Free Web NovelChapter 51: Chapter 51: Developing Sentience
The Desolate Mountain was lush and green, with dense foliage.
Lin Haitao led Shen Daoxing to a cave, its entrance covered in a dense array of characters.
As the two approached, the characters flickered with a peculiar light.
’A Restriction!?’
A thought struck Shen Daoxing.
A Restriction was a fusion of Law and Array. Even the most rudimentary one held endless secrets.
Lin Haitao gazed at the cave entrance. "That’s right," he said. "This is the Sword Institute’s greatest secret. Step through this Restriction, and you’ll find it’s a Grotto Heaven."
’A Grotto Heaven!?’
Shen Daoxing looked over, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Lin Haitao clapped Shen Daoxing on the shoulder. "Go on in."
Shen Daoxing took a deep breath and walked slowly toward the entrance.
Lin Haitao watched his retreating figure, thinking, ’Can he really master this Forbidden Sword Technique?’
The entrance was pitch-black. After dozens of steps, the entire cave suddenly lit up.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Streaks of light shot in from the distance, constantly converging and crisscrossing.
’So much Sword Intent!’
Shen Daoxing focused his gaze and was instantly shaken.
The dense halos of light were, in fact, individual strands of Sword Intent. They were being drawn by some mysterious force up ahead, surging toward a Stone Stele.
It was an ancient Stone Stele!
The Stone Stele was twenty feet tall and yellowish-green, with large, archaic characters carved into its surface.
Shen Daoxing took a few steps forward and was finally able to make out the large characters.
’Ten Directions Strange Techniques!?’
Shen Daoxing muttered the name to himself. Suddenly, the Stone Stele projected an intense beam of light.
The next moment, his vision blurred, and his Divine Soul was pulled directly into the Stone Stele.
’This is the inside of the Stone Stele?!’
Shen Daoxing steadied himself and looked around.
He was in a void. Prismatic lights shot past like meteors, some of them flying right before his face.
HUMMM!
Just then, the Great Ming Demon Sparrow let out a clear cry.
’Could there be an opportunity here for the Great Ming Demon Sparrow to break its seal?’
Shen Daoxing took out the Great Ming Demon Sparrow, his heart pounding.
The Great Ming Demon Sparrow was one of the Ancient Demon Soldiers. A mysterious master had bound it with ten seals, and it eventually found its way to the Martial Kingdom.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
The moment the Great Ming Demon Sparrow appeared, it began to frenziedly absorb the surrounding radiance.
"This is the purest Sword Qi. It can break the Great Ming Demon Sparrow’s second seal."
The Blood Dragon’s voice sounded in Shen Daoxing’s ear. "For a place to generate Sword Qi of this caliber, there must be an exceptionally sharp Treasure Sword here."
Shen Daoxing scanned his surroundings, trying to find the Treasure Sword the Blood Dragon mentioned.
The Blood Dragon said, "Go forward."
Shen Daoxing dashed forward, while the Great Ming Demon Sparrow greedily absorbed the pure Sword Qi around them.
A few dozen breaths later, a massive sphere of light appeared up ahead.
The pure Sword Qi was emanating from that very sphere.
The Blood Dragon exclaimed in shock, "No, that’s not a Treasure Sword. It’s a Sword Technique—a Sword Technique that has gained sentience."
Shen Daoxing whispered, "A sentient form of Martial Arts!?"
The Blood Dragon nodded. "That’s right. The Martial Techniques you’ve encountered are far too rudimentary. In truth, after a technique reaches the Celestial Tier, some can develop a spirit of their own. They originate from Celestial Tier techniques, but they also transcend them."
"This sphere of light before you contains one such sentient technique, and all this pure Sword Qi is what it’s releasing."
Shen Daoxing gazed at the sphere of light, a fiery passion igniting in his eyes.
’A Celestial Tier Sword Technique!’
If what the Blood Dragon said was true, then a Celestial Tier Sword Technique was hidden within that sphere of light.
A thought occurred to Shen Daoxing, and he muttered, "I’ve got it. This must be the Forbidden Sword Technique Dean Lin mentioned. It’s said to be incredibly difficult to master. I wonder if I can comprehend its mysteries."
The Blood Dragon sneered. "You cultivate the Annihilation of Ten Thousand Swords Technique. You can comprehend any Sword Technique."
"Really!?"
Shen Daoxing’s heart leaped.
"You can give it a try," the Blood Dragon said.
Hearing this, Shen Daoxing strode forward.
The pure Sword Qi dissolved the moment it touched his body, and streams of characters flew into his mind.
Shen Daoxing walked forward step by step until he merged with the sphere of light.
Arcane Laws swirled around him, coalescing into strands of Sword Intent.
Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Wood!
The five strands of Sword Intent resonated with one another, shimmering with a peculiar light.
Time flew by. An unknown amount had passed.
Shen Daoxing finally emerged from the sphere of light and exclaimed in delight, "This truly is a peerless Sword Technique!"
The Blood Dragon asked, "You managed to comprehend it?"
"I only comprehended the first move."
Shen Daoxing shook his head. "This Sword Technique has ten moves. To master the first, one must comprehend Five Sword Intent. The second requires ten Sword Intent, and so on..."
Shen Daoxing finally understood why this was called the Forbidden Sword Technique.
The threshold for comprehending it was simply too high. A Swordsman who had grasped five types of Sword Intent could only learn the first move. Even an expert at the Sword King Level could only comprehend the third.
It was simply terrifying!
After all, merely possessing Sword Intent only granted one the qualification to even *try* to comprehend it.
If he hadn’t been cultivating the Annihilation of Ten Thousand Swords Technique, comprehending just this first move could have taken him several years.
"This Sword Technique is indeed extraordinary."
The Blood Dragon couldn’t help but nod. "I wonder if the Swordsman who created this technique is still alive. If so, he must be a paramount master of the Sword Dao in this realm."
Shen Daoxing nodded. Just as he was about to speak, the Great Ming Demon Sparrow in his hand suddenly released an intense beam of heat.
BOOM!
All the pure Sword Qi within the Stone Stele was absorbed completely.
The markings on the Great Ming Demon Sparrow’s blade reappeared, pulsing with a mysterious, dark light. After a few breaths, the glow gradually faded.
The second of the ten seals had been broken.
Shen Daoxing stroked the Great Ming Demon Sparrow and exclaimed, "Third-Rank!?"
With its second seal broken, the Great Ming Demon Sparrow had successfully advanced to the Third Rank.
A Third-Rank weapon could already be considered an artifact of national importance.
In the Martial Kingdom, Third-Rank weapons were exceedingly rare. Currently, only the Celestial City Academy’s Lingbo Spear and the imperial palace’s Emperor Sword had reached that level.
And now, the Great Ming Demon Sparrow in his hands had also reached the Third Rank. How could he not be thrilled?
The Blood Dragon saw this and shook its head. "I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing."
Demon Soldiers were called Demon Soldiers for a reason.
As the Great Ming Demon Sparrow’s seals were broken and its rank increased, its demonic nature was also slowly reawakening.
A transcendent power like the Celestial Court had not yet taken notice of the rising Shen Daoxing, so it wasn’t an immediate crisis. But the latent dangers one keeps close are sometimes the most fatal.
Shen Daoxing stowed the Great Ming Demon Sparrow and emerged from within the Stone Stele.
When he reached the cave entrance, he saw an exquisitely beautiful figure standing next to Lin Haitao.
It was Ling Shuanghua.
Lin Haitao smiled and asked, "How did it go? Did you have any success?"
Ling Shuanghua looked over as well.
The Forbidden Sword Technique was the Sword Institute’s greatest secret, and also its greatest trump card.
This Stone Stele was located in a secret area of the Sword Institute. Every disciple would enter it to attempt to comprehend the Forbidden Sword Technique.
But over the years, very, very few had ever succeeded.
"I did," Shen Daoxing said with a nod.
Lin Haitao nodded. "As long as you gained something, that’s what matters."
A flicker of doubt crossed Ling Shuanghua’s eyes.
’This kid really accomplished something!? It had taken her five years to comprehend the first move, and she was considered outstanding among all the disciples in the Institute’s history.’
"I was just thinking, and I feel something isn’t quite right."
Lin Haitao didn’t ask Shen Daoxing about his results. Instead, his tone turned serious. "To prevent the Celestial City Academy from launching a surprise attack on you, from this day forward, my junior sister will protect you. She won’t leave your side."
Shen Daoxing looked at the cold woman beside him and blurted out, "She won’t leave my side!?"
