Blade Intent

Blade Intent

On the streets of Cloud City, Wei Fan led a group of subordinates on patrol through his territory. Whenever people saw them making their rounds, many would bring them food.

"My father said not to celebrate too early. The tiger demon is dead, but before long, a pig demon or dog demon will come to seize the Fierce Tiger Gang's territory in the eastern district.

"The eastern district used to belong to a wolf demon. After that wolf demon was killed, the tiger demon appeared."

Hu Qing walked beside Wei Fan and softly reminded him, "He also told you to be careful. The Tiger King's entire family has died, and the other demons outside the city will not let this rest. They may very well come to avenge them and draw out the expert behind you to establish their authority.

"Among the demons outside the city, the Tiger King was not the strongest."

The demons entrenched around Cloud City were not limited to the Tiger King's family. As far as Wei Fan knew, each of Cloud City's eastern, western, southern, and northern districts had forces similar to the Fierce Tiger Gang, specially tasked with gathering gold, silver, and jewels for demons within the city, or supplying people for demons to eat.

It was precisely because the demon forces were so formidable that the people of Cloud City feared them, forcing those in power to turn a blind eye rather than launch a campaign against the demons, tacitly allowing forces like the Fierce Tiger Gang to exist.

Now that the Tiger King's family had been killed, the other demons would feel as though the lips were gone and the teeth exposed. If they simply watched the Tiger King be killed, who knew whether they would be next?

For their own safety, they had to punish whoever had killed the Tiger King's family, letting Cloud City's martial artists know that they could not be provoked.

Wei Fan nodded lightly. "Thank Head Instructor Hu for the warning on my behalf. Did he tell you which Great Demons are outside the city?"

Nor did he correct Hu Qing's assumption about the expert behind him.

Hu Qing said, "There is a weasel calling himself Great Immortal Huang, and there is also a fox demon named Hu Meiniang. The strongest is a Bear Demon. All the demons obey its commands."

Another terrifying thing about these demons was their sheer numbers. Among all the Great Demons, the Tiger King's family, which had been wiped out, actually had the fewest demons under them.

The Tiger King had appeared late and had few descendants. Weasels and foxes, on the other hand, were prolific breeders; they likely had dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of demons under them.

Otherwise, how could the Tiger King's family alone have possibly intimidated Cloud City's martial artists?

After walking around for the entire morning, nothing happened in Wei Fan's territory. With the Fierce Tiger Gang uprooted, many conflicts had vanished as well.

After lunch, he brought his subordinates to the training ground and instructed them in martial arts.

If he wanted others to risk their lives for him, he naturally had to offer them some benefits.

Once they reached the training ground, he had everyone come forward to demonstrate their martial arts, correcting and guiding them one by one.

Every one of his martial skills had reached perfection, and his insight was frighteningly profound. Even Hu Qingyun, the martial arts Head Instructor, could not compare to him. Guiding these constables was absurdly easy.

Half an hour later, everyone who had remained wore excited expressions, having gained quite a lot.

Zhou Qi in particular had spent three months merely reaching the entry level in the Blood Fiend Saber Technique. Yet after Wei Fan's guidance, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique directly broke through to the minor accomplishment realm, making him so happy he nearly roared aloud.

There was also a constable named Liu Chengzhou. Under Wei Fan's guidance, his Golden Bell Shield broke through to the second level.

After that, Wei Fan did not lead another street patrol. Instead, he went to his office and sat down.

Fifty years of cultivation, and your Roaring Tiger Golden Bell Shield remains unchanged

Current cultivation: 123 years

Wei Fan's face darkened slightly. He had poured in fifty years of cultivation, only to receive that one line.

He had believed the Roaring Tiger Golden Bell Shield could still be improved, which was why he had invested fifty years of cultivation. He had not expected to gain nothing at all.

Of course, it was also possible that fifty years of cultivation was too little, insufficient to make the Golden Bell Shield undergo another change.

"I can't keep pouring it in!"

He only had one hundred and twenty years of cultivation, so he had to use it sparingly. There were other ideas in his heart that needed testing. Once he had more cultivation, he could try adding it to the Golden Bell Shield again.

"Twenty years of cultivation, add it to the Blood Fiend Saber Technique!"

The Giant Bear Palm had Giant Bear True Intent. Could saber techniques have saber intent as well?

Of the two saber techniques he had mastered, Wei Fan ultimately chose to pour his cultivation into the weaker Blood Fiend Saber Technique.

Although the Blood Fiend Saber Technique was less powerful than the Heavenly Gang Blood Burning Saber, Wei Fan understood that the Heavenly Gang Blood Burning Saber's strength did not lie in the mysteries of the saber technique, but in the mysteries of its saber aura-condensing cultivation method.

Strictly speaking, the Heavenly Gang Blood Burning Saber was not a saber technique, but a saber art centered on the application of true qi. Its true core was the method of condensing saber aura.

If he wanted to develop saber intent, he had to rely on a martial skill like the Blood Fiend Saber Technique—one that could use pure saber technique to stir his own blood qi and slay demons. Such pure saber techniques were more compatible with saber intent.

This was also something he had vaguely come to understand after comprehending Giant Bear True Intent.

Just like the Golden Bell Shield, anything the Demon Suppressing Division had selected for widespread instruction could not have been chosen casually.

Twenty years of cultivation deducted!

Your Blood Fiend Saber Technique had long since reached perfection, yet you had not abandoned its cultivation, wishing to comprehend saber intent from the Blood Fiend Saber Technique

One year of cultivation: your Blood Fiend Saber Technique showed no change

Five years of cultivation: you became increasingly adept with the Blood Fiend Saber Technique, and felt ever closer to the saber

Twenty years of cultivation: your saber technique still made no breakthrough, but you gained a different understanding of the saber

Blood Fiend Saber Technique (Perfection)

Current cultivation: 103 years

Reviewing the knowledge in his mind, Wei Fan discovered that the twenty years of cultivation had not been useless. He simply had not added enough cultivation to produce saber intent.

"That makes sense. Giant Bear True Intent took thirty years."

Wei Fan continued adding cultivation. As long as it was not completely useless, he could keep going.

Thirty years of cultivation: the saber moved like your arm, man and saber becoming one, yet saber intent remained a distant dream

Forty years of cultivation: your spirit and will became refined, your heart free of distracting thoughts, with only the saber within it

Sixty years of cultivation: you practiced the saber with obsessive devotion, craving the saber to the point of madness, successfully condensing saber intent

Saber Intent (Entry Level)

Current cultivation: 63 years

It worked!

Wei Fan felt his spirit condense and his will tremble, his scattered essence, qi, and spirit gathering into an indestructible treasured saber.

In an instant, a soul-shaking saber intent emanated from his body. When his gaze swept past, the air itself gave a puffing sound, as though it had been sliced by a blade.

Puff...

The stool beneath him and the desk before him could not withstand the assault of the saber intent and split apart on the spot.

Wei Fan came back to his senses and hurriedly withdrew the saber intent. Only then did the aura around him settle.

"Captain Wei, what happened?"

The nearby constables and captains saw Wei Fan's desk split apart and could not help asking in confusion. After brushing them off with a few words, Wei Fan got up, carried the cracked table and chairs outside, and threw them away.

"I really did develop saber intent!"

He knew his earlier deduction had been correct. His golden finger would not derive martial arts from nothing. For something like the Heavenly Gang Blood Burning Saber, which relied entirely on its cultivation method, no amount of added cultivation would be useful.

But for technical skills like saber techniques, as long as he was willing to pour in cultivation, he would surely be able to produce something new.

Saber intent!

This was different from Giant Bear True Intent. Though both were intents, Giant Bear True Intent could only be used with the Giant Bear Palm. If he switched to another palm technique, Giant Bear True Intent would be utterly useless.

But saber intent could empower any saber technique he used, increasing its destructive power.

True Intent required a matching martial art, whereas saber intent could be applied to any martial art.

"It truly deserves to be something that took sixty years of cultivation just to reach the entry level. Its power is indeed terrifying."

Wei Fan picked up a wooden stick from the ground and lightly drew it across a stone. In an instant, the stone silently split apart.

Throughout the process, he had not used his terrifying strength of nearly twenty thousand jin, nor had he mobilized true qi. Driven solely by saber intent, the stone had been cut open.