Anomalous Talent

The three entry-level Great Daos, the comprehension of two complete Daos, and the attainment of a Great Dao Domain—this was merely the beginning. As Ju Hua delved deeper into the Star Scroll, the phenomena manifesting around him grew increasingly frequent.

This was not because Ju Hua had comprehended new Daos; rather, he had integrated everything he had previously grasped into his Sword Domain. The sword is a path of slaughter and application, capable of being easily fused with other Daos.

However, that usually applies to a single Dao. Fusing five complete Daos into one at the same time is a feat of difficulty that surpasses even comprehending a new Dao from scratch.

Time passed, and eventually, Ju Hua came to a halt.

Before Ju Hua could even gather his thoughts, the towering Yellow-Haired Great Bear appeared before him with a whoosh.

"What is going on with you? Were you some True God or Dao Ancestor in a past life, and now your memories have awakened?" the Great Bear asked impatiently.

"I am not sure myself!" Ju Hua was well aware that his current state was abnormal, but he truly did not know the cause.

Enlightenment is difficult to explain; if one has great talent combined with certain fortuitous encounters, a sudden, massive leap in progress is not entirely unheard of.

For instance, in Desolate Era, it is mentioned that Patriarch Bodhi once encountered a young boy during his "Three Thousand Worlds in a Dream." That boy, starting from nothing, comprehended the entire Dao of Ink in a single night.

The boy's talent was indeed formidable, but not so great that enlightenment was as simple as eating or drinking. Beyond his talent, fortuitous circumstances were indispensable for him to comprehend an entire Dao overnight.

If that boy could truly comprehend a Dao overnight at any time, he would have long since comprehended the Heavenly Dao and become a Dao Ancestor!

However, Ju Hua's situation was clearly not one of those fortuitous coincidences. While one might gain profound insight into a specific Dao through luck, no one could gain such massive insights into several completely unrelated Daos in succession.

The only reasonable explanation for such a phenomenon is the reincarnation of an Immortal—and not just an ordinary one. Ordinary Earth Immortals, Loose Immortals, or even Heavenly Immortal reincarnations would have had their memories awakened long ago. For him to show signs of awakening only after surviving his Heavenly Tribulation was clearly abnormal.

That was why the Yellow-Haired Great Bear had asked that question.

In truth, Ju Hua knew perfectly well that he was not the reincarnation of some True God or Dao Ancestor. The anomalies appearing in him now might be related to the time he spent in a coma!

"You don't know either?" the Yellow-Haired Great Bear asked, puzzled.

"Senior, I have not recalled any memories of a past life. To conclude that I am a reincarnated True God or Dao Ancestor now would be far too premature," Ju Hua replied.

"Aside from being a reincarnated True God or Dao Ancestor, I cannot think of any other possibility!" The Yellow-Haired Great Bear sighed, though he said nothing more.

Soon, he vanished before Ju Hua with another whoosh.

Ju Hua remained silent. He sat cross-legged and silently sensed his own condition.

Although his Earth Immortal Golden Lotus had been damaged by about twenty percent due to his failed tribulation, he had now attained the Great Dao Domain of the Sword. By integrating five complete Daos—the Dao of Flowing Water, the Dao of Swift Wind, the Dao of Thick Earth, the Dao of Rainwater, and the Dao of Raging Fire—into it, his strength was clearly greater than it had been before the tribulation.

"My strength was barely comparable to a top-tier Loose Immortal before, but now it is definitely at the pinnacle of that level. It is a pity I lack powerful Immortal-grade magic treasures; otherwise, I would be even stronger."

After gauging his strength, Ju Hua turned his thoughts elsewhere. The increase in power was secondary; he was more concerned with what had happened to him.

He scanned his entire body with his divine sense and heart sense, but found nothing. He then performed an internal inspection of his soul, yet still, he came up empty-handed.

In truth, the feeling I had just now was very clear! My talent has definitely increased by a huge margin. The Daos that were once obscure, difficult to understand, and ethereal are now incredibly clear before my eyes! Ju Hua thought silently to himself. He checked his body once more, unwilling to give up, but still discovered nothing.

Something must have happened to me, I just don't know what it is yet! Ju Hua pondered for a moment, then shook his head, temporarily setting aside the idea of investigating the matter further.

What he was meant to know, he would know sooner or later. If he wasn't meant to know, searching until the end of time would be useless! It would be better to make good use of this incredible talent to improve his strength as much as possible.

If this speed of enlightenment can continue, I have every hope of comprehending a Great Dao—or even more—before I face the Heavenly God Tribulation! As this thought crossed his mind, his heart, which had only just regained its calm, began to ripple once more.

Ju Hua quickly smoothed out the ripples in his heart, allowing his inner peace to return.

Comprehending a Great Dao and becoming a Heavenly God was certainly exciting, but those were things that had yet to happen. What he should do now was walk his current path step by step, lest he die before ever becoming a Heavenly God.

The harvest from this trip to the Star Hall was beyond imagination. Although Ju Hua wanted to stay and continue contemplating the Great Dao, external matters made it impossible for him to settle down and do so.

Having awakened from his coma, there were bound to be many trivial matters within his clan. Furthermore, he would very likely be on the list for the Xia Emperor's current military conscription. These were all things Ju Hua had to consider; therefore, now was not the time for him to meditate in peace.

Whoosh!

Ju Hua's figure reappeared in his own room. He scanned the outside with his heart sense and immediately spotted his younger sister practicing her swordplay.

A smile appeared on Ju Hua's face involuntarily, and he stepped outside.

A moment later—

"Big Brother? Watch out!"

Seeing Ju Hua approach, Zhuanshui Qiu did not hesitate and thrust her sword directly toward him.

Ju Hua smiled slightly. A pale gray longsword appeared in his hand, and he casually parried Zhuanshui Qiu's attack.

"Big Brother, I'm going to get serious now!" Zhuanshui Qiu warned, and her sword began to move again.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Large amounts of heaven and earth energy were stirred, and Zhuanshui Qiu's swordplay began to turn ethereal.

Like the wind drifting through the world, Zhuanshui Qiu struck left, right, up, and down. Her sword movements were elusive, and her attacks followed no discernible pattern.

Facing such tricky swordplay, Ju Hua stood calmly in place, occasionally lashing out to block her attacks and delivering perfectly timed counter-strikes.

After a long while, Zhuanshui Qiu and Ju Hua stopped simultaneously.

"Little Sister, your Dao of Gentle Wind has reached the Domain level, but your execution is still lacking. You should practice more often!" Ju Hua said with a smile, then raised his sword to demonstrate.

Watching the sword shadows appearing in mid-air, Zhuanshui Qiu watched intently at first, but soon, as if she had discovered something, she covered her mouth in surprise.

When Ju Hua finished his movements, Zhuanshui Qiu asked impatiently, "Is this the Dao of Gentle Wind? When did you comprehend the Dao of Gentle Wind, Big Brother? How come I didn't know?"

"Do you believe me if I say it was just a moment ago?" Ju Hua laughed heartily.

"Braggart!" Zhuanshui Qiu naturally wouldn't believe such words.

"Regardless of whether I'm bragging, although my Dao of Gentle Wind has only just entered the threshold, it is still more than enough to offer you some pointers given my level of cultivation!" Ju Hua said.

"I will demonstrate it one more time, watch closely!"

"Got it!"