Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

The sudden battle had ceased, but the death of an elder Sword Cultivator from Sword Mountain foreshadowed that this affair was far from over.

The only reason for the current stoppage was the forceful intervention of the Heavenly Sword Mansion, coupled with Sword Mountain's own demands.

The bloody figure in the sky had also vanished, and standing in its place was a handsome young man nearing his twenties. At this moment, anyone who cast their eyes upon him couldn't help but feel a strong sense of shock welling up within them.

A day before, the name Tan Shuchang might have been remembered by the Sword Cultivators present simply because his Sword Dao was required to unlock the Sword Tower, or perhaps due to his involvement in a catastrophic incident that affected half the Jiawu Realm and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Or they might have known him from his cultivation diaries...

But after today, every Sword Cultivator present could only look up to the name Tan Shuchang with respect.

If anyone felt dissatisfied, they only had to demonstrate a strength comparable to a cultivator who had reached the clouds.

The clouds, which represented the peak of this realm.

"Thank you for your efforts, Tan Daoist friend!" Sword Son spoke politely as if meeting Tan Shuchang for the first time, just as he would address any other Cultivator.

"I dare not take credit for your kind words, as this is within my responsibilities," said Tan Shuchang, raising his hand towards the Sword Tower and pointing.

With the support of sixty-three years of cultivation, he activated the special key to the Sword Tower. Following brief tremors that resembled the earth-shaking and mountains quaking, the thirteen-story Sword Tower opened all of its thirteen great doors.

Unlike usual trials and opportunities, the Sword Tower didn't require one to pass through one level to reach the next.

The first floor of the Sword Tower held the lowest risk; apart from the dangers of cultivation deviation and being injured by other Cultivators, there were no other threats.

On this first floor, the only thing to be concerned about was oneself and other people.

Naturally, with the first floor being the safest, the danger increased the higher up one went. From the seventh floor and above, a threat to one's life was typical, and those floors no longer offered Cultivators a deliberate way out like the floors below.

This mechanism was designed to allow Cultivators capable of perceiving deeper Sword Dao to do so without disturbance from external forces.

Although this system was quite unfriendly to the weaker Cultivators, they had no say, so it didn't really matter.

At this moment, as the doors of the Sword Tower opened, most Sword Cultivators directly entered the first floor.

Among them were Long Zhangyuan and Yi Qingqing.

The latter was dragged in by the former.

Though Long Zhangyuan had previously been injured by Tan Shuchang's sword, he had an abundance of life-saving treasures, let alone healing medicines.

However, while his physical wounds had healed, the wounds in his heart could not.

He could never have imagined that Tan Shuchang had never considered him an opponent; and that after a dreamlike intensive cultivation, he couldn't even withstand a single sword strike.

"Qingqing Junior Sister, am I very useless?" Long Zhangyuan said with a wry smile.

He didn't really want to say it, but he was in great distress.

"Not at all, Brother Long, you are already very strong! You've only cultivated for such a short time!" Yi Qingqing spoke with her large, clear eyes wide open but didn't forget to add in her heart–it's just that Brother Tan is stronger than you!

The reasons Yi Qingqing comforted Long Zhangyuan were two-fold. First, due to her kind nature, she would patiently comfort anyone in such a situation.

Second, it was because her master's husband, Dan Sword Guest Zhao Chenyang asked her to do so.

"Right! Thank you, Junior Sister Qingqing!"

The last part of Yi Qingqing's words became Long Zhangyuan's lifeline. He hadn't even cultivated for half a year, while Tan Shuchang had been cultivating for over three years!

If he had three years, he was determined not to be inferior to Tan Shuchang!

Even if he still fell short, he wouldn't end up like today, unable to withstand a single sword strike from his opponent.

Thus, an ambitious Long Zhangyuan began to perceive the Sword Dao on the first floor of the Sword Tower, following the advice his uncles had given him.

The elder Sword Cultivators of Sword Mountain had instructed him to climb the tower one level at a time, only proceeding to the next level after fully perceiving the Sword Dao of the current one.

Chapter Find:

As Long Zhangyuan started his perception, several Qi signatures that had been watching him retracted.

These were naturally the elder Sword Cultivators from Sword Mountain.

Then, they turned their gaze back to Tan Shuchang, with undeniable hatred in their eyes.

"Fellow Daoists, do you wish to fight me once more?" Tan Shuchang asked calmly.

"The world has underestimated you. No wonder that black-hearted fellow fell by your hand, even with a spirit-communicating treasure in his possession. But do you think you can be so arrogant now?" one of the elder Sword Cultivators from Sword Mountain huffed coldly, and after speaking, headed straight for the seventh floor of the Sword Tower.

The others didn't say much; some went to the seventh floor, others to the eighth.

Among them was the individual who had previously used the Star Astral Sword. It was obvious that with the Sword Tower open for exploration, seizing the opportunity it presented was more valuable than avenging Qian Zhenzi.

Seeing that the group had all departed, Tan Shuchang again took out the key to the Sword Tower.