Xu Xiaoshou was completely stunned by this genius idea of his that he'd come up with. He calmed himself down and recalled everything about [Sword Technique Expertise].
His [Sword Will] was derived from this trait, and he thought he might still be able to get something out of [Sword Technique Expertise] at the moment.
"It's really quite a pity. If only I could level it up more, even just one level further, I bet I'd be able to solve the problem right away."
[Sword Technique Expertise] brought massive amounts of knowledge at every level-up, and every time he reached that stage, he seemed to find the answers he sought for the problems he was facing.
He couldn't absorb that much knowledge from it, but it was still enough, nonetheless.
It was a pity that the [Level Two Skill Point] column was still grayed out and thus unavailable for purchase, which meant there was no way for him to take advantage of it.
He didn't give up. While he was unable to find the solution despite spending hours working on it, he nonetheless gained some knowledge that he'd lacked before and found points that contradicted his previous ideas.
"Perhaps going at it from the inside out will carve out a new path."
"Let's get to it."
He leaped into the Black Waterfalls again, but he didn't rush to spread his [Sword Will]. Instead, he calmed himself and then went on to fully experience the [White Sword Aura] that started cutting into him.
The thin, tightly packed sword aura hit him, and one seemed to tilt awkwardly to one side.
There was then a second slash, and a third…
The tightly packed sword aura came down from above Xu Xiaoshou, yet they crisscrossed each other and shot to the sides, unable to even scratch him at all.
He kept his eyes closed the whole time, but found it difficult to suppress his glee.
"That's [Sword Will]!" he thought happily.
He'd only put a basic understanding of [Blade-Draw Technique] to work, and the [Sword Aura] around him had already failed to deal him any damage.
"I knew it…"
"That masked guy was right. No one would dare to use a sword on the one who has truly mastered [Sword Will]."
"That's because 'your sword would become my sword.'"
He suppressed his glee all the same. Having learned the true might of such will, he realized that "will" might just actually be more powerful than "form" from fixed movements.
He then attempted to make use of his will, spreading it from within to the surface of his body.
The minute distance between muscle and skin seemed to be an almost insurmountable chasm.
He sighed. He'd asked for too much.
He swept the white sword aura away, not allowing the attacks to interfere with him, and continued learning.
The heavy power of the fall's water assaulted him yet again, but because he'd freed himself from the sword aura's interference, he was able to quickly enter a trance-like state.
It seemed like an instant, yet that instant felt infinite.
He saw an illusion of the fleeting white clouds, which was the same scene he'd seen when he'd developed [Acquired Sword Will] for the first time.
"This is my place."
When the white clouds appeared again, he felt like he was as light as a feather, and despite being weighed down by the heavy waters, he felt like he was in the clouds.
He willed and Hiding Pain shot out with a whoosh.
Vooomm.
The entire Black Cliff trembled violently like a tiger that had been startled, and the burst of anger around him was laid bare for all to see. [Boundless Sword Aura] came down on him right away.
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
All of the attacks were missed.
He opened his eyes and shot upward.
His surroundings trembled at that moment, with the sky ringing and spirit qi howling like a dragon, shooting for his energy reserve. [Sword Will] then lethargically emerged like slivers of mist.
White gas was rising like smoke from his body.
He seemed to have glimpsed the Great Path, yet the Great Path had merged into a single, and there was only a black sword before his eyes.
He focused and recovered the image. He saw the furious Black Cliff continue to shoot sword aura at him, yet all of the incoming [Sword Aura] attacks were swept effortlessly away by his "white cloud state."
The white mist emanating from his body gradually blurred before disappearing altogether.
His expression became one of glee instead.
"Psychokinesis!"
"Ptuih… Good old psychokinesis. Let's go!"
He shot out of the Black Waterfalls and hovered midair, holding two fingers erect.
"Psychokinesis," he mused.
"It's invisible, but I can undoubtedly sense it."
He merely held up two ordinary fingers, yet a magnificent, terrifying sword aura shot to the air as soon as he waved them, the power of which was every bit comparable to his [Blade-Draw Technique].
Boom!
The sword aura cut into the Black Waterfalls, and the heavy water was actually immediately cut open, causing the fall to halt in midair and then fall again after a second or two.
Boooooom…
He then proceeded to do so with all 10 of his fingers, cutting upward, and the resulting attack actually reversed the flow of the Black Waterfalls, causing it to shoot upward for quite some time before falling down again.
"Man, this is dope!"
"No wonder you don't need any fixed sword moves. With [Sword Will] made solid like that, there's really no need to use any moves, as just a single flick of the finger can bring about a blow!"
He felt like he'd made quite the breakthrough in terms of his understanding of the sword. His [Innate Sword Will] had remained the same, and his level hadn't increased, but something had happened to his understanding of the "way."
He recalled how the masked guy had kept emphasizing "[Innate Level]" back then, and he wondered if the masked guy really hadn't been lying after all.
[True Innate Level] meant melding oneself with one's surroundings.
And true finger sword meant that the finger was the sword, and the sword was the finger.
He took Hiding Pain in his hand and swept it through the air, and a blast of [Sword Aura] disappeared into the clouds.
He peered into his energy reserves and found that despite having launched so many attacks, he was only somewhat mentally exhausted. His Spiritual Source had seen no drop in quantity.
Elation, shock, and all manner of complicated emotions rushed over him.
It was only then that he realized that the true path to "[Pure Sword Will Combat]" required no use of Spiritual Source at all.
Before, depleting his Spiritual Source through his several [Blade-Draw Technique] only meant he'd gone astray. He hadn't at all realized that he'd taken the wrong path.
"I needed not to see the form of what I sought. I needed only to be steeped in it."
He was stunned and put Hiding Pain away. He gazed at his ten fingers.
It was only after having mastered the [10 Sections of the Finger Sword] that he'd finally realized that "common psychokinesis" was actually a special state that existed between [Will and Sword Aura].
It was formless, yet it was tangible.
The essence of it wasn't in its form but in its expression.
Simply put, it was just like the attacks that he'd thrown earlier…
[Sword Will] existed when his will was still and unmoving, where his 10 fingers were just 10 fingers. As soon as he put his will to work, the [Sword Will] was converted to moving thoughts, culminating into psychokinesis, and thus his 10 fingers became swords.
The expression of such "thoughts" was what actually gave rise to "aura" or "qi."
Not only had his previous path confused "will" and "aura," but also it lacked the "thoughts" in-between them. As such, the two had become increasingly irreconcilable, unable to return to the same point of origin.
He flicked his fingers, marveling at it all.
That "ordinary power of thought" could actually be so terrifyingly powerful, eh.
His 10 fingers, when infused with said "average power of thought," was, in a way, already sharper than Hiding Pain.
"The [10 Sections of the Finger Sword] really is something indeed."
"But that eighth sword deity is still the more powerful one. Just how imaginative does one have to be to come up with something so terrifying that can be successfully implemented?"
He had to admit his inferiority. He lowered his head, about to land on the ground below.
"Huh?" he thought.
"Land?"
"Oh sh**. I'm hovering midair?"
He was thoroughly shocked. It was only then that he realized that the spiritual energy that had gathered around him was no longer as gentle as before and that it'd come swarming at him instead.
It looked like moths flying at a fire without a care for their lives.
He seemed to realize something, but this state didn't last for long, and what he'd initially speculated seemed about to come true. His energy reserve trembled, and his Spiritual Source seemed about to become solid.
"[In-Innate Level] is coming, then?"