When Yuan saw the situation, he decided not to interrupt but to spectate instead.
A few minutes later, the young man who’d caught the attention of the old man from the Holy Sword Clan opened his eyes and stood up, seemingly unaware of the elder’s presence.
The old man cleared his throat loudly to announce his presence before speaking, "Young man, what’s your na?"
The young man was startled montarily, but he quickly recovered when he saw the old man’s white and golden robes.
Then, he hastily lowered his body and bowed, "This junior is called Chu Ling. I apologize for not noticing you earlier, Senior."
The old man smiled and said, "It’s my fault for sneaking up on you. Anyway, if you don’t mind asking, how old are you?"
"This junior is currently 3,291 years old," the young man responded.
The surrounding swordmasters expressed surprise after hearing the young man’s response.
"So you’ve achieved Enhanced Sword Aura in under 5,000 years. Very impressive indeed. Do you currently have a teacher?" the old man continued to ask, almost like he was giving a job interview.
"No, I do not, but I did spend a thousand years at the Gleaming Sword Sect."
The old man nodded before retrieving what looked like a slab of tal and said, "If you can leave even the slightest scratch on this plate using your Enhanced Sword Aura, I’ll recruit you into the Holy Sword Clan."
Chu Ling swallowed nervously at the opportunity before him. The Holy Sword Clan was ho to three Sword Emperors. Joining them was a dream pursued by countless swordmasters.
"Are you willing to accept this challenge?" the old man asked.
"I am willing!" Chu Ling imdiately responded.
The old man nodded and placed the tal on the ground.
"Whenever you are ready," he said.
Chu Ling retrieved his sword and took a mont to prepare himself.
Then, everyone watched as Chu Ling’s body surged with Enhanced Sword Aura, and he struck the tal plate with a resounding clang that echoed through the crater.
The spectators anticipated Chu Ling to leave a mark on the tal plate, but to their shock, he was suddenly hurled backward like a ragdoll.
Before anyone could make sense of what had just happened, a cold, mocking laughter echoed through the air. All eyes turned toward the old man, who was now laughing hysterically, as though he’d just witnessed the most absurd joke in the world.
"W-What is going on...?" Chu Ling muttered in a daze as he slowly got back to his feet.
The old man responded, "That was the best you could do with that level of Enhanced Sword Aura? What a waste of talents!"
"What’s happening, Young Master?" Feng Yuxiang asked, as she was just as confused as the others.
Yuan calmly explained, "While his Enhanced Sword Aura is indeed comndable, he has no idea how to wield it. It’s like handing a divine blade to a child—powerful, yet utterly wasted."
"I didn’t know you needed to know how to use Sword Aura," Feng Yuxiang remarked.
"While Weapon Aura is inherently powerful and can be used as is, you still need to learn to control it to utilize its full potential. It’s like comparing a sharp knife with a dull knife."
The old man approached Chu Ling and shook his head, "Sorry, but it looks like you didn’t pass the test."
"P-Please give one more chance! I will do it properly this ti!" Chu Ling fell to his knees and begged.
The old man narrowed his eyes and sneered in disdain, "Another chance? Do you know how many people here would kill for a first chance? You were given a chance, but you squandered it."
Without giving Chu Ling another look, the old man turned around and walked away, leaving him devastated.
However, before the old man could get too far, Yuan descended right before him, blocking his path.
"..."
The old man halted his movents and stared at Yuan with a sowhat surprised face. He’d been wandering the Grand Sword Crater for many years, but nobody had so boldly stood in his path before.
"Do you think I can give it a go?" Yuan asked.
"What?" The old man frowned.
"That tal slab. I want to try striking it with my Sword Aura," he clarified.
"I don’t know if you’re acting on boldness or pure stupidity, but I will give you a chance to walk away with your life."
Yuan didn’t say anything, but he exuded so of his Sword Aura. It wasn’t his Enhanced Sword Aura, but just his ordinary Sword Aura.
The old man’s eyes widened after sensing Yuan’s ordinary Sword Aura, even doubting his own eyes for a second.
’His ordinary Sword Aura feels as powerful as the last guy’s Enhanced Sword Aura! But how is that possible?!’ he cried inwardly, not daring to believe what he was sensing.
In order to confirm the phenonon before him, the old man retrieved the tal slab and tossed it on the ground.
"Go ahead."
Without saying a word, Yuan retrieved a random sword from his spatial ring and swung it at the tal slab.
The people around them expected to hear a loud clanging sound like usual, but to their puzzlent, Yuan’s strike didn’t make even the slightest sound.
"Did he miss?" They wondered out loud as their eyes shifted to the tal slab on the ground.
"No way..."
Despite staring at the object with their own eyes, nobody there dared to believe what they were witnessing.
"Th-This is..." The old man’s voice trembled as he stared at the tal slab lying on the ground, now cleanly split in two.
"Hm? It’s not as durable as I thought it would be..." Yuan muttered.
The old man’s body shook. Then, without warning, he lunged forward and grabbed both of Yuan’s arms.
"You must join our Holy Sword Clan!" he declared.
However, Yuan remained calm and said, "I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not trying to join the Holy Sword Clan."
"What?"
It wasn’t just the old man—everyone present wore the sa stunned expression after hearing Yuan’s words, their minds struggling to grasp such nonsense.
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