Hearing this, Ye Ling reached her hand into her storage bag.
She took out the Sect Master's Token, which was carved with ancient Qinglan sword patterns, and gently pressed it against the light barrier.
With a soft hum, the originally solid green light barrier instantly dissolved and vanished.
When she clearly saw that noble token representing the highest authority of the sect, even the gentle-natured Nalan Yanli felt a massive shock in her heart.
She had thought her master would, at most, bestow a temporary auxiliary token.
She never expected that Leng Zhiwei would directly hand over the actual Sect Master's Token, which held command over the entire Qinglan Sword Sect, to Ye Ling, who had just joined the sect.
At this moment, she understood completely that her master placed unparalleled, high hopes on this newly promoted Tenth True Disciple.
Nalan Yanli suppressed the shock in her heart and advised gently, “I will only accompany you to this point; I cannot go any further with you.”
“Go straight up to the sixth floor and select our sect's sect-guarding secret method.”
“Take your time to choose and comprehend. I will wait for you outside the Library, so there is no need to rush.”
With that, she turned and slowly walked downstairs to wait outside the Library, leaving Ye Ling to head to the higher floors alone.
Ye Ling stepped forward, passing through the dissolving light barrier, and entered the fifth floor of the Library alone.
Compared to the scattered figures on the fourth floor, the fifth floor was extremely spacious and completely quiet, with not even the slightest sound of pages turning.
The cultivation methods and martial arts here were scarce, all neatly displayed on simple, jade-patterned bookshelves. While there were far fewer varieties than on the lower four floors, each book shimmered with a dense, pure spiritual light.
Within the vast fifth floor, only a single figure stood quietly in front of a bookshelf.
It was a young woman dressed in a bright red brocade robe. Her features were exceptionally beautiful and radiant, and her eyes were strikingly vibrant.
Her naturally long, sharp phoenix eyes carried a biting pride wherever she looked. Her aura was cold and powerful, bearing a touch of aloofness that warned strangers to keep their distance.
The red-robed woman, who had been looking down and focusing on searching for martial arts, paused at the sound of light footsteps behind her and suddenly turned around.
When her gaze fell upon the green-clad young girl who had ascended to the fifth floor alone, a look of deep confusion instantly crossed her bright, sharp eyes.
The fifth floor of the Library was a restricted area for Profound-grade high-tier martial arts; only sect elders and True Disciples were qualified to enter.
The young girl before her looked tender and unfamiliar, certainly not one of the well-known elders or True Disciples of the sect. She shouldn't have had the authorization to set foot here at all.
The confusion in the red-robed woman's eyes lingered for only an instant before suddenly vanishing.
She immediately recalled the news that had caused a sensation among the upper echelons of the Qinglan Sword Sect yesterday.
The sect had broken all rules to invest a Houtian Realm girl as the Tenth True Disciple, an absolute genius who had scaled nine thousand steps of the Heavenly Spirit Stairs.
The identity of this young, aloof, and unfamiliar girl before her was now self-evident.
Knowing Ye Ling's identity, the surprise in her heart faded.
Although she acknowledged this newly promoted True Disciple in her heart, she had no intention of deliberately trying to curry favor or make connections.
She simply nodded calmly in greeting, then withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to focus on flipping through the martial arts manuals before her, her expression indifferent.
Seeing this, Ye Ling also nodded politely, her expression calm.
She did not linger, walking straight toward the restrictive light barrier leading to the sixth floor.
With the authority of the Sect Master's Token, the invisible barrier automatically opened a path.
With a slight sway of her body, Ye Ling stepped straight inside, ascending to the most prestigious and secretive sixth floor of the entire Library.
The moment Ye Ling passed through the light barrier and completely vanished from the fifth floor's view, the red-robed woman, who had been quietly reading, suddenly looked up.
She stared at the restrictive light barrier shimmering with faint spiritual light.
A look of deep contemplation flickered in her long, sharp phoenix eyes.
The restriction between the fifth and sixth floors was a top-tier barrier of authority in the sect, passable only by the Peak Masters and the Sect Master.
As a newly promoted True Disciple who had just joined the sect, Ye Ling was actually able to ascend to the sixth floor without any hindrance.
This privilege had already far exceeded the standard for ordinary True Disciples or even elders.
...
After stepping onto the sixth floor, the spiritual energy flowing in the air was far more mellow and condensed than on the lower floors.
The entire floor displayed only a meager twenty-odd cultivation methods and martial arts, sparsely placed on jade platforms.
In the most prominent position at the center of the platforms, an ancient jade scroll floated quietly.
The spiritual force surrounding it was several times denser than that of the other books. Strands of spiritual energy condensed into tiny sword shadows that circled around it, their sharp edges restrained yet awe-inspiring.
With a single glance, Ye Ling was certain that this was the sect-guarding secret method passed down through the generations of the Qinglan Sword Sect, which only the Sect Master was permitted to practice.
She immediately quickened her pace and stepped forward.
Only when she drew near did she realize that this sect-guarding jade scroll was wrapped in layers of a thick green light barrier.
The spiritual light flowed steadily, protected by a specialized restriction. Clearly, only the Sect Master's token could unlock it.
Without hesitation, she raised her hand and took out the Qinglan Sect Master's Token from her palm.
The moment the token appeared, it burst with a gentle green glow that instantly enveloped the entire light barrier.
With a soft trembling hum, the restrictive light barrier wrapping the jade scroll dissolved in response, scattering completely into specks of spiritual light.
Ye Ling reached out to steady the ancient jade scroll. The instant her fingertips touched the pages, strands of subtle, sharp sword qi suddenly darted out, brushing past her fingertips with a slight stinging sensation. Its sword path sharpness was completely natural.
The cover of the jade scroll was simple and elegant, engraved with four bold and majestic ancient seal script characters: Qinglan Sword Canon.
This was the supreme sect-guarding secret method of the Qinglan Sword Sect, passed down through a single lineage of Sect Masters over a thousand years since its founding.
Holding the jade scroll in her hand, Ye Ling focused her mind and flipped through it for a moment, instantly grasping the complete structure of the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》.
This sect-guarding cultivation method was divided into upper and lower volumes, with extremely clear level divisions to suit different cultivation realms of practitioners.
The upper volume was a Yellow-grade peak-tier cultivation method, specifically tailored for Houtian Realm martial artists to cultivate. It would solidify the foundation of the sword path and condense spiritual energy, perfectly matching her current cultivation level.
The lower volume was an extremely precious Profound-grade peak-tier cultivation method, specially designed for the cultivation path of the Xiantian Realm and beyond. With its vast depth, it was the core heritage that allowed the Qinglan Sword Sect to rise to the peak of Qingyun.
Since her realm was still in the Houtian Realm, she didn't need to be greedy; practicing the upper volume was more than enough.
With her mind made up, Ye Ling directly opened the upper volume of the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》.
Sitting quietly on the jade platform of the sixth floor, she sank her mind and silently studied this sword path heritage exclusive to the Sect Master.
The pages shimmered with a faint green light, and a pure, dense sword path charm washed over her, far more exquisite and vast than any cultivation method she had ever encountered in this lifetime.
Ye Ling read with a quiet mind, and soon completely understood the entire cultivation system of the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 upper volume.
The upper volume of the Qinglan Sword Canon was divided into four cultivation realms, progressing from shallow to deep, layer by layer, corresponding to the four levels: Entry Level, Initial Mastery, Mastery, and Great Perfection.
The most astonishing thing was the unique characteristic of this cultivation method.
Everyone in the world knew that releasing spiritual energy externally and condensing swords to slay enemies was the exclusive hallmark of Xiantian Realm cultivators.
Houtian Realm martial artists had shackles on both their physical bodies and spiritual energy, meaning their spiritual energy could only be contained within their meridians and flesh.
There was absolutely no possibility of releasing it externally. This was an eternal, unchanging iron law of cultivation.
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