stonecrandall Chapter 628: The Threshold of Ambition
Chapter 628: The Threshold of Ambition
Ethan walked with measured, powerful strides toward the highly congested border zone that separated the outer peaks from the inner mountain territory. This grand checkpoint was the absolute dividing line of the branch—to the left lay the sprawling training grounds of the blue-dragon outer disciples, while to the right sat the luxurious pavilions of the elite orange-dragon members.
As Ethan’s massive frame approached the heavy steel-reinforced barricades, two stone-faced guards crossed their halberds, their sharp eyes locking onto his deep blue sleeves.
"Halt, disciple," said the guard on the left, his voice echoing with a practiced authority. "You are approaching the restricted inner perimeter. State your business or turn back."
"I have no intention of crossing the threshold," said Ethan, his face an unreadable, calm mask as he looked down at them. "I am here to establish a temporary pavilion stall. According to section four of the sect’s foundational bylaws, any official disciple has the right to lease a trade plot at a primary transit junction, provided they notify the guards on duty and forfeit the equivalent of one hundred sect points per week. Is that notation correct?"
The two guards blinked in surprise, exchanging a bewildered glance. It was an ancient, completely obscure rule that almost no rookie ever utilized.
"Ahem... yes, that is technically correct," said the right guard, lowering his halberd slightly.
Ethan extended his white jade identity plaque across the stone counter. "Then go ahead. Process the deduction."
The officer placed the jade tablet onto a small registry array. A faint flash of sapphire light rippled across the stone, instantly deducting one hundred points from his balance. Because Ethan had cleared the supreme selection trial as the absolute champion, he had been granted a starting purse of five hundred sect points. He now had exactly four hundred left. He had effectively bought himself a five-week window to execute Phase B; there was absolutely no time to waste.
Ethan reclaimed his plaque and stepped to the side of the busy main path. With a fluid, blindingly fast motion, his hand gripped the hilt of his katana, executing a single horizontal flash that cleanly severed a massive slab of bark from a nearby ironwood tree.
Using the tip of his unsheathed blade like a heavy calligraphy brush, Ethan carved three massive, deeply embedded lines of text into the wood, his fierce sword intent leaving the edges looking incredibly aggressive and powerful:
Miraculous Physician / Cultivation Attainment Assistance Guaranteed Results or Tenfold Financial Reimbursement Female Clientele Only
He slammed the massive wooden sign directly into the dirt at the edge of the road, sat down cross-legged beneath the shade of the tree, and closed his amethyst eyes, falling into a deep, silent state of meditation.
It was early morning, the absolute peak traffic hour of the sect. Thousands of blue and orange-dragon disciples began flooding down the mountain paths, rushing toward the Missions Pavilion, the grand lecture halls, or the training arenas. Almost every single cultivator stopped to read the bizarre, ostentatious sign, but the moment their eyes shifted down to Ethan’s deep blue disciple robes, their expressions instantly turned into masks of pure mockery and intense disdain.
"Look at this delusional clown," whispered a nearby blue-dragon disciple, letting out a sharp sneer. "A miraculous physician? If he actually possesses the divine capability to effortlessly breakthrough someone’s cultivation bottleneck, why is his own aura still stagnating at the outer peak level?"
"Exactly," mocked an orange-dragon elite, barely giving Ethan a passing glance. "And if he truly understands the secrets of medicine, what is he doing begging for scraps on a dirt path? The Grand Medical Pavilion is constantly starving for alchemical talent and medical personnel to refine pills for the wounded. He’s just a cheap, opportunistic charlatan trying to scam naive junior sisters."
Nobody showed a single shred of faith. The entire day bled away into the afternoon, and not a single soul approached his stall.
Yet, Ethan didn’t care about their mockery, nor did he feel he was wasting his precious time. While his physical body sat as still as a statue under the tree, his consciousness was currently entirely locked within his vast mental palace, working at maximum capacity alongside Crul.
Inside his soul space, Ethan was savagely dissecting, analyzing, and reconstructing the exact trajectory of the horizontal finger-flick the blind archive elder had demonstrated. He was pushing his mental processors to the absolute absolute limit; he didn’t just want to rely on basic sword intent anymore. He wanted to unlock and unleash true Sword Aura as fast as humanly possible.
To the thousands of mediocre cultivators walking past his sign, achieving Sword Aura was an unachievable, distant dream that required a lifetime of meditation. But to Ethan, it was simply another logical step—another minor ladder rung on his path to total dominance. In this lateral branch of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, nearly every mid-tier elite had already managed to grasp a rudimentary form of sword intent; it was the bare minimum requirement to survive, not the proper standard required to forcefully command the attention of the high elders.
If he wanted to break into the inner sanctums of the core world, he needed a power that would completely shatter their understanding of a rookie’s limitations.
He was playing a dangerous, high-stakes game, and he was acutely aware of the invisible hourglass ticking down in the dark. The one-hundred-year deadline imposed upon him was constantly running, a silent executioner’s blade hanging directly over his head. To make matters worse, the current whereabouts of his family remained completely unknown to him.
He hadn’t forgotten the true, absolute purpose behind his presence in this realm: he needed to fulfill the supreme mission to completely erradicate the Crimson Sect. But he couldn’t do it alone from the shadows. His systematic plan was to forcefully ascend the ranks of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, seize absolute authority within the core sect, and then turn the entire continent-spanning intelligence network of the pavilion toward a single, personal purpose—finding his family and pulling them back into his arms.
To accomplish that, he would tear this mountain apart if he had to.
Ethan slowly opened his eyes as the final rays of twilight vanished, his piercing amethyst gaze staring into the darkening sky with a cold, terrifying conviction. The first day had yielded no clients, but a predator of his caliber possessed an infinite amount of patience.
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.