"That's... the Sword Ancestor Jiang Tai! The one who once slayed a True God with a single sword strike, ten thousand years ago!"
An elder of the Jiang Clan suddenly rose to his feet, exclaiming in disbelief.
All around the divine mountain, thousands of clan prodigies gasped for breath. Their eyes shone with uncontainable envy.
Who is it?!
Which descendant triggered the ancestral shrine… and awakened Jiang Tai's divine will to personally bestow the sword path?!
Within the shrine, the phantom of the legendary Sword Ancestor unfurled his lotus-like tongue. His voice echoed across the void as thousands of strands of sword qi blossomed into the sky.
"Sword intent shall pierce the heavens!"
The infinite truths of sword cultivation surged into Jiang Xuan's mind like a tidal wave. His pupils flickered with sword light, his aura surged with sharp edges.
The embryonic form of Sword Intent began to take shape!
He was already a sword cultivator.
Now, with his ancestor's divine guidance... the breakthrough was inevitable!
Meanwhile, the thousands of young elites below stared upward, drooling. Though the divine will hovered above their heads, they couldn't hear a single word.
Damn it!
So close… yet so far!
Why wasn't I the one who triggered the ancestral shrine?!
They scratched their heads, gritted their teeth, and cursed their fate.
Only the one who triggered the shrine—only the bloodline inheritor—was qualified to receive the ancestral inheritance.
Unless…
Unless he chooses to share.
But clearly, Jiang Xuan had no such intentions.
Half an hour later, he opened his divine eyes.
He raised one hand, took a single step forward, and thrust with his finger like a sword.
BOOM!
Sword qi exploded like a waterfall, tearing through space itself. Even heaven trembled.
Sword Intent achieved.
High in the sky, the Sword Ancestor smiled.
"The Jiang Clan shall rise once more."
Then, he turned and vanished into the divine shrine.
The heavens closed. The shrine faded.
The world returned to calm.
At the edge of another peak, Jiang Minghao stood silently.
His expression darkened.
"Bloodline regression... Sword Ancestor's personal guidance..."
"If this continues, the position of Young Clan Lord might no longer be mine!"
Back in his chamber, Jiang Xuan slowly opened his palm.
85% bloodline purity…
And I already received the Sword Ancestor's teaching.
What if I reach 90%…?
Before the thought fully settled, a system prompt chimed in his mind.
[Your fiancée, Nangong Mingyue, has successfully forged the Flame Dao Physique.]
[As her partner, you have received a doubled feedback bonus.]
[Reward: Flame Dao Physique (shared), comprehension of Flame Dao Intent.]
What?!
In the next moment, flames erupted around Jiang Xuan's body.
His crystal-like physique shimmered with flowing firelight.
Divine flames coiled around his limbs. Countless fire runes danced in the air. A ball of condensed fire essence hovered in his palm.
Flame Dao Intent.
Jiang Xuan blinked, stunned.
At Soul Merging Realm, cultivators must comprehend at least one Dao intent to ascend to Spirit Transformation Realm.
And yet…
Even the most monstrous geniuses can only comprehend one intent at this stage.
Why?
Because the path of Dao itself enforces that rule.
Too much enlightenment leads to chaos, deviation, collapse.
Countless once-promising monsters had tried to break this limit throughout history.
All of them had failed.
But now—
Jiang Xuan, by doing absolutely nothing, had not only mastered Sword Intent… but also obtained Flame Dao Intent from his fiancée's feedback.
"...She really is a destiny heroine."
He grinned.
"But clearly—"
"—my cheat is stronger."
"Keep it up, my dear fiancée. The stronger you become, the more bonuses I get!"
Without hesitation, Jiang Xuan sat back down and began refining the two intents.
One sword.
One fire.
His physique had reached perfection.
Now his Dao comprehension followed.
Step by step, he approached the limit of what a mortal foundation could reach.
But something whispered in his heart—
"What if I go beyond that?"
At the same time, within the Jiang Clan's divine mountain—
All the elders from every bloodline branch gathered in secret.
The divine shrine had been triggered. The ancestors had awakened. And someone in this generation had inherited the legacy of Jiang Tai, the Sword Ancestor.
That person had to be named Young Clan Lord.
But…
That meant skipping over the Four Prodigies.
The ones who had vied for that title for more than a decade.
Could they truly accept that?
After half a day of fierce debate—
The elders reached a resolution.
"Ten days from now, we shall hold the Ancestral Grounds Trial."
"The winner shall receive bloodline cleansing."
"And be officially crowned as Young Clan Lord."
The announcement shook the entire clan.
After ten years of indecision…
The battle for the next patriarch had begun.
All across the Jiang Clan's sacred peaks, excitement surged.
Elite cultivators were summoned back from across the East Divine Province.
One by one, powerful auras exploded across the mountains.
Many had already stepped into the Spirit Transformation Realm.
"Will the next Young Clan Lord be one of the Four Prodigies?"
"Or one of the elites returning from outside?"
"Or… the mysterious genius who triggered the divine shrine?"
The rules of the trial were simple: bloodline purity, cultivation realm, and Dao foundation.
Of those—
Bloodline? The shrine-triggering heir was unmatched. 85% bloodline purity crushed all others.
Cultivation realm? The wandering prodigies had the edge. Some were rumored to be at late Spirit Transformation.
Dao foundation? The Four Prodigies still reigned supreme—especially Jiang Xuan, whose foundation surpassed all others.
Who would win?
No one dared to guess.
That day, a massive celestial ship split through the clouds.
A black-robed youth stepped down, a spirit sword strapped to his back.
Fiendish energy swirled around him. Ghostly wails echoed faintly.
His cultivation surged across the land—Spirit Transformation, Level Seven!
"It's Jiang Bei!"
"Jiang Bei has returned!"
All eyes turned toward the black-robed prodigy.
Jiang Bei—second only to the Four Prodigies in reputation—had left five years ago at the peak of the Soul Merging Realm.
Since then, he had slaughtered hundreds of demons across the East Divine Province, earning the title: Jiang Clan's Sword Heir.
It was said that he'd reached Spirit Transformation Level Seven… and was now one of the strongest youths in the clan.
Jiang Bei swept his gaze across the mountains.
His eyes gleamed coldly.
"The Young Lord's title—belongs to me."
The sword on his back trembled. A beam of light pierced the clouds above.
He turned, stepped through the air, and returned to his ancestral peak.
All across the clan, hearts grew heavy.
This trial… will not be simple.