Volume I: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 119: The Chubby Little Banner Leader

Only after Yun Que had entered the Illusionary Realm did the others shake off their shock and regain their senses.

Ning Ji scrambled to his feet, looking utterly disheveled, yet he stubbornly insisted:

"It’s fake! It must be fake! There must be a glitch in the Ten Thousand Blades Tower; those sword auras were definitely an illusion. It’s impossible for anyone to remain unscathed under the coverage of so many sword auras!"

With him saying this, quite a few people found his reasoning plausible.

"It looks fake to me too. The sword auras on him were blurrier than everyone else's. There’s definitely something wrong!"

"Even Foundation Establishment experts couldn't condense that many sword auras. How could a mere sword servant do it? It seems the Ten Thousand Blades Tower is in disrepair and has malfunctioned."

"What 'heavy armor of sword aura'? I say it was just a trick of the eye that guy pulled! Why else would he be the first to rush to the second floor? He didn't dare let us look too closely for fear of being exposed!"

The murmurs grew louder, with many leaning toward the belief that Yun Que hadn’t truly condensed a sword aura armor, but had instead cheated. There is no shortage of people who disparage what they cannot attain.

Footsteps echoed as people poured onto the second floor one after another, and soon the main hall on the first floor was completely deserted.

Once the second level of the Ten Thousand Blades Tower was opened, the main doors on the first floor swung open again, and the three elders walked in. Following them were Foundation Establishment disciples like Xue Ziyi and Qian Yuxiu.

Quan Yu stood before the tactical sand table and waved her hand, casting spiritual energy into it. The clouds and mist covering the sand table dissipated, revealing its true form. The sand table was incredibly lifelike, featuring mountains and rivers, as if it were a miniature, scaled-down version of the Illusionary Realm.

As the disciples flooded in, small flags of four different colors appeared at the four corners of the sand table, numbering in the thousands. Each flag represented a disciple. It was visible to the naked eye that the cyan flags of the Yan Kingdom Sword Palace were the fewest in number.

"Hmm?"

Quan Yu frowned and said, "Why are there so many disciples from those three Sword Palaces this year? In previous years, our Yan Sword Palace always had the highest number."

The number of cyan flags was roughly a thousand, while the flags of other colors were all around two thousand. In particular, the red flags representing the Man Sword Palace were nearly double those of the Yan Sword Palace, totaling three thousand.

Chu Chen, however, remained unbothered. "What does a higher headcount matter? The struggle for the Sword Seed is not about who has more people; it’s about whose Sword Seed is stronger. This year, the victory of the Yan Sword Palace is all but certain."

It was no wonder Chu Chen was so confident; judging by past records, the Yan Kingdom Sword Palace had indeed won the most times. Moreover, the chief Sword Seeds of the East, South, and West Courtyards all possessed exceptional cultivation levels this year, ensuring they could defeat any opponent. The three elders were mainly concerned that their own disciples would not fight too viciously among themselves.

Quan Yu was still puzzled. "The Shaowu and Chaxia kingdoms are one thing—having more saplings is normal—but when was the Man Sword Palace ever able to select so many disciples? The probability of the Barbarian tribes producing cultivators has always been very low."

Gu Shaoyang chuckled. "Isn't that how the Man Sword Palace has always been? They love to put on a show. Perhaps one of their elders is concerned about their reputation and reached into their own pocket to distribute spirit-overflowing artifacts, summoning a large group of sword servants to make up the numbers. Don't we have plenty of sword servants in our Sword Palace who have entered the Illusionary Realm as well?"

The East Courtyard elder’s analysis sounded reasonable, and Quan Yu and Chu Chen nodded in unison.

The three elders sat on different sides of the tactical sand table, watching the changes in the four-colored flags within the Illusionary Realm. Since it had just begun, the disciples of the four Sword Palaces would first appear in their respective starting zones; unless they expanded their search range, they would be hard-pressed to encounter one another.

"Eh!"

Before Quan Yu had even settled into her seat, she suddenly let out a cry of surprise, staring at one of the many flags before her with utter astonishment.

Quan Yu was seated on the side of the Yan Sword Palace, and the flag she was fixated on was more than a circle thicker than the other cyan flags—it looked as large as three or four flags combined. Even among thousands of flags, this plump one was not inconspicuous, and the keen eyes of a Golden Core expert could spot it at a glance.

Chu Chen and Gu Shaoyang followed her gaze, and they, too, were filled with wonder.

"Such a thick cloak of sword aura!" the usually composed Chu Chen could not help but exclaim in admiration.

There was only one reason for a flag to grow fat: the disciple it corresponded to had condensed an incredibly thick cloak of sword aura!

Normally, each flag was draped in a thin layer of aura. Some covered the entire flag, some only half, and some could only cover the tip; those auras were the manifestation of the sword aura cloaks on the sand table. Yet, the three Sword Palace elders had never seen anything like this plump flag before them.

"Is that even a cloak of sword aura? It’s practically a suit of sword aura armor! Who is this? How did they manage this?" Gu Shaoyang asked, craning his neck in intense curiosity.

Earlier, when the disciples were condensing their sword aura cloaks on the first floor, the elders had not interfered, nor had they used their spiritual sense to peek, as doing so would easily disrupt the sword aura within the Ten Thousand Blades Tower. Thus, the elders waiting outside had no idea what had happened on the first floor.

Since the cyan flags only corresponded to Sword Palace disciples, their specific identities could not be confirmed; all that could be seen was that someone had condensed an extremely thick sword aura, but as for who it was, even the elders were in the dark.

"Could it be Qingyao?" Quan Yu muttered to herself, a hint of solemnity appearing in her expression. She felt more and more that her good disciple should not be married off easily. With such talent, to spend her life serving a husband and raising children would be a waste of natural gifts!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her decision to add the South Courtyard mission was truly a stroke of foresight. That way, Yun Que would be castrated, and let’s see how he would marry anyone then!

At this thought, a sinister, triumphant, and strange expression appeared on Quan Yu’s face.

Chu Chen had intended to argue that it might be a Sword Seed from his West Courtyard, but as the words reached his lips, he saw Quan Yu’s expression and swallowed them back, remaining silent. Gu Shaoyang chuckled twice, neither refuting nor agreeing, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

Everyone believed their own disciples were the best and strongest, but Chu Chen and Gu Shaoyang both knew that Quan Yu was sharp-tongued and vindictive. They did not want to offend the South Courtyard elder over such a small matter. If she said it was her disciple, then it was her disciple—why not just let it be?

Xue Ziyi stood beside the sand table; she had no chair and was not qualified to sit with the Golden Core elders. Hearing the elders’ discussion, she cast an envious look at that unique, plump flag. In her view, the fat flag could be the South Courtyard’s top Sword Seed, Mu Qingyao; the East Courtyard’s top Sword Seed, Yan Xu; or even the West Courtyard’s chief Sword Seed, Chu Hu—but it could never be someone from the North Courtyard.

Sighing inwardly, Xue Ziyi silently prayed for the North Courtyard disciples. She hoped everyone would stay safe; as for the struggle for the Sword Seed, it was truly not meant for the North Courtyard.

Across the sand table, Qian Yuxiu, standing behind the East Courtyard elder, cast a provocative smile. It made Xue Ziyi’s hands itch; she longed to tear that infuriating face apart. Remembering the storage bag Yun Que had left behind, Xue Ziyi decided to affix her mark on it right in front of Qian Yuxiu.

The wager her junior brother had added must be kept intact, even if it were just a single spirit stone—this was a matter of trust. As the senior sister, she had to keep her word.

However, Xue Ziyi was a woman, and her curiosity was no less than anyone else’s. Before affixing her mark, she probed the storage bag with a wisp of spiritual energy.

When she sensed what was inside the storage bag, the North Courtyard’s senior sister went completely still. It took her a long while to recover.

There was only one thing in the storage bag: medium-grade flying swords.

Not one or two, but a full three hundred!

Three hundred medium-grade flying swords!

At that moment, within the Illusionary Realm, Yun Que’s figure appeared beside a blue stone. Just as he was surveying his surroundings, a flash of light flickered opposite him, and another figure emerged.

The two stood there, staring at each other with wide eyes. Both were equally stunned.