Beyond the Third Tier

Lu Zhen understood that although the third layer of True Intent, the Self-Contained Realm, could bring a hundredfold burst of power, it still revolved around "force."

It used the rules.

But Leng Qiu had once told him that above True Intent lay something called "Law"!

It was a brush with a sliver of the truth behind the workings of heaven and earth.

"A sliver of truth?" Lu Zhen took a deep breath. "Let's see if an epiphany can help me glimpse that threshold."

Even if there was only the slightest chance!

Whoosh!

Lu Zhen sat cross-legged again and willed it to happen.

"Use an epiphany!"

Boom—

A roar sounded in his mind.

Lu Zhen felt his spirit rise without limit, as though it had shaken off the heavy shackles of his flesh and leaped into an unimaginable dimension.

The dense white mist of spiritual energy around him vanished.

The hard stone walls vanished.

Even the passage of time slowed to a crawl.

Absolute clarity.

In that strange state, Lu Zhen began to examine True Intent anew.

What, exactly, was True Intent?

"The first layer, Initial Glimpse, borrows the might of heaven and earth."

"The second layer, Manifestation, twists the flow of energy in a small area."

"The third layer, Self-Contained Realm, brings absolute suppression and control."

Countless flashes of sword light flickered through Lu Zhen's mind. They were the Star River Sword Intent he had forged through every life-and-death battle along his path.

Borrow momentum. Shape a manifestation. Form a realm.

"But these are only appearances," Lu Zhen murmured.

It was like painting on the surface of water. No matter how beautiful or lifelike the picture, it was still nothing more than ripples.

Water was still water.

"I need to see through the surface, see the currents beneath it, see