Volcanic Age

The Lotus Sword Gathering happened every year, but it didn't draw much attention from cultivators outside the sect. Only those involved in the event attended, and it typically lasted from two to four days.

That didn't mean, however, that the participants took part light-heartedly. It was the opposite.

"It's a rare opportunity."

The Lotus Sword Gathering was closer to an examination than it was to a sparring competition. There were rewards for those who displayed exceptional talent at the event, like a small amount of spiritual medicine and fine swords, though it was nothing too extraordinary.

Of course, that was only part of the reward. The real reward that the participants wanted was something else entirely.

"Forget winning. I don't want to draw any attention. If I get noticed and recommended to join the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, I'll be in big trouble."

One of the Five High Elders, namely the Plum Blossom Sword Captain, always served as the examiner of the Lotus Sword Gathering, and there was a reason behind this—talents deemed suitable to become the next generation of Plum Blossom Swordsmen were selected through this event.

For Zhou Xuchuan, this made the event more than just a nuisance. It wasn't just the victor that was marked as a future member of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, but also anyone with exceptional skill.

Though Zhou Xuchuan once dreamed of joining the ranks of Plum Blossom Swordsmen, the most elite group in Mount Hua, he no longer had that dream. This was primarily because he would be haveimited freedom if he were to become one.

As the most powerful members of the sect, they were dispatched on various missions that ordinary members of the sect could not handle. Because of this, they had to constantly wait for orders within the sect, or be outside on a mission.

It wasn't a job that Zhou Xuchuan found fitting since he intended to roam around the entire martial world to prevent and change events in the future.

"Just moderately, yeah? Moderately."

*

The Lotus Sword Gathering officially began.

There was a training field in the middle, which was surrounded by the participants, that is, the members of the Lotus Pavilion.

Elevated seats were situated on one side of the training field. The audience seated there could see the entirety of the training field in one glance; as such, those seats naturally became the seat of honor.

"It's been three years…" You Riwen, the sect master of Mount Hua, muttered. A hint of joy was etched on his wrinkled face.

"Oho, it seems the competition will be fierce this time," said Xue Song, one of the Five High Elders, his eyes scanning the participants.

"The winner is already set in stone though," declared Shen Yulian, her face looking as frosty as ever. Her gaze was fixed on her grand disciple, Luo Xiaoyue.

"Do you really think so?" Ling Zhen countered with a creepy laugh, provoking Shen Yulian.

"Of course," Shen Yulian replied without batting an eyelid.

"Let's just wait and see." Ling Zhen gave a mysterious smile and turned around, his gaze settling on a familiar boy.

Zhou Xuchuan…

Shen Yulian frowned slightly. She was about to say something, but she held it back in.

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That boy was once disdained for his unusually high amount of internal qi after he luckily got some spiritual medicine. Shen Yulian did not like the fact that he managed to enter the Lotus Pavilion through sheer luck without any talent or effort.

However, she had to change her opinion after hearing what happened with the Watertop Spearman and the Nine Water Gangs. Even she was surprised by his achievements.

Yet, perhaps due to the strong bad impression she had about him before, she still did not like him that much.

"It's as Elder Ling says," agreed one of the elders who looked especially well-built. He was Zhao Wuyang.

Zhao Wuyang looked at the training field, his eyes filled with expectation. He was also looking at a certain boy.

"My grand disciple, who doesn't even want to join the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, might rob her of that chance, so I'll apologize in advance."

There were two people in the Lotus Pavilion who had no interest in joining the Plum Blossom Swordsmen. One was Zhou Xuchuan, and the other was Zhao Wuyang's grand disciple.

The reason Fang Zhesan, Zhao Wuyang's grand disciple, had no interest in becoming one of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen was simple. He did not use a sword.

While Mount Hua Sect was renowned for its sword arts alongside the Wudang Sect, that didn't mean all of their members used a sword.

Although it was rare, there were some members that focused on cultivating palm arts, claw arts and even empty hand arts. Among them, Zhao Wuyang trained in empty hand arts and managed to become one of the Five High Elders with it. He was one of the strongest experts in the world when it came to battling empty handed.

Fang Zhesan, being his grand disciple, also chose weaponless arts instead of training sword arts. There was no way he had any interest in joining the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

"There's no need to apologize. The winner is already set in stone," Shen Yulian once again declared with conviction.

"My words exactly," Zhao Wuyang countered casually.

"Haha. I can feel the heat all the way here." You Riwen laughed heartily seeing the tense battle between the two high elders. He didn't comment on it since it was about a competition of good faith.

Putting that aside…

You Riwen's laughter died down as he focused on Zhou Xuchuan, a look of puzzlement replacing the Sword Immortal's amusement.

What is this sense of familiarity?

Being the sect master of Mount Hua demanded a lot of his time. It had been a while since he'd last seen Zhou Xuchuan.

He only received news of Zhou Xuchuan's survival when he returned to the sect after the battle with the Nine Water Gangs and went missing. However, he was unable to welcome him personally. He was mostly busy with the matters of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's treasury.

The last time he had seen Zhou Xuchuan was about four years ago, when he discussed Zhou Xuchuan's entry into the Lotus Pavilion.

Even back then, Zhou Xuchuan's internal qi was extraordinary, which had piqued his curiosity, but that was about it. Putting aside his talent, his sword arts skills were known to be terrible, so he just considered the boy to be lucky.

However, four years had passed, and he was feeling a sense of familiarity that he could not explain in words.

You Riwen couldn't help but become curious about what exactly this feeling was.

"I knew this would happen…" Zhou Xuchuan muttered, feeling the sect master's gaze.

When Luo Xiaoyue next to him shot him a questioning look, he waved it off, signaling that everything was fine.

He glanced at the seat of honor to check who was looking at him before sighing. Ling Zhen and You Riwen were both looking at him.

Ling Zhen's attention wasn't surprising, they'd spent time together before, but he found the reason behind You Riwen's gaze rather troublesome.

It seems he was instinctively attracted to the Violet Haze Divine Art.

During his two years of cultivating the Violet Haze Divine Art, Zhou Xuchuan discovered its unique ability to conceal his cultivation realm.

The Violet Haze Divine Art had unique properties. Because of the violet-colored qi haze, anyone would be able to notice the cultivation method.

However, that also meant that no one would be able to know if someone cultivated in the art or not without the presence of that qi, even if they were experts. That was why Zhou Xuchuan was able to keep the Violet Haze Divine Art a secret from Liu Zhengmu or Ling Zhen despite the two having examined him several times.

In any case, what Zhou Xuchuan discovered was an extension of that property. He could hide not just the Violet Haze Divine Art, but his cultivation realm in general. Thanks to that, he was able to hide that he was a Peak Realm cultivator.

Still, he pretended to be somewhere between Second Class and First Class based on his performance in the battle with the Nine Water Gangs.

Really, it's kinda useless if I think about it…

This concealment wasn't permanent. It would vanish once the violet haze started appearing in his qi.

The problem was that he had no opportunity to leave the sect before then, as usually, a disciple would be trained by their master until their master gave them full acknowledgement.

Hiding his strength for a surprise attack wasn't a bad strategy, but it was unnecessary. He doubted anyone throughout generations of sect masters or Violet Haze Divine Art practitioners had ever taken advantage of concealing their cultivation realm like this.

Still, it was quite impressive that he managed to fool the eyes of one of the Ten Empyrean Overlords. It truly deserved its place as the divine cultivation art of Mount Hua. Even You Riwen only subconsciously felt familiar with the Violet Haze True Qi within Zhou Xuchuan's body, and didn't notice anything special.

It's like I'm a chameleon or something.

Chameleons were creatures that only lived in tropical regions like the southern Nanman region, which skin color changed depending on the temperature or other factors.

They used this kind of camouflaging ability against their natural enemies or predators by changing their skin color to be indistinguishable from the tree they were on.

The Violet Haze Divine Art worked similarly. Zhou Xuchuan believed that it was best to keep this fact hidden before he could bring out its true power.

If there was a difference between him and the chameleon, it was that the cultivator of the Violet Haze Divine Art was surrounded by the top of the food chain.

*

The Lotus Pavilion only had ten members, which meant the Lotus Sword Gathering had ten participants.

The first day consisted of five battles, and on the second day, they would draw lots to decide on a person to advance automatically.

Waaah!

The few people that came to observe cheered. They were mostly masters or fellow disciples studying under the same master as the participants.

One of the participants of the first round was the same age as Zhou Xuchuan, but had joined the Lotus Pavilion a year after him. Although the participant's master was not one of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, he was still a renowned third-generation member.

However, the boy's opponent was no pushover. In fact, she was even more impressive.

"Luo Xiaoyue!"

It was none other than Luo Xiaoyue, the grand disciple of the Iron Blood Plum Sword. Whether it was beauty, cultivation or talent, she did not lack anything. Not only that, her grand master was one of the Five High Elders. The boy fighting against her didn't look as impressive.

Zhou Xuchuan clicked his tongue in sympathy.

You just had to run into Junior Sister Luo in the first round.

A loss in the Lotus Sword Gathering wasn't a big deal, as long as you displayed your skills. But that was difficult against a much stronger opponent.

"Please take care of me," Luo Xiaoyue politely greeted.

"Both participants, get ready!" Wei Zhijie, the judge, stood up from his place. "Begin!"

There was no warning. This was done on purpose to filter out disciples overcome by greed. Each person was left to their own devices.

"Taah!"

The first one to lunge forward was the boy. He smoothly executed his sword arts.

"Oho."

Though incomplete, he was executing the Fourteen Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom. That kind of talent was good enough to earn him a round of applause. His attacks were well-executed, showing he hadn't attacked hastily out of nervousness.

Unfortunately, he ran into the wrong opponent. Luo Xiaoyue reacted to the oncoming sword attacks without blinking. Her movements were lightning-fast and powerful, evident by the boy's surprise when their swords clashed.

His full-powered strike was deflected effortlessly. He tried to recover, but it was too late. Luo Xiaoyue's sword sliced through the air, stopping right at his frail-looking neck.

"Oho!"

"Incredible!"

That decided the match. Naturally, it was Luo Xiaoyue's complete victory.

She managed to end the fight in just one clash. Zhou Xuchuan thought that she was amazing after all. She was up against another member of the Lotus Pavilion, one of the rare talents among the fourth generation, and emerged victorioust.

"Very clean, very accurate, and frighteningly sharp. She truly takes after you, Iron Blood Plum Sword," Xue Song remarked, impressed.

"Thank you," Shen Yulian replied matter-of-factly. Although her grand disciple was praised, she didn't feel that moved.

Next, the second round began.

"Oho, if it isn't Senior Brother Zhou." Fang Zhesan grinned widely as he climbed onto the stage.