Then I regained consciousness in the real world.
(Sword Path Progress: 10%)
(Host has obtained a new skill: Absolute Twin Sword Art)
My eyes suddenly snapped open, cold sweat covering my forehead. My breathing was rapid, as if I had run a long distance.
My hands were trembling. That tragic ending… that feeling of helplessness before my brother… everything felt painfully real.
I closed my eyes, trying to process everything that had happened. The Absolute Twin Sword Art… it was incredibly complex, but it also… felt strangely suited to me.
After gradually calming down, I opened my eyes. The Absolute Twin Sword Art—within the memories of the Sword Path, I had created it from my desire to cut the heavens, inspired by an ancient legend of twin miracles born to defy fate.
That was the source of enlightenment for creating this technique, but the art was incomplete.
I didn't mean the movements themselves, but the accomplishment. Every technique has its path marks. Flame techniques have the marks of the Fire Path Law, and the same applies to other techniques.
These techniques didn't even meet the requirements to be considered Heaven-Cutting techniques, but I also knew what they were missing.
They lacked specific path marks. I opened the storage and looked at the three fusion cards I possessed.
I took one out and activated it. A list of the techniques I owned appeared.
I placed the Absolute Twin Sword Art into the fusion slot, then browsed through the other techniques.
To truly cut the heavens, it required Heaven-Opposing Path Marks. And who better than the marks of the Heaven-Defying Body?
Immediately, I pulled out the Heaven-Defying body skill and placed it into the fusion.
Then there was something additional to complete it. It shouldn't just oppose the heavens—it should also break them. And when it came to that, one thing came to mind.
Great Smash.
I added it to the fusion slot. It could break balance, so it would work well with the technique.
Then, to ensure what I obtained was a sword technique, I would add the Beginner Swordsmanship.
"Uni, I'm going to fuse these skills."
(Fusion cost: 8,000,000 points)
"Uni, you're going to drain my points dry at this rate, but I agree."
(Fusion successful! Obtained new skill: "Heaven-Smashing Sword Art")
I smiled at this notification. Exactly what I wanted. And because of the addition of the twin sword foundation and Beginner Swordsmanship, this technique has ten movements: five for dual swords and five for single swords.
But despite that, I still hadn't found the meaning of my sword. And even if I did, I still had training ahead of me. It was impossible to achieve in a few months what others train for their entire lives.
I had to consume "my entire life"..
"Uni, can I enter the Sword Path again?"
(Possible, but as I said before, you cannot obtain a new skill.)
"I am fully aware of that. That's not what I want."
Immediately, I traversed the Sword Path again, but this time it was different. Before, I acted as a spectator, merely watching what I did. But this time, I would move with my own consciousness.
I mimicked the movements of my other self within my consciousness, repeating them together with him. Fortunately, my other self was diligent. Perhaps if his talent hadn't been stolen, he would have already reached the Sword Spirit stage sooner
I replayed the Sword Path only three times before I began to sense something.
I grasped my sword and started swinging it.
The teacher's words seeped into my mind with each swing.
What do I put into my sword? That's absurd. The sword is just a tool, no matter how you look at it.
But if it's truly just a tool, am I wronging Ling Xi?
This was my fifth time on this path, and I was still trying to truly understand the meaning.
Each time I strike with the sword, I do so with the intention of killing my opponent.
Yes, I have killed many people.
How many people have I killed?
I have faced many enemies, some perhaps stronger than me, some weaker.
But I killed them regardless.
I built my body the way I wanted.
I wanted to change, but it's childish to say I won't change without paying a price.
I understand this fully.
But I am afraid. Afraid that during my change, I will throw everything away.
Even the person I used to be.
Or rather, I am afraid that the will I have built will disappear.
My will, my desire to challenge the heavens.
But this was also my shackle.
I have changed before, but it wasn't the change I needed. It was the change I chose.
I chose to be the good grandson.
I chose to be the good son.
I chose to be the loyal friend.
I chose to be the sincere disciple.
But I truly felt great pain when I watched my other lives.
They were all me, but they were also not me. If all my other selves chose a path, then what is my path?
Perhaps the path of rebellion? Or the path of madness? No, these paths already exist.
I chose that myself. But was that what I needed?
This was indeed the tenth replay, and I was swinging my sword into the void.
People always change. This is an inescapable truth. Nothing remains the same. My grandparents are dead, my parents are dead, and one day I will die.
Either I deny this and remain a prisoner of my mind, or I accept this within myself and change.
But I wanted to think deeper and dive further into my meaning.
Until I hit a wall.
Why was I born?
Was I born to kill? No, I wasn't even born in that era.
Was I born to create miracles? No, my life so far is a miracle in itself.
Perhaps to be abandoned? Maybe that was the answer, but no, it isn't. I am sure of it.
This was my fifteenth replay. If we counted the time period, it was three hundred years of experience.
Then, for a moment, I realized my lack of fundamentals. I held my sword randomly, relying on a skill implanted in my mind, but that truly robbed me of building that foundation.
I reached the twentieth replay.
And I began to understand what the teacher meant. The Sword Path isn't just about skills; it's about putting my will, my soul, and my heart into the sword.
Until I become one with the sword.
The sword is not just a tool or a weapon; it is an extension of its wielder's will, their heart and soul, their flesh and blood. That is the pursuit of sword cultivators. To truly walk the path of the sword, one must be willing to surrender their ego and become one with the sword.
My replays reached thirty.
The sword is the path to existence. As long as your will for the sword is strong, you can cut anything.
Cut enemies, cut flesh, cut the soul, cut the earth, cut the heavens, cut the world, cut destiny itself.
Cut, cut, cut, and I keep cutting. I will not stop until I have cut!
Everything will become cuttable when your will to cut is unparalleled.
But before you cut any enemy, you must first cut yourself.
I finally reached my meaning. After all this swinging, my meaning was:
If you cannot cut yourself, how will you cut others?
This meaning.
I will engrave it deep in my soul. I will engrave it so that even if I reincarnate for billions of years or lose my mind, I will remain as I am.
My meaning was to cut myself. I tried to commit suicide that day. That was proof of my weakness.
But it took more courage to live than to commit suicide.
I will never allow myself to be that weak again.
And the thirtieth replay ended, with my brother killing me.
I suddenly opened my eyes in the cave room, my breathing rapid and my body drenched in sweat.
A strange feeling of clarity washed over me, as if a thick fog had suddenly dissipated from my mind.
"Cut myself first..." I whispered as I raised my hand before my eyes, as if seeing it for the first time. "This is the meaning of my sword."
The paradox was clear—to become stronger, I had to be willing to destroy everything I thought I knew about myself. Not destruction for annihilation, but for rebuilding stronger.
I grasped my sword, which I had taken out of storage, and felt a different weight this time. It was no longer just a piece of metal.
(Sword Path Progress: 25%)
Immediately, I practiced the Heaven-Smashing Sword Art. I had only one sword, so I practiced the single-sword set , i didn't have to buy another one
And at that moment, I felt something strange. My body was more in tune with the sword. The sword seemed to be an extension of my body.
The problems Lu Li had told me about—my body's unsmooth sword use, my locked movements—all of them were resolved.
I had set foot on it.
The Sword and Body stage.
But honestly, I was dissatisfied. I replayed the path only thirty times to find the meaning of my sword and set foot in this stage.
In short, that was six hundred years for me.
"Uni, am I this slow?"
(Don't be disheartened, Host. It's just intellectual change. Your mind is still connected to a civilized world. You cannot be like those born in this world. However, even an ordinary person would reach this stage within twenty years at most, even without talent. So yes, the Host has no talent in the Sword Path.)
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to process Uni's words. "I have no talent in the Sword Path..." I muttered to myself. The words were harsh, but true.
I wasn't like Su Ming, born with innate talent, or those geniuses who walk the Sword Path as if they were made for it.
But then I suddenly smiled. "Alright, then I'll forge my own talent."
(Host...)
"Don't worry, Uni. I know my limits. But do you know what sets someone like me apart?" I gripped the sword tighter. "I have something that sets me apart from others. I have the Reincarnation Paths, and I have you, my dear system."
(Host...)
For a moment, Uni's voice seemed to change. Hah, so she wasn't a machine after all. Well, it would be an insult to call her a machine after all the years we've spent together.
I turned the sword slowly, feeling every inch of it as if it were part of me. The movements that seemed difficult days ago now flowed with absolute smoothness.
Even the "Heaven-Smashing Sword Art"—I felt I could execute it ten times in a row without any problems.
The stage after this was the Sword and Heart. I already had experience with that stage due to the memories, but I wasn't truly there.
Simply put, that was due to a change of heart. Sword and Heart means that your heart beats for the sword, a bond that forms after years of the sword uniting with the body.
Then I continued practicing my sword art for an entire month. I could now perform the basic sword formations smoothly, but the true power of this technique would come when I created my Sword Intent through it.
"Ah... right. Su Ming said that Sword Intent has nine levels. That's going to be a real headache."
Still, even if I formed my Sword Intent, I would prefer to hide it from Su Ming. He had been training with the sword since childhood. If I progressed faster than him due to my cheating, I feared that resentment and jealousy would arise in his heart. I didn't want to lose him that way.
Then I began swinging again.
I felt that I had made remarkable progress in the Sword Path. My movements became more fluid, and the "Heaven-Smashing Sword Art" began to take its true form. I will soon bring out the true form of this sword with my own hands.