Chapter 345: Sword Intent 2

Chapter 345: Chapter 162: Sword Intent 2

Liang Cheng nodded and followed Li Jianfeng out.

Behind them, Yu Xiuqi opened his eyes. He watched Liang Cheng’s departing figure, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

…

Liang Cheng followed Li Jianfeng out of Yu Xiuqi’s courtyard. Just as he was about to bid farewell and leave, Li Jianfeng suddenly stopped and turned to face him.

“Junior Brother, would you like to see my Sword Intent?”

Liang Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. He cupped his fists and said, “I would be honored.”

Li Jianfeng smiled faintly and raised his hand, making a grasping motion in the air.

There was no sword in his hand, yet it was as if he were already holding an invisible blade.

The next moment, an incomparably sharp aura erupted from him!

An aura of pure, ultimate sharpness.

It was as if nothing existed between heaven and earth but a single sword.

The green bamboo in the courtyard swayed without any wind, its leaves rustling down. But in mid-air, they were sliced into countless fragments by the aura, scattering like confetti.

Li Jianfeng raised his hand and made a gentle slash.

An invisible mark streaked across a green rock ten zhang outside the courtyard.

The green rock split silently in two, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.

Liang Cheng’s pupils contracted.

That strike had used no Pill Qi. It was purely a manifestation of Sword Intent.

The Intent moved, and the sword arrived.

This was the power of Sword Intent.

Li Jianfeng withdrew his hand, and the sharp aura dissipated with it, as if it had never been there.

He looked at Liang Cheng, his gaze calm.

“My Sword Intent follows the path of breaking through all things. No matter your thousands of Magic Techniques or ten thousand Divine Abilities, I need only this one strike.”

He paused.

“What about your Blade Intent?”

Liang Cheng was silent for a moment before he slowly said, “Contention.”

Hearing this, Li Jianfeng praised him.

“What a fine word, ‘Contention’.”

He walked up to Liang Cheng and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Train hard. In three months, on the Inquiry Platform, the three of us martial brothers will fight side by side.”

Liang Cheng nodded in agreement and bowed with cupped fists.

“I will not let you down, Senior Brother.”

Li Jianfeng waved his hand and turned back toward the courtyard.

“Go on.”

As Liang Cheng leaped into the air, Li Jianfeng’s voice drifted over to him.

“Oh, right. Third Brother’s Fist Intent is not weak either. You should spar with him more when you have time.”

A warmth spread through Liang Cheng’s heart. He looked back at the courtyard shrouded in green bamboo and nodded.

…

「First Peak, Private Courtyard.」

When Liang Cheng returned to his courtyard, Lady Ning had already prepared a meal.

“Cheng’Er, time to eat!”

Liang Cheng sat down and picked up his bowl and chopsticks.

‘The Inquiry Conference is in three months.’

‘Second Senior Brother, Li Jianfeng, has already condensed his Sword Intent. His power is unfathomable.’

‘Third Senior Brother, Yu Xiuqi, has a Fist Intent that’s likely no weaker than my own.’

‘And what about Eldest Senior Brother?’

‘I haven’t met him yet. Eldest Senior Brother isn’t in the Sect, otherwise I would have seen him this time.’

‘But to be ranked above Li Jianfeng and Yu Xiuqi, he can only be stronger.’

Liang Cheng clenched his fists, fighting spirit soaring in his eyes.

‘Mayflies striving to be first!’

‘To contend with a stronger self.’

‘To contend with stronger opponents.’

He was now filled with anticipation for the Inquiry Conference. With three months left, he would only become stronger.

He then formed a sword with his fingers, and the Profound Yin Sword Technique at the Perfection Realm shot out.

Now, all he lacked was a single opportunity to comprehend Sword Intent!

…

After eating, Liang Cheng returned to the Quiet Chamber and sat down cross-legged.

In his mind, the Sword Intent of his Second Senior Brother and the Fist Intent of his Third Senior Brother still resonated.

‘They’re so strong.’

He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The golden ocean surged with violent waves, while the Ling Frost Short Sword floated quietly within it.

And in the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness, the mass of seven hundred years of memories from the Crossing Sea Master floated silently, waiting for him to truly digest them.

Before, he had only absorbed them superficially, barely scratching the surface.

Now, it was time to fuse with them completely.

Liang Cheng took a deep breath, extended his Divine Sense, and touched the mass of memories.

BOOM—!!!

In an instant, countless images flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a tidal wave.

…

He saw what the Crossing Sea Master looked like in his youth.

A young man in green robes, venturing alone through the Seventy-Two Islands Overseas.

He battled Fierce Beasts and fought Evil Cultivators, surviving by the skin of his teeth.

One punch cleaved through giant waves, another shattered reefs.

That was the spirit of youth, his sharp edge fully exposed.

…

The scene changed. The Crossing Sea Master, now middle-aged, stood atop a solitary peak.

His aura was as steady as a mountain, his gaze as deep as the sea.

He no longer threw his fists around casually.

But every time he struck, it was to decide life and death.

The scene changed again. The Crossing Sea Master sat cross-legged atop Cross-Sea Cliff. His eyes were closed, and his aura was so faint it was almost nonexistent, as if he had merged with heaven and earth.

A return to simplicity, to the original state.

Liang Cheng watched these scenes, his heart trembling.

‘Seven hundred years.’

‘Seven hundred years of Cultivation, seven hundred years of battle, seven hundred years of comprehension.’

At this moment, all of it was laid bare before his eyes.

He saw how the Crossing Sea Master went from a novice in Fist Technique to achieving mastery. Liang Cheng immersed himself in it, absorbing everything like a starving man.

In the Quiet Chamber, Liang Cheng opened his eyes.

A golden light flashed through them and vanished.

He raised his hand and gently clenched it into a fist.

Fist Intent manifested on its own, silent and without a trace.

[Fist Intent: Basic Level (30,568/100,000)]

His Fist Intent had surged by fifteen thousand points.

This wasn’t gained through Cultivation but was a direct conversion from digesting the Crossing Sea Master’s memories. The Crossing Sea Master himself was a Body Cultivator at the Great Success stage, and his Fist Intent had already reached the threshold of mastery.

Although Liang Cheng couldn’t directly inherit that state of Perfection, those memories and comprehensions were enough to let him avoid countless detours on his path.

Now, drawing upon the comprehensions gained from the Crossing Sea Master’s memories, Liang Cheng began to try and condense his Sword Intent.

He already had a foundation from his Perfection in the Profound Yin Sword Technique, experience with both Blade Intent and Fist Intent, the detailed explanation of Martial Dao True Intent from the Scripture Pavilion, and now the boost from seven hundred years of the Crossing Sea Master’s memories.

It could be said that all preparations were made; all that was missing was the opportune moment.

Going into seclusion now to use his Perfection in the Profound Yin Sword Technique as a foundation to find the opportunity to condense his Sword Intent—the time was ripe.

Liang Cheng closed his eyes. Although the Crossing Sea Master was famous as a Body Cultivator, he had encountered countless master swordsmen in his lifetime.