Sensing the might that he could exert through his Sword Intent, Zhang Xuan was deeply pleased. After immersing himself in his glee for a moment, he sat back down on the floor and crossed his leg to cultivate the first sword art of the Three Swords of Lingxu—Sea Severing Sword.
This sword art required the simultaneous cooperation of 108 swords, but fortunately, he had managed to make a decent number of Saint intermediate-tier swords submit to him back at the Sword Lagoon, so that was not an issue.
He imaged the movements of every single sword and sword art in his head, examining each of them in detail and refining all of them to the sharpest precision.
Two hours later, he got up to his feet once more.
After a long session of arduous work, he had successfully mastered the Sea Severing Sword.
Of course, as he had mastered the two sword arts through imagery, he had not gotten an opportunity to see them in action yet. As such, he could only fathom a guess about their true might.
With my mastery of the Sea Severing Sword, even without using the Lingxu Sword and the others, I would still be able to drown a Grand Dominion realm advanced stage cultivator with my sword qi. If I use my full strength, slaying even a Grand Dominion realm pinnacle expert could be possible! Zhang Xuan thought with eyes gleaming in excitement.
As expected of an offensive Sword Quintessence, its might was truly frightening!
Even without wielding a weapon, he could defeat a Grand Dominion realm advanced stage cultivator with ease. If he utilized all his means, even a Saint 7-dan primary stage cultivator could possibly fall under his offense!
With such fighting prowess, he would at least be capable of protecting himself in the expert-filled Sanctum of Sages now.
After cultivating the two top-notch sword arts, Zhang Xuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid gas as his heart shuddered in excitement.
With his current fighting prowess, he was confident that he would be able to clear the Jia Corridor with ease!
Alright, I should be done here. I should leave now!
Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Xuan got to his feet and walked out of the room.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw that Jian Qinsheng was still standing at the very center of the room, and Shui Qianrou, Senior Xie, and the others were seated on the ground in kneeling positions. They were staring intently at the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character on the wall with creases on their foreheads, seemingly deep in thought.
“Zhang shi, you’re out,” Jian Qinsheng remarked with a smile.
Despite only being a freshman, the young man had achieved the level of Sword Quintessence. In Jian Qinsheng’s heart, the young man could already be considered his peer. As such, he did not take the tone that he would usually speak to his juniors with.
“What are they doing?” Zhang Xuan pointed to Shui Qianrou and the others in confusion.
“Ah. They saw how you managed to comprehend Sword Quintessence just by studying the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character for a short moment, and that has ignited their drive. So, they decided to sit here to study the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character as well in the hope that they will be able to take the final step forward and achieve the level of Sword Quintessence, just as you did,” Jian Qinsheng replied with a hint of satisfaction to his voice.
It was not like he had never encouraged his students to study the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character in the past, but they had never heeded his advice before. In their view, there was simply nothing interesting about the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character to study.
However, after witnessing what Zhang Xuan had achieved, they were now all more driven than ever to succeed.
“I have ignited their drive?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.
The reason he had been able to achieve a breakthrough so swiftly was because he had successfully compiled a Heaven’s Path technique from the insights carved beneath the ‘剑 (Sword)’ character. To expect to achieve a breakthrough just by staring at a mere character… Weren’t they daydreaming?
However, since they were Jian Qinsheng’s students, it would be rude for an outsider like him to interfere too much in their affairs. Thus, he could only suppress his overwhelming urge to bellow at them and plaster on a smile. “Well… All the best then!”
Unaware of the thoughts in Zhang Xuan’s mind, Jian Qinsheng simply chuckled softly before asking, “Did you receive any insights from the books in the Compendium of Sword Arts?”
“Thank you for granting me access to your collection of books, Elder Jian. I have benefited greatly from it!” Zhang Xuan bowed deeply.
If not for those books, he would not have been able to learn the Flowing Water Swordsmanship and cultivate it to the level of a Heaven’s Path technique.
He would not have been able to master the first sword art of the Three Swords of Lingxu either and, through doing so, induce an immense surge in his fighting prowess.
“Oh?” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s words, Jian Qinsheng’s eyes lit up. “Since that’s the case, would you like to trade some blows with me? It would be a delight to see the swordsmanship of the only sword practitioner in history to have comprehended two different types of Sword Quintessence!”
“It would be an honor to receive Elder Jian’s guidance!”
He had just mastered those two sword arts, and he was seeking an opportunity to try out its strength. Considering that the person standing before him was one of the rare swordmasters in the Master Teacher Continent, there was definitely no one better for him to practice his skills on!
Stroking his beard, Jian Qinsheng said with a smile, “Good! Let’s not disrupt their cultivation and head to another location.”
“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
While Zhang Xuan thought that it was impossible for Shui Qianrou and the others to grasp Sword Quintessence just by staring at the character, it would still be highly beneficial in helping them advance their comprehension of swordsmanship.
Since it was not anything bad, there was no reason for Zhang Xuan to pour a pail of cold water over their fiery drive.
Following behind Jian Qinsheng, they soon arrived in a room. It seemed to be a specialized training room, and the walls were reinforced with Fortification Formations.
The formations were all at grade-8, and even with Zhang Xuan’s current strength, he would still have trouble trying to break them open.
“Let’s do it here.” Jian Qinsheng gestured with a smile as he walked to the center of the room. Flicking his forefinger, a surge of sword qi shot forth from his fingertips.
Upon seeing Jian Qinsheng’s actions, Zhang Xuan was taken aback. “Elder Jian, aren’t you going to suppress your cultivation?”
Jian Qinsheng was at least a Saint 8-dan expert whereas he was only at Saint 5-dan primary stage. The disparity between them was simply too great.
How was he supposed to fight against Jian Qinsheng if the latter did not suppress his cultivation?
“If I were to suppress my cultivation, I fear that my old bones would not even survive a single blow from you,” Jian Qinsheng replied with a bitter smile.
The sight of the young man before him crushing his disciple with ease was still fresh in his mind. He did not think that he would stand much of a chance if he suppressed his cultivation down to the same level as the other party.
After all, the young man’s comprehension of swordsmanship and combat had reached a level that was inconceivable even to him.
He had encountered many geniuses in his years in the Sanctum of Sages, but only the little princess of the Luo Clan and two or three others could leave him with such a feeling of apprehension.
“But…” Zhang Xuan frowned. “There’s no way I will stand a chance against you in your current state.”
He was well aware of the limitations of his strength. The old man before him was not just any ordinary Saint 8-dan expert—he was also a swordmaster. Given the vast disparity in their cultivation, Zhang Xuan would only be crushed in the battle.
“Why don’t we do this instead? I won’t suppress my cultivation, but I’ll use only 1% of my full strength. That will roughly be equivalent to the might a Saint 7-dan primary stage cultivator possesses. Don’t worry, I won’t allow you to be injured. At the same time, through such an arrangement, you can let loose without worrying about injuring me. This way, you will be able to better test your strength,” Jian Qinsheng said with a smile.
“Alright then.” Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
For some inexplicable reason, his heart started beating in excitement.
So far, he had not had a chance to clash with a Saint 8-dan expert. If he could test himself against Jian Qinsheng’s strength, he would be more prepared when he faced opponents of that caliber in the future.
“I’ll be making my move then!” With a flick of his hand, a sword appeared in Zhang Xuan’s hand, and a brilliant cold glint flashed across the room, emanating a chilling intent.
The Lingxu Sword.
He had never wielded it ever since obtaining it. It was simply too strong; he feared that he would accidentally decimate his opponent with it.
But since Jian Qinsheng was coming at him without suppressing his cultivation, that would not be a problem.
Hong long!
With a swift slash, boundless sword qi barraged forth with astounding might, and for an instant, it felt as if space was crushing in on one.
“Is that… a Saint high-tier artifact?” Jian Qinsheng’s mouth twitched, and his eyes narrowed in astonishment.
Saint high-tier artifacts were rare even in the Sanctum of Sages. Considering that the young man was only an unaffiliated cultivator, it was a little hard to believe that he would have such a weapon with him.
In terms of pure strength, Saint high-tier artifacts harnessed might surpassing that of Saint 7-dan cultivators. If a swordmaster like the young man were to wield it against him…
“Cough cough! It won’t be good for you to rely too much on the strength of your sword. Here, why don’t I lend you a spare one for the duel?” With a reddened face, Jian Qinsheng handed a sword over.
“That will do as well.” Thinking about it once more, the might of the Lingxu Sword was indeed too great, and it would be unfair to use it in a friendly duel. Thus, Zhang Xuan nodded and took the sword that was passed to him.
With just a few taps of his fingers on the blade, a resounding buzz echoed, and the sword acknowledged Zhang Xuan as its master.
Seeing how swiftly Zhang Xuan managed to make the sword submit to him, Jian Qinsheng’s lips twitched.
As expected of a genius who had comprehended two different Sword Quintessences, even his ability to tame swords was far more effective than that of ordinary sword practitioners.
It’s a Saint intermediate-tier weapon, Zhang Xuan noted as he felt the sword in his hand.
At this point, he suddenly recalled another matter, and he turned his gaze to Jian Qinsheng once more. “Right, Elder Jian. In this duel, it will be fine for me to do anything as long as I don’t wield a weapon exceeding Saint intermediate-tier, right?”
“That’s right.” Jian Qinsheng nodded. “You are able to easily drive Saint intermediate-tier artifact easily with your current strength, but you are still too weak to regulate the might of a Saint high-tier artifact. Even if you win the duel with it, it will be pointless if you aren’t the one in control.”
Even the most ordinary Saint high-tier artifacts wielded a fighting prowess on par with Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivators! Considering how the young man only possessed a cultivation of Leaving Aperture realm primary stage, he would be led astray by the Saint high-tier sword he had!
Eventually, the one who was in control would not be him but his sword.
“That’s good.” Hearing that he could do whatever he wanted as long as the weapon he wielded was no more than Saint intermediate-tier, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
He had not yet executed the Sea Severing Sword after mastering it. This would be a good chance for him to try it out.
In any case, the opponent he was facing was far stronger than him, so there was no need to worry about accidentally hurting him at all.
With a jot of the sword in his hand, a cold glint flashed across the air, and an imposing tide of sword qi immediately burst forth, slashing through whatever stood in its path.
“Not bad!” Seeing Zhang Xuan’s move, Jian Qinsheng chuckled softly.
By weaving his fingers across the air, it took only an instant before a current of sword qi flowed right in front of him, reminiscent of a massive barrier.
Flowing Water Swordsmanship!
Just as Jian Qinsheng had promised, he had only used a hundredth of his strength in his defense.
Nevertheless, the strength he wielded was not to be underestimated. The sword qi flowing within the massive barrier was extremely compact, leaving not even the slightest space for anything to bypass it. It was reminiscent of an immense, unbreachable Dominion.
Ding ding ding ding!
The barrage of sword qi that Zhang Xuan had sent forth collided with the flowing wall of sword qi, inducing innumerable ripples on it. Under the violent attacks, the formation in the room shook intensely, and glaring scars appeared on the ground.
The formations inscribed into the room were extremely resilient, but Zhang Xuan’s full strength paired with the frightening might of the Sea Severing Sword was so powerful that even the formations seemed as if they would collapse at any moment.
He’s indeed formidable!
Even though Jian Qinsheng had managed to keep Zhang Xuan’s attack at bay for the moment, he could clearly sense that the might from the tide of sword qi was swiftly growing stronger by the moment, and his expression turned grave.
As expected of a genius who commanded two different Sword Quintessences. His strength was truly extraordinary!
On the other hand, Zhang Xuan felt so excited that he could leap in joy.
Even when using his full strength, he was unable to deal even the slightest harm to the Saint 8-dan swordmaster. Since that was the case, it seemed like it was time for him to show his true skills!
