The sixth day dawned on the secret realm, but those within hardly noticed.

In the central tower, Elena was immersed in studying the large number of texts present within. Every few minutes, she would enter the empty central area of the tower and practice the skills she had been learning.

Although she wasn't able to master them enough for them to show up on her status window quite yet, she was rapidly approaching that level. Perhaps, it would only take a few days or weeks after she left the secret realm to achieve mastery.

As for Damien, he was immersed in devouring the Nox mana plaguing the World Core. The previously massive stain of mana had been devoured at an extreme pace, reaching a size that wasn't much bigger than Damien himself.

And it wasn't just the two of them that were working hard.

Within the Empyrean Dragon Sword Inheritance, the fierce battles were finally coming to a close.

Dozens of geniuses had been killed, while others were evicted from the stele area. Those remaining within were only the best of the best.

Long Chen's wolf-like gaze scanned the room. 'Huo Lingtian, the Xue siblings, Ling'er, and that rogue cultivator. Besides the last fellow, everyone who came this far is as expected.'

There was something interesting that they had found while they were fighting for the right to inherit the Empyrean Dragon Sword. In fact, the inheritance residing in this area was a double inheritance, rather than just the sword itself.

Now that there were six people left, four more had to be eliminated before the inheritance could finally be claimed.

But even then, it wasn't so simple.

The previous layers of this inheritance site were filled with traps and puzzles, forcing them to use a variety of abilities to make their way through. Whether it be awareness, mana control, or stamina, their fundamentals were tested to the point of breaking.

Now, they had finally reached a stage where only battle could determine the winner. There was only a single problem remaining.

This inheritance site was widely known among the major powers, to the point where even rogue cultivators had heard rumors about it. Considering the many years that the Ancient Sect's realm had been open, along with the difficulty of the trials, it was impossible for nobody to have arrived at this juncture before them.

The reason why the Empyrean Dragon Sword was still laying dormant in this realm was simple.

As a rumored Demigod-ranked sword, it wouldn't live up to its reputation if it wasn't picky about its owner.

The final trial of this inheritance site wasn't to come out victorious in the trial by combat, it was to gain the acceptance of the sword.

Long Chen shook his head and turned his attention toward one person.

"Brother Xue, isn't it about time for us to cross swords?"

Xue Feng looked at him placidly. However, his tight grip on his sword handle betrayed his otherwise stoic demeanor.

"Brother Long, I would be honored to exchange pointers with you."

The two of them separated from the rest. As for the others, they didn't interfere with the battle. After all, even if they wanted to, the secret realm wouldn't allow them. An exchange between sword cultivators was sacred.

Huo Lingtian glanced sideways at the two. 'These two from the lowly great families are actually ignoring my presence. Master has told me countless times to rid myself of arrogance, but I don't think he would fault me for getting irked when I lose face like this.'

He didn't know how to properly enunciate how he was feeling. It wasn't a boiling rage or a desire to kill like he usually had when someone slapped him in the face, rather, he felt disappointment.

But it couldn't be helped. The two men he considered his rivals had ignored him and gone straight to fighting each other. He wasn't pleased with the way they treated him.

In the end, Huo Lingtian sighed. 'Sword cultivators are sword cultivators to the end. The wills of others don't matter in front of that of the blade.'

After shaking his head once more, he turned his attention to the remaining three in the room.

"Forgive me, but I am not a man who can act crassly in front of a lady, even if she is taken by another man. You two can fight each other, I will play with this gentleman over here."

He walked in front of the rogue cultivator and cupped his fist. "I am called Huo Lingtian of the Jade Heavenly Palace."

"Dong Hai, no affiliation." The voice that responded didn't match the man's body at all.

He was an average figure without too much or too little muscle. From his face down to his toes, everything about him screamed average. However, his gruff voice seemed like it would better belong to an abnormally muscled man with massive stature.

"Then, Brother Dong, shall we begin our match."

"If you want to fight, then let's fight. No need for all this sophistry."

Huo Lingtian's brown twitched. "As you wish."

While the two of them began their clash, Xue Yue and Su Ling'er arrived next to each other. They moved their hands at the same time, bringing items out of their spatial rings.

Unexpectedly, though, these items were elegant chairs for them to sit on. Soon after, an assortment of snacks and tea decorated a table that also appeared out of nowhere.

"I'll bet 500 spirit stones on Brother Chen." Ling'er proclaimed haughtily.

"Oooh, we're betting? My Feng Feng will definitely win, though~"

"If that's what you think, then why don't you match my bet?"

"Okay! I bet 500 spirit stones as well that my cute and handsome big brother will beat up your husband!" Xue Yue said with a mischievous smile.

"H-he isn't my husband..yet.." Ling'er responded with a blush.

"Oho~?"

"Kuhum!" Xue Feng loudly cleared his throat as he tried to ignore the two women who were clearly talking loud enough so the two of them could hear.

In truth, hearing Xue Yue call him "Feng Feng" almost made him fall to the floor coughing blood, but he managed to hold himself back.historical

"Your sister is.." Long Chen started.

"Don't say it. Just pretend like it never happened." Xue Feng cut him off.

Long Chen gave him a sympathetic look. "I understand your pain, brother. Being handsome sure is tough."

"Tsk tsk, tell me about it."

The two men sighed in unison before grinning wildly.

"Shall we get started then?"

"I couldn't ask for anything more!"

Their figures turned into streaks of light, meeting within seconds with their blades swinging.

Clang!

There was no mana infused in the clash of two blades, but the impact still caused the winds to rage. The grins on the two men's faces widened immensely.

'This is it!'

It was hard to find a true sword cultivator, even in a place like the Cloud Plane. Becoming a sword cultivator meant forsaking one's elemental affinity for the blade. Even if elemental properties could be reintroduced into fighting later, until they achieved the level of Sword Aura, or the greater Sword Will, they would have to completely forgo elemental training.

Due to this restriction, which many people considered a huge weakness, not many had the resolve to follow the path of the sword religiously.

So when two sword cultivators met each other, it was an event they'd make sure to prolong as much as possible.