Chapter 5: My Fate Is in My Own Hands, Not Dictated by Heaven
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The two chatted and laughed, quickly arriving at the shore of the Sword Pool.
The azure pool was a thousand feet deep, its bottom nearly impossible to see.
On the shore stood a huge rock, on which four lines of large characters were carved as if split by a knife and chiseled with an axe:
Suming, Suming,
Why dost thou not sing?
Zhisu, Zhisu,
Why such ignorance cling!
Although there were only sixteen characters, the writer's anger, unwillingness, and despair leapt from the stone, leaving Ling Yunpo quite astonished.
"Sister, who wrote this?"
"I don't know." An Zhisu shook her head, "According to Master, when his master's master joined the sect, these words were already inscribed on the sword stele."
She looked up at the sword stele and slowly said:
"Suming is the Tai Yin Suming Sword; Zhisu is the Tai Yang Zhi Su Sword."
"In ancient times, the human progenitor Fuxi, using the Innate Yin and Yang Qi left behind after Pangu opened the heavens and the earth, forged the two Supreme Immortal Swords, Suming and Zhisu, to suppress the Demon Race and protect the Human Race."
"To this day, the whereabouts of both Supreme Immortal Swords are unknown. Therefore, the prevailing opinion in our Shushan is that these four lines on the sword stele express the regret and sorrow of our predecessors for not being able to find the Human Race's Immortal Swords."
"I see." Ling Yunpo said with a laugh, "But I wonder what Grade Rank would such Supreme Immortal Swords fall under?"
"You've already said they are Supreme Immortal Swords, where does grade rank come into it?" An Zhisu giggled, covering her mouth, "Like those ancient Immortal Swords left behind, like the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword, the Four Swords of Zhuxian... they're all without grade, but this doesn't detract from their fame as Immortal Swords."
"Let's not talk about that too much, junior brother. Go to the edge of the Sword Pool and practice the Sword Control mental method by the pond, and you will have a Flying Sword come to your call."
"If you're not satisfied, you can throw it back into the pool, and you can select repeatedly."
"I can choose again?" Ling Yunpo asked with his tongue clicking, "Then if I don't throw it back into the pool, but keep calling for Flying Swords instead, pulling all the water out of this pond, couldn't I just sell them..."
"That's why there are guards at the Sword Pool," An Zhisu said with a smile.
Ling Yunpo smiled awkwardly and no longer joked with his sister. He simply took a breath and focused his gaze on the Sword Pool.
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In the Mirror Flower Water Moon, the template associated with "Ling Yunpo" was named "Unyielding."
But he hadn't quite figured out how to synchronize with "Unyielding."
Do I need senior sister to beat me up? And then should I shout, "Thirty years in the east of the river, thirty years in the west, never bully the poor because they are young"?
"Senior sister." Ling Yunpo pondered by the Sword Pool for a moment, then said in a deep voice.
"Hmm?" An Zhisu asked crisply.
"Have you ever thought, if Master continues in seclusion and the circumstances on Qingluo Peak decline day by day, what should we do?"
An Zhisu fell into silence upon hearing this, and after a long time, she whispered:
"I don't know."
"But junior brother, you needn't worry too much."
"As long as your senior sister is here, I won't let you be wronged."
"Thank you, senior sister." Ling Yunpo laughed heartily, "Then let me also make a promise here."
"As long as I, Ling Yunpo, am here, I will make sure you're never wronged either!"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the Kunlun Mirror suddenly spoke up:
[Unyielding template, Synchronization Value +1.]
Ling Yunpo: ......
"So, it really works that way!" He broke into a cold sweat inside, and couldn't help mocking himself.
Wait, this is a good thing!
This script, I know it all too well! It's like second nature!
"Senior sister." Ling Yunpo said in pain.
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"What's wrong?"
"Although I'm still only in the Qi Refinement Realm," Ling Yunpo said loudly, "fortune may favor us for thirty years in the west and another thirty in the east, do not underestimate the young and poor!"
"And then?" An Zhisu blinked.
"And then... one day when the sword is in my hand, my fate will be in my control, not heaven's!"
"Mmm, very spirited," An Zhisu nodded with a smile, "go get your sword."
Ling Yunpo: ?
"Ah Jing," he silently called in his heart, "why aren't you adding any Synchronization Value?"
After a long while, the Kunlun Mirror finally spoke slowly:
"Don't you feel awkward saying those lines?"
"Awkward, yes, I'm getting goosebumps," Ling Yunpo complained, "so why not add Synchronization Value?"
"Mirror Flower Water Moon may be illusionary, but it at least has to blur reality enough to reflect oneself," Kunlun Mirror helplessly said, "when even you don't believe what you're saying, how can Mirror Flower Water Moon be effective?"
"I understand, it's mainly about the context," Ling Yunpo pondered thoughtfully, "If a villain appears and humiliates me severely, with the right mood, I could pull those lines off without a problem."
"Indeed," agreed the Kunlun Mirror, "but still, be careful. Don't let the villain kill you right after finishing your lines."
Ling Yunpo turned his inward gaze again, looking at the "Indomitable" temperament embedded in the Kunlun Mirror.
This character template came embedded with a talent named "Innate Sword Bone."
Despite its rather unpleasant name, its effects were unexpectedly powerful:
Innate Sword Bone: The entire body's bones are like blade edges, increasing efficiency in nurturing swords, enhancing resistance to Sword Qi and Sword Intent, resonating with Flying Swords, and under special circumstances, being considered as a Flying Sword.
Apart from the last point which seemed a bit problematic, the other three were quite understandable.
One, improvement in nurturing effects for Flying Swords; two, enhancement in defense against Flying Swords; three, an increase in control over Flying Swords.
It had to be said that it matched extremely well with the legacy of the Shushan Sword Immortals.
Ling Yunpo stared at the Sword Pond and took a deep breath.
Then he focused his mind, reached out towards the Sword Pond, and tried to resonate with it using his Innate Sword Bone talent:
"Sword, come!"
An Zhisu watched from behind, finding her junior brother truly adorable.
However, before she could react, the Sword Pond suddenly boiled over!
Vast amounts of water churned and surged around, forming a swift and vast whirlpool.
A droplet of water splashed out from the pond and transformed into a completely black Flying Sword about three feet and six inches long in mid-air, with a green lotus flower carved on the hilt, causing one to feel dizzy just by looking at it.
The black Flying Sword fell into Ling Yunpo's hand, and looking back at the Sword Pool, it was calm and serene with sparkling waves, showing no signs of the previous turbulent surge.
"Did you see that just now?" An Zhisu asked in amazement.
"See what?" Ling Yunpo looked puzzled.
"...Nothing," An Zhisu shook her head, turning to examine the Flying Sword in his hand.
"What kind of Flying Sword is this?" Ling Yunpo asked curiously.
"Not sure, I'll check the books when we get back," An Zhisu said uncertainly as she turned the Flying Sword over.
"Could it be gradeless?" Ling Yunpo wondered to himself, quietly asked the Kunlun Mirror, "Ah Jing, tell me, what exactly is this sword?"
Kunlun Mirror: ......
"Ask her yourself," it suddenly said.
After that, no matter how much Ling Yunpo continued to inquire, the mirror no longer made a sound.
An Zhisu then took him away. After a short while, the male and female disciples originally guarding the Sword Pool hurriedly arrived by its side.
"Was there a disturbance in the pond just now?" the male disciple asked in shock.
"Swords rising in defense, a surging whirlpool, it was definitely a disturbance in the pond!" the female disciple exclaimed, "A Tenth Rank Immortal Sword has appeared!"
"Quick, notify the elders in the peak!"