"What?!"
Yang Yan's eyes widened, and he was so furious his nose was almost crooked.
That sword strike just now had been extraordinary and fierce. Luan Jian was clearly still only in the Golden Core Realm, yet the power of a single sword strike had been almost too much for him—a Nascent Soul cultivator—to withstand, even destroying a magical treasure he had refined for many years.
The eighth level of the Wenxin Sword Canon was terrifying indeed!
Yet, how was it that this young man seemed profoundly dissatisfied with this, and even went so far as to blame Luan Jian for progressing too slowly?
Good grief!
He had seen arrogant people, but never anyone this arrogant!
You are merely a minor cultivator in the Golden Core Realm. Judging by your aura, your Golden Core has barely even formed. It is utterly impossible for you to understand the fierce battle we just fought, let alone sit up on high and presumptuously offer guidance.
If Luan Jian hadn't stopped him, he would have captured this fellow right then and there and dragged him back to Jile Palace.
"Luan Jian, do you know where you went wrong just now?" Han Feng ignored the disheartened Old Monster Yang and asked Luan Jian, who stood before him.
"This... this disciple does not know." Luan Jian's expression flickered with doubt and uncertainty as she gazed bewilderedly at Han Feng.
Although this Sect Master had performed one miracle after another, looking back over the past few days, it all felt like a hazy dream, difficult to distinguish between truth and illusion.
Now he was saying she was wrong?
Yet she, with her Golden Core cultivation, had shattered the natal magical treasure of a Nascent Soul old monster with a single sword!
Was that not enough?
The ninth level of the Wenxin Sword Canon... was that truly a realm a Golden Core stage cultivator could hope to reach?
"To be a swordsman is to resolve, to sever!"
Han Feng's expression turned solemn as he recited the original text from the Wenxin Sword Canon, patiently instructing her: "Internally, resolve the seven emotions and sever mortal thoughts; externally, resolve discouragement and sever worldly traces. This is the foundation of swordsmanship, making the inner vessel clear and solid. As for the wondrous variations in moves and the complex evolution of techniques, these are mere petty paths and must not be indulged in..."
Luan Jian nodded; she was naturally already thoroughly familiar with these passages.
Yet, where on earth had she gone wrong?
"Just now," Han Feng said, reaching out to point at Yang Yan as he spoke in a deep voice: "You caught a glimpse of his wavering mind and found an opening, so you immediately drew your sword and attacked with all your might. It looked like you seized the right moment, but in reality, from that very instant, your resolve had already weakened. You believed yourself inferior to your opponent, which is why you had to look for a weakness and exploit an opening. This clouded your sword heart, and naturally, you fell just a tiny bit short."
Ah!
Luan Jian's delicate body trembled as if she had grasped something crucial, but that tiny bit still eluded her, leaving her unable to achieve total comprehension.
Hah...
Seeing this, Han Feng smiled slightly, then suddenly cast his gaze toward the distant Jile Palace enchantress and said calmly, "I have a sword that can move mountains, overturn seas, subdue demons, suppress devils, issue decrees to spirits, pluck stars, sever rivers, crush cities, and cleave the heavens..."
"As for those mountains, seas, demons, monsters, deities, and starry skies—whether they have flaws or no flaws, what does that have to do with me?"
"If they are my enemies, I will break them with a single sword!"
With those words, Han Feng raised a hand and pointed, and sword Qi materialized in mid-air!
In an instant, wind and clouds converged, gathering fierce sword intent in the sky. It was shockingly similar to Luan Jian's full-strength strike from moments before, conjuring thousands of sword shadows and transforming them into sword Qi that soared to the heavens!
"Ah!!!"
Suddenly sensing the arrival of crisis, the Jile Palace enchantress felt her soul leave her body. Not daring to be the slightest bit negligent, she hurriedly chanted incantations and raised her natal magical treasure. To everyone's surprise, it was the scanty night-colored dress she wore; it suddenly detached completely from her body, transforming into a thick sheet of night that carried a terrifying and evil aura as it met the incoming sword light.
Rip!
A crisp sound of tearing silk rattled the eardrums. Han Feng intended for Luan Jian to see clearly: the technique was identical, transitioning from illusory to real, condensing thousands of sword shadows into a single beam. This sword strike seemed to slice the dark night apart, recreating the bright daylight and reflecting the enchantress's distorted, terrified face.
Thud...
That delicate body, which had once driven countless cultivators out of their minds with desire, was cleaved in two by a single sword. Amidst splashing blood, the halves toppled to the ground on either side, devoid of the slightest breath of life.
The pink-cheeked beauty had now been reduced to a bloody corpse on the ground.
Even with all her strength, the half-step Nascent Soul female cultivator of Jile Palace could not resist the might of Han Feng's sword!
"Understand now?"
Han Feng was killing for the first time, yet his expression remained unchanged as he smiled and looked at Luan Jian.
Luan Jian's mind was shaken to its core. It felt as though she had taken another step closer to that ethereal realm, and she mused, "When the disciple saw the opponent raise her magical treasure just now, the thought that shattering the treasure would be enough had already formed in my mind. Therefore, once the sword light shattered that string of bone beads, it became difficult to injure the enemy further. Just now, watching the Sect Master's sword, the target never changed from start to finish, which is why it succeeded in one stroke... This disciple has been instructed."
"Not bad," Han Feng nodded and said. "Your opponent is your sword heart. To remain steadfast in your resolve is to have a clear sword heart. Everything else is merely an illusion designed to drag you into demonic obstacles. Since you understand this layer, why not try again?"
As he spoke, Han Feng pointed toward Yang Yan.
Hiss!
Yang Yan drew a sharp breath. With the dignity of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he had completely lost his composure before two mere Golden Core juniors.
Gibberish!
This old man will not listen to his gibberish!
It's all pretense and parlor tricks designed to scare people! It can't fool this old man...
Although he desperately tried to comfort himself, his heart had long since turned coward. Fighting this terrifying sword cultivator who could leap realms was already difficult enough, let alone now that there was an additional unfathomable young Sect Master who had cleanly cleaved the Jile Palace Holy Maiden in two with a single sword. The ferocity of that sword light left even him terrified; despite its spiritual energy fluctuations being only at the Early Golden Core Stage, it could erupt with an unfathomable might that struck fear into the hearts of Nascent Soul cultivators.
Flee! Must flee!
Yang Yan had no heart for battle. With a flash of his figure, he prepared to escape right then and there.
Yet Luan Jian's sword had already moved!
This time, when Luan Jian swung her sword, it lacked the magnificent momentum of that sky-filling array of sword shadows. Instead, she merely thrust forward the pure, snow-white Spirit Sword in her hand, moving just like a beginner on her very first day of swordsmanship—trembling and apprehensive, her arm even shaking slightly as the tip of the sword wobbled haphazardly.
Luan Jian's expression was completely focused, keeping firmly in mind the earnest teachings the Sect Master had just imparted. It felt as though she were extending this sword toward a companion practicing alongside her, toward a teacher offering words of encouragement, toward this entire world, and toward the endless expanse of time and the universe itself.
Her movements were very slow, as if she were still hesitating, yet her gaze remained unswervingly resolute, locked firmly onto Yang Yan's retreating back. Even though he had fled hundreds of li away in an extremely short span of time—to the point where even his back had vanished from sight—a mysterious and profound trace of intent was firmly locked onto him by Luan Jian. It drew that terrifying sword intent along, clinging to him like a maggot on a rotting bone, following his shadow wherever he went!
Thud!
Yang Yan, who had just revealed a trace of joy in the belief that he had escaped the sphere of influence of the Jiushen Sect and saved his life no matter what, suddenly found sword Qi piercing the air to arrive behind him. It punched a bloody hole through his back heart; around the wound, not even blood oozed out, because it was entirely sealed off by the fierce and overbearing sword Qi, leaving only a perfectly round hole with light visible straight through to the other side.
Yang Yan's footsteps came to an abrupt halt. A smile-like expression appeared on his face as he tried to turn his head back, but ultimately, he lost all his strength and the last sparks of his life.
This powerful Nascent Soul cultivator collapsed right where he stood, his body and soul utterly destroyed.
"Ah, you've grasped that little bit." Han Feng was also delighted, nodding with a smile. "With this, the original nine levels of the Wenxin Sword Canon are pretty much complete. That tenth level I randomly thought of the other day seems like it can be pushed even further. Don't rush; I'll organize it and pass it to you after a while."
"Um... according to the customs around here, should we go loot the corpse, and then... by the way, destroy all traces of our involvement?" Han Feng pointed in the direction where Yang Yan had fled, saying somewhat uncertainly, "I saw in books that it's always written this way, so..."
Ugh!
Luan Jian's facial muscles twitched, and the joy of successfully mastering the Wenxin Sword Canon was instantly diluted.
Sect Master, what kind of books on earth have you been reading?
It doesn't seem like the ones stored in our sect's collection...