Chapter 475: Profound Meaning
"Will of the Sword is the life of the sword."
Lin Feng murmured to himself, as if grasping at something. A doubt had always lingered in his mind: the unity of man and sword could never be the ultimate end of the sword. He was only at the Mysterious Martial Realm, still far too distant from the peak of martial arts.
Perhaps the unity of man and sword was merely a beginning.
Jian Chen, being a man of the Dragon Mountain Empire, naturally had broader knowledge than Lin Feng. It was not strange that he knew more.
"You said I already possess the Will of the Sword. What exactly do you mean?" Lin Feng looked at Jian Chen and asked. At this moment, there was no arrogance in him, only a humble desire to learn.
"There are countless types of Sword Will. Different sword cultivators have different understandings of the sword, giving birth to different sword lives and sword wills. Some with powerful comprehension can possess several Sword Wills at once. The sword's killing intent you just released doesn't seem to have pushed killing to its extreme. That killing intent is actually a Sword Will—the Killing Will."
Jian Chen sat together with Lin Feng, deeply interested in him. In the Dragon Mountain Empire, he had seen countless experts and many geniuses, but he had truly never seen anyone at Lin Feng's age and cultivation level who had comprehended Sword Will. Moreover, Lin Feng himself didn't even know it.
Lin Feng's talent was not what surprised him most. In fact, Jian Chen had seen many people at Lin Feng's age with the Third Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm or even stronger. But this comprehension left Jian Chen in awe.
Many people spent their entire lives unable to touch the door of Will. Even some powerful existences at the Heavenly Martial Realm only barely managed to contact Will.
"Killing Will."
Lin Feng's gaze sharpened. That day, listening to Mistress Yanyu play the zither, he had comprehended killing. The black sword in the Heavenly Book trembled, and killing merged into the sword. So that was the birth of Killing Will.
"It seems I also possess two types of Sword Will." Lin Feng thought to himself. That day on the Sword Viewing Peak, when he activated the Great Sun Incinerating Heaven Scripture, observed the sunlight, and comprehended three sword techniques—Sunshine, Great Light, and Sunset Sword—that should also be Sword Will.
"Could it be that Sword Will attracted the demon sword sealed within the Nine Sword Peaks, causing it to enter my body?"
Lin Feng suddenly recalled the scene of the demon sword breaking its seal. Many people cultivated and comprehended swords on the Sword Viewing Peak, so why did the demon sword choose him? Perhaps it really was related to the Sword Will Jian Chen had mentioned.
"Above Sword Will, what realm is there?" Lin Feng asked curiously.
"Heh." Jian Chen smiled at Lin Feng and shook his head slightly. "Your ambition is too great. Do you know that although you now possess Sword Will, it is only the weakest kind—First Layer Will."
"Sword Will also has levels?" Lin Feng's gaze sharpened, his curiosity growing stronger.
"Of course. Sword Will is divided into nine layers. A person with First Layer Sword Will can instantly kill a sword cultivator of the same level without Sword Will and can even challenge those at higher levels. If you comprehend Second Layer Sword Will, you might be able to kill someone with First Layer Sword Will who has a higher cultivation than you. When Sword Will reaches the ninth layer, the sword can kill without being drawn from its sheath. That realm is already swordlessness and selflessness."
Jian Chen spoke slowly, opening another world to Lin Feng. With Ninth Layer Sword Will, one could kill without drawing the sword, just by standing there. It was terrifying. The sword truly had life.
This was a realm Lin Feng had never touched. Before, he had only focused on comprehending the sword, wanting to make his cultivation stronger.
"As for what you asked about above Sword Will..." Jian Chen's face showed a smile, one filled with longing. "Those who comprehend Profound Meaning can split mountains with a single sword strike, cut off rivers, and in a fit of rage, destroy an entire city, leaving rivers of blood. Such experts are likely at the Venerable level."
"Profound Meaning." Lin Feng's gaze trembled. "You mean the realm above Sword Will is Sword Profound Meaning?"
"Not just the sword. All martial artists can comprehend their own Profound Meaning. Sword Profound Meaning refers to the domain of the sword. Of course, whether it's you or me, we are still far too distant from Profound Meaning."
Jian Chen said slowly. To comprehend Profound Meaning, one must first step into the Unity of Heaven and Man and have a true understanding in a certain domain, seeing through it completely. It also requires an extremely powerful foundation to give birth to Profound Meaning. Such experts are often Venerables.
Venerables were too powerful. Jian Chen dared not even imagine them.
A Venerable could dominate a lower-rank empire and was a hegemon-level existence across the entire Thirteen Kingdoms of the Snow Domain. With a wave of his hand, he could kill ten thousand people.
"Profound Meaning, Venerable level." Lin Feng murmured to himself. In the Forbidden Ground of Purple Gold Mountain, the undecayed corpse was a Venerable-level expert. The Venerable Martial Realm, also known as Martial Venerable or Venerable.
That level was indeed still quite distant for Lin Feng now.
Aside from heaven-defying means, Venerables could also turn their blood into bloodlines, passing them down to descendants. As long as the bloodline was not cut off, it would never decay, and the bloodline would be passed down forever.
Just like the Imperial Duan Clan and the Yue Clan of the Snow Moon Kingdom. They had maintained their prosperity and dominance over Snow Moon because of the bloodline left by a Venerable.
This was merely the bloodline passed down by a Venerable. If one had such cultivation, the entire Snow Moon Kingdom could be destroyed with a flick of a finger.
No matter if it was the royal palace, nobles, or the crown prince, they would all have to be respectful and dare not offend in the slightest.
"Martial arts, pursuing Profound Meaning." Lin Feng murmured to himself, then smiled at Jian Chen. "Thank you for telling me this."
"Even if I didn't tell you, you would know later. Such a small matter is not worth mentioning." Jian Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Come, let's toast to Sword Will. I'll be waiting for you on the stage of the Snow Domain Grand Competition."
Jian Chen raised his glass to Lin Feng, smiling freely.
Lin Feng held his cup with both hands to show respect to Jian Chen. This man's talent was certainly not inferior to most of the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind, yet there was no arrogance on his face. He was calm, indifferent, and easy to get along with. This was cultivation. Those with powerful talent did not necessarily need arrogance; they had pride in their bones.
After drinking a cup with Lin Feng, Jian Chen returned to his seat. Lin Feng's gaze slowly turned to the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind. These few had been staring at him from start to finish, and their gazes were unfriendly, making Lin Feng feel as if there were thorns on his back, very uncomfortable.
"A bunch of flies." Lin Feng cursed under his breath, causing those people's gazes to freeze. They stared coldly at Lin Feng. This guy was too arrogant, not putting the Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind in his eyes at all.
"Senior Ruo, Princess Xinye is peerlessly beautiful. It's truly hard to see such a beauty in our Heavenly Wind. I've also heard that Princess Xinye is proficient in both zither and dance. The Seven Envoys of Heavenly Wind once again request that Princess Xinye play a tune and present a graceful dance, allowing us all to enjoy the beauty's performance. It would not be in vain for everyone to come to the Snow Moon Kingdom."
The Third Envoy spoke with a half-smile, his tone carrying a hint of teasing that made people uncomfortable.
Everyone's gaze froze. They could all see that the Third Envoy had reacted to Duan Tianlang's earlier words. He didn't need to challenge Lin Feng directly; he just needed to tease Duan Xinye appropriately. That way, even if they were strong, Lin Feng might still stand up for the beauty.
"The Third Envoy is right. Senior Ruo, it's not easy for everyone to come to Snow Moon. Not watching the beauty's dance would be too regrettable. I don't think Prince Wuyan and Princess Xinye would be so stingy."
The Fifth Envoy echoed, the teasing growing stronger. The Heavenly Wind Kingdom's prince, Feng Chen, sat there with a half-smile, sipping his wine, as if unaware of what was happening.
They all remembered Lin Feng killing the Seventh Envoy earlier. This face had to be saved.
Duan Xinye heard these people using her as an entry point, constantly teasing her. Her expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and she glanced at Lin Feng.
At this moment, Lin Feng's face was slightly cold. He put down the cup he had just picked up.
"Crack!"
A light sound rang out. The wine cup sank into the wooden table, accompanied by a piercing noise. A chill emanated from Lin Feng, slowly spreading.
"Is this very amusing?"
Lin Feng said softly, raising his head to look at the people across from him. A flash of dark, cold light flickered in his eyes.