683 Sunshine on the Summit of the Third-Level Mountain

Zhang Ruochen stood by the stone wall grasping the hilt of the Valley-water Sword. He pointed at the word "Heaven" on the top left-hand corner and said, "Let's fight. This is my last try. See if your Tao of the sword is more powerful than mine!"

The writing soared out and turned into a human figure. Its hands were grasping a combat sword. The figure landed from the air and aimed a strike at Zhang Ruochen's head.

In an instant, the scenery around Zhang Ruochen completely vanished. Columns of air gyrated upward and wrapped around him.

Above him, the huge combat sword struck down toward his head. An earthshaking tremor of Qi accompanied the strike, almost as if it was trying to cleave the earth.

"You're just a Sword Comprehension. Do you think you can subdue me?"

Zhang Ruochen slashed his sword and drew a long arc in the air. The sword Qi broke through a column of wind that was blocking him in front.

The scenery around him became visible again. He was still standing at the foot of the Third-Level Mountain. Nothing had changed.

The only difference was that the gatekeeper attacking him was already at the top of his head.

"Sword One!"

Zhang Ruochen held his sword with both hands. His body and the sword merged into one, turning into a white streak of light. The light soared to the sky. With an incisive air, he attacked the gatekeeper.

CLANG! The swords clashed. Dense sword Qi surged out, whirling about everywhere.

Zhang Ruochen then hurtled down. His legs sunk deep into the ground up to his knees, surrounded by numerous fissures.

The gatekeeper also fell soon after.

It landed sideways on the ground with a deafening thud, creating a large, human-shaped crater. There was a hole the size of a bowl in its chest, emitting large quantities of holy light.

The body of the gatekeeper turned into numerous specks of light that then reconfigured to form a character on the stone wall.

"Breakthrough successful."

A low voice sounded from within the stone wall.

The burly man was astonished. He had a feeling that Lin Yue would triumph on this try. He did not, however, expect him to kill the gatekeeper with a single strike.

He even suspected that Lin Yue had pretended to be weak during his first try.

How could any man make such great strides within just a few hours?

Clap! Clap!

The burly man clapped his hands. "You're indeed a genius in the Tao of the sword. My eyes are opened. I'm a little curious, though. You could have easily defeated the gatekeeper. Why did you take three tries?"

Zhang Ruochen sheathed his Valley-water Sword. He stared at the burly man and said, "I can only tell you I did my best on every try. A man can improve, but a gatekeeper will only ever be this strong."

It was actually not surprising that Zhang Ruochen had defeated the gatekeeper with a single strike.

Although the gatekeeper had reached the ninth level of Sword One, his realm in the Tao of the sword was still in the Intermediate Stage of Heart Integrated into Sword. Zhang Ruochen, on the other hand, had reached the Advanced Stage.

Zhang Ruochen did not succeed on his first try because he lacked the necessary experience to fight top sword practitioners. He lost to the gatekeeper in just over 100 moves.

On his second try, Zhang Ruochen exchanged 2,000 moves with the gatekeeper. He accumulated much combat experience and also tried to probe its weakness.

The gatekeeper's weakness?

The gatekeeper's greatest weakness was the fact that it was not human. It was simply a whiff of sword consciousness. The gatekeeper knew only how to attack and defend, and had no variation in its moves. Or rather, its variations were very slow.

Zhang Ruochen pinpointed its weakness. Since he was more powerful than the gatekeeper, he managed to kill it with a single strike.

Zhang Ruochen obviously would not give the burly man the real reason. After explaining casually, he headed for the mountain path to continue up the Third-Level Mountain.

The revered Holy Land of all sword practitioners—the Sword Pavilion—was on the summit of the Third-Level Mountain.

Zhang Ruochen had high expectations of the Sword Pavilion.

"'A man can improve, but a gatekeeper will only ever be this strong.' He's right. It makes sense."

The burly man stared at Zhang Ruchen from behind and smiled faintly. He started climbing the Third-Level Mountain. Although he kept distance, he wanted to know how far Zhang Ruochen could go.

The second stage was midway up the mountain. As expected, it did not prove to be a hindrance to Zhang Ruochen.

After breaking through the second stage, Zhang Ruochen continued climbing. If he could overcome the "Force" of the Third-Level Mountain, he would reach its summit.

Like the first two mountains, the Third-Level Mountain was 9,000 meters high. Its Force, however, was several times more powerful than the last.

Even with his willpower, Zhang Ruochen found it extremely difficult to resist the Force.

After reaching a height of 7,000 meters, his eardrums started throbbing with pain. There was a humming noise in his ears all the time.

Each step weighed his body down by an extra 10 tons. His bones crackled and his spine bent almost as if it would break.

Zhang Ruochen eventually had to stop. He sat cross-legged on the ground and started running exercises from the Scripture of Emperor Ming's Empyrean within his body. He tried his best to subdue the Force.

At this point, he discovered that the burly man was still trailing behind him. The man had stopped 30 meters away.

"This man can overcome the Force of the Third-Level Mountain so easily. Is he a Half-Saint?"

Zhang Ruochen soon shook his head.

The burly man's cultivation was certainly unfathomable. However, he had clearly not cultivated a Divine Soul. He was still of the Fish-Dragon Realm.

Zhang Ruochen did not know that the burly man was even more astounded than he.

"The lad's really something. He reached the 7,000-meter point of the Third-Level Mountain even when he's still of the Fifth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm. I did the same when I was of the Fifth Change. Is his willpower as strong as mine?"

The burly man had always been the most outstanding person in his age group and realm ever since he was young. He had always left the second best far behind.

Now, someone had emerged in his realm who could rival him. It naturally stimulated his eager desire to win.

"I'd like to see how far you can go." The burly man smiled faintly and sat down in a cross-legged position as well. He waited patiently for Zhang Ruochen.

In the next few hours, Zhang Ruochen would stop every 100 meters. He would only continue after getting used to the Force.

Zhang Ruochen took six hours to finally reach the 8,000-meter point.

The burly man began to look extremely solemn.

The burly man's face looked more and more serious as Zhang Ruochen climbed the mountain. Each step Zhang Ruochen took made the difference between them more pronounced.

The burly man was a very proud person. He enjoyed winning very much. He could not accept someone else as his superior in any way.

"Is he really that powerful?" The burly man wanted to pit himself against Zhang Ruochen. However, he held back this urge because he had already reached the Peak of the Ninth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm.

It would not mean anything to win with a cultivation of the Ninth Change.

Zhang Ruochen climbed from day to night.

From night to dawn. The sun began to rise.

When the sun had finally risen, Zhang Ruochen took his final step. He had reached the summit of the Third-Level Mountain.

His Taoist robe was completely soaked in blood and sweat. His ears, nostrils, eyes and mouth were dripping with blood. He looked extremely gruesome.

It was impossible to imagine how much pain he had gone through. He reached the summit through his exceptional perseverance and focus. Now he stood in a position that others could only look at in awe.

It was a painful experience climbing the Third-Level Mountain, but if he had not withstood the pain, he would not be the first to see the rising sun!

Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and spread out his arms. He was completely relaxed. Genial sunshine shone down on his body. He spoke with a deep sense of enjoyment. "This is a wonderful feeling."

After running exercises around his body, he took in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. The pain in his body gradually subsided. A refreshing feeling took over, an experience that he had never had before.

"This guy... "

The burly man had reached the summit. He glanced at Zhang Ruochen, not knowing what to say.

All of a sudden, Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and stared at the burly man. He could not suppress his curiosity. "Who are you, really?"

The burly man said, "Can't you guess?"

Zhang Ruochen said, "As far as I know, only Gai Tianjiao can reach the summit of the Third-Level Mountain while still of the Fish-Dragon Realm. I'm sure you are not her."

"Why not?" The burly man laughed with a calm, unfazed air.

"Although I haven't seen Gai Tianjiao before, I've heard many stories about her. I know she's a woman—an exceptionally beautiful woman," Zhang Ruochen said.

The burly man had a look of deep enjoyment. He nodded and said, "Gai Tianjiao is the first of the four beauties of the Yin and Yang Sect. She's certainly very beautiful. If you keep praising her, you might get into her good books."

Seeing as the burly man would not identify himself, Zhang Ruochen quit asking questions and went to the third Holy Spring instead.

Since the burly man was beside him, Zhang Ruochen could not use his Spatial Ring to collect the Holy Water. He would certainly be discovered.

If he were to collect only a small gourd of Holy Spring water, however, it would help him only a little in the Tao of the sword.

Zhang Ruochen decided to practice by the third Holy Spring. He would try to break into the Completion of Sword One.

He sat cross-legged by the Holy Spring and drank his first gourd of Holy Water.

"Swoosh!"

In his Qi Sea, the three Sword Comprehensions surrounded the Heart of the Sword and started surging. A tremendous roar sounded like that from a tumultuous river. The noise reverberated within Zhang Ruochen's ears and body. No Monk outside could hear it.

After drinking the first gourd of Holy Water, Zhang Ruochen's wounds healed. The scabs fell off and his skin became as tender as a baby's. It was as if his body had been thoroughly remolded.

After taking his second gourd of Holy Water, Zhang Ruochen started practicing the sword on the summit of the Third-Level Mountain.

He tried comprehending the mysteries of Sword One while practicing. At the same time, he was digesting the power of the Holy Water.

After he drank his third gourd of Holy Water, his sword moves gradually slowed down. Each move became more profound and concentrated. His sword moves blended with the laws of Heaven and Earth, and their power increased tremendously.

A Taoist priest of about forty strolled out from the Sword Pavilion.

He had a cyan beard and looked quite cultivated. He was supporting a terracotta teapot in his hands and looked at ease. He walked over to the burly man and stopped beside him.

His eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen executing the sword moves. His brows went up. "Not bad. Another genius of the Tao of the sword has emerged. He has reached the summit of the Third-Level Mountain and the Sword Pavilion on his own strength. Who's the boy, Tianjiao?"