Chapter 2 The Sacred Land of Sword Cultivators

Ji Ning walked forward with Su Youji, while Lord Fudan provided commentary along the way.

“Bang.”

The red-haired man sent his opponent flying with a single sword strike, then his gaze fell on Ji Ning. His eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily, “A new junior apprentice-brother?”

“I am Beiming. Greetings, Senior Apprentice-Brother Yankuang,” Ji Ning said.

“I thought as much. I’ve sparred with everyone in the Sword Palace, so I know them all.” The red-haired man laughed heartily. “Since Junior Apprentice-Brother Beiming has just arrived, I won’t disturb you now. In a couple of days, I’ll come find you for a match—don’t refuse then.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Ji Ning replied modestly.

“Mm, go on, go on. We’ll talk later,” the red-haired man said.

Ji Ning nodded.

…

As Ji Ning and the others continued walking, Lord Fudan said in a low voice, “Among the six Sword Lords, Senior Apprentice-Brother Yankuang is the most straightforward and loves sparring with cultivators the most. Even if his opponent is weak, he doesn’t mind. He’s very easy to get along with—much more approachable than many World-level cultivators in our Sword Palace.”

Ji Ning smiled. He could also feel Senior Apprentice-Brother Yankuang’s warmth and openness.

A sword cultivator, especially one who could break through to the Daolord level at any time, would have such a state of mind—whether good, evil, or treacherous—rooted in their own understanding. Senior Apprentice-Brother Yankuang was clearly someone extremely warm and straightforward, and his sword was likewise a mighty, overwhelming force that crushed head-on.

“We’re heading to the Ancient Library now. It’s just ahead.” Lord Fudan pointed to a large, yellowed wooden building ahead. The entire building must have covered several li. Even with the naked eye, Ji Ning could sense its ancient aura.

“The Ancient Library was built when the Sword Palace was founded. It has existed for an incredibly long time,” Lord Fudan explained.

“Eh?” Ji Ning looked ahead in surprise.

Around the Ancient Library were many black-armored Daolords. Some sat cross-legged on the grass, some leisurely drank alone, and some practiced swordsmanship. At a glance, there were over a hundred.

“Senior Apprentice-Brother Fudan,” Ji Ning said in confusion, “Along the way, I’ve seen quite a few black-armored Daolords. Counting these, there must be over two hundred. But you said earlier that the entire Sword Palace has only a little over a hundred Daolords of Life and Death…”

Lord Fudan paused, a complex expression flickering across his face.

“Let me explain,” Lord Fudan said with a sigh. “In the Sword Palace, every cultivator treats each other like brothers. There’s not much difference in status. Even a World-level cultivator would simply address a Daolord on the verge of Dao Integration as ‘Senior Apprentice-Brother.’”

Ji Ning nodded.

The Sword Palace was a gathering place for sword cultivators, where everyone was relatively equal in status.

“But even with equality, there are still some distinctions,” Lord Fudan said. “The cultivators in the Sword Palace are mainly divided into two categories.”

“The first are those who become Daolords of Life and Death through their own cultivation. Also, among the World-level cultivators, there are the six Sword Lords. Though not Daolords of Life and Death, they can break through at any time and have greater potential. Once they break through to become One-step Daolords, they are far stronger than ordinary One-step Daolords. Even Daolords of Life and Death treat the Sword Lords as equals.”

“The second category includes the other World-level cultivators and us black-armored Daolords.”

“The other World-level cultivators are still just World-level, and some may never break through to become Daolords in their entire lives. Naturally, their status is relatively lower. As for us black-armored Daolords, we broke through by relying on the Heaven-Defying Life-and-Death Pill. We are forever stuck at the One-step Daolord level, with no hope of advancing further. Even some exceptional World-level cultivators can be stronger than us.” Lord Fudan shook his head. “In the eyes of some Daolords of Life and Death, we black-armored Daolords have the lowest status. They would rather treat some World-level cultivators kindly, while they don’t care about us. Generally, we aren’t even counted among the Daolords of Life and Death.”

Ji Ning fell silent.

He could sense a trace of sorrow in Lord Fudan’s words.

“In the entire Sword Palace, there are over two thousand three hundred black-armored Daolords,” Lord Fudan said softly. “That’s far more than the number of World-level cultivators. After all, in the entire Mangya Kingdom, many rely on the Heaven-Defying Life-and-Death Pill to break through. And since the great Lord has decreed that any Daolord can join the Twelve Palaces, there are many black-armored Daolords in the Twelve Palaces.”

Ji Ning understood.

In the Sword Palace, there were over two thousand black-armored Daolords, only a little over two hundred World-level cultivators, and just over a hundred true Daolords of Life and Death. Given their weak strength and lack of hope for advancement, it was no wonder black-armored Daolords had low status.

“Many black-armored Daolords are outside. Only about five hundred remain in the Sword Palace,” Lord Fudan said. “Even though we face cold looks, we still stay in the Sword Palace because here… there is still hope for us to improve our strength. Improving strength isn’t just about realm; at the same realm, different sword techniques yield different power. There are also divine abilities, secret arts, and so on.”

Ji Ning nodded. Secret arts like the ‘Nine Sources Divine Thunder’ were indeed very powerful.

“In the Sword Palace, there is hope of obtaining these, so many join,” Lord Fudan said. “Come, I’ll take you into the Ancient Library to have a look.”

…

They arrived before the Ancient Library.

“This junior apprentice-brother is new? You may enter, but the one behind you cannot.” Two black-armored Daolords stood guard at the entrance.

Ji Ning glanced back at Su Youji.

“Youji, wait here,” Ji Ning said.

“Mm.” Su Youji was curious but not too concerned, because the Sword Palace was all about the sword path, while she was currently on the path of charm and control of the ‘Flying Immortal Saint’—completely unrelated to the sword.

Though the wooden planks of the ancient building were protected by formation restrictions, the relentless passage of time had still left its mark.

Inside the ancient building, it was enormous.

At a glance, rows of bookshelves filled the entire building.

On each shelf lay rolls of jade slips.

“Hm?” Ji Ning casually picked up a jade slip and extended his divine sense into it. He immediately discovered a vast amount of information and began to absorb and understand it.

“Such formidable sword techniques,” Ji Ning thought in surprise.

This was an incredibly powerful sword technique, no less than the Nameless Sword Art, but unfortunately… it was incomplete.

Ji Ning couldn’t help but study it for a while before putting the jade slip down.

“Don’t rush, Junior Apprentice-Brother,” Lord Fudan said. “The sword techniques here come from the boundless ancient past. Some were left by the great Lord, and some have been accumulated over endless ages since the Sword Palace’s founding. Even the other eleven palaces send sword techniques they obtain to our Sword Palace. Over countless eons, there are tens of millions of volumes here. At the very least, those placed here are Daolord-level sword techniques.”

“Tens of millions?” Ji Ning was stunned.

“But ninety-nine percent are incomplete,” Lord Fudan said. “The ones on these shelves are all incomplete. The jade slips placed on the front tables are complete, covering sword techniques from beginner to advanced levels, suitable for gradual study. On the tables, there are over five hundred thousand volumes.”

Tens of millions of incomplete volumes?

Over five hundred thousand complete volumes?

“The sword techniques here vary in power. Some were left by Eternal Emperors. Some were obtained by the great Lord by chance and are incredibly powerful beyond imagination,” Lord Fudan said with a smile.

“Are there any restrictions on learning these sword techniques?” Ji Ning asked worriedly.

“None,” Lord Fudan said with emotion. “As long as you’re a member of the Sword Palace, you can cultivate any volume here, freely choose.”

Ji Ning marveled.

Walking through the Ancient Library, looking at the jade slips that had been placed there for who knows how many chaos cycles, he occasionally picked one up to examine. Even the incomplete ones were extremely profound—if sent to ‘Wuyan Star,’ they could be considered ultimate arts. After all, any sword technique placed in the Sword Palace’s Ancient Library was at least Daolord-level.

“So many,” Ji Ning exclaimed.

Ji Ning even saw a silver-armored Daolord sitting cross-legged in one spot, silently studying a sword technique.

“There are too many sword techniques here, especially some profound ones,” Lord Fudan said. “For example, the sword technique of an Eternal Emperor alone would consume endless time and energy to comprehend. And there are far too many techniques here… No one can truly learn them all. At most, they browse and draw some experience.”

Ji Ning, however, marveled that his own sword path required analyzing numerous sword techniques from their essence. This place was indeed a treasure trove.

“The Ancient Library is just an ordinary place in the Sword Palace,” Lord Fudan said with a mysterious smile. “It doesn’t even rank in the top three.”

“Ah.” Ji Ning was dumbfounded.

The Ancient Library, in Ji Ning’s eyes, was already a sacred land for sword cultivators—and it didn’t rank in the top three of the Sword Palace?

“Come, I’ll take you to the next place,” Lord Fudan said. “You’ll understand when we get there.”