Ling Tian and Lian Qiu left the forest and moved toward a certain house in the village. Huo Bing sat on a small chair in front of the house and seemed to be waiting for something. The moment she saw the two of them she ran and jumped in Ling Tian's embrace. "Big brother! You are fine..."
Ling Tian didn't know how to respond so he awkwardly hugged her, the little girl began crying. "I thought you died like father..."
Ling Tian unsurely patted her head as he said consolingly, "It's ok, everything is fine?"
Lian Qiu almost facepalmed as he watched on. He sighed as he picked her up, she seemed reluctant but did not say anything and only pouted, "Listen, little girl, go live your life and forget the past."
"But I can't forget you, you saved me! I want to repay you!" Lian Qiu sneered," How do you want to repay us? You are just a little girl..."
Huo Bing suddenly bit Lian Qiu's hand, the latter looked at her actions with a smirk. "I am cultivator, you can't hurt me..."
Huo Bing stopped and suddenly poked Lian Qiu in the eye, "Take this!"
The latter suddenly let go of her and shouted, "Ouch!" He rubbed his eye and tried to glare at the girl but failed to scare her. She snorted and turned to look at Ling Tian.
They suddenly noticed Ling Tian was not there. They began searching around for him. Lian Qiu sensed the Qi in the air and moved toward a certain direction, Huo Bing followed...
They reached near a waterfall and saw Ling Tian training in swordplay...
Earlier, Ling Tian saw that the little girl was fine as she bickered with Lian Qiu so he left to check his system. There were many notifications in his Log.
[Sword Art: Heart Slaying acquired. To slay a demon, one must slay its heart, this sword art was created to slay the heart of everything, whether it be demons, immortals, or gods... (Celestial Tier) (Learn/Discard)
...
Overall Gain: 674,500 EP.
...
Sword Intent progressed from the initial stage to the adept stage.]
He learned it and was amazed. The Heart Slaying Sword Art was a very efficient and deadly one, focused on slaughter, precision, and speed. It only incorporated close range moves. The Water Emperor sword art was a technique that let him create sword rivers and battle mid-range at its current level. With this sword art, he finally had the qualification to do a classic swordsman battle.
The sword art was to be wielded by someone with body cultivation since the more advanced moves required extreme physical conditioning and superhuman balance. It had techniques that could be used by mortals and cultivators alike to techniques only usable by cultivators. This sword art did not have Qi instructions, it was purely physical and Qi was only meant to enhance physical power... Unlike the water emperor sword art that was Qi focused...
The higher the level of cultivation, the stronger and faster the sword would become in this sword art with no limit. It had many techniques for battles mid-air for immortals. A striking difference was the fact that Ling Tian realized he couldn't upgrade it with EP.
It seemed Sword Arts like Water Emperor that focused on Qi and seemed more like magic were upgradeable but ones that relied on 'pure skill' like Heart Slaying had to be learned through hard work. The creator of the system had perhaps his own reasons for designing it in such a way...
In the previous battles, Ling Tian used his sword very basically and not at all like a true swordsman. He was more like a man with a moderate understanding of the sword, this sword art would change everything.
When he had clicked on Learning it, a stream of information had smoothly entered his mind.
'The body is the bearer of the sword, it must be conditioned by long times of practice. All muscles must align and coordinate to perform the most efficient way, A swordsman that has all his muscles coordinate with his sword has become one with the sword; One slash with all the power of the body. The sword art must become second nature after much practice...
A true swordsman must be aware of his surroundings, one swordsman with divine sense would be unbeatable among his peers who are without divine sense. The heart of a swordsman must always be calm, his mind serene and focused. Mental mastery is the pillar of the sword way...
There is no honor or fairness, there is only the heart and victory. Deception is a core of the sword way, what use is fairness in death? As long as it does not conflict with the heart, the sword must be unbound...
Never surrender, never kneel. Have faith in the sword you hold and the long hours of practice you have endured, victory will come to those who seek it without rest. A sword is unbending, so must be the spirit.
Find the Rhythm of your sword but never limit yourself to it; The sword is unrestraint and free, it must be unpredictable and yet with Rhythm. Find the Rhythm within the heart, that is the sword that exists in your heart.
Time your sword and predict the opponent but never underestimate the enemy and never fully trust your prediction. Always keep the right distance from your enemy, too close and death will claim you, too far and you will not see the next dawn.
Master the sword and let the heart move it. Think not if the enemy is too fast, feel the flow, and follow the heart.
Learn all these and master the sword art and you shall be a swordsman. Follow the path of the sword immortal, uncaring of heaven and earth, one sword to be unrestrained and invincible... or Follow your path and be truly free...'
Ling Tian just realized that there was so much more to the way of the sword that he had thought. He realized that he had just touched the very surface. He felt like he was looking at the surface of an ocean with unimaginable depth.
'What lies at the very end of this path, this Dao?' he wondered. A strange desire filled his heart to seek the unknown mysteries of Dao. He was curious to see what Dao's were... Especially he wondered what the Dao of the sword was...
He felt this desire like he wanted to explore the world and seek wisdom and the truth. The mere basics of the sword were so many, he couldn't even imagine what the advanced and complex things were that immortals practiced and lead to the sword Dao...
'The water emperor is more of a technique to wield Qi like a magic spell and a simple sword art mixed in it, its power is in its ability to wield Qi as if made for those who are already experts in sword and need to master a Qi technique to grow more powerful. This is different, it is a true sword art with many complexities... From beginner to expert.'
Ling Tian took a deep breath and tried to follow the basic needs of the sword art. He let his body relax and held the sword tightly and imagined it as part of himself, he imagined all his muscles one with the sword, the center of his being was to be his sword. He didn't succeed to become one with the sword, but he imagined as if he had.
He calmed his heart and focused his mind on the sword but at the same time, he focused on the surroundings and tried to be aware of everything.
He put his faith in the sword, Blood Bringer, and tried to become more confident of himself. 'I can do it, I can master it. I must never lose for if I do, I will die... I will never yield and never bend, not to anything whether it be heaven or earth...'
A strange feeling appeared in his heart, he would never bend even if the sky would fall, he promised himself as he made a stance with his sword. The many movements and techniques of the sword art flashed in his mind, he chose the 1st and most basic one and tried to feel the flow with his heart as he began training...
He had entered the right state of mind to train... He used no great power of Qi. He practiced with his body that was superhuman because of cultivation but he didn't enhance it further.
Huo Bing and Lian Qiu watched from afar as Ling Tian practiced near the waterfall, their eyes sparkled as they seemed to enjoy watching. 'It's almost like a dance, how mesmerizing... If I learned how to do that...'
Lian Qiu thought and the image of Ling Tian slaying the demon flashed and a determined glint appeared in his eyes. Huo Bing looked with desire, 'Can I avenge my father if big brother teaches me how to use the sword? I want to be able to do that...'
Ling Tian had moderate skill with the sword due to Water emperor but now, he realized how unrefined he was... His movements were extremely fast...
He thrust his sword forward with one leg in front and the other in the back in a stance, let go of it for a fraction of a moment, and unpredictably changed his stance as he grasped it with his other hand and he used his hand that had the sword previously to change the sword's direction and made it rotate 180 degrees and suddenly thrust back as he crouched. The tip of the sword moving in a curve that wheezed as it cut the air. If someone was behind him, his heart would be pierced...
He suddenly backflipped and moved mid-air to grasp both hands on his sword and sliced his front in half but the sword didn't stop, it continued and stabbed the ground, he jumped and front flipped on the sword as his hand grasped it tightly. The sword got out of the ground as he landed on his feet and slashed again from top to bottom, this time with much more force.
The sword made a wheezing sound and left a weak wave that cut some leaves on the way and left a mark on a tree on the other side. He returned to the basics as he swiped his sword in a continuous fashion to the left and began a series of basic sword moves.
He noticed two people imitating his moves nearby but paid them no mind. Those two were Lian Qiu and Huo Bing.
As he practiced, he felt at ease. As if he had forgotten all his problems, only he, his sword, and his surroundings existed. He felt worry-free and at peace, a state of serenity. The cool feel of the air on his skin and the feeling of blood and Qi moving in his veins as he trained and the faint sound of wheezing as the sword moved with an immense speed made him forget all troubles... He fell in love with it. He fell in love with the sword and its practice...
He lost his sense of time and when he came to, the Blue Dream was high in the sky, illuminating the surroundings. Huo Bing and Lian Qiu slept as they leaned on trees seemingly exhausted. He smiled as he held his sword. 'I can't certainly say what I want from life here but one thing is for sure, I want to walk the path of the sword to its very peak.'
A certain baby lizard was also watching him and practicing with a branch from far away, 'This emperor will use your own techniques against you, you home-wrecker... Just wait! My holy revenge is at hand...'