Lin Huai slowly opened his eyes.
He saw not only Qian Daoliu and Dugu Bo,
but also a spirited young woman with short, pale-purple hair and a touch of bewitching charm standing beside Dugu Bo.
So this must be Dugu Yan.
Her hair was still pale purple, which meant she hadn't yet been deeply affected by the poison.
The three of them saw that Lin Huai had finished absorbing the herb.
Qian Daoliu released his Soul Power to examine him, then asked with concern, "Xiao Huai, how do you feel? Are you uncomfortable at all?"
Seeing how anxious Qian Daoliu looked, warmth welled up inside Lin Huai.
Thank goodness he had taken Qian Daoliu as his master. If it had been someone else,
he might have been killed for revealing the Immortal Herb.
"Don't worry, Master. My spiritual power has grown greatly this time, and I even communicated with my Martial Soul's independent consciousness."
"Your Martial Soul's independent consciousness?"
All three exclaimed in surprise at once.
Seeing their astonished expressions,
Lin Huai remained calm on the surface, but inside he was brimming with excitement.
His Martial Soul was an existence without precedent or equal on the Douluo Continent.
"That's right."
"My Martial Soul actually has a consciousness of its own."
"It's just that my spiritual power isn't enough to let her fully manifest yet."
Lin Huai circulated his Soul Power and summoned Malenia's Martial Soul.
"Right now, I can only summon her body and the combat instincts that come with it."
Dugu Yan looked at the tall, utterly silent beauty.
Her face showed an eager, itching-to-try expression.
"Lin Huai!"
"Would you spar with me?"
"I've never seen such a strange Martial Soul before. Let me test it out."
Qian Daoliu glanced at Dugu Bo,
signaling for him to stop Dugu Yan.
"Not yet. I need a few days to consolidate what I've gained."
"We can spar in a couple of days."
Lin Huai remembered that he hadn't yet mastered the Flowing Water Sword Technique.
He should first make sure he could use his Soul Power without difficulty.
Dugu Yan wilted at once.
"All right!"
Seeing Dugu Bo open his mouth, then close it again,
"Senior, don't rush. Let's wait until Chrysanthemum Douluo gets here before discussing how to cure the poison."
"What if there's some herb that can directly resolve the problem with your Martial Souls?"
Dugu Yan was taken aback by that.
"Problem with our Martial Souls?"
"Grandpa, what's wrong with our Martial Souls? How come I didn't know?"
Qian Daoliu motioned for Dugu Bo to take his granddaughter away.
"Yanyan, let's go over there. Grandpa will tell you some of our family's secrets, too."
With that, he swept Dugu Yan away from the center with his Soul Power.
"Xiao Huai, when you communicated with your Martial Soul, did you learn how to remove this curse?"
Lin Huai thought again of the tremendous gains he'd made from speaking with Malenia.
The corners of his mouth lifted before he could stop them.
"Master, I've found a way to completely resolve Scarlet Rot!"
Qian Daoliu's expression relaxed, too.
Although he had accepted this disciple somewhat impulsively,
he still hoped Lin Huai could inherit his legacy and help Xiao Xue manage Spirit Hall after he was gone.
Thankfully, Lin Huai had found a way to deal with this bizarre curse.
"Master, do you know Sword Intent?"
Qian Daoliu came back to himself at his disciple's question.
"Sword Intent?"
"I comprehended Angel Sword Intent long ago."
"Is Sword Intent the way to resolve this curse?"
Qian Daoliu fell into thought. Perhaps he felt that teaching Lin Huai himself wouldn't be quite appropriate.
"When the time comes, I'll take you to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Chen Xin should have comprehended Seven Kill Sword Intent, too."
Though Lin Huai had only been his disciple for two days, Qian Daoliu truly treated him like an heir.
"No need to rush, Master."
"It doesn't rely on Sword Intent alone. I have to comprehend the relevant 'Intent' through the Flowing Water Sword Technique I obtained earlier."
"As long as I first reach Micro-Perception in the sword technique, I'll be able to cultivate normally."
"If I can reach 'Force,' I'll also be able to use the power of rot to a limited extent."
"So we have more time than we thought."
Qian Daoliu nodded.
"Very well. I'll first teach you what I learned when I studied the sword, so you can use it as a reference."
Lin Huai gathered his thoughts and listened attentively to Qian Daoliu's insights into the sword.
"The level of 'Micro-Perception' isn't difficult. Even without talent, years of hard practice can force your way there."
"When you reach this level, the clearest sign is that you can make your mind guide the sword, and the sword follow your mind."
Qian Daoliu thought for a moment.
"It's the same when you use a blade. The use of weapons is fundamentally the same, though the paths may differ."
"The main thing is to practice the basics. Once you can control a blade's direction at will and adjust the force of your attacks as you please, you've reached this level."
Hearing Qian Daoliu's general explanation,
Lin Huai thought of a saying from traditional wuxia.
"Lifting a heavy object as if it were light, and a light object as if it were heavy?"
Qian Daoliu looked at Lin Huai.
What a clever little fellow.
"That's a good way to sum it up."
"The next level, 'Force,' is different from the levels before it."
"Talent starts to matter at this level. Someone with great talent might reach enlightenment in a single day, while someone without it may never comprehend it in their entire life."
Qian Daoliu conjured a sword from his Soul Power.
"For those who have a corresponding cultivation method, they can cultivate by following it directly."
Without releasing any other Soul Power, a gentle breeze suddenly stirred around Qian Daoliu.
His sword's force slowly enveloped Lin Huai.
"This feels a little like seeing the Angel God..."
As Lin Huai looked at Qian Daoliu, an angel seemed to appear before his eyes.
Qian Daoliu let the sword's force dissipate.
"This is the sword's force behind the Angel Holy Sword I cultivate."
"If you cultivate the Seven Kill Sword from the Chen Clan, what you eventually form is the Seven Kill Sword's force."
When Qian Daoliu spoke of the Seven Kill Sword, a trace of guilt crossed his face.
"This 'Force' is comprehended and experienced through the sword technique you cultivate."
"When we cultivate the Angel Holy Sword, we comprehend it beneath the Holy Angel Statue;
when we cultivate the Seven Kill Sword, we constantly fight powerful opponents."
Thinking of his Flowing Blade Technique, Lin Huai voiced his question:
"Master, the one I obtained was called the Flowing Water Sword Technique. Should I stay beside a trickling stream, or by raging, surging waves?"
Seeing that Lin Huai had truly taken his explanation to heart,
Qian Daoliu nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. When comprehending 'Force,' some of your insights will influence your 'Intent.'"
"When I comprehended the sword's force, certain influences weakened the 'divine holiness' of the Angel Holy Sword in my Sword Intent and shifted it toward uprightness and the chivalric spirit."
There was a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
"Though my Sword Intent is still called Angel Sword Intent, without boasting, it could just as well be called Upright Sword Intent."
No wonder Qian Daoliu had accepted the Clear Sky Hammer head-on in the original story, and, even after his son died,
hadn't attacked the Clear Sky Ancestral Land—he'd been so upright it bordered on foolishness.
Maybe that's also why Master still hasn't broken through to the Sword Dao Domain.
Lin Huai mused to himself.
"Actually, Master, if you think 'Upright Sword Intent' sounds too ostentatious, you could call it 'Impartial.'"
"'Without deviation or partiality, one follows the king's righteous way.' It roughly means having not the slightest bias."
"Impartial... Impartial Sword Intent."
Qian Daoliu murmured to himself.
Then he smiled.
"Not bad. I'll gladly accept that."
"As for your question earlier, you can think of it as asking what kind of 'Intent' you want to lean toward in the future."
"You needn't worry too much about comprehending something you don't want. If your talent is strong enough, you can comprehend multiple 'Intents.'"
Lin Huai's eyes shifted.
Comprehend several kinds of 'Intent'?
That sounded like the standard setup for a genius protagonist.
Noticing Lin Huai's excited expression, Qian Daoliu admonished him, his tone slightly stern.
"Xiao Huai, don't reach for what's beyond you. I'm telling you all this so you can decide on your future path as early as possible."
"For now, you still need to keep your feet on the ground."
Lin Huai felt deeply wronged.
He was an "adult" who was over twenty-five years old in total.
How could he not understand the importance of taking one step at a time?
Unfortunately, in front of Qian Daoliu, he was nothing more than a seven-year-old brat.
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