Chapter 497 - Sword Power.

Yang Dao was served a glass of water by Athena while the boy coughed from choking. After he had calmed down he began to eat the leftover food as well. Daniel asked, "Dao, how can you eat food with so much excitement? It is not as of you will not get food tomorrow, right?" 

The dao child finished the bit in his mouth and said, "When I was at home, I mean my real home, I would hear stories from the staff at home about how my grandmother used to distribute food to those in need. She still does it. The world is full of poor and weak, so the rich and strong should help them. 

One day she was eating food at the table, and I asked her, why did she eat it like this? You know what she said?" 

He smiled while gazing in the void, aimlessly. Daina asked, "What did your grandmother say?" 

"She said, who knows when we wake up tomorrow, we might have to stand on the side of the road, begging for one morsel to sate the beast inside us? Cherish every grain that you get to eat because there are a lot of people who are ready to kill for it. A human being cannot last without food, and when the beast of hunger comes to hunt, not only does it eat away your strength, but also sanity." replied Yang Dao. 

The people were all smart and they understood what he meant. Yang Dao continued, "In a nutshell, even if you are strong, do not be over-confident, if you are rich and have more than you need, help those who do not. And disasters can occur to anyone, so be grateful for every peaceful day you get." 

The atmosphere turned silent, a gentle breeze brushed against the body of the children sitting on tender grass. Yang Dao still ate the roll in his hand while the other four looked at his back in a daze. His words just opened a new way of thinking to them. 

...

While the five were chatting and comprehensive things, the examination continued. Sometimes the disciples got out safely, while sometimes they came out with injuries. However, the morale did not lower down, those who went inside the array tried their best and as the assessment progressed, the teams understood the importance of teamwork. 

The injuries became lesser, and the quality improved. True disciples were also the same. They all improved together at a frightening pace. On the viewing pedestal, Elder Jing Shui said, "This time with hit a jackpot." 

Elder Chime nodded and said, "That is true. I wonder how the prime disciples will perform." 

Elder Jing Shui looked in the direction where the five children sat on the grass. She said, "I have high expectations for them. Let us see, how they will perform."

The rest of the people nodded. 

...

Time passed and it was already evening when Yang Dao and the others were told to go over and take the test. Athena was first, followed by Trent, Daniel, and Daina. Yang Dao was told to take the test in the end. 

Jing Shui had announced, that those who were done with the assessment can go over and complete the third segment. However, none of the disciples moved. They all wished to see how the prime disciples will compete. 

Athena entered the array, it took her half an hour to deal with hundred demons and she was slightly tired as well. Trent took twenty minutes and took over a few scratch marks and bruises. Daniel was the third and displaying his amazing spear prowess, the boy too just ten breaths less than Trent. 

Daina was the second last and her speed in using her martial skills was no shabbier than the boys in front of her. This came in as a shock but she was even a couple of minutes faster than the rest. Finally, it was Yang Dao's turn. He was thinking about how to deal with demons. 

When he looked at his friends he smiled and asked, "Okay, see you in a bit." 

He unsheathed his sword before entering the array. Everyone in the sect was paying attention to his actions. This boy today had made a lot of waves, they wanted to see if he can do it again. At the moment, he took a step inside the array, the whole sovereign sect came to a freeze. 

...

Yang Dao looked at the sword in his hand and said, "Plume, be patient." his voice was very low, it was as if he was talking to the blade, the thing next shocked everyone. The blade trembled and let out a soft shrill cry. 

Yang Dao smiled and raised his head to see the incoming demon. The demon was twice taller than him. It had the torso of a human, but the head and legs belonged to a goat. There was an extra eye in the center of the forehead. 

The boy did not waste any time and he began to clash, and the demons began spawning around him. However, was it enough? The sword in his hand was as if it had a mind of its own, or to say, it had become a part of Yang Dao's arm, every slash was a critical hit and the demons kept falling. 

The boy dodged coming from the back by taking half a step to the side and with a graceful twirl and swing his right hand had slashed off the demon that spawned behind him. 

...

The people outside were shocked, they did not expect the boy to have such high attainments in the way of the sword. 

Trent said, "No wonder he did not want to use his sword against us." 

The other three nodded. They all had shining eyes and wanted to catch up to the young boy in front of them. They were not the only ones driven to the high spirits by him, but every disciple in the sect was wishing to catch up with Yang Dao. 

Not only that some of them quit watching the telecast and entered seclusion. This was the impact Yang Dao created by his second action. This boy was not only looking to inspire everyone but also to gain popularity, he had been aware of Yue Jiren was waiting in the shadows to kill him off, thus this popularity was his mark and shield at the time. 

...

Jing Shui gazed at the sword and her eyes opened wide, she mumbled, "Is this for real?" her voice was so low that none of the people other than Elder Chime could hear it. His gaze was locked at the sword as well, he let out a sigh and nodded to Jing Shui. 

This confirmed something both of them were speculating and they smile with excitement and joy.

...

Yue Ming was also watching all this but his eyes were spewing fire, and if gazing could kill someone then Yang Dao would have been died over a thousand times by now. He hated the fact that the boy was stronger than him, which was, even more, this boy was gaining attention and popularity. He was the disciple of the sect master, and now all this. 

Yue Ming was not stupid, he was aware that his plans were being foiled. The more goodwill Yang Dao incurred the more the clan elders will support him. However, his father had told him that the boy is an outsider and will not be allowed to take the position of the patriarch. 

A lot of people thought that Yue Jiren was looking forward to making himself the patriarch of the family but he was actually trying to place his son in the position. His aim was something bigger. Yue Jiren did not have a small ambition, he did not want to be tied down to a clan, as inhumane as he was, he did not wish to take care of all this bullshit called brotherhood and family. 

The reason why he was such a twisted character, nobody knew, but he loved his son a lot. So, before he set off for his big dream, he decided to settle his son in a position of power. 

...

Unaware of the emotions garnering towards him, Yang Dao was dancing inside the array and after ten minutes only, he had finished taking down a hundred demons. He sighed and said, "Plume, you are a good girl." 

The sword trembled as it enjoyed the compliment passed down by her master. Yang Dao treated the sword as a living entity and this sword had gained some sentience. Yes, people say that a spirit will manifest in thousands of years and it will be extremely faint. 

Might be true in ordinary weapons but this sword was a Dao Armament. If Yang Dao released the true power of the sword one day, it will make the planets vaporize as if they were just a speck of dust. Make no mistake, this is only the power of his sword. 

The vague power displayed by Yang Dao was enough to make the people be struck in a daze. They did not expect the boy to have such high skills and this whole assessment became a Yang Dao show