Chapter 106: Every Man for Himself

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Every Man for Himself

Under the torrential downpour, a waterfall over a hundred feet high was forcefully split in two by a single man and his sword.

A gleaming Sword Aura formed a massive, invisible shield before him. When Chu Fan reached the top of the waterfall, he casually swung the Juntian Sword in his hand.

The shield shattered, and the raging river, originally dozens of feet wide, reversed its course and flowed backward.

Standing on the bank, Yun Xi watched the scene, utterly dumbfounded.

Intent is the unification of form and spirit, the harmonization of the tangible and intangible. It is born from the unexpected yet contained within the phenomenal.

A sword is like this rain. It falls from the sky. When its momentum is small, it drifts with the wind. When its momentum is great, it soaks all things, gathers into a river, rushes on ceaselessly with a sound like a great bell, and crushes all in its path. But what if it were even greater?

Water has no constant form. It can drip through stone, and it can also breach dams and destroy everything.

Contained in different vessels, it can achieve different levels of destructive power.

The sword is the water; the intent is the vessel that holds it.

A single drop of water has momentum, as does a ceaselessly rushing river. Different momentums have different effects.

Sword Intent is the control of this momentum—control over its magnitude, shape, and direction.

Take the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword, for example.

Consider its Third Technique, Awakening Dream Clarity Like Sun and Stars. In the past, whenever Chu Fan used it, he would pour as much True Qi as possible into the Sword Technique, deliberately pursuing the ultimate Sword Qi, Sword Gang, and Sword Momentum. Afterward, he could only follow the technique’s natural course to strike the enemy with immense destructive power.

But now, having comprehended Sword Intent, when he used this technique again, he no longer pursued ultimate destructive power from the outset by infusing as much True Qi as possible.

Instead, he could control the Sword Momentum during different Sword Forms, continuously accumulating it. He could even keep the Sword Momentum contained to a very small scale at the beginning, only to have it suddenly surge when facing an enemy, catching them completely by surprise.

This not only conserved True Qi but also made the Sword Technique faster, more abrupt, and even more destructive.

Chu Fan brandished his sword in the river, completely lost in the moment. Fortunately, the rain was heavy and there were no pedestrians on the road. Otherwise, they would have been frightened either by the sheer power of his swings or by his crazed appearance.

Thankfully, he didn’t swing for long before realizing this. Seeing Yun Xi on the bank, also soaked to the bone, he gave an apologetic smile, flew to the shore, and they walked hand in hand back to their residence.

"You had a breakthrough in your Sword Dao?"

"Yeah. I couldn’t figure it out after thinking for so many days, but I never expected this rain would lead me to an epiphany," Chu Fan said.

Yun Xi’s face beamed with uncontrollable joy. She said, "In the entire three-thousand-year history of the Lingyun Sect, no one has ever comprehended the Third Layer Realm of the Sword Dao."

Yun Xi’s reminder made Chu Fan realize it was true. ’Even Master Ling Zhexing was only at the Peak of the Second Layer. But when did Master get the *Sword Dao Inheritance* book?’

’Why was he stuck at the Second Layer Realm for decades?’

Of course, his master was already dead. There was no point in dwelling on the question.

Back at the residence, Chu Fan eagerly took out the *Sword Dao Inheritance* book.

Sure enough, after comprehending Sword Intent, he could now understand the third Chapter. It still contained the thirteen basic Sword Forms, but each form now had over a dozen variations.

After reading through the third Chapter’s explanation, he realized that these dozens of variations were merely examples. Sword Intent was ever-changing and endless, allowing one to do as they pleased.

In other words, what was listed in the third Chapter was only meant to guide him in advancing his Realm of Sword Intent.

Unlike Sword Gang and Sword Qi, Sword Intent required comprehension through one’s own initiative. It couldn’t be taught.

...

During the time Chu Fan was comprehending Sword Intent, the new Sect Leader of the Mixed Element Sect, Nan Chuting, went against the consensus and rejected Lin Kangbo’s proposal to fight the Red Blood Mansion to the bitter end.

After becoming Sect Leader, Nan Chuting’s political skill gradually became apparent.

Her rejection of Lin Kangbo’s proposal was well-reasoned. She even produced intelligence reports about the Red Blood Mansion’s attack on the Wuji Sect.

The Red Blood Mansion was so desperate to defeat the Six Sects and Eight Gates one by one—it was a perverse and tyrannical course of action.

Therefore, after rejecting Lin Kangbo’s proposal, Nan Chuting sent him to visit the other sects. The goal, naturally, was to form an alliance to deal with the Red Blood Mansion together.

Although both the Red Blood Mansion and the Wuji Sect had suffered greatly in their battle, if the Mixed Element Sect were to actually mobilize its forces and attack the Red Blood Mansion, the cost would not be small, and the desired outcome would be difficult to achieve.

However, she pointed out that the Red Blood Mansion had already grievously offended the Lingyun Sect, the Celestial Derivation Sect, the Wuji Sect, and their own Mixed Element Sect. They were all mortal enemies.

Convincing the other three sects wouldn’t be difficult at all. If they wanted to increase their odds of victory, Lin Kangbo could persuade two more sects to join their campaign. At the very least, the remaining sects had to remain neutral and not stab them in the back.

As long as Lin Kangbo could accomplish this, the Mixed Element Sect would unhesitatingly act as the vanguard in the attack on the Red Blood Mansion.

Lin Kangbo found he had no reason to object to Nan Chuting’s decision.

For the first time, he even felt that he had underestimated this young woman.

In the following days, Lin Kangbo rushed back and forth between the Six Sects and Eight Gates, but unfortunately, his results were mediocre at best.

The reason for all this was that the Mixed Element Sect had been too arrogant in the past. Over the years, they had offended too many people.

Several sects were polite on the surface, but their underlying message was, ’We don’t trust your Mixed Element Sect.’

As a result, Lin Kangbo returned with a chest full of anger.

Of course, their rejection of the Mixed Element Sect was partly because the sect had offended people in the past.

An even bigger reason was the rift created among the Six Sects and Eight Gates on the eighth day of the twelfth month. The sects already distrusted one another.

Furthermore, the other sects had all obtained several treasures at that auction and were now focused on uncovering their uses.

The Red Blood Mansion hadn’t provoked them, so why would they be crazy enough to take the initiative and attack it now?

...

「Three Mountains Island.」

A month had passed since the battle with the Wuji Sect, and most people were still recovering from their injuries.

The most severely injured were still Yan Qi and Qiao Tai.

Even after a month, Yan Qi had recovered less than thirty percent of his peak strength.

But today, Yan Qi emerged from his training room and stood guard outside his son Yan Ji’s bedroom.

Because Yan Ji’s Cultivation was about to break through. For a Martial Artist, advancing from Golden Core to Nascent Soul was like passing through the Ghost Gate—a true milestone on the path of Cultivation.

Seeing Yan Ji’s Cultivation advance by leaps and bounds, the gloom that had weighed on Yan Qi’s heart for days finally lifted.

Ever since his son had been killed by Chu Fan and then revived by that old man in the black cloak, the boy was like a different person. His natural talent was far greater than before.

He had gone from Tier Two of the Golden Core Realm to breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm today in just half a year.

Such speed was practically unprecedented. At least, in all of Yan Qi’s memory, he had never heard of anyone improving so quickly.

So, in Yan Qi’s heart, he considered his son’s experience a blessing in disguise.

If he continued to develop like this, his son would likely far surpass him in the future.

As a father, what could be more exciting than seeing his own son surpass him?

The only thing that left a bad taste in his mouth was the favor he had promised the old man in the black cloak. He had no idea what it was, nor what impact it would have on the Red Blood Mansion and Yan Ji in the future.