The group kept moving forward, but the further they went, the heavier the oppressive sword qi became. More and more people stopped in their tracks.
From the original group of sixty or seventy, nearly half had dropped out by now.
Harvey He gritted his teeth and pushed on; Selina Zhu’s face was pale, looking exhausted.
"Just a hundred meters more—we’re almost there."
At this moment, Sword Master Wang spoke up; his words instantly forced the remaining candidates to rally their spirits.
Everyone looked ahead, their eyes fixed on a plot of land surrounded by wooden fencing.
Not far away stood a half-broken stone tablet. The words 'Sword Burial Ground' were carved into it, though the character for 'Thousand' was missing.
Finally, when everyone reached the wooden fence and stopped in front of the stone tablet, they all let out a long sigh of relief, able at last to take a closer look at the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground.
Looking around, the fenced-off area was filled with broken scraps of iron and pitch-black soil. At first glance, the whole place covered over ten acres.
Other than that, there was nothing else inside.
"So this is the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground? But where are the swords?"
Many people looked puzzled. In their minds, the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground was always supposed to be littered with broken swords and refined iron, a place that felt tragic and solemn, with sword graves everywhere. But the burial ground before them looked no different from an abandoned rural field—except for the lack of wild grass everywhere.
"The swords are inside. You may enter now."
Sword Master Wang gazed at the quiet Thousand-Sword Burial Ground, his expression calm. "All these years, most of the time it’s just this silent."
"Only when a true genius appears will the five swords within the burial ground show any reaction."
As soon as Sword Master Wang finished speaking—
Evan Lin, who had fallen to the back of the crowd, happened to arrive at this spot.
Standing outside the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground, he looked inside, sensing the faint sword intent hidden in the air.
Evan Lin still lingered at the back of the crowd, unhurried and calm.
But at that moment, the previously quiet Thousand-Sword Burial Ground suddenly rang with several sword cries.
The sword cries were clear and piercing, like metal striking stone—when they reached the ear, they sent a chill straight to the heart.
"Sword cries!"
Sword Master Wang’s previously calm face suddenly tensed. He stared at the tranquil Thousand-Sword Burial Ground, where gusts of wind had begun to swirl. In midair, those gusts briefly condensed into swords, then scattered—over and over, in a never-ending cycle.
The bystanders stared wide-eyed at the strange happenings inside the burial ground, all of them shocked.
"Now’s your chance! The burial ground hasn’t shown signs of activity in ages—whenever it does, it’s much easier to have a sword bow to you. Get in there, all of you! Go now!"
Sword Master Wang looked visibly excited.
As soon as he finished speaking, someone stepped out from the crowd.
"I’ll go!"
Harvey He called out loudly and strode forward, taking the lead as he entered the burial ground.
"Keep walking forward. When you can’t go any farther, come out! If you’re lucky enough to have a Southriver Sword bow to you, you’ll be admitted to our Sword Sect!"
Sword Master Wang’s voice rang out, full of pride and confidence.
The Southriver Sword Sect dominates Jinnan, and its disciples walk with pride wherever they go—even among ordinary people.
Everyone watched as Harvey He strode confidently into the burial ground.
He had only taken two steps when someone heard a faint whistling sound. From beneath the black soil, a cold gleam flashed—a blade of cold light burst out and shot straight toward him.
Harvey He saw the sword coming and turned pale with fright. Instinctively, he reached out—and the longsword that burst out of the earth landed firmly in his hand.
"What the—"
Harvey He was still in shock, staring at the sword in his hand. The blade was ancient, its edge razor-sharp, gleaming with cold light.
"Southriver Sword!"
"Again—Southriver Bows to a Man!"
"Wow! I’m so jealous!"
Outside the Thousand-Sword Burial Ground, everyone watched as Harvey He claimed the Southriver Sword in an instant. Their faces were filled with envy.
"Could it be—another Zack Zhao?"
Sword Master Wang murmured to himself, breaking into a smile.
If a few more geniuses appeared, it would only benefit the Southriver Sword Sect.
"Excellent! Looks like our Southriver Sword Sect has finally produced another genius!"
A hearty voice rang out from outside the burial ground.
Everyone turned to look and saw a burly man in his forties, sword in hand, striding toward them.
His every step radiated power, and his voice boomed with energy.
Even separated by over a hundred meters, everyone could sense his overwhelming sharpness the moment they saw him.
It was as if man and sword were one.
He closed the hundred-meter gap in an instant.
The newcomer burst out laughing.
"Chief Sword Master Dai!"
At the sight of him, Sword Master Wang’s face changed. He quickly bent at the waist in greeting.
"Chief Sword Master!"
Hearing Sword Master Wang’s greeting, Selina Zhu’s face changed; she couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
All the Sword Masters in the Southriver Sword Sect are experts at the Vajra Stage. What kind of strength must the Chief Sword Master possess?
"I wasn’t in the best mood today, but it’s a pleasure to witness another genius emerge! Excellent! Young man, if you’re interested, you can become my disciple!"
Chief Sword Master Dai strode forward quickly.
At his words, Harvey He’s face lit up with joy. He hurriedly carried the Southriver Sword, stepped out of the burial ground, and knelt to kowtow: "Master, please accept your disciple’s bow!"
"Good! Good! Good!" Chief Sword Master Dai exclaimed three times in a row.
These past few days, his mind had been troubled—he’d wanted nothing more than to charge out of the Southriver Sword Sect and cut down Lin Jiuxuan, but for the sake of the bigger picture, he had stayed put.
Now, seeing another instance of Southriver Bows to a Man, his mood was especially bright.
"Is there another Zack Zhao?"
Selina Zhu looked at Harvey He. Harvey got up from the ground, his expression turning proud and smug. He strutted over to Selina, his eyes shining, and grinned, "Selina, if you ever run into trouble, just come find me!"
Selina’s eyes lit up with excitement at his words, and she nodded quickly.
Before today, if Harvey He had said something like that to her, she probably would’ve just rolled her eyes.
But today was different.
Harvey He had soared to new heights, and Selina’s attitude toward him changed completely.
Everyone nearby looked at Harvey He with envy.
Harvey glanced around, catching the envy in their eyes, and felt even more pleased.
But just then, he spotted the backpack-wearing youth at the edge of the crowd.
That kid hadn’t even glanced his way!
It was that calm, indifferent attitude toward everything that really got under Harvey’s skin.
"Hey! Kid, why don’t you give it a try? It’s easy!"
Harvey He shouted at Lin Yi, then flashed a provocative grin.