Blade Intent Prototype

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

"Good, good. I never thought you'd already be able to defeat an Early Zhen Qi Realm Martial Artist."

After listening to Lu Ming's account, Old Man Zhao smiled and stroked his beard. Although he knew about Lu Ming's cultivation, he had not known his actual combat strength.

One had to understand that cultivation and martial arts were only one aspect. Some people cultivated the same techniques and martial arts as others, and their cultivation levels were even roughly the same, yet they simply could not defeat their opponents.

There were also those whose realms were higher and whose martial arts and techniques were superior, yet they sometimes still lost to people inferior to them in every one of those aspects.

That was the difference in combat strength.

In short, it was an extremely complicated thing that could not be explained in just a few words.

However, one thing was certain: the stronger the combat strength one could display, the higher one's talent was.

And Lu Ming had defeated a Zhen Qi Realm Martial Artist while crossing an entire major realm, which showed that his talent was astonishing.

"I have to thank you for your Soaring Dragon Palm, Old Man," Lu Ming said.

"You can't put it that way."

Old Man Zhao waved his hand. "Palm techniques are only one factor. It depends on whose hands they're in. The fact that you were able to use it to defeat your enemy proves that the credit mostly belongs to you."

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

"Mm." Lu Ming nodded and did not linger.

"This little fellow has finally begun to grow, and I've been out for so long. It's time to go back."

Old Man Zhao stood with his hands behind his back in the courtyard, watching Lu Ming enter the room as he spoke inwardly.

"Blade Intent? What's that?"

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Ming's internal injuries had completely recovered. After his injuries healed, he did not choose to go out again. Instead, he began looking through the books left behind by Old Man Heavenly Saber.

He had already retrieved them.

He had also secretly returned to the tomb and discovered traces left behind by many people. As for the treasure, it was naturally gone.

Only a field of bones remained.

Lu Ming naturally collected them and found another place of beautiful mountains and clear waters to bury them.

It could be considered repayment for the kindness of having obtained the books.

Returning to the present, Lu Ming was looking through the travel journals recorded by Old Man Heavenly Saber and had come across something interesting.

The travel journal said that Old Man Heavenly Saber had once traveled to the neighboring Zhu Zi Kingdom, where he encountered a saber wielder in his twenties.

His cultivation was impressive. Like Old Man Heavenly Saber, he was in the Early Gang Qi Realm, but when it came to strength, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

With a single slash, the man cut through the middle of a waterfall more than thirty meters wide. If that had been all, Old Man Heavenly Saber felt that he could have done it as well.

But after cutting the waterfall in half, the man's saber qi condensed without dispersing and continued to block the flowing water, preventing the waterfall from reconnecting.

This gave him quite a shock. One had to know that the saber qi of a Gang Qi Realm expert would soon disperse on its own after being unleashed, while the other man's saber qi could persist for so long.

Moreover, it could even block the flow of water, clearly retaining considerable power.

Thus, ignoring the difference in their ages, Old Man Heavenly Saber hurried forward and humbly asked for guidance.

The only answer he received was the phrase "Blade Intent."

From then on, Old Man Heavenly Saber spent his days pursuing those two words, even delaying his cultivation realm.

Still, he had gained something in the end. He had touched the threshold of Blade Intent and then incorporated it into the Heavenly Saber Art. Unfortunately, before he could continue exploring and grasp true Blade Intent, his life came to an end.

Lu Ming now knew that the lifespan of a Nei Qi Realm Martial Artist was only slightly longer than that of an ordinary person.

Without any hidden injuries, one could easily live to the age of one hundred and twenty.

After that, a Zhen Qi Realm expert could live to one hundred and fifty, a Gang Qi Realm expert to two hundred, and a Gang Yuan Realm expert to three hundred.

Then came the Sea Transformation Realm. Once Gang Yuan transformed into a sea and filled the entire body, one could live to five hundred.

After that was the Heavenly Human Realm. Old Man Zhao had said that experts of that realm could live to a thousand years.

Yet Old Man Heavenly Saber had been in the Early Gang Qi Realm and had passed away before reaching two hundred.

Now, Lu Ming had inherited his legacy.

"Could Blade Intent be that kind of feeling?"

Now that he knew of Blade Intent's existence, Lu Ming suddenly thought of what had happened when the Jade Pendant had demonstrated the Heavenly Saber Art—the final saber strike.

Although that strike had not actually been unleashed, it had given him the feeling that he was being locked onto from every direction.

He hurriedly looked through the contents transmitted by the Jade Pendant.

Before long, he stopped reading in disappointment. Perhaps the Heavenly Saber Art contained very little about Blade Intent—or perhaps almost nothing at all—so the Jade Pendant had not transmitted much information to him.

Another possibility was that something like Blade Intent was ethereal and elusive, something that could only be understood but not put into words.

The Jade Pendant could not transmit it to him either.

Therefore, he could only think it through himself.

First of all, what exactly was "intent"? The first thing he thought of was an absurd idea that had suddenly occurred to him in the past.

When he had been poor and weak, he could not even carry a bucket of water properly. But if it had been the same weight in silver, he felt that he could carry it while striding as fast as the wind.

That should have been because his excitement and joy had made him ignore the weight of the silver.

For example, he had once smashed a table apart with a single palm while extremely furious.

Under normal circumstances, he absolutely could not have done it. But while enraged, he had managed to do so.

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

Under the influence of such emotions, people could always accomplish things beyond their limits.

But what exactly was Blade Intent?

As he pondered, Lu Ming drew a long saber that the owner of a weapon shop had given him the day before and began stroking it.

He felt it while thinking.

A saber could be sharp or heavy; it could be cold or scorching. It could be used to kill, or it could be used to save people...

And so on and so forth, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

They plunged him into deep contemplation.

But soon, he abruptly rose to his feet, seemingly realizing something.

"No, those are all superficial appearances. Or rather, the reason the saber displays these qualities is because of me."

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

In an instant, Lu Ming felt as if he had opened a great door. He stood there in a daze, motionless.

No one knew how much time passed. Suddenly, a sharp intent burst from his body, and the long saber placed beside him began trembling on its own.

"Hm?"

In the neighboring courtyard, Old Man Zhao, who had been reclining in a chair, suddenly sprang upright. Just now, he had sensed an extremely powerful will.

Sharp yet unyielding.

And its source was precisely Lu Ming's courtyard.

"Could this little fellow have comprehended Blade Intent?"

The will quickly vanished. Old Man Zhao could no longer sit still. With a flash, he appeared in Lu Ming's courtyard, just as Lu Ming happened to open the door.

"Old Man?"

Seeing Old Man Zhao, Lu Ming was somewhat surprised.

Old Man Zhao did not speak. Instead, he carefully scrutinized Lu Ming and discovered that he had completely changed. His entire person was like a precious saber that had not yet been drawn from its sheath.

His eyes were bright and shining with spirit as well.

It seemed as if countless sharp blades were concealed within them, piercing straight into the soul.

"I never thought you'd comprehend Blade Intent without making a sound."

After confirming that the disturbance just now had indeed been caused by Lu Ming, Old Man Zhao looked at him with growing satisfaction.

Hearing this, Lu Ming was only briefly stunned before recovering. It was difficult to hide anything around this old man.

But there was nothing to hide. "It doesn't count as true Blade Intent yet. It's only a prototype."

"Of course I know that."

Old Man Zhao clicked his tongue in annoyance. "No one can comprehend complete Blade Intent from the very beginning. But you've already taken the most important first step. From here, you only need to continue tempering it."

Lu Ming nodded.

Old Man Zhao asked again, "What are you planning to do next?"