A fight began with an attack targeting my sword and its edges because the weight on it was light. He launched his attack, and in the blink of an eye, I bent my shoulder in a wave-like motion aiming for his neck, but he flipped over the sword and jumped lightly, aiming at my head. I blocked it, causing a collision, and he backed away. This time, he initiated a barrage of wave-like attacks, and I responded the same way, countering his attacks with vertical strikes to balance the offense between us. However, in a flash, he suddenly changed his attack, breaking through my defense and aiming at my neck. For some reason, my body didn't dodge as usual, but a flash appeared—like the moves he was about to initiate—and I avoided the attack, directing my sword at his shoulder in a moment of distraction. Yet, he placed a 15-centimeter-thick aura around his body. I attacked at the moment my strike reached him, but the scoundrel exploited every possible gap. When he started launching attacks, I flipped to dodge all of them. I sustained some minor wounds but paid no mind. Upon reaching the ground, he surprised me with an attack aimed at my heel. I spun my body 360 degrees in a circle, targeting his neck, but naturally, he blocked it. Damn, I couldn't find even one opening, not a single one. The only solution was to create an opening or destroy their fighting styles. They counter my techniques, which mostly originate from the Variable Sword arts that change with the user's application. So, I created anti-sword techniques—they counter the various sword styles and stop the shape-shifting of sword forms. I continued my attack using these anti-sword techniques. However, he deflected my attack, and the same thing as before happened: I saw all the future attacks that were coming at me, I stopped each one, and dodged every strike. Finally, he unleashed all the aura in his sword, and the attacks collided, resulting in an explosion. I seized the opportunity, accelerated my speed to the point that it seemed I was surpassing the speed of light itself, and within hundreds of fractions of a second, I placed my sword on his neck and wounded him. An old man initiated the same attack toward my chest, but it did not hit me. I stepped back a bit after the attack and used my sword—this time enveloped with all the remaining aura I had—and sliced at him, attacking with a barrage of shape-shifting strikes that changed with every hit. He couldn't predict them, but he moved his sword in a triangular motion and cut through the consecutive attacks. I was thrown aside as usual. The old man still wanted to defeat me, but I would not surrender so easily. This time, it was one of my last attacks. I had to destroy the threshold and the wall in front of me or at least scratch it. I rushed at the old man and attacked him once again. For some reason, I anticipated all his moves and countered them simultaneously, cutting and deflecting all attacks with my aura. I severed his arm after he attacked me; I blocked with my left arm, but it was okay since my right arm could still do its duty. I pressed on the wounded area with aura to stop the bleeding. I attacked him unleashing all my aura and rushed at full speed, surpassing hundreds of meters in a fraction of a second. I released an aura wave. The old man began seeing fog, but as he disappeared, my sword appeared on his neck. He did the same to me, but I had already wounded him several times; my arms were tired, and he had deep wounds. The old man said, "Alright, I admit my defeat this time, but if you face my true incarnation, you will not come out alive, because this was just willpower. Anyway, young man, I noticed earlier that you blocked some attacks with precision as if you could see them, not like previous times when your body was the one blocking." I replied, "Yes, in my encounters with you, in the moments when I was about to die, I would have died if not for that technique, but it only appears in critical moments or when my body is exhausted." He said, "Hmm, it seems your motivation is tied to death or loss. If you fulfill their conditions, you will be able to ascend from the threshold and particle of the pinnacle world to the world of transcendence directly, at least as a minimum estimate. You have fulfilled all the conditions of the world of sword integration and transcendence, and you will become at least 15% as strong as my true body in terms of power." I added, "Also, old man, what is your name and where are you from?" He said, "Well, ask anyone about a person called Venerable Sword and you will know my identity directly. What I have given you in lessons and motivation depends on yourself now, and I guarantee you will become one of the strongest ever." The old man disappeared. After the test ended, I could sense everything without the real sensations I used to have; it was as if I could hear or even touch without those five senses. After the battle, Lao Ying came and removed the restrictions on my senses. She said, "Hello, my lord, how is the training? It seems you spent many years in this subconscious mind. I hope it didn't affect you mentally." I said, "On the contrary, it benefited me greatly. But the subconscious mind—does time flow there as it does in other worlds?" She said, "No, usually if, for example, many years pass, the same amount of time does not pass in other worlds because it is like a training room where you do not have specific time. Also, the same time in the subconscious mind world is not the same in other worlds because time varies. Usually, you determine it or it is determined by the duration of training. For example, 5,000 years in the subconscious mind equals 4 minutes, and it differs every time." I understood, "Hmm, it seems I get it; time here is not absolute and its flow differs according to the format you choose from the subconscious mind itself. Nice." Before I left, Lao Ying wrapped her arms around my back and showed me every memory and every moment during that cursed training—all the minutes and seconds I remembered—from my first meeting with Sasaki, my first teacher, to meeting that old man, my second teacher. She said, "Well, it seems you have all your memories absolutely, and there is also a way to improve your talent if you want, but it requires a lot of effort and hard work." I replied, "No, thanks, not now. I can find a way to advance relying on myself. Don't tire yourself too much with my affairs. I don't mean it in a special way, no interference, thank you. I can solve everything by myself. You don't need to exhaust yourself." Before I left, I tapped her forehead with my finger and said goodbye. When I woke up, I found myself lying in a room. Xing Jin and Xing Yan looked shocked. Xing Jin said, "Thank God, my leader, you were unconscious for a whole month." "What? A month? Wasn't I the one determining time? And I set it myself so that every million years inside the subconscious mind counts as 0.0001 seconds in the real world? What's this about?" I remembered before I started my training, Lao Ying said she was going to solve a problem with the memory world and the inner time world, which seems responsible for determining your sense of time personally—it can make you feel time passes slowly or quickly. I don't remember from whom I heard this exactly, but I think this is the part that had a malfunction, which caused a change in time in the external world at the expense of the internal world. The patriarch of the family entered and said, "Hello, young one, how are you? It's been a long time since we talked. But why were you unconscious for a whole month like this?" I said, "I don't remember. I was training to perceive consciousness and then I don't remember anything that happened." He said, "Strange." I recalled the old man's words when he said Venerable Sword. I asked the patriarch, "Who is Venerable Sword?" He said, "Why do you ask about this man? He is considered the strongest in Morim and one of the few who surpassed the world of transcendence. He is a leader of a demonic orthodox faction, but Venerable Sword is the strongest who reached the peak, having devoted his expertise and life to Morim. However, his traces disappeared from Jianghu a long time ago—about five years." I asked, "Does he have long white hair, blue eyes, and medium-length beard?" He said, "Yes, that's roughly how he looked years ago, but how do you know his appearance?" I said, "Of course, Venerable Sword is a famous character, and finding information about his appearance is natural because he's well-known throughout Jianghu." He replied, "Well, young man, you are free to do as you wish." Also, regarding your decisions, we stopped talking. This time I requested a duel with the family patriarch, and he agreed. I drew my sword and rushed, twisting my waist and body in the air, attacking him with anti-sword technique. He blocked, I quickly descended and struck his foot; I flipped on his back attacking him. He blocked with his body aura but it pierced part of the aura and hit him. Suddenly, he pushed me away with the sword's hilt. I resisted the force, causing a clash between us. He backed off, and I landed on the ground, attacking his neck. I took the opportunity and attacked his arm with the sword. His arm was about to be cut, but my body unleashed all its capabilities. I saw possible moves to dodge and succeeded in a twisted pull. My stab hit his arm but wasn't strong, causing slight bleeding. I moved. Suddenly, my feet planted firmly on the ground, then my sword ignited with red aura. I slashed the air with a first strike; the patriarch blocked it, then turned his body and attacked me from the side. I ducked quickly, twisted my body, and struck upward. I felt the iron collide and stepped back. I raised my sword and before he moved, I fixed my gaze on him, paused for a moment, then took a step forward, then another, starting to walk calmly, but my speed increased. Everything around me slowed down, and my body became light. I saw him move slowly as if time had stopped. I passed him by one step, then a second. I didn't need to strike; I just passed by him. I felt his body open, and I heard a tearing sound from inside. I continued walking. I felt my sword shake. Blood dripped on it, and I didn't look back. I heard his voice as he stood, the patriarch suddenly despite his wounds, his sword ignited with green aura, and an energy wave exploded from it, destroying the training ground. The ground cracked; the arena and floor turned to dust. He rushed toward me with wild strikes filled with all his power. Every step he took left a crater shaking the place. Suddenly, I felt an inner surge; my vision changed. I saw everything before it happened. Visions flooded my mind as if I saw the sword path he himself would initiate. I moved and dodged the first strike before the second began. I passed beside it as if it were a breeze and struck. My sword sliced his chest, but he continued his attack. He kicked me from behind. I spun my body in the air and landed lightly. Then I walked toward him calmly. My sword didn't tremble. Every strike of his, I saw in my mind before his body generated it. Every assault, I spoiled with one step. I passed him from the right, then hit him from behind. I jumped over him and struck his shoulder. His body spun automatically, and I rotated with him. I hit his side, then released a wave of my aura that pierced his body through the chest. He stopped for a second; his eyes widened and said, "I admit my defeat." Strange, this state—I myself never entered such a state of unconsciousness, but my body entered a state of flow, and my mind became more aware with a bigger intellect. All his moves were clear to me. Strange indeed. My body seemed to have adapted to the patriarch's moves to the point that it could see the future and even counter moves. I focused on the patriarch, who was bleeding a considerable amount. The same thing happened to me. My vision began to fade, my balance disrupted, and I fainted. I woke up this time in a world that was neither unconscious nor real. A girl appeared, considered beautiful, with unique wavy blonde hair and golden eyes. She held me and said, "Your time to die has not come, little one." She kissed me on the mouth .
Something like a small light entered my body then I woke up a doctor said: young man there is something strange your upper and lower dantian are destroyed and even your body you were in a state of mental death you recovered and you were like this for two weeks how but how did the dantian heal this quickly before he could continue I tried to get up but my body had already reached its limits and the wounds caused by internal cracks my body was almost covered with bandages he said: do not exhaust yourself and do not try to get up from the bed as much as possible so you do not tire yourself because this way you strain your body and you will improve after two weeks just eat more and do not exhaust yourself and do not get up from the bed until you get better. When the doctor left I saw Xing Yan and Xing Jin asking him if I was okay he replied that somehow my body repaired the dantian but my physical fatigue was still present. They asked for permission to enter and it was granted they came in and looked happy judging by their faces and sat on chairs beside me.
Xing Jin asked: my lord I am happy that you rose from your past condition to a better state and I wish you a speedy recovery and also congratulate you on your victory over the patriarch of the Tang family. Xing Yan said: we apologize my lord but as you know we were worried because they said you were in a state of near mental death and your body was broken so we thought it was your end therefore as a precaution if your condition worsened after two weeks we were ready to risk going to find treatment for you and a young lord said he would take care of that also. I defeated Xing Jin a beginner who has not developed yet he just reached the peak stage of the pinnacle world while I received advice from the patriarch of the Nasai family on reaching the stage of sword integration and I found enlightenment in it now I am at a late stage of integration with the sword.
Xing Jin replied: this scoundrel in front of you is just a fool he only bullies like little children and has only talent no more not that strength you imagine he is still more of an amateur who does not understand anything uses elixirs only to strengthen his aura. Then they began to quarrel for some reason with their presence I felt an unnatural warmth in their quarrel something that made part of happiness fill me at the same time. I laughed from my whole heart a little for the first time in front of them. They were surprised and Xing Jin said: does my lord laugh or is it just my imagination. Xing Yan said: it seems lord was drunk I have never seen him laugh like this it is like a miracle because he never shows any emotions he is strict and serious. A little anger overcame me and I said: you fools you crossed the limits do you think I am not human or what. Xing Yan said: you are a rock with all due respect because you are strict and only focus on training like a beast you are emotionless. I released my aura and took a small piece of wood and threw it at him. Xing Yan dodged it and said: we apologize my lord for bothering you forgive me I have matters to attend to see you later what a funny duo.
Now regarding what that woman put inside me my aura condensed and even the dantian became wider the upper and lower and maybe finally the middle dantian but it is supposed to appear after years of mastery not directly that woman is really from hell what was that thing she put inside besides that damn why do I feel this much embarrassment about it let's leave this matter I will think about it later maybe this girl has something to do with the transition.
Okay I think I will enter the world of consciousness to solve a past problem when the time of training in the real world increased more than I expected I closed my eyes and entered the mind world after a while I found Zhang Yi I greeted him and asked: my man there was a problem in past time in the outer world does it have to do with the inner time world. He said: well absolute will or its embodiment went to solve this problem in current time and also the inner time world is vast much larger than all other worlds but smaller than the world of emotions it is like a mirror of your soul representing you and symbolizing a person in general. I added: okay so when will the problem be solved. He said: Lao Ying said she will solve the problem then return and that the matter is not that difficult she can solve it quickly but the problem is that the inner time world has some imbalances due to its interference with the world of emotions. I said can I retrieve part of the will I will go help Lao Ying solve the problem. He gave me what he had and I left. I saw Yao Ling organizing it absolutely cutting the interference between the two worlds almost but also in general but there is an unknown dividing thread and she hesitates to cut it and the reason might cause damage. I stood beside her and she said: why did you come. I answered: well I came here to solve problems between the two worlds why don't you cut it. She said: this thread is almost feelings if I cut it it may lead to loss of feelings and destruction of a large part of the world of intentions including destroying the inner time world because it is linked to psychological state parts of it may be harmed. I said: it seems this is a dilemma give me all your sacred will so I can solve the problem I have an idea. But she said: if I take all the absolute will in general my existence will disappear. I replied: since it is my world I will preserve your existence either way I need to solve this problem then return the power to you. I transferred her energy and her existence started to disappear. I snapped my fingers and renewed her body. Now I have two ideas first that copying the thread will cause a malfunction shaking the worlds of the mind one way or another or I move it to another thread and cut the current one or forcefully transfer the will to avoid damage the better choice is to move it to another thread but I will make a miniature thread unaffected by the place where I made it. I gathered all feelings in it and shrank it until it reached the size of my fist then moved it to the second thread and cut the first thread. I enlarged the transferred thread and linked it to the world of intentions and feelings and separated both the inner time world and the world of intentions and feelings and transferred the will to Lao Ying and left the world. Zhang Yi placed a cup of coffee in front of me. I said: should there be coffee in a place like this. He replied: well we are not bound by rules in an absurd world since we have partial authority and also I forgot to return the remaining authority of absolute will to myself. I placed my index finger on my forehead and transferred the remaining part of the absolute will and said: it seems we are not restricted but how do I make coffee. He said: gather the causal root of the subconscious in your hand and imagine you possess it it will form automatically from imagination alone but imagine the finest details like the shape of the cup its decoration its taste and so on. I did as he asked and a cup formed automatically and it was exactly the taste I chose. He answered: the important thing is well according to my knowledge talent in the world of avatars are unconscious internal representations arising from early experiences stored as deep mental patterns carrying meanings motives and skills and they guide behavior and creativity but the exact part responsible for talents is a recurring pattern it cannot be chosen but is formed from repeated desires experiences and emotions and the more a strong internal pattern repeats the more talents related to it activate thus the mind is prepared to produce a skill without conscious learning because it matures internally through repetition and continuous emotional interaction produced consciously or not so the part that does not choose can be activated like sword talent the sword talent activates when a strong internal imagination related to power defense honor or danger repeats and images of sword movements form in the imagination with high feelings like fear or desire for control a recurring pattern forms that interacts with the body to create talent but when the recurring pattern combines with sharp imagination and constant inner emotion it creates renewed images of sword moves without direct teaching the body begins to respond to them immediately as if the talent is innate mastered instinctively and develops fast because the pattern feeds it with constant inspiration this is called genius.
So we will rely on developing a pattern itself and making it a method to better understand the sword in a pattern of shape reading this can also improve the talent. I said: okay I will think about it excuse me I will go a bit to the real world. I left bidding farewell to Zhang Yi. I returned to the real world it was the same time at sunset and night began to fall on this place. Xing Jin and Xing Yan were asleep deeply on two beds next to me and another bed at a distant corner. As for me I tried to use my sensory perception to see how far it can really reach it reached 5 km not more than that 10 15 20 40 80 120 km this is a very wide range it has expanded much more than last time. I can even sense my heartbeat and sounds inside every body the finest details almost and I see my body is better. I tried to walk for a while I tried to stand but my body cannot rely on itself much there was a cane and I started walking on it. On the way I met the patriarch of the family all his wounds had almost healed and he was in a better state he noticed me and patted my shoulder: young man you really amaze me and make me happy my past fight was good and your moves were exceptional but if I was in my prime at that time you would have no chance of winning at least currently I intend to reach the threshold of the world of transcendence so I can renew my body and also the middle dantian is destroyed so it is difficult to continue fighting you but really fighting with you was great young man I congratulate you also you advanced from late to intermediate level in the pinnacle world but you became able to use prediction ability well in general congratulations. I bid him farewell and continued my way outside. I noticed the young lord returning and it seems he advanced to the intermediate stage of the pinnacle world he said: hello my lord congratulations you should not tire yourself walking with a cane like this and do not go far so you do not exhaust your body. I replied: thanks young lord and you also only need a middle dantian with strengthening your relation with the sword by crossing the sword's silk you can reach the pinnacle world directly and when I recover I will help you reach your enlightenment that you need. I continued my way also I left the castle and lay on a rock. I saw some young teenagers about fifteen years old still in adolescence bullying another child with white hair and very clear blue eyes like pure snow. I stepped forward and released a bit of my aura to scare them away they left. I carried the small boy and used healing ointment. I put it on a swollen spot on his knee and on his face which was purple from the beating. I treated him but using a method I learned from that old man which is using aura and reducing its intensity by manipulating its shape and I closed wounds and swelling that had faded from his face. I asked him: what is your name. He said: I have no name because I am an orphan with no parents. I said: can I name you then. He said: absolutely no I have no need anyway. I added: okay I will call you from now on Qing Xiu and what do you think about joining my small group it is not that great but I think you will like it. Qing Xiu agreed. I added again: but I must measure your skills. I threw a wooden sword at him and I did the same. I stood in front of Qing Xiu his eyes watching me as if piercing my skin reading my sword even reading what I have not done and what I will do. After his sword shone with a strange blue aura this is a genius few reach at age 15 and use aura without awareness they are rare but he was calm and behind his calmness there was a genius of a rare kind that can be born once every century. Even then he attacked me lightly as if his feet did not touch the ground. I dodged the first strike before I swung it then he responded with an impossible second strike making my sword rebound. I felt he really reads me strike after strike everything I think he counters before I move. I tried manipulating my pulse breathing and even my body but he kept predicting me as if I am an open book. He hit me in my shoulder then my leg then my cheek and smiled and said calmly: I denied your strength in front of me you hide nothing. Then he fell silent and I said I was playing with him. Then I began to breathe slowly. I just closed my eyes for a moment then opened them. I saw him moving but I did not think of anything just my body moved alone without mind or plan. A strike came from him I bent without thinking then struck his side sideways. He was confused for a moment. I raised my sword up and struck powerfully cutting his blue aura with burning color then my body spun automatically and I kicked him he fell to his knees. I said: okay although I used a decent part of his strength you intimidated me you are truly a genius you use aura at a teenage age and have middle upper and lower dantian. I laughed and patted his head. I told him to accompany me. We arrived in front of the palace and young lord welcomed me and I said: can I bring this boy he is a genius he uses aura at this age and managed to match me with 15% of my strength although he has no teacher and has middle and lower and upper dantian. Even the young lord looked at his aura and was shocked. He said: it is impossible for a child to have such a huge amount of aura and I can also see a thread of fate (note from me: the thread of fate appears to people who have unreal potentials and with their abilities can turn a world upside down and it appears according to the soul and color of the person's will) because I have a sight ability that sees people's potential it is a power I inherited from my mother also the thread of fate has two big white dragons meaning this person is a rare talent and I have indeed gained a useful person by your side anyway he handed me a child and prepared his states through servants and went away. Solve what you did not solve I replied: no thanks I will just go because I forgot my sword somewhere and will retrieve it. I went to the rock and went to take my sword but I noticed a cloaked person using martial arts similar to that old man's fighting style. I started to observe and it seems he developed a different form of the Variable Sword technique of the Venerable Sword and his technique has reached perfection indeed this is besides his lightness and balance between his body and sword. I paused for a moment and shouted: hey who are you watching me come out of your place. I came out and said: are you Zhong Jian. He replied: in either case I am not forced to answer you. I took my sword and rushed at him but he blocked my sword and we exchanged strikes. He blocked them all and pushed my sword away and said: this is not the right time to meet or face you now I will see you soon young man and disappeared in the blink of an eye. I do not know who he is but these strange events that started to happen I will see you later and the same words of that woman that I must not die now young one nothing is clear and what is his relation to me despite my level I could not even block from those above the intermediate stage of transcendence nor even the high stage. I dream of winning against these stages I think I must intensify training to the maximum possible degree.
I returned to my room in the palace and tried to sleep. I woke up in a strange place but the same woman from a past time with long medium-length wavy hair stood in front of me. She said: welcome my little boy I hope our meeting lasts long.