"I am not making things difficult for you. I am merely upholding the laws of the Divine Blade Sect." Loris didn’t yield an inch, shouting indifferently.

"Anyone who wants to break the ironclad, mountain-like laws of the Divine Blade Sect, I will not agree to it!"

For a time, the elders argued fiercely. Over whether to punish Knox or to punish Taryn, they were almost about to come to blows.

Aerin remained silent for a long time before speaking indifferently. "Alright, stop arguing!"

He looked at Torin. "Junior Brother Torin, you just said that Taryn is intentionally hiding his strength, playing the pig to eat the tiger, and scheming against Blair and Knox, correct?"

"Correct!" Torin didn’t hesitate, nodding heavily.

"That is definitely the case!"

"Very well, then let me ask you." Aerin narrowed his eyes.

"If that Taryn truly hid his strength..."

"Then just how strong is his true strength?"

As soon as these words came out, all the elders fell into silence.

It was true.

Blair was at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering.

Knox was at the Tenth Level.

These two were already extraordinary talents rarely seen in a century or even a millennium.

Within the Sword God Restriction of the Azure Dragon Valley, they were practically ceiling-level existences in terms of strength.

Even if Taryn hid his strength, intentionally playing the pig to eat the tiger, just how formidable must his true strength be to beat both Blair and Knox into such a state of severe injury?

In other words, what kind of terrifying potential was hidden within his body?

Lorin nodded heavily, shamelessly praising, "I saw it long ago, this Taryn possesses extraordinary natural endowments, he must definitely be a peerless prodigy!"

"On the surface, he merely appears to be at the First Level of Body Tempering, but in reality, he is clearly showing weakness to the enemy to deceive their eyes and ears!"

"So young, with such superior innate talent, yet still so low-profile and modest. This child’s future prospects are absolutely immeasurable!"

As soon as these words came out, Blake and Nerin to the side hurriedly chimed in to echo him.

"Correct, this Taryn is truly a heaven-defying prodigy rarely seen in a thousand... no, in ten thousand years!"

"The future of our Divine Blade Sect will have to rest on his shoulders!"

Seeing everyone leaning toward Taryn’s side, Torin’s face was as ugly as if he had eaten a fly.

But ultimately, he couldn’t help but walk up to Loris, saying weakly, "Loris, I know you were the reception elder who inducted Taryn into the sect back then, and you have a good relationship with him."

"After Taryn Lark seizes the championship, could you put in a good word for our Hundred Souls Peak in front of him?"

After the two great genius dark horses, Blair and Knox, both successively fell, the crowd of elders poured all their final hopes onto this Taryn Lark.

In order to fight over his affiliation, they were almost about to come to blows.

Only Sylra stood to the side the entire time, watching the spectacle like an outsider, his face full of a proud and boastful smile.

The person he brought was about to become the champion of the assessment and be fought over by these elders as if he were a precious treasure.

Sylra had long viewed profits and benefits as worldly possessions, he didn’t care about resources or glory and wealth.

However, just the sheer breath of fresh air Taryn had won for him was enough to make him so overjoyed he couldn’t even sleep.

Who said their Broken Sword Peak was a godforsaken place where birds didn’t shit?

That it could only be used to punish offending disciples, and was the most desolate and remote execution ground in the Divine Blade Sect?

Today, let’s see if the faces of those who said those words get slapped.

In this highly anticipated assessment, the other peak gates all produced twenty or thirty people, yet they were all mediocre commoners.

He brought only a single person.

Yet that single person left everyone in the dust, leading by a massive margin, firmly securing the position of champion.

From now on, let’s see who still dares to belittle or look down upon their Broken Sword Peak.

As for which peak Taryn would ultimately choose, Sylra wasn’t worried in the slightest. Nor did he plan to interfere or influence him.

He knew that compared to his aptitude and innate talent, this brat’s maturity of mind was even more exceptionally different from ordinary people.

Taryn would definitely weigh all the pros and cons and choose the path most beneficial to his own future.

...

Amidst the fierce scrambling of the elders, Alex rode Pearl unimpeded and unhindered, the very first to smoothly reach the summit.

Looking at the treasure chest before him, overflowing with spiritual energy and bathed in white light, a trace of interest revealed itself in his eyes.

"It seems my act of finding joy in helping others has reaped a kind-hearted reward."

"That woman... no, that guy, was indeed one of the Evergreat Sword Ancestor’s people."

Alex unhurriedly stepped forward and casually waved his hand to open the treasure chest.

A burst of dazzling white light, accompanied by a formidable sword intent, burst forth from within.

The intensity of the sword intent was so strong that the crowd of elders in mid-air could all clearly feel it.

"This... this is..." The elders stopped arguing, every single one widening their eyes, utterly dumbfounded.

When the white light dissipated slightly, they shockingly saw a fully transparent heart floating into Alex’s hand.

This heart was formed purely from the convergence of sword intent, with two cross-shaped short swords floating above it.

And in the middle of the heart, brilliant stars flickered speck by speck, as if concealing a vast, starry sky.

Aerin froze for a long while before saying in disbelief, "This... could this be the legendary Vault of Divine Sword Heart?"

"My heavens..." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"The reward the Sect Master said he prepared for the champion of this year’s assessment was actually this?!"

"Holy shit!"

In an instant, all the elders present completely boiled over with excitement.

Recently, rumors had been spreading in the outside world that the Vault of Divine Sword Heart was about to appear.