AI Cultivation: Reborn as a Sword - Chapter 209: World Realization (3)
What the disciples — mostly those who are Core Disciples — refer to as Moon Mirror is the second layer of the [Empty Moon Prana]: Mind and Moon Mirror. In the same manner that a breath, when using [Emptiness Prana]. can both devour large amounts of air as well as calm Lan Xiaohui’s mind, this shape that appears behind her performs the same function, but at a much greater scale.
Even now, I cannot feel any light or form within Lan Xiaohui’s heart; she is completely still. The Qi rushing into her internal system is nothing compared to what I can do with [World Eater], but it is clear that she does not desire my assistance in this duel — and for good reason, too; even exposing me to this many people is risky enough as it is.
My owner has come a long way since she woke up in that forest, clinging to a vaporous dream of killing someone who was far, far beyond her abilities. Now, that dream does not seem so impossible anymore, and the spark that flashes in her heart the moment her sword intent is generated is one that desires to prove that this is the case; beginning with Xie Zhiqiang — her first obstacle to reaching Yu Shun.
It is a peculiar obstacle; whether she wins this duel or not; whether she goes to the Conference and performs well or not; will likely have little effect on her ability to compete in the Core Disciple tournament. It is a mental obstacle; as if to say: ‘If I cannot defeat one Xie Zhiqiang, then how dare I have even loftier dreams?’
My owner bursts forward in a storm of sword energy particles, becoming a shadow flitting over the white tiles of the platform. My vessel is merely a black and gold ink stroke smeared across the view as Lan Xiaohui swings me around, the howling wind producing a shrill scream as my blade cuts through friction and resistance.
“So fast…!”
“What is that martial art!?”
The shrill sound of screaming wind transforms into a dull, metallic impact, all too close to being classified as an explosion, as my vessel impacts Xie Zhiqiang’s sword. The metal ringing continues even as my vessel decouples from his sword, bouncing backward as the recoil keeps my owner suspended in the air.
Then, defying inertia via Liminality Steps, Lan Xiaohui’s feet land on the platform, and then kick out, sweeping Xie Zhiqiang’s feet from under him, very clearly catching him by surprise.
Still, Xie Zhiqiang is skilled in the arts of combat, because even in this situation he is present enough to anticipate the next move, and raises his sword defensively once again.
My vessel impacts his sword again, striking with enough force to pummel his unbalanced form into the tiles below, knocking them loose and away.
Before Lan Xiaohui can follow up with a thrust on the prone Xie Zhiqiang, he rolls to the side, and then his body flickers away, reappearing some twenty steps away from Lan Xiaohui.
Slowly, Xie Zhiqiang wipes a trickle of blood from the corner of his lips as he frowns, eyebrows knitting together.
“Sister Zhu, I had heard rumors that you fight without showing mercy or hesitation,” Xie Zhiqiang calmly says, taking one hand off the hilt of his sword to shake the ache out of it. “Now I understand the deeper meaning of what they meant. Were you born in a different era, no one would dare look down on you, or mistake your polite demeanor for haughtiness!”
My owner relaxes her stance at those words and turns slightly so that her shoulder faces Xie Zhiqiang. Meanwhile, she hides my vessel behind her back.
“Brother Xie, your praise is unnecessary,” Lan Xiaohui says. “My skill is still only mediocre.”
At those words, Xie Zhiqiang’s frown deepens even more, his expression now an ugly grimace.
This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“It looks like Zhu Xuelian will forfeit after one move,” someone in the crowd says. “At least she can tell the difference between her own skill and Xie Zhiqiang’s. Only mediocre!”
“Probably smart. Xie Zhiqiang’s sword is unstoppable. No one can block it or evade it. It is best if she forfeits now before brother Xie makes his move.”
“I expected more when I heard that Zhu Xuelian defeated Wei Sheng in one move.”
“She must’ve surprised Wei Sheng. How shameless. And she wants to be ranked first! What a joke!”
Though these conversations are quiet and do not reach my owner, someone from the crowd shouts: “You have already lost! Just forfeit already!”
At this point, Elder Huang’s voice rises over the commotion from the crowd. “Do you wish to continue?”
The Core Disciples, who remain quiet and wear pensive expressions of shock and confusion, look at Xie Zhiqiang with a curious glimmer in their eyes; though, a few of the other ones stare at Lan Xiaohui and my vessel.
Xie Zhiqiang wipes another trickle of blood from the corner of his lips. “That would be unwise,” he replies to the Elder.
Though some in the crowd interpret this as a suggestion for Lan Xiaohui to forfeit the match, others seem to understand the intended meaning.
“What is going on…?”
“Did I hear that correctly?”
When Xie Zhiqiang referenced Lan Xiaohui’s “polite demeanor”, he was referring to the fact that Lan Xiaohui did not pursue him or continue the attack.
Even after blocking Lan Xiaohui’s strike, not only did the force break his ribs and the fragments puncture his lung, but he also suffered extensive internal damage. What is worse, Lan Xiaohui did not use any profound technique, as far as he would be able to tell, and conversely, he did attempt to use sword energy to enhance his block but found himself suppressed by Lan Xiaohui’s gold core.
The truth is a bit different from Xie Zhiqiang’s perception. Lan Xiaohui who has glimpsed the Sword Law can weave traces of profound laws into her swordsmanship through her sword intent — a generation component of sword energy — and also use this sword intent to unravel weaker laws and disrupt sword energy generation.
To put it bluntly, Lan Xiaohui with her mediocre skill far outmatches Xie Zhiqiang.
But the Inner Disciples in the crowd are correct about one thing: It takes only one move to settle the match.
After hearing Xie Zhiqiang’s words, Lan Xiaohui inclines her head politely to her opponent and sheathes my vessel into its scabbard with one smooth motion. Then she turns around and begins heading off the stage.
“Did I go blind? What is happening? Why is Zhu Xuelian leaving?”
“Is it over? Who won?”
As Lan Xiaohui takes several steps away from Xie Zhiqiang, the crowd erupts with noises of disapproval and urgency.
“Sister Zhu! Watch out!” someone shouts from the crowd. It is Sun Yongzheng, and he is already rushing toward the stage.
Elder Huang, also caught by surprise, hesitates for several critical moments before also beginning to move forward to intervene, but it is too late.
“Heart-Severing Slash!” A Core Disciple exclaims in the crowd. “Xie Zhiqiang learned the forbidden technique!”
When Lan Xiaohui turns around to face Xie Zhiqiang, she finds him in mid-air, falling like a comet toward her, with his sword raised high and shrouded in a miasma of black and blood-red energy. The aura of violence and blood-shedding that he had suppressed until then billows out, laced with the murderous intent that generates the sword force behind this attack.
[Life-Severing Blade] is a martial art that is fueled by hatred and killing intent. However, it is not fueled by blind and pointless violence, but instead by tempered and purposeful bloodlust. It is not the tool of assassins or bloodthirsty conquerors, but rather the weapon of those who cherish and celebrate violent death — a noble death.
The air warps around that sword — a fragment of destruction for the sake of destruction — that is far divorced from its original intent; this sword, that Xie Zhiqiang wields, is now no longer for the purpose of noble death, but the blade of a bloodthirsty conqueror. It is not merely the air that warps around the sword, but the heart of the one wielding it as well.
The awakening of a devil within Xie Zhiqiang’s heart.
Though the Core Disciple identifies the technique as Heart-Severing Slash, it is only half of the story. My sub-processes instead inform me of the other technique that Xie Zhiqiang uses; an internal method of even more devilish origin.
— Life-Severing Blade: Devil Soul Transformation!
My owner’s eyes narrow and in that brief moment, facing the tyrannical sword heading her way, she opts for the only option available to her: unable to block with my vessel in time, she raises her left hand into the path of the strike, her fingers spread apart, with a mote of sword energy hovering above her open palm.
Her gold core pulses, manifesting a halo of gold behind her back that rotates slowly, and the force breaks the tiles beneath her feet.
When the Heart-Severing Slash impacts the mote of sword energy, I feel Lan Xiaohui’s heart crack and her sea of consciousness diminish, as a fiendish energy infiltrates her internal system.
The resulting shockwave of the impact peels the tiles off the platform, launching debris in all directions.
