She trailed behind her father, her eyes sweeping over the crowd in search of the branch clan member who had piqued her curiosity last night. But to her disappointment, after scanning the entire assembly, she couldn’t pick him out.
"Fifth Uncle, Sister Mingxi."
"Fifth Uncle, Mingxi."
The few young members of the main family in the front row shed their previous nonchalance. Their expressions grew solemn as they spoke up to pay their respects.
"Mm."
Lin Shouyuan nodded and walked directly to the high platform in the square. Lin Mingxi, however, took her place at the very front, standing with the other members of the main family.
"Sister Xi, why did Fifth Uncle suddenly decide to give a lecture today?"
"My father is giving a lecture. Can’t he?"
Lin Mingxi’s retort silenced them.
’Why would it be a problem for Fifth Uncle to give a lecture? They would be thrilled to hear him lecture on the Sword Dao every day.’
’It was just... Fifth Uncle’s last lecture had been seven years ago. Back then, the entire clan was notified well in advance, giving those in closed-door cultivation or away from home plenty of time to return.’
’It was nothing like this time, which came without any warning. If they hadn’t happened to overhear the news, they would have missed it entirely.’
Lin Shouyuan stood firm on the high platform, offering no superfluous opening remarks.
He swept his gaze over the dense crowd below, his eyes as calm as if he were looking upon a pool of still water.
"On the path of the Sword Dao, some practice their entire lives only to achieve proficiency, never progressing beyond Sword Momentum."
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it reached every person’s ears with perfect clarity. "Others practice for just a few years and can comprehend Sword Intent."
"Wherein lies the difference?"
The crowd below was silent.
Lin Shouyuan didn’t wait for an answer, continuing on his own.
"The difference lies in two words: To Question."
He raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together, and made a casual swipe through the air.
There was no sword, no fluctuation of Qi Blood—just a simple hand gesture. Yet, in that instant, everyone below the platform felt a piercing intent, as if a real, invisible sword had swept just over their heads.
Lin Yan’s eyes flickered. ’This Sword Intent... it’s so powerful.’
It was different from his own Silk Binding Sword Intent of the Jinghong Sword Technique, and also different from the Flowing Clouds and Flowing Water of the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques. This Fifth Uncle’s Sword Intent carried an indomitable, piercing sharpness.
However, most of the crowd simply looked on in bewildered awe, their faces blank with confusion.
"What is Sword Intent? It is your sword answering you."
"You ask it, and it answers. Its answer *is* your Sword Intent."
A young man from the main family in the front row could no longer hold back and asked, "Fifth Uncle, then how does one question the sword?"
He was still young, and the only one among his peers who had yet to comprehend Sword Intent.
"To question the sword, you must first question your heart. Some people have fiery temperaments, while others are steady. Letting a fiery person choose a fierce style of Swordsmanship will allow them to achieve twice the results with half the effort. But if they were to cultivate a gentler style of Swordsmanship, it would be twice the effort for half the results. Therefore... the shortcut to comprehending Sword Intent is to choose a style of Swordsmanship that suits you."
Many in the crowd wore thoughtful expressions. These words weren’t too profound; they could understand the principle of choosing a suitable Swordsmanship based on one’s temperament.
"Fifth Uncle, you first cultivated the Autumn Water Swordsmanship... That Swordsmanship and your temperament..."
Another young man from the main family spoke up with a smile. In his youth, Fifth Uncle’s temper was like a firecracker—it would go off at the slightest touch. He shouldn’t have chosen the Autumn Water Swordsmanship.
"What I just described was a shortcut. There is another type of person for whom it makes no difference what style of Swordsmanship they practice. These people are the true geniuses of the Sword Dao, capable of comprehending multiple Sword Intents."
HISS!
At this, the entire plaza erupted into a clamor once more. For everyone present, including the members of the branch families, they were considered geniuses in their respective county towns. Just comprehending the Mental Realm of a single Cultivation Technique was enough to satisfy them.
’To comprehend multiple Mental Realms... just how much of a genius would that take?’
Lin Yan also sank into deep thought. ’If people like that are geniuses, then what am I?’
Lin Shouyuan took in everyone’s expressions and said with a smile, "Feeling the gap is quite large, are you? If I were to tell you that above these geniuses there is yet another class of genius, would you all fall into despair?"
"Fifth Uncle, even though it’s demoralizing, we still want to know. What kind of geniuses are there above them?"
Lin Mingjing asked with a wry smile, and the others felt the same. A gap in talent wasn’t terrifying; understanding it clearly would give them the motivation to catch up.
Everyone present, including Lin Yan, now stared intently, waiting for Fifth Uncle’s next words.
"There is another kind of genius, born with an Innate Sword Heart. While others take a few years to comprehend Sword Intent, they need only a year or so. Never mind two or three Sword Intents; the least among them can master five. Compared to them, your talent in the Sword Dao is like a mayfly gazing at the heavens—utterly insignificant."
The plaza fell into a dead silence.
Even Lin Mingjing and the others, who had braced themselves, felt their composure crack.
’Comprehending Sword Intent in a year or so, and mastering more than five of them?’
"Fifth Uncle, can this Sword Heart be cultivated through Acquired means?"
Another young man from the main family spoke up. Hearing this question, a look of hope also appeared in Lin Yan’s eyes. ’If a genius with a Sword Heart can cultivate several Sword Intents, then since I also have several Sword Intents, does that mean I have a Sword Heart too?’
"It can," Lin Shouyuan said with a nod. But just as a sliver of hope began to bloom in their hearts, his next words shattered it completely.
"By mastering ten Sword Intents and cultivating every single one to the level of Perfection, one can forge an Acquired Sword Heart. However, this path is far more difficult than being born with an Innate Sword Heart. In the entire Shandong Dao, one or two people with an Innate Sword Heart might appear every few decades. But as for forging a Sword Heart from ten Perfect Sword Intents... in all the history of the Sword Dao that I am aware of, I have only ever heard of a single case."

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