The moment Bai Zichen placed his hand on a Flower Bird Talisman, he suddenly felt a mysterious connection to the Inheritance Stele.

He felt as if he had plunged into an endless river, enveloped by a sense of ancient, profound weight—just like the day he had received his inheritance from the Stele ten years ago.

"Bone age: twenty-two. Does not meet inheritance requirements... Special Spirit Body detected, not found in the database. Secondary inheritance can be performed!"

The ethereal, emotionless voice rang out, and Bai Zichen’s heart pounded. He had actually broken the age limit, triggering the Inheritance Stele once again despite being over twenty years old.

"Earth, Fire, Wood Three Spirit Roots, Low Grade!"

"Cultivation: Qi Refining Ninth Layer, Top Grade!"

"Magic aptitude... Low Grade!"

"Comprehension... Mid Grade!"

"Comparing against one thousand three hundred and twelve bloodlines in the database... No special bloodline detected, Inferior Grade!"

"Comparing against fifty-three Spirit Bodies in the database... Suspected Mutated Merit Golden Body Spirit Body, Celestial Grade!"

The familiar evaluations from the Inheritance Stele, after a decade, were grading Bai Zichen once more.

The other changes were minor details. The most important thing was that his Spirit Body had been judged to be a Mutated Merit Golden Body Spirit Body and given an unprecedented Celestial Grade evaluation.

Bai Zichen had previously found an opportunity to ask Chen Wei. Both she and Su Li had received a Top Grade evaluation for their Spirit Bodies from the Inheritance Stele, the same as his own Fake Merit Golden Body Spirit Body.

’I was the one tested both times, so why is the result different... Could it be that as my Cultivation improved, more of my true Spirit Body’s traits were revealed, which the Inheritance Stele then detected, leading to a different evaluation?’

Inside Bai Zichen’s Sea of Consciousness, time seemed to slow down. As he pondered the possibilities, a ball of white light rushed toward him.

Having experienced this before, he knew it was the inheritance. He opened himself to it, and a torrent of information flooded his Sea of Consciousness.

Outside, a bright Sword Light flashed across the Inheritance Stele. Another crack appeared at its top, extending more than thirty feet down before stopping.

Fortunately, everyone was currently in the first-floor courtyard, and no one noticed the strange phenomenon occurring with the Inheritance Stele on the third floor of the Five Mountains Temple.

The inheritance phenomenon that everyone had eagerly anticipated during the day had appeared at night, and it happened to a True Disciple who had not only already received an inheritance but was also over the age limit.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Zichen opened his eyes, staggered a few steps in a daze, and collapsed to the floor.

The amount of information from this inheritance was far greater than what he’d received from the two inheritances last time combined; his Sea of Consciousness had nearly burst.

Like Su Li before him, he could have been unconscious for many days.

Fortunately, the strength of his Divine Sense far surpassed that of Cultivators at the same Realm, allowing him to barely endure the successive waves of impact.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, his face had already turned deathly pale, and his back was soaked with sweat.

’True Enlightenment Sword Technique... It seems even the Inheritance Stele is helping me, knowing I intend to follow the path of a Sword Cultivator.’

Bai Zichen slumped against the Inheritance Stele, completely disregarding his image, just to keep himself from collapsing.

’A Celestial Grade evaluation for my Spirit Body... The inheritance this time must be far superior to the last one, right?’

The True Enlightenment Sword Technique: the sword is born from the heart, its Sword Techniques are simple and unadorned. Upon mastery, one can gain the talent of Sword Heart Clarity, where the heart is like a bright mirror, able to deconstruct any Sword Path in the world.

A massive Sword Manual appeared in his Sea of Consciousness. Inside, about a hundred Sword Techniques were layered and interwoven.

The entire Sword Technique was so vast that Bai Zichen had only managed to read the opening section.

Sword Heart Clarity was not a Sword Dao Realm, but a talent.

Sword Cultivators with this talent could inherently see through all sorts of profound Sword Techniques, remaining unswayed by external factors. This gave them a huge advantage in Combat between Sword Cultivators.

But he had never heard of the Sword Heart Clarity talent being something that could be Acquired through cultivating a Sword Technique.

And this True Enlightenment Sword Technique actually contained nearly a hundred different styles of Swordsmanship, a collection as vast as a sea of mist. It could be called an encyclopedia of Swordsmanship.

He couldn’t even imagine how much time it would take to truly master the True Enlightenment Sword Technique.

’But even setting aside the Sword Heart Clarity talent, the contents of the True Enlightenment Sword Technique are still immensely valuable... If you took out any single Swordsmanship style from it, it would probably be considered a top-tier one. This Sword Technique must be a treasure even within the Inheritance Stele’s collection.’

Bai Zichen had a feeling that his single inheritance had caused more wear and tear on the Inheritance Stele than all fifty people from the daytime combined.

After resting for a long time, he finally straightened up. The throbbing pain in his Sea of Consciousness had subsided somewhat, and his expression returned to its usual calm.

He had already made up his mind. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he would pick a suitable Swordsmanship style and cultivate it slowly to further enhance his combat strength.

As for mastering the entire True Enlightenment Sword Technique, he wouldn’t even consider it before he became a Core Formation True Man and possessed a long lifespan.

’There’s one more thing to note. Even the Inheritance Stele determined that my Spirit Body is different from the Merit Golden Body Spirit Body. The Celestial Grade evaluation must mean that some of its effects surpass even those of the Merit Golden Body Spirit Body... It’s a shame I’ve already read all the Sect’s records on Spirit Bodies, and the Merit Golden Body Spirit Body was the closest match.’

’The ability to dissolve bottlenecks is such a Heaven-Defying effect. If a Spirit Body with this ability had ever appeared before, it would definitely have been recorded... This at least proves that a Spirit Body like mine has never appeared in Liang Country, or perhaps even in the wider Cultivation Realm. That would explain the complete lack of records.’

The lack of records was both a good and a bad thing.

On one hand, it indirectly confirmed that his Spirit Body was likely of an even higher caliber than the Merit Golden Body Spirit Body, possessing even greater miraculous properties.

The downside was the uncertainty. He had no idea what the limits of this Spirit Body were, or if it had any negative side effects.

’At least, so far the Spirit Body has only brought me benefits. No need for groundless fears.’

Bai Zichen walked back to the front courtyard. The banquet hadn’t ended yet; shadowy figures were still mingling, in the middle of toasting one another.

’Good. No one knows I took a trip to the third floor, triggered the Stele’s phenomenon, and received a Sword Technique.’

Although Bai Zichen disliked this kind of environment, he understood that Peng Chong’s actions were all for the benefit of the Qingfeng Sect.

Maintaining the upright style of an orthodox Daoist Family might earn them ridicule from outside Cultivators, who would call them hypocrites, Defenders of the Faith, and so on. But frankly, if he had a choice, he would definitely rather stay in the Qingfeng Sect than in a place like the Ghost Spirit Sect.

At least the Qingfeng Sect had strict Sect Law Decrees. While there were some shameless dealings among the disciples, the vast majority still had a moral bottom line.

Disciples didn’t have to live like the Cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect, who, even within their own Sect, had to constantly worry about being captured by an Elder to be refined into the main soul of a Hundred Ghosts Banner, or being backstabbed by their fellow disciples and turned into a Flesh Puppet.

Every Cave Mansion within that sect had to be protected by tight Arrays.

There wasn’t a shred of trust to be found, not even between Dao Companions or masters and apprentices.

But the disadvantage was that, despite being wary of the five great Cultivation Families—especially the Fire Phoenix Mo Family, whose clan proliferated at an absurd rate—the Sect couldn’t use any overt or excessive measures against them.

They could only act in private, winning over weaker Cultivation Families by offering them benefits, using them to slow the advance of the major Cultivation Families.

Master Yangg’s agreement to allow the five outside clans to enter was largely based on this consideration, letting them keep each other in check.

’In truth, as long as the Sect maintains an overwhelming advantage at the Core Formation Layer, the Cultivation Families below can’t possibly cause any trouble... If the Sect were to produce a Nascent Soul True Monarch, these problems wouldn’t even qualify as a minor nuisance. The ones who should be worrying day and night would be the Fire Phoenix Mo Family and the others.’

’In a world where ultimate power resides in the individual, everything still comes down to the strongest one...’