Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the Qingyun Dao Sect.

The sky was clear.

There were a total of three major sects in Qingzhou region.

The leading one was the Four Thunder Swordsmanship Sect that was established by Daoist Siji.

Next in line were the White Cloud Dao Sect and the Taiyue Sword Sect.

At this moment, inside the Four Thunder Swordsmanship Sect, a Swordsmanship Appraisal Meet had just ended.

The top ten disciples, seven of whom were male and three female, stood on the stage with their heads held high and chests puffed up, appearing extremely majestic.

Several elders were looking at them while stepping on flying swords.

At this moment, a strong voice sounded.

“Good! Excellent! There are seven people who have cultivated the Spring Thunder Swordsmanship to the realm of Greater Mastery. There are also two who have reached the Peak of Spring Thunder Swordsmanship.”

“Of course, there is even one person who has managed to condense the Spring Thunder Swordsmanship sword momentum. Good, very good, well done!”

The elder’s voice was like a big bell that reverberated in the ears of the numerous disciples.

Outside the stage, thousands of disciples stared at the ten people standing on it, green with envy.

The ten of them grinned even more widely especially after being praised by the elder.

However, at this juncture, the elder continued to speak.

“But the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet will be very different this time. There are still two months to go before then. We can’t be careless. In order to get into the top ten in the competition, the Sect Leader will personally guide your cultivation. Do you understand?”

As his voice sounded, the thousands of disciples instantly got into an uproar.

Even the ten people on the stage couldn’t help but be stunned.

No one could have imagined that a mere Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet would warrant the personal guidance of Daoist Siji.

Sect Leader Siji was the creator of the Four Thunder Sword Techniques and was known as the first and best Sword Dao powerhouse in Qingzhou. He rose to fame a few centuries ago. Although he was still the Sect Leader in name, he was often nowhere to be found.

They didn’t expect that he would personally guide the inner sect disciples.

In all the sects of Qingzhou region, the disciples were classified into three categories: outer sect, inner sect, core, and true disciples.

Regardless of how outstanding the inner sect disciples might be, they could not receive the personal guidance of someone like Daoist Siji.

In Qingzhou, Daoist Siji was a faith-like existence and was definitely a true-blue Sword Dao powerhouse who lived up to his prestigious reputation of being the best in Qingzhou.

At this moment, not to mention the outer disciples, even the core disciples and inner sect disciples couldn’t help but be envious.

Envy was secondary. They mainly found it incredible.

At this moment, the elder’s voice sounded again.

“The Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet is of great importance this time. The goal of the Four Thunder Swordsmanship Sect is not for one of our disciples to clinch the first place, but for all top ten spots to be taken up by our disciples.”

“We’ve received reliable news that several hidden sects in Qingzhou have also sent their disciples to participate in the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet. Do all of you understand?”

As the elder said that, the commotion suddenly got much louder.

Hidden sects.

Those words were as great as a mountain to the disciples.

Although most of the disciples had never left Qingzhou, they knew what a hidden sect meant.

The Jin Nation was above Qingzhou.

The ten nations were above Jin Nation.

Rumor had it that there was once a tumultuous period of time in the ten nations which caused some larger sects to fall. Although the sects had fallen, some of their core strength was still lurking in some little-known places.

As time passed and the world forgot about those sects, they became hidden sects.

Of course, there was another type of hidden sect that was even more exaggerated. They almost had a single line of succession and had a supreme heritage. Such sects were not what the Four Thunder Swordsmanship Sect could compare to at all.

In fact, comparing the Four Thunder Swordsmanship Sect to such hidden sects would be the greatest insult to the hidden sects.

In an instant, the crowd instantly understood why Daoist Siji would be giving them personal guidance.

Clearly, there would be secretly talented elites joining the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet this time. Since the hidden sects would be participating too, there must be some important agenda.

Everyone felt even more bitter when they thought about it.

Had they known earlier, they would have gone all out to fight for a spot in the top ten among the sect.

The disciples were filled with regret.

They hadn’t received any news at all.

Although they could also participate in the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet, the issue was that they would not be receiving the personal guidance of Daoist Siji, unlike the top ten of the sect.

The elder glanced at the expressions of the disciples and immediately waved his hand to speak.

“Well, regardless of whether you have emerged as one of the top ten of the sect or not, you have to train hard. Do not be conceited as the path of the sword is incomparably long. You have to focus on being diligent. That’s all for today, you are dismissed.”

After saying that, the elders left the disciples.

Soon, in the main hall of Four Thunder Swordsmanship Sect, dozens of elders were seated quietly with solemn expressions.

The hall seemed exceptionally quiet with a cold ambiance.

At this moment, a figure appeared outside the main hall.

It was an old person.

Everyone got up and looked at him respectfully.

“Greetings, Sect Leader!”

They chorused.

The old man waved his hand, entered the main hall, and sat down on the main seat.

“I have asked to see all of you today because of something major.”

He spoke slowly, invoking curiosity in the elders.

They wondered what happened and why it warranted the personal appearance of Daoist Siji.

“Sect Leader, may I ask what exactly has happened?”

“Yes, Sect Leader. What exactly happened?”

“Is it related to the entry token of the Taixuan Sword Tower?”

Everyone couldn’t help but ask, and some even had some insider information.

However, Daoist Siji shook his head.

“If it’s just the entry token to the Taixuan Sword Tower, that won’t be much of a big deal,” Daoist Siji said. He then continued with a solemn expression, “Do you know about the Ten Nations Academy?”

“The Ten Nations Academy?”

“Is the Ten Nations Academy going to reopen again?”

All of a sudden, something dawned upon the elders. They knew of the Ten Nations Academy, but they were all curious about what the Ten Nations Academy had to do with the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet.

“Sect Leader, the Ten Nations Academy is not trivial, but what is the connection between it and the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet? Could it be that the champion of the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet will be given a chance to join the Ten Nations Academy?”

Some elders couldn’t help but ask, appearing extremely curious.

The Ten Nations Academy.

It was an extremely famous academy within the ten nations and only the true elite of the ten nations would be admitted to the academy.

The best in Qingzhou could not compare to such an elite.

Legend had it that any disciple of the Ten Nations Academy was the best of a nation.

Among the ten nations, Jin Nation’s power was the weakest.

In Jin Nation, there were a total of 33 states, of which Qingzhou was considered in the upper-middle level, thanks to Daoist Siji who managed to raise their status by several levels.

Otherwise, Qingzhou would definitely be ranked at the bottom.

For the cultivators of Qingzhou, the Ten Nations Academy was out of reach.

Hence, they were curious about the connection between the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet and the Ten Nations Academy.

‘It is impossible for one to be given a place in the Ten Nations Academy just by becoming the champion of the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet, right?’

If that was the case, there would be a complete uproar in Qingzhou region.

The elders looked at Daoist Siji.

The latter did not leave them hanging either as he immediately spoke up.