Saber Intent Embryo

Sitting in the small courtyard, Lu Ming took a sip of tea and briefly recounted the events.

"Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect you could defeat an early Zhen Qi Realm martial artist now."

After listening to Lu Ming's story, Old Man Zhao smiled and stroked his beard. Although he knew about Lu Ming's cultivation progress, he wasn't aware of his actual combat strength.

After all, cultivation and martial skills were only one aspect. Some people practiced the same techniques and martial skills as others, and their cultivation progress was similar, yet they still couldn't defeat their opponents.

Others not only had higher realms but also excellent martial skills and techniques, yet they sometimes lost to those who were inferior to them in these aspects.

This was the gap in combat strength.

In short, it was a very complex matter that couldn't be explained in a few words.

However, one thing was clear: the stronger the combat power displayed, the higher the talent.

The fact that Lu Ming could defeat an early Zhen Qi Realm opponent by a whole major realm indicated his astonishing talent.

"I also have to thank your Soaring Dragon Palm, old man," Lu Ming said.

"You can't say that."

Old Man Zhao waved his hand. "The palm technique is only one part of it; it depends on who wields it. The fact that you can use it to defeat enemies means it's basically all your own credit."

"Alright, go back and tend to your internal injuries. The longer you delay, the harder they'll be to heal."

"Okay." Lu Ming nodded and didn't linger any longer.

"This kid has finally begun to grow. I've been out for so long; it's time for me to go back."

Old Man Zhao stood with his hands behind his back in the courtyard, watching Lu Ming enter the house, murmuring to himself.

"Saber Intent? What is that?"

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Ming's internal injuries had completely healed. After recovering, he didn't choose to go out again but instead started flipping through the booklet left by Old Man Heavenly Saber.

He had already retrieved it.

He had also snuck back into the tomb and found traces left by many people. As for the treasure, there was definitely none.

Only a pile of skeletons remained.

Lu Ming naturally collected them and found another scenic spot by the mountains and clear waters to bury them.

It was a way to repay the favor of receiving the book.

Returning to the present, Lu Ming was reading Old Man Heavenly Saber's travelogue and came across something interesting.

The travelogue mentioned that Old Man Heavenly Saber had once traveled to the neighboring Zhu Zi Kingdom and encountered a swordsman in his twenties.

The swordsman's cultivation was not bad; he was in the early Gang Qi Realm, just like Old Man Heavenly Saber. However, their strengths were worlds apart.

With a single saber strike, the swordsman had severed a waterfall about ten feet wide in the middle. If it were just that, Old Man Heavenly Saber felt he could have done it too.

But after cutting the waterfall, the saber energy remained condensed and didn't dissipate, continuing to block the water flow and preventing the waterfall from continuing.

This startled him. He knew that saber energy from the Gang Qi Realm would quickly dissipate on its own after being unleashed, but the opponent's energy persisted for so long.

Not only that, but it could also block the water flow, clearly indicating it still possessed considerable power.

Therefore, disregarding the age difference, he quickly and humbly went forward to seek advice.

He received the two words: "Saber Intent."

In the days that followed, Old Man Heavenly Saber pursued these two words, even neglecting his cultivation realm.

However, he finally had some gains, touching the threshold of Saber Intent, and then incorporated it into the Heavenly Saber Art. But before he could further explore true Saber Intent, he passed away.

Lu Ming now knew that the lifespan of a Nei Qi Realm martial artist was only slightly longer than that of ordinary people.

If there were no hidden injuries, they could easily live to 120.

The Zhen Qi Realm could live to 150, the Gang Qi Realm to 200, and the Gang Yuan Realm could live up to 300.

Beyond that, the Sea Transformation Realm, where Gang Yuan transformed into Sea energy and permeated the entire body, allowed them to live to 500.

After that was the Heavenly Human Realm. Old Man Zhao said they could live up to 1000 years.

Old Man Heavenly Saber was in the early Gang Qi Realm and passed away before reaching 200 years old.

Now, Lu Ming had inherited his legacy.

"Could Saber Intent be that feeling?"

Now that he knew of Saber Intent's existence, Lu Ming suddenly recalled the situation of the last saber strike when practicing the Heavenly Saber Art with the Jade Pendant.

Although that strike wasn't unleashed, it gave him a feeling of being locked onto from all directions.

He quickly flipped through the contents transmitted by the Jade Pendant.

Soon, he stopped flipping with disappointment. Perhaps the Heavenly Saber Art didn't contain much about Saber Intent, or almost none at all, so the Jade Pendant didn't give him much information.

Or perhaps Saber Intent was something ethereal, something that could only be understood and not explained.

The Jade Pendant couldn't transmit it to him.

Therefore, he had to ponder it himself.

First, what is "intent"? The first thing that came to his mind was an absurd idea that had suddenly appeared before.

When he was poor and weak, he couldn't even carry a bucket of water properly. However, if it were replaced with silver of the same weight, he felt he could run as fast as if he were flying.

This should have been excitement and joy, causing him to ignore the weight of the silver.

Another example: in a fit of extreme anger, he once smashed a table with a single palm strike.

Normally, he would never have been able to do that, but in his anger, he managed it.

Excitement, joy, anger, and so on—these should all be forms of intent.

Under the influence of these intents, people can always accomplish things beyond their limits.

But what exactly is Saber Intent?

While pondering, Lu Ming drew out a long saber gifted to him by a weapon shop owner yesterday and began to stroke it.

He thought as he felt it.

A saber can be sharp or heavy; it can be cold or hot; it can be used for killing or for saving lives...

And so on, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

He fell into deep thought.

But soon, he stood up abruptly, as if he had realized something.

"No, these are all superficial appearances, or rather, the saber appears this way because of me."

"Saber Intent is my intent. If I make it sharp, it is sharp. If I make it kill, it kills. If I make it save people..."

In an instant, Lu Ming seemed to have opened a door and stood there dumbfounded.

After an unknown amount of time, a sharp intent suddenly erupted from within him, and the long saber placed aside began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Huh?"

In the adjacent small courtyard, Old Man Zhao, who was lying on a lounge chair, suddenly sat up in shock. Just now, he had sensed an extremely powerful will.

Sharp and resilient.

And its source was precisely Lu Ming's courtyard.

"Could this little fellow have comprehended Saber Intent?"

This intent quickly disappeared, and Old Man Zhao could no longer sit still. With a flash, he appeared in Lu Ming's courtyard just as Lu Ming opened his door.

"Old man?"

Seeing Old Man Zhao, Lu Ming was somewhat surprised.

Old Man Zhao didn't speak but carefully examined Lu Ming. He found that Lu Ming had changed completely, appearing like a sheathed treasure saber.

At the same time, his eyes were bright and piercing, as if containing thousands of sharp blades that pressured the mind.

"I didn't expect you to comprehend Saber Intent so quietly."

Having confirmed that the anomaly was indeed caused by Lu Ming, Old Man Zhao's gaze towards him became increasingly satisfied.

Lu Ming was only slightly stunned upon hearing this before recovering. It was difficult to hide anything from this old man.

However, there was nothing to hide. "It's not true Saber Intent yet, just its nascent form."

"Of course, I know that."

Old Man Zhao said grumpily, "No one can comprehend complete Saber Intent from the beginning. However, you have already taken the most crucial step. All you need to do now is continue to hone it."

Lu Ming nodded.

Old Man Zhao then asked, "What are your plans next?"