No-Self Sword Heart, Sword Soul Inheritance

The sudden change occurred, and the seal was undone.

Feeling the restraints on its body vanish, Moryo's form expanded instantly, its poisoned body gradually disintegrating and fracturing.

After purging all the toxins from its system, its figure shrank by a circle, returning to its normal size.

"Hahaha! You actually undid the seal; now, no one can save you."

Moryo flashed, lunging violently toward the outside of the palace.

"???"

Talking big, only to run away immediately? Seeing this, Baiyu felt utter contempt. He focused his mind and spirit, instantly unleashing a slash of Battojutsu.

The speed was immense, but Moryo was completely unfazed, letting the sword qi sweep through its figure, passing straight through without causing a single scratch.

Sensing Baiyu's attack, Moryo turned its head to look at him, a strange smile appearing on its face. It was the height of mockery, as if ridiculing Baiyu for his overestimation of his own abilities.

Its tentacles continued to exert force, and it fled at high speed.

Moryo had no intention of fighting; the moment it faced Baiyu, its only thought was to escape.

Its goal was clear: reach the outside, seize a human body, and then flee to the shrine where its physical body was sealed. Once it possessed its physical form, it would settle the score with Baiyu.

Everyone must bear the consequences of their own arrogance.

Without Miroku's seal, Moryo had no reservations. Its soul form flew straight out of the palace and possessed a guard.

"He's escaped."

Miroku stared fixedly at Moryo. The moment she decided to undo the seal, she had prepared herself for Moryo's escape.

Compared to Baiyu and the others, she understood Moryo far more thoroughly.

As a monster composed of various negative emotions, Moryo's nature was inherently sinister and cunning.

Baiyu's plan to fight it one-on-one was nothing more than wishful thinking.

"Do not interfere."

Baiyu emerged at the same time as Moryo, a streak of sword qi flying toward the monster's position.

Worried that Miroku might be unable to restrain herself, Baiyu issued another reminder.

"Let's... go!"

Miroku placed all her hopes on Baiyu, giving him her complete and absolute trust.

In the worst-case scenario, wouldn't it just be proceeding according to the original plan?

Baiyu held the Kusanagi Sword, approaching Moryo step by step.

"A sword has no enemy it cannot kill."

A low murmur, a moment of silence.

Baiyu once again entered a state of enlightenment in the way of the sword.

Moryo looked up toward Miroku's position; that woman was still as shrewd as ever, heading straight for the location of its physical body...

In that case... I won't go for the physical body; I'll just find a slightly inferior one instead.

Thinking this, Moryo fled in the opposite direction.

A soul form does not fear slashes or sword qi, but it cannot remain in the world for too long.

Therefore, Moryo had to find a body, but once it had a body, it would have a weakness.

At this moment, Baiyu only focused on swinging his sword again and again, acting in an unconscious state.

He remembered only the enemy before him—Moryo.

Every strike served to verify the system's reward: Selfless Sword Qi.

No chakra needed, no Thunder Breathing required; as long as the sword was in hand, sword qi could be unleashed.

This reward revealed a glimpse of another realm to Baiyu.

My path was originally selfless, never disdaining the world of men. Now that I have reached the mortal dust, I realize this heart is true.

Selfless Sword Qi was meant to be the purest power of the sword, a gift from the blade, an expression of gratitude to its master.

Man is the sword; that is selflessness.

With the sword in hand, all in the world can be an enemy.

Selflessness is an open, indifferent state of mind.

If one can achieve selflessness, one can communicate with the sword and perceive its ancient, fundamental essence.

Gradually tempering the sword intent into the body, cultivating the ease of the sword—unmoved by glory or shame, watching the flowers bloom and fall before the courtyard, indifferent to staying or leaving, gazing at the clouds rolling and unrolling in the sky.

Selflessness is the sword.

The fundamental realm of the sword, Selfless Completion!

Ding, congratulations to the host for comprehending the Selfless Sword Heart. Note: Selflessness is the sword; the sword views all things as one, and all may be slashed! (In the selfless state, attacks have a 10% chance to trigger Direct Death.)

"Ding-dong, Advancement Quest: Path of the Great Swordsman, master three or more types of Sword Heart (2/3)."

"Ding-dong, inheritance conditions met. Initiating inheritance quest: One Who Understands the Sword! What is one who understands the sword? When all things can serve as a sword, this is called Sword Soul. Quest reward: Class change to Sword Soul, gain mastery of the Sword Soul system skills. Note: To gain the recognition of the Sword Soul, one must master at least ten different types of swords."

Baiyu's eyes regained their clarity. As he snapped out of his epiphany, he realized he had arrived in an unfamiliar place.

Moryo was running ahead, having sprinted for who knows how long.

Turning back to see that Baiyu had stopped, Moryo was overjoyed.

"Hahaha, can't run anymore?"

Moryo laughed gleefully. Baiyu had been attacking continuously for so long, and the two of them had covered over a hundred miles in the past few hours.

Throughout the journey, Baiyu had never ceased his assault.

Under such circumstances, an ordinary person would have long since run out of chakra, yet Baiyu remained as vigorous as ever.

"Moryo, for allowing me to comprehend a new Sword Heart, you have made your final contribution. Die!"

Baiyu stood his ground, and the Kusanagi Sword vanished with a wave of his hand.

His right hand gripped his wooden sword, entering the state of the Selfless Sword Heart. With the enhancement of Thunder Breathing, he condensed all his chakra into a single point.

Concentrate on one point, reach the pinnacle.

"Slash!"

Without any superfluous words, he delivered a simple, unadorned strike.

The wooden blade sliced through the light, forming a black streak that vanished in an instant.

"Direct Death triggered."

Baiyu murmured. The moment the sword left his hand, he knew the final outcome.

No auxiliary methods were needed, no poisons, just a single ordinary attack.

Draw, slash, sheathe.

"Ah!"

Moryo let out a miserable shriek. Countless tentacles erupted from within his body, and his form suddenly disintegrated, turning into clusters of purple-red starlight.

It was such a slow sword strike—slow to the speed of a tortoise, slow to the extreme.

The eyes could clearly see every movement of this strike, even the sheathing of the blade.

Yet, facing all this, Moryo had no reaction. His mind struggled frantically, but his body remained completely motionless.

The world was frozen by this strike, and all things watched where the sword pointed.

Moryo was dead.

Not a single trace of him remained.

Once the passive effect of the Selfless Sword Heart was triggered, whether living or dead, everything could be slain with a single strike.

The Direct Death effect was incomparably tyrannical.

This was the sword. When Direct Death was triggered, the endless Dao of the Sword descended to execute the enemy. Before the endless Dao of the Sword, all things were nothing but trash!

If the Wanderer represented a free-spirited personality, then the Selfless represented the sword—a sword pure to the extreme.

"It's just that this state... is too terrifying."

Baiyu murmured. He dared not use such a tyrannical Sword Heart constantly.

If he stayed in it for too long, he wouldn't know if he was still Baiyu or if he had become a sword himself.

Upon entering the state of the Selfless Sword Heart, the essence of the sword constantly assimilated his spirit.

In just this brief moment, Baiyu felt a portion of his own nature being erased by the sword.

"Is the legendary Sword Fanatic someone who entered this state, had their human nature completely worn away, and left only a sword intent within their body to control their flesh as they walked the world?"

Baiyu speculated. The Selfless Sword Heart eroded the mind; although it was incredibly powerful, it could not be used often.

The system had not warned him about this aspect.

Was it a trap intentionally buried?

It hadn't mentioned the greatest flaw of the Selfless Sword Heart.

Entering this state meant being assimilated by the sword...

After dealing with Moryo, Baiyu switched back to the Wanderer's Heart, returning to his free-spirited, carefree demeanor.

Only then did Baiyu notice the flood of notifications appearing in the system.

Million Draws—Completed!