Faced with the full display of the Lifeless Sword Manual, the imposing Xiao Bai, even the spectators outside the field couldn’t help but subconsciously step back a few paces.

The Sword Academy Elder, Wang Zhao, furrowed his brows even tighter, looking towards his junior brother, Wang Xiao, casting an inquiring glance.

Junior brother, should we stop her?

Xiao Bai’s Lifeless Sword Manual’s power is probably known by no one in the Sword Academy better than him. After all, it was only during an internal sparring session that he managed to provoke Xiao Bai to the point of anger and humiliation, forcing her to unveil the Sword Manual... and even after that sparring session, his injuries, despite being neutralized internally by the arena, took a full three days of rest to barely heal.

Yet now, from the looks of it, she is clearly a hundred times more serious than during that sparring session!

Can that new head of the Academy on the opposite side really withstand the Lifeless Sword Manual?

Wang Xiao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, indicating no need to intervene.

After all, the person opposite is someone highly regarded by the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect, being groomed as the next Sect Leader. He couldn’t possibly be clueless enough not to comprehend the stakes of life and death. Since he is confident, let’s all see his methods.

——

On the other side, upon seeing the Lifeless Sword Manual, Wang Jiu’s astonishment was several times greater than just before.

Xiao Bai’s ability to see through his Illusion Sword Technique is likely due to her innate heterochromatic eyes. This special sensory structure gives her a strong ability to detect and break illusions. Wang Jiu had seen similar talents before in Lu Jintong and many others, so while this was remarkable, it wasn’t surprising.

But this Lifeless Sword Manual is an undeniable anomaly. In Wang Jiu’s eyes, it was as if he saw a refined iron implement in a primitive society of stone and stick tools.

The value of the Lifeless Sword Manual is far more precious than anyone could have imagined.

For most Cultivators in Xiangzhou, and even for Xiao Bai herself, the Lifeless Sword Manual was merely a tome containing an individual’s understanding of the Sword Dao. Because it accompanies cultivators for many years, nurtured by True Essence and Sword Qi, it possesses various Divine Techniques... but in reality, the significance of this Sword Manual goes far beyond that.

This is the embryonic form of a Sword World.

Although at present, calling it an embryo seems forced, the Lifeless Sword Manual appears to be in the initial state, akin to the chaos of creation. Xiao Bai merely forcibly accommodates many Divine Techniques, Immortal Techniques, and treasures in this tome that blends reality and illusion, never expecting what consequence might arise from cramming so many things together.

An adept Sword Cultivator’s Divine Techniques are alive, possessing their operational trajectories. There are often stories like this: some Great Cultivator left a spell somewhere, which continues to operate a thousand years later, precisely because the spell itself is active.

And placing many living things together, continuously nurturing them, the result is evident: reproduction and growth.

In the Sword Manual, Divine Techniques and Divine Techniques combine, treasures resonate with each other, even the void Swordsmanship Theory continually absorbs nutrients during the Manual’s evolution and becomes refined... With this Lifeless Sword Manual, even if Xiao Bai does nothing, as time passes, her Sword Dao Cultivation will grow ever stronger, and inspiration will burst forth in many Sword Dao Domains she has never ventured into. This is perhaps also one of the sources of her extraordinary talent.

This is the marvelous aspect of the Lifeless Sword Manual, and this is merely the beginning. If nurtured well, the Sword Manual could illuminate the light of civilization from the chaos and void, forming an orderly Sword World! At that time, Sword Cultivators would not need external support at all; energy, matter, and laws of Divine Techniques within the Sword World would be inexhaustible.

In today’s Xiangzhou Continent, this can be said to be an object surpassing all Immortal Dao theories, and it surpasses this era. With Xiangzhou’s Immortal Dao civilization level, it wouldn’t be possible to create a Lifeless Sword Manual within a hundred years.

In the Jiuzhou Era, the first similar treasure to the Lifeless Sword Manual was born around the Jiuzhou Calendar 2500. At that time, cultivators in the Heaven Shattering Realm on the Jiuzhou Continent were not uncommon. Many Great Sword Cultivators possessed nearly ascended Divine Techniques, and Swordsmanship Theory was flourishing, colorful.

In such an environment, an unprecedentedly talented Sword Cultivator ingeniously combined various strengths, proposed the embryonic theory of a Sword World, and then spared no cost to put his theory into practice.

A top-tier Great Sword Cultivator with the highest cultivation in the Heaven Shattering Realm exhausted his family’s fortune, collected countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, and took 20 years to finally complete the prototype of a Sword World—only to see everything destroyed in less than two years due to a failed experiment.

Fortunately, the Great Sword Cultivator’s theory and experimental records were preserved. Many Sword Cultivators interested in this began to design and build their Sword Worlds, but in the subsequent 500 years, no mature Sword World was born on the Jiuzhou Continent. Even the completeness compared to the progenitor 500 years ago was very limited. So much that many Sword Dao authorities in the Myriad Immortals Alliance already asserted that a perfect Sword World was simply impossible, and if it could exist, it would be at least 300 years later.

Afterward, a Nameless Sword God rose within the Celestial Pool Sword Sect, shattering all common wisdom of the Immortal Cultivation Realm within a mere fifty years. With sword in hand, he forged ahead like a swift arrow, reaching the Realm of Void Breaking. Simultaneously, he intuitively created a self-sustaining, ever-renewing Sword World, advancing the Sword Dao of the Xiangzhou Continent by 300 years almost singlehandedly.

Seeing Xiao Bai’s Lifeless Sword Manual, Wang Jiu, startled, immediately thought of himself during the Jiuzhou Era.

In human history, there has never been a shortage of heroic figures who singlehandedly advanced the civilization’s progress. During the Ancient Era, there was Xun Fengzi, who first ignited the celestial flame and summoned the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind, Ancestor of All Immortals River Map, who systematized and theorized the Immortal Dao practices, and Medicine Immortal, who first refined various herbs into Spirit Pills... To those back then, their accomplishments seemed incredible as well, transcending historical limits to singlehandedly break through the world’s constraints.

Wang Jiu himself was, of course, one such figure, yet he carried certain regrets inside.

The talent, potential, and achievement of the Nameless Sword God were unprecedented during the Jiuzhou Era, but his accomplishments were forged amidst chaos. Before he could fully exhibit his divine techniques, he perished alongside the Great Demon God Emperor, leaving humanity’s civilization to barely survive instead of opening a new Chapter.

And upon seeing Xiao Bai, Wang Jiu felt like he was witnessing himself in a peaceful era.

The current Xiangzhou Continent is in the ascent period of Immortal Dao civilization; everything is flourishing, making it an ideal environment for an unparalleled genius to showcase their talent. This young woman, capable of writing the Lifeless Sword Manual, is undoubtedly exceptional in talent. If properly nurtured... Yet, conversely, such talent is also the most prone to being squandered.

Because, plainly, even Xiao Bai herself has not realized how uniquely gifted she truly is. If not reminded, this Lifeless Sword Manual may fade into obscurity upon her passing, and Xiangzhou Continent could miss an opportunity for an Immortal Dao revolution.

The Jiuzhou Continent once missed many chances, and only hundreds or thousands of years after a genius died, people discovered relics of their greatness, lamenting the path humanity blindly wandered for centuries in darkness.

Fortunately, the Celestial Divine Sword has awakened in this era, ensuring that all miracles related to the Sword Dao will not be wasted.

Elsewhere, Xiao Bai opened the Sword Manual, her aura surging like a rainbow, reaching the point where thousands of swords were about to be unleashed. Yet under Wang Jiu’s intense gaze, she felt slightly uneasy.

"What are you looking at? I warn you, I take Sword Fighting very seriously. No matter how handsome you are, don’t think you can shake my resolve... Moreover, your looks are fake!"

With that, Xiao Bai didn’t wait for the referee Wang Xiao to announce the start of the match. She flipped a page of the Sword Manual, causing the surrounding air to become bitterly cold and heavy. Every breeze transformed into a sharp sword, mercilessly slicing through everything around them.

The Sword Cultivators with profound cultivation outside the field changed their expressions and took several steps back.

No one expected that Xiao Bai, who usually wore a mischievous smile, would unleash her ultimate move, [Sword Prison], using supreme divine techniques to transform a hundred-mile radius into a purgatory of swords!

Within this purgatory, the most terrifying aspect was not the sword winds or charred soil, but the pervasive element known as [Setback].

Xiao Bai’s Sword Prison was refined from the difficulties and setbacks encountered by hundreds of Sword Cultivators at the Wuxiang Sword Academy over a decade, forming a unique domain. Within this domain, Sword Cultivators constantly face setbacks from all fronts; their Sword Qi becomes chaotic for no reason, their treasured swords gradually corrode, their steadfast Sword Hearts begin to waver, and even their once-certain Sword Dao theories develop doubts.

According to common understanding, Sword Prison should be a form of advanced Illusion Technique, where everything seen and heard is an illusion, which can be dispelled using Immortal Techniques like Shattering Illusion... But in reality, the setbacks in the Sword Prison are genuine, derived from the true experiences of hundreds of Sword Cultivators at the Wuxiang Sword Academy, meticulously crafted by the Sword Dao genius Xiao Bai, making it more real than real. If one lacks the ability to break through layers of setbacks, they only sink deeper into it.

Rather than calling it Swordsmanship, Xiao Bai’s Sword Prison is more akin to a curse.

A curse aimed at mediocrity.

Only a genius who has experienced a smooth journey in their cultivation can easily overcome various cultivation hurdles. Xiao Bai possesses top-tier talent from the Wuxiang Sword Academy, having encountered obstacles over her decades of cultivation, and currently, she faces a significant problem she cannot solve. Now, she has condensed all her problems into an insoluble maze, awaiting Wang Jiu’s solution.

In the arena, Xiao Bai and Wang Jiu stood less than a hundred feet apart; yet, when the Sword Prison descended, time and space lost their meaning. This thorny path could take years to traverse without sufficient talent and perseverance.

Suppressing her excitement, Xiao Bai maintained the operation of the Lifeless Sword Manual and softly spoke, "Come, let me see your... eh?"

The next moment, Xiao Bai was utterly shocked to see Wang Jiu appear before her, his hand gently brushing against the Lifeless Sword Manual, causing the unruly tome to reluctantly close.