Chapter 3: Touch a Sword, Earn a Reward

Tens of thousands of people had entered???

What kind of question was that?

"In reply, my lord, the number of people who entered was..." A fat man squeezed out a smile and hurried to answer.

"What?! That many people are still alive? Are you certain?!" The thin middle-aged man fixed his gaze on the man and demanded.

The fat man broke into a cold sweat under that stare, but still gave a firm nod. "My lord, it's true."

The thin middle-aged man said nothing more.

He stepped forward and pressed his hand against the fat man's arm, then casually checked a few others in the same manner.

"Strange... why did so many people pass this time?" he muttered to himself.

Everyone who heard this felt a chill run down their spines.

Did that mean... he thought too few people had died??

Standing in the middle of the crowd, Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly.

When something unusual happens, there's always a reason behind it. Could this have something to do with him?

When Lin Xiao had been cultivating his modified version of the Qi Nourishing Art, it did seem to have had some effect on the people around him.

Fortunately.

The thin middle-aged man did not inspect everyone individually. After spot-checking a few people, he distributed the Tomb Guardian identity tokens.

He then explained the duties of a Tomb Guardian.

Only then did Lin Xiao come to understand.

The work of a Tomb Guardian was simple.

It involved tending to the individual Sword Tombs — wiping down the swords, clearing away weeds, and so on.

This place was a forbidden zone of Sword Demon Sect: the Pyre Heaven Sword Tomb.

The area they were in was only the outer perimeter of the Pyre Heaven Sword Tomb. The owners of these Sword Tombs were all disciples of Sword Demon Sect who had died throughout its history.

As for who was buried in the inner depths of the Pyre Heaven Sword Tomb, the man said nothing. That was not something they were permitted to concern themselves with.

Of course.

Sword Demon Sect was not making them work for free.

Each month they would receive two Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one opportunity to leave the grounds.

What about trying to escape during that outing? That would count as a violation of the rules, and Sword Demon Sect would hunt them down.

No one would gamble with their own life.

In addition, Lin Xiao learned one more piece of news.

In half a year's time, there would be an Outer Sect Trial.

Supervisor Wei — that thin middle-aged man — gave them a strange smile and said, "If you can survive until the Outer Sect Trial six months from now, you'll have the chance to become formal Outer Sect Disciples of Sword Demon Sect."

This sent the crowd into a frenzy of excitement.

Who would want to guard tombs here when they could become an Outer Sect Disciple?

Only Lin Xiao sensed that something was subtly off.

Why did he say "survive until" six months from now?

Could there actually be some danger involved in tending to the Sword Tombs?

Furthermore, their Tomb Guardian tokens served another function: recording the number of times they had tended to a tomb.

Each time they finished tending to a Sword Tomb, a number would appear on the token.

Within a single month, the recorded count had to reach ten to be considered satisfactory.

That worked out to roughly once every three days.

When people first heard this rule, they were overjoyed.

Tending to one Sword Tomb every three days — could the job be any easier?

Was it really that simple?

Those doubts were answered barely an hour later.

Everyone watched as one person cheerfully went off to tend to a Sword Tomb.

But the moment he touched the sword resting atop the tomb, he exploded and died on the spot.

His entire body was reduced to ash.

The crowd was struck dumb with horror.

"Oh right, I forgot to mention — every Sword Tomb contains a considerable amount of Sword Qi, especially when you're wiping the sword. You must circulate the Qi Nourishing Art and be careful. Otherwise... heh heh heh."

After saying this, Supervisor Wei paid them no further attention and turned to leave.

Only then did everyone understand.

That was why they had been forced to cultivate the Qi Nourishing Art.

It had all been for this.

After a long silence, one bold soul finally stepped forward.

He circulated the Qi Nourishing Art with full force, then quickly set about tending to a smaller-looking Sword Tomb.

Every eye in the crowd was fixed on him.

But after holding on for only about ten breaths, he scrambled back out.

He then collapsed to the ground, his face pale with lingering terror.

The single strand of Spiritual Energy he had nurtured within his body had been completely drained by the Sword Qi. Had he not retreated in time, he might have ended up like the person before him — exploding into ash.

When he recounted what had happened, the others were all left speechless, and none dared to try again.

It was clear that they needed to cultivate urgently, building up more and more Spiritual Energy within themselves before they could safely tend to the Sword Tombs.

Once everyone grasped this, they sat down on the spot and threw themselves into cultivation.

Everyone, that is, except one person.

Seeing the others close their eyes and begin cultivating, Lin Xiao walked off in the opposite direction.

Once he was out of everyone's line of sight, Lin Xiao casually chose a Sword Tomb.

If it came down to the strength of his Spiritual Energy, he should have no problem.

He took a deep breath.

Lin Xiao circulated the Qi Nourishing Art, stepped forward, and entered the range of the Sword Tomb.

The moment he stepped inside.

A strand of Sword Qi bored into his body.

It was ice-cold, carrying with it a trace of desolate solitude.

But once his Spiritual Energy wrapped around it, the sensation faded.

Without hesitation, Lin Xiao reached out and gripped the sword resting atop the tomb.

He could sense that the most difficult part of tending to a Sword Tomb was the step of wiping the sword.

There had to be something more to it...

Sure enough.

The instant Lin Xiao closed his hand around the hilt.

A violent surge of Sword Qi rushed up through his arm and flooded into his body.

Boom!

In an instant.

Swirling halos of light spun within Lin Xiao's eyes.

Scene after scene flashed through his mind.

It was the life of a young man named Chen Fan — a boy born under an unlucky star. His parents had died when he was a child, leaving him to wander the streets.

Then, on the verge of starving to death, Chen Fan had been discovered by a steward of Sword Demon Sect and brought into the sect.

From that point on, he had walked the path of cultivation, training tirelessly in a sword art called the Falling Leaf Sword Art.

Over the course of decades, he endured countless trials and survived numerous brushes with death, only to be cut down in the end by those who called themselves righteous.

Chen Fan's entire life flashed through Lin Xiao's mind like a galloping horse.

What left the deepest impression was the Falling Leaf Sword Art that Chen Fan had mastered.

In Chen Fan's hands, the sword moved like an autumn wind — every strike carrying with it a touch of quiet melancholy.

Without realizing it, Lin Xiao found himself holding the sword and moving through the motions.

The sword art he was performing was unmistakably the very same Falling Leaf Sword Art he had witnessed in his mind.

The visions faded.

Lin Xiao came back to himself.

He stared at the sword in his hand, his face full of astonishment.

Was this... was this the power of Max-Level Comprehension?!

He had mastered this Human Grade superior-tier Falling Leaf Sword Art just like that?!

And what were those visions in his mind all about?!

This was truly extraordinary.

Lin Xiao also noticed that in addition to the Spiritual Energy he had just cultivated, there was now an extra strand of considerable Sword Qi within his body.

This strand of Sword Qi bore no hostility whatsoever — on the contrary, it faintly radiated a sense of warmth and closeness.

Even the sword in his hand showed no sign of rejecting him.

"Your name is 'Autumn Wind,' isn't it?" Lin Xiao said quietly.

Hmmm~~

The moment the words left his mouth, the sword Autumn Wind gave a faint tremor in his hand, as if responding to him.

A sword with spiritual awareness — it was real.

Something seemed to occur to Lin Xiao, and he glanced down at the Tomb Guardian token at his waist.

The number on it was still 0.

Only after he finished tending to the Sword Tomb and wiped down the sword did the number on the token change to 1.

Lin Xiao couldn't help but marvel inwardly — the anti-cheating mechanism on this token was quite well designed.