AGM 520 – Breaking the Record Once Again
“He comprehended the eighth sword strike!”
Countless gazes all landed on that stranger who was their new junior apprentice brother. The corona of light from that person had stolen all the glory away from Li Hanyou.
Li Hanyou had comprehended the ninth sword, and was already considered as extremely accomplished.
However, this was the first time this young man had come to this place. Not only that, he even broke the record for being the fastest person to comprehend seven sword strikes in addition to also comprehending the eighth strike in such a short amount of time. It was simply incredible.
Ye Lingshuang’s beautiful eyes flickered. Earlier she had said that the eighth sword strike wasn’t so easily comprehended and yet Qin Wentian had instantly completed the eighth step. This caused her to be somewhat dumbfounded. Her lips parted slightly as she cursed in a low voice, “Comprehension has nothing to do with cultivation level, who would have thought that such a lecherous fellow was actually so capable? Who was able to comprehend the eighth sword strike in such a short period of time. Senior, did you secretly tell him the crux for comprehending the eighth sword strike earlier?”
“The advancement along the mountain pathway depends solely on oneself. Even if I told him, it’s useless if he is unable to comprehend it himself.” Lin Shuai explained, “Junior Sister, you should stop being so judgemental of Junior Brother Qin.”
After speaking, he smiled bitterly as he shook his head. No matter how he viewed it, Qin Wentian didn’t seem to be a lecher. That pet of his had completely tarnished his reputation.
After the seventh sword strike, from the eighth to fourteenth sword strikes, each one was a different pathway, that were all exceptionally difficult to pass through.
“He might have just been lucky when he comprehended that sword strike. If he could comprehend one more, I will believe that his comprehension level is off the charts.” Somebody spoke, and several people nodded their heads and agreed, “If he comprehended the ninth sword strike, wouldn’t that means he has already caught up to Junior Sister Li?”
Qin Wentian was currently only one step behind Li Hanyou. Shortly ahead of Qin Wentian, yet another picture depicted on a mountain rampart appeared. This picture resembled the previous one, a great roc was soaring through the skies, the birth of a sword strike, and the fall of the great roc. Although everything seemed the same, Qin Wentian’s brows were deeply furrowed in concentration.
“This… seems to be the same as the earlier strike” Qin Wentian spoke to himself. However, he understood that it only appeared to be the same on the surface; but the essence of this strike was entirely different. It was another sword path that achieved the same effect.
Lifting his head, Qin Wentian stared at the grass hut off in the distance, a distance that still seemed very far away.
“What kind of character was the founder of the Battle Sword Sect?” This was merely the ninth sword strike and yet it’s so impossibly profound. It contained the fusion of Mandates, while blazing a new, original path of the sword for members of the later generations to gain insights from. Each sword strike represented a unique path of the sword, this entire mountain pathway was nothing more than an extremely large book of sword-cultivation techniques.” Qin Wentian’s heart was filled with deep reverence and respect.
He guessed that the founder of Battle Sword Sect should have already reached an unfathomable realm. This mountain pathway was one that no members in the current generation had been able to advance all the way till the end. The nine Sword Sovereigns had also failed to do so. Back then, many thousands of years ago, one senior had accomplished this, he walked down the entire path and entered the grass hut at the end. From that moment on, the Battle Sword Sect became virtually unrivalled, from this it was possible to see just how strong the founder was. The rumors that he had already reached the level of being a Sword Immortal might even be true.
As Qin Wentian thought to here, he decided to focus once more and started to intently contemplate this sword strike. Two hours later, he finally discovered the subtle differences that existed between this and the previous sword strike.
For the sword strike previously, when the sword descended, the wind was like thin strands of threads that possessed incomparable sharpness, capable of severing the body of the great roc into many parts before disappearing into thin air. All of a sudden, Qin Wentian thought back to the sword strike earlier when the Mandates of Wind and Rain had fused into one. The cold wind that brought along with it the power of rain droplets as they smashed into a target. If this was magnified countless times over in scope and landed on a human body, the sword might generated would be similar to the effect created when the roc had died. This was how he managed to comprehend the sword strike from earlier.
However, the sword path for the ninth sword strike was different. Although it looked similar, Qin Wentian could sense that there was a burst of destruction when the sword landed that brought about utter devastation causing the great roc’s body to explode.
“Could each and every kind of Mandate in this world be able to fuse with each other?” Qin Wentian speculated. The founder had left behind a grass hut to help guide the later generations on the pathway of their cultivation in the future.
All Mandates were able to be fused together. Afterwards, the effect created would be extremely terrifying and might have even changed so much that there were no hints of the Mandates used prior to the fusion.
“What is a Celestial Phenomenon? How does one condense a constellation? Is it achieved through the evolution of one’s Mandates?” Qin Wentian mused. If Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants came to try walking this mountain pathway, they would find it easier because their understanding of their Mandates was deeper.
Qin Wentian placed his palms on the mountain rampart and instantly, a beam of sword light fired towards the sky as the mountain rampart vanished. Qin Wentian then mumbled, “This sword strike was a fusion between the Mandates of Wind and Thunder.”
After that, the ninth sword strike was comprehended and he took another step forward.
He was thinking of how terrifying the fused energy created from the Mandates of Wind and Thunder was. The sword was merely the instrument used to unleash that terrifying might because the founder back then was a sword user. It was also possible to infuse fused Mandates in other kinds of weapons.
“My current halberd strikes can even shatter mountains, that was also the result created by the partial fusion between the Mandates of Force and Great Earth. This mountain pathway is truly a wonder, I’m certain of my path in the future now.”
Qin Wentian understood that the pathway to the grass hut, the founder had left behind, wasn’t a cultivation art nor an innate technique. But rather, it was a lamp post to guide the younger generations on the pathway of their cultivation. If you were a sword user, using the sword as an instrument for the fusion of Mandates was the path to becoming a Sword Immortal.
From this, one could see how much effort the founder had put into creating this pathway to the grass hut. It was truly a supreme, incomparable treasure. Disciples had to depend on themselves and not on the teachings of others to gain insights. Only then would the comprehended information leave a deeper imprint in the minds of the disciples.
As of now, Qin Wentian had already accomplished the ninth step. Currently standing beside him, there was another silhouette. This was none other than the genius spoken of in the mouths of everyone earlier, Li Hanyou.
As Li Hanyou turned her gaze, her eyes flickered with a strange glow as she stared at Qin Wentian who was now standing beside her. There was actually someone else who had also comprehended the ninth sword strike? Not only that, he appeared to be very young.
As a result of her having entered the sect, there were many disciples of the Battle Sword Sect which she didn’t recognize, and she wasn’t interested in being acquainted with them either. Hence, she didn’t know that Qin Wentian was a new disciple the Battle Sword Sect had just recruited.
“Have you solved the puzzle of this sword strike before?”
Her gentle voice was filled with sharpness, giving off a sense of power.
At this moment, Qin Wentian was also looking at Li Hanyou standing beside himself. Before this, during the time when he was comprehending the previous sword strikes, he had also met a few other disciples. However, all of them had chosen to ignore him and focused themselves on the mysteries contained within the pictures. Li Hanyou’s looks were truly stunning, even he couldn’t help but praise her beauty. If he wasn’t used to having such beautiful girls like Mo Qingcheng and Qing`er by his side, he might even be attracted to her.
“Hmph,” Upon seeing Qin Wentian looking so intently at her, Li Hanyou couldn’t help but snort coldly. Disdain flashed across her expression, these young men were all the same, all of them reacted the same way each time they saw her.
“Nope, I haven’t.” Qin Wentian casually replied before shifting his gaze away, appearing as though he was unaffected. Li Hanyou’s eyes involuntarily flickered with a cold laughter, as she thought that this man before her was really such a great actor. Upon noticing her unhappiness at how he was looking at her, Qin Wentian immediately began acting normal in hopes of dissolving the tension. However, what kind of tricks hadn’t she seen before? All the guys around her had already tried a variety of tactics. How could Qin Wentian’s lousy acting possibly be able to fool her in the slightest?
“The difficulty of this sword strike is extraordinary, and not something you are able to comprehend.” Li Hanyou spoke softly with an arrogant tone.
Qin Wentian frowned but didn’t reply to her. He ignored her and turned his attention back onto the picture depicted on the mountain rampart.
The great roc soars in the skies as a sword descends onto it. This picture was actually the same as the one he had seen back at the first step. In fact, even when comparing it to the eighth sword strike, this sword strike resembled the first strike more, causing him to return back to the scene where he had solved the puzzle of the first sword strike.
A sword with the power of wind. Yet how could it be exactly the same?
This time, Qin Wentian stayed here for four hours, yet he was still unable to make heads or tails out of it. This caused the spectators in the surroundings to sigh. Indeed, the tenth sword strike was many times more difficult to comprehend.
Qin Wentian being able to comprehend the ninth sword strike was already a feat that earned him the admiration of many. His comprehension must undoubtedly be at the level of a genius as well. However for the tenth sword strike, if even Li Hanyou had failed to decipher it, it would undoubtedly prove to be a challenge for Qin Wentian as well.
Qin Wentian tried a few times but still failed in the end. He was unable to see through to the essence of this sword strike.
In the blink of an eye, the skies turned dark and dawn arrived. A day had already passed but Qin Wentian and Li Hanyou were still standing motionlessly at their original positions.
Qin Wentian intently focused on the scene where he had comprehended the ninth sword strike, hoping to discover clues as he tried repeatedly to comprehend the tenth sword strike in his dreamscape.
Finally, a smile appeared in Qin Wentian’s eyes. “I understand now.”
Li Hanyou who was beside him suddenly trembled with shock before recovering as she coldly laughed, “Stop your shameless bragging.”
The difficulty of this sword strike was something she was very clear on. How could it be deciphered so easily?
Qin Wentian cast a glance at her with a nonchalant smile on his face. Next, he placed his palms on the mountain rampart as he exercised his thoughts. Instantly, a resplendent light flashed as a sword beam penetrated through the dome of the heavens.
The tenth sword strike was comprehended.
Qin Wentian took another step forward and vanished from Li Hanyou’s sight.
“How could this be?” An expression of being overwhelmed with shock appeared on her face. She hadn’t even solved the puzzle of the tenth sword strike, yet someone had actually already finished comprehending it?
Thinking of that smile on Qin Wentian’s face, Li Hanyou stated in her heart, “Could it be that fellow is an adept schemer? Had he already gained comprehension of the tenth sword strike beforehand and purposely did so in front of me because he wished for me to notice him?”
Lin Hanyou didn’t speculate any more after arriving at this conclusion. Regardless of his motives, Qin Wentian comprehending the tenth sword strike was a reality. How could she allow herself to continue to be stuck here?
All the spectators couldn’t help but sigh in admiration when they noticed Qin Wentian had comprehended the tenth sword strike. Right now, nobody else doubted Qin Wentian’s comprehension abilities. He had arrived here after Li Hanyou and yet he was much faster compared to her when it came to comprehending the tenth sword strike.
Qin Wentian silently thanked his lucky stars. The tenth sword strike had been extremely difficult, it was the exact same scenario as the eighth sword strike and the fusion of Mandates were also that of the Wind and Rain. Even he had almost been tricked by it.
“Every kind of Mandate contained a multitude of variations. For the Mandate of Wind, the first level insight was Windspeed, as for the second level insight, it might be Wind Laceration. After the second level insight Wind Laceration had reached the Perfection Boundary, it could evolve again, giving rise to even more variations. When one Mandate fused with another, they all would have different results depending on the variations of the Mandates used in the fusion. The eighth sword strike and the tenth sword strike were very good examples of the complexity of the variations of Mandates.
Qin Wentian silently mused to himself, even if two people comprehended the same types of Mandates, their martial path would each be different based on the variations they had comprehended. Also, in the future, there might be additional fusions of multiple kinds of Mandates rather than just two of them. Hence, the variations were endless, Qin Wentian had no way to predict it as well.
The tenth sword strike enlightened Qin Wentian. After that, in a span of only three days, he consecutively comprehended the final four sword strikes. This caused a terrifying storm of devastation to gust about in a testament to him breaking the record once again.
An endless amount of sword might erupted from the storm of sword qi, engulfing the skies and the earth. The crowd stared at this young man bathing in the resplendent sword light. He was so dazzling that there were even lofty Sword Sovereigns hiding far above the clouds, staring at the commotion he had caused.
In the span of five short days, Qin Wentian had successfully comprehended a total of fourteen sword strikes!