It wasn't quite accurate to say the Trial Sword Stone had fallen against him. It had only tilted slightly, so that its head just touched Lu Yin's arm.
Lu Yin looked at the Trial Sword Stone, and an indescribable feeling welled up inside him.
It was like a child who had been away from home for a long time, seeking comfort.
It had found its guardian.
"Back then, the Divine Sword Master must have often brushed the stone dust off you, too." Lu Yin spoke as something occurred to him.
Simply grinding against a sword wasn't enough to produce sword intent. Its birth came from both the sword intent and the emotions of the person wielding the sword.
If the Divine Sword Master hadn't cared for the Trial Sword Stone like a brother, the stone wouldn't have developed such a sense of dependence. After the Divine Sword Master vanished, it had continued grinding itself against swords, turning itself into his likeness while protecting humanity.
It didn't know whether the humans it protected might be traitors.
It only knew that it was supposed to protect them.
They were creatures like the Divine Sword Master.
Lu Yin hadn't expected to sense dependence from a stone.
How long had it waited?
Even without any concept of time, it had been a very long time.
To a stone, the years it had spent as the Trial Sword Stone might well have made it a child.
And for a child, the most important thing was having someone by its side.
The Trial Sword Stone had accepted Lu Yin and was no longer so coldly mechanical in its protection. In particular, the way it ground itself against swords had changed.
Lu Yin had watched it grind itself against swords before. Each time, it formed a single