Chapter 681: Junior Brothers, Swords, To Me

So this is what a sword can do!

It was just like before, when Mister Bai had taught him the perfect edition of the Creation Forge Technique and left him completely intoxicated.

This time, after Mister Bai's guidance, Li Fan sank once more into the boundless profundities of the Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword, unable to pull himself free.

His mind was completely foggy. He couldn’t recall whether or not he had expressed his gratitude. He couldn't even remember how he had left the competition grounds, or how much time had passed.

A chorus of "Big Senior Brother!" from outside finally jolted Li Fan from his epiphanic state.

Li Fan followed everyone's gaze and saw Situ Yao staggering into the arena, looking as if he hadn't yet sobered up, propped up on either side by two Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.

"Wine... where's the wine?" Situ Yao hiccupped, looking left and right in a daze, ignoring Mister Bai standing across from him.

"Why feign drunkenness, Situ?" Mister Bai asked, a faint smile on his face.

Situ Yao knew there was no point keeping up the act. He cleared his throat, straightened, and looked at Mister Bai.

Helplessness crossed his face. "Really now. I was hoping to save face as the Big Senior Brother of the Heavenly Sword Sect. But since you've called me out, it seems I have no choice but to fight."

He produced a gourd of wine from somewhere and took a deep gulp.

Then his gaze sharpened. He stared at Mister Bai for a long moment.

"Can't win. There's no way to win," he muttered under his breath.

Quiet as the words were, they sent a wave of shock through the watching cultivators. Everyone knew Situ Yao's combat strength was arguably the highest in the entire Heavenly Sword Sect. He hadn't fought seriously in years, and no one knew the true limits of his power.

Yet this absolute powerhouse of the Xuanhuang World had just admitted that he was no match for Mister Bai, before the fight even began.

Situ Yao was not a man who lied about such things. If he said he couldn't win, then he couldn't win.

Who was this seemingly unremarkable man, and where did he come from?

For a moment, every eye in the Heavenly Sword Sect was fixed on Mister Bai, filled with shock and uncertainty.

"To do what you know you cannot do. Isn't that your life's creed, Situ?" Seeing him hesitate, Mister Bai urged him on.

"That sword strike you've kept hidden for so long… It's time to bring it out and test it."

His tone was light, but to Situ Yao's ears it landed like a thunderclap.

A mysterious aura abruptly exploded from Situ Yao's body. His eyes narrowed on Mister Bai, doubt flickering through them.

But he was a top-tier powerhouse. A moment later, he had calmed the confusion and astonishment in his heart.

"Since that's the case, I won't stand on ceremony," Situ Yao said, his tone turning serious.

He stepped forward, extended his right hand, and swept his gaze across the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples watching the fight.

He simply said: "Junior Brothers… swords, to me."

In that instant, every cultivator of the Heavenly Sword Sect, no matter where they stood, heard Situ Yao's words.

There was a moment of pause. Then, without a shred of hesitation, they cast their own lifebound flying swords into the sky.

As Big Senior Brother of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Situ Yao had always looked after every new disciple who entered the sect. He never put on airs, never acted superior. Whenever a disciple ran into trouble, he was the one who stepped forward. He sided with his own people, right or wrong.

Situ Yao had held the position of Big Senior Brother for more years than anyone could count. Every disciple in the sect had received his kindness, directly or indirectly, at some point. Now that their Big Senior Brother asked to borrow their swords, how could they refuse?

In the span of a single breath, tens of thousands of flying swords surged upward in a vast, magnificent tide arriving beside Situ Yao.

For the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, nearly all their cultivation and combat strength lay within their lifebound flying swords. From the moment they entered Foundation Establishment, they had poured blood and spirit into forging those blades, relentlessly strengthening them, honing their killing power, and forging a deep connection one painstaking step at a time.

So when Situ Yao cried, "Swords, to me!", what answered him was not merely a host of flying swords.

It was nearly the entire battle power of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Thousands upon thousands of sword qi auras burst forth, each blazing with its own brilliant light. Situ Yao turned his palm and pointed, and the swords howled through the air toward his target: Mister Bai.

Countless flying swords merged into one, forming a colossal blade that spanned heaven and earth, manifesting from the void itself. The great sword locked onto Mister Bai from afar and arrived in an instant.

It looked like a brutal spectacle was about to unfold in the next moment, with ten thousand swords piercing through Mister Bai.

Yet Mister Bai showed no trace of panic.

He offered a faint, calm smile, then raised the wooden sword in his hand to meet the myriad blades.

Hum...

A sword's cry rang out from the wooden sword.

Time itself seemed to freeze.

Where the sound waves of the cry passed, the thousands of flying swords halted in midair. Then their blades began to tremble violently, as though locked in a ferocious struggle against some unseen force.

And finally, the first flying sword lost control and fell from the sky.

It plunged into the earth, its hilt quivering.

Then came the second, and the third.

In a heartbeat, thousands of flying swords rained down from the heavens like a storm, burying themselves in the ground to form a densely-packed sword tomb.

Not one had so much as touched the hem of Mister Bai's robes. The killing move Situ Yao had spent nearly his entire life cultivating was undone in an instant.

The Heavenly Sword Sect fell into a silence as deep as death.

The wooden sword in Mister Bai's hand cried out again.

Then every disciple, Li Fan included, witnessed a sight that would stay seared into their memories forever.

Every flying sword buried in the ground bent toward Mister Bai, as if bowing in reverent homage to their emperor.

Mister Bai stood there, sword in hand, his expression serene.

Something seemed to click in Situ Yao's mind. His pupils contracted sharply, and he blurted out, "You are—"

Mister Bai smiled faintly and waved lightly.

The countless flying swords returned to their owners.

The confrontation defused, Mister Bai casually tossed his wooden sword aside and spoke to Situ Yao with a gentle smile. "I have come today to ask for a favor."

"Please, speak freely," Situ Yao said, his voice filled with respect.

Mister Bai glanced around but said nothing.

Situ Yao slapped his own forehead. "Follow me."

He led Mister Bai toward the main hall of the Heavenly Sword Sect, leaving behind the disciples who were still paralyzed by shock, yet to recover their senses.

So this is the true power of the mighty cultivators from the ancient world. Li Fan was still awed by the sheer might of Situ Yao's earlier strike.

He vaguely sensed that if that giant blade, possessing the combined strength of nearly every cultivator in the Heavenly Sword Sect, had struck home, it would have been enough to tear a rift through the very fabric of the Xuanhuang World.

As for Mister Bai deflecting it so casually, that was hardly a surprise.