Chapter 72 - Deaths Door (2/2)

Will's minds went into overdrive. Stepping forward meant death, stepping sideways meant death, attempting to block whatever was behind him meant death. No matter what Will thought of death was the only result.

Thus Will used what he had left. Instinct still told him that there was danger in this course of action, but it was the only reaction that was not resulting in death.

For the first time since Will gained his abilities, he released Bloodlust at maximum output all around him with no intended target.

The man stopped his spear mid-motion and jumped back in fright. The air around Will permeated with the smell of death. It almost seemed as if blood was flowing right underneath Will into the void. The spear-wielding man knew that he would have no doubt killed Will, had Will not done this.

”So this is Bloodlust, one the Empyrean Intents. Truly astonishing. You have barely learned how to use it yet the effects are already so brutal. How frightening.” The spear-wielding man nodded in approval at what he saw, while Will's eyes narrowed to the point that he looked like his eyes were closed.

Will had never felt so close to death before. Even when Modus had feigned attacking him five years ago he did not feel so close to death. Despite having over a thousand minds to process his thoughts, Will still felt overwhelmed.

”Bloodlust has a close relationship with the Dao of death. Be grateful you have it otherwise you would not have been able to sense where my attack was coming from, let alone remain standing.”

Will could not refute the spear-wielding man, Bloodlust had indeed saved him. Will touched his throat with his free hand as he vividly remembered the thought of the Grim Reaper's scythe cutting into him. Yet despite the shock Will's eyes never let go of his opponent's movements. Ignorance is bliss, but bliss comes with rest, and rest comes after death.

The spear-wielding man got ready to attack again, this time he was now acclimatized to the feeling Bloodlust gave him so he was less wary of it. Especially considering the one who was using it was so weak in his eyes.

” A child with the sharpest of swords is weak in front of a master holding a twig. It's a shame someone like you was gifted with such an ability.” The spear-wielding man shook his head, ”Truly a shame.”

While the spear-wielding man spoke Will got back into position. This time however something was different, a voice echoed words that were already engraved in his heart, into his mind.

'The path of the sword is the path of death. The sword is not a toy, neither is it merely a tool. It is a weapon designed to kill. The best way to master such a weapon is to master its aspects. In other words, to master the sword is to master death. You must understand death, let it permeate your very soul.

Death must become even more important than your brother, you should focus on it more than you do your sister, you should love it more than you do your mother and you should learn from it more than you do from your father.

Understand death.

Use it.

Master it.

Become a Sovereign of death, and the Dao of the sword shall become your slave!'

Cultivation is the ability and practice of absorbing energy from the universe. This energy then allows the player to modify their body, soul, abilities, and strength, extend life, and more. There were three types of energy that a human was able to use: Qi, mana, and yuan. Qi was the energy of the body. Mana was the energy of the spirit. Yuan energy is a fusion of the two. There are different yuan energies, one that is primarily Qi, one that is primarily mana, and one that is a balance of the two. Once a user has reached a certain level of skill and ability, they are able to use yuan energy.

The closer a user's yuan energy is to a perfect balance of the two, the better and more effective the energy is. It is when yuan energy is at a perfect balance, having equal amounts of Qi and mana, it is considered very high quality. These players are then called a practitioner. Practitioners have a greater advantage of other players who cultivate and absorb energy from the universe because they are able to use both types of energies.

Will had almost no experience in terms of fighting humans. Demonic beasts all fight using world energy thus matters regarding usage of energies were not of importance to him. It was only when he was in front of the spear-wielding man that he realized the grave error he had made. The voice that had echoed in his mind awakened the sleeping instinct within Will, the instinct one martial artist when facing a fellow martial artist, or rather in this case, a practitioner.

Users use cultivating techniques to gather energy and control it. The better the technique, the greater the quality and quantity of energy is that is cultivated. The type of technique determines what kind of energy can be harvested. For example, a user using ice techniques absorbs frost mana. A user using fire techniques absorbs flame Qi. Users who attempt to cultivate energy that does not correspond with the techniques used will be negatively affected.

The Solitary Sword Sovereign created sword Qi for Will, thus most of the energy in Will's body was sword Qi. The majority of this Qi constantly lay dormant in his dantian.

The dantian is a region two inches below the navel. This is where yuan is stored. Qi is stored in the body, mana in the mind and yuan in the dantian. Will was a yuan user thus his sword Qi was automatically pulled to his dantian as well as residing in his body.

Will quickly pulled out as much sword Yuan as he could from his dantian and mixed it with the Bloodlust he had released around him. Will quickly designated each one of his minds to a portion of his qi, resulting in him having a degree of control that he had never possessed before. The entire area around Will permeated with Bloodlust and sword Yuan. Death nearly caught him unprepared. He was not going to let that happen again.