Cold Pool Sword Shadow

  Night is coming.

  A round moon rose at the horizon.

  Tianjian Sect, on the back mountain of Wai Feng, two 13 or 14-year-old boys were practicing swordplay.

  The older one's eyes were bright and spirited, his sword moves nimble; the younger one's breathing was faintly hurried, his sword moves light and airy.

  The older one was named Xuan Tian, and the younger one was named Huang Shi. Both were outer sect disciples of the Tian Jian Sect.

  The two men were practicing the same sword technique, Huang Jie's mid-grade sword skill "Wind Chasing Sword Technique".

  Before long, the two of them finished practicing a set of sword techniques and both withdrew their energy.

  Young Huangshi took a few deep breaths, made some adjustments, and said: "Tian Ge, following you to practice the 'Wind Chasing Sword Technique', it feels completely different. Your sword technique is much more agile than mine."

  Xuan Tian sheathed his sword, his breathing steady, and said: "You're just a beginner, your foundation is unstable. Moreover, you entered the sect a year after me. By next year, you'll be able to reach my level, or even surpass it."

  Huang Shi smiled and said, "Tian Ge, you're only at the fourth stage of martial arts, yet you can exchange swords with Zhang Hu, who's at the fifth stage. I wish I were as formidable as you. It's getting dark, Tian Ge, let's stop here and head back!"

  Xuantian's sword paused slightly as he said, "You go back first. Today's sword fight has only gone eleven moves under Zhang Hu's hand, and the distance between us is still far. I'll practice some more."

  "Alright! Brother Tian, don't be too late, I'm going back to sleep first." Huang Shi waved goodbye to Xuan Tian and headed down the mountain.

  "The sword rises like the wind..."

  "The wind moves, the sword follows..."

  ……

  ……

  "One Sword Chasing the Wind..."

  ……

  Huang Shi left, Xuan Tian continued to practice.

  Once, twice, three times...... five times...... ten times......

  Until sweat rained down on his forehead, his hands grasped the sword as if it weighed a thousand catties, Xuan Tian finally stopped practicing his sword.

  At this moment, the full moon has climbed up into the sky, and the entire night sky is twinkling with countless stars.

  Xuantian lay on the grass with his sword inserted beside him, gazing at the starry night sky, a pair of eyes that contained all sorts of emotions in the world.

  Helplessness, melancholy, vicissitudes, resentment, joy, anxiety...

  Such eyes should not appear on a fourteen-year-old boy.

  "It's been fourteen years since I came to this world. The road I've walked in these fourteen years is longer than the one I walked in my entire lifetime in my previous life; the hardships I've endured in these fourteen years are more than those I endured in my entire lifetime in my previous life; the experiences I've had in these fourteen years are more complicated than those I had in my entire lifetime in my previous life."

  Looking at the dense stars in the sky, Xuan Tian thought back on his experiences over the past fourteen years once again.

  Xuān Tiān had never thought that he would be reborn in the land of Shén Zhōu after his life came to an end.

  Fourteen years ago, Xuan Tian was born in the Xuan family, one of the five superpowers in the Divine State. From the moment he was born, he became the focus of attention for the entire Divine State.

  Father Xuan Hong is the eldest son of Xuan Jia's family master, Xuan Xiong, and also the first genius of the second generation of Xuan Jia. He has the strongest power and is the successor to the Xuan Jia family master.

  "I, Xuan Xiong's grandson, will surely roam the divine land of China for a million miles, shaking the world and astonishing all directions. He is the son of heaven, and his name should be 'Xuan Tian'." As soon as he was born, Grandfather Xuan Xiong had already decided on the name "Xuan Tian".

  As the eldest grandson of the Xuan family, Xuan Tianyi was born with boundless pampering, universal admiration and envy.

  In his past life, he was an orphan who had never experienced the love of a family. In this life, he became the young master of the Xuan family. Xuan Tian thought that the heavens had finally opened their eyes and his suffering had come to an end.

  But all this happiness comes quickly and goes just as quickly.

  When Xuan Tian was three years old, a woman named Yin Ji came to his home and ridiculed Xuan Hong's swordsmanship, saying it was like a child holding a lantern. Xuan Hong naturally became very angry and had a match with Yin Ji, but in the end, he was defeated by Yin Ji's single sword strike, which was the first defeat of Xuan Hong's life.

  After the war, 'Yin Ji' and Xuan Hong had a long secret conversation. The two were at odds with each other, and 'Yin Ji' left the mansion in a rage.

  Things seem to have calmed down, but in reality they haven't.

  At the age of five, Xuán Tiān's second uncle, Xuán Jī, challenged Xuán Hóng for the title of First Under Heaven and the position of successor to the head of the Xuán family at a grand tournament.

  Xuanji's cultivation was three realms lower than Xuanhong, but this time, Xuanji's cultivation had caught up with Xuanhong without anyone noticing. Moreover, he used a set of unknown sword techniques that the Xuan family didn't have, severely injuring Xuanhong.

  At that time, the master Xuan Xiong was furious and scolded his second son Xuan Ji, disregarding brotherly love, injuring his older brother, saying that Xuan Ji was ruthless and cruel, even if he won against Xuan Hong, he would not pass on the position of master to him.

  Moreover, he took out the best elixir from his family's treasure and gave it to Xuan Hong to heal his wounds.

  However, things didn't end there. Several days later, the head of the household, Xuán Xióng, suddenly issued an order to strip away the position of heir from his eldest son, Xuán Hóng, and instead appointed his second son, Xuán Jī, as the new heir. Moreover, he accused Xuán Hóng of being disloyal and banished him from the family.

  Father's misfortune, Xuan Tian followed the misfortune, followed his parents, was expelled from the Xuan family, and fell from the clouds to the low valley.

  I thought this disaster was over, but unexpectedly, it has just begun.

  Xuántiān followed his father Xuánhóng and mother Huáng Yuè, after being expelled from the family, returned to his maternal grandfather Huáng Yuǎnchéng's home temporarily.

  A years-long pursuit of revenge is coming with it.

  The Huang family was just an average family, not very powerful. The enemy who chased and killed them was extremely strong. Even Xuan Hong was severely injured. The Huang family collapsed instantly, with nine out of ten people dead. Those who escaped were less than one in ten, and they were scattered all over the place.

  While fleeing, Xuantian was only five years old and had no power to fight back. In a critical moment, his uncle Huang Yuancheng blocked a sword for him and suffered serious injuries.

  Father Xuan Hong dragged his heavily injured body, taking Huang Yue, Xuan Tian, and the main vein of the Huang family, killing a bloody path, fleeing all the way.

  This escape lasted for five years, from the western Xuan family's sphere of influence to the northern Superpower Ba Jianmen's sphere of influence, covering a distance of tens of millions of miles, equivalent to circling the Earth's equator several times.

  Escaped all the way to the northernmost part of Shen Zhou, far away from the influence of the Xuan family, and shook off the pursuers, only stopping in a place called Beimo County.

  The Huang family's main vein, where fallen leaves take root.

  A medium-sized family with over a thousand people, the number of people who escaped to Beidao County was less than twenty, and this still includes Xuan Hong, Xuan Tian, and Huang Yue.

  Moreover, the master of the Huang family, Huang Yuancheng, was seriously injured. Although he managed to preserve his life, his cultivation took a huge hit and dropped to the Third Heaven of the Pre-Heaven Realm.

  Especially Xuan Hong, who was seriously injured by Xuan Ji's hands and later suffered consecutive injuries during the pursuit. He relied solely on his breath to support himself, barely killing a bloody path, and after escaping, he was almost exhausted, with all his meridians broken, turning him into a useless person.

  The rest of Huang Jia's personnel were all seriously injured and suffered irreparable damage, greatly reducing their strength.

  The Huang family is a mediocre family, and their remaining strength is no match for several small families in Beimo County.

  Since settling in Beimo County, the Huang family has been squeezed by three dominant families in Beimo County: Niu, Cheng and Zhang.

  The Huang family's strength was damaged, and the Xuan family, a superpower, was watching from above. Facing the provocations of Niu, Cheng, and Zhang families, they had been tolerant all along. In order to make the three families have some fear, the Huang family sent their younger disciples to several major sects in the Divine Sword Dynasty.

  Xuān Tiān was born into a swordsmanship family and naturally joined the only swordsmanship sect in the Divine Sword Dynasty - the Heavenly Sword Sect.

  Xuan Hong did not dare to teach him the family's sword techniques and internal skills, so as not to reveal his whereabouts. Moreover, in the Tianjian Sect, Xuan Tian changed his name to Huang Tian.

  At the age of ten and a half, he entered the Tianjian Sect and became an outer disciple of the Tianjian Sect. Time flies, and another three and a half years have passed.

  Xuan Tian is now fourteen years old, his cultivation as a warrior has reached the fourth realm, and he is an ordinary outer disciple of the Tianjian Sect.

  Originally, Xuan Tian was a direct descendant of the Xuan family. His grandfather, Xuan Xiong, and his father, Xuan Hong, were both geniuses rarely seen in the divine state. How could their innate talents be different?

  Unfortunately, Xuan Tian was lightly injured during his escape from pursuit in his youth. Although not fatal, the injury damaged his meridians, affecting his cultivation speed and turning him from a genius to an ordinary person.

  Fortunately, Xuantian's two lives as a human had strong spiritual power and good comprehension. His practice of swordsmanship was much faster than ordinary people, so his cultivation in the fourth realm of martial arts allowed him to have the qualification to compare swords with disciples of the fifth realm of martial arts.

  Generally, the disciples of Wujie's Five Realms are rarely opponents of Xuantian. Zhang Hu is a member of the Zhang family from Beimo City, and due to family reasons, he has always oppressed Xuantian and Huangshi. With the cultivation of the peak of Wujie's Five Realms, Xuantian was defeated by him.

  "You despicable scoundrel! You kidnapped my grandfather, brought chaos to our family; left my father severely injured, his meridians severed, rendering him a cripple; chased me for tens of thousands of miles, damaging my meridians. If not for my uncle's rescue, I would have died young. This unforgivable hatred is etched in my heart, and one day I will repay it tenfold!"

  "One day, I will use the sword in my hand to behead you and take your dog's life. And that 'Yin Ji' woman is also a cheap thing. All these changes, who else but you? No matter where you come from, what kind of monster you are, one day I will surely kill you, and uproot all the forces behind you, and wipe them out in one go!"

  Every time he thought about it, Xuan Tian's hatred for Xuan Ji and Yin Ji grew deeper. He pointed to the sky, gritted his teeth, and made a solemn vow.

  Although Xuan Tian was just guessing, he was more certain in his heart. Xuan Ji had taken control of Grandfather Xuan Xiong; otherwise, Xuan Hong would have been his most satisfactory son and Xuan Tian would have been his most beloved grandson. How could he suddenly and inexplicably change and abolish Xuan Hong's position as the heir to the family head, and ruthlessly kill Xuan Tian and his father?

  But who else in the world, apart from that mysterious and enigmatic 'Yin Ji' who came from nowhere and defeated Xuan Tong with just one sword strike, could possibly take control of Xuan Xiong and cause his true strength to surge?

  Clang...

  A gentle and melodious bell sound came from the front mountain.

  Xuántiān looked up at the sky, and the moon had already risen directly above his head.

  The hour has arrived, the bell is today's last bell, reminding the disciples who haven't slept that it's time to sleep. In half an hour, there will be a night inspection by the outer gate attendants for the outer gate disciples.

  Xuantian wiped the sweat from his forehead, which was left over from practicing swordplay earlier. Later, thinking back on the experiences of the past fourteen years, he felt a surge of anger towards Xuanji in his heart, his body burning with heat, and his sweat increasing instead of decreasing.

  "A hundred meters east, there is a water pool. After washing up, go down the mountain to sleep and continue practicing swordplay tomorrow night, striving to surpass Zhang Hu as soon as possible."

  Xuantian headed east, passing through a small grove of trees, and soon arrived at the edge of a pond.

  At this moment, the moon is hanging in the air above the pool, forming a perfect inverted image in the pool, a round and large moon, which is just submerged in the center of the pool.

  "What?!"

  Xuantian's eyebrows furrowed in surprise and he exclaimed: "What is that thing inside the moon?"

  Raising one's head, the round moon in the sky is pure white without a speck of dust.

  Xuantian lowered his head again and looked at the reflection of the moon in the pool. Indeed, there was a black shadow inserted into the moon.

  "That is......" Xuan Tian gazed intently for a moment before saying: "A sword?"

  Not bad, at this moment the surface of the pond is calm and waveless, Xuan Tian can see clearly that there is indeed a sword inserted in the place where the moonlight is reflected in the pond.

  －－

  －－

  There is actually a sword in the pond?

  This pool of water, Xuan Tian has come many times. Every time he practices swordplay and sweats, he comes to this pool to take a bath, then goes down the mountain to sleep.

  His meridians were damaged, and his innate talent was about the same as that of ordinary people. To stand out from the crowd, to avenge himself, he had no choice but to work hard and practice bitterly. Only in this way could he surpass others and have hope for revenge.

  Other disciples only saw the cultivation of Xuantian's four-layer realm, and had the strength to challenge the disciples who cultivated the five-layer realm of Wuzhe, but did not see Xuantian's hard work in practicing swordsmanship for one or two hours more than others every day.

  "The sword in the water, is it just an ordinary sword that someone casually threw away, or a treasured sword that someone lost?"

  In Xuantian's heart, an idea suddenly arose to dive down to the bottom of the pool.

  If it were just an ordinary sword, that would be nothing much, but if it were a treasured sword, then they would have made a huge profit.

  The weapons of Shen Zhou are divided into four levels: Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang. Each level has three sub-levels: upper, middle, and lower, for a total of twelve sub-levels.

  Huang Jie's weapons are ordinary weapons, while Tian, Di, and Xuan San Jie's weapons are treasured instruments.

  The reason is that Huang Jie's weapon was forged by an ironworker, while the weapons of Tian, Di, and Xuan San Jie were forged by the most noble alchemists in Shen Zhou.

  A refiner must be a blacksmith, but a blacksmith is not necessarily a refiner. The blacksmiths in the Divine Land are as numerous as the hairs on an ox, while the refiners are as rare as the feathers of a phoenix or the horns of a unicorn.

  A low-grade Xuanjie sword can greatly enhance the swordsman's strength, worth at least several hundred thousand taels of gold, equivalent to tens of millions of taels of silver.

  The Huang family settled in Beimang City, with not much wealth on hand. After more than three years have passed, the family is still struggling financially. If they had several million taels of silver, it would be enough to rapidly develop and expand the Huang family's influence.

  Even an ordinary sword, a lower-grade yellow-tier sword is worth several dozen taels of silver, a mid-grade yellow-tier sword is worth several hundred taels of silver, and a high-grade yellow-tier sword is worth several thousand taels of silver. If the sword also contains special metals, it's a famous sword that's only second to a treasured sword, and may even be worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

  "Thud..."

  Xuantian suddenly jumped into the water pond.

  "It's so cold..."

  Xuantian couldn't help but shiver at this pool of water, which was surprisingly icy cold.

  It's exactly the weather in August, extremely hot. This pool, Xuan Tian almost goes down once a night, every day. The past few nights, I still felt extremely comfortable in the water, but tonight, it feels eerily cold and bone-chilling.

  But...

  "For the treasure sword... For the silver... I'll risk it all!"

  Xuantian clenched his trembling teeth, made up his mind, held his breath, and dove straight to the bottom of the pool.

  The depth of this pool is not shallow, and Xuántiān has never dived into its bottom.

  At this moment, the water in the pool is not only extremely cold and piercing, but also very uncomfortable after holding one's breath for a long time.

  However, Xuan Tian was not one to easily retreat, enduring the cold and gritting his teeth as he continued to dive towards the bottom of the pool.

  He had dived dozens of meters deep, and finally arrived at the bottom of the pool. His body was in the water, and the inverted reflection of the moon could no longer be seen. In the center of the pool's bottom, there seemed to be a sword shadow, slantingly inserted therein.

  The sword shadow was like a dream and an illusion, following the ripples of the pond water as it curved and twisted at times, not like a real object, extremely strange.

  Xuan Tian had just arrived beside the sword when the sword's shadow suddenly burst into a brilliant light, and a dazzling white ray shot straight into Xuan Tian's brow.

  "Ah..."

  A loud cry of astonishment escaped from Xuantian's lips as he clutched his forehead with both hands, forgetting that he was at the bottom of the pool, and his body began to convulse.

  It was strange that the water in the pond seemed to have no effect on Xuan Tian's breathing.

  At this moment, the strange phenomenon of breathing in water did not catch Xuan Tian's attention, his attention was drawn to that dazzling white light.

  A white light shot into the center of Xuántiān's eyebrows, transforming into a small sword about an inch long, as white as jade, suspended in the center of his eyebrows. Suddenly, a powerful force surged out from the small white sword, enveloping Xuántiān's entire body in an instant.

  "What tremendous power!"

  At this moment, Xuan Tian's gaze seemed to see into his body, clearly seeing the small white sword in his brow, surging out of pure white light, flowing into his meridians, greatly increasing his strength.

  In an instant, his skeleton grew rapidly, and his bones changed to become glossy and smooth like beautiful jade. His meridians also underwent a transformation, becoming even more resilient. From the pores of his skin, clusters of black impurities were expelled, and his skin became incredibly supple, filled with explosive power. Underneath his skin, a new membrane grew out, this layer being even tougher than his skin, giving off a feeling of solidity.

  What's more important is that countless yuanqi surged out of the small white sword and poured into Xuantian's entire body meridians.

  In an instant, Xuan Tian's cultivation surged, breaking through from the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts to the Fifth Realm of Martial Arts. The meridians in his body expanded by a full circle, filled with yuan energy, and he felt his entire body overflowing with power.

  The pure and authentic yuanqi that surged out of the small white sword had not stopped, continuing to gush out, cleansing the meridians throughout Xuantian's body. As the yuanqi grew more abundant, Xuantian's meridians expanded once again, his power increasing several times over in an instant, his cultivation breaking through once more.

  Musha Rokujūkyō!

  In a short moment, Xuan Tian's cultivation rose by two realms, from the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts to the Sixth Realm of Martial Arts.

  Moreover, the entire body undergoes a transformation, with all the meridians being remade. Past injuries are completely gone, and the power inside is surging. Compared to a martial artist's Seventh Realm strength, it is not inferior in the slightest.

  "What...what's going on here?"

  Xuān Tiān's heart was extremely shocked, and suddenly he remembered the other world he had seen in his previous life. He thought to himself: "Am I lucky enough to have picked up a treasure?"

  As he thought about it, Xuan Tian's shock turned into excitement.

  However, Xuan Tian didn't have time to fully enjoy the surprise when a severe shockwave suddenly transmitted from his brow, causing his entire brain to buzz loudly. In an instant, he lost consciousness and fainted.

  Dazed and confused, I don't know how much time has passed.

  When Xuan Tian woke up again, it was already bright, and he had returned to the sect, lying on his own bed.

  "Huang Shixiong, you're awake?" a twelve or thirteen year old boy asked, standing beside Xuan Tian's bed.

  There are many families with the surname Huang, but only one family with the surname Xuan. He joined the Tianjian Sect and used the name 'Huang Tian'. In the Tianjian Sect, his real name was known only to his cousin Huang Shi.

  This young man is a fellow disciple who entered the Tianjian Sect with Huangshi, named Lin Dong, generally known as Tian Bin, and has a very good relationship with Huangshi.

  In the Tianjian Sect, Xuantian's strength exceeded that of many outer sect disciples in the fifth realm. Huang Shi was able to avoid a lot of bullying thanks to Xuantian's care. Lin Dong followed Huang Shi and also benefited from Xuantian's influence, avoiding many disasters.

  As for Xuan Tian, Lin Dong is deeply respectful from the bottom of his heart.

  Xuantian looked at Lin Dong with a puzzled expression and said: "How did I end up here?"

  Lin Dongdao said, "Huang Shixiong, you fainted in the Hidden Sword Pond on the back mountain last night. The night watchman saw that you didn't return at night and asked Huang Shi, only to find out that you were practicing sword on the back mountain. It was the night watchman who rescued you."

  "Mount Hou? Hidden Sword Pond...?"

  In Xuantian's mind, memories of last night suddenly flashed by. He dove into the depths of the pool to search for the sword shadow within it.

  Result...

  The sword shadow pierced his brow, surging out a large amount of yuanqi, causing his cultivation to explode and increase continuously by two realms, stepping into the sixth realm of martial arts.

  "Is this... just a dream or is it really true?" Xuan Tian's mind was filled with wonder.

  Want to see again if there is a white small sword in the middle of the eyebrows, but Xuan Tian can't reach the inner vision last night no matter what, and see the effect of the space between the eyebrows.

  Unable to see into the Eyebrow Space, Xuan Tian could only use his cultivation to judge whether everything that happened last night was real or not.

  One stroke of luck, and Xuán Tiān's heart was suddenly filled with wild joy.

  Musha Rokujūkyō!

  Really entered the six realms of martial arts!

  Everything that happened last night was real and not just a dream.

  So it seems that the small white sword in the space between the eyebrows really exists, what is this 'thing' after all? It can actually enter the human body's space between the eyebrows.

  Xuantian couldn't understand it. In Shenzhou, even the top-grade Tianjie treasure swords had never been heard of being able to merge into one's brow.

  Although he was delighted in his heart, Xuan Tian's face did not reveal even a hint of it. He knew that this was definitely a major event and exposing it would do him no good.

  Quickly adjusting his expression, Xuan Tian Dao asked: "How did you know that the pond at the back of the mountain is called 'Hidden Sword Pond'?"

  Xuān Tiān had been in the Tiān Jiàn Zōng for more than three years, entering a year earlier than Lín Dōng. As for what he knew, it was far more than Lín Dōng.

  But Xuan Tian didn't know that the pond behind the mountain actually had a name, and Lin Dong surprisingly knew it, which made him curious.

  Lin Dongdao said, "It was the steward who brought you back last night who said that in that pool of water, every year on the 15th of August when the moon is full, a sword shadow will appear, but when people go down to take a look, there's nothing there, so it's called 'Hidden Sword Pool'. This has been going on for decades since they entered the Tianjian Sect. Even the inner sect elders and the sect leader have gone down to investigate, but haven't found anything. This strange phenomenon caused a stir back then, but later because there really was nothing in the 'Hidden Sword Pool', it gradually faded from people's memories."

  In the past few years on August 15th night, Xuan Tian didn't go to 'Hidden Sword Pond', this year is the first time encountering a full moon night on August 15th, coincidentally running into each other.

  "Why did I see that sword when no one else did, and it even flew into my forehead? Is there something special about me compared to others?"

  Xuan Tian slightly pondered, his heart stirred, and he thought to himself: "I see, I've merged the two souls, my spiritual power must far surpass others. Spiritual power is innate, even heavenly-stage cultivation methods can't cultivate it. Perhaps, it's precisely my powerful spiritual power that triggered the sword hidden within 'Hidden Sword Pond'?"

  "That white sword, as soon as it entered my brow, made my cultivation rise by two realms in a row. It's definitely an extraordinary treasure. I don't know if my future cultivation will continue at this speed? Xuanji, Yin Ji... you pair of dog men and women, wait for me, it won't take long, I'll come to settle the debt with you, the grudge of the past, let you repay tenfold!"

  At this moment, Xuan Tian's heart was filled with strength.

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