Ye Qiu slashed out with his sword. Elder Snake’s brows furrowed.
“This is not Golden Snake Swordsmanship.”
Ye Qiu quickly sheathed the sword and stood motionless. That strike seemed to carry no power whatsoever.
Elder Snake walked over to Ye Qiu’s side and comforted him. “Young Master Ye, do not be discouraged.”
“I told you earlier that Space-Time Sword Dao is very difficult to learn. This elder spent over a thousand years and only mastered eighteen forms.”
“However, with your talent, you should only need a few hundred years to reach this elder’s achievement…”
Boom!
Elder Snake had not finished speaking when a sudden rumble sounded. Looking ahead, they saw that the small tree, originally as thick as a water cup, had in an instant transformed into a towering tree as thick as a millstone.
This scene nearly made everyone’s jaws drop.
“One sword causes a hundred years to pass! Changsheng, what splendid swordsmanship!” the little white fox exclaimed in amazement.
One sword causes a hundred years to pass?
Elder Snake heard these words and felt his face burning hot. Thinking of how he had just comforted Ye Qiu, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Far too embarrassing.
“Master, the technique you just used was not Golden Snake Swordsmanship, was it?” Elder Monkey asked.
Elder Ox rolled his eyes. “Does that even need asking? Master’s swordsmanship is far superior to Golden Snake Swordsmanship.”
“Elder Ox is correct. The swordsmanship Young Master Ye displayed is a hundred times more powerful than my Golden Snake Swordsmanship.” Elder Snake asked, “Young Master Ye, what swordsmanship is this?”
Ye Qiu replied, “The Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords!”
“What? Young Master Ye is actually using the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords!” Elder Snake was greatly shocked.
Ye Qiu glanced around and noticed that, apart from Elder Snake’s face full of shock, the other elders showed no unusual expressions.
“Elder Snake, you know of the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Of course I do,” Elder Snake said. “Our snake clan, from ancient times to the present, has always cultivated sword dao. Golden Snake Swordsmanship was created by my ancestor.”
“When my ancestor was young, he somehow heard of a powerful swordsmanship called the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords, which could invert yin and yang and twist space-time. Thus inspired, he created Golden Snake Swordsmanship.”
“Young Master Ye, may I ask where you learned the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords?”
Ye Qiu replied, “I acquired the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords by chance coincidence.”
“Young Master Ye’s fortune is truly enviable!” Elder Snake sighed with emotion. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. “Since Young Master Ye has already mastered the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords, there is no need to cultivate Golden Snake Swordsmanship. Your swordsmanship far surpasses mine. Young Master Ye, I have an unreasonable request. I hope you will grant it.”
Thud.
With that, Elder Snake knelt before Ye Qiu.
Good grief, again?
Ye Qiu’s eyelid twitched. “Elder Snake, do you wish to learn the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords?”
“I dare not,” Elder Snake said. “The Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords are an unparalleled divine technique. I dare not presume to ask Young Master Ye to teach it to me. I wish to acknowledge you as my master, hoping that in the future, when you have time, you might offer some guidance on my swordsmanship. That would satisfy me completely.”
Ye Qiu replied, “Elder Snake, you are an elder of the demon race. There is no need to acknowledge me as master. Please rise.”
“No, I beg Young Master Ye to accept me as your disciple.” Elder Snake’s face was full of sincerity.
Ye Qiu said, “Elder Snake, to my shame, I have only mastered the first sword of the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords even now.”
“If you wish to learn it, I can teach it to you right away.”
“Really?” Elder Snake was overjoyed. Then his expression turned solemn. “Please accept me as your disciple, Young Master Ye.”
“This…” As Ye Qiu hesitated, another thud sounded. Someone else knelt before him.
Elder Horse knelt in front of Ye Qiu and said, “Young Master Ye, I wish to learn One Step to Heaven.”
“Please accept me as your disciple.”
Without waiting for Ye Qiu’s response, Elder Horse began kowtowing loudly.
“Old Ox, what are you joining in for? Get out of my way.” Seeing Elder Horse’s actions, Elder Snake cursed in anger.
(Note: The original text appears to have a minor inconsistency here, referring to Elder Horse as “Old Ox” in this line, but contextually it should be Elder Horse. I have translated as per the intent.)
Elder Horse replied, “You can acknowledge Young Master Ye as master. Why can I not? I tell you, whether Young Master Ye accepts me or not, I have decided he is my master.”
Elder Snake also began kowtowing to Ye Qiu, saying as he did so, “Master above, please receive this disciple’s obeisance.”
Ye Qiu thought to himself, the little white fox had you teach me unique skills, yet in the end, you acknowledge me as master and have me teach you divine abilities. What is this situation?
Ye Qiu looked at the little white fox and asked, “What should I do?”
The little white fox smiled. “What else can you do? You have already accepted Elder Monkey and the others. You cannot refuse Elder Snake and Elder Horse. That would not make sense!”
Ye Qiu had no choice but to say, “Both elders, please rise. I have decided to accept you.”
“Thank you, Master.” Elder Snake and Elder Horse kowtowed three more times to Ye Qiu before standing up.
“Elder Snake, I shall now impart the first form of the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords to you.” Ye Qiu then, in front of all the elders, explained the cultivation method to Elder Snake and personally demonstrated it once.
Seeing that Ye Qiu could make a hundred years pass with one sword, the other elders also began to stir with interest.
“Elder Snake, you try it.”
Ye Qiu handed the long sword to Elder Snake.
Elder Snake immediately practised. However, after practising for quite a while, he still had not mastered it.
Elder Snake felt somewhat embarrassed. “This disciple is dull-witted. I hope Master will forgive me.”
Before Ye Qiu could speak, Elder Monkey laughed. “Old Snake, your talent is lacking!”
“You have the nerve to mock me? If you are capable, try it yourself.” Elder Snake threw the long sword directly to Elder Monkey.
When Ye Qiu had earlier imparted the cultivation method for the first form of the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords to Elder Snake, he had not avoided the others. All the elders present had heard it clearly and memorised the method.
“Watch me.” Elder Monkey caught the long sword, practised according to the method for a while, then scratched his head sheepishly. “I did not master it.”
Ye Qiu said, “Old Monkey, you do not understand sword dao. It is normal to fail to grasp the essentials on your first attempt.”
“Master, let me try.” Elder Ox snatched the long sword from Elder Monkey and began practising.
Elder Ox also failed to master it.
This was within Ye Qiu’s expectations. Although Elder Ox had broken through to the Saint realm, his talent was truly lacking.
“Master, I shall try too.” Elder Rooster practised for a while but still did not master it.
Following that, Elder Dog, Elder Sheep, Elder Rabbit, Elder Tiger, and even Elder Bear all practised once. Still, none succeeded.
Ye Qiu was greatly surprised.
Although the first form of the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords had some difficulty, it should not have stumped super experts like Elder Bear.
He also noticed that every elder could execute the sword moves, but the moves contained no space-time power, let alone causing a hundred years to pass.
They had only the sword forms, without the sword’s majesty.
Not only were the elders puzzled, but Ye Qiu himself could not figure it out after much thought.
“Why is it that among the ten great elders, not one can master the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords?”
“Is their talent too poor? Or is it that the Nine Heavenly Emperor Swords are exclusive to me?”
“Could this be the protagonist’s halo?”
