True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 458 - 420 Change 1

Chapter 458: Chapter 420 Change 1

Lin Fei stood up.

"Let’s go. Just consider it a temporary solution. I need some energy stones to experiment with and see if I can achieve the desired effect."

The golden-clad figure nodded slightly and then stood up as well.

The two followed the direction Lin Fei had previously marked towards Li Lang’s location.

Soon, they turned into a small alley off the streets and, after passing through the alley, unexpectedly arrived at the exterior teleportation formation of the city.

A small hemispherical white building housed the paid teleportation formation leading outside the city. Two soldiers dressed in yellow military uniforms guarded the side. Groups of people stepped onto the formation and quickly disappeared in a flash of white light.

A long queue had formed in front of the array.

Lin Fei and the golden-clad figure both spotted Li Lang in the line.

The middle-aged man still wore a look of worry on his face, standing lost in thought in the line, his eyes somewhat blank.

Lin Fei and his companion queued up as well.

"My lord, if the teleportation formation encounters someone without a record, it will automatically sound an alarm. I’m afraid you won’t be able to get through," the golden-clad figure said with a frown.

"I’m merely a projection avatar, so it doesn’t really matter to me. Since that’s the case, you follow him, and I’ll return to the surface world to deal with other matters. We’ll contact each other again after some time," Lin Fei communicated through a message. In his hand, a faint glimmer of golden light emitted a soft glow.

"Here are two seeds; if necessary, plant them for someone in need, to leave a foothold here."

"Understood."

Lin Fei nodded, then turned and left the queue.

He looked around and walked into a corner, preparing to teleport back to the surface world.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from above.

He looked up to see several red beams of light swiftly flash overhead in the skies of Kansas City, heading into the distance and leaving behind trails of red.

"It’s the Undying Phoenix Squadron! Have they returned?"

"This time the legion commander of the Undying Phoenix sacrificed himself. Our grudge with the Holy See has grown significantly."

"That must be the deputy commander of the Undying Phoenix, William. He’s indeed formidable, capable of flying directly in the sky; at least an A-grade powerhouse!"

The voices from hundreds of meters around all reached Lin Fei’s ears.

He watched the red streaks intently, the one at the forefront was a one-eyed woman clad in a dark red, tight-fitting military uniform. Her mouth was tightly pursed, her gaze sharp, as if nothing in the world could disturb her composure—a clear sign of a tough character. The black eyepatch only added to her fierce and wild temperament.

Following her were two adjutants, one tall and one short. However, Lin Fei noticed at a glance that these two were flying only by being carried by her power, both merely C-grade.

"The Undying Phoenix Legion..." Lin Fei murmured contemplatively.

He lowered his head and slowly walked into the dark alley. His entire body dissolved into golden dust, which slowly scattered.

******************

Within the Sword Canon Space, the Extinction Holy Hall

Lin Fei sat high atop the great hall. The grey-white shadow of a bird with a human face perched on his right shoulder, occasionally letting out piercing, mournful cries.

At the center of the great hall below.

A circular, semi-transparent membrane was slowly circulating a clear liquid, the center of which displayed scenes like a television screen—all from the Ghost Estate.

Lin Fei sat on his throne, quietly observing the changes on the screen.

Like a monitoring device, the screen was divided into over a dozen smaller sections, each showing the progress of various individuals.

One of the trainees was seriously injured, lying on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Trialist #4 has failed," Lin Fei stated softly.

No sooner had he spoken than the figure lying on the ground turned into a red light and disappeared from the estate, to be teleported directly outside the entrance gate to Ping City.

The performances of the other trainees and instructors were not bad. To Lin Fei’s mild surprise, Dong Yaofei was actually among the two making the most progress. This indolent aristocrat, with his poor foundations, was now tiredly dodging, very cautiously avoiding one grey-white screaming bird after another.

Lin Fei shook his head slightly.

"Avoiding conflict is not the true purpose of the trial," he said quietly.

"If the objective can be achieved, what does it matter if one avoids battle?"

Suddenly a voice rose from the lower seats. The figure of Ye Yuhua materialized upon the seat.

"My lord, I believe that, whatever the method, as long as it achieves the objective, it should be considered a pass," she declared earnestly.

Lin Fei fell silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "That’s not wrong. However, you can avoid for a while, but it’s impossible to avoid forever."

*******************

Phantom Manor

In the pale manor’s hall.

Flocks of ghastly birds were scattered, occupying various positions—sofas, coffee tables, chandeliers, and floors. They were densely packed, almost everywhere.

At the entrance corridor of the hall.

A figure was silently crouched in the shadows of the corridor, motionless.

Qi Yinglong had been hiding like this for two hours. He dared not make the slightest movement, fearing that the strange creatures with human faces for birds within the hall would detect his presence. He had personally witnessed what happened to Fang Hai, who had first rushed into the manor.

The moment he stepped inside, a group of ashen shadows pounced on him. In an instant, Fang Hai collapsed to the ground and was dragged by the ashen shadows into a corner of the hall.

Only then did Qi Yinglong discern what these ashen shadows actually were.

They were actually little gray-white birds with human faces. Every call they made was a harrowing human scream, sounding exceedingly terrifying.

Initially, Qi Yinglong was too frightened to move, standing outside the corridor motionless.

Fortunately, these face-birds only moved within the manor and not outside. This allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. He had suspected that he had been teleported into some bizarre horror movie.

Unfortunately, before being teleported, the instructor had explained that entering the manor required teaming up in pairs, making encounters with other people impossible. And although he had clearly seen Yuan Yue, the instructor, enter before him, now, there was not a single soul in sight, aside from Fang Hai who had been dragged away earlier. He was truly alone.

He had even spent over an hour circling the manor and found that this place was not at all familiar. Surrounded by nothing but trees and permeated with the briny scent of seawater—an impossible find in the inland Southwest Province—he realized that if he didn’t complete the trial, he probably wouldn’t be able to return. That realization brought him back to the manor.

After the initial terror, he gradually settled down, noting that as long as he didn’t step inside the manor, there would be no danger. So he started closely observing these peculiar and frightening birds from the doorway.

After over an hour of observation, he finally discerned the birds’ patterns and characteristics.

He found that these face-birds were actually blind, unable to see anything. If they made no calls, they would never move. If they did move, they would always make a sound. The key observation that led him to this discovery was a face-bird that, having slowed down its cry, crashed into the hall’s side wall, nearly tumbling down.

Qi Yinglong then realized that these face-birds might be creatures similar to bats, using echolocation to navigate. However, unlike bats that use ultrasonic waves, these creatures relied directly on sound waves.

Armed with this insight, he slowly moved into the corridor.

The trial’s objective was to kill ten ghastly birds or enter the Third Layer or pass through all the room names to reach the final destination, where killing the strongest ghastly bird would grant him the title of Shadow Swordsman. These were the requirements that Xu Ruoruo, the instructor, had clarified before the trial.

"Ten..." Qi Yinglong’s gaze was fixed on a face-bird right in front of the corridor. His right hand gripped the hilt of the standard longsword tightly, his eyes bloodshot.

Hiss...

The longsword revealed a thin gap, a trace of silver light flickered faintly.

***********************

Extinction Holy Hall

A gleam of admiration appeared in Lin Fei’s eyes.

"When the ghastly birds aren’t phased, they’re actually much like ordinary birds—easily killed. But once they phase, they turn into the most terrifying forms. These birds have ancient bloodlines, possessing extremely formidable combat abilities when fighting. For these two students who have only recently been introduced to Actual Combat Sword Technique, a frontal engagement would be suicidal. Only by exploiting the ghastly birds’ weaknesses and defects to kill them in a single strike can they hope to succeed."

He pointed with his hand.

In the hall, the circular screen suddenly split into four sections, then expanded instantly.

Displayed were Qi Yinglong, Xu Ruoruo, Dong Yaofei, and a girl in white, Ning Xiaoyao.

Xu Ruoruo was making the fastest progress, almost reaching the top of the Third Layer. Once at the top of the Third Layer, she would encounter a projection that had half the strength of the ghastly birds’ true form. If she defeated it, she would become an official Shadow Swordsman and receive the talent of Shadow Transformation and a full enhancement of her abilities. Of course, hunting ghastly birds within the manor also presented a chance to gain the Shadow Transformation power.

Next was Dong Yaofei, who, despite his poor skills, managed to avoid confrontation and advance through the First Layer into the Second Layer. After all, the requirements for passing the trial also stated that reaching the Third Layer would be considered a pass.

To step into the Third Layer or kill ten ghastly birds was the basic requirement to pass the trial. As for defeating the strongest ghastly bird projection at the very top, that was the highest standard to earn the title of Shadow Swordsman.

"These three have potential worth cultivating," Ye Yuhua said softly from the side,

"En. From their initial adaptation to now seeking ways to progress, their adaptability is very strong, befitting the elite we’ve carefully selected," Lin Fei nodded.

The two continued to quietly watch the situation of the people in the screen. Soon, in less than an hour, Xu Ruoruo’s figure disappeared from the screen.

She had successfully killed the top projection of the ghastly bird.

Hiss...

After a faint sound.

Xu Ruoruo slowly emerged in the center of the great hall.

"Welcome, the first Shadow Swordsman," Lin Fei said with a smile. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)