Squatting before the green treasure cauldron, he took out a small shovel and loosened the soil for the green sprout again. Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes, filled with anticipation. Behind him, Tong Yu's laughter echoed, "Brother Lin Zhao!"
"Oh, Tong Yu!"
Lin Zhao turned around and saw Tong Yu in a long dress, looking like a maiden. She was indeed a true beauty, with a very pleasing appearance. She was carrying a sword gifted by Lin Wanhua and said with a smile, "Yesterday, that brat Zhang Luobai was secretly eating melon seeds while the teacher was lecturing. Dean Gu complained to me. After thinking about it, I had to tell Brother Lin Zhao about this!"
"Unacceptable!"
Lin Zhao lightly flicked his sleeve and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Luobai, get out here!"
"Oh dear..."
Zhang Luobai, with a satchel slung across his shoulder, emerged from behind an apricot tree, looking like he was ready to be punished. Following him was Zhuang Yirong, with a smile of schadenfreude on her face. Zhang Luobai held his wooden sword, Liu Cheng, and scratched his head. "Master, please be gentle when you beat me later. I respect you the most, Master. But Master, we must uphold the rules of the martial world. I, Zhang Luobai, will accept my beating willingly and rightfully. But is it not a bit lacking in martial ethics for Sister Tong Yu to tattle-tale? She took a bribe of a handful of roasted peanuts last night, yet she's still so unyielding!"
"You're arguing your case, aren't you?"
Lin Zhao raised his eyebrows and said, "Tong Yu supervising your and Zhuang Yirong's studies, boxing, and swordsmanship was something I personally instructed. If she didn't report this, she would truly be failing in martial ethics. The only one at fault is you, Zhang Luobai. While the teacher was lecturing, you ate melon seeds. In terms of respecting your master and valuing righteousness, you have lost the integrity of us martial folk!"
Zhang Luobai's eyes suddenly reddened. "Master, have I truly lost my martial ethics?"
"Mm."
With a "thump," the mischievous child directly knelt and kowtowed. "Master, Zhang Luobai accepts the punishment. If my backside is split open by Master's beating, I will have no complaints. Heaven and earth are vast, and Master is supreme. After my backside is split open, I will still listen to Master's teachings."
"Alright, alright."
Lin Zhao appeared unable to tolerate the brat's antics. "Before you go down the mountain for class, go help Dongcang fill a water vat. Consider that your punishment. Tong Yu and Yirong are not allowed to help and must supervise him filling the water. Not a drop less. It must be a full vat!"
"Yes, Brother Lin Zhao!"
Tong Yu smiled and nodded.
Zhuang Yirong also smiled and said, "Understood, Mountain Master!"
Zhang Luobai scampered off to the well to fetch water, while Tong Yu and Zhuang Yirong stood with their hands behind their backs, solemnly supervising. Lin Zhao couldn't help but smile as he watched. The disciples taught by Lin Wanhua and Chu Yu were indeed good. As for his own precious disciple, Zhang Luobai, he seemed alright for now. Although he was mischievous, his disposition was excellent.
...
He no longer thought about it and walked into the pavilion on the lake. He reclined on the wooden bench, his legs crossed, and gazed at the blue sky and white clouds above. After taking a deep breath, his spiritual sense submerged into the spiritual void world. He transformed into the Nascent Soul figure and sat before a fragment of a gourd radiating wisps of rosy light. At this moment, when he opened his mind's eye to look at that wisp of sword intent again, his heart trembled. Now he could see it more clearly. Within that wisp of ethereal sword intent, he could faintly see an ancient scholar wielding a long sword, delivering a world-shattering strike. The majesty of that sword strike was indescribable, but Lin Zhao had now captured the essence of that sword intent.
The next moment, his mind lit up. The sword move was imprinted in his heart. At the same time, a bell sound rang in his ears—
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations on comprehending and creating a sword technique. Skill details: "Rank: Immortal Grade ★★, Details: Deliver a sword strike forward, dealing extremely high attack damage to targets within the attack range, with the effect of heavily wounding opponents across realms. The higher the opponent's realm, the greater the sword intent damage they will suffer. After the attack is completed, the target enters a weakened state, with a 75% reduction in damage dealt, lasting for 7 seconds. Skill cooldown is 25 seconds." Your created skill's artistic conception is now perfect. Please name it!
...
Immortal Grade two stars?
Lin Zhao was slightly startled. Shen Xingchen had mentioned that there were four ranks for created skills, from lowest to highest: Human, Earth, Heaven, and Immortal. Each rank was further divided into 1-3 stars. So, the move he created was only one star away from the ultimate Immortal Grade ★★★? A legendary one-step achievement?!
The sword intent contained within this green gourd was indeed extraordinary!
He frowned, took a deep breath, and it was time to name it. The knight from the Azure Dragon Guild's spear technique was called "One Spear Severing the Mortal World," which was quite imposing. In that case, the name of his move must be even more imposing, especially since the skill rank was so high. It would be truly improper if the name was lackluster.
Thus, he pondered for a moment, and his mind lit up. The name was decided. He then entered a line of text into the created skill's name field—
"One Sword to Slay Immortals!"
The next moment, a system announcement bell echoed in the sky—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Bai Yi] on successfully creating the skill [One Sword to Slay Immortals] (Immortal Grade ★★)!
...
"Whoosh..."
He slowly stood up and mounted the flying sword Hongye, soaring into the sky. His body hovered above the surface of the lotus pond. He slowly drew the Liquan sword with his hand, looking at the calm lake surface ahead. He activated his new skill, "One Sword to Slay Immortals," to first test its power. As a result, the moment he willed the skill to activate, the surrounding heaven and earth instantly darkened. It seemed as if all the sword intent in the world had converged onto the blade of the Liquan sword. The next moment, a sword energy dozens of feet long spread across the water.
"Buzz!"
Lin Zhao had not locked onto any target, so this strike only resounded over the lake. However, its power was already astonishing. This sword strike caused tiny water droplets to appear on the water's surface. As the sword intent passed, they all dripped down. When the sword intent dispersed, countless water droplets turned into a fine rain that pattered down. It truly possessed the demeanor of a sword immortal, not at all like a sword cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage could unleash.
For a moment, Zhang Luobai, who had just filled two buckets of water and was carrying them with both hands, running swiftly from the well by the peach grove, was stunned. The two water buckets "clattered" to the ground, and the well water spilled everywhere. He stared blankly at Lin Zhao's sword-wielding posture on the lake, mesmerized. His eyes were filled with longing. "Master... is a true sword immortal. When will I be able to deliver a strike like Master's?"
"..."
Tong Yu also stood by the lake, stunned, looking at Lin Zhao, clad in white, hovering above the water in the distance. At this moment, a light seemed to ignite in Tong Yu's dim heart. She had previously misunderstood Lin Zhao, thinking he was a despicable and cunning sword cultivator of the lower five realms. Later, she realized it was a misunderstanding. As the Mountain Master, Brother Lin Zhao was a kind-hearted person, a true Confucian gentleman. However, his swordsmanship cultivation was still average, far from her master Lin Wanhua. But at this moment, Tong Yu saw Lin Zhao's sword strike as transcendent and ethereal. Her master Lin Wanhua, who was at the thirteenth realm, might not even be able to unleash such a strike. Therefore, Brother Lin Zhao's state of mind was not simple, and his swordsmanship and sword intent were also beyond this mortal world.
Furthermore, Tong Yu had previously watched Lin Zhao lead tens of thousands of cavalry to conquer the four northern tribes from the mountain. She had also overheard the exaggerated tales of "Lin Baiyi of the Snow Region Heavenly Lake" from the gossiping aunts and women in the town. At that moment, Tong Yu felt that the most perfect man in the world was none other than this. In her heart, Brother Lin Zhao was becoming more and more unparalleled in the world.
Zhuang Yirong stood under a peach tree, seemingly oblivious to the peach petals falling on her hair. She was simply staring in the direction of the Mountain Master. Before, Zhuang Yirong had followed her master Chu Yu and believed that martial artists could be invincible by practicing martial arts. After all, although her family background was decent, it wasn't particularly good. Having the opportunity to practice martial arts with her master, who was in the Heavenly Origin realm, was already a stroke of luck. Little did she expect to see Lin Zhao's world-shattering sword strike today, which almost shook her Dao heart. If she could become a sword cultivator like the Mountain Master, it seemed not bad either.
In any case, she couldn't be like Zhang Luobai, a sword cultivator of the same realm, who had little ability but a big mouth, always talking nonsense, and even demanding duels over trivial matters. Look at the Mountain Master; his demeanor was dignified. When did he ever get angry and challenge others to duels or fights? It was rumored that the Mountain Master was also a martial artist, albeit in the lower five realms, but his boxing skills were quite good.
In an instant, Zhuang Yirong's small heart made a decision: the best cultivators in the world were like the Mountain Master, and the most worthless cultivators were undoubtedly Zhang Luobai.
Lin Zhao hovered over the water, slowly sheathed his sword, and silently thought to himself: Damn, my sword strike was so fierce!
...
The next moment, Lin Zhao's personal mailbox was almost exploding. Leng Yan, Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, Roman, and others all sent "congratulatory messages," congratulating him on successfully creating a sword skill that was only one step away from the top. Even "Yi Shi Cang Liang," "Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng," and the "Jianghu friends" like "Jian Huang" also sent their congratulations.
Naturally, Lin Zhao was happy himself.
"One Sword to Slay Immortals" had a high rank and strong damage. These were all guaranteed. Not only could it be used as a killing move against players, but it would also surely be effective against NPCs. Previously, Lin Zhao's ultimate moves against bosses in the upper five realms were the Divine Speed Talisman, Immobilization Talisman, Heavenly Thunder Talisman, combined with the Ascending Dragon Slash + Qi Charging Dou Niu combo. Now, it was different. He had an additional "divine skill" like "One Sword to Slay Immortals" with super strong pressure!
Moreover, the control effect of "One Sword to Slay Immortals" was also quite explosive. After the attack, the opponent's damage dealt within 7 seconds would be reduced by 75%. No one could withstand that. Frankly speaking, a thirteenth-realm great demon would need at least two strikes to kill Lin Zhao. But once struck by this skill, Lin Zhao could withstand four or five strikes without issue, invisibly weakening the opponent and strengthening himself!
...
"Beep!"
A message arrived from Shen Xingchen: "Return to Baidi City. I'll introduce you to someone. You'll need them for your transportation group."
"Coming!"