"It’s possible Senior Brother Zhao’s master gave him that Foreign Bone. His master is an Elder of the Profound Celestial Sect..."
"Pah!" the old man spat. "The Profound Celestial Sect is hardly a righteous Sect. They just rule Deng State with force. That Elder isn’t necessarily a good person either. Back in the day, when our Blood God Sect was wiping out other Sects, countless of their Powerhouses were nothing but charlatans. They acted like saints in public, but their secret deeds were no better than ours in the Blood God Sect."
"There are plenty of so-called righteous Powerhouses who cultivate a Foreign Bone in their disciples, only to harvest it once the Root Bone has matured. And when those disciples have served their purpose, their fate is no better than that of the blood puppets in our Sect."
The old man’s eyes gleamed as he stared at Zhuang Zheng. "Disciple, this is why I say to refuse a gift from the heavens is to invite disaster. Rather than let the person pulling the strings behind your Senior Brother Zhao benefit, it would be better to use this to help you, Disciple. At the very least, you could then arrange for the Zhao Family to have generations of wealth and nobility."
"That’s just your side of the story." Zhuang Zheng shot the old man a fierce glare. "It’s hard to say if that master of Junior Brother Zhao’s truly has such intentions. But even if he does, I would only warn Senior Brother Zhao. I would never entertain any other ideas."
Zhuang Zheng’s expression was firm. He was cultivating the Blood Transformation Technique because the old man had tempted him onto the so-called ship of the Blood God Sect, but that didn’t mean he would obey the old man’s every command just to advance his Martial Arts.
If he was only after improving his strength in Martial Arts, why would he have stayed in Guangping County Town? He could have followed the old man and assassinated more Blood Exchange Realm Powerhouses. By now, he would have long since reached the Blood Exchange Third or even Fourth Transformation.
"Disciple..."
"Silence!"
Zhuang Zheng cut the old man off. He needed to think carefully about Senior Brother Zhao’s situation and how to warn him.
’Wait!’
’Senior Brother Zhao was able to break through to the Blood Exchange Second Transformation so quickly because of the Foreign Bone... but what about Senior Brother Lin?’
’Senior Brother Lin went to the Qing State Lin Family. Although they share a common ancestor, after so many generations, that blood connection has become incredibly thin.’
’Could there be something shady about Senior Brother Lin’s rapid increase in strength, too? Is some Powerhouse from the Lin Family plotting against him?’
He recalled what Senior Brother Zhao had said back at the Martial Arts Hall: Senior Brother Lin, at the Blood Exchange Third Transformation Realm, had killed a Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation Martial Artist in just a few sword strikes. With such an exaggerated growth in Realm and power, he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
"Old man, let me ask you one more thing. How do you think it’s possible for someone at the Blood Exchange Third Transformation to kill someone at the Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation in a few sword strikes?"
"To kill a Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation in a few strikes while at the Third Transformation... there are only two possibilities. One is that the Fourth Transformation cultivator was one of the weakest of their kind—someone who broke through after the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing without having built up enough Qi Blood. The other is that the Third Transformation cultivator has comprehended at least four Perfect Level Sword Intents."
The old man pondered for a moment before giving his answer. Seeing Zhuang Zheng’s thoughtful expression, he raised an eyebrow. "Is the Disciple referring to that Senior Brother Lin of yours?"
"Yes. Do you think there might be... something shady going on with Senior Brother Lin, just like with Senior Brother Zhao?"
Zhuang Zheng didn’t hide it. The old fox was as shrewd as they come; the moment he asked, he knew the old man would guess he was talking about Senior Brother Lin.
"If it’s just Sword Intent, what could be shady about that? It only proves that the Disciple’s Senior Brother Lin is a genius of the Sword Dao."
Hearing this, Zhuang Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. ’It’s a good thing Senior Brother Lin is fine.’ He couldn’t imagine what a blow it would be to their master if something happened to both Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Brother Lin after being plotted against.
"However, if you’re looking at it from a schemer’s perspective, there are certainly things about him worth scheming for."
The old man’s next sentence made Zhuang Zheng’s heart leap back into his throat.
"Disciple, you need not worry too much. What I’m describing are only extreme cases."
The old man stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced around the courtyard a few times before stopping. "I have previously spoken to you, Disciple, about the Innate Sword Heart. You should still remember."
Zhuang Zheng nodded. Besides the Innate Sword Heart, he also knew a bit about similar concepts for other weapons.
"The so-called Sword Heart is an acknowledgment from the Sword Dao Will of heaven and earth." The old man extended a finger and drew an invisible arc in the air. "All the hundred weapons of the world have a will. One with an Innate Sword Heart is born with a sliver of this Sword Dao Will, which they can later use to condense a Sword Dao Mark."
He paused, his tone growing heavy.
"However, the number of acknowledgments from the Sword Dao Will is fixed. With so many who practice the sword, does this mean those without a Sword Heart have no path to the top?"
"The Sword Dao Will is not so rigid. For those not born with a Sword Heart, there is a path of Reverse Attack. This path is divided into two branches: one is called ’Overwrite Mark,’ and the other is ’Devour Mark.’"
"’Overwrite Mark... Devour Mark?’"
Zhuang Zheng repeated quietly.
"First, ’Devour Mark.’ A Swordsman without a Sword Heart can condense a sword-type Dharma Aspect and use it to devour an ownerless Sword Dao Mark from the world. This path, however, is extremely difficult. It requires the comprehension of thirty Perfect Level Sword Intents. Even then, you might not be able to condense a Dharma Aspect. And even if you do condense a Dharma Aspect, you’re still not guaranteed to be able to devour a mark. In short, it is fraught with difficulty. In the ten-thousand-year history of our Blood God Sect’s records, no more than three people have ever accomplished it."
"As for ’Overwrite Mark,’ it is relatively easier to achieve, but the conditions are also extremely harsh."
The old man stroked his beard and said, "Suppose there is a youth from a powerful and noble background. He does not have a Sword Heart, but he manages to comprehend ten Perfect Level Sword Intents before the age of twenty..."
"Comprehending ten Perfect Sword Intents before the age of twenty? How could such a genius not have a Sword Heart?" Zhuang Zheng interrupted.

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