Martial Universe: Inherit the Future, Quickly Become a Martial Ancestor!

"You little brat, just you wait and see."

The Lan family patriarch changed the subject, his gaze falling on Qingfeng, his tone urging him on, as if he was eager to recover from the shock brought by Lan He.

Qingfeng bowed slightly, walked calmly to the cliff face, and sat down cross-legged on a blue stone.

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

A moment later, the sword intent of the Taiqing Dividing Light Sword rose from his body. After seven years of arduous training, he had perfected this sword technique. The sword intent was pure and refined, like a gentle breeze sweeping across a mountain, without a trace of worldly dust.

The purest sword intent transformed into invisible tentacles, probing into those ancient swords that had been silent for countless years.

On the cliff face, a long sword trembled slightly.

Then, it detached from the stone wall and slowly floated up.

Then came the second one, the third one...

Sword light flowed like water, one after another peeling away from the cliff face, swirling around Qingfeng. Each sword strike emitted a clear, melodious cry, though not as imposing as Lanhe's earlier strike, it still possessed its own composed and dignified air.

Five handles, eight handles, ten handles...

When the tenth longsword hovered steadily in front of him, Qingfeng opened his eyes and withdrew his sword intent.

He looked up at his ancestor, his expression calm, his tone humble:

"Ancestor, I am of dull talent and can only control ten handles."

The Lan family patriarch paused for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Ten handles.

Although he's far inferior to that monster Lan He, this is the level a normal prodigy should have! On his first visit to the tomb, he was able to subdue ten swords with just his sword intent, which is already considered outstanding talent.

He stroked his beard, and the pain on his face finally eased a bit, and he relaxed completely.

"Not bad, it's not easy to subdue ten weapons on your first try." He spoke gently, with a hint of admiration. "Your foundation is solid, and given time, you will surely make further progress."

He paused, then added:

"These swords are yours."

When he said this, his tone was much lighter than when he spoke to Lan He, and even carried a sense of relief.

Thank goodness, not everyone is as twisted as that kid.

The Lan family patriarch secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he cleared his throat, resumed his dignified demeanor as an elder, and, glancing at Lan He and Qing Feng, slowly spoke:

"Now that you all have longswords that you can wield, I can begin the next step of the lesson."

He paused, then stood with his hands behind his back, the imposing aura of someone long accustomed to a superior position once again emanating from him:

"Next, what you need to do is use your immortal sword techniques to control the longswords you have subdued and fight against me."

"I will fight you two at once, one against the other. During our exchange, I will gradually teach you the sword formation techniques of the Immortal Sword Art."

"No need to hold back, attack with all your might."

He spoke of it casually, as if fighting two opponents was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Lanhe and Qingfeng exchanged a glance, their expressions both turning serious.

To fight two opponents, especially one who is a patriarch at the peak of the Life Profound Realm, is an opportunity that doesn't come around often.

At this moment, the Lan family patriarch turned to the side and looked at Lan Ying, who had been standing quietly to the side.

"Oh, by the way, girl."

Lan Ying was slightly taken aback, then respectfully replied, "What are your instructions, Ancestor?"

The Lan family patriarch raised his hand, pointing towards a certain direction deep within the Sword Tomb, his tone calm:

"Go deeper from here, and in the third cave, you'll find one of the three great clan-protecting martial arts of my Immortal Dynasty: the Great Compassion Palm. It's also a superior spiritual martial art, specially prepared for clan members who don't practice swordsmanship."

He glanced at Lan Ying, his gaze carrying a hint of elder's gentleness:

"Since you're not going down the path of swordsmanship, go and see what it's like there. How much you learn is entirely up to you."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Lan Ying's eyes, and she immediately bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Ancestor!"

The Lan family patriarch waved his hand: "Go."

Lan Ying nodded slightly to Lan He and Qing Feng, then turned and sped towards the depths of the Sword Tomb, her figure quickly disappearing into the mist.

In the valley, only Lanhe, Qingfeng, and the old ancestor standing with his hands behind his back remained.

The old man turned around, looked at the two of them, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips:

"Are you ready?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his sleeve, and dozens of long swords flew out from the cliff face, circling around him, their tips all pointing at the two of them.

Lanhe and Qingfeng exchanged a glance, then simultaneously activated the longswords floating behind them. In an instant, dozens of sword lights roared out like a tidal wave, sweeping towards their ancestor.

However, the ancestor simply stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent. The dozens of longswords around him seemed to come alive, weaving an impenetrable net of swords in the air.

When Lanhe and Qingfeng's attacks collided, a dense clang of metal clashing was heard, and they were all blocked, without even touching a single hem of his clothes.

"Too slow."

The ancestor spoke calmly, and with a casual wave of his hand, three longswords separated from the sword net, transforming into three streaks of light that aimed directly at the throats of the two men.

Lan He's pupils contracted slightly, and in a haste, he summoned five longswords to block in front of him. Amidst the clang of metal on metal, three of the swords were blocked, but the immense force they transmitted made his arms numb, and the sword intent attached to the longswords almost dissipated.

Qingfeng wasn't faring much better. Although he skillfully deflected two sword strikes, the third sword grazed his arm, leaving a shallow bloodstain.

"Not enough strength." The ancestor's voice rang out again, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather. "With such meager skills, you dare to try learning Immortal Sword Techniques?"

Lan He gritted his teeth, steadied his mind, and activated the sword formation once more. This time, instead of launching a relentless attack, he followed the example of his ancestors, dividing the fifty longswords into three waves to attack in turn.

Seeing this, Qingfeng immediately adjusted his tactics. His sword intent was known for its agility, and now he wielded the ten longswords like ten swimming fish, weaving through the ancestor's sword net, searching for weaknesses.

In an instant, sword light shone like a tapestry, and the cries of swords echoed like a tide.

The three fought back and forth, from dawn to noon, and from noon to dusk.

Initially, Lan He and Qing Feng could only maintain their sword formation for the duration of an incense stick's burning before it collapsed. Later, it became two incense sticks, half an hour, an hour...

The old master's comments rang out from time to time, but his subordinates showed no mercy.

"Where is your sword intent? Where has your sword intent gone?"

"Cooperation! Two people against one of me, and each attacking their own target—aren't you ashamed?"

"Lanhe, your swordplay is too fierce. Don't you know to reserve some of your strength for a change of tactics?"

"Qingfeng, you're being too cautious. You're not going all out when you should be, are you just waiting for me to go easy on you?"

Every time they were criticized, the two of them worked hard to improve in their next encounter.

From initial chaos and confusion to gradually regaining composure; from fighting alone to understanding how to cooperate; from only being able to control ten swords at the same time to being able to control twenty or thirty swords simultaneously...

Day after day, month after month.

There is no distinction between day and night in the Sword Tomb, only the ceaseless sounds of swords clanging and clashing.

……

Two months later.

A flash of white light, and Lan He was thrown directly out from the depths of the Sword Tomb by a powerful force.

He plopped down on the ground, his body still bearing sword marks from the fierce battle, his clothes tattered, his face covered in dust, looking utterly disheveled.

Before he could react, the array's light barrier around the Sword Tomb slammed shut, leaving only the ancestor's furious voice echoing from within:

"Get out! You've taken a hundred of my swords in two months. If you stay any longer, you'll empty the Sword Tomb!"

Lan He sat on the ground in a daze, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses.

He glanced down at the hundred longswords floating around him, slowly descending, and his lips twitched.

In two months, he went from fifty to one hundred swords, a progress he considered slow. After all, the entire Sword Tomb contained a thousand spirit treasure swords, and at this rate, he could take them all in about a year and a half.

But the ancestor's reaction...

He silently did some mental calculations.

The Earth-rank spiritual treasure swords in the Sword Tomb are all top-quality items. Even if some are damaged, each one is worth at least three to five million Nirvana Pills on the market. One hundred swords would be worth three to five hundred million.

Even the entire fortune of an ordinary cultivator in the Profound Realm wouldn't amount to this much.

Lan He suddenly understood why his ancestor was so irritable.

While he could understand it, he still couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"So stingy... It's just a few hundred million Nirvana Pills, it's not like I'm giving them away to strangers, is it really necessary to be so stingy..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a long sword flew out of the tomb and landed precisely at his feet, its blade still vibrating and humming.

"roll!"