Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 234 - 145: Breakthrough at the Last Moment, Mastering Sword Intent

Chapter 234: Chapter 145: Breakthrough at the Last Moment, Mastering Sword Intent

This power is very weak, yet extraordinarily strong, like a newly risen sun hanging in the sea of consciousness. The hundreds of wounds inflicted by Fang Luochuan’s Sword Intent on my soul have completely vanished.

No explanation needed, Su Yu understood in his heart, this powerful force, sublimated from his soul and intentions, is Sword Intent.

He was puzzled; it seemed he still hadn’t comprehended the Sword Heart, or maybe he had, but it was not the kind Luo Qingchan described. Yet, he could understand Sword Intent, which was truly unbelievable.

But he didn’t have time to get caught up in these thoughts, as Fang Luochuan’s sword was already slashing towards him.

Without a hint of hesitation, the Sword Intent burned, the invisible power merged into the Flying Sword and fiercely slashed back.

"Clang!"

The tips of the two flying swords, enveloped in an invisible distortion, touched, and an invisible ripple exploded. In an instant, both swords rebounded and flew away.

"This is impossible!"

Fang Luochuan yelled in disbelief as if he had seen a ghost.

Equally shocked were the dozens of spectators outside the ring:

"A breakthrough in battle, mastering Sword Intent!"

"Whoa, is this guy the protagonist from a novel?"

This kind of scene was only heard of in the autobiographies of legendary figures, never witnessed in reality.

Reading about these stories in novels and imagining oneself as the protagonist is thrilling, but if such a thing were to actually happen before one’s eyes, it wouldn’t be thrilling; rather, it would be uncomfortable because the protagonist is on stage, and oneself is just one of the many minor characters commenting from below.

No, not even a minor character, the one getting humiliated on stage is the minor character; oneself is at best a passerby.

"Damn it."

They had hoped for a miracle for Su Yu to turn defeat into victory, and now they regretted it deeply.

Meanwhile, Su Yu on the platform didn’t have the luxury to ponder their state of mind. After pushing back Fang Luochuan with one strike, he immediately switched from defense to offense and launched a fierce attack.

Both sides now had Sword Intent, and their big moves had been used up, so the fight now depended entirely on their Swordsmanship skills, and in this aspect, Su Yu had nothing to fear.

Having successfully grasped Sword Intent, and even achieving a breakthrough on the brink of battle, Su Yu’s confidence and state were at their peak.

On the other hand, Fang Luochuan couldn’t take down his opponent with his strongest move, and his opponent had an epic breakthrough that seemed to come straight from a protagonist’s story. With various debuffs stacking on him, his mindset collapsed, and his state plummeted.

One is like the rising sun, while the other is like the setting sun.

Fang Luochuan had no strength to retaliate and was soon quickly and cleanly defeated, his defenses broken through.

Knocked out of the arena, Fang Luochuan looked at the impassive Su Yu through gritted teeth, feeling utterly humiliated under the gaze of the crowd, and vanished directly from the Sword Palace.

The battle ended, starlight fell to envelop Su Yu, quickly healing his wounds and restoring him to his best state.

The many eliminated contestants around sighed at the sight, looking helpless.

"Does anyone wish to continue the challenge?"

Su Yu cupped his hands towards the crowd, asking in a deep voice.

The spectators looked at each other; after a while, someone indeed jumped onto the platform.

"Zhang Yunmian, please give me guidance!"

"Su Yu!"

One minute and eleven seconds later, Zhang Yunmian was knocked off the platform.

Of that time, 60 seconds were the preparation countdown, leaving only 11 seconds of actual combat.

Subsequently, two more eliminated challengers who were only a step away from grasping Sword Intent stepped up to try their luck, but both were defeated within ten seconds.

At this point, they finally recognized reality, realizing the substantial gap between having mastered Sword Intent and the miracle of a breakthrough in battle. It was something not everyone could achieve.

After defeating these three, the others could only resign themselves, withdrawing from the Sword Palace one by one, until only Su Yu and Luo Qingchan remained.

Su Yu walked to Luo Qingchan, took her hands, and clasped them together:

"Qingchan, you are my lucky star."

The young girl’s face flushed with shyness, her eyes full of admiration:

"When I saw the determination in your eyes, I knew you had the potential to create a miracle."

"Half of this miracle is thanks to you!"

The two exchanged a smile, and he reached out to embrace the young girl’s soft body into his arms.

But he didn’t hold her for long, as ten beams of light descended, startling them.

With no more challengers, the two didn’t need to fight and could choose anything they wanted.

They browsed through the ten treasures, which were similar to before, comprising five Tier Seven Flying Swords and several Sword Dao-related items.

Considering he already had two Tier Seven Flying Swords, Su Yu thought choosing another Flying Sword would be a waste, so he opted for an out-of-the-box Sword Dao Secret Skill.

Sword Palace Sword Nurturing Skill: A Secret Skill, using Spiritual Power to nurture and refine Flying Swords, which can long-term enhance the quality of the Flying Sword.

Note: The maximum quality of a Flying Sword is limited by the sword’s material. Only one sword can be nurtured at a time.

As the secret skill’s name suggests, this skill can cultivate a sword, improving its quality, such as from ordinary to outstanding, outstanding to rare, and even possibly upgrading a sword from Tier Five to Tier Six, from Tier Six to Tier Seven. Over a long period, if the Flying Sword’s material quality is sufficient, it can potentially upgrade from Tier Six to Tier Eight.

This Secret Skill is unrelated to combat but is extremely useful.

Once both of them had selected their treasures, the beams of light vanished, and with the clear ringing of a bell, the starlight figure reappeared, speaking in human language:

"The second phase of the test is over. You may choose a Sword Formula or a Flying Sword to leave, or you can continue with the trials."

A countdown appeared in the corner, and Su Yu glanced at Luo Qingchan, the two nodding in unison.

Sixty seconds quickly passed, the starlight figure waved its large hand, and the two vanished from sight.

They reappeared in a large, empty hall, the dome decorated with a swirling river of stars, surrounded by jade wall carvings, the floor covered in layers of spiritual mist like an ethereal paradise.

No one else was around; Luo Qingchan was not with him, likely undergoing a separate test.

Here, their previously restricted power was now released, returning to its original state. The two Tier Seven Flying Swords and the Sword Nurturing Skill obtained earlier were also in their storage space. Most crucially, the swordsmanship realms they mastered over the past six months had already merged with their own swordsmanship realm, overlapping each other.

The first level of swordsmanship realm [Sword Qi Thunder Sound]: Masterful.

The second level of swordsmanship realm [Condensing Sword into Silk]: Proficient.

The third level of swordsmanship realm [Sword Light Division]: Proficient.

The fourth level of swordsmanship realm [True Sword Intent]: Newly Initiated.

Just mastering the True Sword Intent alone made this journey worthwhile.

The literal attribute of the True Sword Intent is simple: converting 10% of one’s attack into a soul-penetrating attack, ignoring any defenses.

This is actually just icing on the cake, with minimal enhancement. The most powerful aspect of Sword Intent lies in the fact that each attack contains a Sword Intent impact, inflicting and impacting the target’s soul to a certain extent.

The specific damage depends on the soul strength of both sides and does not have precise values.

Based on Su Yu’s current estimated strength, it would take about ten swords to slay a soul of the same level, twenty to thirty swords for those stronger but yet to undergo tribulation. If facing a Loose Immortal who had undergone the Celestial Tribulation, whose soul had been refined to a qualitative change, ordinary attacks would be ineffective, and he’d have to burn his Sword Intent with a powerful move to inflict damage.

Of course, the above data is based on his current Newly Initiated level of the True Sword Intent. As he advances in Sword Intent rank, the power will naturally become increasingly strong.

If he could reach the Proficient level, he could slay an opponent of the same rank with a single sword.

If he could reach the Masterful level, he could slay a Loose Immortal with a single sword.

After understanding his own situation, Su Yu closed his panel and looked around, standing quietly without moving.

After a moment, a crisp voice suddenly echoed in the void, sounding like a young girl:

"You are quite extraordinary!"

Su Yu immediately looked up, but saw nothing. He quickly cupped his fists and respectfully said in a deep voice:

"Su Yu greets the Palace Master!"

The voice continued:

"I am not the Palace Master."

"The Palace Master has not returned yet."

"Who are you, sir?"

The crisp voice did not answer his question, continuing instead:

"According to the rules once set by the Palace Master, you still need to undergo a trial to receive the final reward."

"Senior, please instruct me!"

"Pull out this sword!"

As soon as the words fell, Su Yu seemed to sense something and turned around. In the center of the hall behind him, the mist cleared, revealing an ancient sword embedded in the ground. Runes flowed from the hilt down to the blade, extending in all directions along the ground, resembling a giant bifurcated tree branch.

Su Yu asked in confusion:

"Is it this sword to pull out?"

"Yes."

Su Yu strode to the ancient sword, a string of questions in his mind, not even knowing its name.

"Could this be the sword used by the reincarnated body of the Sword Palace Master?"

This last trial was clearly not a normal one.

He recalled that his second brother and Qingchan had mentioned that the Sword Palace Master had always been reincarnating.

"This is troublesome."

Su Yu didn’t think he was that so-called reincarnated body of the Sword Palace Master. If he couldn’t pull it out....

But he had no choice. He came to the ancient sword, took a deep breath, and reached out to grasp the hilt.

As he gripped the hilt, an inexplicable feeling arose spontaneously.

Innate Spiritual Light ignited in his mind, and the runes on the ancient sword’s hilt suddenly lit up, radiating brilliant light.

"Boom!"

A deafening blast erupted, causing the entire hall to shake violently, with the mist on the ground blown into the air.

Su Yu felt the heat from the ancient sword’s hilt, looked down to see that the sword remained unmoved, not pulled up, but the hilt’s runes had lit up, extending along the bifurcation in all directions, revealing a large and complex formation within the hall.

But he did not move.

Did not dare to move.

And could not move.

Because....

"Master?"

At this moment, a beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere in mid-air in front of him, delightedly observing him.

The woman was dressed in a light green palace gown, delicate and exquisite, with bright eyes and pearly white teeth, her petite and exquisite figure, her jade feet round and small, her toes as beautiful as pearls laid side by side.

The joy on the young girl’s face didn’t last long before it turned into confusion:

"No, you’re not the Master!"

She leaned in slightly, almost brushing against his face, gently sniffing, revealing her snow-white neck and icy skin, with a faint fragrance wafting from the collar, refreshing the senses.

"You’re not the Master!"

This time her tone was very certain.

Although she was sure he wasn’t her master, her attitude didn’t turn sour. Instead, she gracefully performed a lady-like curtsey, and said crisply:

"I’m sorry I don’t know which esteemed deity visits, the Palace Master is absent and unable to welcome you, please forgive the oversight!"