This Kind of Sword Cultivator Is the Most Sinister!

This was Ji Juechen's Sword Intent.

Gu Qiu'er narrowed her eyes slightly, clearly sensing the terror of that invisible pressure.

At the center of the arena, the spar officially began!

Ji Juechen neither dodged nor evaded, his figure suddenly charging forward.

It was the simplest, purest downward slash!

Fast, precise, steady!

This was the basic sword technique Ji Juechen had honed millions upon millions of times. Every inch of force was perfect—simple, yet terrifying.

Lu Yuan's expression turned grave as both swords moved together.

Their first direct clash.

The twin swords collided violently with the meteoric iron longsword!

Clang!

A piercing metallic screech exploded through the air, sparks scattering everywhere as the powerful impact blasted dust from the ground.

Ji Juechen's body swayed slightly.

He was a little surprised.

What tremendous strength!

They were both Soul Emperors. He had assumed that with the suppression of his Sword Intent, he could easily gain the upper hand. Yet Lu Yuan had steadily received his attacks through nothing but solid swordsmanship fundamentals and physical strength.

Ji Juechen glanced at Lu Yuan's arms and frowned slightly.

Could it be... that he possessed two arm bones? And both must be of considerable age!

What surprised him even more was that Lu Yuan's swords were utterly empty.

There was no Sword Heart, no Sword Intent, not even a fixed sword style. He simply responded to every move and counterattacked along with the flow.

Ji Juechen guessed that Lu Yuan's swordsmanship had been tempered through battlefield slaughter—clean, ruthless, with a proper balance of offense and defense.

But in the eyes of a true sword cultivator, its flaws were obvious.

He had technique, but no intent.

He had moves, but no Sword Heart.

In other words, Lu Yuan was simply strong.

There was no sword in his eyes, no path in his heart.

"Interesting."

A sharp gleam flared in Ji Juechen's eyes as he raised his sword and pressed the attack once more.

Each strike came faster than the last. The plain, unadorned basic sword moves had been carried to the extreme in his hands, every blow flowing with the rhythm of Sword Intent.

Lu Yuan responded steadily, his twin swords rotating in turn, one defending and one attacking. The red and purple blades intertwined and flashed, forcibly receiving Ji Juechen's storm-like assault.

The three spectators held their breath and watched without blinking.

But as the battle continued, the situation in the arena quietly changed.

The first to notice the anomaly was Ji Juechen, who was immersed in the way of the sword.

At first, Lu Yuan's swordsmanship had been utterly ordinary, relying entirely on raw strength to hold out. Yet after their repeated exchanges, after his blades collided time and again and endured the scouring of that supremely sharp Sword Intent...

Lu Yuan's movements gradually began to change.

Originally, he had merely dismantled attacks, blocked, and counterattacked mechanically.

But Ji Juechen's pure, steadfast, ever-forward swordsmanship mindset was displayed clearly before him like a bright lamp.

What was a sword?

It was not a sharp blade, nor an instrument of slaughter.

It was the direction of one's heart, the courage to press ever onward, the unity of all principles!

When Lu Yuan had practiced swordsmanship in the past, Gu Yuena had always thrown him into dens of Soul Beasts to temper himself through life-and-death battles.

He had only sought victory, breaking enemies, and crushing opponents. Never had he quietly contemplated the true heart of the sword.

But now, amid countless blade collisions and the permeation of Sword Intent, he unconsciously absorbed Ji Juechen's swordsmanship realm.

This was the realization born from countless clashing blades, the influence of Ji Juechen's swordsmanship mindset!

At some unknown point, Lu Yuan's twin swords became faster and faster.

The pitch-black mysterious blade tore through stillness and extinction, while the crimson flame sword scorched the air. As the two swords danced, they became so fast that they trailed layer upon layer of afterimages.

His sword moves remained the same, but their essence had changed completely.

His once rigid swordsmanship now carried a trace of obsession.

An extremely faint yet incomparably real thread of Sword Intent quietly emerged and rose around him.

This wisp of Sword Intent was not powerful, still immature.

Ji Juechen's movements abruptly halted. His pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with disbelief!

How was that possible?!

He had sought Lu Yuan out for a spar in hopes of finding an opportunity for a breakthrough in his own swordsmanship through the Dual Sword Style!

Yet in the end, he had become Lu Yuan's whetstone!

He had personally given away the pure swordsmanship realm he had accumulated for years, bit by bit, to an opponent with no Sword Intent at all, forcibly helping the other party cultivate a Sword Intent unique to himself!

"Monster... an absolute monster!"

A raging storm surged through Ji Juechen's heart. In all his years, he had never seen talent this absurd.

For others to comprehend Sword Intent, they needed years, even decades, of arduous cultivation and accumulation—quietly nurturing their swords, using their hearts to nurture their edges.

But this man had grasped it after one fight!

After the brief shock, Ji Juechen suppressed his emotions and raised his sword for another fierce attack.

He wanted to test just how strong Lu Yuan was with the initial form of Sword Intent empowering him!

The next moment, their swords collided once more.

Lu Yuan crossed his twin swords, blocking Ji Juechen's strike before sending him flying back.

The battle intent in Ji Juechen's eyes grew even stronger.

"Again!"

After several dozen exchanges.

Clang!

Another violent collision.

Ji Juechen staggered back several steps, the hand gripping his sword tingling slightly.

He looked at his meteoric iron longsword, then at Lu Yuan, whose aura had transformed, and let out a long breath.

After a while, he slowly lowered his sword and spoke frankly. "I lost."

Perhaps... he had lost in terms of talent?

The swordsmanship foundation he had painstakingly cultivated for years had unexpectedly become Lu Yuan's wedding dress.

He had sought Lu Yuan to comprehend the Dao.

Yet in the end, Lu Yuan had comprehended it through him.

Xiao Xiao cheered excitedly, "Brother Lu Yuan is amazing!"

Lu Yuan drew a deep breath, put away his twin swords, and cupped his fists toward Ji Juechen. "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Ji!"

Ji Juechen smiled bitterly. "Guidance is too much. We merely helped each other improve."

He looked at Lu Yuan and asked seriously, "Brother Lu, may I ask what insights you have regarding the Dual Sword Style?"

"The Dual Sword Style..."

Lu Yuan rubbed his chin and began to think.

Seeing his expression, Ji Juechen assumed he was about to hear some profound secret of swordsmanship.

Unexpectedly, Lu Yuan only said one simple sentence.

"The Dual Sword Style is just two swords. Nothing more."

Ji Juechen: "???"

"That's it?"

"That's it!"

Ji Juechen's eyes widened.

Was this brat fooling him?

Practicing with one sword was already unimaginably difficult, emphasizing one heart and one sword, the unity of man and sword.

Controlling two swords separately with both hands, separating attack and defense, with yin and yang opposing one another and their rhythms pulling against each other—how could the difficulty be anything less than doubled? How could it possibly be simple?

Wait...

Simple?

Could Lu Yuan mean returning to simplicity?

Ji Juechen recalled their battle just now.

Complex techniques, flashy sword styles, deliberate balancing...

Lu Yuan had used none of them from beginning to end.

He truly had fought in only the most fundamental way possible with two swords.

All things became intricate, yet ultimately returned to simplicity.

Ji Juechen's entire body trembled, and a monstrous wave rose within his heart!

Others practiced the Dual Sword Style by forcibly pursuing a balance between two extremes, deliberately compensating for flaws, and laboriously restraining the conflict between the two swords.

But Lu Yuan's twin swords had, from the very beginning, simply been two swords.

They moved according to his heart and emerged according to the situation.

Following nature was the Dao!

How was this perfunctory?

This was returning to simplicity!

The Great Dao was simple; great skill seemed artless!

Having understood this, Ji Juechen's entire body shook violently. His mind trembled intensely, and the Sword Intent around him began to loosen and circulate.

His eyes instantly became empty and clear.

The next second, Ji Juechen no longer cared about Lu Yuan, Gu Qiu'er, or the others present. He completely forgot where he was.

Ji Juechen folded his legs and sat cross-legged on the ground.

His meteoric iron greatsword lay flat across his knees, his eyes tightly shut as his breathing instantly settled.

His entire being completely sank into a state of sudden enlightenment through Heart-Sword Unity.

A Sword Intent far vaster, clearer, and more inclusive than before slowly rose from within him, transforming.

Lu Yuan: "???"

The warehouse instantly fell silent.

Lu Yuan, Gu Qiu'er, Xiao Xiao, and Jing Ziyan were all stunned, staring blankly at Ji Juechen as he entered enlightenment on the spot, their faces full of astonishment.

Lu Yuan grumbled inwardly that these sword cultivators really were underhanded!

Ask them whether they had won or lost a match, and they would say they had attained enlightenment!

Still, Lu Yuan did not think he was a pure sword cultivator, so it did not matter.

Even if he were a sword cultivator, he would not be underhanded. He was a sunny, cheerful young man!

As for his Martial Soul emitting black mist, that was only because the purple aura was too dense!