115 Chapter 1273: Heaven’s Path Sword Ar (1/2)

Swords were just a type of weapon, but with many generations of cultivators immersing their entire lives to furthering the Way of Sword over the course of many years, it had already developed into a complex art with countless paths. Naturally, the method of cultivation for each path also differed vastly from one another.

It was precisely for this reason that heritage was extremely important.

There were simply too many different Sword Intent and sword arts within the Sword Lagoon that if one were to attempt to use them as an inspiration to further one's mastery in swordsmanship, putting aside the fact that the divergence in the fundamental principles of each path of swordsmanship would make it very unlikely for one to succeed, the odds were that one's cultivation would go berserk instead.

It was also for this reason why the Master Teacher Pavilion chose to limit the cultivators' access to cultivation technique manuals.

Reading just one or two different cultivation technique manuals was still fine, but if exposed to too many cultivation techniques, a cultivator's interpretation of cultivation would be muddled, preventing him from distinguishing which methods of cultivation were feasible for him and which weren't. Once in such a state, the cultivator would be extremely prone to making a wrong step in his cultivation, thus making it highly likely for his cultivation to go berserk.

This was also the reason why master teachers had to be selective with what they read.

The same principles applied to the Sword Lagoon as well. Those who came here to cultivate might be tempted by the powerful sword arts and Sword Intent all around them, but if they were to cultivate what they saw without careful selection, it could very well lead to the erosion of the foundation of the swordsmanship path they had built so far. In the long-term, not only would it be detrimental to one's growth, they might even lose their lives as well.

”Bring me over to take a look!” Understanding all of these, Zhang Xuan said.

”Yes!” the Dusk Cloud Sword began leading the way forward.

A journey of two hundred li 1 was nothing to a Primordial Spirit realm cultivator. In just a few moments, they had already arrived at their destination.

Towering before them were a massive stone wall with the character '剑 (Sword)' inscribed on it. Written with majestic and powerful strokes, it felt as if the character would transform into a burst of sword qi and tear them apart at any moment.

”What powerful Sword Intent!” Zhang Xuan remarked in astonishment.

He couldn't clearly discern what level of calligraphy the character before him was at, but just by looking at it from afar, it gave him the impression of an unparalleled expert wielding a sword slashing at him furiously. It felt like no matter how he moved, he wouldn't be able to escape from that slash, as if the attack had been locked upon his soul.

”This is left behind by the Old Sword Maestro?” Zhang Xuan asked in astonishment.

”That's right!” the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

”The Old Sword Maestro must have achieved an astounding level of mastery in the Way of Sword in his lifetime!” Zhang Xuan exclaimed in awe.

In his past year of cultivation, he had assimilated quite a number of books relating to sword art, and he had successfully advanced his comprehension of swordsmanship to a considerably high level as well.

All along, he thought that even if his comprehension of swordsmanship hadn't reached the peak yet, he still wouldn't lose out to anyone. But through this inscribed character, he could tell that the level of mastery in swordsmanship that the Old Sword Maestro had achieved was far higher than his.

The Old Sword Maestro had ground the very essence of the Way of Sword into his bones, such that even his body had been forged into a sword as well… Otherwise, it was impossible for a casual calligraphy to harness such astoundingly refined Sword Intent, leaving him feeling a sense of helplessness before it.

”These are the cultivators who have journeyed here in hopes of comprehending the secrets of the Old Sword Maestro's swordsmanship.” the Dusk Cloud Sword as it gestured in a certain direction.

Turning his gaze over, Zhang Xuan realized that there was a huge crowd of several hundred cultivators gathered beneath the stone wall. Every single one of them was staring intently at the '剑 (Sword)' character as they emulated its strokes with their fingers. There was an unnaturally focused or even frenzied look in their eyes, almost as if they had gone mad.

”What you said is all wrong. My move has to be correct. Look!” a voice sounded.

From the direction where the voice sounded, a middle-aged man flicked his wrist in a beautiful arc, and a surge of sword qi burst forward. It slashed everything within several hundred meters of its path before gradually dissipating.

”This is Upper Sword Heart?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.

Proficiency in swordsmanship could mainly be divided into two stages—Sword Intent and Sword Heart.

Most sword practitioners should be able to comprehend Sword Intent upon reaching Transcendent Mortal. Those who were slightly more talented might be able to comprehend Sword Heart, inducing the phenomenon 'Call of the Myriad Swords, Roar of the Dragon'.

Sword Heart, as the name suggested, referred to wielding one's heart like a sword, drawing out the true prowess of the Way of Sword through their will. Every single strike made by a sword practitioner who had achieved Sword Heart would be a sword art in itself. This state was also otherwise termed as Man-Sword Union… Only those who harbored spirit and heart in their sword would be able to reach this realm.

Sword Heart could be further divided into three tiers, namely Lower Sword Heart, Middle Sword Heart, and Upper Sword Heart.

For Saint cultivators, even just achieving Middle Sword Heart would already make them top-notch experts. Yet, the middle-aged man had actually comprehended Upper Sword Heart…

One must know that so far, Zhang Xuan had only comprehended Upper Sword Heart as well. In other words, in terms of proficiency in the Way of Sword, the middle-aged man was nowhere weaker than Zhang Xuan!

”That's not right. That crux of the move lies in overwhelming one's enemy, so the focus of it should be in the relentless barrage of sword qi. Your focusing all of your strength within a surge of sword qi is clearly erroneous. Look at mine…”

In his moment of shock, an old man beside the middle-aged man shook his head in stern disapproval before he whipped out a sword and flicked it.

In the blink of an eye, a cold and forbidding aura permeated an area of several dozen meters around the old man, and a storm of sword qi filled the surroundings. It felt like anyone who dared step into the area, no matter how powerful, would be trapped for life.

”He has comprehended Upper Sword Heart as well?” Zhang Xuan was startled once more.

It was already frightening to see that a cultivator had comprehended Upper Sword Heart, but to think that the old man would also be another such person as well. In fact, it seemed like the old man had a deeper and more profound understanding of the Way of Sword than the middle-aged man before.

”Wrong! The both of you are utterly wrong! It should be like this…”

A third man joined in the commotion, and he executed a powerful sword art which utilized sword qi like thin threads that weaved around the surroundings, forming something reminiscent to a mist.

Similarly, this third man has also comprehended Upper Sword Heart.

Completely dumbstruck, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the rest of the crowd. Every single one of them seemed to harness a cold and sharp aura within their bodies, as if they were the very embodiment of swords themselves.

”These several hundred men… have all comprehended Upper Sword Heart?” Zhang Xuan gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

In his long journey, he had never seen a single cultivator whose swordsmanship was on par or superior to his. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he found himself faced with several hundred of such cultivators. Really, as expected of the famed Sword Lagoon! It sure was a fearsome place.

”They are the itinerant cultivator, master teachers, and combat masters from the various different empires or even the Empire Alliance. Some of them have already spent more than nine hundred years here… And with nine hundred years of accumulation, the least they should do is to achieve Upper Sword Heart.” the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

”Nine hundred years?” Zhang Xuan was startled for a moment before slowly nodding.

It was already nearing a year since he had come over to this world, but in terms of the duration he had dedicated to learning swordsmanship, the total time probably wouldn't even add up to a single day yet!

There were plenty of experts in the Eight Conferred Empires, and with nine hundred years of hard work behind them, it wasn't too surprising that there would be so many individuals who commanded the same level of mastery in swordsmanship as him.

After all, it was not like he was some kind of unparalleled genius. Putting all aside, he couldn't even defeat his own clone!