Qin Mu’s gaze fell upon the dewdrop on his fingertip, leaving him somewhat bewildered. Could swordsmanship truly reach such a level?
The sword technique the Village Chief displayed this time was different from what he had taught before. In the past, the Village Chief taught him Sword Treading Mountains and Rivers by demonstrating the entire process in meticulous detail, showing him exactly how the sword technique was executed.
But this time, the Sword Treading Mountains and Rivers the Village Chief performed, though still the same move he had been taught, contained something different within it.
It was as if he had performed the creation of heaven and earth, bringing forth all things.
The Dao Sword of the Daoist sect analyzed all things in nature through exhaustive mathematical reasoning, using the fourteen chapters of the Dao Sword to recreate the natural world with mathematics, possessing immense power.
The Village Chief’s sword technique, however, seemed to take the opposite path. He was creating the myriad things of heaven and earth, using his own swordsmanship to interpret them.
It was hard to say which approach was superior, but in terms of conception, the Dao Sword sought to explain the Dao as nature, while the Village Chief’s Sword Diagram aimed to create nature. The conception of the Sword Diagram was likely more profound.
For explaining nature was still a form of learning—learning from nature. But creation was bringing something from nothing. Even from the Daoist sect’s core doctrine that “the Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things,” the Village Chief’s Sword Diagram had mastered the Dao, from which all things sprang. The Dao Sword of the Daoist sect, on the other hand, strived to explain all things in every possible way.
Qin Mu stared intently at the dewdrop. It was crystal clear and perfectly smooth. From its surface, he could actually see the myriad world refracted within, every detail vividly revealed.
“Azure Sky Eye, activate!”
Layers of array patterns spun within Qin Mu’s pupils as he used the Azure Sky Eye to look. He attempted to see the finest sword light that composed the dewdrop, but to his disappointment, the Azure Sky Eye could not discern it.
Yet he saw something else remarkable. The dewdrop refracted the outside world, and upon closer inspection, he could see even more details through its refracted surface.
He used the dewdrop’s refraction to look at the State Preceptor of Yankang. The State Preceptor had entered a strange state, his eyes seemingly vacant, but when Qin Mu looked through the dewdrop, he saw countless array transformations within the State Preceptor’s eyes.
Looking even more closely, he saw that within these array transformations, a world seemed to be taking shape.
Qin Mu’s spirit lifted, and he maintained the Azure Sky Eye’s operation, peering more carefully. He saw it even more clearly—within the array transformations in the State Preceptor’s eyes, it was as if heaven and earth were being created, demonstrating the miraculous power of creation!
He felt as though he were there, standing within the world being born in the State Preceptor’s eyes, experiencing the State Preceptor’s process of enlightenment.
The State Preceptor of Yankang was comprehending the Dao of the Sword. This man was indeed extraordinarily talented. No wonder the Heavenly Demon Patriarch, the Old Daoist Master, and the Old Buddha had all been moved to cherish his talent upon first seeing him, bestowing upon him the ultimate techniques of their respective holy lands.
Qin Mu was inferior to him in both aptitude and comprehension. When the Village Chief first showed him the Dao of the Sword, the State Preceptor had immediately grasped the underlying principles and comprehended his own Dao of the Sword—a heaven-defying talent and brilliance that Qin Mu admitted he could never match.
Yet now, Qin Mu was using this dewdrop to enter the State Preceptor’s state of enlightenment, borrowing his enlightenment to elevate himself.
“How wondrous—”
The Village Chief, seeing this, sighed to The Cripple: “Although Mu’er’s aptitude and comprehension cannot compare to a sage who appears once in five hundred years, this cleverness and resourcefulness of his is something no sage can match.”
The Cripple beamed proudly: “I taught him!”
The Village Chief corrected: “We taught him!”
The Cripple asked: “What do you think of the State Preceptor? Could he become the Human Sovereign?”
The Village Chief was silent for a moment, then said softly: “He is no worse than me. In the future, he may surpass me.”
The Cripple looked at him in confusion: “I know you never finish what you say. Why not speak your mind completely for once?”
The Village Chief sighed: “I am already very strong, having reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship. But look at how my hands and feet were severed. By a sword.”
The Cripple fell silent. The Village Chief continued: “My limbs were cut off by someone with a sword. The State Preceptor of Yankang, a sage who appears once in five hundred years, may become stronger than me in the future. But if he has no other fortunes, he will be trapped at the Divine Bridge Realm just as I was, unable to connect the Divine Bridge and reach the next realm. He will face the same fate as me.”
The Cripple’s body trembled slightly. He looked at the State Preceptor of Yankang, then his gaze fell upon Qin Mu, a questioning look in his eyes. He whispered: “After you and I are gone, if the State Preceptor also dies, what about Mu’er?”
The Village Chief said blankly: “I originally hoped he would live an ordinary life, a common person, living out his days without distinction. But he has repeatedly defied my expectations, time and again breaking through what I anticipated. I cannot be certain of his future. I once thought he was an ordinary person, but searching for the Land of Carefree made me see that he might have extraordinary qualities.”
The Cripple grinned: “Ordinary? Village Chief, you’re getting senile in your old age. Is there such a thing as an ordinary Overlord Body? Mu’er is an Overlord Body—how could he be ordinary?”
The Village Chief’s expression froze. He gave a dry laugh and continued: “Ah yes, I forgot he is an Overlord Body. Naturally, he would do extraordinary things. This time too, it exceeded my expectations. I thought he couldn’t grasp anything profound from my Dao of the Sword, but he used that dewdrop to witness the State Preceptor’s process of enlightenment. This is too… too…”
He didn’t know how to put it. The Cripple laughed: “Too unbelievable!”
The Village Chief nodded, a helpless smile on his face: “Indeed, it is too unbelievable! This little fellow Mu’er—I thought he would never awaken his Spirit Womb, but he did. I thought he would stall at the Spirit Womb Realm, but he found the continuation of the Overlord Body Triple Pill Technique. I thought he would fade into obscurity, but he defeated all three hundred and sixty hall masters of the Celestial Saints Cult to become its young leader. I thought he couldn’t learn what we taught him, but he learned it all exceptionally well, showing the promise of surpassing his teachers.”
He smiled bitterly: “I thought I would never acknowledge him, never pass on my mantle. But I did acknowledge him, not only passing on my mantle but also handing over my burdens and responsibilities.”
He recalled the past with a sense of amusement: “I didn’t trust him at first, didn’t believe he could achieve anything remarkable. But in the end, he repeatedly gave me higher expectations, and I finally realized that the one I trust most is him. Yes, we raised him, but he has been growing, and we too have grown in the process of raising him.”
The Cripple asked with a smile: “What do you mean?”
The Village Chief’s wrinkles gathered into a heartfelt smile of joy: “What I mean is, compared to the State Preceptor, I have more faith in our Mu’er. Fifteen years ago, in the darkness of the Great Ruins, a child who drifted down the Yong River was born extraordinary! His aptitude is not as astonishing as the State Preceptor’s, his comprehension not as heaven-defying, but there is something about him that I cannot see through…”
“It’s the Overlord Body!” the Cripple exclaimed excitedly.
The smile on the Village Chief’s face froze. He felt a thousand emotions, murmuring: “Perhaps it is because of the Overlord Body. For an ordinary person, one miracle might be coincidence, two might be luck, but if three or four miracles happen to him, then it is not luck or coincidence—it is because he is truly different, truly a worthy Overlord Body. Our Mu’er has inherited the strengths of us failures hiding in the Great Ruins, learned from our lessons. He will surely go further than we ever could!”
The State Preceptor of Yankang was in a state of enlightenment, his comprehension of the Dao of the Sword growing ever deeper. And Qin Mu, who was peeping at his enlightenment through that dewdrop, witnessed the entire process.
The higher the State Preceptor’s realm of enlightenment, the greater the benefit it brought to Qin Mu.
Although Qin Mu was still at the initial stage of the Method within the three stages of technique, method, and Dao, by borrowing the State Preceptor’s enlightenment, he could glimpse the realm of Dao. The impact on him was immense, and the benefit beyond imagination!
Compared to a giant like the State Preceptor of Yankang, Qin Mu was merely a child. Yet this child stood upon the giant’s shoulders, gaining a higher and broader perspective from then on.
Though others at Qingmen Pass were also contemplating the Village Chief’s Sword Treading Mountains and Rivers, very few could grasp its ultimate mysteries. Most only managed to comprehend one or two sword moves. While the insights they gained were extraordinary enough to benefit them for life, none received benefits comparable to Qin Mu’s.
He was equivalent to receiving the ultimate understanding of the sword from both the Village Chief and the State Preceptor, two great Sword Gods, at the same time!
After a long while, the State Preceptor of Yankang awoke from his enlightenment, an inexplicable air about him.
He would ascend to the highest peak and look down upon all other mountains as small.
Now that he had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, looking upon all other techniques and spells in the world, he felt a sense of melancholy. There was nothing left in the world’s swordsmanship or spells that could astonish him.
The State Preceptor of Yankang showed a look of sorrow, but then he sensed something different. He actually felt someone peeping at him, prying into his Dao Heart, prying into his enlightenment!
The State Preceptor of Yankang was surprised. Following that trace of sensation, his gaze fell upon Qin Mu’s fingertip.
The State Preceptor of Yankang was stunned, then burst into laughter, shaking his head: “So that’s how it is. The Celestial Saints Cult leader is too resourceful.”
Qin Mu immediately felt his gaze, his eyes stinging slightly, and quickly looked away. Their eyes met, and Qin Mu flashed a bright, sunny smile: “Heavenly King, sorry to disturb you.”
The State Preceptor of Yankang smiled in acknowledgment: “It’s no disturbance.”
Suddenly, the mountains and rivers dissolved, all sword light vanished. The Village Chief withdrew his sword light and said to the State Preceptor of Yankang: “You have attained the Dao.”
The State Preceptor of Yankang bowed in gratitude: “If not for your guidance, Brother, I would not have known when I could enter the realm of Dao.”
The Village Chief’s energy forming his legs and arms also dissipated. He said: “Come forward and look at where my arms and legs were severed. I have kept these sword scars, never allowing them to fade. In the future, you may encounter the god who left these wounds on me.”
The State Preceptor of Yankang’s expression turned solemn. He stepped forward, knelt down, and examined them carefully.
These were sword scars. The wounds on the old Human Sovereign’s body were left by an even stronger sword. A master of the sword is wounded by the sword. In his view, the Village Chief’s swordsmanship had already reached the realm of Dao. The Village Chief’s Dao of the Sword was still above his own, only lacking the vitality to match his own robust energy. Yet from these wounds, he saw an even stronger swordsmanship, a more profound Dao of the Sword!
“Do you have confidence in defeating him?” the Village Chief asked.
The State Preceptor of Yankang’s face was grave: “Not now. Perhaps in the future! You have passed on your Dao of the Sword to me, and were the one who first inspired my swordsmanship—you are my teacher. The burden you carry, could you give it to me?”
The Village Chief shook his head with a smile: “No need to give it to you. I have already given it to someone else.”
The State Preceptor of Yankang’s heart trembled. Suddenly realizing, he looked toward Qin Mu and whispered: “The new Human Sovereign?”