The girls ahead of them failed the test one by one. There were a few disciples with some sword training experience who were able to cut a few of the sticks, but none of the non-swordsmen disciples in the line seemed to be learning from their success. They all just seemed to be preoccupied with the jade Phoenix Hairpin that was securely placed at the top of a podium for everyone to see.
...
"Wow, look how pretty it is."
"It's so red~"
"I'd do anything to get my hands on that."
The girls admired the Phoenix Jade hairpin endlessly.
...
Xiao Fang wasn't the kind of guy to covet the things that other people wanted, nor did he have any interest in a fancy hairpin, but hearing the way the girls described it reminded him of Li Lian. Even the name itself made it sound like it was something crafted specifically for her.
'Dammit, is getting my wife such a coveted present really worth it? But when was the last time I did something nice for her? Would anyone even know which sect I came from?' He thought.
There were at least a dozen different sword sects in this province alone, and there were 3 Major sects, besides the Divine Sword sect, that used a sword as their primary weapon. However, those sects used spirit cultivating swords while the Divine Sword sect used body cultivating swords. Although they are used in different ways, they are very similar in practice.
'Would anyone even know the difference? I must be out of my mind to be considering it,' Xiao Fang thought.
In the middle of that thought, he suddenly felt his lightning spirit attribute acting strangely from within him. It felt like it was trying to active on its own, but Xiao Fang was very easily able to suppress it before anyone could notice.
'Strange. What was that all about?' he wondered.
Xiao Fang didn't immediately notice anything strange, but then he began to feel the Qi in the room begin to climb. A few other girls who were sensitive to Qi like him also took notice, but no one but the Host seemed to know where it was coming from.
The Host looked back at the Phoenix Jade Hairpin on the podium with a slight frown.
'Why is it acting up now of all times.'
The host used one hand to make a sealing hand sign while her other hand was reaching into her spatial pouch to take out a talisman. However, before she could use it, the surrounding Qi began to settle down, then all the Qi unexpectedly returned back into the hairpin.
The host finally sighed in relief.
Meanwhile, Xiao Fang was staring at the hairpin with his blindfold covering his, now, blue eyes.
'Interesting.'
.
.
.
Suddenly, more and more girls were starting to come in. Eventually, the whole room was packed.
It seemed that the Phoenix Jade Hairpin was extremely popular amongst the disciples. Some even spoke about it having special properties, and that it could do miraculous things.
Xiao Fang didn't think that it was anything as good as the other disciples made it out to be, but see that it contained a tremendous amount of Qi inside of it, he could tell that it was anything but ordinary.
Meanwhile, it was finally Bai Fan's turn to do the strength test. She walked up to the stage, picked up the sword, then attempted to cut the bamboo sticks.
Before she went up, she had seen a few people pass the test who were likely the daughters of swordsmen. Based on what she saw, it seemed like going slow and steady was the best way to do it.
With careful movements, she cut the sticks diagonally as straight as she could. Her sword cut the first stick surprisingly smoothly, but it eventually got stuck on the 2nd stick.
"Congratulations. If you are interested in joining the club, please walk to the counter over there to receive your swordsmen club identity token," the host said kindly.
After Bai Fan walked off the stage, Zhao Pan walked up next.
Zhao Pan had her own idea about how to beat the challenge. Based on what she saw, hitting it as hard as she could wasn't as effective as keeping the blade steady.
Zhao Pan went up next, but unlike Bai Fan, she didn't hold back on her swing. She knew how and where she was going to cut it, so she let her body do the rest.
1 stick was cut, but the sword had partially cut the 2nd one as well.
Xiao Fang was impressed. Hearing her attempt, he could tell that she had a natural talent for being a swordsman. If he were her teacher, the only thing he would tell her would be to not confuse steadiness with stiffness, and to focus on the movement of her wrist.
The host told Zhao Pan the same thing she told Bai Fan, so she got off the stage and received her prize.
It was finally Xiao Fang's turn, but he still didn't decide on what to do yet. He walked up the stage then picked up a sword.
...
"Who's that?"
"Why is there a blindman doing the test?"
"Who let him have a turn? He's just wasting our time!"
"Hurry up and swing already!" The girls screamed at him.
...
Keeping a low profile had always been his main objective, but when did he ever achieve it. Thinking back to when he was in the outer court, he was always the most sought after person since he got there. Even now, he became a Phoenix-Class disciple, but still no one asked him about his background even once.
'Was this really one of the 13 Major sects in the country?' He began to wonder.
Coming from a Major sect himself, he thought he knew how they operated, but nothing he did seemed to trigger any of their red flags. Truthfully, if Xiao Fang was to the same thing in the Divine Sword sect, he wouldn't even last a week till his background was investigated.
'They know what I've done, and they know who I've killed, but still they don't come after me.'
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that they never really care about where he came from.
...
"Young man, are you going to swing or..." the beautiful host asked curiously.
"Ah, right. I'll swing. So, all I need to do is cut these 5 sticks and you'll give me that Phoenix Jade Hairpin, right?"
"That's right, but I must warn you, cutting these sticks aren't nearly as simple as it seems. If you swing too hard you might injure yourself," she kindly cautioned him.
"I understand, but there's nothing for me to worry about anymore."
As he spoke, his Qi began to thinly coat his blade as if he was an experienced swordsmen. His Qi made his sword incomparably sharp, then the host's eyes began to widen in shock. She never expected him to be this proficient with the sword.
Even though he was using Divine Sword Qi to sharpen his blade, to everyone else it just looked like ordinary Qi. The only way to know that it wasn't, was if they cultivated the same Cultivation Method as him or used a visual technique like [ Spirit Perception ].
Finally, with a simple swing of his sword, he smoothly cut through the bamboo sticks as if he were cutting butter. If one were to look closely, they would've seen that the bamboo sticks were being cut before his blade could even touch it. This was a sign that he had already mastered the [ Divine Sword Cutting Air ] technique.
The girls were all shocked at first, but then they became envious of him.
...
"No way!"
"Damn it! Does that mean that he gets the hairpin?"
"That's a woman's hairpin. What good is it to a man!?"
"He probably plans to sell it."
"Lets combine our wealth to buy it off of him."
...
Many were in shock by the outcome of his swing because he made it look so easy. However no one was more shocked than the host. She couldn't stop staring at him in disbelief.
She replayed the swing in her head, over and over again, but her conclusion remained the same. His swing, his grip, his style, but most importantly his Qi that coated his blade... she recognized it all.
'He's...'
.
.
.
'... A Divine Swordsman.'