Chapter 105: Epiphany: Sword Dao Level 3

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Epiphany: Sword Dao Level 3

Chu Fan and Yun Xi were in a small county town named Mo Xin when they heard the news of the great war between Red Blood Mansion and the Wuji Sect.

This county town belonged to a small kingdom of Shuoyue. This kingdom was also the smallest in the Eastern Domain, ruling over just two commanderies and thirteen counties. And what’s more, its King was a woman.

By the time they heard the news, more than twenty days had already passed since the great battle.

Moreover, during those twenty-odd days, they had killed far fewer people than before. They hadn’t even encountered a single disciple from Red Blood Mansion, let alone anyone from the Six Sects and Eight Gates.

It was only today, after hearing the outcome of the war between Red Blood Mansion and the Wuji Sect, that they finally understood why they hadn’t run into any Red Blood Mansion disciples for the last twenty-some days.

"I was planning on continuing to stir up trouble, but it looks like the Cultivation Realm of the Eastern Domain will be lying low for a long time," Chu Fan said with a sigh.

"Red Blood Mansion is truly ruthless. To think they’d actually attack the Wuji Sect, no matter the cost," Chu Fan said with a cold smile.

"I suppose it’s because the son of their Supreme Elder was killed?" Yun Xi ventured.

"My wife is still the cleverest; you figured it out instantly."

Yun Xi shot him a sidelong glance, but deep down, she was delighted to hear him call her "wife." "So, what’s our next move?"

"We’ve been on the move for a while. Since Red Blood Mansion has turtled up, we should find a place to focus on our Cultivation. It’ll be a good chance to reflect on and consolidate what we’ve learned from our recent battles," Chu Fan decided.

They didn’t search for a Pocket World Blessed Land in the mountains or by a lake. Instead, they headed to the Capital City of the Shuoyue Kingdom.

They found a brokerage and rented a residence near the Moon River.

The residence was not large, with three successive courtyards on a plot of about one and a half mu. The buildings took up only a third of the area, while the remainder consisted of a well-appointed network of corridors and a garden.

Once they settled into the residence, they both reverted to their original appearances.

Though they had spent every day together for over a month, it had always felt as if they were with a stranger, since they had both been wearing different faces.

Now that they were back to their true selves, everything felt different.

Yun Xi was as refreshingly elegant as ever, but Chu Fan had acquired a new depth to his character.

Since he cultivated the Miaolian Celestial Stabilization Technique, he didn’t need to make a conscious effort to practice most of the time, except when breaking through a bottleneck to a new Realm. The Technique would run on its own through the meridians in his body.

Furthermore, he wore a Jade Pendant on his chest, an heirloom of the Hua Xu Empire’s Royal Family that had accumulated the fortune of countless souls. As long as he occasionally resupplied it with a few Spirit Stones, his Cultivation would steadily and progressively increase.

The real reason he wanted to find a residence and settle down was to quiet his mind and gain enlightenment in the Sword Dao.

He had been at the Peak of the Second Layer Realm of the Sword Dao, Sword Gang Like Wind, for quite some time. A month ago, he had felt a faint trace of Sword Intent, but he hadn’t been able to make a breakthrough since.

He suspected it was because he had been constantly on the move for days.

For the next several days, aside from cooking, eating, sleeping, and guiding Yun Xi in her Cultivation, he spent every waking moment trying to codify his understanding of the Sword Dao.

The threshold for entering the Sword Dao is the Sword Qi Frost Realm.

In truth, for most Swordsmen among Cultivators, entering this first Realm is not difficult.

Sword Qi Like Frost merely requires one to infuse True Qi into their Sword Techniques. Combined with the speed of the blade, a sharp qi arrives even before the sword itself. This is Sword Qi.

Sword Qi Like Frost, then, is a Swordsman’s control over this Sword Qi, preventing it from dissipating wildly and without discipline. The more precisely a Swordsman can control their Sword Qi, the higher their Realm.

The Peak of Sword Qi Like Frost is "Sword Qi Like Falling Frost." It can be as overwhelming as a surging wave or as subtle as a fine needle slipping through a seam, killing without a trace.

The Second Layer Realm is Sword Gang. "Gang" is also a form of qi. In truth, between Sword Qi and Sword Gang, there is a minor realm known as Sword Aura.

Sword Aura, as the name suggests, is Sword Qi adhering to the edge of the blade, making it far sharper and increasing its lethality several times over.

Sword Gang is an extension of Sword Aura, where Sword Qi condenses into a tangible form. This form isn’t truly solid, but rather a visible shadow of Sword Qi—a light born from its concentration.

Sword Gang is even more piercing and domineering than Sword Qi. It can even contain the oppressive weight of the Swordsman’s spiritual state, which is also known as Sword Momentum.

Take, for example, the Third Technique of the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword: Awakening Dream Clarity Like Sun and Stars.

Once this technique’s Sword Momentum is unleashed, the Sword Gang shines as dazzlingly as the sun and stars. As the Sword Gang strikes at an opponent, it carries an immense pressure. This pressure can be called ’momentum’, or it can be described as the Swordsman’s spiritual will channeled through the blade.

Whether it is the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword or the Yifeng Sword Technique, Martial Arts Techniques of this caliber, which surpass the Celestial Grade, place extremely strict demands on one’s Sword Dao.

If one’s Sword Dao has not reached a certain level, they cannot successfully practice the corresponding Sword Techniques.

Chu Fan was only able to practice the Third Technique of the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword to the level of Great Success while at the Peak of the Sword Gang Like Wind Realm.

In other words, he had only reached the Great Success stage for the first four techniques of the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword; he was still a long way from Perfection.

’So, what exactly is Sword Intent?’

’And how am I supposed to understand "Sword Intent Follows the Heart"?’

He opened his copy of the Sword Dao Inheritance. The third Chapter was still as dry and incomprehensible as ever.

’Sword Intent, Sword Intent... Is it the intent of the sword? Or is it the Swordsman’s intent for the sword?’

Chu Fan felt like he had walked into a dead end, with no way out.

One day, a gentle breeze blew under a clear sky. Before long, a fine drizzle began to fall, which soon gave way to a howling wind that turned the drizzle into a torrential downpour.

Chu Fan stood in the courtyard the entire time, not even using his True Qi to shield himself from the rain. He ignored Yun Xi’s calls, simply staring up at the sky.

He watched the rain fall unceasingly, his body long since soaked to the bone.

Seeing the vacant look in Chu Fan’s eyes, Yun Xi stopped calling out. She knew he was in the middle of an insight.

In Cultivation, a moment of sudden enlightenment was incredibly precious—a serendipitous event that could not be sought, only encountered by chance.

Chu Fan simply stood there, feeling the rain soak into his clothes and stream down his body. It flowed past his shoes and into the ground, or dripped from the hem of his robes, creating tiny splashes below.

He stood like that for the entire afternoon, until the roaring sound of the swelling Moon River could be heard from outside the residence.

Chu Fan snapped out of his trance and rushed out of the house. He stood on the riverbank, watching the surging tide. A flash of understanding seemed to hit him, and with a SPLASH, he jumped into the river.

After landing in the water, he didn’t swim. Instead, he relaxed his entire body and allowed the raging current to carry him away.

Yun Xi casually changed her appearance and ran out after him. She sprinted along the riverbank, keeping pace with his body in the water.

The few pedestrians who happened to pass by and witness this scene stared at Yun Xi as if she were a fool.

Of course, Chu Fan, drifting along with the current, knew nothing of this. At that moment, he seemed to have grasped a flicker of insight—an insight into Sword Intent—but it was not yet fully clear.

Suddenly, his body felt weightless. Before he could react, he was plummeting down a waterfall, crashing into the Water Pool below.

The instant his body slammed into the surface, the immense impact sent a bone-deep pain through him, even as a Nascent Soul Realm expert.

As he sank to the bottom of the pool, his mind suddenly became crystal clear.

"I understand! So this is Sword Intent!"

Laughing, Chu Fan burst out of the water, the Juntian Sword appearing in his hand.

He then unleashed a technique: Listen to Dreams, Study the Stars, and Worship the Constellations.

This was the Fifth Technique of the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword.

As he brandished the Juntian Sword, the scattered motes of starlight suddenly converged, forming a massive point of light—a concentration of Sword Aura—which then abruptly exploded.

Under the power of this exploding Sword Aura, the waterfall overhead was blasted aside, its very course altered...