"Cutting reed flowers is also a form of intent… cutting reed flowers is also a form of intent…"
To Victor Wang's muttering, Jiang Xue calmly replied, "In truth, I shouldn't be telling you this so soon. The very act of thinking about this matter is itself a form of intent. Once your thoughts shift, what was once simply cutting reed flowers for the sake of cutting them could turn into something else entirely."
"You're right, my heart is already in turmoil… but if that's the case, why did you still tell me?"
"This is a hurdle you'll have to face sooner or later. Even if you grasp the 'intent of cutting reed flowers,' when you move on to other forms of intent, you'll still find yourself unconsciously thinking the same way."
Jiang Xue paused, then praised him: "But I can see a stubborn tenacity in you. It feels as though you won't stop cutting until you've grasped sword intent."
"Stubborn, huh?"
Victor Wang chuckled, old memories rushing back to him.
It was those two and a half years of work that taught him this. The market shifting unpredictably, clients' demands being vague, product managers are both fickle and inconsistent… to expect that sheer hard work alone could deliver the results you wanted in such an environment—it was far too difficult. Anyone from Earth probably carried this same streak of stubbornness.
"To be able to see results from effort alone is truly a blessing. Of course, it's mainly because you've shown me the right path. Without that, even the hardest effort would just be wasted."
Jiang Xue raised his eyelids slightly, smiling. "Why do you sound like you're full of worldly sighs, speaking like some wizened old man?"
Victor Wang didn't argue, but refocused on his sword training. With the guidance just given, this time he threw himself into it completely. The morning slipped by, and he even forgot to eat lunch, only to faintly sense that he was touching upon something new.
Just as he was about to press further, a small interruption arrived.
"Victor!"
Soaring just over the wooden bridge by Wangshu Inn, Paimon had keenly spotted Victor Wang practicing by the riverbank. She immediately called out. When the first shout got no reaction, she quickly flew closer and cried out again: "Victor!"
It was only then that Lumine, who was in conversation with Mona, noticed Victor Wang's sword movements, the elegance and resonance within each stroke. She instantly realized he was in a crucial state of practice and tried to pull Paimon back—but the little one had already shouted a third time.
Victor Wang slipped out of that subtle, mysterious state. A hollow sense of loss welled in his heart as he lifted his gaze to the blazing sun overhead and to Paimon, who was now being muffled by Lumine's hands.
"Mmff… mmfff…"
Lumine sighed, her face apologetic. "Sorry. Paimon didn't understand and ended up waking you."
Paimon's eyes went wide. Struggling free from Lumine's arms, she scrunched her face. "What do you mean? I didn't do something bad, did I?"
"You interrupted Victor's rare state of cultivation."
"Eh? I—I only shouted twice… I'm sorry!" Paimon rubbed the back of her head, lowering her gaze.
["Hmph! All is to blame of that unidentified flying object, disrupting my master's training!"]
"I-I really didn't mean it! How about I treat you all to something delicious with my savings…?"
What was done was done. Victor Wang gave a helpless smile. "Forget it. Time and fate—it just wasn't meant to be. If I work harder, another chance will come."
"Time and fate… when you put it that way, I feel even more guilty! Oh, right, we just met a really powerful astrologist. What was her name again… Ast…Ast- something?"
"Astrologist Mona Megistus," Victor Wang corrected.
"Yes, yes, that's it! Let her read your fortune, see if what you're trying to achieve will succeed!"
"Paimon, did you forget what I said? Astrology is a serious discipline for perceiving truth and observing destiny. It isn't for trivial errands. If you rely on astrology for every little thing, the stars themselves will abandon you."
Mona crossed her arms, eyeing Victor Wang with suspicion. "Also, how do you know my full name?"
"I had the fortune of reading it in the Steambird Newspaper."
Mona's eyes lit up. "A fan, huh! B-but even so, I won't just casually perform astrology for anyone."
But then—the Steambird was her single biggest and most reliable source of income. If word spread that she treated readers too harshly, not only would her equipment, ancient tomes, and star charts be lost, she might even have trouble filling her stomach.
So, she coughed lightly and gave a subtle wink—signaling that with the right justification, perhaps she could turn a blind eye.
Paimon gnawed her thumb, scrambling for a clever excuse. Then her eyes lit up: "Mona, Mona! Didn't you want Lumine to act as your disciple, and you said you needed practice so you wouldn't slip up in front of others? Why not use this chance? Showing your disciple your power is a proper reason!"
Victor Wang had half a mind to clarify that he wasn't actually a fan. But hearing Paimon's reasoning, he grew curious about his fate and instead said nothing, simply watching Mona with expectant eyes.
"This time, Paimon actually makes sense." Lumine nodded in agreement, giving Paimon a thumbs-up.
"Fine, fine." With the excuse given, Mona inwardly sighed in relief. She turned to Victor Wang. "What's your name?"
"Victor."
"…And what I'm divining is your path of swordsmanship, your growth in strength. Let me see…"
She traced circles with her hands, summoning a water scrying disk filled with stars. She manipulated it in ways incomprehensible to outsiders—but suddenly her brows furrowed, her eyes flicking toward Victor Wang with disbelief.
Paimon, guilt weighing heavily on her, tensed up. "What is it? It's not bad, is it?!"
"…I'm sorry."
Paimon's mouth dropped open in shock—until Mona dispersed the water disk and continued, "Apologies. Your fate is… full, yet cloaked in mist. And when I tried to clear the mist, only emptiness remained. To put it simply—I cannot see it."
"That's strange." Mona glanced at Lumine. "Lumine's destiny is filled with a fog that cannot be parted. But Victor's fate should be clear—and yet, no one's destiny should be truly empty…"
Paimon's jaw snapped shut, but her eyes widened even more.
Victor Wang lowered his gaze, silent, feigning deep contemplation.
Only Lumine truly mulled it over, then carefully asked: "Are you saying Victor is… someone who 'doesn't exist in this world'?"
"No."
Mona shook her head. "Even someone from beyond the world, so long as they interact with others, leaves marks of intertwined fate. Just like now—as we converse, even if Victor's fate were blank, it should still show threads of entanglement with mine. The only explanation I can think of… is that his destiny has been hidden."
"Hidden?" Victor Wang blinked. That wasn't what he had expected.
"I merely state what I see, without labeling it good or bad. But since I couldn't fulfill my promise, I must apologize again."
"…Time and fate. It's fine. Then can you at least tell me how much power it would take to hide a destiny?"
"I don't know. I've never encountered such a thing."
Mona clenched her fist, outwardly calm, but inside she kept asking herself why, why. To say she wasn't curious would be a lie. But she knew well—destiny was called destiny precisely because it could not be altered.
Which meant whoever could hide Victor's fate… against such a being, all her stargazing was meaningless.
She let out a weary breath, loosening her fist. "Let's go," she told Lumine and Paimon. "If we delay any longer, I'll miss my chance to meet my master's rival's successor."
"Wait!"
Lumine still had something to say to Victor Wang.
"Shenhe asked us about your whereabouts a few days ago. But you only told us to keep an eye on her—you didn't share where you were going. Were you deliberately avoiding her? Should I tell her you're back?"
"She hasn't run into any trouble these past days, has she?"
"No."
"That's good. Best not to tell her, then."
"…I understand."
After Lumine and Mona left, Jiang Xue gazed across the river with a sigh. "What a pity. You lost a chance at enlightenment."
"What's mine is mine. No one can take it away. It's only a matter of time before I grasp it."
"Good. Then I won't regret deliberately not stopping them for you. Since you're so confident, let me spur you on—grasping sword intent isn't just a new stage in martial arts. For a Vision wielder, it's an important breakthrough. It means you can begin to create true techniques."
"True techniques?!"
"One method understood is ten thousand methods revealed. Aren't you curious what happens when you channel intent into your elemental skills?"
For the sake of that revelation, another seven days passed. He never again touched that fleeting state of enlightenment, but Victor Wang earnestly grasped the intent of cutting reed flowers.
If before, the sword was merely an extension of his arm and sword energy only an aftereffect of his swings, then from this moment onward—the sword belonged wholly to his body, while sword energy became the true extension of his arm.
Sword energy could be drawn back or released freely according to his will. It could stretch or compress to a degree, grow sharper or duller, and under its guidance, even his strikes grew faster. It no longer felt like mere wind whipped up by his blade, but as though his target itself was calling the blade toward it.
Of course, this sensation came only when his target was reed flowers.
"What should I practice next? Cutting stones? I feel like I can manage it now." At the end of a day's training, Victor Wang asked Jiang Xue for guidance.
"Reeds are plentiful, tangled, and troublesome. That forces you to focus your whole mind on cutting them. Stones have only one trait—hardness. That won't push you nearly as much. Better to return to swordsmanship. You use Favonius Bladework often, don't you? That's a good place to start."
"Swordsmanship… all things have intent. A carefully honed sword art must contain intent too. You mean for me to comprehend the intent of Favonius Bladework?"
"Sharp mind, but not sharp enough. Swordsmanship is dead. Its creator is long gone. But you and your sword are alive. Whatever intent you give it, that's what it will be. Why bother seeking intent within the dead?"
Watching Victor Wang's contemplative back, Jiang Xue packed away his empty fishing rod and, unusually, went home early for dinner.
There was something he hadn't voiced. Yes, swordsmanship is dead, its creator long gone. But when it was created, it was based on the deduction of sword intent—whether slow or fast, heavy or light, fierce as lightning or gentle as water. Swordsmanship is dead, but the range of intents it can contain is still bounded. It will never truly be "whatever intent you give it." That much, Victor Wang would have to discover on his own.
But that night, something unexpected occurred—not a small interruption, but a great one.
A sudden meteor shower streaked across the heavens.