Chapter 11 Fragments of Memory

The Imperial Lord looked at Ji Ning, deeply moved: “I love to wander and roam, experiencing one magnificent world after another; I truly lack the patience to teach disciples. But if I keep taking risks like this, I might die at any moment. If I die, I die—but after long ages pass, I fear few cultivators will even mention my name.”

“It is you, my good disciples, who will truly spread my fame and carry on my legacy through endless ages.”

“After you become my personal disciple, before you achieve the Dao, you must accept ten disciples on my behalf; they will be counted as nominal disciples,” said the Imperial Lord. “What I teach you, you may only pass on to those ten nominal disciples.”

“Your disciple understands.” Ji Ning nodded.

Accept ten disciples before achieving the Dao?

That was still quite easy.

“Swear an oath,” the Imperial Lord instructed.

Ji Ning immediately swore the oath. In the future, when he taught his own disciples or taught Bodhi and the others, he could completely teach his own insights. After all, he would walk his own path! The Eternal Imperial Lord’s inheritance was mainly a reference for him, showing him how to walk the future path and helping him avoid straying.

Without a reference to consult, blindly forging ahead would easily lead to straying.

A Daoist of Life and Death—each step is a matter of life and death, and there is no turning back! Once you stray, it means death and the end of your Dao.

“Mm.” The Imperial Lord watched Ji Ning swear the oath, nodded, and then with a whoosh transformed into a beam of light that plunged directly into Ji Ning’s body. With Ji Ning’s current strength, he had no way to resist.

“Rumble~~~”

Ji Ning stood on the wilderness. The other four Imperial Lord attendants—the Swordsman, the Fisherman, the Assassin, and the Emperor—all watched intently. A powerful fluctuation spread from around Ji Ning, clearly the Imperial Lord’s divine thought and vast memories merging into Ji Ning’s memory. Even with Ji Ning’s strength, bearing it was somewhat painful.

…

Within Ji Ning’s sea of consciousness.

A flood of information poured in.

“I succeeded in merging with the Dao and attained the eternal sword art, named the Heartprint Sword Art. This sword art consists of fifteen stances. This is the first stance, the Flying Sword Stance…” A fragment of memory surged into Ji Ning’s mind—it was Xuejian Imperial Lord speaking, while holding a divine sword and beginning to demonstrate the first stance.

Xuejian Imperial Lord’s divine thought directly transmitted many memory fragments.

It was as if Ji Ning was watching with his own eyes.

“This is the second stance, the Mountain Sword Stance.” Xuejian Imperial Lord demonstrated. This was far more powerful than merely sensing so-called sword intent. With the Imperial Lord personally demonstrating, not only was the sword intent clear, but how to execute it was also plainly visible. Clearly, to teach, Xuejian Imperial Lord demonstrated each stance three times: a slow demonstration, a demonstration without using any divine power or dharma power, and a demonstration at full爆发.

…

“This is the fifteenth stance, the Heartprint Stance. Once the Heartprint is achieved, eternity is attained.”

In that memory fragment, Xuejian Imperial Lord was demonstrating sword art in a sea of chaos. As this stance was executed, a faintly visible enormous seal appeared. Where the seal passed, endless chaos was annihilated, and chaotic stars were destroyed. The number of shattered chaotic stars Ji Ning noticed alone already exceeded a billion.

This made Ji Ning gasp. When Xuejian Imperial Lord had fully demonstrated this stance, how vast a region had he obliterated? The speed of this sword was no longer mere speed; it even transcended space-time. Otherwise, how distant were those chaotic stars? Even if the sword’s speed were a thousand or ten thousand times the speed of light, it would take a long time to fly there.

But with one sword stroke from Xuejian Imperial Lord, an infinitely vast region was utterly annihilated, not a single thing left.

Fortunately, the region Xuejian Imperial Lord chose for his demonstration had no living beings; otherwise, the slaughter would have been unimaginable.

“The Heartprint Sword Art has been fully demonstrated. This sword art is the highest achievement of my cultivation step by step to eternity.”

“Cultivating this sword art will be very difficult. In fact, it can be broken down into four sets of sword arts.”

Xuejian Imperial Lord began demonstrating again.

Ji Ning understood at a glance.

The four sets of sword arts could well be called the Fisherman’s Sword, the Assassin’s Sword, the Emperor’s Sword, and the Killer’s Sword. The Fisherman, Assassin, and Emperor in the four grotto-heavens each belonged to three of these sword arts, while the sword art used by the Swordsman was already the入门 of the Heartprint Sword Art.

“Each of these four sword arts represents a path. Though relatively ordinary, it is not difficult to cultivate to the Four-Step Daoist. However, even becoming a Four-Step Daoist would be rather mediocre,” said Xuejian Imperial Lord.

“These four sword arts can also be broken down into ninety-six sword arts.”

Xuejian Imperial Lord also demonstrated and explained in detail.

…

The reason the Imperial Lord’s divine thought transmission was so difficult was mainly that these were all memory fragments—fragments of the Imperial Lord personally demonstrating, containing vast sword-stroke intent.

“A single Heartprint Sword Art, broken down into four relatively ordinary sword arts, and further broken down into ninety-six lower-level sword arts… once your realm is sufficient, learning them will be very fast.”

“The sword art transmission is complete. Next, I will teach you a divine ability, a very powerful爆发 divine ability I created, which can greatly increase your strength in an instant. This divine ability is called the Five Sword Seals…” The divine ability transmission consisted of simple, detailed instructions on how to cultivate it. Ji Ning immediately memorized it all.

“Oh, I also left four puppet servants. They will follow you. My personal disciple shouldn’t die too early.”

“Mm, everything that should be taught has been taught, and everything that should be said has been said. Cultivate well—don’t disgrace your master’s reputation. If there is truly an opportunity, perhaps we will meet again in the future.”

…

The divine thought transmission ended.

On the wilderness.

The four servants watched Ji Ning from the side. Ji Ning had been emitting waves of fluctuation throughout the inheritance, which lasted over two days before ceasing. The main reason was that fully integrating and memorizing those memory fragments was truly difficult for Ji Ning.

In fact…

Even if Ji Ning had actually watched Xuejian Imperial Lord demonstrate sword art with his own eyes, some parts too profound he would not have understood or remembered. But Xuejian Imperial Lord had directly transmitted these memory fragments. Once integrated, Ji Ning would never forget them—unless he deliberately erased these memory fragments.

“Eh? Why hasn’t Beiming woken up yet?”

“Yes, the fluctuations have stopped; the transmission should be over.”

“Perhaps he is cultivating.”

The four servants chatted among themselves.

Their guess was correct. Ji Ning was indeed cultivating. Previously, even in the Sword Pagoda Forest, he could at most perceive some sword intent conveyed by the sword pagodas, which was far inferior to watching a great power demonstrate in person, let alone directly integrating memory fragments! Moreover, the Heartprint Sword Art was an extremely profound sword art, and being broken down made it very fast for Ji Ning to comprehend.

Many past confusions and doubts were swept away. As he continued to comprehend, his sword art improved rapidly.

This cultivation lasted over half a month before this explosive improvement came to an end.

“Whoosh.” Ji Ning opened his eyes.

“Having a master and not having a master—it’s truly different.” Ji Ning looked at this grotto-heaven world, his heart filled with delight. He knew he was already completely different.

From the World level to the Eternal Imperial Lord, Ji Ning now understood how to walk the path, unlike before when he knew nothing.

“I wonder who is stronger: my master Xuejian Imperial Lord, the creator of the divine sword Ziguangqiong, ‘Zishan the Great Emperor,’ or the creator of the Nameless Sword Art.” Ji Ning muttered to himself. “But the divine sword Ziguangqiong is after all only a mid-grade Eternal divine weapon; I will probably have to change swords by the time I reach the One-Step Daoist. And the Nameless Sword Art only has the first seven stances.”

Ji Ning understood that in the future, he would mainly use the Heartprint Sword Art to comprehend and draw experience, then integrate it into his own sword Dao.

“If I had the complete inheritance of the Nameless Sword Art, the complete inheritance of Zishan the Great Emperor, and the inheritance of Xuejian Imperial Lord—three inheritances—I could simultaneously cultivate and absorb the mysteries of the sword Dao, and also view the Sword Pagoda Forest. Then I would surely improve even faster.” This thought flashed through Ji Ning’s mind, and then he chuckled.

…

“Beiming, did you gain anything?”

“Looks like quite a harvest.”

“With Beiming’s strength, after this improvement, he should probably be able to become a Daoist at any time, right?” The four servants spoke as they saw Ji Ning wake.

Ji Ning smiled and nodded: “Indeed, I could become a Daoist, but unfortunately, that is not my path.”

The Lingxi Domain had indeed greatly improved.

Because the Lingxi Domain was the Fisherman’s path. Among the four sword arts into which Xuejian Imperial Lord had broken down the Heartprint Sword Art, there was the Fisherman’s Sword. Over the years, Ji Ning’s highest achievement was the Lingxi Domain. So after receiving the inheritance and cultivating for over half a month, the Lingxi Domain had greatly improved. Now Ji Ning had a faint perception.

His achievement in the Lingxi Domain was sufficient to use it as the core to reconstruct his divine body and step into the One-Step Daoist.

A Daoist of Life and Death—each breakthrough requires reconstructing the divine body! If one strays, the divine body collapses, and one dies, the Dao ends.

“As Xuejian Imperial Lord said, although the four sword arts broken down from the Heartprint Sword Art are enough to become a Daoist, even a Four-Step Daoist, they only make a mediocre Daoist.” Ji Ning shook his head inwardly. Though he could become a Daoist, this was not enough.

…