Chapter 1001: First

Sunrise breaks through the morning fog, shining onto Mount Taixu. The pavilions between the mountains appear to be draped in rosy clouds, and the dark green mountain forests are edged with gold.

In the disciples' dormitory on the mountain, Mo Hua, who had been practicing array formations on the Dao stele all night, opens his eyes.

His eyes, like the dawn on the horizon, suddenly blaze with a golden light, for a moment even more brilliant than the entire sky's morning glow.

"Finally, today is the Sword Discussion Assembly—"

Mo Hua murmurs softly.

He takes a deep breath, facing the sunrise, and cultivates as usual for half an hour. After the spiritual energy circulates throughout his body, flowing through his meridians and settling in his qi sea, he puts on the Taixu Sect's Dao robe and steps out of the disciples' dormitory.

Outside the dormitory, most disciples are already awake.

At this time, they gather in groups of two or three, bathing in the morning glow. Their faces are lively and full of energy.

Today is their Sword Discussion Day.

It is their only Sword Discussion Assembly in this lifetime.

All the disciples are both anticipating and nervous.

When it was time, after they had eaten breakfast, Elder Xun Zixian arrives. He gathers the disciples, counts heads, and gives instructions on matters related to the Sword Discussion. He then looks around and slowly says:

"Let's set off for Mount Lun Dao."

The disciples' expressions become even more solemn, and their heartbeats quicken a few beats.

Afterwards, Xun Zixian leads the disciples out of the Taixu Sect and directly towards Mount Lun Dao, located in the central area of Qian Xue State.

On the main road, cultivators are dense. Disciples from various sects in the Qian Xue State area, wearing different kinds of Dao robes, are like streams of five colors converging towards Mount Lun Dao.

The mountain path is long and winding, bustling with disciples.

About an hour later, everyone finally arrives at Mount Lun Dao.

At this time, there are even more people on Mount Lun Dao, not only from the Qian Xue State area but also from surrounding families, sects, and various forces, with diverse identities of cultivators.

This also includes various cultivators who have come from all over the nine provinces to observe the ceremony.

Looking around, the entire mountain is filled with people.

The sound of human voices is like a roaring mountain and a surging sea.

Mo Hua experiences for the first time what is called "people mountain people sea," and his heart is shocked.

Not only Mo Hua, but all the disciples of the Taixu Sect, and even disciples from other sects, are at this time stunned into silence.

The scale of this Sword Discussion Assembly is larger than before.

The momentum is also astonishing.

Previously, they were the "audience," watching others discuss swords. But now, they are the "protagonists," discussing swords for others to see.

Their personal feelings are different, and the disciples' emotions are also varied.

Some disciples have pale faces and are extremely nervous.

Some disciples' legs are weak, and their breathing is slightly disordered.

At the same time, some disciples have shining eyes, are extremely excited, and are eager to showcase their skills on the Sword Discussion arena. After entering the mountain gate, traversing the long mountain path, and passing through several mountain peaks, all the disciples finally arrive at the great plaza of Mount Lun Dao.

In the great plaza, a "sacrifice sword" ceremony is currently being held.

This is a required ceremony for every Sword Discussion Assembly.

Only the sect masters of the four great sects of Qian Xue have the qualification to preside over this "sacrifice sword" ceremony.

This is also the most supreme honor in the Qian Xue State area.

On Mount Lun Dao, a white jade platform floats in the air, surrounded by nine heaven-reaching stone pillars. The pillars are engraved with majestic divine beasts, auspicious clouds, and auspicious patterns.

And in the center of the white jade platform, a white jade sword, over ten *zhang* long, like a small mountain peak, is being sacrificed.

The sword body is transparent and crystalline, emitting an ancient and majestic momentum.

According to legend, this sword is a relic of the ancestor of Mount Lun Dao from ten thousand years ago.

Every Sword Discussion Assembly, all Qian Xue disciples must sincerely sacrifice this sword to comfort the spirit of the ancestor of Mount Lun Dao.

At the same time, it is also to thank the ancestor for his contributions and efforts made for the inheritance of the cultivation world in the Qian Xue State area.

When it was Chen time, the Qian Xue sacrifice sword ceremony begins.

The Sect Masters of the four great sects: Qian Dao Sect, Tian Jian Sect, Long Ding Sect, and Wan Xiao Sect, all at the Featherization stage, turn their spiritual power into feathers and fly through the air.

They then open the altar, offer tributes, and sacrifice blood to the sword.

The blood opens the seal, and for a time, clear light fills the sky.

The ancient sword of Mount Lun Dao emits a low hum, and sword qi rushes into the sky, like an ancient beast awakening, letting out a clear roar towards the sky.

Everyone's hearts and minds are shaken.

Mo Hua's pupils also shrink.

He looks at this huge ancient sword and feels his divine soul tremble slightly. In the dark, a trace of resonance seems to be produced.

In his sea of consciousness, the sound of a dragon's roar also echoes for a time, and the ancient Taixu sword intent constantly resonates.

In a trance, Mo Hua has an illusion.

He seems to see himself transforming into a Dharma form, like a heaven-reaching giant, holding the ancient sword of Mount Lun Dao, opening mountains and splitting the earth, invincible.

But the next instant, everything disappears.

Nothing happened.

The Sect Masters of the four great sects, with solemn expressions, shout together:

"All Qian Xue disciples, three bows, sacrifice sword!"

The voices of the Featherization cultivators, like clear bells and great drums, echo throughout Mount Lun Dao.

Mo Hua also restrains his mind, and along with the other disciples, he respectfully bows three times towards the white jade ancient sword of Mount Lun Dao.

Cultivators observing from outside the mountain also follow the custom and perform a rite towards the white jade ancient sword.

After the sacrifice sword ceremony, the grand Sword Discussion Assembly continues.

The Sect Masters of the four sects, in turn, read the edict.

This edict is quite long, including mourning for the ancestors of the Qian Xue State area, thanking the cultivators who came to observe, expressing earnest expectations for the disciples, and some matters to pay attention to during the Sword Discussion, as well as unbreakable rules—

The four Sect Masters, one person for each part, read at length, no less than ten thousand words, successfully making the originally somewhat excited Mo Hua drowsy.

Finally, the long reading ends.

After the sacrifice sword and reading the edict, it is time for the formal drawing of lots.

The four great sects, eight great gates, and even the twelve streams each have a representative elder step forward, holding a sect command token, and untie the seal of a huge heavenly mechanism treasure in the middle of the great plaza.

This heavenly mechanism treasure is called the Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument.

This is also the "heritage" of the ancestor of Mount Lun Dao.

This "heavenly instrument" is normally sealed and must be opened by all the sects of the four great sects, eight great gates, and twelve streams gathering together, each holding their sect's jade command token.

After opening, the names and teams of each sect's Sword Discussion disciples are written on bamboo slips and placed into the heavenly instrument.

The Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument will automatically operate, according to the established rules of the Sword Discussion, to arrange the match-up order of the Sword Discussion Assembly.

In this way, some people's tampering can be eliminated, ensuring fairness and justice.

At the same time, all heavenly mechanism cause and effect deductions, interferences, alterations, and predictions can be isolated.

The Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument operates according to the laws, with built-in compass tracks that rotate alternately, flowing endlessly, complex and profound.

It has a kind of profound beauty of "cause and effect law."

Mo Hua's spirit is shaken, and he can't help but stare wide-eyed, continuously gazing at this "Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument."

It is a pity that his heavenly mechanism level is still too low, and he does not see any clues.

Of course, it is also impossible for the things of the ancestor of Mount Lun Dao to truly let him see any clues.

Half an hour later, the Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument stops rotating.

The deduction is complete.

The initial stage of the Sword Discussion, that is, the events of the "Yellow" character bureau in "Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow," are thus determined.

The elders of each sect record the match-up list onto jade slips and then withdraw.

The morning's sacrifice sword and drawing of lots ceremony thus end.

The afternoon is the formal Sword Discussion.

During the one or two hours, elders of Mount Lun Dao will arrange the order and venue of the Sword Discussion according to the drawing of lots list deduced by the Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument.

Elder Xun Zixian also withdraws, returning among the Taixu Sect disciples, and transmits his voice to everyone:

"The Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument has already deduced the list."

"I have transmitted the list into the Taixu Order. You should all check it yourselves and confirm your field, so as not to make mistakes."

Xun Zixian pauses for a moment, then says again:

"In a few hours, the formal Sword Discussion will begin. You should all do your best, regardless of victory or defeat, it is all for the Taixu Sect. The sect will be proud of you—"

Xun Zixian is an array master, always rigorous and steady, and cannot say overly emotional words.

That he can speak to this extent is already considered good.

The disciples are all somewhat moved in their hearts.

Of course, moved is moved, but their morale is still a bit low.

Xun Zixian sighs slightly and turns his head to glance at Mo Hua.

With just one look, Mo Hua understands Elder Zixian's meaning. He immediately nods, steps out of the crowd, and says to the disciples:

"When you discuss swords later, don't think too much. Just go up and fight. Win is blood earned, lose is not lost!"

The disciples look at each other, and indeed, fighting spirit ignites in their eyes.

The little senior brother has already made the tactics clear. As long as they go up and fight one match, that's enough. There is indeed nothing else to consider.

They don't believe themselves, can they still not believe the little senior brother?

As long as they win one match, it's a blood earned victory. Losing is nothing to be ashamed of.

"Yes! Little Senior Brother!"

The disciples respond in unison, with quite a bit of momentum, and their morale is boosted.

Mo Hua nods with satisfaction.

Xun Zixian looks at Mo Hua, somewhat astonished, then smiles and shakes his head.

Afterwards, there are one or two hours of preparation time.

Disciples either meditate in contemplation, check the list, or discuss tactics. When they are tired, they rest for a while. When they are hungry, they eat a fasting pill to fill their hunger.

The Sword Discussion is imminent, and they also have no mood to eat good things.

Mo Hua has free time, so he sits aside, gnawing on dried meat while flipping through the Sword Discussion list deduced by the "Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument."

As he looks, he detects some problems.

This list cannot be considered a truly "fair" list.

The Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument does not purely "randomize" the matches. It deduces through cause and effect to screen out the true "strong ones."

It also tries to ensure that these strong ones can reach the end of the Sword Discussion.

Therefore, it will not let the prodigies of the four great sects, eight great gates, and even the twelve streams fight to the death in the initial stage of the "Yellow" character bureau.

In the Yellow character stage, the disciples of the four great sects, eight great gates, and even the twelve streams will mostly encounter opponents from the "Qian Xue Hundred Gates."

The probability of "seed level" prodigies meeting each other is extremely small.

Even if prodigies meet, it will have no impact.

The tolerance rate of the "Yellow" character bureau is high. Losing one or two matches will not affect advancement.

In this way, the Taixu Sect is actually not that hard to fight against.

But it is very difficult for ordinary disciples of the Qian Xue Hundred Gates to climb up.

This is a kind of unfairness.

But in a sense, trying to select the strongest cultivators and avoid some teams with good luck "picking up scraps" and reaching the end is another kind of fairness based on "strength."

"However, using heavenly mechanism algorithms to judge strength and control probability—the ancestor of Mount Lun Dao really has some ideas."

Mo Hua mutters in his heart.

Mo Hua looks again at his own match-up position sequence and discovers that his match-up position sequence is arranged very late. His first match will not be until later days.

He wonders if the "Lun Dao Heavenly Instrument" deduced his cause and effect, knowing that he is a "deeply hidden" strong one, so it very perceptively arranged his match-up order to the back.

Mo Hua guesses in his heart and nods.

Experts always appear last.

This is very reasonable.

Furthermore, his opponents are also mostly disciples from the "Qian Xue Hundred Gates," and they seem to pose little threat.

There is even less need to be nervous about this.

"Today I'll watch the show, and the day after tomorrow I'll compete—"

Mo Hua simply takes out all the dried meat he brought and eats it.

After eating and drinking his fill, he sits in meditation and rests, waiting to watch the performance of his little junior brothers.

He also wants to see the results of the "Taixu Dao Soldiers" he preliminarily created in these days, which he poured his heart and soul into, borrowing his knowledge of arrays.

Great Dao starts from duckweed.

Great cultivation achievements often start from seemingly casual attempts and efforts.

Mount Lun Dao is still preparing.

The audience seats outside the mountain are a sea of people.

Another hour later, in somewhat boring, nervous, and anxious anticipation, a loud bell rings,

Echoing through the mountain top.

Everyone's spirits are shaken.

This means that the Sword Discussion is finally about to begin.

Elders call names in turn, leading the participating disciples away.

A moment later, a huge "buzzing" sound rises.

Turbulent spiritual power floods surge up, spreading towards the sky, injecting into the fifth-grade great array of Mount Lun Dao.

Above the great array, the light suddenly becomes brilliant, and the light curtain, like the Milky Way, is shocking to the heart.

This is the effect of a fifth-grade array fully activated.

Void power spreads, connecting with the Lun Dao jade on the disciples' bodies.

The Lun Dao jade contains spatial power, protecting the safety of the disciples. At the same time, once the Lun Dao jade shatters, the disciples will be defeated and forced to withdraw.

A moment later, killing sounds rise, and the Sword Discussion begins.

And at the same time, the white giant curtain in the upper air of Mount Lun Dao suddenly flows with light.

A square heaven picture shadow unfolds.

Pieces of five-colored picture shadows appear, twisting, splitting, and then turning into blocks of square small "screens."

Each square shadow displays a terrain, corresponding to a Sword Discussion match-up.

On the sky-covering huge square heaven picture shadow, nearly a hundred Sword Discussion events are simultaneously presented.

The images are clear, and the characters are vivid and visible.

The scene is magnificent for a time.

All observing cultivators cannot help but whisper to each other, their expressions shocked.

Even Mo Hua, looking at this grand, intense, and wonderful "big screen," also exclaims in admiration for a time.

Although this thing is very cliché to him.

But it must be said that the effect is indeed very good.

With just a glance, one can see hundreds of prodigies discussing swords.

Sword qi is rampant, spells are flying, fists and feet are fighting, dazzling and blood-boiling.

Mo Hua himself also watches with great interest, and it is not good to say that this thing is wasteful of spirit stones.

And as time passes, the surprise towards the square heaven picture shadow gradually fades, and everyone's gazes are concentrated on the Sword Discussion itself.

The events of the Yellow character bureau are just initial races, not difficult, and not very key.

Therefore, at the same time, numerous Sword Discussion fields are presented on the square heaven picture shadow.

All audiences can choose what they like to watch.

Generally speaking, elders and disciples of the same sect only watch their own sect's Sword Discussion, occasionally paying attention to some opponents' battles.

Family heads and elders of families also prioritize watching the performances of their own family disciples.

And parents basically only watch their own children, regardless of whether their child is greatly displaying divine might or passively getting beaten.

In the beginning, it was still okay. Prodigies mixed war, and everyone watched for fun.

But as they watched, some experienced and discerning cultivators detected something wrong.

"Are those disciples of the Taixu Sect?"

"Their style seems not quite right?"

In the square heaven picture shadow, the Taixu Sect disciples are mostly wearing standard armor, using unified spiritual tools, with body arrays added, emitting a uniform light, advancing and retreating with evidence, following orders, and killing decisively.

Moreover, they wear spiritual armor, use spiritual tools, and have built-in arrays, which seem to have a certain restraining effect on opponents.

Five people are united, borrowing the firmness of the armor, the advantage of spiritual tools, and the might of arrays. In confrontation, they are invincible for a time.

Everyone is surprised and cannot help but discuss:

"Am I seeing things?"

"Is this a sect Sword Discussion, or is it Dao soldiers in battle? How to make such an array?"

"Are they not selecting prodigies?"

"They have been made into Dao soldiers, what else is there to select?"

"Do you understand? The initial purpose of the Qian Xue Sword Discussion was to cultivate generals and lead Dao soldiers in war—"

"This is something from how many years ago, and the rules have changed how many times—"

"Moreover, the cultivation world is stable, there has been no war for many years, what do you need so many Dao soldiers for?"

"Isn't the current Sword Discussion just 'selection'?"

"Selecting disciples for sects, selecting talents for families, selecting prodigies for the Dao Court."

"So many family heads and elders of great forces are watching. As long as you perform well and get noticed, you will naturally have abundant wealth, an unlimited future, and possibly reach heaven in one step—"

"Let me tell you the truth, in the current Sword Discussion, if you want to win, you have to treat your opponents and teammates as 'stepping stones'."

"Defeat opponents to show that you are strong."

"Take your teammates as 'pads,' and you can be stronger."

"If you discuss swords like Dao soldiers, in the end, is it you who is powerful, or is your team powerful?"

Someone disagrees: "Your idea is too narrow."

"What's narrow? This is originally a fact. If not, why didn't the families and sects do this before, but the Taixu Sect did this set of Dao soldiers?"

"What do you think 'sect Dao soldiers' are? Can they be made so easily?"

"What's difficult? Isn't it just spiritual tools and arrays? If I were the sect master, I could definitely make a set. Furthermore, this 'Dao soldier form' is not necessarily good to see—"

"I think the effect is good—"

Outside the mountain, for a time, human voices are noisy.

Among the audience of the Sword Discussion, there are various kinds of cultivators, and there is all sorts of talk.

Some admire, feeling that the Taixu Sect is very creative.

Some are unmoved, feeling that mere sect Dao soldiers are just so-so.

Some despise them, thinking that the Taixu Sect is "taking shortcuts," borrowing the advantage of spiritual tools and arrays, and that victory is not martial.

Furthermore, using unified formations to discipline disciples extinguishes the "nature" and "individuality" of cultivators, preventing them from freely discussing swords and fully exerting their own strength.

Disciples who win this way do not rely on their own strength and do not deserve to be called "geniuses."

The high levels of each family and sect are mostly silent.

They have tried this kind of attempt before, but the effect was not good, and the actual problems were more than imagined.

That the Taixu Sect can do this much shows that they have indeed put a lot of thought into it, and it is by no means as simple as it appears on the surface.

But the Sword Discussion has just begun, and it is not convenient to assert whether this form is good or bad.

And on the high platform, several Golden Core and even Featherization cultivators have different colors in their eyes.

These people are mostly from Dao soldier families, with resolute faces and experienced many battles. They naturally possess the decisive majesty of killers.

Among them, one is a Featherization True Person from the Yang family.

As soon as the Taixu Sect's array was displayed, his eyes lit up, and he intently watched several actual combat matches of the Sword Discussion, secretly nodding.

Many things that others cannot see are naturally clear in the heart of a person from a Dao soldier family like him.

"Are there any disciples from my Yang family in the Taixu Sect?" the Yang family Featherization asks.

An elder beside him responds softly: "Yes, there is a boy named 'Qian Jun' from the Cheng En branch who is in the Taixu Sect. There are also several people scattered among other branches."

"Hmm."

The Yang family Featherization nods, remembering this name in his heart. After a slight thought, he says again: "Go back and tell the family head to let the Yang family increase contact with the Taixu Sect from now on. These disciples are all good seedlings—"

"Yes—" the elder says softly, then somewhat regretfully, "It's just that in the end— they are still immature."

"They are all children who haven't left the sect, so immaturity is natural," the Yang family Featherization's gaze is expectant. "Experience is okay. The most important thing is to have the consciousness of 'fighting together with sons' in Dao soldier combat. Given time, tempered by the battlefield, they will certainly be of great use."

"What the True Person says is very true—" The elder thinks for a moment, then frowns again: "But these children are all direct descendants of families, sons of a thousand gold. They do not sit in the hall and probably will not go to the battlefield in the future."

"No harm—"

The Yang family Featherization says indifferently, looking at the vast Dao Mountain, his gaze profound.

If one day, soldiers arrive and war fires spread, the common people of the world will all be involved, regardless of whether they are willing or not. On the square heaven picture shadow, the Sword Discussion is still ongoing.

Disciples from other sects each have their merits, but in the end, they still follow the path of "sect Sword Discussion."

Four disciples protect one "prodigy."

Or just five geniuses gather together and cooperate with each other.

These are essentially a kind of "elite" tactic.

While the Taixu Sect disciples, under Mo Hua's leadership, have invisibly treated the Sword Discussion as a "war" and follow a kind of "group" tactic.

In cultivation or Dao methods, they may not be superior.

But their tactical execution is more thorough, they advance and retreat together, and they follow orders.

For the sake of winning, they even abandon their "individuality."

They do not use inherited spiritual tools, but uniformly select targeted custom spiritual tools, strictly follow tactical needs, use specific Dao methods, do not show off or fight fiercely, do not highlight themselves, everything is for the sake of "tactic" and winning.

In this way, the high and low are decided.

The Taixu Sect disciples have an unusually high win rate in the "Yellow" character events stage.

Just like this, until the sun sets and dusk descends.

The events of the first day of the Sword Discussion, amidst the noise and wonder, also slowly draw to a close.

After the matches, Mount Lun Dao compiles the win results.

The Taixu Sect, which was originally worried about its precarious sect status, directly rushed upwards in the win results of the first day, temporarily ranking first in the Qian Xue Sword Discussion!

When this result came out, the Taixu Sect Master was stunned.

During the daytime Sword Discussion, he looked at the win results and situation and guessed that the Taixu Sect's initial ranking should not be low.

But to actually take first place, he still had an unreal feeling of "dreaming."

Not only the Sect Master, but also the ancestors and sect masters of the Three Mountains and Nine Streams, from the Sect Master to the elders to all the disciples, were all astonished and lost in thought. First place in the Sword Discussion?

Although it is only the first day and temporary, can their Taixu Sect— actually suppress the four great sects and eight great gates and rank first in the Sword Discussion?

This is first place in the Sword Discussion, ah.

Even if it is only the first day, even if it is temporary, even if it is just a "flash in the pan," it has never happened before.

The sect is filled with extreme joy for a time.

And all this is thanks to Mo Hua's planning.

Mo Hua's prestige among the disciples, unknowingly, has risen another level.

Even the ancestors and sect masters of the Taixu and Chongxu Mountains, and some high-level elders, also look at Mo Hua with new eyes.

The more they look, the more they find Mo Hua pleasing to the eye; the more they look, the more handsome he seems.

They actually understand in their hearts that the Taixu Sect's "Sword Discussion first place" is unlikely to last.

But despite this, it is still enough to make them feel elated.

And the news of the Taixu Sect's "temporary" first place in the Sword Discussion, spreading among the four sects, eight gates, and twelve streams, also caused no small shock.