This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Hey everyone! Don't forget about our challenge: 20 votes on Novelupdates for a bonus chapter. Have fun reading!
Link: Novelupdates
Standing atop the Northern Sea Kunpeng's back, Beiming Yan was buffeted by the fierce winds, nearly falling several times.
It took her a while to adjust before she could barely stand.
"To be able to use swordsmanship in this fierce wind... is this why they were able to comprehend Sword Intent ahead of time?" Beiming Yan murmured to herself.
She had always only ever used a sword, nothing else.
What exactly was Sword Intent? She didn't even have a concept of it.
Beiming Yan patted the Kunpeng beneath her feet.
"Little Kun, perhaps we really should try harder."
The Kunpeng let out a few cries in response.
Ahead, a large number of dense wind blades shot towards her, still carrying a sharp edge even amidst the fierce winds.
The Northern Sea Kunpeng sped away, easily dodging them.
"Don't dodge! Use your sword to shatter the incoming attacks! Forget about the speed advantage of the Kunpeng!" Ling Qingxue spoke calmly from below.
Upon hearing this, Beiming Yan's face turned bitter.
Not only did she have to use her sword alone, but she couldn't dodge either?!
Faced with such a dense barrage of wind blades, wouldn't she be riddled with holes if she relied on swordsmanship alone?
"Qingxue, you said we won't lie to each other?!"
Ling Qingxue smiled. "I never lie to people easily, and I certainly won't lie to you."
Wu Liang: So, you really don't consider me human, do you?!
Beiming Yan gripped her longsword, swallowing hard as she looked at the Hurricane Eagle before her.
"Then come on! I will fight to the death today! If I die, it'll be that bastard Feng's fault!"
Beiming Feng recommended the Astral Wind Secret Place; wasn't he the mastermind?
Ahead, the Hurricane Eagle's eyes gleamed fiercely, and it spat out another barrage of dense wind blades.
Bang!
Beiming Yan parried with her sword energy, appearing overwhelmed and struggling like a toddler.
Wu Liang couldn't help but laugh.
"Your friend seems rather slow-witted. She's clearly a genius comparable to Liu Fufeng, yet she can't even kill a few Third Rank Hurricane Eagles."
Ling Qingxue's gaze fell on Beiming Yan, her expression calm.
"Swordsmanship isn't her true strength; speed and spatial manipulation are. In this secret place, killing a Hurricane Eagle with just the sword is inherently difficult.
Beiming Yan's performance isn't great, but you can see her progress. From barely being able to stand to being able to withstand the Hurricane Eagle's wind blades, she only took half an hour!"
Possessing a formidable learning ability—that was an essential quality for a prodigy martial artist.
Training behind closed doors won't make you strong; a warrior must learn continuously.
Martial arts techniques and methods needed to be learned, and so did the Martial Will.
The true reason why the Martial Will was difficult to comprehend lay in the fact that understanding an abstract concept completely relied on imagination.
Ling Qingxue knew that Beiming Yan also possessed a ruthless streak.
Back in the Outer Realm Battlefield, the two were even willing to trade killing blows, injuring each other in order to win.
And now, she wanted to ignite that hidden ruthlessness within Beiming Yan!
A whooshing sound rushed towards Wu Liang.
He merely raised his cold, beastly eyes, then shattered them with a single slap.
"Roar!"
A ferocious roar erupted, causing the several Hurricane Eagles that were about to attack Wu Liang to freeze in mid-air.
After only a half-second's hesitation, they changed direction and charged towards Beiming Yan.
This one's too tough to bully; we need an easier target...
This increased the pressure on Beiming Yan even more. The balance she had painstakingly maintained was shattered, and several wind blades pierced her clothes, leaving a few bloody marks.
Wu Liang gasped.
"Little Xuexue, are you sure we shouldn't help? If Beiming Yan dies here, we'll be held responsible."
Ling Qingxue shook her head calmly. "No need, this is nothing."
"Tsk tsk, you're a ruthless woman. She's your best friend."
"A woman who isn't ruthless won't have a stable position!!"
Beiming Yan gritted her teeth, pushing her internal energy to its limit, and a surging light emanated from her longsword.
Cross Sword Light Slash!!
Two intersecting sword energies slashed out, decapitating two Hurricane Eagles, blood splattering everywhere with the gale.
Beiming Yan grinned, a cold glint in her eyes.
"Your grandma's here, time to fight back!"
Having adapted to the fierce winds, her sword speed increased dramatically, the sword light flowing like water.
The situation reversed rapidly; the Hurricane Eagles went from attacking to fleeing, eventually being caught up by the Northern Sea Kunpeng.
The battle lasted for over an hour before it finally ended.
Back on the ground, Beiming Yan's forehead was covered in sweat, but her eyes were bright.
"Qingxue, how did I do?"
Ling Qingxue nodded slightly. "Not bad, but you took too long to adapt. A good swordsman needs to learn to use the environment to create advantages for themselves."
Beiming Yan scratched her head, looking puzzled.
"What advantage can the fierce winds give me? It's good enough that they don't hinder me."
Ling Qingxue smiled faintly, then drew her longsword and unleashed two sword energies in two completely opposite directions.
"Can you see the difference?"
Beiming Yan thought for a moment before answering, "It seems one sword energy is faster, and the other is slower."
"That's right. Astral wind is a form of energy, and sword energy is the same. The collision of these two energies will inevitably result in losses. The reverse wind slash consumes more energy and significantly slows the sword, while the forward wind slash does the opposite!"
Beiming Yan's eyes revealed admiration.
"Qingxue, you're amazing! You're even better at teaching than my brother. He always just uses things from books to brush me off; every word he says is vague."
Ling Qingxue gave a helpless smile.
"It's not that Instructor Feng doesn't want to teach you, but he feels that what you understand on your own is more useful than being taught. If you can comprehend Sword Intent, then you can comprehend other compatible martial arts wills."
Beiming Yan waved her hand dismissively.
"You don't need to make excuses for that bastard Feng. Just pretend he doesn't exist. Can you teach me swordsmanship?"
"I can teach you swordsmanship techniques, but I can't teach you Sword Intent. Sword Intent is a person's will towards the sword; everyone's is different. You need to ask yourself what the sword means to you," Ling Qingxue explained.
"Then can you demonstrate your Sword Intent to me?"
"Sure."
Ling Qingxue stood with her sword in hand, a chilling aura emanating from her body, while a murderous intent swirled around the blade.
She raised the sword to shoulder level, then unleashed a stunning, ten-thousand-foot-long strike!
Under the breathtaking sword energy, all the gale-force winds retreated.
This single strike carved out a windless area, firmly occupied by her will.
It took a full half-hour for this area to return to normal.
"My Sword Intent is slaughter, a vow to kill all enemies before me. Now do you understand why you can't comprehend Sword Intent?"
"Lacking... a soul?" Beiming Yan probed.
Ling Qingxue smiled. "Yes, a soul. When a sword has a soul, it becomes a part of your body, and your will is that missing soul!"