The Sword Qi tornado swept across the sky like a pillar toward Jiang Liu. The force itself was enough to rip the universe apart.
Jiang Liu kept both hands on his longsword as he slashed horizontally. His simple attack seemed insignificant compared to the Eighth Sword Intern’s flashy moves.
“The waist must be steady, the momentum must be heavy, the hands must be firm, and the eyes must be fixed on the target,” he muttered to himself as he emptied his mind of everything else except for the expert’s advice on chopping wood.
At this moment, the Sword Qi tornado became a big tree to him. Although it was a bigger tree than usual, it was still nonetheless a tree.
“Chopping Wood Sword Skill!” Jiang Liu’s eyes burst with brilliance and the longsword collided with that Sword Qi tornado. The tornado tore itself apart and roared wildly, like a Chaos Beast, trying to consume everything.
However, no matter how unassailable or how huge it was, it was no match for Jiang Liu’s attack. Thus, like a huge piece of paper, it was completely shredded into a million tiny pieces. The tornado’s scream made it seem like it was in pain as it collapsed into oblivion.
The magnificent vision of heaven and earth dissipated and turned into a breeze. The overflowing sword aura also collapsed, inch by inch, and that was how the strongest attack from a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal was defeated.
Jiang Liu’s long sword was still advancing. Although its brilliance was restrained, its momentum was not diminished, giving the crowd of onlookers a strong sense of oppression.
Opposite him, the Eighth Sword Intern stared wide-eyed, his pupils filled with disbelief. He then gritted his teeth and slashed his sword.
“Die!” he shouted as a way of motivating himself.
Clang!
The mighty Sword Qi shook the fields, sending vibrations that stretched out for thousands of miles!
The body of the Eighth Sword Intern was like rootless duckweed. He was turned upside down as he was sent flying up into the sky. The blood from his mouth left a trail in the air.
“The Eighth Sword Intern has been defeated?!”
“How’s this possible? He’s the strongest in the Palm Sword Cliff, no, the strongest sword cultivator in the world. How could he lose to another sword cultivator?”
“Unbelievable! Who’s that sword cultivator? Where did he come from?”
The crowd of onlookers exclaimed with disbelief.
Jiang Liu pointed his longsword at the Eighth Sword Servant and said calmly, “I’m a little disappointed in you. The Palm Sword Cliff isn’t as powerful as I thought. You’re not worthy to be my sword sharpener.”
The Eighth Sword Intern wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly got up.
Bang!
With a raise of his hand, a long wooden box appeared vertically next to him. This long box was made from Agathis wood and it had a long sword pattern engraved on its body. There were also small dots all around it, looking like constellations in the sky.
There was a red glint in his eyes as he stared at the longsword in Jiang Liu’s hand. “The sword in your hand is imbued with our Heritage. It shall be returned to its original owner today!”
Jiang Liu scoffed and looked at him condescendingly. “The fact that I’m holding this sword means I’m the rightful heir. You bring shame to the previous owner by wanting to take it away. How could a sword cultivator behave like this? You won’t go far with that attitude of yours!”
After that, with his sword still in his hand, he strode toward the Eighth Sword Servant. It was as if he was a sword himself that was slowly being unsheathed.
“You ignorant fool! You still have a long way to go in the art of swordsmanship!”
A powerful force surged up within the Eighth Sword Intern as he pointed at the sword box. “All the Wisdom in the world, connected by swords, cut off Yin and Yang and suppress the universe!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
One long word after another shot out from the sword box, bringing up bursts of brilliance. Each sword pierced through the sky like lightning. The longswords hovered in the sky and a silence fell over the world. Even the air within the radius of thirty thousand miles became sharper. Those who entered that space felt as if there was a sword against their neck.
“Eight Swords Flying Together is Palm Sword Cliff’s heaven-defying sword formation.”
One of the onlookers shook his head and said in a trembling voice, “It should be called ten thousand sword formation instead!”
“According to the rumors, this sword formation is limitless. There was also a rumor going around that there were a hundred swords in the sky when the five Great Sword Interns ambushed the high-level Heavenly Realm cultivator two weeks ago. The swords completely covered the sky, their Sword Qi penetrated the Chaos, and many planets were annihilated that day,” added another onlooker.
“Each of these swords were made from Chaos material. They’re known as weapons of mass destruction and not to mention, imbued with the unparalleled Sword Intent of the Palm Sword Cliff. No one will be able to withstand their attack at all!”
“I’m afraid this is the end of the road for that young sword cultivator.”
Everyone was staring at this ancient massacre formation with wide-opened eyes. Even though they were not in the formation, they could still feel the frightening destruction.
The eight flying longswords circled above Jiang Liu’s head like a snake and the Sword Qi transformed the space into an ocean made up of swords. The constantly overflowing Sword Qi pressed against Jiang Liu and collided with his own Sword Qi, both trying to overpower each other.
From the outside, it looked as if Jiang Liu was surrounded by 10, 000 swords. The flying swords cut through the space and distorted his image. He raised his sword to mount a defense but was quickly overwhelmed by the number.
He composed himself and started to make his way out of the formation to get away from the eight flying swords. However, as soon as he took the first step, one of the longswords shot out, as if it had teleported, and blocked his path.
Each of these eight long swords was like a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal, mobilizing the Power of the Law to suppress Jiang Liu. He could barely move, so escaping was out of the question. It was getting more and more difficult to defend himself from the onslaught of attacks.
Suddenly, one of the onlookers shouted in a surprised and raspy voice, “Wait a minute! That young sword cultivator isn’t trapped. He’s using this opportunity to practice his swordsmanship!”
The rest of the onlookers blanched at such an appalling remark. However, they decided to take a better look before denouncing what the other person said. They opened their eyes wider and kept the remark in mind.
“He’s right! It really does seem like he’s practicing his swordsmanship!”
“He’s sharpening his sword! He had been saying that from the very beginning. So, he did mean it!”
“He seems more relaxed than before. What’s more, there’s no injury to him at all.”
“It is so unbelievable! So this is what a heaven-defying sword formation is. Even the heaven and earth could be turned upside down inside the formation and yet, that young man treats it as if it’s a personal training ground!”
“Where exactly did he come from? He must be a follower of some bigshot in the Chaos!”
The Eighth Sword Intern’s face became darker and darker at the onlookers’ words. “How dare you use me as a sword sharpener! You unworthy mutt!” He gave a loud roar and suddenly, the sky was filled with his murderous intent. Blood red visions swirled around him as he stepped into the sword formation.
With a raise of his hand, the eight flying swords started to tremble and emit a high-pitched sound. His Sword Qi started to boil over and a beam of light suddenly rose between heaven and earth. This was the light of a giant sword, standing in the air, floating above the sword formation. Surrounded by colorful visions, it could drop anytime.
As soon as this sword came out, the sword force became indescribable, prickling the eyes of all onlookers with pain. Those with insufficient spiritual cultivation were crying tears of blood and their Dao Heart became damaged.
Looking at this sword was like staring at death.
This floating giant sword could take out a life at any time.
The Sword Intent of the heaven-defying sword formation had converged to become the giant sword. It had already surpassed the level of a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal. Everyone was trembling with fear.
Just when everyone felt as if their hearts were about to jump out of their chests, the giant sword shot down from the sky. There was no doubting the level of damage it would cause once it hit the ground.
Jiang Liu was standing right under the giant sword which meant he was under much more pressure than those outside of the formation. At this moment, the space around him was blocked by endless Sword Intent and the surrounding Laws were trembling as they became confused by the sword light.
However, he did not panic. Holding the hilt, he raised his longsword and pointed its tips at the giant sword. The giant sword was humongous and the vision around it roared, blanching the sky.
It was as if Jiang Liu was David, and the giant sword, Goliath.
However, the onlookers suddenly had the feeling that Jiang Liu would be able to block the giant sword’s attack. In his body, there seemed to be a strange power circulating. He was sharp, he was unstoppable, he was the King of Swords! He would surely come out of this fight a winner.
“What’s that?” said someone in surprise.
There were little dots of black mist circulating Jiang Liu. It looked as if black inkblots were dancing on paper, leaving a trail of words. The black mist acted as if they were the answer to the meaning of life, creating a resonance with Wisdom and making the onlookers look on with deep respect.
The trail of words became the background with the spotlight firmly on Jiang Liu.
“What a thick Sword Intent. How did the young man reach such a state of enlightenment?”
“Can you see what those words are? I’ve tried my hardest and still can’t make out what they’re saying.”
“Still water runs deep. His power scares me!”
Suddenly, a strong light burst out of Jiang Liu’s longsword and the blazing white light swept over the field, momentarily blinding everyone.
Fourteen states froze over with one strike of the sword.
Everywhere the blazing light passed became his sword domain and 10,000 swords bowed their heads! The giant sword fell into the white light and everyone could not see what happened to it.
“Ah—!” Only bursts of painful screams came from within, and then, an upside-down figure flew out from the white light with several sword wounds all over his body, leaving a trail of blood through the sky.
Crash!
The Eighth Sword Intern landed on the group with his mouth wide open. He could not take his fearful eyes away from the white light which was still shining hot and bright.
“What kind of swordsmanship is this? The Elite Being’s Heritage should belong to the Palm Sword Cliff!” However, he knew he had been defeated and should get away from this place as fast as possible. He took a deep breath and shouted at the other three followers to escape with him.
Jiang Liu held the sword in one hand as he was being held up by the invisible Sword Intent. He started treading in the sky at rocket speed. His whole body was bathed in sword light and sword light phantoms were swirling around him. The aura he exuded was stronger than before.
Onward, sword cultivator!
He had won this battle so it was natural he was all pumped up by the momentum. The thought of using blood to sharpen his sword occurred to him.
Looking at the rapidly approaching Jiang Liu, the three followers’ faces became distorted with fear. “We’re the followers of the Palm Sword Cliff, don’t even think you —”
With a flash of the sword, the three followers froze mid-air. Their pupils dilated and blood started to trickle out from their necks. Their Primordial Spirits had been annihilated.
Jiang Liu did not slow down his speed and continued onward. He was getting closer and closer to the Eighth Sword Intern. His whole body was radiant and the sword light was tearing through the sky, casting multiple visions. The sword light was like a rainstorm rushing toward the Eighth Sword Intern.
The Eighth Sword Intern’s expression darkened as he looked back at Jiang Liu with solemn eyes. The eight longswords surged out again and formed a barrier around him.
The sword light got closer and closer. Jiang Liu flew to the front and swung his sword to break the sky. It was still a simple chopping action. The unpretentious method of chopping wood broke through the eight longswords’ defense.
“Who are you exactly?” screamed the Eighth Sword Intern.
“I’m a woodcutter!” answered Jiang Liu with an air of indifference before raising his longsword again.
“Stop! The Palm Sword Cliff will hunt you down if you kill me,” said the Eighth Sword Intern, making a last attempt for his life.
The sword light did not stop as it pierced through his chest and tore through his body, consuming his Primordial Spirit. The blood of the Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal rained down from the sky and bloomed as it hit the ground.
Crash!
His sword box and the eight longswords fell to the ground, attracting the attention of the onlookers.
‘Those are weapons of mass destruction. My power will increase and I’d rise above those of the same realm should they come into my possession,’ thought the onlookers.
However, they did not really dare to claim it for themselves for those were Jiang Liu’s spoils. Besides, at the end of the day, those longswords still belonged to the Palm Sword Cliff.
They turned their gazes towards Jiang Liu who was coming down from the air. They were rendered completely speechless as mixed feelings coursed through their bodies. They never expected the Palm Sword Cliff’s Eighth Sword Intern would die so easily, in such a nondescript place and by the hands of someone they never even heard of!
Jiang Liu claimed the sword box and the eight longswords for himself for they were indeed invaluable treasures. Moreover, they were the ultimate treasures of swordsmanship and he could use the sword formation contained therein as a reference.
He returned to Zheng’s house, eating and drinking as if nothing happened at all. The people around him kept a distance from him, for fear of being misunderstood by the Palm Sword Cliff to be in cahoots with him.
Jiang Liu did not mind them as he was busy reliving the battle scenes in his mind. He had gotten so much out of it. The expert was right—swords were meant for killing! Only through the act of killing would swords be sharpened.
Although the sword in his hand was imbued with the Elite Being’s Heritage, it was also contaminated by the Palm Sword Cliff’s karma.
‘The expert might have predicted all these when he gave me the sword. Did the expert arrange for the Palm Sword Cliff to be my sword sharpener? He’s so unimaginably powerful. I mustn’t disappoint him,’ thought Jiang Liu.
Suddenly, a beautiful girl sat down next to him, picked up a flask, and said, “Let me pour some wine for you, mister.”
The girl had long hair, delicate facial features, and she was wearing a light green tulle dress. She was exuding a natural gentle aura. Her face was without makeup and yet, that made her even more beautiful. Those who met her for the first time all agreed she looked like a flower fairy.
