Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

"The Heavenly God Sword Fang Yilong has drawn his sword..."

"The swordsmanship he employs is called the 'Gale Nine Heavens Control Sword Art,' which he seized from the Great Sun Sword Pavilion.

This sword is unparalleled in speed, accompanied by raging winds. Fang Yilong has refined this set of swordsmanship to an exquisite level, boasting the ability to slash sixty-four times in one second, capable of cutting sixty-four rice grains in one second without damaging the germ in the slightest."

"His opponent is the Furious Dragon Fierce Sword Wang Tiansheng..."

When Jiang Ding switched to the Xianmen Sect's central television channel, he heard a voice shouting something at the top of its lungs, a flurry of extremely second-rate titles flying around, leaving him speechless.

But it cannot be denied,

that they are professionals, and this is indeed a way to stir the emotions of the public well.

With such commentary and the picture slowed down several times, even ordinary people could understand and get involved, getting excited when a contestant has an advantage and worrying when they are at a disadvantage.

Moreover, after years of development, the number of people practicing swordsmanship within the Xianmen Sect has reached several hundred million.

The rest, even if they have not practiced swordsmanship themselves, have relatives or friends who do, and they also have some understanding of it, so they are not complete outsiders.

One move advances, another defends with a sword move. When talking about it with friends, they speak with such authority that it seems to make more sense than the famous swordsmen using their moves on the field."

On the television, atop the steep peak of Mount Hua, two Qi Practitioners at the Seventh Level of Qi Practicing are battling with their Flying Swords.

This is no coincidence.

Mount Hua Swordsmanship Tournament, a tournament of swordsmanship skills.

It's not about crushing the opponent with cultivation base, as that would be uninteresting. Both sides are limited to the Seventh Level of Qi Practicing in terms of cultivation base. As for Flying Swords, there are some differences.

Jiang Ding spent a great deal of money to order a corresponding service from the Tai Xu Fantasy Realm, which allowed participants to retain their Life Flying Swords or the Flying Swords they normally use in combat, although their power was suppressed to the same order.

This is very beneficial for sword cultivators.

Sword cultivators, as well as their Flying Swords, need to grow through combat, which is not something that can be achieved by mere cultivation alone.

"The Heavenly God Sword Fang Yilong..."

"The Furious Dragon Fierce Sword Wang Tiansheng..."

Jiang Ding looked at the two swordsmen fighting, his gaze kind and gentle, like Elder Nong watching the sprouting seedlings in his fields.

The Furious Dragon Fierce Sword Wang Tiansheng was a dashing young man with a handsome face, dressed in flowing white, possessing a presence even greater than many celebrities, as if a Sword Immortal had descended to Earth, causing continuous screams from many female spectators on the scene, making him immensely popular.

Even many girls had come specifically to see him, which was why they bought tickets to come over.

His handling of the Flying Sword was also commendable.

A fiery red Flying Sword moved like flowing fire, zipping up and down, left and right, like a meteor crossing the sky, forcing the opposing green wind-based Flying Sword into continuous retreat, its sword-light quivering.

"Could this be another seed of the Sword Dao?"

Jiang Ding's heart leapt with joy as he brought up this person's information, planning to invest and cultivate him.

A moment later.

"From Beidou University, a freshman from this year."

Jiang Ding's expression soured.

Students from Beidou University, and winners of the Xianmen Sect's examination, have a bright future ahead and would not join the Sword Dao at this time to contribute to it for the rest of their lives.

But this was to be expected, rightfully so.

Indeed, the most outstanding and strongest Qi Practitioners of the Xianmen Sect are found within Beidou University. If it were not for the restrictions on cultivation base and mana, they would be even stronger, capable of overwhelming hundreds of their peers.

Since Wang Tiansheng was the top student of the Xianmen Sect, he would not be able to devote too much time to cold weapons. Languages, mathematics, practical biology, geography — mastering any of these fields would require immense effort to achieve his current success.

Although his talents and comprehension abilities were strong, the others in the Xianmen Sect were not weak. To casually become the top student was impossible.

Even so, his casually practiced swordsmanship, which he spent little time on, still far exceeded his peers and pushed back the opposing Gale Flying Sword continuously.

"Professional swordsmen getting thrashed by a casual player..."

Jiang Ding shook his head slightly, not too discouraged.

In the early rise of swordsmanship, it was normal for elites from other industries to overwhelmingly defeat swordsmen, but such occurrences would gradually decrease over the next few decades.

By then, only the most professional and powerful sword cultivators would be able to claim the laurels.

"Great Sun Sword Pavilion's Fang Yilong..."

Jiang Ding looked across at the Elegant Sword Immortal.

This man was unremarkable in appearance.

At the age of forty or fifty, with dark skin and several scars on his face, he was silent as a rock, controlling a cyan Gale Flying Sword. Each move was quicker than the last, barely defending against Wang Tiansheng's Meteor Flame Flying Sword with a slightly superior speed.

He was dressed in plain hemp clothes with thick calluses on his hands.

"Oh."

"I've encountered a fellow practitioner."

Jiang Ding mused to himself, not needing to look up any information, recognizing the unmistakable aura at a glance.

There were hundreds of billions of people in Xianmen Sect.

There's an old saying: once there are more than a hundred people, they come in all shapes and colors.

Among the hundreds of billions of citizens, there were geniuses, elites, those who would unscrupulously join clans for wealth, those who strutted their stuff in Small Worlds, and those on the battlefield who emerged stronger through facing death. Every type of person was represented.

Here, he had encountered a cultivator sincere in the way of the sword.

Though it seemed that both his perception and his innate talent were nothing exceptional.

At the age of forty or fifty, he was only at the Seventh Level of Qi Practicing – that was his true cultivation base. His sword practice was not particularly orthodox either. Although devoted to the sword, he was being overwhelmingly suppressed and outclassed by a sixteen-year-old boy with casually practiced sword moves, pushed into a disadvantage.

It wasn't unfair.

In fact, if it weren't for the limitations set by the Tai Xu Fantasy Realm on cultivation bases, he would have been defeated instantly.

Looking at his information.

"Fang Yilong, male, forty-three years old, unmarried, parents deceased, born in Yu Province, profession Spirit Farmer, employed at East Yu Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., only knows how to plant First-order Spirit Wheat, with poor yield, barely passing, and consistently ranks at the bottom of his company."

A very ordinary citizen of the Xianmen Sect, not outstanding.

Even, one might say, rather poor.

"... obsessed with practicing swordsmanship since middle school, and has been this way for decades with a longsword never leaving his side... yet has achieved little of note, with mediocre, unremarkable talent..."

"... relying on decades of accumulation, he may possibly place in the top three in this early era of sword cultivation..."

"... but when others start paying attention to this field, and a massive influx of talent pours into sword cultivation, he will likely fade back into mediocrity..."

Finally, there was a comment from Wei Hu.

Having worked in the education and training industry for decades, a leader in the field, this evaluation wasn't given lightly but was the result of considering many factors.

The world is often this cruel.

Your passion doesn't guarantee talent, nor does it ensure you'll eventually achieve any notable success.

Ding!

At that moment, accompanied by a crisp sound of a sword chiming, Wang Tiansheng's Meteor Flame Flying Sword blazed brilliantly with roaring flames, slashing Fang Yilong's Gale Flying Sword out of the air with its bright sword-light extinguished, and the Spirit Light completely faded, the Flying Sword fell to the ground.

The Meteor Flame Flying Sword slashed through the air like a shooting star, turning the unwilling Fang Yilong into ashes.

What happened seemed to interpret Wei Hu's evaluation.

"He's talented, capable of contributing to the Sword Dao."

Yet Jiang Ding revealed a look of joy.