He still hadn’t cultivated the Flowing Water Sword Intent he’d obtained from Senior He to Perfection.
On the Martial Arts Tree, Martial Arts Fruits—four hundred and sixty-three years’ worth—dotted the branches like a host of stars, each one emitting a warm, gentle glow.
’Infuse!’
At his mental command, numerous Martial Arts Fruits on the Martial Arts Tree fell and vanished.
At the same time, the scene before Lin Yan’s eyes abruptly changed. He was standing in a stream.
The water wasn’t deep, barely covering his ankles, and so clear he could see the bottom.
The current was gentle, flowing forward at a slow, unhurried pace.
Lin Yan crouched down and dipped his hand into the water. His fingertips felt the cool, soft current as it flowed around them.
He stood up and drew his sword.
The blade sliced across the surface. The water parted, then closed again.
Parted, then closed again.
No matter how fast his sword moved, the water would always reform the instant the blade passed, leaving not a single trace.
Lin Yan swung his sword again and again, walking from one end of the stream to the other and back again.
Suns rose and moons set; the stars wheeled across the sky.
He lost count of how many times he had swung his sword, yet the stream remained the same, its water still flowing at that same unhurried pace.
Then one day, Lin Yan suddenly stopped.
He lowered his sword to his side, crouched down, and simply watched the water.
Water does not contend, and so nothing in the world can contend with it.
It does not rush to travel, nor to join the great rivers, nor to surge toward the sea.
It simply flows—fast when it should be fast, slow when it should be slow. Turning when it must turn, flowing straight when it must flow straight.
Following its own nature, acting with the current.
Lin Yan stood up. This time, he did not swing his sword.
He simply dipped the tip of his sword into the water and then lifted it.
A single drop of water clung to the tip, glistening and translucent in the sunlight.
With a gentle flick of the sword, the droplet flew off, landed on the surface of the stream, and sent out a single ripple before disappearing.
With his second strike, he lifted the tip again.
The droplet landed on the water, sending out one ripple, then another...
Eventually, a single falling droplet could create layers upon layers of ripples, which actually altered the stream’s direction of flow.
After seventy-three years, the Flowing Water Sword Intent reached Perfection.
Lin Yan opened his eyes, a glimmer of enlightenment within them. He was now certain of one thing: Sword Intents related to nature were easier to comprehend. In contrast, reaching Sword Intent Perfection for something like Shadowless Swordsmanship took much longer.
’Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques, Pine Wind Swordsmanship, Mist Rain Swordsmanship, Rain-Covering Swordsmanship, and now Flowing Water Swordsmanship... That makes five Natural Sword Intents I’ve mastered for my Sword Dao.’
Performing Dantian Introspection, he saw the two Sword Pills still floating quietly above his Dantian. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that the Sword Pill on the left was larger than the one on the right.
The one on the left was the Sword Pill that had fused the five Natural Sword Intents.
’According to Master, one of the differences between having a Sword Heart and not is that a Sword Heart can easily accommodate more Sword Intents. Without one, it gets progressively harder, even after condensing a Sword Pill. I definitely felt that before, but since these two Sword Pills appeared, things have gotten a little easier.’
Lin Yan recalled back when he was cultivating six different types of swordsmanship, before he had condensed his Sword Pills. The difficulty he’d faced with the last two wasn’t just because the techniques themselves were harder; it was also due to the limitations of his Sword Intent.
But now, with two Sword Pills, his cultivation progress had returned to its original pace.
’Is my situation unique, or have the two Sword Pills increased the upper limit of Sword Intent I can accommodate?’
’On this trip back to the clan, I need to do two things. First, figure out the path to break through to the True Gang Realm. Second, ask Master for all the information he has on Sword Pills.’
"Big Brother, aren’t you done yet?"
From inside the room, his little brother Lin Mo’s impatient voice called out again.
"Stop rushing me. You’re only eager now. Once you get married, I’m afraid even if your big brother wanted to share a room with you, you wouldn’t..."
Lin Yan stopped mid-sentence. He felt his aunt’s gaze land on him and immediately darted into his room like a wisp of smoke.
...
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