Fortunately, the Nine Sword Divinity quickly swept the blade with his palm, causing it to dim back down, appearing no different from a normal sword.
Similarly, the stinging pain had vanished, however the tiny cuts all over his body were still there, but they were only minor injuries, and wouldn't take long to heal.
"I've put a seal on the sword since it would be impossible for you to use otherwise. As your strength rises, you'll be able to break these seals one by one, and one day, you might be able to use the Heaven-Sundering Sword at its fullest."
The Nine Sword Divinity said as he calmly handed the sword over to Minos, seemingly not concerned at all about the sword that had followed him his entire life.
Minos gently gripped the hilt as he used his other hand to hold the blade up. He inspected the sword in wonder as he gently ran his thumb down the blade, cutting through his own flesh like it was nothing.
"Sharpness is only the most basic ability of the Heaven-Sundering Sword. The others you can discover as you break the seals, but its sharpness alone should make you invincible in the Mortal Renewal Realm."
"Mortal Renewal Realm? Don't you mean the Nine Life Lock Realm?" Minos asked, thinking that only the mainland used the Mortal Renewal title.
"That's just what you guys on the edge of the Alephora Continent call it. Deeper inside everyone refers to it as the Mortal Renewal Realm, but its name isn't important either way."
"I see." Minos said as he continued to inspect the blade in wonder.
"Now that I've given you the sword, it's about time I go. Before I go however, I need to remind you about the sword's other identity."
"Identity?" Minos asked.
"The Heaven-Sundering Sword wasn't just made to be a strong weapon, it was also created to become the seal of the Aleph Empire. Only with the Heaven-Sundering Sword, is one truly considered emperor."
"While my brother succeeded in killing me, he failed to get the Heaven-Sundering Sword, so to this day, his enthronement is considered unofficial, with many still standing in opposition to him."
"The Heaven-Sundering Sword isn't just a weapon, it's also a bid to become the new emperor of the Aleph Empire. As long as one has it on hand, they can claim the rightful throne."
"My brother would do anything to get the sword, not only for its own power, but also for the position it represents, so you must keep the fact that it's in your hands an absolute secret, or else an entire empire will hunt you down with full force."
"What exactly has happened in the two hundred or so years I was gone, I don't know, but it's likely my brother has still failed to truly claim the throne, which means he must still be looking for the sword with all his strength, so watch out."
"Shouldn't two hundred years be more than enough time for him to bring the empire under his control?" Minos asked.
"The Aleph Empire isn't as tight a force as you may imagine, and there are plenty of powers within it that stand in opposition to one another, and plenty that never want to see my brother become emperor."
"My brother simply doesn't have the strength to tame the beast that is the Aleph Empire, so at most he can only tide the time, doing anything to obtain the Heaven-Sundering Sword, and truly claim the throne."
"Only then will those forces fall in line since they would no longer be able to use the claim that his throne is a false one against him. Until then, the empire is likely to be in a constant battle over who controls it."
"And while there are forces that oppose my brother, there are those that support me. As long as you show those forces the Heaven-Sundering Sword, they'll know that you are my successor, though that is no guarantee they'll support you, so watch out."
"While I don't care whether you want to use the Heaven-Sundering Sword to become the emperor of the Aleph Empire, in the case you do, get revenge for me. Just because I'm too lazy to do it myself, doesn't mean I don't want it to happen." The Nine Sword Divinity said with a laugh.
"I've talked about enough, it's time I left for good. I hope the sails of destiny that brought you here stay forever on your side, and take this ring, I don't need it." The Nine Sword Divinity spoke as he ripped the ring from his forehead, tossing it to Minos.
Minos grasped it with his empty left hand, watching as the soul of the Nine Sword Divinity slowly dissipated with the wind.
"Take care kid, and remember, strength is good, but love is always better." He said with a final smile, his body dissipating completely with the wind.
Minos stood in silence as the Nine Sword Divinity vanished, seemingly gone for good. The Heaven-Sundering Sword was still held in his right hand, and his grip slightly tightening as sadness filled his heart.
Minos looked out towards the bright blue skies and open seas. The beautiful view stood in direct opposition to how he felt inside, but he couldn't let this sadness control him.
While the Nine Sword Divinity didn't seem too interested in revenge, Minos decided it was the least he could do.
With a new goal established, the sadness in his heart quickly vanished, instead replaced with an ever surging ambition.
Not only would he get revenge for the Nine Sword Divinity, but he would also claim that throne for himself. From a peasant to an emperor, Minos believed he could do it!
A smile appeared on Minos's face as he wielded the Heaven-Sundering Sword a few times to get a sense for its sharpness.
Finding a rock that jutted from the earth, Minos swung out, severing the rock into two clean pieces. The cut left behind was as smooth as jade, and even as Minos ran his finger across it, he failed to feel any bumps.
Even someone at the peak of the Mortal Renewal Realm would be reduced to pieces by the Heaven-Sundering Sword, of course, trying to actually land a blow on them would be another challenge.
Now that he finally had a sword in hand, Minos decided it was finally time to train the Twelve Basic Sword Moves. The day was still young, so there was no better time than now.
Pulling the book out from his spatial ring, Minos read through it a few times, thoroughly burning the contents into the depth of his mind.
With all twelve moves memorized, Minos began practicing them one by one. Slash, thrust, lunge, sweep, etc. It didn't take much time to get through all twelve moves, but Minos wasn't satisfied.
His movements were still slightly clumsy, and the connection between each movement wasn't as swift as he'd like.
A true sword master can swap between basic techniques with incomparable smoothness, as if all their basics had been fused into one every flowing movement.
It's impossible for one less skilled to even tell what move they are about to use, since their movements have become so skillful they are no longer required to take the proper stance.
This is considered the first realm of sword mastery and is referred to as the Flowing Realm.
Minos was still a distance from that level of skill, but through repetition of the Twelve Basic Sword Moves, he could come increasingly closer to such a height.
With the split souls and Minos's already incredible memory, he could almost instantly tell what was wrong with a certain movement, causing him to improve at a miraculous speed.
If the Nine Sword Divinity was still alive to see this, his jaw would have dropped. He was always known as a supreme genius of the sword, yet Minos's talent seemed to completely eclipse his.
One should know that it took the Nine Sword Divinity a month to reach the Flowing Realm, which was already incredible, yet Minos was at pace to do it in only a few days at most.
Of course, Minos himself still failed to understand his talent, but even if he knew, it would do nothing to slow down his training.
As the sun reached its peak, Minos decided it was about time to call it a day. While he would like to train some more, he didn't want to stay on this island any longer, so he had to make use of the sun while he still had it.
…
The journey back to the Alephora Continent was uneventful. Minos used the spare time to jerry rig together a belt buckle to hold his Heaven-Sundering Sword by the hilt, since if he tried to do it by the blade, it would just cut through.
Minos spent the remaining time training his sword skills on the large open deck. By the end of the first day, Minos had already fully mastered all twelve moves.
By the end of the second day, the movement between his techniques became much smoother, no longer requiring a slight delay between the swapping of moves.
Finally, by the end of the third day, Minos didn't even need to take a stance. He exploded any of the twelve basic moves from a completely still position, indicating he had completely mastered the Flowing Realm.
Three days to master the Flowing Realm was simply unheard of. One has to know that mortal swordsmen might go an entire lifetime without reaching this realm, yet Minos had accomplished it like it was nothing.
However, while the Flowing Realm was impressive for mortals, it wasn't much in the eyes of sword cultivators, and the majority of sword cultivators with even a speck of talent could reach such a realm with time alone.
Mortals don't have the flexibility and sensitivity cultivators have, which makes attaining the Flowing Realm extremely difficult, hence it's dozens, or even hundreds of times easier for cultivators to reach such a realm.
And naturally, the stronger the strength, the easier the realm becomes to acquire. What mortals might spend an entire lifetime aspiring to, may be attained by a cultivator who only considered it a hobby.
The realm after the Flowing Realm is when things get serious, and strength alone is no longer enough, instead enlightenment and talent become critical. At this point, if one's sword talent isn't up to par, they may never break-through, regardless of their strength.