I Am the Sword, and the Sword Is Me

Gu Rong looked at his old friend in surprise.

He had not expected this old fellow to encounter such an opportunity and break through at a time like this.

Beyond his surprise, he also felt a trace of joy.

Though the two of them had never spared each other with their words, they were deeply bonded. Whenever something good happened, they were sincerely happy for one another.

Ning Rongrong was equally delighted. She knew that with Grandpa Sword's current strength, every step forward was a tremendous improvement.

Now that he could advance even further, she was naturally happy for her Grandpa Sword.

At the same time, however, her feelings were somewhat complicated. Naturally, that complexity had nothing to do with Grandpa Sword.

It came from the person she should have called Master.

Because of him, Grandpa Sword had broken through. She should have felt grateful to him.

Yet she simply could not bring herself to feel grateful. The grievances she had suffered over the past few days were still vivid in her mind.

Especially when she thought that this person she considered utterly unforgivable might also be her idol, His Excellency the Arbiter, her emotions became even more complicated.

Why was it like this?

She had clearly gotten her wish and become His Excellency the Arbiter's disciple, yet she still felt somewhat afraid.

She found it hard to believe, and even harder to face.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes shone as she looked at her master. For the first time, she felt that her master was so dazzling.

The image Lin Mian had shown before was vastly different from the image of His Excellency the Arbiter in her heart.

So even though she had her suspicions, she had been unwilling to believe them.

Now, this bearing and this presence of her master were the true image of His Excellency the Arbiter in her mind.

The image of the idol in her heart overlapped with that of her master, leaving her unable to conceal her excitement.

Lin Mian allowed Chen Xin to break through without making any move.

To him, Chen Xin could never pose even the slightest threat, no matter what.

Whether he broke through or not was unimportant.

Moreover, Lin Mian had never intended to blame the two of them. The reason he had allowed them to come was to make Ning Rongrong completely recognize reality.

He wanted Ning Rongrong to understand that aside from abandoning those thoughts in her heart and realizing her mistakes, there was absolutely no way for her to escape his control.

Lin Mian was also somewhat interested in Sword Douluo's breakthrough. Just how much could this man improve?

The fluctuations of Soul Power around Chen Xin became increasingly apparent, and the Soul Power between heaven and earth gathered before him.

His entire body transformed into a sword, its sword aura raging freely, filled with the aura of slaughter and attack.

Chen Xin's martial soul, the Seven Kill Sword, had always been filled with slaughtering power. Now, because of his enlightenment, that power had become even more pronounced.

And faintly, it also contained a kind of rule power.

This was a higher-dimensional power. Very few Soul Masters could truly grasp it.

Any who did were among the very peak of the Title Douluo.

Lin Mian had fought them all before.

Tang Zhen, for instance, wielded the power of strength—the rule of strength.

He broke ten thousand techniques with sheer force.

What he pursued was the ultimate limit of power.

The Clear Sky Sect's secret technique created by Tang Zhen was, in essence, the unrestricted amplification of strength.

The Clear Sky Hammer was already broad and powerful in its attacks. Coupled with ultimate strength, it was enough to make anyone tremble.

Bo Saixi, for instance, wielded the rule of the sea. Though it had been bestowed upon her by the Sea God, she had indeed mastered it.

As long as she stood upon the sea, she could draw upon the power of the entire ocean.

The ocean's power was almost inexhaustible, which meant she would almost never be defeated.

Of course, there were exceptions. Lin Mian was that exception.

The power of Order Lin Mian wielded was enough to completely suppress the power of the sea.

It was overwhelming suppression at the level of rules.

Even Bo Saixi could not resist it at all. Only defeat truly suited her.

Chen Xin's breakthrough did not take much time, not even half an hour.

Everything seemed to fall into place naturally.

Soul Power and sword aura surged into his body before finally returning to calm.

He opened his eyes. Sword light flickered within them, and at that moment, his edge was fully revealed. Even his gaze was like sword light.

"Thank you, Senior. If not for you, this junior would never have been able to take this step."

Chen Xin respectfully bowed.

"No need to thank me. This was all your own enlightenment, your own destiny. If you could not comprehend it, then none of this would have had anything to do with you."

"However, I would also like to know what exactly you have comprehended. Can you demonstrate it for me here?"

A trace of delight flashed through Chen Xin's eyes. He had been thinking the same thing, hoping to measure his current progress.

"This junior could not ask for more. I ask Senior to guide me."

As soon as he spoke, a somewhat familiar aura spread from his body.

This aura was filled with sword aura and slaughter. Lin Mian naturally knew what it was—the aura of a domain.

It bore some resemblance to his Order Domain.

Of course, there were only faint similarities. The two could not be compared at all.

"This is the domain this junior has comprehended. This junior calls it the Sword Domain."

"Within this domain, anyone who steps inside will have every movement guided and restrained by it.

Within the domain, only the sword reigns supreme, and only slaughter comes first. An opponent's soul skills will be dismantled by sword principles and rendered unusable. Only direct battle can contend against it."

"Only after victory and defeat are decided can one leave. If a sword wielder is enveloped by it, only the destruction of the sword can bring it to an end."

"Not bad. Your sword is indeed impressive, and you do possess some talent. But I presume you also understand that this domain of yours cannot pose even the slightest threat to me."

There was no belittlement in Lin Mian's words. He was merely stating the truth.

"This junior naturally understands. The technique this junior has truly comprehended is related to the domain, but it is not this domain."

"I ask Senior to judge it."

"Before, though I transformed myself into a sword, I always regarded myself as the wielder of the sword."

"Now I understand that not only my body, but everything about me can become a sword. Everything between heaven and earth can also become a sword."

"I am the sword, and the sword is me."

"This move is called Sword Embodiment."

The moment the words Sword Embodiment were spoken, everything around them was swept up.

Chen Xin merged with his Seven Kill Sword, becoming that sharpest sword.

Not only his body, but his soul, his Soul Power, and his Spirit Rings all became swords.

This also included his domain, as well as everything from his past.

Terrifying sword aura seemed ready to tear apart the heavens. The raging wind it stirred transformed into blade after blade, freely destroying everything.

If Lin Mian had not secretly sealed off the surroundings beforehand, the nearby villages would likely have been affected.

In the end, the enormous Seven Kill Sword took shape. Within it were not merely swords, but also grass, trees, stones, a path of raging wind, and the rules of the sword.

This sword was Chen Xin's entirety, and Chen Xin had offered his entirety to it.

A voice emerged from within that giant sword. It was no longer his voice, but more like the ringing of a sword.