As it turned out, Li Chenyuan had developed a golden core at that exact same moment while bathing in the hot springs on the other side of Li Hua mountain. It had caused quite a commotion, terrifying a good dozen disciples who were hanging out there as the water around him began to bubble and evaporate!
Their Sword Ceremony was set for three days after their Core Formation. In Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits, it took one's body a few days to recover from Core Formation, seeing as it was practically a melting down and rebuilding of one's meridians.
When the day came, everyone gathered around the Sword Lake. All at the sect were welcome to watch, including the staff, as a Sword Ceremony was an extremely important event that all disciples looked forward to achieving. Once one reached Golden Core status and gained their personal sword, they were practically guaranteed to become a famous immortal written into history books as a hero. Whether or not their story took up one paragraph or a full book would remain to be seen, but at the very least, their name would be remembered!
What's more, it was always a huge scramble to see what kind of sword was received.
Seeing as each sword was said to be carefully crafted by that legendary blacksmith spirit at the bottom of the lake, each and every one was unique, crafted with the utmost precision, care, and beauty.
Some sword were aquamarine, crafted from metals no one could identify, with sivler handles shaped like ocean waves.
Other sword glowed bright red in the sun, infused with rare poisons that never ran dry.
Some swords were the showiest weapons you could picture, gilded gold at the tips and inlaid with so many jewels that they were blinding to look at.
Whatever sword was received, it would surely be extravagant! Senior Blacksmith always had a good eye for excellent aesthetics!
So, at dawn on a cool autumn morning, a hundred people gathered all around the Sword Lake.
Disciples shivered and chattered in a ring.
"When is it going to start?" Someone whined. It was Pan Fa, holding his goosebump-ridden arms tight around himself. "I'm cold...We've been waiting so long..."
"Suck it up," Someone else snapped, rolling their eyes. Lei Ruolan stood near him, her arms similarly crossed. However, they weren't crossed because she was cold--no, her fingers dug into her own biceps bruisingly, her expression filled with resentment. How was it that these two idiots had managed to achieve golden cores before her? At the same time, no less? What was this, some sort of romantic drama? Go ahead and kiss already, if you're so perfect for each other, pah!
"Don't be so jealous," Fu Jia teased, elbowing her shimei coyly. "You'll reach Core Formation in no time."
Lei Ruolan's face reddened, and she looked away. "..."
At last, Qiu Yunru and Li Chenyuan appeared. They had been dressed in deep blue ceremonial robes with a golden trim, and were led out to the lake by He Yongliang, who was wearing similar robes.
"Qiu-shixiong looks so cool," Pan Fa sighed.
"Go and marry him, then!" Lei Ruolan snapped.
"Quite!" Fang Hai called out, frowning. These kids, so loud at an important ceremony! Even after being at the sect for two years, they had no manners!
At the lake's edge, He Yongliang raised his hands and gave a courtesy. He called out the customary words of the ceremony then, to summon the swords made by that legendary blacksmith's hand:
"Blood no longer spills like wine/ I bend my head and think of home/ Will the blacksmith craft this one a new weapon/ For when the battle begins again?"
A hush fell over the watching crowd.
Qiu Yunru shivered. The air suddenly seemed as cold as though it were winter.
Also, these ceremonial robes were...really uncomfortable!
From within, the Sword Lake began to glow. At first, it was a faint light. Then, as though swimming to the surface, that bright blue light grew and expanded, filling the lake's heart and pulsating faintly.
He Yongliang stepped aside, motioning for Li Chenyuan to come forward.
Usually, Sword Ceremonies only involved one disciple. After all, how rare would it be for two disciples to reach Core Formation at such a similar time that they could have a ceremony together?
However, this time, it had actually happened!
The protocol for this rare situation was for whoever had reached Core Formation earlier to receive their sword first. Seeing as they had reached it at nearly the same time, Qiu Yunru had insisted that his shidi go first. As he was prone to, Li Chenyuan grew annoyed and argued back.
"Aren't you my senior? Then you should get your sword first!"
"All right, that's enough," He Yongliang had sighed, supporting his temple with one hand. "At what point in the sky was the sun when you both reached Core Formation?"
From there, they had found out that Li Chenyuan had actually received his core just a little before Qiu Yunru, and so it was settled: Li Chenyuan would receive his sword first.
Qiu Yunru was secretly very happy with this situation. When giving a school presentation, who wants to go first in front of the class? This was much more important--it was better to go second, in case the first person made mistakes he could learn from!
Li Chenyuan knelt down by the glowing lake and bowed his head. After bowing three times with his head touching the water, he sat there on his knees and dipped his hand into the lake, waiting.