Sword Saint's Name

The matter of the Ancient Tomb Mansion spread throughout the Great Yan Dynasty in the blink of an eye, shaking all of Great Yan!

Nirvana Realm!

Although no one knew Lin Xuan's exact strength, the three words "Nirvana Realm" undoubtedly flashed through everyone's minds!

That sword light surpassing moonlight, that razor-sharp sword intent felt throughout the entire Sky Flame Mountain Range—all of it proved that this previously unknown young man now possessed the strength to dominate the entire Great Yan Dynasty.

Sword Saint—Lin Xuan!

A legendary name naturally required a transcendent title.

The might of that single sword strike left everyone utterly convinced!

In the Great Yan Dynasty, one might not know who the emperor was, but if someone asked who the strongest person in the Great Yan Dynasty was, there was no doubt that Sword Saint Lin Xuan was the only answer!

What shocked many top forces even more was that in response to this claim spreading throughout Great Yan, the Great Yan Royal Family—and even Great Yan's emperor, Mo Jingtian himself—maintained an eerie silence.

Of course, they had no choice but to remain silent. Even Mo Jingtian himself was not confident that he could withstand a single strike from the Sword Saint. Even if he resorted to desperate measures, he had no certainty of success.

Faced with such an absolute gap in strength, the Great Yan Royal Family naturally did not dare say things like the Sword Saint was nothing but a nobody. Otherwise, if they truly provoked him into drawing his sword, the entire Great Yan Royal Family might be destroyed by a single strike.

Since they did not dare deny the rumors and lacked the strength to do so, the best course was naturally to pretend they knew nothing.

With the Great Yan Royal Family remaining silent, the reputation of the Lin Clan grew ever greater. It even directly eclipsed the other three great clans and the Great Yan Royal Family, becoming the number one clan—and the number one force—in the Great Yan Dynasty.

There were even rumors that Wang Lei, the Wang Clan's patriarch, had personally visited the Lin Clan, supposedly seeking an audience with the Sword Saint, only to return unsuccessful. However, rumors also claimed that Lin Fan, the Lin Clan patriarch, had met with Wang Lei. As for what exactly had happened, no one knew.

The only thing known from the rumors was that the Wang Clan seemed to have taken the initiative to bow its head to the Lin Clan. Whether that was true or not was beyond the knowledge of outsiders.

Yet after the battle at the Ancient Tomb Mansion, every member of the Lin Clan who walked outside carried an air of pride and confidence, their chests held high even as they walked.

However, while the Sword Saint was commanding immense fame outside, he had shut himself inside the Sword Forging Room, calmly tempering the sword in his hand—and tempering his own sword path as well!

Sword—what was a sword? Something in the hand? Something in the heart? Single-edged? Double-edged? Hard? Soft?

It seemed that everything was a sword, yet it also seemed that nothing was a sword!

An ancient saying went: when one saw mountains, they were mountains; when one saw water, it was water. Then it said: when one saw mountains, they were no longer mountains; when one saw water, it was no longer water. And finally: when one saw mountains, they were still mountains; when one saw water, it was still water.

The mountains and waters remained the same, but the state of mind and comprehension of the observer differed, and thus what they saw differed as well.

Lin Xuan was the same. What was a sword? It was an eternal question, one worth pursuing without end.

With a sword in one's heart but none in one's hand, did one have a sword or not? At first, Lin Xuan had thought he understood. But gradually, he realized that his understanding was neither broad enough nor deep enough!

What was a sword? It was said that once one reached the realm of perfection, grass, trees, flowers, and leaves could all become swords. Yet after reaching that realm, grass, trees, flowers, and leaves were still grass, trees, flowers, and leaves, while a sword was still a sword! Being usable as a sword did not mean it was a sword!

A sword would forever be a sword, an irreplaceable sword. The Sword Heart was a sword, the sword path was a sword, and sword intent was also a sword. Yet in the end, all of it became the sword held in one's hand!

But what kind of sword should the sword in one's hand be?

Or rather, the question troubling Lin Xuan had become: what kind of sword should he forge the sword in his hand into?

To resolve this confusion, Lin Xuan chose to start from the beginning—by forging swords!

As a sword practitioner, one ought to understand swords—their structure, their characteristics, and their special significance—in order to comprehend the essence of the sword!

Unlike those who refined spiritual treasures, Lin Xuan forged swords. Forging a sword did not merely mean forging its physical form; it also meant forging its characteristics into it—that was, integrating one's insights into the sword into the blade being forged.

"Clang! Clang!"

An Earth-Rank Spiritual Treasure hammer in Lin Xuan's hand continuously struck the Sword Blank before him, which had been heated crimson by Spirit Fire, producing crisp ringing sounds.

The heavy black iron hammer was raised high by Lin Xuan. Then, with a swing of his arm, it came crashing down upon the Sword Blank before him, which was nearly complete.

"CLANG!!!!"

The immense recoil sent the incomparably heavy hammer spiritual treasure bouncing upward. Had it not been under Lin Xuan's control, it would likely have been flung away by that tremendous force.

At that moment, the Sword Blank lying on the Sword Forging Platform suddenly trembled after receiving that hammer strike. Waves of vast Sword Qi carrying a trace of majesty swept outward in every direction without anyone controlling them.

"Bzzzzz!!!"

Sword cries rang out within the Sword Forging Room, seemingly mixed with faint peals of thunder. The stone walls of the Sword Forging Room could not block those strange sword cries at all, and before long, they spread throughout the Lin Clan Territory.

Upon hearing the sword cries, many people could not help turning toward the Sword Forging Room, their eyes filled with awe and reverence.

"Another Earth-Rank Spiritual Treasure. This should already be the third one, right? I wonder whose hands this spiritual treasure will end up in."

A Lin Clan member spoke with anticipation. Another clan member of considerable strength quietly guessed in response.

"This sword carries the faint sound of thunder. It may be given to Lin Ke'er, perhaps? Hasn't she always been cultivating the Divine Sword Control Thunder True Art? Its attributes would suit this Earth-Rank Spiritual Treasure well!"

"What a pity. If Lin Xue's comprehension of Snowdrift Swordplay hadn't been so profound last time, there might have been a chance to compete for that Snowdrift Sword."

Inside the Sword Forging Room, Lin Xuan looked at the Thunderclap Sword in his hand. A few traces of a smile appeared on his usually calm face. He was growing increasingly fond of the feeling of forging Spirit Swords that contained a portion of his own sword path.

Integrating his sword path into a sword and granting it spirituality felt like creating a life.

At that thought, Lin Xuan involuntarily turned to glance at the sword placed in a corner nearby. It was the first Earth-Rank Spirit Sword he had forged, but no one knew of it, because it was the Sword of Death, forged with the intent of death. Its attacks were filled with destructive power.