Chapter 19: Flooding the Trending Searches

Clang—

Yang Dai drew the treasured sword the woman in the bamboo hat had given him. The blade flashed through the woods, three feet long—over a meter—its edge both lengthy and bright, as if emitting a silvery glow. The hilt was exquisitely crafted: one side of the crossguard was shaped like a dragon, its tail curling toward the grip; the other side resembled a phoenix, wings spread outward. Between the dragon and phoenix, two characters were engraved.

Fate’s Radiance!

Yang Dai’s eyes gleamed. What a magnificent sword!

Even Liu Junjie was transfixed.

Tian Buzhong exclaimed, “This must be a magical sword, a true artifact!”

The other yin spirits joined in their admiration.

Yang Dai noticed a lingering fragrance on the blade; he wondered if it was just his imagination.

He stepped aside and swung the sword. Four bamboo stalks fell, cleanly severed.

It sliced through iron as if it were mud!

The phrase sprang unbidden to Yang Dai’s mind. He’d never understood it before, but now he did.

Wielding the Fate’s Radiance, he felt none of the bamboo’s resistance, as if he were cutting through air.

So sharp, and yet so light.

Yang Dai’s heart surged with excitement. He ordered the yin spirits to stand back and began to practice the Heavenly Momentum Sword Technique. Following the forms he recalled, he started to move through the stances. His body was awkward at first—he’d never practiced swordsmanship before—but his cultivation at the second level of Qi Gathering meant his body was far more flexible than most. Soon, his movements took shape.

The yin spirits watched eagerly, curious to see how powerful the sword technique of Master Tianxu truly was.

At present, Yang Dai had only learned three forms of the Heavenly Momentum Sword Technique: Wind Force, Rain Force, and Water Force. He intended to devote his coming days to perfecting them. With the other yin spirits cultivating to increase his spiritual power and the aid of Qi Gathering Pills, a few days spent mastering the forms would not hinder his progress.

From time to time, the bamboo grove rang out with cheers. The yin spirits gave Yang Dai full recognition.

...

By evening, Yang Dai returned to reality. Just as he was about to turn, a loud crash sounded behind him, startling him into spinning around. He saw Hu Li hurrying over, excitement shining in his eyes.

“Yang, you’re incredible!” Hu Li exclaimed.

Clearly, Yang Dai’s feat of triggering a national announcement in the Xia Kingdom had stirred up quite a storm.

“Tell me, how did you obtain the Sword Saint’s legacy? The Sword Saint is a legendary figure—ten years since the Xia Kingdom entered the Deep Domain, and all we’ve heard are rumors. No one’s ever met him,” Hu Li said excitedly.

Yang Dai made no attempt to hide the truth, recounting his encounter with Master Tianxu. As for the Nine Demon God Diagram, he deliberately kept that to himself—one must always keep a trump card.

Hu Li sighed in admiration. “Master Tianxu truly is an enlightened figure. He’s always been friendly to us trial-takers—even the Pillars of the Nation have received his guidance. He seems eager to help us succeed.”

Yang Dai nodded in agreement.

Hu Li, delighted, insisted on dragging Yang Dai off for a drink. Yang Dai couldn’t refuse.

While Hu Li fetched the alcohol, Yang Dai released Tian Buzhong, Bai Wei, Ying Ji, Cheng the Hungry Ghost, and Stone Dragon, instructing them to cultivate on their own. He then picked up his tablet and logged into the SkyNet. As expected, he was dominating the trending boards again.

TOP 1 — King Ba Crosses the River!
TOP 3 — The Legendary Sword Saint!
TOP 4 — King Ba Crosses the River Obtains the Sword Saint’s Legacy!
TOP 5 — Who Is King Ba Crosses the River?
TOP 6 — Where Does King Ba’s Talent Rank in Xia Kingdom?
TOP 10 — The Future Pillar of the Nation: King Ba Crosses the River!

Such prestige!

After a month of silence, King Ba Crosses the River had announced his participation in the Newcomers’ Tournament and obtained the legacy of a legendary figure. The buzz was overwhelming.

Every age reveres its heroes. In times of peace, sports stars are idolized; but now, it is the powerful trial-takers who are admired.

An S-class talent signals limitless potential—a future Pillar of the Nation!

There were only twelve Pillars in the Xia Kingdom, each strong enough to protect an entire province single-handedly.

Yang Dai savored the praise online. After all, what young man doesn’t enjoy a little showing off?

Soon, Hu Li returned carrying a crate of liquor. Yang Dai glanced at the bottles—not beer. He instantly understood.

Tonight, no one would leave this room on their own feet.

Two hours later.

Hu Li carried Yang Dai to his bed, tucked him in, straightened his own clothes, and left with a smile. Before he departed, he tidied up the mess, humming a tune as he closed the door.

With Yang Dai gaining the Sword Saint’s legacy, he could become a fighting force immediately. His rise would not take as long as the Intelligence Bureau had anticipated, much to Hu Li’s relief. The directors’ group chat was full of congratulations from the other provinces, leaving Hu Li in high spirits—he practically floated as he walked.

He resolved to cultivate Yang Dai carefully from now on.

The current Director General of the Intelligence Bureau rose to his position mainly for having mentored a Pillar of the Nation. Why shouldn’t he do the same?

In the corner of the room, the five yin spirits exchanged glances, thinking this man was out of his mind. That walk of his was infuriating.

...

Just past noon, sunlight spilled over Yang Dai, rousing him from sleep.

He opened his eyes and sat up slowly.

“What kind of liquor can actually get a second-level Qi Gathering cultivator drunk?” he muttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed about last night.

Still, the drink was remarkable. After sobering up, he felt unusually clear-headed, and his spiritual power had even grown slightly—though he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.

Rising, he greeted the five yin spirits, who were still cultivating.

Over the next seven days, he practiced the Heavenly Momentum Sword Technique in the Deep Domain during the day and took Qi Gathering Pills in the evening.

After consuming ten Qi Gathering Pills, his cultivation had reached the third level of Qi Gathering, not far from the fourth.

With the sword technique, Yang Dai could now duel evenly with the strongest among his yin spirits, Tian Buzhong. His only shortcoming was his lack of combat experience, but in time, defeating Tian Buzhong would be no issue.

On this day.

Yang Dai gathered all twenty-nine yin spirits.

“I’m preparing to head to the battlefield. Which way is it? I’ll collect you into my soul space as we travel.”

Ying Ji pointed in a direction. “Head that way, over the mountains, and you’ll reach the battlefield within half a month at most.”

Yang Dai nodded and drew them all into his soul space.

With the Fate’s Radiance sword in hand, he set out.

Originally, he’d planned to reach the fourth level of Qi Gathering before gathering more yin spirits. But lately, reports on the SkyNet indicated a massive beast horde gathering on the western edge of Hanxi Province. Experts predicted a city-destroying beast tide within three months; panic had already gripped the province, and many people were fleeing.

Even if Yang Dai reached the fourth level, he would be useless against a beast tide. His only option was to gather yin spirits on a large scale.

According to his research, most beasts were only slightly stronger than ordinary people—equivalent to the first or second level of Qi Gathering. His yin spirits, immune to pain and able to persist unless their soul bodies were destroyed, could fight beast for beast, even if they’d been ordinary humans in life.

Yang Dai disliked relying on others. He had to act quickly.

Now, even without yin spirits constantly at his side, his sword technique and third-level cultivation gave him enough strength to protect himself.