Position swap!
Zhang Siyun succeeded in his spell. However, he moved from over 7,000th step to over 3,000th step. As for Qing Qiu, she reached over 7,000th step.
Before they changed positions, there was a difference of 2,000 steps between them. After they changed positions, there was a difference of 4,000 steps.
The instant the swap was successful, a huge evil ghost appeared on Qing Qiu's body. It had long been accumulating strength. At this moment, it opened its mouth wide and made a devouring sign toward Zhang Siyun.
Zhang Siyun's body trembled and the backlash caused him to involuntarily stop in his tracks. He was even more anxious and furious. Qing Qiu's method was very simple, but the simpler it was, the more unexpected it was.
Qing Qiu took advantage of this pause. Her entire body flickered with red light as she spared no expense to activate her secret art. Many phantoms appeared on her body and she coughed out seven mouthfuls of blood in exchange for extreme speed.
In the end, she rushed to the peak and grabbed the third command sword.
The moment she held the sword in her hand, Qing Qiu spat out another large mouthful of blood. There were even pieces of internal organs inside. Clearly, the backlash from this secret art was extremely great for her.
At that moment, her entire person was dispirited, as though she couldn't stand steadily. She could only prop the evil ghost scythe against the ground and barely stand there. She was extremely weakened but her eyes were resolute.
This gaze made Xu Qing feel that he had seen it before for some reason.
Just as Xu Qing was searching his memories and the source of this familiarity, Zhang Siyun saw that he had failed and the anger in his heart soared to the sky. He stared fixedly at Xu Qing. He looked at the Sword Holders in the sky and spoke loudly.
"Xu Qing slandered me and interfered with my trial. This matter…"
"I'll give you an explanation on behalf of my junior brother. Zhang Siyun, sorry, it was a misunderstanding. You're a good person." The captain blinked and continued Zhang Siyun's words with a serious expression. After he finished speaking, he even spoke to Qing Qiu, who was panting.
"Fellow Daoist Qing Qiu, what do you think?"
Qing Qiu hated Mad Dog and Ghost Hand, but she knew that this matter concerned her ranking, so she spoke coldly.
"I also think it's a misunderstanding. Zhang Siyun, truly sorry, you're a good person."
They had clearly said that they were sorry, but the anger in Zhang Siyun's heart didn't dissipate at all. Instead, it turned into a deep grievance and he was about to speak.
However, from the left wing of the wing formation in the sky, the middle-aged man who had read the name list earlier walked out.
He bowed to the Sword Holder Great Elder. After noticing that the Great Elder didn't say anything about what happened below, as someone who had followed the Great Elder for a long time, he naturally understood the Great Elder's thoughts. He was the person who had checked Xu Qing's identity in front of the Great Elder's Dao altar back then. At this moment, he also thought of the way the Great Elder looked at Xu Qing back then.
Hence, he turned and looked at the stairs. A solemn voice rang out from his mouth, echoing through the world.
"The Sword Holder assessment is over."
As soon as his voice rang out, other than Xu Qing and the other two, the figures of the others on the stairs instantly disappeared. They were teleported out of the stairs by a vast force and appeared on the ground.
Zhang Siyun was the same.
He clenched his fists fiercely. His eyes were bloodshot and his heart was filled with intense resentment. Beside him was the youth from the small sect, Ning Yan, who had attacked Xu Qing at the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar. His face was pale and his expression was filled with bitterness. However, there was still a hint of desire in the depths of his eyes.
The others were the same. There was desire amidst their bitterness because they still had a chance!
However, no matter how unwilling these people were and how their emotions fluctuated, no one cared about them at this moment. All their gazes landed on the stairs.
There were only Xu Qing, the captain, and Qing Qiu there.
"For this Sword Holder assessment, three people have been chosen. They are Xu Qing, Chen Erniu, and Qing Qiu. Congratulations."
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he looked at Xu Qing and the other two. His gaze lingered on Xu Qing the most. After that, he cupped his fists and bowed to the three of them.
After that, all the Sword Holders in the surroundings bowed in unison.
This was a greeting to the Dao. There was no distinction between seniority and inferiority. It was the respect every Sword Holder enjoyed when they joined them.
Xu Qing and the other two solemnly returned the greeting to the Sword Holders in the sky.
"From today onwards, the three of you are official Sword Holders." The middle-aged man calmly spoke.
"According to the Sword Holding Court's decision, an exception will be made for the human disciple, Ning Yan, and made into a Quasi-Sword Holder. He will be allowed to go to the Sword Holding Palace in the upper county to undergo training. If he succeeds, he will be able to obtain a command sword and become an official Sword Holder."
"According to the orders of the Sword Holding Palace, the human disciple, Zhang Siyun, is exempted from the test to become a Sword Holder. However, there are only three swords in the Yinghuang Province. You need to go to the Sword Holding Palace in Fenghai County and request for the command sword."
"Now, the two of you, step forward."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Yan's figure rapidly leaped toward the staircase in front of him. As he ran, his eyes revealed an intense light. His breathing was hurried and his body was trembling.
Everyone's minds stirred. As for the other participants, they sighed helplessly.
What they were waiting for was this opportunity of an exception. Every time the Sword Holder assessment was held, there would be such an exception.
Although not all Quasi Sword Holders could successfully be conferred the title of official, this was at least an opportunity.
Only Zhang Siyun's heart was still filled with resentment. At that moment, he took a step forward and stepped onto the stairs. He and Ning Yan reached the peak one after another, but in terms of standing, he was at the edge.
Xu Qing calmly turned his head and glanced at Ning Yan.
Under his gaze, Ning Yan's head shrank and his mind shook. The ecstasy from before seemed to have been doused by a basin of cold water at this moment, and he did not dare to look into Xu Qing's eyes.
Xu Qing retracted his gaze and looked at Zhang Siyun. What he saw was the coldness in the depths of Zhang Siyun's eyes.
Xu Qing was expressionless and there were no fluctuations in his eyes. He retracted his gaze and calmly looked at the sky, waiting for this ritual to end.
"Now, the five of you will walk to the emperor's statue under the witness of all the Sword Holders and take the Sword Holder's Heart Inquisition Oath to obtain the emperor's blessing." The middle-aged man's voice slowly rang out, and the solemnity became even more intense at this moment.
It was as though this segment was extremely important to the Sword Holders.
"This is the last and necessary part of becoming a Sword Holder. You need to be completely focused. Follow your heart and answer the emperor's questions in your mind."
"We don't know your answer. Only you and the emperor know. The Great Emperor's statue will also emit light according to your answer."
"The height of the light represents the emperor's recognition of your answer. Since ancient times, the Sword Holder with the least light in our Yinghuang Province has obtained 600 feet of light. The most powerful one crossed 10,000 feet."
As the middle-aged cultivator's voice spread out, the captain winked at Xu Qing. In this solemn occasion, he was still very bold as he transmitted his voice to Xu Qing.
"Little Qing, I know about this stage. Although it's called a blessing, it's actually all a confusion tactic."
"Let me tell you, there are two goals for this round. One is to check if you're really a human. The other is to swear an oath. When the emperor's statue asks us a question, we can just brag."
"This result won't affect our status as Sword Holders. There's no reward either. At most, it'll be reputation."
"However, you have to think about how to brag. After all, although it won't affect us, I heard that it will be recorded in our identities and resumes. It will be of some use when we are promoted in the future."
"So you have to think about it carefully. But I'm different."
"I've prepared for this for a very, very long time. After I arrived at the Yinghuang Province, I spent a lot of money to buy all the questions the emperor had asked for thousands of years. I even got the questions from other provinces. There are a total of 1,789 questions that are commonly seen."
"At that time, I, your Eldest Senior Brother, had already started to think of the answers. I already memorized all the answers and every one of them is perfect!"
"Hmph, you won earlier but this time, I can announce in advance that I will definitely have the highest light."
The captain was smug and raised his brows at Xu Qing, looking incomparably wise and farsighted.
Xu Qing ignored him.
He didn't care about the height of the light. Since it didn't affect his identity as a Sword Holder and there were no rewards, if it was just an empty title, he would answer everything according to his heart.
While Xu Qing was thinking this, a solemn voice rang out from the sky.
"All of you, step forward a thousand feet!"
Xu Qing lifted his head and walked forward. The others were the same. They stepped forward a thousand feet and got even closer to the emperor's statue.
