Chapter 115: The Momentum of Sword Qi

Lv Yang. The adopted son of Jia Fugui.

Fifty years ago, Jia Fugui, a man of astonishing fortune, chanced upon an infant with dual water-wood spiritual roots. He named the child Lv Yang, raised him, and eventually sent him to the Taiji Daoist Academy. Through layers of trials, Lv Yang entered Taiji Mountain and, thanks to his unique talent for cultivating spiritual plants, became a disciple under True Monarch Yinyue.

Jia Fugui had long coveted a supreme cultivation technique hidden within the Nine Sects Hall. Thus, Lv Yang, as his adopted son, shouldered the heavy responsibility of securing this technique for him.

Jiang Min, recalling the memories of Jia Fugui, felt a sense of contemplation. "This hidden pawn can be kept; one never knows when he might come in handy. Jia Fugui is cautious and worried that Lv Yang might turn against him once he achieves success, so he has left behind certain contingencies. I, too, can make use of these measures..."

As the sun rose in the east, illuminating the world with its brilliant glow, Jiang Min walked to the sword-training platform to begin her daily practice. For the past six months, True Monarch Guanqi had not taught her the art of Sword Aura. Instead, he had focused on correcting the numerous errors she had developed through self-study and demanded she consolidate the unstable foundation of her Sword Threads.

Consequently, she began her sword practice at every sunrise. Two hours of basic sword forms, followed by two hours of sword energy training—four hours a day, rain or shine. At first, Jiang Min managed to endure, but over the following months, she began to understand why True Monarch Guanqi had warned her to prepare for hardship. Even someone as resilient as she found it difficult to maintain such a grueling daily routine, pushing through only by sheer willpower until she gradually grew accustomed to this life.

Clang!

The sword momentum surged. The whistling sound of the sharp blade echoed once more in the mountain breeze. Jiang Min held her longsword, repeating the basic movements—thrusting, parrying, blocking—that were now etched into her soul. This practice was much like the immersive state she had experienced at the Ancient Battlefield's Sword-Enlightenment Cliff, reading broken poetry to grasp the essence of Sword Threads. The difference was that back then, it was a state of enlightenment—a mere visualization—while now, it was physical, lived experience.

As the golden sun ascended, the wind stirred with her sword swings, and the momentum grew. Every move harbored a hidden murderous intent. A faint, formidable aura emerged from her techniques, as if her sword momentum had merged with the heavens and earth, roaring like a tiger in the wind.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Without her noticing, True Monarch Guanqi stood by the side of the platform with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on Jiang Min’s movements. Six months ago, when he watched her train, though her forms were standard and seemingly full of power, they had appeared riddled with flaws, stiff, and lacking the "momentum" essential to Sword Aura.

To his surprise, in just half a year, Jiang Min had persisted in training for four hours every single day without interruption, and now, she had faintly begun to manifest that momentum. It was time to teach her the path of Sword Aura.

"This child truly has the capacity for hardship," True Monarch Guanqi thought. "To have built such a solid foundation in just half a year... once she grasps the Sword Aura, I shall send her to the City of Villains for a time."

A sword is, by nature, a tool for killing. Every movement has but one purpose: to take a life. While Jiang Min had gained much from her long training on Jade Sword Peak, she had begun to lack the sharp, unstoppable edge that leads to the realm beyond Sword Aura—the Sword Intent. In the path of the sword, Sword Energy is merely the entry point. Only by grasping the Sword Intent can one be considered to have achieved minor success in the Dao of the Sword.

After two hours of sword forms, Jiang Min sheathed her blade and bowed to True Monarch Guanqi. "Master, you have arrived."

True Monarch Guanqi raised his hand. A faint, glowing light gathered in his palm, revealing a curved, jade-green tree root. It emitted a soft luster, and within it, a jade-green liquid flowed slowly—a truly curious sight. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it toward Jiang Min.

"This is a Supreme Spiritual Earth Root, sent by True Monarch Yinyue via Yongwen. I have no use for it; take a portion for yourself and Yuquan. If you give it to Aling, it may help the plant form a spiritual seed."

Jiang Min accepted the root. The hunger radiating from her peach branch made it clear that this was a treasure. True Monarch Guanqi and her senior brother, Yuquan, were well aware that she was raising a spiritual plant. Occasionally, Aling would even sneak over to her senior brother’s place to beg for food, successfully scrounging many good things. Yet, despite consuming numerous rare treasures, it had lacked the opportunity to form a spiritual seed. Only by forming one could Aling truly embark on the path of cultivation, at which point its power would be equivalent to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Thank you, Master," Jiang Min said, bowing again as she tucked the root away.

True Monarch Guanqi then produced a sharp longsword and said, "Today, I shall begin teaching you the Sword Aura."

Jiang Min’s eyes brightened. After six months of training, had she finally met his requirements to begin the path of the Sword Aura?

"You should know that Sword Aura is the art of concealing sword energy until it is invisible." True Monarch Guanqi walked toward her. "To be more precise, this type of energy is a form of 'momentum'."

"Momentum?" Jiang Min mused.

"My insistence that you practice daily was, in fact, to help you manifest this 'momentum'. Now that you have been training for so long, what are your thoughts?"

Jiang Min pondered for a moment. "Recently, when I practice, I feel a sense of energy emanating through the blade. Yet, it is different from condensing Sword Radiance; it is more refined and powerful—like a gust of wind, invisible to the eye, yet hiding a sharp edge."

True Monarch Guanqi nodded with satisfaction and smiled. "It seems you have already felt the existence of momentum. Watch."

He used his power to draw a fist-sized stone from the grass in the distance, placing it in his left palm. He held his sword in his right hand, hovering it an inch above the stone. With a sharp flick of his wrist, a crisp chime resonated.

There was no visible sword energy, yet a surge of force seemed to erupt. The stone in his palm instantly crumbled into powder.

Jiang Min’s eyes widened. In that split second, she had been focused entirely, catching a glimpse of the air above the stone being sliced and shattered. That was the momentum of the Sword Aura.

"What did you see?" True Monarch Guanqi asked.

"I saw the air being cut by an invisible, sharp sword momentum."

True Monarch Guanqi nodded. He drew another stone and placed it in his palm. "Try again. Place a strand of your divine sense upon the stone."

Jiang Min shifted her consciousness, directing a small strand of her divine sense onto the rock. True Monarch Guanqi flicked his wrist once more.

Clang!

The Sword Aura manifested. As the stone exploded, the strand of Jiang Min’s divine sense felt as if it had been struck by countless blades, shattered by an incredibly sharp, invisible force.

"Practice this for now. To shatter a stone from a distance like this is the entry point of the Sword Aura," True Monarch Guanqi said as he sheathed his sword. "With your current level, it should take anywhere from a few days to a month to succeed. If you have any questions, come find me."

With that, he turned and left, leaving Jiang Min to her practice.

"Shatter the stone from a distance?" Jiang Min continued to contemplate the demonstration. She walked to the edge of the platform, picked up a stone, and hovered her sword over it. Recalling the sensation of the momentum he had displayed, she gradually entered that familiar state of focus.

She flicked her wrist.

Boom!

An invisible, powerful surge of Sword Aura burst forth, reducing the stone to dust.

She had succeeded. A wave of joy washed over her face. Seeing that True Monarch Guanqi had not yet gone far, she called out, "Master, I did it!"

True Monarch Guanqi paused. As he turned back, his typically calm and indifferent face showed a rare trace of astonishment. Even though she had trained for a long time and the breakthrough was a natural progression, the fact that she had successfully projected the Sword Aura on her very first attempt after his demonstration...

He had truly found a brilliant talent for the sword.