Loren paused, then looked at Jiang Lin:
“But that is only a legend.
“At least in the history I know, no one has ever truly reached the Sword God realm.”
Jiang Lin was silent for a moment before asking:
“What is Master’s current realm?”
Loren gave a faint smile:
“Initial formation of the Sword Soul.”
He raised his right hand, and a three-inch-long ice-blue miniature sword manifested in his palm.
The miniature sword was crystal clear throughout, its blade seemingly flowing with a river of stars, and a complex frost-tongue rune was engraved on the guard.
“This is my Sword Soul, ‘Frostblade’.”
The miniature sword trembled gently, emitting a pleasant sword hum as if it possessed its own intelligence.
Jiang Lin could clearly feel the staggering sword intent and soul fluctuations contained within that tiny sword, as if it were an independent living entity.
“The condensation of a Sword Soul requires both opportunity and accumulation.
“Before me, I had always heard rumors of the Sword Soul, but I had never seen anyone use one.
“I have spent most of my time over these years researching the condensation of the Sword Soul.”
Loren put away the Sword Soul:
“However, your sword intent has only just begun to solidify; you are still far from a Sword Soul. Stay grounded and walk the path before you well.
“When the time comes for you to condense a Sword Soul, I will teach you how.
“With me paving the way ahead of you, you should be able to condense your Sword Soul much faster.”
Jiang Lin nodded heavily:
“Disciple understands. Thank you, Master.”
After finishing the beast meat, Jiang Lin rested for half an hour before standing up to practice his sword again.
This time, he no longer swung blindly. Instead, with every strike, he attempted to condense and compress that sliver of ‘intent’ he had just realized, trying to make it clearer and more solid.
The process remained difficult.
Out of a hundred strikes, succeeding once was already considered good.
But Jiang Lin was not in a hurry.
He had plenty of time and plenty of patience.
One strike, another strike, and another.
On the ice terrace, sword light and aurora intertwined.
The youth’s figure swung his sword time and again amidst the wind and snow.
Due to the cold, faint traces of blood were frozen onto his skin.
Sweat and blood mixed together, dripping onto the ice surface and freezing into tiny red crystals.
Loren stood before the pavilion, watching quietly.
Deep within his purple eyes, a flicker of indiscernible relief flashed.
Seven days passed.
Jiang Lin swung his sword tens of thousands of times every day, far exceeding the three thousand Loren had assigned.
His sword intent gradually became clearer from its initial faint traces.
The depth of the sword marks increased from three inches to half a foot. The frost flowers at the edge of the cuts turned from pale blue to deep blue, and the golden light points became denser.
More importantly, his control over the sword intent grew increasingly proficient.
Now, out of a hundred strikes, he could successfully condense sword intent in more than a dozen.
On this day, Jiang Lin sheathed his sword and stood still, breathing slightly.
After swinging tens of thousands of times, he felt as if his arms no longer belonged to him.
However, his spirit was exceptionally excited.
He could clearly feel that his understanding of the sword and his control over power had taken a massive step forward compared to seven days ago.
“That is about enough.”
Loren’s voice rang out:
“You have mastered the stage of initial solidification of sword intent.
“Next, it is time to teach you how to truly integrate sword intent into your attacks.”
He walked to Jiang Lin and reached out, pressing his hand against the ice pillar that had been struck thousands of times.
The surface of the ice pillar was crisscrossed with sword marks, the deepest of which had cut nearly halfway through.
“Watch closely.”
Ice-blue light flashed in Loren’s palm.
In the next moment, the entire ice pillar exploded!
It did not shatter into chunks; instead, it turned into countless tiny ice crystal powders, drifting away like mist.
The powder swirled and gathered in the air, finally condensing into a thirty-foot-long ice-blue giant sword hovering in mid-air.
The giant sword was transparent throughout, with countless golden light points flowing inside the blade, radiating a terrifying cold and sword intent.
“This is...”
Jiang Lin’s pupils contracted.
He felt a familiar ‘intent’ from that giant sword.
It was the will he had injected while swinging his sword over these seven days.
The will to grow stronger, the will to break through!
But now, those wills had been extracted, gathered, and strengthened by Loren in some way, transforming into this physical sword!
“Sword intent is not just a residual trace.”
Loren raised his hand, and the giant sword slowly shrank, finally turning into a normal-sized longsword that fell into his hand:
“It can be the attack itself.”
He swung the sword, thrusting forward.
The sword light was like a rainbow, shooting directly toward a small ice peak hundreds of zhang away.
There was no loud noise, no explosion.
The moment the sword light touched the ice peak, the entire mountain was erased as if by an invisible hand, vanishing silently without leaving even a single ice shard.
It was as if a mountain had never existed there.
Jiang Lin sucked in a breath of cold air.
The power of this strike far exceeded his range of understanding.
“I extracted and reorganized your residual sword intent, integrating it into this strike.”
Loren put away the sword, and the blade dissipated:
“So, while this strike contains ‘your will’, what it unleashed was ‘my realm’.”
He looked at Jiang Lin:
“What you must learn is how to integrate your own sword intent into your attacks in the most effective way, unleashing power that transcends your own level.”
Jiang Lin pondered for a moment and asked:
“How should I do it?”
“First, you must truly ‘understand’ your own sword intent.”
Loren walked to another ice pillar:
“What is your sword intent? Is it protection? Slaughter? Freedom? Or something else?”
He raised his hand and lightly made a stroke across the surface of the ice pillar.
A sword mark appeared, its edge as smooth as a mirror, with golden light faintly flowing inside.
“My sword intent is ‘Supreme’.”
Loren’s voice was calm:
“To become the supreme of the sword path, the supreme of power, the supreme of humanity!
“Therefore, my sword is pure, persistent, and unstoppable!”
He paused and looked at Jiang Lin:
“What about you? What are you thinking in your heart when you swing your sword?”
Jiang Lin was stunned.
He recalled every state of mind he had while swinging his sword over these seven days.
Sometimes he was remembering the mundanity and resentment from before his transmigration.
Sometimes he was thinking about the wonder and vastness of this world.
Sometimes he was longing to become stronger and reach a higher place.
Sometimes... he thought of nothing at all, simply swinging the sword mechanically.
He thought of the ideas that had surfaced in his mind when the ice soul guard in that space had asked him what his ‘dao’ was.
But even after thinking so much, he felt there was no single simple word that could summarize it.
“I... don’t know.”
Jiang Lin answered honestly:
“There seems to be many things, yet also nothing at all.”
Loren was not surprised:
“That is normal.
“The vast majority of swordsmen cannot clearly explain what their sword intent is when it first solidifies. It requires time, experience, and accumulation.”
He raised his hand and made another sword mark on the ice pillar.
This mark was parallel to the previous one, but the golden light at the edge was more solid, pulsing slightly as if it were alive.
“But you can first determine a ‘direction’.”
Loren withdrew his hand:
“For example, from your current sword intent, I can feel a longing to become stronger, to break through, and to see the end of the path.
“Then that is the core of your sword intent at this stage: ‘Seeking Dao’.”
“With ‘Seeking Dao’ as the core, condense your will.
“Every time you swing your sword, think about breaking through limits, cutting open the path ahead, and becoming stronger.
“Over time, this will will integrate into your sword and become the foundation of your sword intent.”
Jiang Lin was deep in thought.
He walked to a new ice pillar and raised his sword.
This time, he did not rush to strike.
Instead, he closed his eyes and carefully recalled the strongest longings deep within his heart.
Becoming stronger.
Reaching a higher place.
Seeing the end of this path.
Unraveling the secrets of the gods.
Even... going home.
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, finally converging into a scorching torrent.
Jiang Lin opened his eyes, a flame seemingly burning within his golden irises.
He swung the sword.
The sword light was like lightning, slashing down!
“Chi!”
A sword mark over a foot deep appeared on the surface of the ice pillar.
At the edge of the cut, the ice crystals were in a strange state of having melted and then rapidly refrozen, with fine golden patterns spreading out like the marks left by a lightning strike.
More importantly, the ‘intent’ remaining in the sword mark was stronger and clearer than ever before.
It was a scorching, unwilling, and unstoppable will.
As if it would cut through, crush, and trample over all obstacles in front of it!
Loren nodded slightly:
“Not bad, it is starting to take shape.”
He walked to Jiang Lin’s side and tapped the sword mark with his finger:
“But it is not ‘condensed’ enough.
“Your will is too scattered, too messy. To attempt to compress and refine it, ultimately condensing it into a single point.”
“Condensing it into a single point?”
“Correct.”
Loren withdrew his finger:
“Sword intent is like a needle; only when condensed into a single point can it pierce armor and shatter stone. If it is like splashing water, no matter the volume, it will struggle to harm refined iron.”
He raised his hand, and an ice-blue sword tip condensed in the void.
The sword tip was only the size of a fingernail, yet it radiated a terrifying sense of sharpness.
“Imagine your will as iron; temper it a thousand times, removing the dross and keeping the essence, and finally forge it into this needle.”
Loren flicked his finger, and the sword tip shot out, sinking into the ice pillar.
Only a tiny hole was left on the surface of the ice pillar, seemingly bottomless.
But when Jiang Lin investigated with his perception, he found that the internal structure of the hole had been completely destroyed; from the entrance to the core of the pillar, all the ice crystals had turned into powder.
The power of this strike was a hundred times more terrifying than it appeared on the surface!
“I understand.”
Jiang Lin took a deep breath and raised his sword again.
This time, he no longer pursued the depth of the sword mark but instead attempted to condense all his will and power into a single point at the sword tip.
The process was harder than before.
Will is intangible, while power is tangible.
Using the tangible to command the intangible was like trying to catch the wind with one’s hands.
But Jiang Lin did not give up.
Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times...
Three days later.
On the ice terrace, Jiang Lin sheathed his sword and stood still, breathing slightly.
In front of him, the surface of an ice pillar was covered in tiny holes, each only the size of a needle tip but reaching deep into the core.
The edges of the holes were as smooth as mirrors, with golden light faintly flowing inside.
“Out of a hundred strikes, twenty-eight were successful.”
Loren’s voice came from behind him.
“Your progress is very fast.”
Jiang Lin turned around and saw Loren holding a new ice field beast.
Over these past few days, Loren would go out to hunt every so often and bring back food.
Master and disciple would stay on this ice terrace, eating while discussing the way of the sword.
“But it is still not enough.”
Loren roasted the meat and gave half to Jiang Lin:
“What you must achieve is to perfectly condense your sword intent with ‘every’ strike.
“Otherwise, in real combat, your enemy will not give you a hundred chances to try.”
Jiang Lin nodded and took a large bite of the meat.
The meat was tender and full of energy, rapidly replenishing his stamina.
“Next, I will engage in real combat with you.”
Loren suddenly said:
“In battle, you will hone your application of sword intent.”
Jiang Lin was startled:
“Real combat?”
“Yes.”
Loren stood up and walked to the center of the ice terrace:
“Only true combat can allow you to master how to integrate sword intent into every attack as quickly as possible.”
He raised his hand, and an ice-blue longsword condensed in the void:
“I will suppress my strength to the peak of the 2nd rank, the same level as you. You may attack with everything you have.”
Jiang Lin’s eyes lit up.
Being able to engage in real combat with a legendary sword saint like Loren, even if the other party suppressed his strength, was a rare opportunity.
He stood up, and the Eight Extremities Holy Sword condensed in his palm.
The blade was a blend of white-gold and deep-blue, with sword intent faintly appearing.
“Come.”
Loren stood with his sword, his robes fluttering slightly in the wind.
Jiang Lin took a deep breath, kicked off the ground, and shot forward like a bolt of lightning!
The first strike was a direct thrust at the throat!
At the sword tip, a point of golden-blue light condensed—the result of his hard practice over the last three days.
The technique of condensing sword intent into a single point.
Loren did not dodge or avoid it; he simply raised his sword.
“Clang!”
The two swords collided.
Jiang Lin felt an indescribable, massive force surge toward him, and the Eight Extremities Holy Sword nearly flew out of his hand.
He used the force to retreat, simultaneously flicking his wrist. The sword light split into three sword qi arcs, flying toward Loren’s upper, middle, and lower paths in a triangular formation.
Each arc of sword qi was condensed with a sliver of ‘Seeking Dao’ sword intent.
Loren remained calm.
He turned his wrist slightly, his longsword tracing a circular arc in the air.
Where the arc passed, the three sword qi arcs dissipated simultaneously as if they had struck an invisible wall.
“Your application of sword intent is too stiff.”
Loren’s voice reached him:
“Do not use it just for the sake of using it.
“Sword intent is an extension of the sword and a projection of the heart; let it flow naturally, like breathing.”
Jiang Lin was deep in thought.
He charged forward again. This time, he no longer deliberately condensed sword intent; instead, he sank his mind into the sword, letting his will flow naturally with the sword's momentum.
The sword light surged like a tide.
Loren finally moved.
He stepped forward, his longsword thrusting out casually.
This strike appeared slow, yet it accurately pierced through Jiang Lin’s sword net, pointing toward the space between his eyebrows.
Jiang Lin’s pupils contracted, and [Phantom Step · Shadow Wind] activated instinctively as he retreated rapidly.
But Loren’s sword followed him like a shadow, maintaining a distance of three inches from his forehead.
Jiang Lin gritted his teeth and swung the Eight Extremities Holy Sword in a horizontal slash, attempting to replace defense with an attack.
Loren flicked his wrist, the sword tip tracing a small circle that easily brushed aside Jiang Lin’s slash. Simultaneously, his sword momentum shifted, piercing toward Jiang Lin’s shoulder.
“Chi!”
Sword qi pierced through.
Jiang Lin felt a numbness in his right shoulder, and his entire arm instantly lost sensation.
He groaned, using his left hand to point his fingers like a sword at Loren’s wrist.
Loren retracted his sword and retreated, dodging the finger strike.
The two pulled apart again.
Jiang Lin moved his right shoulder. As holy light flowed through, the numbness quickly faded.
“Do you see?”
Loren stood with his sword:
“The application of sword intent must be integrated into every change of stance, every exertion of force, and every breath. It is not independent; it is a part of your way of the sword.”
Jiang Lin took a deep breath:
“Again!”
The battle continued.
This time, Jiang Lin no longer pursued flashy moves. Instead, he attempted to integrate sword intent into the most basic thrusts, slashes, sweeps, deflections, and points.
He strove for simplicity in every strike, and every strike condensed his will.
Gradually, he found that feeling.
Sword intent was no longer a ‘tool’ he needed to deliberately invoke; it had become a natural ‘rhythm’ flowing within his sword momentum.
Like breathing, like a heartbeat.
...
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