Sword Master Wang glanced over at Evan Lin. In his eyes, this backpacked teenager didn’t show even a hint of discomfort—especially when he spoke, his voice was clear and full of energy, as if the sword qi around them didn’t affect him at all.
Selina Zhu couldn’t help muttering under her breath, “Is he for real? Not even flinching?”
Either this kid is some kind of freakish genius, or he’s just stubbornly pretending to be fine. But no matter which, he’s definitely not normal.
Selina Zhu narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “He’s probably cheating somehow. No way he’s that tough.”
“Drake Yu is the kind of once-in-a-century genius our whole Sword Sect dreams of. Why should someone like you be asking about him?” Harvey He turned away, looking at Evan Lin with utter disdain.
Selina Zhu snorted, “Yeah, mind your own business.”
The truth was, Harvey He had wanted to ask about Drake Yu himself—if he’d spoken up first, Selina Zhu would’ve definitely paid attention to him. But Evan Lin snatched the spotlight, leaving Harvey stewing in frustration.
Selina Zhu, meanwhile, already knew all the drama between Zack Zhao and Lin Jiuxuan. She just rolled her eyes at Harvey’s antics.
Everyone turned to look at Evan Lin, their gazes full of mixed emotions—curiosity, envy, even a bit of annoyance.
Selina Zhu pursed her lips, feeling a weird mix of irritation and intrigue toward Evan.
Selina Zhu raised her eyebrows, clearly annoyed, and shot Evan Lin a glare. “Quit showing off.”
In Selina Zhu’s eyes, Zack Zhao was both handsome and talented, while Drake Yu was an even bigger genius—but he felt way too distant from her world.
Sword Master Wang hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Evan Lin. “Maybe he’s a real genius too,” he muttered, half to himself.
Just now, when Sword Master Wang mentioned Zack Zhao, everyone around instantly started worshipping him. That made Selina Zhu feel pretty satisfied, like her idol was finally getting the recognition he deserved—and she could bask in the glory too.
With everyone chatting about legendary prodigies, the group’s mood lightened, and the climb up the mountain didn’t feel so tough.
But then Evan Lin had to cut in and mess up the vibe, making everyone a little uncomfortable.
Most of the group quickly lost interest in Evan and went back to talking among themselves, treating him like he didn’t exist.
“Whatever happens to them is their business. Asking about it won’t help you at all.”
As Evan Lin listened, he casually lifted his hand, quietly gathering the swirling sword qi in front of him—unseen by everyone else.
Selina Zhu’s eyes flashed with disdain, but she wasn’t the only one watching. The swirling sword qi in the air suddenly seemed to gather and hover, as if sensing Evan Lin’s calm presence and focusing its threat on him.
Sword Master Wang paused for a moment, then finally spoke. “Back then, Drake Yu sprinted into the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground.”
Evan Lin raised an eyebrow inwardly. So this was the famous Thousand-Sword Burial Ground everyone kept talking about? He found it a bit interesting, but nothing special.
“He ran into the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground?”
Evan Lin just strolled along, unfazed. Wherever he walked, the sword qi around him quietly snapped and faded away, as if nothing could touch him.
Hearing Sword Master Wang’s words, everyone around froze, confused.
“What’s so special about that?”
Selina Zhu’s eyes sparkled with interest—she was hooked by this new twist.
“You can try running yourselves. Then you’ll see.”
Sword Master Wang chuckled.
As soon as he said that, Harvey He couldn’t hold back his curiosity—and wanting Selina Zhu to notice him, he immediately shouted, “I’ll give it a shot!”
Right after he spoke, Harvey gritted his teeth against the pain in his body, lowered his head, and darted forward at full speed.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Harvey He looked totally relaxed as he sprinted ahead—the first ten steps felt no different from a normal run.
"What’s so hard about this? Maybe I’m a genius too?"
Harvey’s face lit up. If that was true, he’d have way more confidence facing Selina Zhu in the future.
He even started imagining that as soon as he stepped into the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground, a Southriver Sword would jump out and salute him—just like Zack Zhao. Wouldn’t that be epic?
Harvey was feeling pretty pleased with himself.
"Careful!"
Suddenly, he heard Selina Zhu’s panicked voice behind him.
"Selina, chill! I’m fine! Running feels easy!" Harvey was about to flash a confident smile over his shoulder.
But all he heard around him were people gasping.
And all those rich kids who’d been right next to him just a second ago? Now they’d scattered, putting as much distance between themselves and Harvey as possible.
"Why are you guys running? What, scaredy-cats?"
Harvey muttered, totally confused. He turned his head as he was about to take his twentieth step—then, out of nowhere, every hair on his body stood up. A cold, murderous aura wrapped around him, and he felt death breathing down his neck.
Harvey stared, eyes wide. His foot froze in midair, not daring to take another step.
Right in front of him, a transparent longsword suddenly appeared, floating in the air. Its blade was razor-sharp and ice-cold, aimed straight at Harvey’s forehead.
If he moved even one step closer, that sword would stab right through his brow!
"What the heck is that?!"
Harvey stopped dead, shivering all over, and fell straight onto his butt.
The moment he stopped, the transparent sword vanished without a trace—like it’d never existed.
"Within five li of the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground, the whole area is flooded with invisible sword qi. If you walk forward slowly, you’ll just feel weird inside. But if you start running, you’ll stir up the sword qi and attract these sword-qi blades."
Sword Master Wang shook his head. "The faster you run, the more sword-qi blades you’ll attract. They’re not as deadly as the sword qi condensed by a fourth-grade Vajra expert—they won’t kill you outright—but at best, you’ll be in agony all over; at worst, you could end up crippled. Happens all the time."
"That day, Zack Zhao tried running too, but he only managed fifty steps before stopping. Drake Yu, though, ran over two hundred steps."
Sword Master Wang looked impressed. "Drake ran more than two hundred steps, with over ten sword-qi blades chasing him. It was a once-in-a-century sight. Even better, when he got close to the mound, all those sword-qi blades were shattered by the Southriver Sword inside."
"Shattered by the Southriver Sword?"
Selina Zhu looked shocked and confused.
"Just one sword-qi blade was enough to make me feel like I was about to die. How did he run with over ten chasing him? Is that guy even human?" Harvey, having faced a sword-qi blade himself, was pale with terror.
"Zack Zhao was saluted by the Southriver Sword, but Drake Yu was a real genius—the Southriver Swords actually fought over him. And on top of that, a Misty Rain Sword broke through the crowd and chose him too."
Sword Master Wang paused, looking wistful. "Before, some geniuses were chosen by the Southriver Sword as soon as they entered the mound, but a Misty Rain Sword seeking its master? That’s a first."
He sighed. "Too bad he went to the Moore Family Manor recently and had his sword heart broken. Now his mental state’s all over the place, or you might’ve seen him here today."
"Broken sword heart? Wasn’t that by someone named Evan Lin Jiuxuan?"
Selina Zhu frowned. "Where did this Evan Lin Jiuxuan even come from? He actually dared to fight Zack and Drake both."
"He only beat them because he must’ve cheated! No way he could win otherwise."
Selina sounded pretty annoyed—she hadn’t seen the fight herself, so she was just repeating rumors.
She did know, though, that her sister Yvonne Zhu and Zack Zhao had been getting along great—until Evan Lin Jiuxuan showed up and wrecked everything.
That made Selina furious.
"That Evan Lin Jiuxuan..."
Sword Master Wang hesitated, then sighed and shook his head. "Maybe he’s a genius too."
With everyone chatting away, the road didn’t feel nearly as tough as before.
Nobody was paying attention to Evan Lin, quietly bringing up the rear.
Evan glanced around, raised his right hand, and gave it a lazy wave. Instantly, over a hundred invisible sword-qi blades gathered above his palm.
Each blade gleamed with cold light, their tips aimed right at Evan’s forehead.
"Thousand-Sword Burial Ground... Not bad. Kind of interesting, actually."
Evan muttered, shoved his hands back in his pockets, yawned, and strolled forward. Wherever he went, all the sword qi around him snapped and vanished, leaving no trace behind.