Chapter 403: Palace Master, Save Me

Zhang Xuan had no sword, nor any weapon. The only long sword, which a Beast Hall elder had given him, he had previously given to Zhao Ya. Now, as his opponent brought out a weapon and forced him to use one, Zhang Xuan's eyes fell on the young woman, and he immediately called out.

“A sword?”

Zhao Ya hesitated for a moment, then with a flick of her jade-like hand, the long sword flew straight towards Teacher Liu. She didn't know why Teacher Liu wanted to borrow her sword, but since he was here to help him this time, it didn't matter.

*Whoosh!*

The long sword was unsheathed, radiating a cold gleam. Zhang Xuan's entire demeanor instantly changed, as if he had immediately merged with the sword. His aura shot straight into the sky, threatening to cleave even the azure heavens.

*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!*

The long swords in the hands of all the sword-wielding cultivators resonated as if they had met their king, simultaneously emitting crisp ringing sounds that converged into a resounding chime.

“A symphony of ten thousand swords… Is this the Sword Heart realm, a higher level than Sword Intent?”

“President Liu, barely in his twenties, has comprehended Sword Heart?”

“How… how did he do that?”

Everyone trembled violently, staring at him as if he were a monster.

Cultivating with a weapon and comprehending its true essence is only the first step; reaching the profound Weapon Heart is the true goal! Sword Heart indicates a terrifying level of comprehension of the sword, a feat even some powerhouses beyond the Grandmaster realm reportedly cannot achieve. How could it not be astonishing to see it unleashed by a young man who was only at the peak of the Grandmaster realm?

Sword Heart means wielding the sword with one's mind, guiding it with intent; everywhere one goes, there are sword moves. Comprehending such a concept at this age means that in terms of swordsmanship, he has no rivals at his level.

“No, that's not Sword Heart!” Hall Master Jiang, who had just arrived from the back of the crowd, slowly shook his head. Others might not know President Liu's identity, but he knew it very well. He was a prodigious talent of the Master Teacher Pavilion; if he were to perish at the Lin Clan, the main branch would surely kill him.

Therefore, upon hearing the news, he immediately rushed over. However, since Zhang Xuan was currently gaining the upper hand and not in a disadvantageous position, there was no need for him to intervene.

“Not?” Elder Zhu looked over in confusion. The symphony of ten thousand swords and the dragon's roar piercing the heavens were precisely signs of comprehending Sword Heart. If it wasn't that, then what was it?

“Sword Heart is divided into three types: upper, middle, and lower, ranked according to the depth of comprehension,” Hall Master Jiang explained. “A normal lower-grade Sword Heart can allow a long sword to develop spiritual essence, making it resonate with its wielder as if it were an extension of their arm! While Master Zhang did trigger the symphony of ten thousand swords, he was actually just mobilizing the sword's aura; he hasn't fully mastered this spiritual essence yet…”

Sword Heart is a realm, signifying that a sword possesses a spirit and a heart. Although Zhang Xuan's comprehension of the sword was very profound, even triggering the symphony of ten thousand swords, he actually had little mastery over "spirit," not even touching its periphery. Thus, he had naturally not fully reached the so-called Sword Heart realm.

“Then this is…” Comprehending, Elder Zhu couldn't help but look up. If it wasn't the Sword Heart realm, what was it?

“It's the Half-Heart realm!” Hall Master Jiang's expression was grave. “He has actually comprehended Sword Heart, but his cultivation hasn't broken through, so he hasn't fully mastered the spiritual essence. As long as his strength improves, he will likely truly master it, becoming invincible in the path of swordsmanship!”

“He doesn't even know what 'spirit' is, yet he has mastered Half-Heart… How did he do that?” He finished, utterly astonished.

Many super powerhouses, even those beyond the Grandmaster realm, observed and researched daily but still couldn't comprehend Sword Heart. Yet, this guy, who didn't even know what 'spirit' was and didn't even possess a personal sword, reached this level… The thought alone was enough to make one collapse.

If this news were to reach those who had studied swordsmanship their entire lives without gaining entry, they might well die of frustration on the spot.

“What potent Sword Intent…” Zhao Ya didn't know about the concept of Sword Heart, but the Sword Intent rising from Teacher Liu made her delicate body tremble. It felt as if her entire being was suppressed, and she couldn't muster the courage to draw her own sword in front of him.

Sword Intent suppression! Among those who had comprehended Sword Intent, one with deeper understanding could easily suppress those with shallower comprehension.

“Using a weapon is probably the dumbest decision you've ever made!” With the long sword in hand, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly and looked over. The Path of Heaven Fists and Path of Heaven Movement techniques only had one move and required close proximity to attack. However, the Path of Heaven Sword Art was different; with Sword Intent comprehended, one move could break ten thousand, and every casual flick was a technique!

Previously, when fighting the opponent, he was forced to dodge due to the opponent's true qi, unable to attack. But with a sword in hand, it was immediately different. He could completely stand his ground!

*Whoosh!*

The long sword flickered, and a sword gleam whistled. A dazzling sword ray shot out from the tip of the sword, sweeping towards Lin Ruotian.

“What?!” Lin Ruotian wanted to cry. Just now, the opponent had been constantly dodging, making him unable to land a hit. He had thought that by using a weapon, with its concentrated power and wide attack range, he could gain an advantage and force the opponent to stop escaping. He never dreamed that… the other person had comprehended Weapon Heart!

*Damn it!* How was he supposed to fight this? Although his cultivation had reached the Half-Grandmaster realm, his comprehension of the sword hadn't even reached Sword Intent, let alone Sword Heart! His face turned ugly, and his body abruptly recoiled, dodging the opponent's sword qi. Just as he was about to counterattack, he saw a white gleam, piercing dangerously close to his scalp.

“Oh, for heaven's sake!” Feeling the killing intent attached to it, knowing that if it touched him, his scalp would be torn open, Lin Ruotian disregarded everything and rolled away on the spot.

*Whoosh!*

The sword ray struck the ground, carving a deep gash, sending rocks and soil flying.

“Damn it!” A dignified Half-Grandmaster actually had to resort to rolling around like a lazy donkey to avoid attacks. Lin Ruotian was so furious he was about to explode. While rolling, he slapped his palm on the ground, intending to leap up, but his hair stood on end again, and he instinctively rolled forward.

*Sizzle!*

Just as he escaped the spot, another deep gash appeared where he had just been.

Comprehending Sword Intent allowed one to unleash sword qi. Sword qi, formed by true qi combined with a long sword, was incredibly sharp and indestructible. Although he was a Half-Grandmaster powerhouse, encountering such a thing meant he was essentially a lamb to the slaughter, utterly unable to resist.

Previously, his powerful true qi had forced the opponent to keep his distance. But against sharp sword qi, such strength was useless. If he were to truly unleash it, he might well be cut apart and suffer severe injuries.

“Liu Cheng, you…” After rolling twice in quick succession, frantic and enraged, Lin Ruotian roared again. However, before he finished speaking, another sword ray pierced straight towards him.

*Rip!*

This time, he couldn't dodge in time. A chill ran through him, and his spacious sleeve was torn down the middle, several strands of his hair falling out. Feeling the bone-chilling cold within the sword ray, knowing that another moment's delay would have resulted in his guts being ripped open, he no longer bothered with nonsense and continued to roll repeatedly.

“How strange! With his fist techniques, President Liu continuously dodged, unable to resist, completely helpless… But with a sword, President Lin can't even get up, only able to roll around on the ground…”

“The Lin Clan is famous for its swordsmanship, and Clan Head Lin is a renowned sword master in the kingdom… President Liu is a physician, an ordinary teacher, and he doesn't even have a sword! Now, the sword master is strong in fist techniques, and the swordless physician is skilled in swordsmanship…”

“What kind of situation is this…” They looked at each other, everyone dumbfounded.

The Lin Clan was a sword-wielding family, with its swordsmanship traditions extending back hundreds of years. In terms of swordsmanship, the entire Tianwu Kingdom revered them. Initially, everyone thought President Liu would surely lose when they saw him pull out a long sword. They never dreamed such a situation would arise.

The dignified Clan Head Lin, a sword master, for dozens of moves, couldn't even counterattack, only able to roll around on the ground… How pathetic!

“It's not that Clan Head Lin is pathetic, but rather… President Liu is too strong!” Dean Xie's expression was grave. “Normally, even if he had comprehended Sword Intent and Sword Heart, with only peak Grandmaster strength, it would be impossible to continuously unleash sword qi attacks. Moreover, sword qi attacks have a certain range; the further they attack, the greater the consumption of true qi!”

Several teachers from Tianwu Academy nodded simultaneously.

Sword qi was the outward manifestation of true qi. The greater the attack distance, the faster it dissipated, not only diminishing its power but also increasing its consumption.

“Look, after so many continuous attacks, the sword qi is still brilliant and powerful, forcing Clan Head Lin to not even dare to resist… This sufficiently demonstrates that the true qi within him is either incredibly abundant or incredibly pure!” Dean Xie slowly said. “Only if true qi is abundant to a certain degree would he dare to use it so recklessly without worrying about exhaustion! And only if it's pure to a certain degree could the sword gleam travel so far from his body and still remain concentrated and full of power!”

“Indeed!” Everyone nodded.

While everyone on this side was stunned into silence, Zhang Xuan's long sword danced like the wind on the other side.

“Clan Head Lin, weren't you just challenging me to a weapon duel? What's the meaning of rolling around on the ground…” With a loud shout, Zhang Xuan spoke righteously, “Can you fight me head-on?”

*Pfft!*

Hearing these words, Lin Ruotian was so exasperated that he was accidentally grazed by a sword qi, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out.

He was going mad! These were precisely the words he had just spoken to the opponent, and he never expected them to be thrown right back at him.

Fight head-on? Oh, for goodness sake! Your sword qi is rampant, hitting me so hard that I can't even resist. How am I supposed to fight you head-on?

Just now, the fist techniques had forced him to dodge everywhere, not daring to make direct contact. Things were going well, but why did he have to act tough and insist on using weapons? Now look, he couldn't act tough, and ended up dumbfounded.

The number one expert in Tianwu Kingdom, a Half-Grandmaster powerhouse… Who had ever seen an expert rolling around on the ground after being beaten?

After rolling around for a while longer, knowing that if this continued, he would eventually be cut down by the opponent's sword qi, Lin Ruotian could no longer hold back and let out a long cry.

All the elders of his clan were practically crippled; they had no way to deal with this young man. The only hope rested with Hall Master Liao and the Great Apothecary behind him.

As the Hall Master of the Poison Hall, he could kill enemies beyond his rank. As long as he used poison, even the strongest sword qi would be useless!

“Alright, remember your words. This person, I will help you deal with him!” Hearing the promise, Liao Xun nodded with satisfaction and stepped forward.

“Hall Master Liao? Great Apothecary? Poison assassination? Could it be… the Great Apothecary of Red Lotus City, Hall Master Liao Xun of the Poison Hall?” Someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone's faces simultaneously turned pale, causing a commotion.