Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

It only takes a day.

This battlefield, which was ravaged yesterday, has been completely transformed.

The river is well-maintained, the land is fertile, and countless new villages stand quietly, exuding the fresh scent of soil and plants after the rain.

Even more so because several immortals harmonized the earth's veins and regulated the spiritual energy, the overall environment here is now better than before the calamity, and the spiritual energy is even more gentle.

"Let the deacon send the villagers back tomorrow."

Master Mingjing took one last look at this reborn land, his tone calm.

Immediately afterwards, the group of high-ranking members of the sect quietly left, as if they had never been there.

The world of cultivation is cruel; battles between high-level cultivators can easily move mountains and overturn seas, causing rivers and mountains to change color.

However, in this Yunzhou, which is ruled by the Yunhai Cangming Sect, those who truly hold power and authority have not completely forgotten their responsibility to the mortals on this land.

The spirit boat carried everyone back home, and the journey was uneventful.

As the familiar outlines of the sect's mountains appeared, ripples suddenly appeared in the void in front of the spirit boat, and a cloud gate with a diameter of over a thousand feet slowly took shape.

The spirit boat encountered no obstacles and sailed straight into the white light.

The moment they passed through the cloud gate, everyone felt a lightness all over their bodies, as if they had passed through a layer of cool water film, and the scene before them had changed dramatically.

The spirit boat appeared on a vast, golden plaza with intricate array patterns engraved on the ground.

At the edge of the plaza, one could see cultivators dressed in specific robes, exuding a powerful aura, patrolling—they were Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Patrol Hall.

The Inspection Hall is responsible for the security of the sect's array formations spanning tens of thousands of miles. This place is clearly a core teleportation area of ​​the sect's grand array.

Although the sect's formation can automatically identify spirit boats and personnel, patrolling disciples are still required to be on duty to deal with emergencies; this is a rule of the sect.

The disciples filed off the spirit boat, and the enormous vessel, three hundred feet long, rapidly shrank under Pei Yue's control, transforming into a model and being stored away.

Then, another familiar group teleportation occurred, with shifting light and shadow.

Everyone has returned to their starting point—the Immortal City of Clouds and Seas.

Master Mingjing was already waiting there. The group returned the spirit boat, the formation, and the magical artifacts.

Without any further instructions, the handover was completed, signifying the official end of this major test.

Almost simultaneously, all the disciples' identity tokens transmitted information.

Lin Zhao's consciousness sank in and saw that his information panel had been updated: his exam points had increased by two thousand.

With the points accumulated in the fourth year, the total points jumped to over four thousand!

It's not far from exchanging for that Foundation Establishment Pill.

But Lin Zhao knew in his heart that the Foundation Establishment Pill was only the beginning; he also needed a suitable Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, which would require a large amount of points.

Even the most ordinary disciple earned 1,000 points in this major exam.

Meanwhile, key figures such as Pei Yue, Qin Tianjun, and Fairy Linglong earned over four thousand points!

Clearly, 5,000 points is the upper limit for individual rewards in the major exam. This difference also reflects the contributions of everyone involved.

The crowd dispersed and returned to their respective courtyards.

For the next year, there were no more courses or activities at the Dao Wen Hall, and the disciples had free time to manage themselves.

Inside the quiet room, Lin Zhao sat cross-legged, but did not immediately begin cultivating.

Looking back on the entire exam, there weren't actually many thrilling moments.

Relying on the third-tier spirit boat, grand formation, and magic treasures provided by the sect, and with the combined strength of ten thousand people, they methodically "grinded to death" a third-tier demon beast.

For most disciples, the greatest gain was witnessing firsthand the power of a "Core Formation level" being and participating in a battle of such scale.

But for Lin Zhao, it was a completely different and more precious gain.

He witnessed and participated in the earth-shattering sword strike that gathered the power of five hundred sword cultivators and was controlled by Qin Tianjun's sword intent.

That vast, all-consuming power was deeply imprinted in his heart.

He had been a sword cultivator for a long time and was already proficient in using sword energy, but "sword intent" remained firmly closed to him.

Only now, having personally experienced the "sword intent" contained within that sword strike, did he suddenly realize—

It wasn't that I had never been exposed to sword intent; rather, I had already touched upon its edge.

With a thought, four precious pearls leaped out from his dantian and hovered in front of him.

Spiritual energy surged, transforming into countless complex and profound runes. These runes, following a certain internal structure, rapidly combined and constructed—

hum!

A phantom of a four-colored sword tower, its entire body composed of flowing runes, enveloped him. The tower had four sides, corresponding to earth, fire, water, and wind respectively.

The eaves of the tower are like swords, pointing diagonally into the void, exuding an aura of unwavering grandeur and dominance.

This is his unique defensive form – the Four Elements Sword Tower.

His sword tower embodies the sword philosophy of "extreme strength and power, impervious to all evil."

But now, after personally experiencing Qin Tianjun's sword intent, he "introspected" the sword tower he had built from a completely new perspective.

Each rune flowing across the tower's body is like a tiny node of will; the spiritual light connecting the runes forms a stable and powerful invisible force field.

This force field repels external evil, stabilizes the mind, and can even distort and weaken external attacks to a certain extent...

Aren't these some of the characteristics of sword intent?

No wonder! No wonder that back in that secret realm, when faced with the demonic cultivator's attempt to possess him, he used his divine soul power to simulate and construct this "Four Elements Sword Tower."

It can completely obliterate the opponent's soul! The core of that power is precisely the rudimentary form of defensive sword intent that originates from his own will and is combined with his sword philosophy!

At this moment, under the influence of the sword tower's force field, Lin Zhao felt his mind was clearer and more focused than ever before.

Thoughts on "sword" and "intention" flowed out naturally like a spring.

"What is a sword?"

"In the beginning, there were no swords in the world. Swords are tools forged by humans with wisdom and needs; they are extensions of the body and carriers of will."

"Intention" refers to a person's will, thoughts, beliefs, and courage; it is the inner strength that desires to change the status quo and break free from constraints.

"So sword intent..." The light in Lin Zhao's eyes grew brighter and brighter, "is the manifestation of a person using the sword in their hand to carry out their own will, thereby influencing or even changing the rules of the outside world!"

It is the power of humanity, a challenge to and mastery of the "laws" of heaven and earth!

"The Golden Core Domain of a Core Formation cultivator represents absolute control over the spiritual energy of a region, and is a manifestation of the power of 'Heaven'."

Sword intent originates from the human heart; it is the will of the human to control and even defy the rules of heaven!

This is the fundamental reason why sword cultivators can fight across borders—

Because what they wielded was not merely sword energy and magic, but the sharp edge of human will!

Insight is like a lightning bolt, cleaving through the fog.

Lin Zhao held his breath and focused his mind, slowly merging this newly clear "comprehension" with his own divine sense and magical power.

He pointed his fingers together like a sword, gathering a wisp of ordinary spiritual energy at his fingertips.

But this time, the moment this spiritual energy left the body, it was infused with something entirely new—

That was the sword intent he had just condensed, the will about "controlling the sword with a person and revealing intent with the sword".