107. Overexertion
"The divine is the ultimate of change. Even without a sword, there is a sword; through divine power, the sword is formed, and sword energy arises spontaneously, thus attaining divine essence. The divine is the ultimate of change, the wondrous essence of all things, beyond description! Taixu Sword Qi - Divine Essence!"
Yun Ling formed a sword incantation, mobilizing the honkai energy of heaven and earth.
The honkai energy slowly coalesced into a giant sword, but quickly crumbled due to instability.
"So it still doesn't work?" Yun Ling's voice was almost hoarse from shouting.
"It's not enough to comprehend divine essence just by shouting." Cheng Lingshuang glanced at him indifferently.
"Your heart can't be calmed, and your consciousness lacks direction. You are merely forcibly controlling the honkai energy to gather into a sword. Rather than divine essence, it's more like a higher level of soul essence."
Cheng Lingshuang guided Yun Ling, pointing out his shortcomings.
Yun Ling nodded.
The so-called divine essence is actually the perfect combination of spirit and power, achieving a state similar to the unity of heaven and man. One can manifest the sword through divine power, and the sword energy will naturally form, thus attaining divine essence.
"Let's stop here for today. Think about what you truly want." Cheng Lingshuang looked at the approaching dusk, giving Yun Ling an early day off.
Yun Ling sat cross-legged, regulating his body. Ruoshui manipulated a few streams of water, washing away the dust that had settled on his body.
『Master, why don't you try the divine essence you used in your past life?』
Ruoshui asked softly.
She was currently the only person who knew that Yun Ling had "awakened" his past life's memories... uh, no, not a person, but a sword spirit.
Intent allows a person and a sword spirit to communicate, so it's not surprising that Ruoshui knew this.
"That's the divine essence of the Sword God Yun Ling, not mine. Even if our souls are the same, our experiences are different, and the 'heart' we wish to express is also different. His mind was completely focused on Jingwei at that time, but in this life, I've never seen Jingwei, nor have I ever had any contact with her, so how could I possibly unleash his divine essence?" Yun Ling replied.
『Then what is it that you desire in this life, Master?』Asked Roushui.
Ruoshui was somewhat puzzled. Even with their telepathic connection, she couldn't see through Yun Ling's inner confusion.
"I don't know. I have too many goals, but I cannot achieve them. What I want is to change something, but I am unable to do so; I want to know something, but I lack the ability to learn about it. Currently, what I want most is to live in the present. To be alive... is already good enough."
Yun Ling always maintained a humble heart.
Even with Leviathan's power to control water, he wasn't eager to show off because he hadn't fully developed it yet.
Even with the complete authority of the Herrscher of Domination, he wasn't arrogant. There were still many beings capable of defeating him.
Even having mastered the four elements of the Taixu Sword Qi, he remained humble because it was only enough to establish himself barely.
He knew just how powerful and terrifying his future enemies would be.
The Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Domination, the false god Otto, the "Savior" Kevin, the omniscient and omnipotent Sa, and the extraterrestrials who came through the Stargate.
Not to mention the even more vast Honkai Universe beyond the Stargate.
These things seemed so far away, yet so close.
A few years passed in a flash, and those seemingly distant things were actually right before his eyes.
Yun Ling was still very afraid of death. If he didn't have the ability to stop everything, he might be killed by a bomb released by Kevin at any time.
Would Yun Ling always have to risk his life to save the world?
At least, he didn't want to see Kiana constantly struggling, guarding against the Herrscher of the Void taking over her body.
He didn't want her to eat the sweet pepper curry while complaining about how spicy it was.
He didn't want her to grow up so quickly, becoming so sensible that it was heartbreaking.
He didn't want her to bear the burden of the finality alone, only able to look at her homeland from the moon.
"Yun Ling, dinner's ready." Kiana patted Yunling's shoulder and called out to him.
Some time had passed, and it was now completely dark.
Yun Ling opened his eyes and looked at Kiana... She looked so good!
"...What's wrong?" Kiana looked at the grinning Yun Ling strangely.
"Nothing, just moved by myself." Yun Ling stood up and dusted himself off.
"Who moved by themselves like that?" Kiana rolled her eyes.
"Of course! Isn't that how the modern-day simp is? Giving their all to the other party, only to get 'You're a good person, we're not a good match,' and then they start venting their emotions online, recounting all their sacrifices..."
Yun Ling went on and on.
"So...you know a lot, huh?" Kiana felt her heart clench slightly.
"Kiana, what's wrong?" Yun Ling looked at Kiana, whose expression had suddenly changed.
The next second, he seemed to remember something—wasn't this exactly what happened in the first simulation? Although the situation was slightly different, the situation in the simulation was clearly much worse!
Holy crap!
Yun Ling felt a large "Danger" sign appear above his head.
"Ahem, never mind, Kiana, what's your dream?" Yun Ling asked abruptly, his expression serious.
"Huh?" Kiana scratched her head.
This change of topic clearly caught Kiana's idiotic brain off guard.
"My dream...world peace?" Kiana answered tentatively.
The two stared at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter without warning.
"You plagiarized me?" Yun Ling tried to defend his copyright.
"Who says your dream can't be 'world peace'?" Kiana retorted defiantly.
"You're definitely taking my dream as your own goal, Kiana. Admit it, you have a crush on me."
"Crush on you? Damn! Don't run away if you dare!"
The two playfully bickered as they walked into the house.
Looking at Kiana's smiling face, Yun Ling suddenly froze.
"What's wrong with you now?" Kiana asked, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"I want to try again." Yun Ling placed his hand on the hilt of Ruoshui's sword and ran towards the training ground.
"Hey, eat first! Everyone's waiting for you!" Kiana quickly followed.
She saw Yun Ling standing in the center of the training ground, eyes closed, hands forming a sword incantation, Ruoshui floating silently in front of him.
Kiana instinctively remained silent; she could feel the Honkai energy around them beginning to stir.
"God is the ultimate of change. Even without a sword, there is a sword; through divine power, the sword is formed, its sword energy naturally arises, thus attaining divine essence."
The surrounding Honkai energy visibly gathered in the sky.
"Xiao Ling is about to succeed?!" Li Sushang instantly appeared beside Kiana.
"Yes, his aura is completely different from before." Cheng Lingshuang nodded, her eyes fixed on Yun Ling in the arena.
"Is this... divine essence?" Mei stared in shock at the sword slowly condensing in the sky.
"Kiana, what did you do? How did Xiao Ling suddenly comprehend divine essence?" Li Sushang blinked, looking at Kiana with some surprise.
Yun Ling still hadn't grasped the essence this afternoon, how did he suddenly comprehend it tonight?
"I...didn't do anything." Kiana scratched her head, her face also full of question marks.
"The divine is the ultimate of change, the wondrous essence of all things, beyond description!"
As the incantation for the divine essence was recited again, the giant sword in the sky solidified even further.
The next moment, Yun Ling abruptly opened his eyes.
"Taixu Sword Qi - Divine Essence!"
Cheng Lingshuang raised her hand, and an invisible barrier of sword qi appeared before everyone.
The giant sword fell, a deafening roar resounding, the earth trembling violently, and massive cracks beginning to spread outwards.
The dust and smoke dissipated, and Yun Ling emerged, covered in soot.
"Cough, cough, I think I overdid it."
...