Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable-Chapter 50: He Can’t Become a Genius

"The Myriad Swords Sect... Heh. Once, it was peerless and independent, solitary and domineering! The Myriad Swords Sect, famed throughout the world for its Lonely Sword Intent, a sect that took pride in its Ten Thousand Souls Sword Dao... and now it has fallen to this. Truly pitiful. Truly laughable!"

Que Xinyan let out a long sigh, then spoke in a deeply apologetic tone. "Master, I can’t save you. I’ll bury you in the desolate tombs of Forbidden Moon Mountain, to accompany the remains of that old fool, Que De. That old fool was truly useless. When he was alive, he brought ruin to good people and raised a pack of backstabbing, ungrateful wolves. Now that he’s dead, no one gives a damn about his promises! He really deserved to die! He truly did!"

As Que Xinyan sighed, his eyes grew bloodshot.

Over the past month, he had become physically and mentally exhausted, battered by endless cold shoulders and ridicule.

Although he had long known how fickle people could be and how cruel reality was, he never imagined it could be so much worse than he thought.

How was this any different from saving someone, only for them to stab you in the back?

"Hold on."

Just then, a flash of sword light manifested in the distance.

From it, the figure of a middle-aged man materialized.

He was the current Sect Master of the Myriad Swords Sect, Wan Jianyun.

"Sect Master."

Upon seeing him, Fairy Qiu Yu immediately bowed.

Wan Jianyun spoke. "I will save this boy. In accordance with the Ten Thousand Swords Talisman’s requirement, I will accept him as a ’True Disciple’."

Hearing this, Fairy Qiu Yu said urgently, "Sect Master, you are about to face your Second Refining Sword Tribulation! If the Thousand Tribulations Wanderer interferes with your Sword Tribulation, you and the entire Sect will be in extreme danger!"

Wan Jianyun frowned. "Can one pass a Tribulation with a mindset like that? Elder Qiu Yu, while I know you have my best interests at heart, in truth, your Strong Heart is wavering. Cowering like this will lead to no great achievements. You should reflect on this."

Fairy Qiu Yu jolted at his words, and a complicated expression crossed her face.

A moment later, she lowered her head in utter shame.

Que Xinyan, however, felt a bit better. He cupped his fists in a salute and said, "Sect Master Wan, the status of a True Disciple isn’t necessary. You’re about to face your Tribulation and will have no time to teach him. You only need to heal him. As for the rest, he will grow on his own."

Wan Jianyun replied, "The title of True Disciple is a status, and a very necessary one. With it, no one will dare to touch him, at the very least. We will certainly heal him. It’s just that with injuries this severe, even after he’s healed, he’ll ultimately... lose his ability to cultivate. How about this? I’ll have him follow our Alchemy Elder, Die Xiyue. Once he’s healed, he can stay by her side, learn a little about elixirs, maybe become a Medicine Boy."

Hearing this, Que Xinyan said, "That could work. But I will wait until he has recovered before I leave."

"Fine," Wan Jianyun said. "That’s no problem. I’ll arrange accommodations for you. By the way, you just called this ’Ye Tianling’ your ’Master’. What’s that about? What kind of master is he to you? Is he related to Daoist Que De?"

Que Xinyan said flatly, "I simply lost a bet on a duel with him, so I am fulfilling my promise to acknowledge him as my master. I may be a rat, but I keep my promises."

A clear note of angry sarcasm laced Que Xinyan’s words.

But Wan Jianyun didn’t refute him. "Indeed. The so-called Renowned and Righteous Sects, the Major Sects, often honor their promises less than Demon Beasts, the Demon Race, or even Evil Cultivators. It’s a sad state of affairs. That’s just how the Sword Dao World is these days. You get used to it."

As he spoke, Wan Jianyun waved his hand, bringing Que Xinyan and Ye Tianling into the Myriad Swords Sect.

...

「Myriad Swords Sect, Ten Thousand Swords Main Hall.」

Wan Jianyun sought out the Alchemy Elder, Die Xiyue, and spoke to her about Que Xinyan’s Ten Thousand Swords Talisman and the matter concerning Ye Tianling.

The matter of the three-year duel between Ye Cangqian and Ye Yuemei was now a widely known affair, causing a great stir.

The cause of it all was, of course, related to Ye Yuemei’s sweetheart, Ye Tianling.

Furthermore, Ye Cangqian’s master, the Thousand Tribulations Wanderer, had personally issued a warning: no one was to heal Ye Tianling. Anyone who did would be declaring themselves an enemy of the Thousand Tribulations Wanderer!

At the same time, the Thousand Tribulations Wanderer, Ye Cangqian, Jin Xietian, and others were also issuing bounties for information on Ye Tianling’s whereabouts, with exceptionally generous rewards.

With the affair having blown up to this extent, it was impossible for peerless experts like Wan Jianyun and Die Xiyue to be unaware.

"Since you’ve made your decision, Sect Master, then let’s announce it publicly! That way, the Thousand Tribulations Wanderer will at least have to withdraw the bounty on the surface, and he won’t make a move on Ye Tianling for the time being."

Die Xiyue suggested, her elegant brows furrowed.

"Mm, I will certainly do so. And now that I have comprehended the true Ten Thousand Souls Sword Dao, I have no fear of that Thousand Tribulations Wanderer. If he dares to force the issue, he will live to regret it! I was even thinking, if this Ye Tianling can live up to expectations, he could crush all those so-called prodigies from the Cyan Moon Sword Sect at the grand competition between the major sword sects in three years. Then he can lure that Ye Yuemei over here. We’ll let them train her for nothing, only for her to end up working for us!"

Wan Jianyun said, his tone sharp and fierce.

Die Xiyue gave a gentle smile, her beauty enough to topple nations.

"It’s a fine, passionate idea, but... even if I, the acknowledged number one Alchemy Master in Carefree Main City and the hundred surrounding sword sects, fed Ye Tianling top-grade Elixirs every single day, he still wouldn’t become a prodigy!

This young man has impressive courage, a wild and arrogant personality, and a Strong Heart. He even possesses the rare variant Fiery Sun Sword Body Bloodline.

What a pity. A true pity. His Soul is shattered. Even if he recovers, he will never be able to step into the Sword Soul Realm for the rest of his life."

As she spoke, Die Xiyue glanced at Que Xinyan with a look full of sympathy. "Rat, my condolences."

Que Xinyan sighed. "That won’t happen. The fact that his Talent could mutate means he’s no ordinary person! Trust me, Que Xinyan, just this once. As a Gold-devouring Rat, my ability to find treasures is heaven-defying! He *is* a prodigy!"

Die Xiyue shook her head. "You’re being misled by his bloodline. His Soul was crushed, causing his Bloodline Talent to manifest through his Essence Blood. That’s why you constantly feel like his entire body is a treasure... What you don’t realize is that this is the very sign of his Talent draining away. And when it comes to judging these things, given my expertise in the Alchemy Dao, I am certain I am not mistaken.

However, the fact that his condition hasn’t worsened after all this time proves that his Talent was indeed terrifyingly powerful!"

Que Xinyan said, "That’s right. He also has the Soul Talent."

Die Xiyue was stunned. "The Soul Talent? He actually possessed such a terrifying Talent? This... It’s over. The Soul is shattered, so the Talent is ruined! What a pity, what a terrible, terrible pity! If I had known, I would have risked my own life to save him from Ye Cangqian! And you!" She rounded on Que Xinyan. "Someone with that kind of Talent should have been brought to me to study Alchemy! If you had come sooner, would you have ended up in such a miserable state, suffering endless scorn and disgracing your old master’s name?"

Que Xinyan gave an embarrassed laugh, a complicated look in his eyes.

He knew that if Die Xiyue had made up her mind, then she was most likely right.

In other words, Ye Tianling really was crippled. No matter what he accomplished in the future, he would likely never be able to form a Sword Soul, forever stuck before that realm.

To an ordinary person, reaching the Sword Soul Realm was a mark of invincibility.

But for someone like Ye Tianling, being unable to even form a Sword Soul was an incredibly cruel fate.

Que Xinyan sighed in sorrow, feeling utterly dejected.

"Enough talk. Let’s save him first. You will help, and so will you, Sect Master. The price to save him will be quite steep. His Soul has been pulverized and is drifting outside his body, held together only by a lingering obsession. This means... he can probably hear our entire conversation. Hmm. First, we need to find a way to pull his shattered Soul back into his body."

Die Xiyue said softly.