I courted death and then tried to escape, so the whole sect wants to get rid of me.

The teaching elder glared at him: "Nine Saints Hall is founded on the sword. No matter which path a disciple takes in the future, swordsmanship and qi control are the foundation. If a medicine cultivator can't control a sword, will he have to walk to gather herbs? If a pill cultivator can't defend himself, will he just wait to die when he encounters a monster? As for array cultivators, if they don't improve, they'll be slower than others at arranging stones."

The one who got scolded was Mo Zifeng, the disciple of the Eighth Elder, who had a Heavenly-level Earth Spiritual Root.

Song Yao gave him a pitying look, and the elder instructor scolded again, "Everyone else go back and rest. You, Lin Mu, are late again today! Go copy the books!"

Song Yao: "......"

This time, copying books was already a piece of cake.

In order not to waste time, Song Yao also carried the red letter with him.

She refused to believe it!

The sun is shining brightly, and you can still fall asleep in broad daylight!

Before entering the library, Ning Zhou handed her a basket of steamed buns: "These are from my master. He wants you to eat more at noon so you don't go hungry, because you still have to practice your sword this afternoon."

Song Yao was even more confident.

How could someone possibly faint while eating steamed buns and reading a book?

However, after finishing the sixth steamed bun, Song Yao glanced at the pages of the book, her eyes becoming unfocused.

It's over.

She seems to have fainted from carbon monoxide poisoning.

-

"forest!"

"Mumumumumumumumu!"

"Wake up!!"

Song Yao was forcibly woken up.

By the time she came to her senses, Ning Zhou had already dragged her outside.

Holding half a steamed bun in one hand and clutching the book in the other, she asked groggily, "Where to?"

"Learn swordsmanship!"

Ning Zhou didn't even turn his head, running as fast as he could. "You were late for the first class! The Ninth Elder is furious and sent me to find you!"

Song Yao was dizzy from running and tried to stop him: "It's okay, it's okay, Elder Jiu is very kind, nothing will happen."

"Extraordinarily lenient?! Are you crazy? He punished half the people! He's more terrifying than the instructors and elders!"

"ah?!"

The sword-fighting area was set up on an open space east of Fuguangtai, with several wooden stakes standing around it.

When Song Yao was dragged to the sidelines by Ning Zhou, a group of young people inside were painfully assuming a horse stance and raising their swords.

At the very front, a man dressed in a plain robe stood with his hands behind his back.

He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a thin face, sharp eyes, and a deep, unyielding aura, like a sword yet to be drawn.

"waste."

"They're all useless."

The man strolled from one end of the line to the other, his cold gaze sweeping over each person's face as if he were looking at a pile of worthless iron blanks. "You can't even hold a sword properly, you can't even stand up straight. Do you even deserve to be called disciples of the Nine Saints Hall?"

No one dared to utter a sound.

After several rounds of training, some of the timid new disciples had tears in their eyes, biting their lips tightly and not daring to breathe.

"Don't move! Stand still!"

The Ninth Elder walked to the end of the line and suddenly sneered, "There isn't a single one with good aptitude. With your kind, I could teach you my whole life and you still wouldn't amount to anything."

These words carried a blatant insult.

Several Heavenly-level disciples looked up in anger, their faces extremely grim.

Most of them were carefully selected from among their clans and were pampered from a young age, becoming geniuses and prodigies wherever they went.

Entering the Nine Saints Hall, although I knew there were always people more capable than myself, it was the first time I had ever been called a piece of trash to my face.

Even Jiang Jin was starting to lose his composure.

He took a half step forward, about to speak, when a girl in a pale yellow dress beside him quickly raised her head and looked directly at the Ninth Elder: "Forgive this disciple for being presumptuous."

Her clear voice rang out loudly in the quiet training ground: "What kind of person do you consider to have good potential?"

These words were spoken with absolute resentment.

Ming Ran, as the most talented sword cultivator of the Ming family in this generation, studied swordsmanship for seven years before coming to the Nine Saints Hall. Her cultivation level was close to that of the Golden Core stage, and everyone who saw her called her a genius.

Now it's being belittled like this.

She truly didn't understand!

The field fell silent.

Several new disciples secretly glanced at her, then quickly looked away.

The Ninth Elder turned around, glanced at her, then at the sword in her hand, his gaze indifferent: "Good aptitude? Of course."

"Although you joined us late, you should have heard of her name, Song Yao."

"After five years of mastering swordsmanship, a single sword aura can suppress all her peers in the entire Tian Shu region, making them unable to raise their heads. One sword strike can cause ten thousand swords to resound. What you have learned, she can master in a single breath."

"How about it? Would you consider this good talent?"

Mingran's expression changed, and she pursed her lips even tighter.

Being from the Tian Shu Realm and a family of sword cultivators, she had naturally heard of Song Yao's reputation.

This person is a once-in-a-millennium swordsmanship genius, and even his strict father often praised him highly.

She came to the Nine Saints Hall with the goal of defeating Song Yao.

She can be any kind of swordsmanship genius.

Before she could even begin her training or take on any challenges, Song Yao was gone, leaving behind the title of Sword Demon to keep these new disciples firmly under her thumb.

No genius wants someone to always be one step ahead of them.

She is no exception.

"Ninth Elder, you're mistaken."

Jiang Jin stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "Third Senior Sister's swordsmanship is indeed excellent, but I've heard she committed countless evil deeds. Besides, she's already dead. Shouldn't you be more concerned about the living?"

These words, carrying a hint of guidance, were delivered right to Mingran's lips.

Mingran snapped out of her daze and nodded in agreement, saying, "Senior Brother Jiang is right. Third Senior Sister has done so many evil deeds; she might be practicing some kind of heretical path. Besides, we might not be any worse than her!"

These words were undeniably arrogant, and the room fell silent.

The disciples quietly moved away.

To speak ill of Song Yao in front of the Ninth Elder is like walking into a knife's edge.

But unexpectedly, the Ninth Elder did not get angry.

He walked back to the front of the stage, his voice slightly cool: "It's good to have ambition, but words are useless; you have to prove yourself with your actions."

Mingran was taken aback, then straightened her back: "What do you mean?"

The Ninth Elder lifted his eyelids slightly: "Let's have a match and let this old man see your strength."

Mingran could hardly hide the joy on her face.

Although there are Heavenly-level disciples here, it is impossible for anyone to have practiced swordsmanship from a young age like her.

The only one worth being wary of is Jiang Jin.

If they could fight Jiang Jin to a standstill and let the Ninth Elder see their true strength, that might not be a bad thing.

However, the Ninth Elder paused for a moment, his gaze shifted, and he abruptly spoke: "The one who's late."

While they were arguing, Song Yao quietly moved into the line, trying to hide in plain sight and avoid being punished for being late.

By the time she realized something was wrong, countless eyes were already focused on her.

Song Yao: "?"

Her?

Has the Ninth Elder gone mad?

She's so frail, how could she possibly be able to beat someone?

"I'm talking about you."

The Ninth Elder ruthlessly shattered her last shred of hope, "Come out."

Song Yao: "......"

Could the Ninth Elder have figured something out?