When Yun Jin sent her spiritual sense into the gravestone—
The next moment, she found herself standing in a foreign realm. The entire space around her was bathed in an icy blue light, and an intense chill sank straight to the bone.
So this was the trial...
The Ice Jade Sword's trial?
Yun Jin looked around with mild curiosity. All around her, the icy blue walls were engraved with a set of simple sword moves. Did this mean that as long as she learned these moves, she could pass?
Yun Jin didn't rush. She studied the sword technique first.
Its level was so low it probably didn't even count as a Yellow-grade art. With her current skill, she could master it instantly, even without the system's help.
So the first trial was really this simple?
No wonder Ma Yuanwu had cleared it so quickly. Even though the sword moves in this space changed with each attempt, the techniques themselves were all low-level. Far too basic.
But the more Yun Jin looked, the more something felt off. She extended her spiritual sense, probing every inch of the icy blue room. Despite only being at the Golden Core stage, Yun Jin's spiritual strength far surpassed that of an average Divine Transformation cultivator. A truly unbalanced anomaly.
With Liu Li's training, her control over her spiritual power had reached a level few could match. Under her meticulous inspection, she finally found something amiss. She stepped forward and placed her hand lightly on a snowflake carved into the wall.
In the next moment, the icy blue wall slowly faded, and the snowflake darted into Yun Jin's mind.
[Core discovered. Initiating core trial.]
Then—
In her mind's eye, a woman dressed in flowing blue robes appeared, silently demonstrating a sword technique.
Yun Jin instinctively understood its name.
"Ice Moon Sword Art."
The sword used was the Ice Jade Sword. And the woman wielding it was none other than Lingyue Fairy from a thousand years ago.
Thus the name—Ice Moon Sword Art.
Compared to the scribbled techniques on the walls, this sword art was on an entirely different level.
It was a genuine Mystic-grade beginner technique.
The same tier as Second Senior Sister's Lotus Bloom Sword Art.
After one full demonstration, Lingyue Fairy paused and smiled faintly in Yun Jin's direction.
"This sword art is a creation of mine for amusement. With the war ahead, I fear I may never return. I leave this sword art to the one fated to receive it."
She continued to demonstrate the technique two more times. Then, her image dissipated entirely.
Yun Jin slowly opened her eyes.
The sword art had been etched into her memory, along with one key piece of information:
To pass the trial, she didn't need to master the entire Ice Moon Sword Art. She only needed to execute a single move from it and leave a mark on the wall.
Just one move. One visible result.
Yun Jin swung her sword casually. One move. A faint trace appeared on the wall.
[Trial complete. Leave this space?]
A voice echoed in her mind.
Yun Jin hesitated, then declined.
There was something strange about this realm—it felt almost tailor-made for the Ice Moon Sword Art. Her comprehension here was lightning-fast. Even her understanding of other ice-element sword arts had improved.
This wasn't just a place for testing.
It was a treasure trove for cultivation.
"System," Yun Jin called out, using her stored emotion points.
She would master this sword art here and now.
After all—
Her system had the ability to upgrade sword techniques. If she could learn a Mystic-grade sword art in every trial, she could soon synthesize them into an Earth-grade sword technique. Thanks to this space lowering the learning curve, the emotion points she spent were far fewer than what was needed for other Profound-grade techniques.
Satisfied, Yun Jin devoted herself to training.
One hour passed.
Most of the others had already moved on to the second trial. All except...
Qin Ping stared at Yun Jin's image on the water screen, visibly puzzled. Judging by how fast everyone else had cleared the first stage, it couldn't be that difficult.
Why had Yun Jin been stuck for so long?
Mu Lan noticed it too and couldn't resist a jab. "Looks like her sword is the only impressive thing about her. She probably only destroyed that trial stone earlier because her blade was unusually sharp. Too bad that doesn't matter here. In the Sword Tomb, it's not about how sharp your weapon is, but how talented you are in swordsmanship. Spending this much time on the first trial? She clearly has no gift for the sword."
Qin Ping didn't reply, but something didn't sit right with him.
Did Yun Jin really have no talent for swordsmanship?
It wasn't until two full hours later that Yun Jin opened her eyes.
In truth, she hadn't needed that much time to grasp the basics. But in this space, her proficiency with the Ice Moon Sword Art had been increasing so rapidly, she didn't want to leave.
Two hours had passed, and she had already reached the second level of the Ice Moon Sword Art. If she hadn't been forcibly ejected from the space, Yun Jin believed she could've gone even further. She stood up and cast a reluctant glance at the Ice Jade Sword.
What a treasure.
The sword itself was broken, but someone powerful had used an incredible method to embed a realm within it—one perfectly suited for cultivating ice-element sword arts.
If only she could enter that space freely. Her mastery of sword arts would skyrocket. Unfortunately, the Ice Jade Sword was stingy. Just two hours and it had already kicked her out.
Looking a little dejected, Yun Jin moved forward.
"Two full hours, and she finally advances," Yu Lin snorted. "That has to be the slowest first-stage clearance in history."
The first trial was basically a giveaway.
Almost everyone had cleared it quickly. No one had ever wasted this much time like Yun Jin just had. By now, the fastest contestant, Ma Yuanwu, had already reached the fourth trial.
Feng Linglong and a few others had entered the third.
Notably, one of them was Yu Songnian.
At the third trial—
Just as Feng Linglong opened her eyes, Yu Songnian also awoke.
The two stood up nearly simultaneously.
Feng Linglong looked at Yu Songnian in surprise.
He had arrived after her, yet they cleared the stage together?
Could it be... his talent for swordsmanship exceeded her own?
While she was still digesting that realization, Yu Lin's face darkened. Yu Songnian had long been touted as the Yu family's once-in-a-millennium genius. His gift for sword arts was beyond question. If not for the strange illness that later afflicted him, his cultivation level might already rival Ma Yuanwu's.
This Sword Domain tested only talent, not cultivation. So naturally, Yu Songnian had a chance to shine. He nodded to Feng Linglong, then headed straight toward the fourth trial.
Feng Linglong tensed and quickly followed.
There were only three spots available.
Now that such a formidable competitor had emerged, she couldn't afford to fall behind.
"Yu Songnian," Mu Lan narrowed his eyes. "His sword talent isn't bad at all. Pity, though..."
A pity indeed. That strange illness of his meant his cultivation would only regress, never improve. And if his realm couldn't keep up, what use was incredible sword talent?
He was destined to be little more than a stepping stone for someone else. At that moment, Yun Jin also strolled into the second trial, unhurried as ever.