Volume 4, Chapter 151 – Stunning the Whole Audience

“It really is a Daoist sword pellet!”

At the recording site of Arena Live Room, Zhan Guangyou was trembling all over. His tone could not hide his excitement, and his expression looked exactly like that of an explorer discovering some mysterious treasure. The delight on his face was impossible to fake.

Yet neither the host Qiao Lu nor the many netizens watching the program could understand the specifics. After a brief pause, the screen was instantly flooded with question marks.

“???”

“What Daoist sword pellet?”

“Can someone explain what a sword pellet is?”

“And what is this Daoist stuff anyway? You mean those monks with hair you see at tourist spots?”

Public opinion flared up at once, and discussion exploded.

Zhan Guangyou also reacted quickly and launched into an explanation at top speed. “Many viewers may have been unfamiliar with Daoism since childhood. That’s understandable. Compared with Buddhist temples, which can be found in many major cities, Daoist temples are much rarer. Usually, you only see them when you visit scenic areas, and even then only farther inside.”

“That is because our dynasty currently honors Sword Dao above all else,” Zhan Guangyou stressed. “It is not only that we chose Sword Dao. Sword Dao also chose us. And over many years of development, Sword Dao has in fact drawn quite a bit of thought and nourishment from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. For example, many sects’ sword moves and sword formulas were originally passed down from thousand-year-old Buddhist temples and Daoist temples before later being developed and refined. The same goes for many methods of fighting and training in the Nurture the Spirit stage. A lot of those methods are openly available online now, but their ultimate source also lies in those ancient schools.”

“And among the classics and ideas of those schools, the most mysterious is indeed the Daoist Five Dragons Method. The Five Dragons Heart-Sword Art I just mentioned is one of its branches.”

Right there on the spot, he recited a poem:

“In the heart dwell the qi of five dragons;

the five qi gather into pellet-force.

That force is like a grain of pearl;

its color, like misted silver.

Within it lies the Innate Law;

Rеаd οո KаtReаdіոɡСаfе

without, it shows Taiyi radiance.

Dividing into three thousand shadows,

it may withstand a hundred thousand gleams.”

“So the path of the sword pellet is not something without any basis at all. There is textual evidence for it. Scriptures such as Heart Transmission of Severed Spirits and Broad Record of Daoist Traditions both record ancient Daoists ‘gathering qi into force, its shape like a sword pellet.’ It was simply ignored because it could never be confirmed, and no one had ever been able to reproduce it…”

Zhan Guangyou had clearly not been invited as a guest commentator for nothing. He truly knew his stuff. He was not merely a senior deacon of the Tongyun Division Sword Dao Association; he also held concurrent posts in certain research and cultural departments. His explanation was concise yet vivid, and in short order most people gained a basic understanding of the “Daoist sword pellet.”

The netizens might not have understood every detail, but there was at least one thing they could grasp.

This thing was amazing.

First, it was ancient.

Second, it was powerful.

It was the wisdom of the ancestors, a secret treasure passed down by the ancestors.

It was something from our own culture, one of the paths rooted in our own origins.

Shenming Sword Dao had most likely drawn heavily on ancient schools in developing its new methods, especially by excavating material from the Daoist Five Dragons Method and the Five Dragons Heart-Sword Art. That too was our own ability.

And that… that was already more than enough!

At a moment like this, at a moment when so many Yu people’s Sword Dao forces had suffered disastrous defeats, people desperately needed something to lift their spirits. Who cared about all those details? Zhan Guangyou’s explanation was entirely acceptable to them. More than that, it was enough to make them genuinely ecstatic.

“Eeeh! Does this mean the new Shenming methods aren’t the trash the internet said they were?”

“Obviously! I didn’t even know this female disciple before! If she’s already this fierce, do we even need to ask about the others?”

Reαⅾ οո KatRеaԁіոgСαfe

“Mom, I want to learn this! I want sword pellets too! I want to cultivate the Shenming Qi-Refining Formula!”

“Wasn’t there a scanned copy of the Shenming Qi-Refining Formula circulating online a while ago?”

“Long gone! They said it was an evil art, so after it spread for a while it got banned!”

“Even if you found the original, it’d be useless! This thing’s way too hard!”

“The guy above tried it?”

“I did! Then after just one night, I forgot the whole thing!”

For a time, the heat of online public opinion reached an unprecedented peak. Coupled with Bai Zhuqing continuing to kill, one by one, the disciples of Wentian Dao who came up to challenge her, this single match drew the attention of nearly half the online world. Arena Live Room was practically bursting at the seams, and even the conversation between Zhan Guangyou and Qiao Lu started to lag.

“Bastard!”

The situation had suddenly taken a sharp turn for the worse, and Daoist Luo Ying’s face looked exceptionally ugly.

It had been a rare opportunity, but how could he fail to see that the “greater momentum” was now tilting violently back toward Shenming Sword Dao?

Slander?

Defamation?

At least for the next few days, none of that would work anymore!

“Elder Sister!”

Still carrying a murderous aura, Bai Zhuqing dragged the Clear Mist Sword off the stage and left the arena to the Sword Dao Association staff to collect the bodies and wash away the blood. She looked at Bai Xiang with eyes full of anticipation.

A one-against-ten sweep!

Four dead, six wounded!

Reaԁ oո ΚαtRеаԁіngCafе

Did that count as perfectly completing Elder Sister’s task?

Would Elder Sister be satisfied with her?

“Not bad.”

Bai Xiang reached out and pressed a hand to her shoulder, casually wiping the bloodstain from the little girl’s face.

Qing’er could not be compared with the people over there. There was no need to hunt down those who had already lost heart and admitted defeat. If the goal was merely to establish authority, this was already enough.

Their eyes met for only the briefest instant, yet each could sense the affection hidden in the other’s gaze.

It was just that Bai Xiang hid hers more deeply.

Bai Zhuqing, however, hid hers rather less well.

The disciples naturally celebrated and cheered along with them, but in a rear corner off to the side, Bai Shengju frowned as he stared at the sisters below, a trace of suspicion flashing through his eyes.

But he was not sure.

Best keep watching.

Just keep watching…

Very soon, the Association staff finished washing the stage.

Bai Xiang rose to her feet, rode her dark robe into the arena, and quietly looked toward Lian Changru. Her intent to challenge him could not have been clearer.

Lian Changru’s face was deathly pale.

That female disciple of Shenming had struck with extreme ruthlessness. From that alone, one could see Bai Xiang’s own attitude.

Rеаԁ on ΚatReaԁіnɡСаfе

If she had the chance, she would definitely leave no one alive.

She means to use my Wentian Dao to establish her authority…

Lian Changru could naturally see that he had been sold out by Qianyuan Sect.

If the plan had worked as intended, he might not have been unwilling to accept the deal. But judging from the current situation, if he shouted things like “May the human path flourish forever” now, people would probably just think he was insane. And if all the top fighters in his sect died here, it would be completely meaningless.

So of course he knew what choice to make.

“Dao Master Bai’s new methods overshadow the age and shake the world.”

He rose trembling to his feet and, from afar, performed a full prostration salute toward Bai Xiang.

“Wentian Dao… willingly admits defeat!”

The prostration salute belonged to Yu ritual tradition and was the most reverent and solemn of all kneeling rites.

The cameras on site immediately captured this scene from multiple angles.

A young female cultivator.

An old man kneeling in obeisance.

From the lighting, to the composition, to the content, and the actual course of events, it could be said to contain every element needed for an explosive wave of attention.

So there was no doubt that discussion of this match began spreading like wildfire.

In the arena, blazing sword qi covered Bai Xiang’s figure.

She lifted her head and looked at the sky, and could vaguely make out… a tiny gap bitten open in the purple qi.