After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 122 Tianjian City

Inside Tianjian City, Shen Xu was wandering around, searching for Elder Huang and Lu Qingshan.

He had to find Elder Huang because, according to the manual, the Four Directions Sword Selection was organized by sect and required to register in Tianjian City. Without Elder Huang, he would be unable to participate in the selection.

However, he wasn't too worried about this, because Elder Huang and the others would definitely be waiting for him at the registration point. He just needed to find the registration point to find Elder Huang and the others.

Tianjian City was simply too vast, and he was wandering aimlessly. To be honest, he had no idea where he was.

However, since the Four Directions Sword Selection is the most important event in Tianjian City right now, Shen Xu just asked someone and found out where the registration office was located: the center of Tianjian City—Tianjian Tower.

The Heavenly Sword Tower, the tallest building in Heavenly Sword City, was already visible to Shen Xu when he first arrived in the city, so there was no way he couldn't find it.

Legend has it that the Heavenly Sword Tower is a giant wooden tower built to celebrate the founding of the Four Directions Sword Alliance. The tower is nine stories high, and by spending some Qi-Nourishing Pills, one can go up and enjoy a panoramic view of the entire Heavenly Sword City. The square at the foot of the tower is also a place where the people of Heavenly Sword City celebrate major festivals.

It took Shen Xu some time to arrive near the Heavenly Sword Tower. Although it was only nearby, Shen Xu could already feel the intense atmosphere. Almost everyone around him was a young cultivator with a bright and extraordinary demeanor.

Moreover, each of them possessed the cultivation level of the ninth stage of Qi Nourishment, dressed in various colored sect robes, and stood in small groups in the square in front of the Heavenly Sword Tower, enthusiastically discussing the upcoming Four Directions Sword Selection, and waiting for the Four Directions Sword Alliance's elder in charge of the selection to summon them.

However, this also made it easier for him to find Elder Huang and the others, since a small group of only two people was quite rare. So he began to wander through the crowd, searching for the two figures.

"Shen Xu, I knew you'd come here!" Suddenly a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Elder Huang!" Shen Xu turned around and saw Elder Huang standing behind him.

"Elder Huang, it's been a long time!" Shen Xu couldn't help but feel a little emotional upon seeing Elder Huang again.

Elder Huang said with a smile, "A month isn't too long!"

"Indeed! I wonder if I'm too late! I see that some eighth-grade sects have already been called in," Shen Xu asked.

"You are indeed late, but I have already registered your name, so you don't need to worry about not being able to participate in the sword selection!"

Elder Huang handed him a jade tablet made of white jade and said, "This is the jade tablet leading to the Sword Selection Secret Realm. Your information is written inside the jade tablet, so please don't lose it."

After receiving the jade token, Shen Xu was immediately puzzled. "Don't I need to go there in person to register?"

"You should thank Elder Su for that. It was he who sent someone to vouch for you, which is why the presiding elder agreed to put your name on the list," Elder Huang replied.

"Su Jing!" Shen Xu's face immediately darkened.

Elder Huang asked, somewhat puzzled, "Shen Xu, what exactly happened between you and Elder Su? He seems to be acting strangely towards you! He made things difficult for you when you boarded the ship, but then helped you when you registered."

If it's just a simple conflict, I suggest you take the initiative to apologize to Elder Su. Elder Su's status within the Four Directions Sword Alliance is likely beyond our imagination!

"Elder, this matter is far more complicated than you can imagine. It's not something that can be resolved with a simple apology. You and Senior Brother Lu would be better off staying away from me for the time being, or you might easily get into trouble," Shen Xu advised.

Glancing around at the crowd, Shen Xu couldn't help but ask, "Isn't Senior Brother Lu with you?"

"Qingshan has an appointment with someone, and I don't think it's necessary for both of them to wait for you here. Let him go to his appointment first," Elder Huang replied with a sigh.

"I see! Elder, is there anything else you wish to instruct me to do? If not, please forgive me for taking my leave now."

"Shen Xu, don't blame Qingshan. He had no other choice. Here, take this. This book introduces some general information about the Four Directions Sword Selection in previous years. I hope it will be helpful to you." Elder Huang took out a thin yellow book and handed it to Shen Xu.

After taking the book, Shen Xu smiled and said, "Elder, please rest assured that I will bear the consequences of the trouble I caused myself. I will not implicate Senior Brother Lu or the Green Bamboo Sword Sect."

"Shen Xu, that's not what I meant," Elder Huang quickly explained.

"Elder, I'm not saying this out of anger. Given Su Jing's despicable character, I estimate that his goal is to make you break ties with me. The closer you get to me, the more dangerous it will be for you. Therefore, you must do your best to sever ties with me."

"Remember my words, do things according to Su Jing's wishes, and do not go against him, otherwise it will be a disaster for the Qingzhu Sword Sect!" After Shen Xu finished speaking, he turned and left the Heavenly Sword Tower.

After Shen Xu left, Elder Huang gazed in the direction Shen Xu had gone and sighed deeply, appearing as if he had aged several years in an instant.

Shen Xu could actually guess why Su Jing would help him. Since Su Jing wanted him to bow down, he needed to show his strength and background, and the Sword Selection was a good opportunity.

Su Jing probably wanted to wait until he was defeated by the geniuses from all sides before extending a helping hand to him, and then make him kneel down to accept it. But if he couldn't participate in the sword selection, he would have no reason to stay in Heavenly Sword City, and all of Su Jing's plans would come to nothing.

Shen Xu casually found a seat in a teahouse near the Heavenly Sword Tower and began to slowly flip through the book Elder Huang had given him.

According to the book, the rules and locations of the Four Directions Sword Selection are different each time, but each time a fully developed secret realm is chosen and everyone is put in it to raise Gu. The top 1,000 people are the final winners, and each selection only recruits 1,000 disciples without exception!

The previous competition attracted over 60,000 participants, but Shen Xu's participation in this year's Four Directions Sword Selection is unprecedented in scale. As far as he knows, the number of participants this time is not just 50,000 or 60,000 as he had previously guessed, but a full 80,000.

Eighty thousand people are vying for one thousand spots. After deducting the spots reserved for the top candidates, it's truly a one-in-a-hundred chance.

But don't forget that the participants in the Four Directions Sword Selection are all at least at the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, and are all geniuses who have mastered at least one superior human-level martial art.

It can be said that the Four Directions Sword Selection is to select the most talented teenagers from among many geniuses and let them join the core area of ​​the Four Directions Sword Alliance for training.

Shen Xu originally thought that those fifth-grade sects would keep the real geniuses within the sect like the Green Bamboo Sword Sect, but after learning about them on the Flying Cloud Boat, he realized that the Four Directions Sword Alliance and the five fifth-grade sects were already intertwined.

The Four Directions Sword Alliance is not a true sect, but rather a cultivator's school with excellent teaching conditions and facilities.

Each major sect sends its most talented disciples to study there. After completing their studies, the disciples return to their sects to assume important positions. However, only the most accomplished disciples can choose to remain within Tianjian Mountain, becoming representatives of their respective sects within the Four Directions Sword Alliance, and thus becoming true members of the fourth-grade sect, the Four Directions Sword Alliance.