Chapter 2003: Flying

The twelve sword techniques, arranged in increasing difficulty, when cultivated, the flow of true energy in the body was continuous, without any discomfort. Most crucially, after cultivation, his understanding of the sword path and his cultivation level advanced by leaps and bounds. How could the order be wrong?

“If you swap the first and seventh techniques, the true energy will converge faster; swapping the eighth and eleventh will make the sword intent more vigorous; swapping the sixth and third will make it easier to focus the mind…”

Zhang Xuan pointed casually.

Full of doubt, Han Jianqiu changed the cultivation order as instructed.

Boom!

Power surged within his body; areas he had been unable to cultivate before were instantly mastered. His comprehension of sword intent also improved, as if it could tear through space at any moment.

“It’s true…”

Stunned, Han Jianqiu stopped, completely bewildered.

He had cultivated this technique for over eighty years, yet never thought the order might be wrong, let alone that swapping it could have such a powerful effect, even loosening the power that had been sealed within him for so long!

Although the loosening was very slight, over time it would surely grow, eventually leading to a qualitative change. It was not impossible for him to comprehend the Divine Sword Intent like the young man before him!

After the shock, he looked at the young man again, his eyes filled with deep incredulity.

The sword techniques that took him fifteen years to learn, the other mastered in the blink of an eye… and most importantly, he could see the errors and flaws…

This… isn’t human, is it?

Earlier, he thought the other’s comprehension of Divine Sword Intent was due to luck, but now it was clear it had nothing to do with luck—it was the other’s talent, too formidable!

In fact… he could even rival the master of the Divine Hall!

Legend has it that thousands of years ago, the master of the Divine Hall appeared out of nowhere, sweeping across the world in less than a few months, undefeated, and even stormed the temple alone to seize a word…

Such ability had only appeared once in thousands of years; he never expected a second to appear in their sect!

“With this… when the Heavenly Bridge opens and the geniuses of the six great sects gather, our Lingyun Sword Pavilion will surely take the lead, suppressing the others with a single sword…”

Excitement gleamed in his eyes, and Han Jianqiu clenched his fists.

Before, when the Heavenly Bridge opened, their Lingyun Sword Pavilion, despite possessing half a divine word, was limited by the lack of powerful geniuses and could never command the overall situation. Now, with this man, they would surely make a stunning debut and truly seize the right to speak!

Filled with excitement, he looked at the young man, who stood quietly as if in contemplation.

Knowing such insights were rare, Han Jianqiu said nothing more and turned to leave.

…

As he guessed, Zhang Xuan was indeed contemplating.

This Lingyun Sword God Technique did not greatly help him break through to Immortal Lord, but it allowed him to more easily control the Divine Sword Intent he had previously comprehended.

The Heavenly Dao Book formed from taking Shan Xiaotian as a disciple had sealed the sword intent that rushed toward him, granting him a perfect understanding of Divine Sword Intent. However, due to his limited strength and soul power, he had been unable to unleash its full power.

Now, by linking the twelve movements together, that sword intent broke through the seal of the Heavenly Dao Book and perfectly merged with his body.

In other words, this sword intent had fully integrated into his body, becoming a part of him, completely mastered, and could be wielded freely without any further restriction.

“So this sword technique is the key to unlocking Divine Sword Intent…”

Feeling the changes in his body, Zhang Xuan understood.

When fighting the three True Immortal realm black-robed men, he had been unable to fully execute the Divine Sword Intent, which put him at a disadvantage. Now that he could wield it perfectly, even without breaking through to True Immortal, he could slay them.

Gurgle gurgle!

As the sword intent merged with his body and flowed within, he seemed to become sharper, as if he could pierce the sky at any moment.

Whoosh!

Sword intent surged like a tide; in an instant, Zhang Xuan transformed into a longsword and floated up from the ground.

“I can fly…”

His eyes flashed, and Zhang Xuan was filled with excitement.

The spatial pressure in the Upper Firmament was far greater than in the Master Teacher Continent; only those at the Immortal Lord level could fly!

Although he was only at the peak of True Immortal, by harnessing the Divine Sword Intent within him, he could transform into a sword and gallop freely, even faster than Elder Qiu Huo!

“Being able to fly, combined with my cultivation at the peak of True Immortal and full control of Divine Sword Intent… I can even fight a peak Immortal Lord! That Immortal Lord realm black-robed man from before won’t find it so easy to keep me here…”

Feeling the changes in his power, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he hadn’t gathered the Heavenly Dao technique for the Immortal Lord realm, these twelve movements deepened his understanding of Divine Sword Intent, vastly increasing his combat power.

Now, even Elder Bai Ye and others, whom he had once held in awe, might not be his match in a real fight.

“By the way, gourd, what about those swords you swallowed? Didn’t you leave me a couple?”

Pulling his thoughts away from cultivation, he quickly looked at the gourd in his dantian.

He had asked this thing to swallow the opponent’s swords to resolve the crisis… It had even taken Elder Qiu Huo’s sword. The situation had been urgent, so he hadn’t had time to ask. Now that he had a moment, he wanted to see what had happened.

The gourd looked wary: “Didn’t you say you didn’t want me to spit them out? Are you going back on your word?”

“Of course not, I just wanted to ask if you’re full after swallowing so many…” Zhang Xuan said without blushing.

“Not full, just finished digesting…” The gourd wriggled.

“Finished digesting?”

His brows jumped, and Zhang Xuan quickly looked. Indeed, the gourd was lying lazily in his dantian, showing no sign of being full.

“Forget it…”

Knowing that once the gourd swallowed something, getting it back was impossible, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly and flicked his wrist, producing several corpses.

They were the Immortal Lord and three True Immortal peak cultivators who had ambushed him.

Hum!

As soon as the corpses appeared, a longsword shot straight toward Zhang Xuan’s brow.

It was the Immortal Lord level weapon used by the black-robed Immortal Lord. Its master had been killed by a book, and it had been thrown into the storage ring without reacting. Now seeing its enemy, it could no longer hold back.

Whoosh!

Zhang Xuan extended a finger and gently pinched.

The longsword was instantly caught between his fingers.

An Immortal Lord level weapon—when he was at the Void Immortal realm, he could do nothing against it. Now, at the peak of True Immortal and having fully comprehended Divine Sword Intent, even a peak Immortal Lord might not be his match; a mere sword was nothing.

“You, you…”

The sword seemed unable to believe it.

In less than half an hour, how had this guy grown so much stronger?

Ignoring it, Zhang Xuan held the sword, aimed at several points, and flicked his fingers.

Swoosh swoosh!

Sword intent instantly surged along the blade into the sword’s body. The sword let out a sobbing cry, and then its spirituality dissipated.

The sword’s spirituality had been refined by its former master. Even if tamed, it might betray him. He didn’t want his own weapon to turn against him in battle.

So, to avoid trouble, he directly extinguished its spirituality with Divine Sword Intent.

“You… doing this will ruin the sword…”

Seeing his action, the Tongshang Sword, which had just been taken out, trembled in fear.

Its strength was similar to that sword’s; if its master could extinguish its spirituality in a blink, it meant he could kill it too!

But…

Without spirituality, a sword loses its soul, becoming merely a hard piece of metal, unable to perform many sword techniques, and losing the power of an Immortal Lord level weapon.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be ruined…”

With a light smile, Zhang Xuan flicked the sword body again. After two breaths, the longsword suddenly leaped and let out a clear ring.

This time, it was like a bird singing, filled with excitement.

“New spirituality?”

The Tongshang Sword wobbled, nearly falling from the air.

A sword’s spirituality required countless years of nurturing to appear. He wiped away the old with a touch of his finger, and with another touch, a new one appeared…

Trembling, the Tongshang Sword dared not say a word.

Before, it had been proud because without it, the sword was useless, and any swordsman would not cut off his own path.

Seeing his actions, it finally understood…

This guy couldn’t be judged by normal standards!

Casually erasing spirituality… and then creating a new one…

In other words, its proudest asset meant nothing in front of him…

From now on, it must never show off, or it would die without knowing how.

At that moment, the Tongshang Sword submitted completely, harboring no more special thoughts.

“From today, you shall be called… Longsword!”

Easily refining the newly awakened spirituality, Zhang Xuan looked at the weapon in his hand with satisfaction.

Like the Tongshang Sword, it was also a peak Immortal Lord level weapon.

“Longsword?”

The sword trembled, nearly falling from the air.

Could he be any more casual?

It was an Immortal Lord level weapon, a super powerhouse known throughout the continent…

And he gave it a name like that?

“Master, could you… change the name? This… is too casual!”

Unable to bear it, the sword spoke.

“Casual? Well…”

Zhang Xuan frowned: “How about… Little Sword Sword?”

“Thud!”

The sword couldn’t steady itself, fell to the ground, and burst into tears.

Damn, that was even worse than the first name…

But now it understood that its master was terrible at naming. No matter how much it argued, it was useless, so it had to swallow its tears and accept it.

“Let’s see what good stuff is in his ring…”

Putting the longsword into his storage ring, Zhang Xuan stopped paying attention and looked up at the four corpses nearby.

These were temple experts, all with high cultivation. Would their storage rings contain any treasures?

With a flick of his finger, four rings flew over and landed in his palm.