Demon Sword Sect's Undercover

Hou Niao's cultivation had taken him down a very strange path.

He was certain that the number of soul bodies he killed in the Soul Realm offered no assistance to his Energy Induction, which conformed to the essence of cultivation, as the soul and the mana from the Dantian Spirit were not the same concept.

According to his judgment, his soul body entered the Soul Realm while his physical body continued the circulation of his cultivation technique, which did not cause any delay; however, once he was killed and expelled, the cultivation session would be rendered useless.

That is to say, his progress still correlated with his Energy Induction, except the correlation was with time.

The longer he persisted in the Soul Realm, the more prolonged his body's cultivation training became; if the powerful soul spirit struck him down with a single sword blow too soon, the effect of Energy Induction on his physical body would become quite awkward.

He had been killed by that creature immediately upon entering the Soul Realm more than once.

It was frustrating, but no matter; while his soul could be severed, his will could not be destroyed.

Hou Niao was someone who obstinately stuck to his principles. Once he decided on something, he would never bend, and it was exactly this attribute that led him to act impulsively and irrationally in Fufeng City.

Each time he entered the Soul Realm, with good luck, he would first slay several weaker souls before encountering that creature. But if his luck was poor, he would run into it head-on. His advantage lay in the fact that he could use the souls he devoured as nourishment to strengthen himself, although the soul bodies in the Soul Realm seemed to be far inferior to him in this regard.

The result was that even though he was no match in swordsmanship, his soul body grew stronger by the day. The stronger the soul body, the more energy he had, the more sword strikes he could withstand, the longer he could hold out, the more he could learn, and the closer he came to...

From initially only being able to withstand a dozen swords, he had reached the point where he could exchange a hundred blows without being defeated. The strengthening of his soul body was the main reason, but the improvement in his swordsmanship also played a significant role.

Eventually, he had transformed from being a mere swordsman to a genuine and rapidly growing Swordsman.

This growth made him increasingly curious about the origin of the skillful Wandering Soul. Could it be the ancestor of the Quanzhen Sect? It seemed not, as the style of swordsmanship was slightly different, he could feel it.

Battle was the best way to learn, especially the fight for one's life, an experience that no form of cultivation could replace.

He learned the Quanzhen Sword, as well as the swordsmanship of the Wandering Soul. To not learn from your opponent in combat would be idiotic.

This was actually his greatest gain during this period; what he had intended to be a quick advancement through Energy Induction turned into a rapid improvement in swordsmanship, time and again learning the mysteries of the sword between life and death.

After every trip to the Soul Realm, he would immediately engrain and reinforce what he learned in reality, solely to last longer the next time he entered; yet he remained totally oblivious to the fact that his real-world swordsmanship was also making leaps and bounds, far surpassing the realm he had once been in as a master of the sword.

... On this day, as he was diligently practicing in the courtyard, someone knocked on the door. It was a cultivator he had never seen before; of course, he was unfamiliar with most of the cultivators in the outer court.

"My name is Ye Zigao. I've come to inform you that the cultivators of the outer court are preparing to leave the city to hunt demons. If you wish to join, assemble at the gate in one hour and follow orders."

Hou Niao was somewhat perplexed, "Thank you for letting me know, Daoist. I've been focusing on my cultivation these past days and am not well-informed about external matters. What kind of demon dares to create trouble in Jin City? And what does the Quanzhen Sect say about this? Is this organized by Quanzhen, or is it a spontaneous action by us?"

Ye Zigao was rather impatient with this small Energy Induction cultivator, the lowest of the low in the outer court, now hurriedly cramming for the test. What had he been doing earlier?

"It's no bother, just a few escaped fish that need to be dealt with, nothing that requires the intervention of high-standing cultivators. We, the cultivators gathered in the exterior court for examination, figured since we were idle anyways, why not take care of these loose ends? One reason is to restore tranquility to the Mortal World, and another, to prove our courage with the sword.

No one is being forced; participation is voluntary."

After saying this, he left without further explanation and went on to notify others, leaving Hou Niao behind, pondering by himself.

It was clear that this was a voluntary action.

Hou Niao's nature was such that he wouldn't make decisions lightly. Suggestions from others merely served as references; he had his own way of doing things.

Since he had nothing better to do, he casually made his way to the residence of the Quanzhen elder in charge of the outer court,

"Brother Zheng, there's a rumor in the court about going outside Jin City to exterminate demons. I want to know if there is any directive from the Sect on this matter," he asked.

Brother Zheng smiled slightly, his expression meaningful, "If it's a spontaneous action, what directives would there be from the Sect? Before joining the Quanzhen Sect, you are all free individuals with the right to make your own decisions. It's not for us to say."

He knew this junior cultivator, who was personally delivered by Daoist Wang, subordinate to Capital Commandant Li, when he arrived. He must have some background, and thus, Brother Zheng did not hesitate to offer a little more insight.

"The Quanzhen Sect takes in disciples slowly and carefully, and it's been a year already. It will soon come to an end, and it's time for a conclusion.

Our Sect has a unique recruitment process that doesn't focus on Realm, potential, or age, but on Sword Heart and courage. This fills some with uncertainty because they can't gauge their chances based on easily quantifiable measures, and they're unwilling to wait passively for a decision. So..."

The concept of courage is purely subjective. To say you have it is to have it; to say you don't is not to have it—it's all in the Master's instantaneous decision. But if someone is willing to rise with a sword and valiantly slay demons, could that not be considered courage?

"People who seek cultivation always have their interests at heart. Where do yours lie?"

After thanking Brother Zheng, Hou Niao left with a clear decision in mind.

He returned to his small courtyard and cast aside these trivial matters to continue his cultivation;

The exterior court housed dozens of cultivators, but that was far from all of them; many more had left Jin City after passing the initial trial or rented residences elsewhere. The majority of the applicants did not dwell there.

Cultivators were a rather affluent group. Mortal wealth held little importance to them as they always had means to acquire it, especially for Loose Cultivators known for their reckless actions.

What they truly lacked were cultivation resources, which were completely different from Mortal wealth.

Those who remained in the exterior court were generally those who had traveled far to get there or had other reasons. They were neither representative of all the examining cultivators nor of the Quanzhen Sect. He'd be foolish to join them and take orders when even his own minor power would go unnoticed if he lost his life—only to be blamed for not knowing his limitations.

Although he had mostly confined himself at home during this period, he still had a rough understanding of the overall level of cultivators in the outer court; there were only a few cultivators at the Essence Building Realm among them, most were in the Grain Avoidance Realm, and a few were in the higher Realms, which pretty much gave an idea of the overall status of the applicants.

Inside, he was just a duck being chased around, and that was the reality,

That evening, after eating out and returning, he was surprised to find another stranger waiting for him at the gate. Without any formalities, the stranger greeted,

"Gu Weixin from the Anhe Sanjiang Prefecture. I have seen Daoist Hou here before."