Chương 953: Chapter 951: Zhan Bloodline

The cold night air drifted through the open window of the austere guest pavilion and the Heavenly Sword Sect was finally quiet. The chaotic excitement of the Starry Path had drained the energy from the visiting cultivators. Li Yu sat alone on his hard stone bed as he finished his evening Qi circulation and his mind was sharp. He tapped his chest and summoned his new acquisition. The Silent Bastion materialized in the small room.

It was an absurd weapon and it sat there completely dead and devoid of any spiritual resonance. Li Yu leaned forward and ran his hand over the thick rust as he tried to understand exactly what he had pulled. His first instinct was to test its physical durability. He thought about reaching into his Koi Sanctuary to summon Pale Extinction to test it. If he used the bone sword to strike this rusted slab, he would instantly know the true limits of its durability.

He hovered his hand over his chest but then he stopped himself. He remembered the utter chaos from a few nights ago. Elder Huo Zheng had practically torn the sky apart to reach the arena because he thought the enemy from the Zone had breached the Myriad Realms. Bringing out that accursed blade again within the holy domain of the Heavenly Sword Sect was a terrible idea. Li Yu decided it was best to wait, there was no rush to discover it now.

He would test the durability later when he was safely back at the Li Clan estate. Li Yu stood up and rolled his shoulders. If he could not strike it, he could at least lift it. He gripped the thick leather hilt with both hands and he widened his stance. Li Yu then planted his feet firmly against the stone floor as he circulated his Qi into his muscles to reinforce his physical strength. He pulled upward with all of his might. The heavy sword slowly lifted from the ground but the strain on his body was immense.

His muscles coiled and burned under the weight of the weapon. He hoisted it up to his chest level and took a slow breath. He attempted a basic forward swing. The momentum of the giant slab nearly pulled him entirely off his feet. He had to take two rapid steps forward just to stop himself from crashing into the stone wall, realizing this place was much too small for this. He didn't stop though, he grunted and swung it back the other way.

The physical effort required to simply change the direction of the blade was staggering. He ended up using the rusted sword as weight training for the next hour. He went through a series of slow and agonizing movements until his robes were completely drenched in sweat. After he couldn't take it anymore, he finally dropped the weapon on the ground. The floor cracked slightly under the impact as he stood over the blade while gasping for air.

Wielding it by the hilt in actual combat was practically impossible for him at his current physical stage. Li Yu wiped his forehead and decided to try a different approach. He stepped back and focused his mind. He extended his Qi outward and wrapped invisible threads around the heavy sword. He utilized his weapon control techniques to lift the heavy metal. The Silent Bastion floated smoothly into the air. Li Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise, the difference was night and day.

Moving the massive sword with his Qi was incredibly easy compared to his physical struggles. He commanded the weapon to drift across the room and it obeyed perfectly. He made it spin slowly in the air and then brought it to a sudden halt. It was still a taxing process. The mass of the weapon meant that it drained his Qi reserves far faster than Firmament's End or Whispering Frost. It also required a large amount of unbroken mental concentration to keep the heavy slab suspended.

Yet it responded to his Qi control with surprising fluidity compared to its weight. Li Yu evaluated the floating metal and thought that there had to be something unique inside the sword or mixed into the raw materials that made it easier to control with Qi. It was a dead weapon without a spirit but it functioned as an extension of his energy. He would definitely need to check with Master Tie when he returned home since his understanding was still too shallow.

The master blacksmith would know how to identify the base metals beneath the rust. Li Yu then looked at the volume of the weapon. If he could not find a way to make it practically useful in its current shape, there was a very simple alternative. The high grade materials were undeniable. They could simply melt the entire slab down in the great forge. There was easily enough material inside the giant rectangle to craft at least ten brand new swords of excellent quality, just as the others had commented on.

Satisfied with his late night experiments, Li Yu willed the heavy weapon back into his Koi Sanctuary as he changed into dry robes and finally went to sleep. The sun rose on the eighth day of the conference and the deep gong echoed across the mountain peaks. It once again summoned the cultivators to the main gathering hall. The atmosphere had shifted noticeably overnight. The stifling tension that followed the dismemberment of Yan Lie had died down.

The bitter disappointment of the Starry Path failures had also faded. The cultivators here were practical people at their core. The conference was past its halfway point and they only had a limited amount of time left to exchange ideas and gain enlightenment from the Heavenly Sword Sect elders. There was a renewed and heavy focus towards learning rather than friction.

Li Yu sat quietly in the morning assembly as he watched a core disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect demonstrate a highly intricate defensive sword array. The subsequent critique session was polite and strictly focused on the mechanical flaws of the footwork. There were no insults shouted across the room, only focused learning. He glanced over at his own delegation and the Li Clan members sat with perfect posture. Li Mei sat at the front and observed the demonstrations with a calculating gaze.

Li Yu realized again that he felt incredibly distant from them. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. They were technically his cousins and his kin, but the gap between them felt as wide as the Starry Path itself. They practiced flowing sword arts and valued graceful execution. He practiced brutal efficiency and relied on overwhelming force. He also knew the political reality of his presence.

His sudden reveal and his possession of powerful artifacts had undoubtedly stirred the internal factions of the clan. Many of them assumed he would eventually make a play for the position of heir even though they announced that he wouldn't. He had no interest in the title at all. His father Canghai had already made it very clear that neither of them wanted the responsibility of ruling the clan. Yet, the suspicion remained as he was someone new while they knew each other for years.

It would take time for him to be accepted among them. Forcing himself to integrate with them right now simply would not work. It would feel unnatural and forced so he stuck to his idea of letting it go. He would have an entire lifetime back at the estate to slowly build relationships and integrate with his family. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy his time at the conference as best as he could. He wanted to be where he felt most comfortable.

When the lunch bell rang, Li Yu did not follow his clan back to their designated pavilion. He broke away from the sea of white robes and walked across the courtyard toward a very different group.

"Look who decided to join the real warriors." Lead Envoy Ren shouted with a wide grin. The Freeblade Alliance members were gathered around a series of long wooden tables. They were completely ignoring the polite etiquette of the other factions as they ate large portions of roasted meat and passed heavy jugs of wine back and forth. Li Yu smiled and took an open seat next to Ren. The surrounding mercenaries greeted him warmly as they got to know him a bit better.

He was not a formal member of their massive faction but he was a welcome presence at their table. They had begun to consider him a friend.

"I needed a break from the silence." Li Yu admitted as he accepted a wooden cup filled with strong wine.

"The Li Clan pavilion is far too quiet during meals while I like it a bit more lively." A mercenary named Boran laughed loudly. He was a massive man with a thick beard and scars across his forearms.

"That is the problem with orthodox clans. They spend so much time worrying about how they look that they forget how to live. You belong with us, Li Yu. We eat when we are hungry and we fight when we are angry." Li Yu took a sip of the wine as it burned his throat in a pleasant way. He enjoyed the informal and honest nature of the mercenaries.

"Speaking of fighting." Ren leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.

"We have been debating something all morning. We want to see that ridiculous piece of metal you pulled yesterday. The elders said the materials were supreme but it looked like a rusted door."

"It essentially is a rusted door." Li Yu chuckled as he set his cup down.

"You want to see it?" A chorus of eager agreements rose from the table. The mercenaries loved weapons of all kinds and they were curious about the massive slab. Li Yu stood up and stepped back from the table. He cleared a small space in the courtyard and tapped his chest. The Silent Bastion materialized and crashed onto the stone pavers with a deep thud that drew the attention of a few nearby delegations but the Freeblade members simply gathered around it in awe.

Up close, the size of the weapon was even more ridiculous.

"That is not a sword." Boran muttered as he walked in a circle around the rusted metal.

"That is an anvil that someone attached a handle to."

"Let us see who can lift it." Ren challenged the group with a bright smile.

"The boy hauled it out of the portal on his shoulder yesterday. Surely the mighty veterans can lift a single weapon." The mercenaries eagerly accepted the challenge. A young man at the King realm stepped up first. He rolled up his sleeves and gripped the thick leather hilt. He then braced his legs and pulled upward with all his strength. His face turned bright red and the veins in his neck bulged visibly. The sword did not budge a single inch though.

After a bit of time he let go and fell back while gasping for air.

"It is stuck to the floor." The young man complained loudly.

"You are just weak." A female mercenary named Lin mocked him. She stood at the Law Seed realm and relied on speed in combat. She stepped up and tried to use leverage. She placed her foot against the flat side of the blade and pulled the hilt with both hands. She managed to tilt the weapon slightly before her grip slipped as she tumbled backward onto the ground. Boran stepped forward next. He was a Domain King realm expert who wielded a heavy battle axe himself. He was known for his raw physical strength.

He spat on his hands and grabbed the hilt as he let out a booming roar and channeled his Qi directly into his arms. The Silent Bastion slowly lifted off the ground. Boran managed to hoist the weapon up to his waist level but his entire body trembled violently under the crushing weight. He held it for exactly three seconds before his arms gave out. The sword slammed back down onto the stone and sent a shockwave through the courtyard.

"Heavens above." Boran cursed while rubbing his strained lower back.

"That is entirely impractical. You cannot use that as a weapon. By the time you swing it forward, your opponent will have aged three years." Ren finally stepped into the clearing. He was at the Origin Awakening realm and stood at the absolute peak of the younger generation in this group. He reached down with one hand and casually gripped the hilt. He surged his massive Qi and lifted the giant sword off the ground in a single smooth motion. The mercenaries cheered but Ren immediately frowned.

He swung the massive slab in a slow horizontal arc.

"Boran is right." Ren evaluated the weapon strictly from a combat perspective.

"It is completely unbalanced. The center of mass is entirely wrong for a sword. If you commit to a swing you cannot stop the momentum. You would leave yourself wide open to any fast cultivator. This thing is a death trap for the user." Ren carefully lowered the giant sword back to the ground. He turned to Li Yu and looked at Li Yu with some respect in his eyes.

"I am at the Origin Awakening realm so I can force it to move." Ren pointed out to the group. He crossed his arms.

"Li Yu is only in the Paragon realm. That is two major boundaries below me." The mercenaries turned their attention back to Li Yu. Most of them had tried and could not even lift the weapon off the floor despite having higher cultivation levels.

"It is the Zhan bloodline!" Boran said with absolute certainty. He patted Li Yu heavily on the shoulder.

"Your father might be a sword saint but you have the monster blood from your grandfather and mother running through your veins. The physical strength of the Worldkeeper lineage is no joke. Even if you can barely lift it for a few swings, that raw power is terrifying for a Paragon." Li Yu smiled and simply accepted the praise and his chest swelled with a bit of pride for his mother's side of the family. Whether it was true or not, it made him happy to hear his Zhan lineage get praised.

'I bet the Zhan Clan and the Freeblade Alliance would get along really well. They have similar personalities.' Li Yu thought to himself. He tapped his chest and stored the massive weapon away once again. The lunch break concluded and the gong sounded to signal the afternoon lectures. Li Yu walked back into the main hall with the Freeblade Alliance members. He sat among the rugged mercenaries and listened to the Heavenly Sword Sect elders speak about the nature of intent and he felt completely at ease.

The eighth day passed smoothly as he continued to find his own place in the vast and complicated world he now found himself in.