Xiuxian: But It's Not a Game

Chapter 143 The Supreme Realm of Swordsmanship

Regardless of their doubts, the outcome on the stage was already decided: Su Yu successfully defeated Wei Wei to become the new champion.

Two more people then chose to challenge him, one whose strength was comparable to Wei Wei's and the other slightly inferior, and he defeated them both head-on.

After everyone had taken their turn to challenge, Su Yu successfully became the final champion. The cyan sword fell and disappeared directly into his brow.

Su Yu frowned, then immediately relaxed.

The item did indeed belong to him, but since he is currently undergoing trials at the Sword Palace, the newly acquired treasure is also under a shielded state and can only be used after leaving the Sword Palace.

"Once I get another seventh-grade rare flying sword in the next round, and pass the Sword Palace test to obtain the basic sword technique of the sect leader, this trip to the Sword Palace will be complete."

Thinking of this, Su Yu's face was full of smiles.

Looking back at the other side, Luo Qingchan on the other arena seemed to be looking over as if they were telepathically connected, and the two smiled at each other.

With this, the first round has ended, and the remaining 81 people have all returned to their individual spaces to continue their second round of swordsmanship training.

Just like in the previous round, Su Yu put aside all her thoughts and continued to bury herself in hard training.

Every day, I start the challenge as soon as I open my eyes. All sorts of swordsmen come one after another, and their skill levels range from being similar to mine to being stronger than me. Sometimes, when I feel I'm in good form, I'll challenge four-star opponents for a good beating.

This was indeed masochistic for Su Yu at this moment, because all the previous contestants who could be rated four stars in the Sword Palace had already mastered the sword intent.

Besides achieving perfection in all aspects, the prerequisite for sword intent also includes reaching a level of unparalleled mastery in swordsmanship. This is a complete crushing blow to Su Yu, and even with talent, he cannot make up for this gap.

Despite repeated defeats, I keep fighting. I won't die inside the Sword Palace anyway, and the projection will automatically stop after each defeat. What a great opportunity!

Every few days, he would send a sparring request to Luo Qingchan, and the two would exchange ideas in the arena to see how much progress they had made.

In each sparring session, Su Yu could feel her visible progress, which was incredibly rapid.

"I feel that your sword aura and thunderous sound will soon reach a state of divine mastery."

Luo Qingchan did not hide anything and nodded, saying:
"I felt my sword heart was clear and my growth rate was very fast in the Sword Palace. I feel that it won't be long before I can regain my understanding of sword intent."

Su Yu nodded, thinking that what she meant by "not long" should actually take a few more months, until she could understand it in the third round.

As a result, only halfway through the two-month period of the second round, during their sixth sparring session, when Su Yu sensed the faint, invisible sharpness contained in her sword, she asked in astonishment:

"You've grasped the essence of swordsmanship?"

Seeing the shock in his eyes, Luo Qingchan nodded with a touch of pride:

"It's a bit difficult; I've only grasped it for two days!"

Su Yu.

Looking back on my progress over the past month, it seems I've made some progress, but not much.

The sword energy and thunderous sound are still at their peak.

[Condensing the sword into silk], or entering the inner sanctum.

The sword light has differentiated, and some progress has been made.

The true meaning of swordsmanship is still nowhere to be found.

To his surprise, perhaps because his cultivation was blocked, he could only engage with the sword path in the Sword Palace. In addition, he comprehended the sword light differentiation in just one month, suppressing many sword dao geniuses who specialized in the sword path. He even developed a sword dao belief that he had never had before.

If even so-called sword geniuses aren't as strong as me, then I must be very strong.

Thinking of this, Su Yu's belief in swordsmanship grew stronger.

Unfortunately, although he had a strong belief in swordsmanship, he still hadn't achieved true sword concentration.

To comprehend the five requirements of sword intent, in addition to reaching any level of mastery in swordsmanship, one must also meet the standards in terms of soul strength, spiritual strength, willpower, sword belief, and sword heart.

Needless to say, his swordsmanship is at a high level. At this rate of progress, there are still four months left until the end of the third round. By then, he will definitely be able to elevate his sword qi and thunderous sound to a superb level.

The other standards are fine, and we'll definitely meet them by then. It's just that Kenshin is nowhere to be seen.

If you can't comprehend the sword intent, you can at most get the second-tier top-level reward; there's no way you can get the first-tier reward. The difference in rewards is like heaven and earth.

"No, we have to try it no matter what."

Coming to his senses, he looked intently at Luo Qingchan and said:
"Qingchan, teach me!"

The girl felt a little shy under his intense gaze. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said:

"I'm willing to help you, but this is difficult to teach."

Su Yu immediately said:

"I can figure out the rest myself, but you have to teach me how to comprehend the sword heart. I've never had a clue."

Luo Qingchan asked with a puzzled look:

"Haven't you grasped the essence of swordsmanship yet?"

"No."

"How is that possible? This is so easy to understand."

苏瑜
Although she was puzzled that he hadn't grasped the sword heart despite his already high level of swordsmanship, Luo Qingchan didn't press him for details. Instead, she carefully inquired about his current situation and, after a moment's thought, explained some aspects of understanding the sword heart to him.

"The so-called sword heart refers to the ultimate pursuit of the way of the sword deep in one's heart, including firm determination, strong willpower, extraordinary focus, and the ultimate understanding and pursuit of swordsmanship."

"Kenshin is not just about improving skills, but also about awakening and sublimating the soul."

Luo Qingchan paused for a moment, looked at Su Yu with her beautiful eyes, and said seriously:
"The spirit of the sword is embodied in daily training and actual combat. When wielding a flying sword, one can forget everything and concentrate fully on it. In pursuing higher levels of swordsmanship, one must have unwavering will and fearless courage. At crucial moments, the mind and will are sublimated, thereby unleashing strength beyond oneself." "Think about it yourself. Do you maintain these states when you practice swordsmanship? Are you fully immersed in it?"

Su Yu remained silent, reflecting on her own actions.

Am I fully committed?

“It didn’t exist before, but it does exist in the Sword Palace now.”

"Do I possess unwavering will and fearless courage?"

"It definitely exists, but it doesn't seem to be working."

"Although I did devote myself entirely to the sword path while in the Sword Palace, I knew in my heart that this was only the case in the Sword Palace. I came for the unique skills of the Sword Palace, not for the sword path. Once I leave the Sword Palace, my focus will still be on Qi Refining."

Su Yu was very clear that his attitude towards swordsmanship was merely a powerful method of protection, and he did not have any absolute love for swordsmanship.

"what should I do?"

This situation is simply unsolvable.

To cultivate a sword heart, one must devote oneself entirely, but to do so, one must specialize in swordsmanship, which does not align with his life plan.

It's impossible to fully immerse oneself in something without having something you love in your heart.

Kenshin is a rather idealistic concept; you can deceive others but not yourself.
"Am I destined never to comprehend the sword's heart?"

Su Yu was somewhat frustrated.

Seeing his dejected look, Luo Qingchan wanted to help, but she didn't know how. She had grasped the sword heart with ease; it was a natural progression. She couldn't understand why someone with such a high level of swordsmanship couldn't grasp the sword heart. Wasn't it something anyone could do?

Feeling down and not even wanting to spar, Su Yu returned to her personal space, rubbing her temples in worry.

"Unable to comprehend the sword heart, one cannot comprehend the sword intent."

"Without comprehending the sword intent, it is impossible to pass the three rounds, nor is it possible to reach the first level. The highest one can only reach is the second level."

At first glance, the second-tier limit isn't bad either, as it at least has a basic sword technique at the level of a sect leader or a ninth-tier rare flying sword that is no less powerful than the Thunder God Sword of Qingchan.

But who wouldn't want the chance to obtain a supreme-level sword technique or a tenth-level flying sword?

The supreme-level sword technique and the sect-level sword technique, the ninth-order flying sword and the tenth-order flying sword, are two different levels. It's like the difference between whether a sword cultivator has mastered sword intent. If there is an opportunity, of course, one should fight to the death for it.

"This is such a headache!"

He scratched his forehead, feeling a bit confused.

Even after rubbing her face vigorously, Su Yu couldn't calm down, so she simply gave up and turned to sleep.

He slept for a full day and night, and when he woke up the next morning, he slammed his hand on the table and shouted:

"If it really doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. Town-level teaching position is not bad either."

He readjusted his mindset and continued his swordsmanship training.

Thinking about it this way, he put the matter aside, which unexpectedly made his mind clear, and his progress in swordsmanship became even faster.

Although Kenshin still showed no reaction, his swordsmanship and combat skills were indeed constantly improving, especially his sparring with Luo Qingchan, which greatly improved him.

In previous years, those who comprehended sword intent in the projections were all four-star projections. They wouldn't cooperate like Luo Qingchan, and they would often be beaten out of the arena in less than thirty seconds.

Qingchan is much gentler. When he is outmatched, she will slow down her attacks and hold back to make him last longer. Sparring with her is a real sparring match, and the experience is amazing.

Moreover, he didn't completely ignore it; after adjusting his mindset, he revisited Luo Qingchan's understanding of sword heart.

Unwavering will.

Fearless courage.

A firm resolve.

Exceptional focus.

And complete focus.

These techniques are not exclusive to Kendo; they can be used at any time.

He combined these understandings with his own experiences, gradually forming his own unique insights and elevating his spiritual realm.

Time passed, and before he knew it, the second two months had ended. His swordsmanship had improved greatly, especially his sword qi thunder sound, which broke through the limit at the end of the second month and reached a level of superb skill that he had never achieved before it was shielded.

This was much faster than he had imagined.

The first level of swordsmanship, [Sword Qi Thunder Sound]: unparalleled mastery.

The second level of swordsmanship, "Condensing Sword into Silk," signifies entering a higher level of mastery.

The third level of swordsmanship, [Sword Light Differentiation]: Entering the inner sanctum.

The fourth level of swordsmanship [True Meaning of Swordsmanship]: Not yet entered the realm.

"It's alright. Even if I can't comprehend the sword intent, this is still a huge gain."

It should be noted that the swordsmanship level gained will not disappear after leaving the Sword Palace. At that time, one will have at least one sect-level sword technique, two seventh-grade rare flying swords, and a superb swordsmanship level. One's strength will definitely undergo a qualitative change.

When the time came, he was teleported back to the same platform, where all 81 contestants were present and looking at the rules for the second round of elimination.

(End of this chapter)