Awakening to the Sword at Fallen Dragon Pool

The Lin Clan's Clan Gathering was interrupted midway in a rather comical fashion under the watchful eyes of the masses, and postponed by a day.

The next day, in order to ensure the Clan Gathering proceeded smoothly, Lin Xuan did not appear again. As expected, Lin Langtian claimed the championship of this Clan Gathering before countless witnesses.

However, the true value of this championship remained open to question. Of course, it was definitely worth more than second or third place.

For a time, as news of the Lin Clan's Clan Gathering spread, the name Lin Xuan drew the attention of many top powers throughout the Great Yan Dynasty.

A remarkably gifted Lin Langtian had already made many factions wary of the Lin Clan. Now, another monstrous genius had emerged—someone even younger than Lin Langtian, yet even more exceptional. Naturally, the other factions turned even more attention toward the Lin Clan.

However, that attention gradually faded, because after making a single appearance at the Clan Gathering, Lin Xuan returned once more to his life of arduous cultivation.

Of course, though he was still cultivating diligently, Lin Xuan's status within the Lin Clan had become completely different.

In the eyes of the other Lin Clan members, Lin Xuan was no longer the adopted son whom Clan Leader Lin Fan had picked up years ago. He was the First Genius of the Lin Clan, the Young Clan Leader of the Lin Clan!

Originally, only a small portion of the clan supported him as Young Clan Leader. After all, at the Clan Gathering that day, Lin Langtian had also displayed astonishing intent of the Shaping Realm. He was only half a step away from the Shaping Realm itself, compared to Lin Xuan.

Yet Lin Langtian remained unable to take that half-step for a long time, causing Lin Xuan's standing within the Lin Clan to soar. Aside from a small group of elders who had staked everything on Lin Langtian, nearly all the elders and clan members supported Lin Xuan.

By the time three years had passed and Lin Langtian finally broke through to the Shaping Realm, the position of Young Clan Leader had already completely become Lin Xuan's, though he himself had never cared about it.

Of course, this was only within the Lin Clan. Outside, because Lin Xuan had remained in seclusion cultivating, he quickly faded from public view. Meanwhile, Lin Langtian achieved an impressive record, and gradually, the title of First Genius of the Lin Clan returned to him once more.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Lin Xuan, this genius who had suddenly appeared and then swiftly vanished without a trace, was most likely nothing more than someone the Lin Clan had boasted about themselves.

But to Lin Xuan, neither the support within the clan nor his reputation outside it had the slightest effect on him. Compared to such so-called fame, what troubled Lin Xuan more was entering the Dao.

The Sword Dao!

What was the Sword Dao? Or rather, why did one wield a sword?

Six years had passed. Ever since the Clan Gathering ended, Lin Xuan had been pondering this question. After a full six years, he still felt deeply lost.

Great Yan Prefecture, outside Lin City, Fallen Dragon Pool.

It was said that this deep pool had been formed from the enormous crater left behind when a True Dragon of the Dragon Clan fell here in ancient times, eventually becoming this vast and boundless pool.

Because the water contained a faint trace of dragon aura, this place had always been favored by demonic beasts with Dragon Bloodlines. Many powerful demonic beasts hid within these deep waters, including no shortage of Creation Realm beasts. It had always been a forbidden land for humans.

Yet today, a human figure stood upon this vast expanse of water.

The man wore a coarse grayish-white robe and gave off no unusual aura. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary young man. His unbound black hair drifted slowly in the breeze over the pool.

But if anyone had truly been present and seen that man with their own eyes, they would never have mistaken him for an ordinary youth. For no ordinary youth could stand so calmly upon the water with his eyes shut, without the slightest fluctuation of Origin Power or spiritual energy around him.

It was as though the man had already merged with the pool beneath his feet. He was part of the water, or perhaps this vast pool of water was part of him.

The man's eyes remained closed, and his face, which did not appear particularly striking at first glance, was as tranquil as the unnaturally still water today.

Before him, two feet above the water's surface, a sword floated eerily in the air—a sword that appeared equally ordinary.

Yet the figure and the sword, as though gazing at each other from afar, were so alike and harmonious that they seemed to be one entity.

Lin Xuan kept his eyes closed as he sensed the sword before him. At the same time, he continued searching within himself, seeking what his own Sword Dao should truly be.

Countless masters of the Sword Dao flashed continuously through Lin Xuan's mind. Through the Sword Heart within him, and with the system's help, he had earnestly comprehended the Sword Dao of many masters: Dugu Qiubai, Ye Gucheng, Ximen Chuixue...

To experience their Sword Dao more vividly, Lin Xuan had even recreated their sword arts in this world.

The Sword Demon's Dugu Nine Swords, the Sword God's Ten Thousand Plum Swordplay, and the sword immortal Ye Gucheng, Lord of White Cloud City, and his Flying Immortal From Beyond the Heavens—Lin Xuan had practiced them all.

The Sword Demon's principle of striking after the enemy and using all things as swords was something Lin Xuan had mastered long ago. That was the Sword Heart: when there was a sword in one's heart, all things between Heaven and Earth could become swords.

Compared to the Sword Demon, Lin Xuan had sensed a stronger Sword Dao aura from Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng.

Yet Lin Xuan felt that Ximen Chuixue's sword was too cold. If one wielded a sword for slaughter, if one regarded slaughter as an art, then that sword was far too ruthless.

The sword was the sovereign of all weapons. It was both the sword of a gentleman and the sword of a king!

A gentleman was gentle as jade. A noble gentleman should possess a heart of benevolence. A king's might blanketed all beneath Heaven, with none able to stand against him. He should possess an invincible will to press ever forward.

Just like the two edges of a sword, one edge faced the enemy, while the other faced oneself. One was for destruction, the other for protection. Destruction existed for the sake of protection; because there was something to protect, there came to be this sword of destruction!

Compared to Ximen Chuixue's ruthlessness, and the idea that the sword should be sincere to its wielder, Lin Xuan preferred Ye Gucheng's view: be sincere to the sword, be sincere to the heart!

Of course, the sword one was sincere to was not the sword in one's hand, but the sword in one's heart—the Sword Dao one cultivated!

Just as Ye Gucheng believed, with a sincere heart and righteous intent, man and sword became one, heart and Dao became one, flawless and untainted. This was clarity!

"The sword has two edges: repel enemies, guard the heart!"

In that instant, the image of a figure clad in bloodstained coarse cloth flashed through Lin Xuan's mind, and he suddenly felt as though everything had become clear!

"Therefore, the sword in my hand should be wielded in pursuit of my own Sword Dao, and to uphold my own Sword Heart!"

Sword Saint!

So this was his Sword Dao!