Chapter 538 — The Blade's Divine Ascension

The Woodcutter Sage looked across, where several demon gods were arriving, each bringing their prized disciples. Those young demon elites were wreathed in monstrous killing intent, their physiques savage to the extreme, dreadful to behold—clearly veterans who had weathered life-and-death trials.

He had dealt with the demon race before and knew well the ferocity of that kind. Judged purely by physical constitution, even the divine-arts practitioners of Taihuang Heaven who possessed the makings of true gods fell somewhat short of the demons.

Moreover, because Taihuang Heaven was constantly at war, forever clashing with the demon race, it was difficult to establish academies or halls of learning like those of Jingping, nor could it form large-scale sects. As a result, the gods often selected outstanding talents and taught them personally.

This had its advantages and its drawbacks. The advantage was that, taught personally by gods and demons, these practitioners became extraordinarily powerful, every one of them an elite; the inheritance of Taihuang Heaven's dao arts and divine powers had no gaps, and god-level techniques could be passed down. Sang Hua, for instance, had been taught personally by her father, Sang Ye.

The drawback was that a person learned only what their own master transmitted, and it was difficult to learn the peerless arts of others. Sang Hua, for example, cultivated only Sang Ye's techniques and divine powers, never studying anyone else's. Even if she had learned a few, the other party could hardly have instructed her with the same devotion as Sang Ye.

Not learning the techniques and divine powers of others certainly allowed for specialization, but it also meant that, in Shen Mu's eyes, Taihuang Heaven's divine arts and dao methods had made little progress and were far inferior to those of Jingping.

Shen Mu could see this, and naturally the Woodcutter Sage could see it as well.

The Woodcutter Sage looked again at Shen Mu, who was still hammering iron, and could not help but feel doubt stir in his heart: "I noticed him in danger on the battlefield and unleashed a divine power that he might comprehend. He immediately learned it and escaped the peril smoothly. By rights, this heir of mine should be a talent of surpassing brilliance, one who had cultivated the techniques I passed down to the point of perfection, and that is why he could grasp my divine power in the span of a single breath. Yet how has he now become so unreliable? Could I truly have misjudged him?"

Just then, another deity approached, bowed, and said, "Heavenly Master, the seven-star-realm elites of Taihuang Heaven have been brought!"

The Woodcutter Sage looked at the young Taihuang Heaven elites approaching and nodded lightly. "Let them in."

Sang Hua was glancing all around when her eyes suddenly lit up. She said to Shen Mu beside her, "Hey, thresher, that girl is called Yu He—Yu He, ranked first among the seven-star-realm divine-arts practitioners!"

Shen Mu drew a sword from the wall of fire, examined it, found the tempering insufficient, and thrust it back in.

Sang Hua, thrilled beyond measure, said to Shen Mu, "Yu He is the disciple of the true god Pang Yu. She passed the trial of the God-Suppressing Tower and, in the battle at Shi City, slew three young demon experts of the true-demon level. She is hailed as first in the seven-star realm! That woman with her hair piled high like a little pagoda—she is very beautiful!"

The Black Tiger God looked over. The woman called Yu He wore a cold expression. She removed the earrings from her ears, then her bracelets, and adjusted her clothing—clearly ready at every moment for a life-or-death struggle.

"Indeed not bad. She is an expert," the Black Tiger God praised. "She removes every superfluous ornament from her body so that her movements face no obstruction. She deserves to be called one who has been through a hundred battles."

Sang Hua suddenly cried out in excitement, "Thresher, look, look! All ten of the seven-star-realm divine-arts masters have come... no, wait, two are missing. Could they have died in battle?"

Shen Mu, wholly absorbed in his forging, suddenly shook his body and transformed into the true form of Chen Xingjun—crimson hair and serpent body. He drew in a mass of water vapor to cool the flying sword, then seized the sword and injected vital essence into it. He rubbed his hands together and rolled the gleaming blade into a pellet.

He nodded, well satisfied.

Sang Hua, inexplicably elated, said, "Look, that is Shu Yao! His master is the true god Yan Shuo. But last time, when the true god Yan Shuo fought his decisive battle with Furiluo, he unfortunately fell in battle... Still, Shu Yao is truly extraordinary, very much in his master's style—his techniques are domineering, his divine powers fierce and unyielding. He walks the path of sanctifying the body through flesh!"

The Black Tiger God looked at Shu Yao. The youth had a steady bearing, unshaken even if the sky should fall. Even facing so many gods and demons present, his expression did not change. The Black Tiger God praised, "Far more composed than the thresher. The thresher's expression changed any number of times along the way. This Shu Yao is an expert too."

Shu Yao and the others walked over. He was an extremely steady young man, calm in demeanor, with an air of uncommon distinction.

The several people beside him were all extraordinary as well. Every one of them, man or woman, carried a thick aura of slaughter—they must have just come from the battlefield.

Sang Hua was beside herself with excitement. She said to Shen Mu, "Every young expert who can emerge from the God-Suppressing Tower is a legend! That one over there is Huang Yue—he has been through many great battles and his military exploits are illustrious! He is also a disciple of the true god Pang Yu, the powerhouse who passed the God-Suppressing Tower the fastest—only his ranking is a bit lower, third!"

Shen Mu put away the flying sword he had finished refining and stuffed all the other flying swords from the sword pellet into the Li Fire, busy without pause.

The Black Tiger God looked at Huang Yue. Huang Yue was clearly a martial fanatic—even in a situation like this, he was still cultivating. As he walked, he never ceased circulating his techniques, and clouds of qi floated above his head.

His technique was quite peculiar. He had already refined a primordial spirit. Though he had not yet achieved the primordial spirit leaving the body, he could already make his primordial spirit inhale and exhale vital essence.

The cloud qi above his head was the phenomenon caused by his primordial spirit condensing vital essence.

"This man's cultivation is exceedingly profound!" The Black Tiger God's holy pupils lit up. He praised, "Another martial fanatic. His mind is pure, without other thoughts. His intent is single-minded, so naturally his mental state is strong enough! Thresher, and little long-braid girl, you should both learn from them."

Sang Hua knew he was offering her guidance and hurriedly nodded.

The Black Tiger God looked at Shen Mu. Shen Mu had taken out another great pile of flying swords and thrust them into the fire, clanging and hammering away, refining out their impurities.

The Black Tiger God's face darkened.

Yu He walked over. Her gaze fell on Shen Mu, busy forging flying swords, and she frowned slightly. She said to Sang Hua, "Sang Hua, junior sister, who is this?"

Sang Hua looked at her with admiration and said with a smile, "This is Shen Mu, from another world. Shen as in thresher. Senior sister, in the battle at Shi City, you made your name known throughout the world..."

Yu He's expression dimmed. She said, "But Shi City still fell to the enemy. The demon race's strength is indeed somewhat greater than ours. But the divine-arts practitioners of Taihuang Heaven are no weaker than the demons—they merely rely on superior numbers!"