowly withdrew the jade talisman he had handed over, his fingertips gently stroking it, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Superman Strong... that's interesting."
In the following days, Shen Yunhao did not venture deeper into the core area of the Sword Tomb.
On the one hand, his soul power had surged to a threshold due to his continuous battles, and he urgently needed time to settle, digest, and stabilize it. Forcing himself to touch those vicious swords again would be too risky.
On the other hand, the core area is full of powerful people and attracts too much attention. Shi Junfei's probing made him realize that his identity as a "superhuman" had already attracted a lot of attention, and if he continued to stay, the risk of being exposed would increase dramatically.
However, before leaving, he took the initiative to help Wu Yun'er comprehend sword intent several times.
Wu Yun'er was, after all, a figure who had appeared on the Fengyun Records. Her swordsmanship talent was no less than that of Shen Yunhao. Under the protection of Han Haixin, although she was unable to resonate with those sword intents, she still managed to obtain several thousand points by firmly establishing herself.
After a few days, Shen Yunhao's score remained at just over 9,000, while Wu Yun'er's score reached around 5,000. These scores should be more than enough to get into the top 500 and advance to the second stage.
"Alright, that's enough for now." Shen Yunhao sat down on a relatively flat boulder, looking at the core area in the distance where sword energy soared into the sky and faintly exuded a dangerous aura. "If we stay any longer, trouble will come knocking on our door."
"You're leaving already?" Wu Yun'er frowned, looking at the more than nine thousand points on Shen Yun Haoyu's token. "With your current abilities, breaking ten thousand should be a piece of cake. Are you just going to give up like this?"
Shen Yunhao shook his head slightly. "As long as the score is high enough, I guess the second stage will be a real head-on confrontation, that's the real challenge!"
Wu Yun'er pursed her lips, but didn't refute it further.
"Next, I want to find a place to go into seclusion for a few days. Can you please stop following me around like a shadow?"
Wu Yun'er was furious and was about to put her hands in her pockets when she saw the other person's eyes glancing over, so she quickly put her hands down again. "You brat, who exactly are you? What's your relationship with Ning Yuyao and Guan Yingying?"
What good does it do you to dwell on these things?
Shen Yunhao yawned, stood up, dusted off his backside, and grinned. "You'll know when the time is right, but for now... hehe, I'll stick to my name and identity, the rogue cultivator is indeed strong! Alright, see you in the martial world!"
After saying that, without waiting for Wu Yun'er to react, he drew his longsword and flew towards the outer perimeter of the sword tomb without looking back.
"You bastard! Just you wait!"
Wu Yun'er gritted her teeth and glared at him, watching Shen Yunhao's departing figure, but ultimately did not chase after him.
"Could it be...him?"
"No...impossible! That good-for-nothing couldn't possibly have such a high level of cultivation!"
...
Despite saying he was going into seclusion, Shen Yunhao flew straight to the outer perimeter of the Sword Tomb.
His real purpose... is to prepare for the upcoming second phase.
Recalling the various rumors surrounding the previous kendo tournament and combining them with the details he had observed, his guesses about the second stage became increasingly clear.
"The first stage is about improving one's understanding of sword intent, so the second stage will most likely be a contest in actual combat!"
"Since it's real combat..."
Shen Yunhao glanced at the countless broken swords below, a smile playing on his lips. "Why not use these free targets?"
After touching these broken swords, the participants' consciousness will enter a "phantom array" and engage in a "real battle" with the original sword owners. Winning will earn them points, which is the source of points for the vast majority of participants.
Once inside the illusion array, the participants' cultivation levels become useless, and it becomes a simple contest of swordsmanship and sword skills.
This kind of battle... isn't it similar to the "swordsmanship confrontation that transcends cultivation level" that the Kendo Tournament pursues?
"Perfect timing to use these swords to practice my Lingbo Wei... Sword Steps!"
After saying that, he flew straight down.
Time slips away quietly...
On this day, just as Shen Yunhao had just beaten a former master of the Broken Sword Illusionary Realm to the point of being unable to take care of himself and was about to leave the illusionary array, before he could calm his turbulent emotions, an immense and unparalleled power suddenly descended upon the entire Sword Tomb Secret Realm!
Buzz—!
A magnificent sword cry resounded between heaven and earth, powerful and far-reaching, as if it came from the ages.
All the broken swords, regardless of their strength, trembled slightly at this moment, emitting sword cries that were either high-pitched or low-pitched.
Immediately afterwards, an invisible, immense force enveloped all the trial participants, irresistibly enveloping and pulling at their bodies.
"Phase one is over! All participants, leave the Sword Tomb immediately!"
A deep and majestic voice, like thunder, exploded in everyone's mind. Shen Yunhao felt the scenery before his eyes changing rapidly, and a strong sense of dizziness struck him, causing him to close his eyes involuntarily.
The next moment, his feet touched solid ground, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already standing on the huge platform at the top of Cangren Mountain.
The long-awaited sunlight was a bit dazzling, and the mountain wind was biting.
On the platform, countless figures appeared one after another, numbering in the tens of thousands.
After a brief silence, a cacophony of sounds erupted—exclamations, frustration, elation, curses, and endless chatter—merging into a massive wave of noise.
Shen Yunhao quickly looked around.
Compared to the grand opening of the conference, when crowds thronged the site and the four great sword saints were all present, the mountaintop platform was noticeably emptier now, suggesting that many participants had "withdrawn" early.
This naturally includes the three Tai Xuan Dao Sect disciples who were previously eliminated by him and Wu Yun'er...
"As expected, even if eliminating others doesn't bring any real benefits, the real battle is inevitable..."
On the other side, atop a cliff-like platform, only one figure stood as tall as a mountain.
It was none other than Lei Jun, the Sword Saint, who appeared once at the beginning of the story!
"quiet!"
The man's voice wasn't loud, but it had a strange penetrating power that easily drowned out all other noises.
His gaze swept over the thousands of cultivators below, each with a different expression, his eyes indifferent. "The Sword Tomb Inquiry is complete. Those whose identity jade token records a score below 3,500 should seek out the steward who issued the jade token and return it. This is considered elimination!"
Upon hearing this, a chorus of groans and sighs erupted across the platform, and the faces of more than half the people turned grim.
Clearly, these are people who thought they could squeeze into the top 500, but were actually pushed back by the score of 3,500.
There must be several hundred people with scores of 3,490 or higher...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
