# Chapter 387: Feather Saint's Legacy, Sword Heart Illumination
"Solar Meridian Sword Wave."
"Grand Void Meridian Sword Wave."
"Middle Rushing Meridian Sword Wave."
Zhang Ruochen extended three fingers simultaneously, condensing three streams of power. His left hand's thumb, index, and middle finger seemed to ignite as his energy surged, and three sword waves shot out simultaneously.
Like a blazing sun furnace, three massive torrents of scorching sword qi attacked Xu Qing.
"Hua chi!"
Xu Qing's legs planted firmly as he immediately activated the *Lesser Vajra Martial Code* technique. The true qi within his body surged forth as his finger traced a circle in the void. Before him, strands of silvery metallic droplets immediately appeared.
The metallic droplets continuously converged, condensing into three silver metal war swords with razor-sharp edges, indistinguishable from genuine True Martial Treasure-level war swords.
Only martial artists with a "Metal" attribute physique who had cultivated martial arts to an extremely high realm could condense metallic weapons from their own true qi. At the same time, such martial artists could directly swallow metal, digesting it through their stomach and intestines to merge it into their own blood and body.
Xu Qing possessed exactly such a physique. Under the enhancement of the *Lesser Vajra Martial Code*, he had reached the realm of "condensing weapons from qi, melting weapons with qi."
As Xu Qing's fingers rotated, the three war swords spun continuously, emitting sharp sword qi as they flew toward the three sword waves.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Three explosive sounds rang out.
The three metallic war swords Xu Qing had condensed collided with the three sword waves, immediately disintegrating into wisps of true qi mist that dissipated into the air.
"So what if you're the Buddha Emperor's heir? I too have the legacy of the Feather Saint, and I won't necessarily lose to you."
"Blazing Feather Wings."
Xu Qing's arms drooped downward as his back arched. At his spine, two bulges appeared, continuously swelling.
With a *hua* sound, they burst forth from his body, transforming into two flaming feathered wings.
When fully spread, they measured nine meters in length.
Xu Qing rose from the ground, hovering at a height of nine meters.
Every feather was as sharp as a blade. Under Xu Qing's control, the flaming wings flapped rapidly, transforming into countless flaming flying daggers.
"Hoo hoo!"
Tens of thousands of flying daggers descended like a rain of blades.
"I'd long heard that Xu Qing had entered the Xu Holy Clan's sacred ground, 'Perching Saint Valley,' to train and seek his ancestor's legacy. I never imagined he actually found something there—obtaining the Feather Saint's inheritance."
"In the history of the Xu Holy Clan, forty-seven saints have been born. The Feather Saint was definitely one of the most powerful among them. Xu Qing actually obtained his legacy—no wonder he looks down on even that saintly physique from the Luo family."
"At the same cultivation level, Xu Qing might really be able to contend with a saintly physique."
...
As Xu Qing activated his Blazing Feather Wings, his aura surged explosively. The entire Pilgrim Saint Heavenly Staircase seemed to center on him, like a feathered flame divine bird standing at the sun's core, forcing all other academy disciples preparing to ascend the staircase to retreat.
Just as everyone thought Zhang Ruochen was doomed to lose, Zhang Ruochen instead used Azure Void True Qi to condense war swords one after another. Tens of thousands of sword shadows flew around him like ten thousand swords flying in unison.
Blade light and sword shadows clashed, producing "bang bang" explosive sounds.
The two forces continued to clash as Zhang Ruochen and Xu Qing's distance steadily narrowed. Finally, when only five steps apart, they both unleashed their ultimate techniques again.
Xu Qing dove downward, his back wings like two giant blades slashing toward Zhang Ruochen.
Before the wings even descended, a wave of heat surged downward first.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm despite the crisis. He plucked a strand of hair from his head and slashed it forward, breaking through Xu Qing's protective heavenly armor. With a *chi la* sound, it actually cut a large chunk of flesh from Xu Qing's left flaming wing.
Xu Qing's wings were formed from his own blood qi, naturally part of his body.
With his wing cut and flesh torn away, a piercing pain shot through him. Xu Qing let out a muffled groan as he continuously retreated, his face turning deathly pale.
Having his wing severed was equivalent to having his technique broken.
The talented disciples below were all astonished, finding it hard to believe.
"How is this possible? Zhang Ruochen used just a strand of hair to break Xu Qing's Blazing Feather Wings?"
"The Blazing Feather Wings are as hard as metal, protected by both the Feather Saint's qi and Xu Qing's own power. Even an ordinary True Martial Treasure would find it hard to damage them in the slightest."
An outstanding figure from the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Manor laughed, "Why is it impossible? Although Zhang Ruochen was only holding a strand of hair, what he displayed was the power of sword intent—the realm of Sword Heart Illumination. Once one reaches that realm, a strand of hair is sharper than a real sword. The power of sword intent is just like the power of the sacred path—something to be feared."
"Sword Heart Illumination? The legendary realm that only Half-Saints can cultivate? A young disciple can reach that realm?"
In the hearts of sword cultivators across the world, the realm of Sword Heart Illumination was like the Half-Saint realm—towering like a mountain, deep as an ancient sea, something to be gazed upon in awe.
The outstanding figure from the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Manor said, "Not necessarily. As long as one's talent, comprehension, and spiritual power are high enough, one might reach Sword Heart Illumination even without reaching the Half-Saint realm. It's said that among the holy disciples in the Saint Academy, quite a few have cultivated Sword Heart Illumination at the Fish-Dragon realm. As for reaching it at the Heavenly Extreme realm, that's extremely rare."
"I'd long heard that Zhang Ruochen had reached Sword Heart Illumination, but I didn't believe it. Seeing it today, I realize he truly has achieved that realm. Even I feel a desire to spar with him."
The outstanding figure from the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Manor was named Chen Yi. Tall and handsome, his eyes radiated boundless charm. With just a slight smile, he captivated the female disciples around him, turning them into lovesick fools.
The younger generation of the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Manor was filled with experts scattered across the world. Some studied at the Martial Market Academy, while many others joined the Taiji Dao, Ten Thousand Buddha Dao, and Confucian Dao. Among those who joined the Martial Market Academy, three could be called extraordinary talents.
Chen Yi was one of them. The other two were named Chen Tianshu and Chen Jiuer.
Huang Yanchen and Chen Xier were also considered members of the Eastern Domain Saint Prince Manor. After receiving the dragon blood, their physiques had improved considerably, but compared to the three of them, they were still a step behind.
Zhang Ruochen's display of Sword Heart Illumination not only shocked the young disciples but also greatly surprised the Half-Saints in the sacred hall.
The three-inch-tall red-robed female Half-Saint, Lingshu, suddenly stood up. "Impressive. Reaching Sword Heart Illumination at the Heavenly Extreme realm—I want to take him as my disciple."
Half-Saint Alan laughed heartily, "I think he has an affinity with Buddhism. His Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm has already reached a certain level of mastery. He should become this poor monk's disciple instead."
"This is only the first round of assessment, and you're already fighting over taking disciples? Whether Zhang Ruochen can pass all three rounds is still unknown," Half-Saint Sandao said with a strange tone.
Half-Saint Lingshu's eyes turned cold. "As long as your Xu Holy Clan doesn't interfere, with his talent of reaching Sword Heart Illumination, passing three rounds would be an easy task."
"Heh heh. All I know is that he hasn't even passed the first round yet. As for the most difficult third round, there are countless variables. In the Saint Academy's history, even some martial artists with saintly physiques have failed the assessment due to bad luck," Half-Saint Sandao said with a smile.
Half-Saint Lingshu had great faith in Zhang Ruochen, believing his future achievements would be limitless. Thus, she locked horns with Half-Saint Sandao. "In that case, let's wait and see."
...
Zhang Ruochen had already revealed his Sword Heart Illumination realm when fighting the Red Desire Star Envoy. So he no longer deliberately concealed it—when it was time to strike, he struck.
Although his technique had been broken, Xu Qing hadn't suffered any damage to his foundation. After retracting his Blazing Feather Wings into his body, he immediately recovered to normal.
Xu Qing snorted coldly. "So it really is the realm of Sword Heart Illumination. I only regret that I can't use weapons on the Pilgrim Saint Heavenly Staircase. Otherwise, my Great Dragon Blade would be enough to block your sword."
Zhang Ruochen simply held a strand of hair between two fingers and said calmly, "Do you still want to continue fighting?"
"Why wouldn't I? No matter how strong your strength, how can two fists defeat four hands?"
Xu Qing's eyes conveyed a signal. The talented disciples of the Xu Holy Clan all gathered around him, standing on the twenty-ninth step of the staircase, forming a human wall to block Zhang Ruochen and the others from stepping onto the thirtieth step.
Even the disciples who had been knocked off the Pilgrim Saint Heavenly Staircase earlier climbed back up. There were over thirty of them, each a top-tier expert.
Besides Xu Qing, two others had also reached the Minor Heavenly Extreme realm. Their strength was only slightly weaker than Xu Qing's, and they were also key talents being cultivated by the Xu Holy Clan.
There were also Xu Yuanzhi and Xu Su, ranked fourth and fifth, both having reached the late Heavenly Extreme realm. They had cultivated martial souls and could mobilize heaven and earth's spiritual qi for their own use, possessing strength comparable to Great Perfection Heavenly Extreme realm martial artists.
As a ten-thousand-year holy clan, the Xu Holy Clan indeed had numerous experts. Any one of these talents, if sent to the Demon Ridge, would be a hegemon-level existence.
"It seems the Xu Holy Clan is determined to suppress those disciples from the Demon Ridge. They won't allow them to pass the first round."
"Zhang Ruochen is indeed very strong, but the Xu Holy Clan has too many experts. How many can he defeat?"
"That's not necessarily true. That saintly physique from the Luo family is standing on the Demon Ridge's side. If she and Zhang Ruochen join forces, even the Xu Holy Clan probably can't stop them."
...
Just as the disciples were discussing, Luo Shuihan indeed stepped forward.
Golden light surged from her pupils as a sacred power erupted from within her body, enveloping all the Xu Holy Clan's talented disciples in golden radiance.
Under the suppression of the saintly physique's power, only a few of the Xu Holy Clan's talented disciples could maintain their composure. The rest trembled all over, as if mountains were pressing down on them, sweat beading on their bodies.
That was the might unique to a saintly physique, enough to greatly suppress martial artists.
Luo Shuihan said, "Xu Qing, if I also join the fight, can your Xu Holy Clan withstand it?"
Xu Qing hesitated. Based on the power aura Luo Shuihan had just emitted, he could judge that her cultivation had reached the late Heavenly Extreme realm.
Although he had the advantage in realm, she was, after all, a saintly physique. After his Blazing Feather Wings were broken, he was no longer confident he could deal with Luo Shuihan.
How many saintly physiques were there in the entire Eastern Domain?
Just as he was hesitating, Half-Saint Sandao's voice transmitted into his ear: "Use every means to cripple Zhang Ruochen. I've already notified the heirs of the other three saintly clans. They will assist you."
...
(The QQ group announced last night filled up in no time! Sweating! Now, announcing the second group: 368621052. Everyone is still welcome to join the group for discussion.)