Chapter 1346: True Understanding Classification (Part 2)

He had been exposed to the ancestor’s True Interpretation since childhood and knew it very well; it was like continuously flowing water. What the other party comprehended, however, carried an irresistible momentum. They were clearly completely incompatible, yet in the blink of an eye, how did the other party’s body produce sword intent identical to the ancestor’s?

Moreover, it was rapidly ascending, feeling as if it was breaking through the True Interpretation.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! As they were wondering, the long swords of the surrounding disciples, who were wearing them, trembled incessantly. They buzzed in unison, flying out of their scabbards, falling to the ground, and lying prostrate.

“Breaking through the True Interpretation...” Jian Qinsheng’s body swayed, and his throat went dry.

Under normal circumstances, comprehending a True Interpretation would receive the blessings of heaven and earth. In that instant, any long sword not of a higher rank than one’s own would immediately submit, unable to resist.

This person in front of them had already comprehended a True Interpretation before, and now he had broken through again. Could it be... he had comprehended two different True Interpretations?

One True Interpretation alone could hold back countless people, making it difficult for them to make any significant progress throughout their lives. Yet this guy was only twenty years old and had continuously comprehended two...

The most crucial thing was that he had just declared it impossible to comprehend other interpretations, and then the other party broke through... Did he have to be slapped in the face so quickly?

His lips trembled, and his face turned pale. Jian Qinsheng felt as if his entire world, as he had known it, had collapsed.

He had started practicing swordsmanship at three, comprehended the lower sword heart at seventeen, the upper sword heart at forty-six, and a True Interpretation at sixty-three. His life, which had seemed like a cheat, now appeared as pale as a blank sheet of paper in front of the other party; he couldn't even begin to compare himself.

“A True Interpretation just like Master’s?” Shui Qianrou’s delicate body also trembled.

The other party apparently didn't even know what True Interpretation her Master had comprehended before arriving, yet now, just by talking, he had broken through...

She had trained under the sect for several years and had only learned the superficial aspects, yet the other party could break through just by chatting...

She was so utterly shocked she couldn't speak.

Unaware of everyone’s shock, Zhang Xuan retracted the aura around him and opened his eyes.

This time, he no longer hesitated and strode towards the "Sword" character in front of him. A moment later, he arrived before it. As his finger touched it, the entire character seemed to pulse, ready to burst forth at any moment.

“Alright, senior... does this mean I’ve been acknowledged?” Zhang Xuan turned to look at Jian Qinsheng nearby, smiling slightly.

“This... counts!” Jian Qinsheng’s mouth twitched, and he quickly nodded.

Even the ancestor’s "Sword" character acknowledged him, almost wanting to follow him... How could he possibly not pass?

“That’s good...” Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Hearing Jian Qinsheng say that he could also comprehend a second type of Sword Dao True Interpretation, he then stored the various contents beneath the "Sword" character into his mind.

It had to be said that those who could leave characters here had almost all reached the True Interpretation level. Although the number wasn't large, their words were insightful. After collecting them all, he was able to easily condense a Heaven's Path cultivation technique.

With the experience of breaking through the True Interpretation for the first time, the second time was even easier, which explained its rapid completion.

“The Sword Book Pavilion is right here; I’ll open it now...” Arriving at the corner, Jian Qinsheng gently pushed, and the wall slowly slid open to both sides, revealing a doorway.

“Thank you. I have some doubts that need to be verified with many books. I’ll come out once I’m done reading...” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up as he explained, then stepped inside.

It had to be said that this Sword Book Pavilion indeed contained a significant number of sword art secret manuals. It must have taken countless years of collection to accumulate such a scale.

He took a deep breath and looked around. Everywhere his gaze fell, the books he saw were copied into his library, neatly arranged in rows and columns.

He continued to walk forward, collecting books as he went.

“Hm? The Flowing Water Sword Art?” Not long after, he suddenly stopped.

On one of the innermost bookshelves, there was actually a secret manual for the Flowing Water Sword Art.

After thinking about it, he understood. This was the Saint Son Hall, and more importantly, the inheritance ground of the Sword Clan lineage. Only those who had been acknowledged and passed assessments could enter, so it was perfectly normal for the most important secret manuals to be placed here.

He stored it in his mind and gently tapped his finger. "Flowing Water Sword Art: its sword intent is like flowing water, continuous and unending, its sword qi dense, and its defense invincible. Created by Jian Liushui, the third Hall Master of the Saint Son Hall, it is a type of Sword Dao True Interpretation. Disadvantages: ..."

“Quite a lot of flaws...” He shook his head.

It had to be said that this set of Flowing Water Sword Art was indeed very strong. It was somewhat similar to the Heaven's Path Sword Art, but its level was higher and its power greater.

His current Heaven's Path Sword Art had only reached the Saint realm mid-grade. While its power was very strong at the same level, it was still quite lacking compared to high-grade martial arts techniques.

The Flowing Water Sword Art had many flaws, but its level surpassed Saint realm mid-grade, even high-grade. If he could learn it, his combat power would definitely skyrocket!

It was like a city-guarding ballista compared to a crossbow bolt. While their principles were similar, and the latter was even more intricate, in terms of sheer power, the ballista was vastly superior—they were incomparable.

He continued reading.

“This sword art requires extremely high vision!” The Flowing Water Sword Art's sword qi was like flowing water.

This required an extremely delicate sword intent. First and foremost, one's vision needed to far surpass that of ordinary people. Without the Eye of Insight, cultivating it to grand completion would be almost impossible.

“No wonder Shui Qianrou said that apart from Hall Master Liushui, none of the later generations had succeeded with this sword art. It's probably not due to a lack of effort or insufficient talent, but rather... poor vision!”

To become a Hall Master of the Saint Son Hall, and like himself, to possess the Eye of Insight – that's why Hall Master Jian Liushui was able to create such formidable sword moves. Unfortunately, most of the later Hall Masters were not skilled in swordsmanship, so this sword art was buried, effectively severing its inheritance.

As a descendant, Jian Qinsheng had learned it, but without the support of the Eye of Insight, his so-called Flowing Water Sword Art was crude and unrefined. No wonder it couldn't be widely propagated.

“Let’s see if I can gather enough to form a Heaven's Path cultivation technique, and then learn it!”

He had the Eye of Insight, which was perfectly suitable, so he could certainly give it a try.

With this thought, Zhang Xuan no longer hesitated and continued reading. Over ten minutes later, all more than a hundred thousand sword art secret manuals in the entire room had entered his mind.

“First, let’s see if I can gather enough to complete the cultivation method for the Spirit Void Three Swords... Correct!”

He took out the Spirit Void Three Swords technique, placed it with the other numerous books, and Zhang Xuan’s mind stirred. This was the main reason he came here, so he would try it first.

Swish! A book appeared before him.

He hastily opened it, and Zhang Xuan immediately frowned.

“It only completed one sword move?”

The Spirit Void Three Swords contained three sword moves: One Sword Breaking the Sea, One Sword Vast Ocean, and One Sword Soaring to the Heavens!

These three moves, each more powerful than the last. Although he was only at the early Out-of-Body realm now, if he could execute One Sword Soaring to the Heavens, let alone a Domain realm peak expert, he might even be able to contend with an early Saint realm seventh-stage expert!

Precisely because of this, Sword Old Man was able to traverse the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance unrivaled back then.

This Sword Book Pavilion had over a hundred thousand sword art secret manuals. He had originally thought that by collecting them all, he could fully complete all three swords for him to slowly cultivate. He never expected it would only complete the first move.

However, it was still quite astonishing.

The Spirit Void Three Swords was a sword array. Just the first move, Breaking the Sea, had a full 360 flaws. Without so many books, it would have been impossible to know when it could be fully completed.

“One Sword Vast Ocean and One Sword Soaring to the Heavens, although not complete, their flaws were greatly reduced... With fewer than ten remaining flaws combined, it will be simple to complete them later!”

He smiled faintly.

Although the remaining two swords were not yet cultivable, their flaws had significantly decreased, making it much simpler to complete them to the Heaven's Path level later on.

“The True Interpretations are indeed categorized. What Hall Master Jian Liushui comprehended was the defensive aspect of the sword—like flowing water, continuous, cyclical, and never-breaking. Whereas what Sword Old Man comprehended was offense—decisive and lethal; a single sword thrust was like a formation diagram, unstoppable...”

Countless pieces of knowledge flowed into his mind, and he understood many things.

Jian Qinsheng was right; True Interpretations were divided into many categories. The Flowing Water Sword Art focused on defensive swordsmanship, while the Spirit Void Three Swords focused on offense—they were entirely different.

“Logically, besides defense and offense, there should also be True Interpretations related to agility and speed...”

These contents were introduced in a book left behind by Jian Liushui. Because there were simply too many books here, he wouldn't have discovered it if he hadn't put them into his library.

Perhaps Jian Qinsheng hadn't found it either, which explained why he only knew that True Interpretations were categorized but not the specific types.

“Let’s try the Flowing Water Sword Art!” After experimenting with the Spirit Void Sword, Zhang Xuan’s mind stirred, and all the defensive sword art secret manuals were gathered together.

Whoosh! A new book similarly appeared. He tapped his finger, and knowledge flowed into his sea of consciousness.

“I can cultivate it...” His eyes lit up.

This Sword Book Pavilion didn't have many offensive Sword Dao secret arts, but it had a vast collection of defensive ones, making it very simple for the Flowing Water Sword Art to condense into a Heaven's Path cultivation technique.

It seemed that many of Jian Qinsheng's ancestors cultivated defensive sword arts, hence their greater dedication to this area.

“I’ll practice this first!” With the cultivation technique in hand, Zhang Xuan didn't bother to wander around anymore. He found a spot in the book pavilion, sat down, and began to learn.

The Flowing Water Sword Art, as its name suggests, involves cultivating swordsmanship to be as delicate as flowing water—intertwining endlessly, never breaking.

Once cultivated, its defense would be invincible, even more formidable than a domain!

As the Heaven's Path cultivation technique flowed in his mind, Zhang Xuan's concentration grew. The true qi within his body, guided by his will, formed tiny swords that moved back and forth around him.

He had long been able to transform true qi into swords. The most difficult aspect of the Flowing Water Sword Art was transforming this true qi into an impregnable sword intent defense.

Possessing the Heaven's Path cultivation technique and the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan exhaled a mouthful of stale air an hour later and stood up.

After a period of diligent cultivation, the Heaven's Path-level Flowing Water Sword Art had already reached grand completion.

“There are books everywhere here, so I can't test it. However... through cultivation, I know its power. Once unleashed, even a Domain realm peak expert wouldn't be able to break through its defense! Even an early Saint realm seventh-stage expert would find it very difficult to harm me!”

His eyes glowed.

His current weakest point was defense; being punched by his brother-in-law until he spat blood clearly highlighted this flaw.

Now, with this sword art, if Luo Xuanqing were to come again, even if he still couldn't defeat him, he wouldn't be injured by a single punch.

Moreover, as his strength increased, his defense would become increasingly powerful, greatly enhancing his ability to protect himself.