This Profound Grade, Low Quality sword puzzle has already been solved, but the person who solved it was not Gary Reed. That leaves only one possibility: someone else solved it beforehand. The sword puzzle merely appeared unchanged on the surface, waiting for Gary Reed's consciousness to probe it, at which point it would immediately shatter.

Who could it be?

He looked sharply at the disciples seated below and loudly announced, “The sword puzzle has been solved.”

“Wow!”

Hundreds of disciples erupted in cheers, their faces showing expressions of relief. Now that the sword puzzle had been solved, they no longer had to endure the scorn of others.

Henry Clark smiled and waved his hand, signaling for silence, then suddenly said, “But the one who solved the sword puzzle was not Gary Reed. Since it wasn’t him, then it must have been someone among you present here. You are a role model for your fellow disciples—please stand up and accept everyone’s applause!”

His voice could not conceal his excitement, nor his emotional tone.

The sword puzzle that had stumped the Sword Lecture Hall for three sessions had finally been solved—a huge relief and a cause for celebration.

Hearing the elder’s words, Gary Reed, still standing on the podium, felt a pang of sourness and discomfort. He bit his lip and looked up, wanting to see who had managed to solve the sword puzzle first and snatch away the glory that should have been his.

However, after a long while, everyone looked at each other, but no one stood up to claim this rare honor.

Henry Clark raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “Are we playing mysterious now?”

At this, the disciples all shared a knowing laugh.

But after the laughter faded, still no one came forward.

Henry Clark let out a “hmm” and suddenly asked, “Samuel Price, was it you?”

Samuel Price quickly stood up, shaking his head with a wry smile: if it had been him, why would he have been competing with Gary Reed earlier to solve it?

“James Bolton, was it you?”

James Bolton scratched his head and said awkwardly, “I wish it was…”

Matters of inheritance like this cannot be falsely claimed—the consequences of being exposed are severe. Anyone with ill intent would have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the Sword Hall.

Henry Clark called out five or six more names in a row, all top inner disciples of the new generation, but none admitted to it—because it simply wasn’t any of them.

At this point, everyone was dumbfounded.

Even Henry Clark was at a loss: the person who solved the sword puzzle had experienced a stroke of fortune—a tremendous opportunity. Not only could it greatly improve their cultivation, but it would also bring them fame and generous rewards from the Sword Hall. By all rights, they should be eager to claim credit, so why was no one stepping forward?

Could it be that the person who solved the sword puzzle wasn’t among them, but someone else?

He immediately thought of another possibility: perhaps the sword puzzle had been solved by another outstanding disciple—

The Zhongnan Sword Hall had a thousand-year legacy and deep foundations. Unfortunately, a great calamity a hundred years ago had severely weakened it, resulting in a generational gap, so most of the current disciples belonged to the new generation.

Still, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. After surviving the disaster and enduring internal and external difficulties, the Zhongnan Sword Hall managed to pull through. They even discovered some promising talents to cultivate as successors.

The two great true disciples were prime examples. In addition, there were twenty-three members of the Sword Hall Guard, all of whom had reached the Qi Path realm or higher.

Because these disciples had higher cultivation, they did not participate in the Sword Lecture Hall.

However, even if they didn’t attend, it was possible that, unable to stand by and watch, they might have secretly solved the sword puzzle. After all, among the Guard and true disciples, there was a prevailing sentiment that “it is a disgrace” for the Sword Lecture Hall to have failed to solve a Profound Grade, Low Quality sword puzzle for three sessions.

After a brief consideration, Henry Clark told the disciples to quiet down and went out himself to question the disciple who had been on duty guarding the sword puzzle the previous night.

That disciple was named “Adam Bennett”, a member of the Sword Hall Guard.

When asked by the elder, Adam Bennett looked equally puzzled, saying that while he was on duty, many disciples had come by lamplight to observe the sword puzzle, but whether anyone had solved it, he did not know.

As the guard, Adam Bennett’s main task was to prevent the sword puzzle from being stolen; he was not otherwise involved and mostly just sat to the side, resting with his eyes closed. Solving the sword puzzle was a free activity—how could he pay attention to what the new generation disciples were doing as they came to observe?

Henry Clark then asked if any true disciples or members of the Sword Hall Guard had been present.

Adam Bennett quickly replied, “No.”

According to the rules, anyone not supposed to attend the Sword Lecture Hall who sneaked in would be in violation and face severe punishment.

If it had really happened, the truth would come out—such things can’t be hidden.

Henry Clark believed Adam Bennett would not lie, and also felt that the true disciples and Guard members would not dare to recklessly solve the sword puzzle. Therefore, the person who solved it should be one of the disciples attending the lecture.

So, does that mean there’s a low-key genius among the disciples?

Not impossible.

A trace of amusement flashed in Henry Clark’s eyes: whether or not that’s the case, why not test it out?

He decided to bring out a new sword puzzle as bait—a Profound Grade, Medium Quality sword puzzle.

Chapter Six: The New Sword Puzzle