Sword Intent Born to Protect, Heaven Guard Sword Intent

The elegant woman paid no heed to the stunned looks on the couple's faces.

Six soul rings lit up around her at once.

The Nine-Hearted Begonia martial soul cradled in her palm immediately radiated purple light, which then fell upon Qi Dao and his father.

As the father and son were enveloped in the purple glow, their injuries rapidly began to heal.

Most noticeably, the vicious saber wound on Father Qi's chest began closing at a visible rate under the elegant woman's treatment.

As for Qi Dao, who lay on the ground, the fine lines resembling cracks in porcelain across his body gradually faded, and color slowly returned to his pale face.

This was the Nine-Hearted Begonia martial soul. Though it possessed only one soul skill, its healing effects were immensely powerful and could continue until the user's Soul Power was depleted.

Just over ten seconds later, the purple light around Father Qi vanished.

He lowered his head to look at the wound on his chest, his face full of disbelief.

He had recovered just like that?

Was this the power of a healing-type Soul Emperor?

But Father Qi quickly turned to look at Qi Dao again.

The fine, porcelain-crack-like lines on Qi Dao's body had completely disappeared, but he still showed no sign of waking.

Only after another ten or so seconds did he slowly regain consciousness.

When Qi Dao opened his eyes, he instinctively looked around. Seeing the people surrounding him, a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.

His awareness was still stuck at the moment when he had slain the three Fallen Soul Ancestors with a single sword strike.

"Dao, you're awake!" Mother Qi crouched down in delight, examining Qi Dao's condition as she spoke.

"Mom!"

Seeing Mother Qi, then glancing at Father Qi beside her, Qi Dao could not help but smile.

It was good that they were all right!

After a brief moment of confusion, Qi Dao stood up.

Mother Qi immediately said to him, "Dao, this lady was the one who saved you and your father. Otherwise, given your condition at the time, even if you had received treatment in time, you probably would have been left with lasting complications."

Hearing this, Qi Dao immediately looked at the elegant woman and respectfully said, "This junior is Qi Dao. Thank you, Madam, for saving my life."

The elegant woman smiled gracefully. "It was your good fortune that you happened to encounter me here."

Qi Dao thought for a moment, then took out a gold card.

It was the one Xiao Chenyu had given him before he left, containing a full fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Qi Dao presented the gold card with both hands and said sincerely, "Madam, this card contains fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins. Please, you must accept it."

"Perhaps fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins are nothing to you, but this is a small token of gratitude from my family of three."

The elegant woman had saved them out of kindness.

But Qi Dao could not simply accept it with a clear conscience.

Upon hearing this, the elegant woman looked at the gold card in Qi Dao's hands, surprise flashing through her eyes.

The others present were the same.

They could all tell that Father Qi and Mother Qi were clearly just commoner soul masters, yet their son could casually produce fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Did that make any sense?

After a moment of surprise, the elegant woman quickly regained her composure.

She smiled. "Fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins should not be a small sum for you. You're giving all of it to me just like that?"

Qi Dao shook his head casually.

"Money spent can always be earned again!"

"Though fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins are no small sum to me, how could my life and future be measured by such a mere amount?"

Qi Dao had to give Xiao Chenyu some credit for this.

He had not expected the fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins Xiao Chenyu had given him to come in handy so quickly.

Only then did the elegant woman smile and accept the gold card from Qi Dao's hands.

"What an interesting young man!"

"Since that is the case, I'll accept it!"

Seeing this, Qi Dao smiled as well.

"By the way, where are you headed?" the elegant woman asked again.

Qi Dao smiled. "Heaven Dou City!"

"Oh!"

"Then we happen to be going the same way!"

"Why not travel with our merchant caravan from here on? We can look out for one another."

Qi Dao smiled. "Thank you, Madam. Then we'll gladly accept your offer."

The elegant woman smiled and nodded, then returned to her carriage.

Qi Dao's family joined the merchant caravan.

On the way back to the carriage, Qi Dao surveyed the caravan. In the end, his gaze settled on the flag embroidered with the character Ye.

Combined with the martial soul of the elegant woman described by his parents, Qi Dao immediately guessed her identity.

She should be Ye Lingling's mother from the original story.

Though the original story had not introduced Ye Lingling's family background in detail, even Ning Fengzhi had praised the Nine-Hearted Begonia as an auxiliary martial soul. It clearly could not have had no background at all.

Qi Dao had not expected such a coincidence—that he would encounter the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan's merchant caravan halfway through the journey.

Fortunately, it was the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan's caravan they had encountered. Otherwise, if his injuries had truly left him with a chronic condition, he would have had no one to blame but himself.

That was also why he was so grateful to that elegant lady.

After returning to the carriage, Father Qi drove while Mother Qi curiously asked Qi Dao about the sword technique he had used earlier.

However, Qi Dao himself could not explain that strike clearly, so he could only give her a vague answer.

Seeing this, Mother Qi did not press further, while Qi Dao immediately began recalling the feeling from that moment.

He was certain that he had entered a state of unity between man and sword, yet no matter how he tried now, he could not enter it again.

The feeling was like having a dream. Once he woke up, the memories within the dream immediately receded like the tide, leaving behind only a vague impression.

Qi Dao was speechless.

So it was just a limited-time trial card for unity between man and sword!

Fortunately, this trial card had not been completely useless.

Though Qi Dao had only entered that state for a brief moment, it still gave him an entirely new understanding of the sword.

Three years ago, he had comprehended sword qi and could slash it out separate from the blade.

A year ago, he had comprehended sword radiance, which could cover the blade and make its edge even sharper.

But Qi Dao had never comprehended the sword intent he sought—until today!

While protecting his loved ones, Qi Dao had briefly entered the state of unity between man and sword.

Though it had only been a trial card, he had still used it to comprehend his first sword intent.

Qi Dao extended a finger, and a strand of pure white sword intent as thin as a hair emerged from his fingertip.

Sword intent was a reflection of a sword cultivator's inner will and conviction, so different people would naturally comprehend different sword intents.

Some sword intents focused on slaughter, while others naturally focused on defense.

Qi Dao had sought to protect his loved ones, so the sword intent he comprehended naturally focused on defense.

Qi Dao named this sword intent Heaven Guard.

Heaven Guard Sword Intent!

When Qi Dao used the Heaven Guard Sword Intent, he could draw upon the energy of heaven and earth to defend himself, granting him exceptionally powerful defensive capabilities.

And the deeper Qi Dao's comprehension of the Heaven Guard Sword Intent became, the greater the energy of heaven and earth he could draw upon.

Furthermore, the Heaven Guard Sword Intent was merely not suited for offense—it was not incapable of offense!

After all, the best defense...

Was offense!