Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Understanding the Sword Heart (Part Two) (Please Subscribe)
Shi Xiaole couldn’t remember how long he had been contemplating. In the end, he could no longer hear the sound of the waves, had lost track of time and even forgot about himself, driven by a primal instinct from within.
A huge wave rolled in from the distance. Shi Xiaole grasped his sword, drew it, and then returned it to its sheath, all in one breath. But he distinctly felt a flash of light faster than his movements, spreading throughout his body.
This was the connection between his mind and intent.
Crack.
A crack appeared before his eyes, slowly expanding, and finally, a barrier crumbled. Shi Xiaole saw an incredibly dazzling light: his true self.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Endless Sword Qi burst forth from his body, piercing the nearby sea breeze. At this moment, Shi Xiaole seemed to have transformed into a freshly forged, peerless sword, radiating unmatched sharpness.
His mind, intent, and physical body, along with the sword in front of him, formed a productive reflex arc. The Sword Heart Realm began to ascend uncontrollably.
Ninety-eight percent.
Ninety-nine percent.
Ninety-nine point five percent.
Ninety-nine point nine percent.
Just a hair’s breadth away, Shi Xiaole could completely comprehend the Sword Heart. But just at this moment, the advancement of the Sword Heart stopped abruptly.
To fully comprehend the Sword Heart is immensely difficult. Talent, perseverance, foundation, and Fortunate Fate are all indispensable. Even the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis only managed to barely achieve it at the age of thirty-two.
With the enlightenment of the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis for guidance, Shi Xiaole significantly quickened his pace. But when he came to the crux of the matter, he was still one step short.
It was not that his talent, perseverance, or foundation was lacking. Shi Xiaole felt that what he was truly missing was a stroke of luck.
People are born into the world, and destiny truly exists.
Those with good fortune often find success through half the effort, while those without it face immense difficulties, needing ten times the effort and willpower to possibly succeed.
Shi Xiaole didn’t know what his destiny would be. All he knew was that he seemed to have comprehended the Sword Heart too quickly, leading to a suppression from the cosmos, forbidding his breakthrough.
With a flash, he appeared before the Reflection Wall.
"Master Shi, hello."
Maple leaves surrounded the Reflection Wall. As it was autumn, a servant would come to clean the area every day. Seeing Shi Xiaole, the servant greeted him.
"Uncle, could you help me and activate the first-level test on the Reflection Wall?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
The servant stopped in his tracks, not surprised at Shi Xiaole wanting to undertake the first level test, but at the eagerness displayed in his eyes.
Inside the Tidal Waves Mansion’s hall.
"Wind and Thunder Sword Marquis, may I ask the reason for your visit?"
The Tidal Waves Sword Marquis was not fond of entertaining outsiders, but the visitor was, after all, a Sword Marquis next in rank to him, deserving of the necessary respect.
Wind and Thunder Sword Marquis let out a faint smile, put down his teacup and said, "Brother Lan, I have come for no other reason than to exchange views on our swordsmanship understanding."
Once he had finished speaking, Sun Zhongwei’s whole body erupted with fervent fighting intent. His eyes flashed with two intersecting bolts of electricity, piercingly intense.
An invisible gust of wind arose, making Tao Xingyu, Lan Xiaodie, and Sun Zhungwei’s two disciples struggle to breathe.
Blue Tidal spoke each word distinctly, "You should know, I do not accept challenges lightly. Once we begin, it will inevitably be a matter of life and death."
Blue Tidal’s views were rather extreme. He believed that an ordinary skirmish could not bring out each other’s all, so every time he engaged in combat, it was always a fight to the death.
Prior to this, twenty-three top swordsmen have challenged him, all meeting their end under his sword.
"Of course, I understand."
The Wind and Thunder Sword Marquis, Sun Zhongwei, remained calm.
To make it into the list of top experts in the Great Cold State, one’s cultivation had to be at the peak of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, their internal cultivation to reach the high-grade second-tier, and at least one of their intents had to be fully realised.
Those in the top ten even had two intents fully realised. This time, Sun Zhongwei seemed confident, and thus upon hearing Blue Tidal’s words, he didn’t hesitate.
Sssss...
Their eyes met, and two completely different Sword Qi collided in the void, creating sparks. The Sword Qi rippled outward and enveloped the other four youngsters, giving them a terrible feeling as if they were being shredded by countless swords.
"Tidal Wave Cliff, fight!"
With a whooshing sound, two figures leapt into the air.
"Father."
Lan Xiaodie’s complexion changed and she immediately followed along with Tao Xingyu.
"Master will surely win this time."
Sun Zhongwei’s two disciples also followed closely behind.
Tidal Wave Cliff.
Two figures stood fifty feet apart. The distant sounds of the waves came continuously, one wave after another. Yet, when Lan Xiaodie and the others arrived, it seemed incredibly quiet.
It was as if the space-time where the two of them stood was far removed from the world’s hustle and bustle.
"Brother Lan, receive my move, Wind and Thunder Together."
Without any unnecessary probing, Sun Zhongwei made his move, bringing his fingers together to execute one of the secret techniques found in the Wind and Thunder Swordsmanship.
Two intertwined Sword Qi’s, one blue and one purple, rushed out, spiralling like a DNA helix. Initially, their momentum was not great, but as the Sword Qi enveloped Blue Tidal, it suddenly burst into a horrifying sound of wind and thunder that was deafening.
This was due to the Sword Qi moving at an extremely fast speed, overwhelming the senses.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Blue Tidal’s blue robe fluttered. A rush of water gurgled suddenly from behind him, creating an interesting contrast with the distant sea waves.
Crash!
Two streams of Sword Qi collided without any pretence, stirring up countless waves, much like the foam spurred by the tides. Amidst them, bubbles of green and purple were scattered. If a leave were swept up, it would instantly be ground to dust.
"Wind Howls, Thunder Furious!"
Right after the initial move, Sun Zhongwei unsheathed his treasured Wind and Thunder Sword, the bicoloured Sword Qi spread within a thirty feet radius. The empty space seemed like swiss cheese, rapidly filled with holes.
"Full mastery of Wind and Thunder Intents!"
Tao Xingyu was horrified.
Understanding the realms of wind and thunder were notoriously difficult, but once mastered, their power would exceed most other realms.
The most terrifying thing was, the Wind and Thunder Intents in Sun Zhongwei’s sword were not crudely mashed together. They were exquisitely blended together after innumerable trials.
Six years ago, Tao Xingyu witnessed his master kill a swordsman from the Devil Path with full force; the power of that attack was at best comparable to that of Sun Zhongwei’s current attack.
The duel had only just begun, and it was clear that Sun Zhongwei was not yet using his full strength. That is to say, if his master had not made significant progress over the years...
The sound of the waves became louder, carrying with it a potent Sword Qi that revolved around Blue Tidal. With a flick of his finger, a sea of Sword Qi surged upwards. However, not long after, the wave-like Sword Qi was brutally shattered and the Wind and Thunder Sword Qi descended mercilessly like divine punishment.
Blue Tidal reached out to grab the Tidal Waves Sword from afar, wielding it with a torrential force. In a flash, the originally fluctuating wave-like Sword Qi surged and ebbed, and spectators even saw a scene of dragons and tigers merging.
The initially domineering Wind and Thunder Sword Qi dissipated instantly, raining down onto the platform, creating deep pits. The shaking caused rocks on the cliff to tumble, raising clouds of dust.
"This should be the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis’s famous technique ’Endless Tidal Waves’. It is indeed powerful. Unfortunately, he used up his killing moves. How can he match up to my master? It would be wise to admit defeat."
One of Sun Zhongwei’s young disciples sneered.
He acknowledged Blue Tidal’s strength, but had to see who he was competing against. That sword strike was merely an exhibition of seventy percent of his master’s power. Otherwise, Blue Tidal wouldn’t have even had the chance to use his technique.
As for how much power Blue Tidal was using, he was likely holding something back, but definitely not much.
Who in the Martial World didn’t know that Blue Tidal only specialized in tidal intent, allowing him to progress much faster in the early stages. However, the advantage wasn’t reliable because once someone mastered two complete intents, they would have the skill to overpower him.
"What are you talking about?"
Lan Xiaodie was displeased and glared at the young man with yellow face.
"I’m just stating the facts. The title of the first swordsman under the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis will change hands today. Let’s wait and see."
A smirk the young man with yellow face.
"Blue Tidal, you indeed are the opponent I respect the most in my lifetime. However, this time, you should concede defeat, I don’t want to go to the extremes and injure or even kill you unintentionally."
Sun Zhongwei said calmly.
"Blue Tidal never admits defeat."
Blue Tidal responded.
"Fine, I’ll grant your wish."
As if Sun Zhongwei had already anticipated it, he raised his sword after finishing his sentence. Streaks of electric Sword Qi began to gather on the sword, accompanied by the ruthless sound of raging winds and sharp blades.
With Sun Zhongwei at the centre, a horrifying force spread out, driving Lan Xiaodie and three others back by a hundred meters to escape the sense of impending death.
The faces of Lan Xiaodie and Tao Xingyu changed drastically.
They had never before felt a power that is on par with Blue Tidal.
"Blue Tidal, be careful. Wind and Thunder Separation!"
Sun Zhongwei’s sword slashed through the front.
The thick green and purple Sword Qi seemed like an insurmountable gap, tyrannically dividing the air into two halves. The four, including Lan Xiaodie, held their breaths at the sight of this sword.
"Endless Tidal Waves."
With waves crashing and flooding the heavens, a serious look finally appeared on Blue Tidal’s face. His surging Sword Qi rushed to counter the Wind and Thunder Sword Qi, but only managed to withstand it for a second before it was disintegrated.
Blue Tidal used the opportunity to retreat quickly, covering a hundred meters in an instant.
"Blue Tidal, there’s no turning back after drawing the bow. This is the killer move I’ve prepared for you, Wind and Thunder Annihilation!"
With a thunderous voice reverberating between heaven and earth, Sun Zhongwei’s confidence was sky high as he directed an even more terrifying sword strike towards his opponent. His main aim wasn’t just to defeat Blue Tidal, but also to crush his long-standing shadow.
"Father!"
Lan Xiaodie screamed.
...
"This, this... Young Master Shi, you..."
The house servant walked out from behind the Reflection Wall, looking at Shi Xiaole in shock, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Being a servant in the Tidal Waves Manor, he had seen all sorts of geniuses, and he himself was gifted. Yet, he had never seen a talent like Shi Xiaole.
Just moments ago, with just ten sword strikes, Shi Xiaole broke through the first-level test of the Reflection Wall.
The burst of pure aura in that instant allowed the house servant to confirm that Shi Xiaole had fully comprehended the Sword Heart, something countless swordsmen in Martial World dreamt of!
And he was said to be only eighteen years old.
Of course, passing the first-level test didn’t mean that Shi Xiaole had the power of the Spiritual-Passage Realm. After all, while the attack of the Reflection Wall had reached the level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, it lacked adaptability and sustainability.
Regardless, this was evidence of Shi Xiaole’s formidable strength at present.
"Uncle, thank you."
Shi Xiaole clasped his fists in a show of sincere gratitude.
"Where...Oh no!"
The house servant was about to respond when he suddenly furrowed his brows and dashed towards Tidal Waves Cliff. From there, startling fluctuations could be felt.
