Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 159 - 125: Billions of Spiritual Swords Resonate, Ascending to the Top Three of the Earth Rankings_2

Chapter 159: Chapter 125: Billions of Spiritual Swords Resonate, Ascending to the Top Three of the Earth Rankings_2

At this time, people finally began to notice the younger generation under the battle between the Venerable and the Heavenly Girl on Heavenly Spring Mountain.

Not everyone was involved in the strife; there was a considerable portion of neutral powers. These True Monarchs were not surprised by the invincible might of the Taoist Heavenly Girl, but when they saw Gu Wen’s swordsmanship, they were stunned.

It seemed to be a form of swordsmanship that had never appeared before, and from a distance, they could not determine its marvelous essence.

"Next."

Gu Wen’s calm voice broke the silence; the sword Dao talents who had demanded treasures from him yesterday numbered eight, with one dead that now left seven.

The crowd stirred, exchanging glances before stepping forward in unison.

Chi Yu Zi’s scabbard opened behind him, and hundreds of spiritual swords flew out, hovering dozens of feet above. Jun Yan, too, showed off his aura appropriately, well aware that doing so would make enemies with many sects.

But since they were in this together, it was fine not to share benefits, but they had to stand united against outsiders.

Gu Wen saw the fear in their eyes and once again stated, "Or perhaps two."

How arrogant!

He’s a level lower than us in Dao foundation, and yet he wants to take on two of us at the same time?

Even clay figures have a temper; soon two people stepped forward, one at the Fifth Level Third rank of Dao foundation and the other at the Fifth Level Fourth rank, the latter being a level higher than Gu Wen.

The two crossed the sword marks, and beyond Sword Pond, the platform was about the size of a soccer field, not too big for a cultivator, but also not so small that they couldn’t fully exert themselves.

The two sword Dao dharma forms of blue and red were conjured, each ten feet tall. Although not comparable to those several dozen or hundred feet tall dharma forms in the heavens, they were extremely rare among the younger generation.

Both struck out with a sword at the same time, not with full force, and not because they looked down on Gu Wen. The beginning of a Dao struggle was always tentative, only by understanding the enemy’s strength could they make their move.

Was it to defeat the opponent with the force of thunder or to proceed steadily and surely?

In Gu Wen’s eyes, the True Sword Dao was brimming, and in his hands, the top-grade spiritual sword suddenly felt light, not in actual weight.

It was because the top-grade spiritual sword was unworthy of the True Sword Dao, making it seem even more nimble.

The sword buzzed faintly, the spiritual sword dancing eagerly.

With a firm grip on the light-as-a-feather spiritual sword, Gu Wen swung forward, and the two Sword Dao dharma forms shattered in response.

Spurt!

The two sword Dao prodigies were sent flying, the one matched with Gu Wen’s level was merely caught in the aftermath and lay on the ground half dead, his life-preserving treasure activated, his fate unknown.

All around was deathly silence as everyone stared wide-eyed.

They knew Gu Wen was strong, and it wasn’t surprising that he could kill enemies above his own rank, but they never said anything about overcoming a rank and taking on two at the same time!

Others were undefeated in the same rank or killed enemies above them, but now Gu Wen had accomplished both at once.

A thread of Qi shot towards the heavens, and the human ranking vibrated, Gu Wen moved up a spot.

[Human Ranking Ninth, Red Dust]

Jiu Zhenjun and the protector of the Sword Control Sect, Hai Kun, their gazes spanning ten thousand meters, looked at the end of the Ten Thousand Sword Path, where Gu Wen was located halfway up the mountain.

The latter asked in bewilderment, "Did this lad hide his strength before?"

When I saw him earlier, he didn’t even have a sword Dao dharma form, and although his swordsmanship was stunning, defeating an old freak who was a level higher than himself—this kind of low-level trick, even Chi Yu Zi could pull off, could squash Gu Wen on an equal footing.

Chi Yu Zi and Gu Wen were of the same level of talent, so Hai Kun could understand that.

But now Gu Wen had begun to slay talents with sword Dao dharma forms, moreover overcoming ranks, and even taking on two at a time.

Even if someone has extremely high talent and rapid growth, there should be a limit, right?

Jiu Zhenjun murmured, "When I saw him, he was only at the Fourth Level and had just fulfilled the Third rank. Now, he’s fully fulfilled the Fourth Level."

Above Heavenly Spring Mountain.

Gu Wen no longer acted; prostrating oneself was as good as kneeling.

To onlookers, it seemed like a turning of enemies, but in his eyes, it was just a small step towards ascending the lists. If Gu Wen really held any grudges, then these people would not be alive.

After all, he was never a gentleman; killing was common practice during his time at Dragon Bridge.

But now the defeated under him were no longer worth his making a special effort; whether they were at his level or a level higher, they were just stepping stones for them to look up to Gu Wen.

From that point on, if they couldn’t always maintain a realm one level higher than Gu Wen,

one by one the sword dao prodigies fell, nearly all possessing a foundation one level above Gu Wen, yet none managed to match him in power.

Gu Wen’s goal was not limited to the eight individuals from yesterday, and the other sword dao talents were also far from being pushovers; upon witnessing the supreme method of sword dao, they all aspired to its heights and soared toward it like moths to a flame.

All around, silence prevailed, and the frequent exchanges of divine thoughts from the True Monarchs outside of Heavenly Spring Mountain ceased.

Another individual stepped onto the platform, also the last one besides Xiao Yunyi and the others.

He entered the platform, bowed with hands clasped and said, "Ranked eighth on the Human List, Lou Yunzi, challenges Brother."

A challenge from the eighth place on the Human List to the ninth place seemed unproblematic in the current context.

Lou Yunzi, with a foundation at the Sixth Level and Fourth Level fulfilled, was two levels above Gu Wen’s foundation and a Venerable with the stance of the Immortals, though he couldn’t achieve fulfillment at every level, still was not inferior by any means.

Bang!

The two’s swords clashed, and Lou Yunzi’s dharma form resembled a peacock, with sword dao extremely resilient, able to withstand a blow from the True Sword Dao without shattering.

At least in resilience, he was already on par with Xiao Yunyi.

"Red Dust Fellow Daoist, what say you?"

Lou Yunzi, despite sweating profusely, couldn’t help but reveal a smile, his sword dao clashing with the True Sword Dao enough to prove his cultivation had never slipped.

"You’re doing well."

Gu Wen smiled too, and sensing something was amiss, Lou Yunzi braced himself against a tsunami-like sword force; in an instant, he heard the sound of his bones shattering.

His right arm turned numb, and as his spiritual sword and severed arm fell, the crescent-shaped sword light brushed past Lou Yunzi’s side. Behind him, on the grotto heaven of Heavenly Spring Mountain, a sword scar hundreds of meters long ripped through the mountainside.

Boom!

Boulders hard as fine iron tumbled down.

Lou Yunzi stood stunned on the spot, not knowing how much time had passed before he sharply inhaled again, as if he had just made a narrow escape from the gates of hell.

Still bewildered, he asked, "Is this the True Sword Dao?"

"Indeed."

Gu Wen grinned, then lifted his spiritual sword high, a frost-white glimmer like a dazzling point of light from a star touching the ground.

The three swords reflected off each other, mysterious glimmers of sword light arose, and a faint shadow of a sword appeared.

Hum!

Within a five hundred mile radius of Heavenly Spring Mountain, at that moment, a chorus of swords rang out.

Piercing screams echoed from the firmament.

"Heavenly Girl, do you truly wish to burn all bridges and become the enemy of the entire Righteous path for immortality pills and roots?"

These words seemed to question Gu Wen, who was like a Taoist Heavenly Girl on a killing spree from above, and in that moment, the authority of the True Sword Dao wasn’t confined to any one individual but crushed the sword dao of all.

Did he truly wish to become the enemy of everyone?

Clearly not; they sought to crush everyone, to define what ’peerless’ meant.

Gu Wen declared loudly, "As a Red Dust of the Sanqing Taoist Sect’s Yuqing Sect, I ascend the three lists today with the True Sword Dao."

In the Firmament beyond, the Earth List trembled; from far and wide, the great powers’ divine thoughts instinctively turned to Gu Wen’s position on the Human List.

And this time, the change occurred on the Earth List, the name ’Red Dust’ ascended in a single leap from fifth to the top three.

Characters gleaming with golden light emerged, accompanied by a sword’s cry that split the heavens.

[Earth List third, Red Dust, True Sword Dao, First Sword below the Immortals]

The title, First Sword under Heaven, undisputed since the disappearance of the Sword Master eons ago, was resurrected and spread to Broken Sword Mountain. Countless sword maniacs with disheveled hair looked up with renewed clarity in their cloudy eyes.

In the Sword Tomb, swords from mighty figures long dead burst forth from their graves.

Above Heavenly Spring Mountain, one after another, swords that once accompanied a Sword Dao Venerable to the pinnacle of ascension fell from the sky, shattering the dark clouds with colorful auroras.

Ten Taoist Swords, each with distinct form and aura, hovered in front of Gu Wen, their erosion by time had left them in tatters, but even after their masters had perished and their dao dissipated for centuries, they still carried on an enduring oath to seek the pinnacle of sword dao.