Xiuxian: But It's Not a Game

Chapter 146 Breakthrough in the Face of Battle, Mastering Sword Intent

This power was weak yet extremely strong, hanging in the sea of ​​consciousness like a newly risen sun, and the hundreds of wounds that Fang Luochuan's sword intent had previously inflicted on the soul had already disappeared.

Without needing explanation, Su Yu understood that this powerful force, which combined the sublimation of mind and spirit, was sword intent.

He was puzzled. It seemed that he had not yet grasped the sword heart, or rather, he had grasped it, but it did not seem to be the kind of sword heart that Qingchan had described. Yet he was able to comprehend sword intent, which was very incredible.

But he had no time to dwell on these things, as Fang Luochuan's sword had already struck.

Without the slightest hesitation, sword intent ignited, and an invisible force merged into the flying sword as it slashed fiercely.

"clang!"

The tips of the two flying swords, shrouded in an invisible distortion, touched, and an invisible ripple exploded outwards. A moment later, both swords were simultaneously flung away.

"This is impossible!"

Fang Luochuan screamed as if he had seen a ghost.

The dozens of spectators outside the ring also lost their composure:

"Break through in the heat of battle and master the essence of the sword!"

"Holy crap, which novel's protagonist is this?"

Such a scene has only been heard of in the autobiographies of some legendary figures, and has never been seen.

When reading novels, it's very exciting to imagine yourself as the protagonist when you see these kinds of scenes. But if these things actually happened in real life, it wouldn't be exciting, it would be uncomfortable, because the protagonist is on stage and you are just one of the many supporting characters commenting from the audience.

No, I'm not even a supporting character. The one who got slapped in the face on stage is the supporting character. I'm just a passerby at best.

"Fuck it."

The more she had hoped for a miracle to turn the tide for Su Yu, the more she regretted it now.

Su Yu, however, had no time to understand their mentality. After forcing Fang Luochuan back with a single blow, he immediately switched from defense to offense and launched a fierce attack.

Everyone has their sword intent, and they've all used their ultimate moves, so they can't use them for a while. From now on, it's just a matter of seeing how well they fight with their swords. Su Yu isn't afraid of anyone in this regard.

Whether it was successfully mastering sword intent or breaking through in the heat of battle, with layers of buffs stacked on top of each other, Su Yu's mentality and state of mind had reached their peak.

Fang Luochuan couldn't defeat his opponent by force or weakness. His sure-fire move was blocked, and his opponent, like a protagonist, broke through at the last minute. With all sorts of debuffs piling up, his mentality collapsed and his condition plummeted.

On one side is the rising sun, and on the other is the setting sun.

Fang Luochuan was completely powerless to fight back and was quickly defeated by him, who cleanly and efficiently broke through his defenses.

Having fought his way out of the arena and onto the stage, Fang Luochuan gritted his teeth and looked at the expressionless Su Yu with deep resentment. The gazes of the crowd made him feel utterly ashamed, and he immediately disappeared and left the Sword Palace.

As the battle ended, starlight fell and enveloped Su Yu, rapidly healing her injuries and restoring her to her peak condition.

The surrounding eliminated contestants all sighed upon seeing this scene, looking utterly helpless.

"Does anyone wish to continue the challenge?"

Su Yu clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, then asked in a deep voice.

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, and a few people actually jumped onto the stage.

"Zhang Yunmian, please enlighten me!"

"Su Yu!"

One minute and eleven seconds later, Zhang Yunmian was knocked off the stage.

Of those, 60 seconds are for preparation and countdown, and the actual combat lasts only 11 seconds.

Next, two more eliminated contestants who were just one step away from comprehending the sword intent were unwilling to give up and went on stage to try, but they were defeated by him after only a dozen seconds.

Only then did they realize the reality, understand the vast difference between those who had mastered sword intent and those who had not, and understand that breakthroughs in battle are called miracles because not everyone can do them.

After defeating these three, the others, no matter how unwilling, could only accept their fate and leave the Sword Palace one by one, until only Su Yu and Luo Qingchan remained.

Su Yu walked up to Luo Qingchan, took her hand, and clasped her hands together, saying:

"Qingchan, you are my lucky star."

The girl blushed, her eyes filled with admiration.

"When I saw the determination in your eyes, I knew you had the potential to create miracles."

You deserve half the credit for this miracle!

The two smiled at each other, and he reached out to embrace the girl's soft, fragrant body.

However, they didn't stay in the embrace for long, because after everyone left, ten beams of light fell down, waking them up.

Since there aren't enough challengers, they don't need to fight and can choose one of them.

Browsing through the ten treasures one by one, as before, there were still five seventh-tier flying swords and some sword-related treasures.

Considering that she already had two seventh-tier flying swords, Su Yu thought it would be a waste to choose another flying sword, so she chose a niche sword technique.

Sword Palace Sword Nourishing Technique: A secret method that uses spiritual energy to nourish and refine flying swords, which can improve the quality of flying swords over time.

Note: The quality limit of a flying sword is restricted by the materials used in its production; only one flying sword can be nurtured at a time.

As the name of the secret technique suggests, this technique can nurture a sword and improve its quality. For example, it can upgrade a common sword to a fine sword, a fine sword to a rare sword, and even upgrade the sword to a higher level, such as from level 5 to level 6, from level 6 to level 7. If the sword's materials are of good enough quality, it may even be able to upgrade from level 6 to level 8 after a long period of nurturing.

This secret technique is unrelated to combat, but it is extremely useful.

After the two finished selecting their treasures, the pillar of light disappeared, and accompanied by the clear sound of a bell, the starlight avatar reappeared, speaking in human language:

"The second phase of the test is over. You may choose to leave with a sword technique or a flying sword, or you may continue to undergo the test."

A countdown appeared in the corner of her eye. Su Yu looked at Luo Qingchan, and the two nodded in unison.

Sixty seconds passed quickly. The starlight transformed into a giant hand and the two disappeared. When they reappeared, they were in an empty hall with a starry vortex on the dome, jade reliefs on the walls, and a thick layer of spiritual mist on the ground, resembling a fairyland.

There was no one around, and Qingchan was not with him, presumably they were taking the assessment separately.

Here, the power that had been blocked for them had been removed, and they had returned to normal. The two seventh-tier flying swords and the sword nurturing technique they had obtained were also in their storage space. Most importantly, the swordsmanship level they had mastered in the previous six months had merged with their own swordsmanship level and overlapped with each other.

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

The second level of swordsmanship, "Condensing Sword into Silk," is a state of consummate skill.

The third level of swordsmanship, [Sword Light Differentiation]: Mastery.

The fourth level of swordsmanship, [True Meaning of Swordsmanship]: the initial stage.

Putting everything else aside, just mastering the true essence of swordsmanship alone makes this trip worthwhile.

The literal attribute of the true meaning of swordsmanship is very simple: it converts 10% of one's own attack into an attack that directly targets the soul, ignoring any defense.

This is actually just icing on the cake, not a big boost. The most powerful aspect of sword intent is that each attack contains a sword intent impact, causing a certain amount of damage and impact to the target's soul.

The specific damage depends on the strength of both parties' souls and there is no specific numerical value.

Based on Su Yu's current strength, it would take about ten sword strikes to kill the soul of someone of the same level. For someone of a higher level but who has not yet undergone tribulation, it would take twenty or thirty sword strikes. If it is a rogue immortal who has undergone tribulation, their soul has undergone a qualitative change after being tempered by the tribulation, and ordinary attacks are basically ineffective. Only by burning sword intent and unleashing a powerful move can they be injured.

Of course, the above data is based on his current rudimentary understanding of swordsmanship. As his sword intent level increases, the power will naturally become stronger.

If one can reach a level of consummate skill, one can kill even someone of the same level with a single sword strike.

If one can reach a level of unparalleled skill, even a wandering immortal can be killed with a single sword strike.

After understanding her own situation, Su Yu closed the panel, looked around, and stood quietly without moving.

After a while, a clear, melodious voice suddenly rang out from the void, like that of a young girl:
"You are extraordinary!"

Su Yu immediately looked up, but saw nothing. She quickly clasped her hands in a respectful bow and said in a deep voice:

"Su Yu greets the Palace Master!"

The voice continued:
"I am not the Palace Master."

"The Palace Master has not returned yet."

"Who is your Excellency?"

The clear voice did not answer his question and continued:

"According to the rules set by the Palace Master, you still need to undergo a test before you can receive the final reward."

"Senior, please grant my request!"

"Pull out this sword!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yu seemed to sense something and turned around. In the center of the hall behind him, the clouds and mist dispersed, revealing an ancient sword stuck in the ground. The hilt was covered with flowing runes, which flowed down to the blade and extended in all directions along the ground, like a giant forked tree branch.

Su Yu asked with a puzzled look:
"Should we pull out this sword?"

"Yes."

Su Yu strode up to the ancient sword, her gaze falling upon it with a series of question marks; she didn't even know the sword's name.

"Could this thing be something used by the reincarnation of the Sword Testing Palace Master?"

The final test was clearly not a normal test.

He remembered that his second brother had told Qingchan that the master of the Sword Palace had been reincarnating.

"This is troublesome."

Su Yu didn't believe she was the reincarnation of the so-called Sword Palace Master; if she couldn't pull it out...
But he had no choice but to come to the ancient sword, take a deep breath, and reach out to grab the hilt.

The moment he gripped the hilt of the sword, a strange feeling welled up within him.

A flash of innate inspiration ignited in his mind, and the runes on the hilt of the ancient sword in his hand suddenly lit up, radiating a dazzling light.

"boom!"

A deafening roar erupted, causing the entire hall to shake violently and sending clouds of mist billowing into the air.

Su Yu felt the intense heat at the hilt of the ancient sword. Looking down, she saw that the sword remained motionless and could not be pulled out. However, the runes on the hilt had lit up and extended in all directions along the forks, all the way to the entire hall. A huge and complex array appeared before her eyes.

But he remained motionless.

dare not move.

Can't move either.

because
"Owner?"

Just then, a beautiful woman appeared in the air in front of him, looking at him with surprise and delight.

The woman was dressed in a light green palace dress. She was exquisitely beautiful, with bright eyes and white teeth, but her figure was petite and delicate. Her jade feet were round and small, and her toes were crystal clear and lovely, like rows of pearls.

The surprise on the girl's face didn't last long, and it turned into confusion:

"No, you are not the master!"

She stepped forward and almost touched his face to take a light sniff. Her eyes fell upon his fair neck and smooth skin, and a delicate fragrance wafted from his collar, refreshing and delightful.

"You are not the master!"

This time, her tone was very certain.

Although it was definitely not her master, her attitude did not change. Instead, she performed a very demure ladylike curtsy and said in a crisp voice:
"I didn't know which great deity has graced us with their presence. The Palace Master is not here to welcome us. I hope you will forgive us!"

(End of this chapter)