Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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The Sword Demon took me to the training grounds. Then he said,
"Let's spar using wooden swords."
"Wooden swords? But there are only steel swords here... Don't you normally only use steel swords?"
As far as I knew, the Shadowless Sect rarely used wooden swords. They generally aimed for sparring close to real combat with steel blades whenever possible. The Sword Demon replied,
"That's just to heighten the tension for novices. Both you and I have reached the transcendent realm, fully grasping each other's feints and distances, haven't we? In that case, a blunt and powerless weapon is best."
A transcendent peak expert could slay foes anytime using sword qi or sword aura, regardless of the weapon's quality. If the edge wasn't dulled, accidents were far more likely.
"I see..."
I took the wooden sword the Sword Demon handed me and assumed a stance facing him squarely. Since he was undoubtedly superior, I focused on standing tall with unwavering momentum, eliminating any openings. After observing my presence for a moment, the Sword Demon exclaimed in admiration,
"Impressive. I've rarely seen anyone your age reach such a level."
"You're too kind."
"Let's see your skills, then."
Whoosh!
The moment his words ended, a faint vibration hummed from the tip of the Sword Demon's wooden sword, and sword qi shot out like a beam of light. It seemed to employ elastic power, and its speed was tremendous. I deftly deflected the strike while unleashing the flashy forms of the Myriad Victories Sword Art.
Our exchange was subtly calibrated. When I tried to pierce through with swift sword strikes, his guard flowed like a living thing, and soon I even felt the illusion that his entire body had transformed into a massive current of water.
'He has completely mastered our spacing.'
I began with a swift thrust but suddenly switched to illusory and variable resolves to disrupt his distance. His swordsmanship shifted in response, perfectly countering my attacks. His defense was so flawless that I felt embarrassed and had to withdraw mid-assault.
Clang!
A single sword cry rang out. It shouldn't have with wooden swords, but our sword auras had clashed in midair. And despite my internal energy overwhelmingly surpassing his, the Sword Demon's sword aura dispersed all my power.
After roughly a dozen exchanges, the Sword Demon spoke.
"Very good. Your swordsmanship fundamentals are solidly built."
"You're flattering me so much I'm at a loss."
"Hm? This isn't mere flattery..."
Whirl!
"......!!"
I was startled when he suddenly closed the gap, his strike flying toward my throat. It was a complete surprise that pierced a transcendent peak expert's senses. The speed wasn't even that fast, yet I couldn't comprehend why I hadn't detected it.
I barely dodged, but the Sword Demon casually followed with continuous attacks, forcing me into a defensive posture. I gritted my teeth as I desperately parried his onslaught, struck by a familiar sensation.
'It's exactly like getting toyed with by Lee Gwang!'
It felt like a cat playing with a mouse! I was holding back minimal reserves in my defense, preventing him from recklessly committing to a heavy blow, but I saw no way to reverse this pitch-black disadvantage!
It was when I'd blocked and evaded his attacks for about a hundred exchanges, mobilizing all my internal energy.
The Sword Demon suddenly withdrew his wooden sword and sighed.
"Hmm... Just as I thought."
"What do you mean?"
"Your swordsmanship cultivation is unbalanced. You know nothing of intent."
"......?"
I tilted my head and asked,
"Intent? Do you mean the realm of willpower?"
"You know of it, then. So why don't you utilize willpower?"
"I've heard it exists, but I don't know how to manifest it."
I answered honestly.
Willpower!
I'd first heard of this realm back during my spar with Jin So-cheong and Mok-chang. But my martial prowess was too low then to understand him, and afterward, I was too desperate mastering techniques to even consider what willpower meant. So I had no real response now that the Sword Demon mentioned it.
Hearing me, the Sword Demon looked stunned for a moment. Then, as if it were absurd, he said,
"No way... Your swordsmanship and martial arts are clearly from a famed house. And to reach the transcendent realm at your age, an unparalleled master must have poured every effort into teaching you. Yet you know nothing of willpower?"
I scratched my head.
"Even if you say that... I was too busy honing my techniques to even think about willpower."
"Ridiculous! Do you know how absurd that sounds?!"
The Sword Demon suddenly erupted in anger and irritably snapped,
"Whoever your master was, he's a madman of the world. Giving you heart, technique, and body but withholding intent? That's no different from telling you to go die!"
"......!!"
I shut my mouth as he bellowed fiercely. Though he was cursing my master, I felt no urge to retort. Because I somehow understood why his rage had flared.
'Lee Gwang...!!'
The one who'd taught me the most martial arts was Lee Gwang. Yet through my repeated reincarnations, I'd learned he concealed various techniques and kept me in check. Clever as he was, he knew exactly how to deceive people efficiently. Sure, my talent fell short of his approval, but from a certain point, he'd clearly drawn a line and restrained me.
After calming down a bit, the Sword Demon said,
"Sorry for insulting your master. But know that your ignorance of willpower is truly baffling."
"It's fine..."
I gazed at the Sword Demon steadily before asking,
"What is willpower, then?"
"Keh heh... I never imagined I'd have to explain this to someone of your caliber."
Chuckling wryly, the Sword Demon suddenly plopped down cross-legged in the training grounds.
"Watch."
Properly seated in the lotus position, he continued,
"I'm sitting cross-legged. How many actions would I need to stand and attack you?"
"Hmm... Two actions."
Even thrusting the sword by springing up with thigh strength wouldn't count as a proper attack. To strike the opponent fully, you first had to plant your feet firmly, gather power from the ground, then launch. No matter how bizarre the form, without lower body support, it couldn't constitute an attack.
Thus, standing and thrusting made at least two.
Flash!
"Gasp."
I involuntarily sucked in a breath. The Sword Demon's wooden sword was already aimed at my heart. Grinning, he said,
"How many actions was that?"
"......"
After a moment, I answered honestly.
"I didn't see it."
Exactly.
It vanished completely from sight. I caught his blurry motion, but how he'd unleashed that single strike was beyond my perception. The eerie sensation matched the earlier crisis.
'It was the same before...'
When he'd pierced the gap for that terrifying blow, it felt identical. But it wasn't blinding speed—no, it was ordinary. Yet it effortlessly breached my detection.
As I pondered, the Sword Demon said,
"This is intent. The difference between one who grasps it and one who doesn't is like heaven and earth. Even with equal internal energy and technique, intent creates vast disparities in prowess."
"What exactly is it?"
"Yi means human will, and nian means imposing it upon the world."
"......?"
Imposing will upon the world?
How did that lead to transcending lethal techniques?
Suddenly, old advice from Jin So-cheong flashed in my mind.
[No matter the world's greatest internal energy, the body wielding it is still human. Standing against one with mere trickery but true intent is like facing the Arctic chill naked—utterly tragic.]
[It's the advanced stage of martial arts. Beyond forms and internal energy, masters clash on entirely different planes. Forms and energy aren't ignored, but they operate on a separate trajectory.]
I recalled Jin So-cheong had indeed advised on willpower. He'd emphasized it as distinct from internal energy. Of course, he was the only one; Lee Gwang had never breathed a word.
The Sword Demon's explanation continued.
"Where do you think human willpower originates?"
"Well... the brain."
"A very metaphysical view. Not wrong, so let's say so. The brain is part of the upper dantian, and what do you think its command speed to the body is?"
"Incredibly fast. The greater the expert, the more they can move their body in sync with that speed."
"Right. The core element accelerating that is the brain—the upper dantian. Cultivating qi, opening meridians, circulating internal energy—it's just paving roads. That's why the principles of heart-qi-blood-emotion exist. Fundamentally, the upper dantian's power controls all martial arts."
Explaining thus far, the Sword Demon stared vacantly into the void with sunken eyes.
"But as I said, that's just a metaphysical take on intent. Its true power is the Heavenly Pillar."
"Heavenly Pillar? Pillar of the Heavens?"
"Yes. Pillar of the Heavens."
He extended a single finger toward me. Instantly, I felt an invisible, ferocious formless energy crashing over my body. It was like facing a typhoon, pressure shredding my flesh. Desperately resisting with my internal energy, I endured until he withdrew it moments later.
"Huff... huff..."
As I panted, the Sword Demon said,
"You just resisted my formless energy. Was that internal energy or will?"
"......"
What to answer? I'd obviously rallied my internal energy, but without staunch willpower, I couldn't have held. Hesitating wordlessly, he continued,
"Mighty mental fortitude links human heart to heaven and earth. In that instant, it feels like a pillar of light connects sky to self. That is, willpower strong enough to bridge heaven and self with a colossal pillar proves one's ability to wield intent."
"I don't feel anything like that."
"No. As a transcendent peak expert, you can wield it. The discipline and endurance to reach there already surpass mortal mental limits."
The Sword Demon sighed.
"Your failure to grasp my explanation stems from over-reliance on qi-based combat. Sure, victory demands internal energy, technique, strategy, and intent, but you've never even recognized intent."
"Hmm..."
Pondering, I asked the Sword Demon,
"But I've never felt major trouble against strong foes so far. Is lacking intent such a huge flaw?"
"Strong foes? I don't know your standard, but..."
He said incredulously,
"I could kill you within a hundred exchanges, even if your internal energy is tenfold mine. And there are probably at least ten such across heaven and earth. Because you lack intent, while I possess it."
"......"
It rang true; I had no rebuttal. The Sword Demon was the strongest of the evil factions' Eight Demonic Sects—the hegemon of the unorthodox. I'd witnessed his terrifying realm countless times with my own eyes.
He continued,
"Since you can't grasp how intent is applied, let me teach properly."
"Yes, please."
"You couldn't see how many actions I used cross-legged or how I attacked. You already know it's not about speed."
His words flowed on.
"When consciousness compresses to utmost purity, human perception enters a wholly new phase. I accelerated my perceptual world dozens of times faster than yours, probing your weaknesses, enabling transcendent motion beyond my original internal energy."
"......?"
What was this?
Perceptual world?
"Hm, too abstract? Let me put it this way."
Looking at me like a picky disciple, the Sword Demon said,
"Have you ever faced a dire foe and felt time freeze?"
"......!!"
An experience instantly surfaced.
'My bout with the Twelve Rhythm Lord!'
In my tenth reincarnation, while challenging the Twelve Rhythm Lords, I'd dueled the final one. Then, in an indescribably brief human moment, I'd felt like I heard the Twelve Rhythm Lord's heartfelt voice. Time had surely stopped.
Seeing my expression, the Sword Demon smiled faintly.
"You have."
"Then, time seemed to halt, and I heard the opponent's heart. I don't know if it was real..."
"No, it was. That was their true mind. It's called Heartdrop Listening—a realm only true masters sense. Extreme focus creates sensory illusions."
Heartdrop Listening!
Engraving the term, I heard him continue.
"You entered that space by chance. But intent masters immerse in that ultimate instant willfully or not, constantly accelerating their perceptual world."
"Accelerating..."
"Expanding the perceptual world enables humanly impossible motions and techniques. That's intent—its application. Formless energy is just one use."
Suddenly, I felt I understood intent.
Accelerating perception via willpower to sense the ultimate instant! Plus, bolstering will to execute impossible feats with the body. Truly transcending martial arts' limits.
'I must master intent.'
Remembering something, I asked the Sword Demon,
"Wait. Then what's the point of all the internal energy and techniques I've cultivated?"
If intent was so potent, why bother with internal arts or training—just hone intent? Anticipating my doubt, he replied,
"Intent isn't casually spammable. It consumes immense willpower, so it's for enhancing specific techniques on demand, extreme maneuvers, or kill shots."
"Use only when needed, then."
"Thus, even without intent, you could fell a peak expert who has it—if their technique and energy fall short, intent can't bridge your basics."
"Hm..."
"The key is harmonizing heart, technique, body, and intent for peak state. Peerless masters' impossible supreme techniques rely on intent."
I felt I grasped intent.
'So that's the secret behind Lee Gwang's devastating Thunderclap Strike.'
Lee Gwang undoubtedly applied intent's power. Amplifying Thunderclap Strike beyond his internal energy's limits was purely intent. Desperately memorizing everything, I said to the Sword Demon,
"Then how do I cultivate intent?"
"Simple. Impose your will upon the world."
"......."
"Hm... Try this training, then."
Realizing his words were too vague, the Sword Demon proposed,
"Exhaust your internal energy completely."
"Pardon?"
"Once depleted, seal all your acupoints, sit cross-legged, and sustain your vital force."
"That's..."
His following words silenced me.
"Naturally, push to extremes now? Heightened sensitivity eases intent access."
"......"
I inwardly lamented.
'This guy's a hardcore martial fanatic too...'
Train till death, die training!
Such types weren't just Lee Gwang. Exhausting energy, sealing acupoints, surviving—that mad method could genuinely kill me. But with no alternatives, I nodded reluctantly.
"I'll try."