Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The third student of the imperial advisor, Mu Chunyang, had a totally different personality with Nan Zhai. His shoulder-length hair had a clean, clear-cut image.
He was training with his eyes closed with Ye Futian came. Ye Futian stood at the side and waited quietly instead of bothering him.
Mu Chunyang, was a Unblemished Saint at the third level of Saint Plane. With extremely rare handful of Holiness of Nirvana, they were at the pinnacle of the top notch figures to be found in the dynasty.
Even Nan Zhai was of an inferior state than him.
Mu Chunyang opened his eyes a short while later and said to Ye Futian, “Little brother.”
“Third brother, I’ve just came from second brother’s place and I’ve asked him something about sainthood. I’m here to experience the will of the great path,” Ye Futian said. It was something Yan Yuan told him before. The eldest brother definitely had his reasons to put it that way.
He was naturally able to tell that the eldest student of the imperial advisor, Yan Yuan, was of extremely high prestige, right below their teacher.
“Yeah.” Mu Chunyang nodded. “Your second brother is indeed more carefree. But actually, he proves more than adequate to teach you and to have you experience the great path.”
“Is second brother really just a Saint of True Self?” Ye Futian asked.
Nan Zhai felt to be carefree and unbridled, so his state of mind must have been in excellent condition. One’s state of mind was of utmost importance when training in Saint Plane. Nan Zhai should have had very high upper limit instead. Is he really just trapped by his lacking talents, preventing his plane from reaching higher heights?
“He really is indeed a Saint of True Self. While teacher said that second brother is rather slow in training and somewhat lacking in talents, but he had the best temperament among us all. If there were to actually be one who became enlightened in just a day, that would have been second brother. Perhaps, he might end up being faster in making breakthroughs than any of us. Even I have to ask him for guidance many times after all,” Mu Chunyang said. Despite being of higher plane than Nan Zhai, but he was apparently very respectful of the second brother nonetheless.
“Is that so?” Ye Futian felt rather puzzled. At the very least, his current vista did not allow him to see that far.
He was there at Dali Imperial City for two reasons: revenge and training on pilgrimage. The trip would have benefited him a lot, even if he did not end up being able to kill Li Yao.
However, that short amount of time Ye Futian spent with the imperial advisor had surprisingly diminished his enmity against the older man.
The imperial advisor that he knew back in Emperor Xia’s Realm and the one he came to know at present were different. That was not to say that the imperial advisor had changed, but that he was able to look from a different perspective due to being of different identity.
“If you want to experience the will of the great path, I’d like to know if you’re ready now?” Mu Chunyang asked.
Ye Futian’s expression had gotten somewhat more serious and then nodded. “I’m ready.”
Mu Chunyang’s expression changed entirely, looking extremely sharp. At the very next moment, Ye Futian felt as if everything around him changed and the world was no longer the same. The will of the blade shrouded their surroundings and he felt as if he became surrounded by curved blades.
His robe billowed and felt he was about to suffocate. The will of the blade rained down on him directly. The next thing he felt was as if extremely sharp blades around him were coming down him, streaking down on the heavens and landed right before him.
His breathing stopped and was unable to breathe. The will of the blade had gotten increasingly strong and his entire world seemed to have been turned into the world of the blade. Formless blades bloomed before him and lashed out on him in a frenzy. Heavenly might rained down through the vast region of blades. Ye Futian felt himself to be insignificant, as if he was but a chestnut floating at sea.
However, Mu Chunyang never budged throughout the entire time. He simply sat where he was.
At that moment, he lifted his hand forward. Ye Futian was able to sense clearly in that split second that the region of blades’ will was held by him in that very moment. He took control of that supreme power in that space simply by extending his hand.
“When one becomes a saint, their mind merges with that of the cosmos. The path is the nature and the person becomes the path, reigning over the heavens and the earth.” Mu Chunyang’s voice was heard. He flicked lightly with his finger, sending boundless will of the blade sweeping by Ye Futian like devastating storms. However, all of that dissipated within mere moments, as if nothing had been there in the first place.
Huuu… Ye Futian exhaled for quite some time, feeling refreshed. He had been in hell for one moment and in heaven the next.
The Saint Plane was one of transcendence. The mind, which had been one measured merely in square inches, became towering, encompassing the entire world, mastering the way of the cosmos.
“Thank you, brother,” Ye Futian said. Mu Chunyang’s blade will felt exceptionally strong to him and the impact was very direct.
“Yeah.” Mu Chunyang nodded. “But then again, sages becoming saints are something that would naturally happen. It isn’t something that happens overnight, and not something that comes just because one is extra hardworking at it. It’d be best that you place higher emphasis in how you develop your comprehension. You’re now half a saint, and pure training is of little help by now.”
Ye Futian nodded. That was how cultivation was. One might have experienced it, one might have seen it, one might have even been able to wrap their head around it, but one still might not have been able to achieve it.
That was how mystical planes were.
There would not have been countless who were stuck below saint levels, not being able to pass into the next phase otherwise.
Ye Futian was able to comprehend multiple wills of the great path, which was a testament of his uncanny talents at cultivation. It was worth noting that he had never ran into much obstacles at such stages, but countless in the Nine States were shut out altogether by those stages.
“I should take my leave, brother. I would come here to comprehend further in the future,” Ye Futian said.
“You’re welcomed here any time.” Mu Chunyang nodded and Ye Futian left.
Since he had became a student of the imperial advisor of Dali, he would have gone with the flow and trained in silence, making his way to achieve sainthood. As for killing Li Yao, timing was of the utmost importance, as the prince was not someone he could have killed just because he wanted to.
If he were to continue training under the imperial advisor, the chance would have presented itself sooner or later.
At that moment, Li Yao showed up at Dali Academy.
Ye Futian ran into Li Yao when he was returning to the library of the Dali Academy.
“Seventh Swordsman,” Li Yao called.
“What business do you have with me, your highness?” Ye Futian walked up to him and asked. His tone was unusually calm despite his enemy being right in front of him, without any signs of emotional fluctuations showing.
“Right.” Li Yao smiled and nodded. “You remember the Sword of Kasyapa?”
“Naturally,” Ye Futian said. Both the Seven Sins and Di Hao used the Sword of Kasyapa, and it was indeed formidable.
“King Tiandao’s people sent the sword techniques to the palace and I specifically had it copied, ready to be stored at the highest level of the library. Well, you’re versed in the arts of space and you could train in the Sword of Kasyapa’s techniques. That should do a lot in strengthening and completing your way of the sword,” Li Yao smiled and said.
Emperor Li ruled over everything in Dali Dynasty. King Tiandao was an elder brother of Emperor Li himself. King Tiandao had acquired the supposedly lost art of the Sword of Kasyapa, and both Di Hao and the Seven Sins had used them in public. As such, it was natural that King Tiandao sent a copy to the Emperor Li’s Palace.
However, Li Yao brought it to the Dali Academy shortly after. One could have only imagined how would King Tiandao have felt about it.
But then again, King Tiandao’s reactions were rather predictable. The people of Daoli Mountain were irritated specifically because Dali Academy had too much access to cultivation resources of Dali Dynasty.
As for Li Yao, he was originally a student of the imperial advisor in name. Yuan Jin died in battle for his sake in the Battle of Empty Realm as well. Under such circumstances, he naturally would have chosen to get closer with the imperial advisor’s people.
He had maintained a very amicable relationship with Yuan Jin. With Ye Futian being the newest student and of the same generation as he was, he saw fit to get on Ye Futian’s good side and become friends with the newcomer.
“Thank you for your effort, your highness,” Ye Futian said.
“Well, let’s head first to the arena instead of the library. We’ll have you take a look at the Sword of Kasyapa first.” Li Yao took Ye Futian’s arm and led him forward, as if they were really close friends and he did not seem to care that he was a prince in the first place.
Ye Futian took one look at the arm and went along with Li Yao. If it had not been for what Li Yao did and that Ye Futian was the Seventh Swordsman, the Seventh Swordsman might have actually became friends with the prince.
However, some things were predestined. He and Li Yao were irreconcilable enemies, and only one of them would have came out alive if they were to clash.
Li Yao’s intention to kill him was not any less intense than his towards Li Yao.
Ye Futian sat on the ground cross-legged at the area, circled by sword wills all around him.
The Sword of Kasyapa was particular about controlling sword will with one’s will, materializing said will into tangible forms and fusing will of great path into it, enabling one’s will to be able to wield the manifested blade perfectly.
Ye Futian possessed the perfect requirements for training in the Sword of Kasyapa and he was a swordsman himself. It did not take him long after comprehending the sword techniques, that the sword will around him coalesced in a frenzy, turning into dazzling, leaf-shaped sword, which rang as it pulsed with formidable will of great path of space.
“Go.” Ye Futian extended his hand and swiped. His will activated and the Sword of Kasyapa streaked through the air. The will of his entire being flew with the blade, maintaining tight control on the blade’s movements.
“This is something,” Li Yao exclaimed, feeling impressed. That Sword of Kasyapa that streaked through the air circled around him, ringing at deafening high pitches.
At that moment, a beam of cold light flashed by and the space seemed to have been torn apart and a sword burst through the air.
Li Yao felt his entire being shivering in coldness right there and then.
Voom.
The sword appeared right before Li Yao, mere inches away from his throat. It would have taken Ye Futian only one intention to have the sword pierce right through the prince’s throat.
Li Yao’s expression turned serious. His heart raced at that brief moment. He only let out a bitter smile and shook his head when he saw the blade flew upwards and circled around the space right above him. He was rather baffled by how shaken he was. It was impossible for the Seventh Swordsman to kill him right there and then after all.
“Your highness, I was just thinking of showcasing how precise my control of the Sword of Kasyapa was to you. I beg your forgiveness,” Ye Futian said but his tone hardly sounded apologetic, behaving just as boisterous and unruly as the Seventh Swordsman had been known to be. In that brief moment back then, he had actually really wanted to stuck the blade into Li Yao’s throat and taking his revenge.
However, he bit down on the urge nonetheless.
He had molded the wild, unruly image of the Seventh Swordsman specifically for Li Yao, but he had never expected Li Yao to deliberately get close to him and buy him over. It was different from how he planned it, but that hardly mattered.
If he were to make a move right there and then and kill Li Yao, he would have succeeded easily, but he would have also died a horrible death for it.
That was apparently not how he wanted things to be.
“No matter.” Li Yao smiled dismissively and said, “That attack is indeed fast, as expected of the Sword of Kasyapa indeed. If it was to be used in battle, one attack would have been enough to cut someone’s throat off. Furthermore, that all comes from the first sword materialized.”
“Your highness, the Sword of Kasyapa requires extremely powerful control to wield. That was just one blade. If there were to be more, control wouldn’t have been so easy, and I doubt control could have been at such precision,” Ye Futian replied.
“Well, I believe you would be able to pull it off somehow with your talents.” Li Yao gave his approval.
Ye Futian spent some more time training after that. When he came to have solid control with the Sword of Kasyapa, he left together with Li Yao.
One could have only imagined how Li Yao would have felt about things, if he were to found out that he was helping Ye Futian train!
