Chapter 26: The Will of Intent & the First Prey

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Will of Intent & the First Prey

Across a vast, open grassland populated by scattered mountain peaks, human silhouettes moved at a speed so blinding that an outside observer would see nothing but a chaotic blur.

Five distinct figures were locked in a fierce, high-speed melee against a single opponent. Moving with hyper-accelerated reflexes, the lone defender cleanly ducked beneath a lethal incoming strike from his left.

Without breaking his momentum, he countered with a brutal, straight punch directly into his attacker’s face. The sheer force of the impact launched the assailant backward across the terrain, sending him flying for kilometers before he crashed violently into the side of a distant mountain.

BOOOOOM!

The moment the figure collided with the stone wall, the catastrophic kinetic pressure instantly pulverized half of the mountain peak into falling debris as the figure’s body scattered into shadows.

Aeon stood calmly in the center of the crater, the remaining four attackers immediately resetting their perimeter to surround him.

These opponents resembled blank, humanoid shadows, yet they possessed the exact same physical strength and speed thresholds as Aeon himself.

These were high-tier training dummies. One of the functions in the dimension. They weren’t constructed from ordinary wood or reinforced metal; their structural density and tactile composition felt exactly like the flesh and bones of real humanoid beings.

Aeon had been pushing himself through this non-stop regimen for the past week of internal time. He had methodically subjected his biology to every physical control exercise available within the domain.

Backed by his Infinite Comprehension, mastering his newly acquired power was an exceptionally easy task. For this specific simulation, he had consciously adjusted his personal compression seal to tap into the peak of the B+ rank strength level at the moment to push his hand-to-hand combat prowess to the limit.

Whoosh!

The four shadow dummies coordinated flawlessly, launching a simultaneous, multi-directional ambush from his blind spots. Aeon remained perfectly stationary, not lifting a single finger to defend.

Yet, the exact millisecond their fists almost reached him , Aeon moved. To his hyper-refined perception, the four oncoming silhouettes frozen mid-strike appeared completely static, as if linear time itself had ground to an absolute halt.

Moving with imperceptible fluidity, Aeon meticulously counter-attacked, driving precise strikes directly into each dummy’s vital networks. With a final, swift transition, he delivered a crushing punch straight to each of their skulls before returning to his exact starting posture.

Bum! Bum!

To Emma, who was watching the entire engagement from a safe distance, the sequence looked entirely different. She merely saw the four attackers rush Aeon all at once.

In the very next millisecond, right as their strikes were about to connect, their physical forms violently burst into scattering shadows while Aeon remained standing perfectly untouched.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Emma’s wide blue eyes sparkled with pure amazement. She immediately began clapping her tiny hands in delight.

Clap! Clap!

"That was absolutely incredible, Master! I didn’t see you move a at all!" Emma chimed happily, zipping through the air to settle onto his shoulder.

Aeon offered her a calm smile before instantly summoning a brand-new squad of five shadow dummies. This time, he adjusted their configurations, equipping them with lethal weapons and shifting their operational difficulty parameters.

Recognizing that her master was preparing for another high-intensity bout, Emma took flight from his shoulder, landing gently on the branch of a nearby tree to watch.

Aeon locked his gaze onto the new targets. With a single focused thought, a sleek, slender katana materialized directly into his palm. For one brief, silent heartbeat, the challenger and the five automated dummies locked eyes. Then, Aeon moved.

Whoosh!

Aeon completely vanished from his position, reappearing instantly right in front of the dummy stationed on his left. He swung his katana in a powerful, clean vertical slash. The dummy reacted with instantly, raising its blade to catch the blow.

Clack!

The remaining four dummies didn’t waste the opening. Seizing the tactical window, they launched a synchronized, simultaneous ambush from his flanks.

Aeon didn’t even bother turning his head to look. His hyper-developed battle senses had already mapped their trajectories perfectly before their blades could even descend.

With a sharp physical surge, he shoved his blade forward, throwing the first dummy off-balance, and easily side stepped the incoming network of steel.

Capitalizing on their missed momentum, Aeon launched a counter-strike at one of the exposed targets, only for the dummy he had previously pushed away to sprint back in, deflecting his blade just in time.

Clank!

Aeon didn’t retreat a single inch. Pushing forward aggressively, he unleashed a fierce offensive string against the dummy that had blocked his path.

Clank! Clank!

The rest of the squad quickly swarmed back into the pocket, but Aeon chose not to dodge this time. Utilizing his perception, he parried and deflected every single strike, matching a relentless, multi-directional barrage of sword attacks blow for blow.

Clack! Clank!

Over the past week of isolated training, Aeon’s raw swordsmanship had improved at an unimaginably fast pace. Driven by his Infinite Talent, he analyzed and absorbed the fundamental concepts of the blade as if he were a centuries-old veteran of a thousand wars.

After exchanging steel with the dummies for five continuous minutes, Aeon decided it was time to bring the simulation to an end. With a simple mental command, a dense, pitch-black and purple coating manifested directly over his katana’s edge. It didn’t ripple or flow like unstable magical energy. Instead, it fused seamlessly, as if the steel itself had naturally grown a brand-new, lethal outer layer.

Executing a single, lightning-fast cross step, Aeon cleaved straight through the first dummy, transitioning into a sweeping arc that bypassed the second. Within the span of a single second, Aeon had smoothly slipped past the entire squad, cutting through their coordinates in multiple vectors.

Whoosh! Slash!

Aeon slid to a halt several paces behind the dummies, his katana perfectly re-sheathed. For a brief millisecond, the five shadows remained completely intact. Then, glowing purple fracture marks erupted simultaneously across their bodies. In the next second, they hit the grass in clean, severed pieces before dissolving back into harmless shadows.

What Aeon had just unleashed was Sword Intent—the legendary next stage of absolute sword mastery.

Sword Intent was the precise level of comprehension where a cultivator could project their pure mental conviction directly into reality, achieving a state of absolute one with the blade.

Stepping into the realm of Sword Intent was the ultimate, lifelong dream of every single sword practitioner across the cosmos. Only those who truly understood, mastered, and lived by the blade at the highest tier could ever hope to grasp its essence.

Once mastered, even a broken branch, a single finger, or an empty palm could carry the absolute, lethal cutting force of a real sword.

But Sword Intent was not the only manifestation of this power. The exact same concept applied across the entire martial spectrum. Yielding Spear Intent, Fist Intent, Palm Intent, and Axe Intent. Any weapon or anatomical part utilized to execute an attack could house its own specialized intent.

To put it plainly, Intent was the physical manifestation of a cultivator’s absolute will, comprehension, and unyielding conviction toward a specific path, concept, or weapon.

And within a single week, Aeon had successfully mastered ten separate forms of Intent. Due to the broken effect of his Infinite Comprehension and Infinite Learning, unraveling these legendary paths was ridiculously easy.

If the veteran powerhouse cultivators of the outside world ever discovered what a ten-year-old child had accomplished in seven days, they would have literally died of absolute shock.

Aeon turned and walked back toward Emma, his katana vanishing into particles of light with a flick of his wrist.

"Wow! That was absolutely amazing as always, Master!" Emma cheered, flying in ecstatic circles around his head.

Aeon offered her a bright, happy smile. "Let’s go, Emma. It’s time to head back to the real world."

Emma froze in mid-air, her tiny face shifting from surprise to unbridled excitement. "Really?! Fiiiiinallly! Thank you so much, Master!" she cheered happily, zipping forward to plant a tight hug against his cheek.

Aeon laughed softly at her adorable enthusiasm. "Haha, you’re very welcome. Well then, let’s head out."

With a single thought, a cosmic portal opened before them. Aeon and Emma stepped through the threshold, leaving the isolated dimension behind.

Back inside his private palace guest suite, Aeon materialized in the center of his room. Although he had spent a grueling six months of non-stop refinement and training inside his pocket world, the temporal dilation meant that almost 12 hours had ticked past in the outside universe.

Bright morning sunlight was already pouring through the large glass windows, illuminating the room. Aeon checked the hologram wall clock, noting that it was currently eight o’clock in the morning.

Emma flew excitedly around the luxury suite, her eyes sparkling with pure wonder as she tentatively touched different futuristic and fantasy decorations.

Aeon smiled warmly, watching her enjoy her newfound freedom. He turned and walked into the bathroom, taking a long, relaxing bath to wash away the phantom fatigue of his training.

Once finished, Aeon dressed himself in elegant, clean noble attire, choosing to skip ordering breakfast for the morning. He turned his attention back to the golden-haired fairy.

"Let’s head out, Emma. Don’t you want to explore the grand architecture of the palace?"

Hearing the invitation, Emma immediately ceased her inspection of the room and zipped straight toward him. She settled gracefully onto his left shoulder, planting one tiny hand on her hip while dramatically pointing her other arm toward the exit.

"Let’s Goooo!" she declared grandly, causing Aeon to break into a hearty laugh. He then approached the heavy doors, pulling them open.

Click.

Aeon began to leisurely stroll through the outer corridors of the palace grounds, letting Emma fly happily from one scenic spot to another.

Secretly, however, Aeon was actively surveying his surroundings, hoping to cross paths with one of his predetermined binding targets.

As if the Goddess of Luck were listening directly to his thoughts, Aeon spotted a familiar silhouette walking down the opposite side of the grand hallway, heading straight toward his position.

It was Damian Darkmore.

The boy possessed short black hair, cold black eyes, sharp dragon horns, and a long, sleek black dragon tail trailing behind his robes. His complexion looked incredibly pale, but his expression was heavily twisted into a dark, vindictive scowl, as if he were nursing a massive, bitter grudge.

The moment Damian closed the distance and stopped directly in front of Aeon, his eyes flared with an intense, burning mixture of raw anger and deep envy. His tiny body was practically radiating a palpable layer of genuine killing intent.

Aeon was thoroughly baffled by the boy’s hostile behavior. ’Although the Darkmore family is notorious for having a terrible relationship with the other Great Ducal houses, I don’t recall doing anything to offend this kid to the point of triggering literal killing intent,’ Aeon thought, completely confused by the random confrontation.

Finally, Damian spoke through gritted teeth, his face contorted in a mask of pure, bitter rage.

"Don’t you dare look down on me, you arrogant bastard! Just because you happened to awaken a Divine-rank talent doesn’t mean you are better than me! I will personally beat you down and prove to the entire empire that a Divine-rank talent is absolutely nothing in front of my power!"

Aeon stood frozen for a fraction of a second before letting out a quiet, mocking sigh. ’Ah... so that’s what this is about.’ It was nothing more than the fragile pride of a spoiled young noble who couldn’t handle being overshadowed.

Aeon didn’t waste his breath on a verbal reply. Since he stood a full head taller than the Darkmore heir due to his newly refined dragon physique, he simply took a casual step forward, brushing cleanly past Damian’s side.

As he walked past, Aeon casually raised his hand, arrogantly bushing Damian’s head to the side with his hand before tossing a single, calm word over his shoulder.

"Idiot."

The moment his skin made direct, uninterrupted contact with the boy’s head, the precise notification he had been waiting for flashed across his vision.

[DING]

[Required physical contact established. You have successfully touched a target.]

[Do you wish to initialize the Boundless Bond?]

----------