Library of Heaven’s Path

Since the God Monarch of the Sword Hut was there to watch his sword art, it should be safe to assume that he did not bear any malicious intentions toward them.

Those who were obsessed with martial arts tended to have a pure and straightforward personality. They were less likely to beat around the bush, and they would not hurt others that easily.

With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan stood up and took out the God King Sword.

The elder standing behind the young man raised his hand, and the courtyard was immediately surrounded by an isolation barrier, preventing others from seeing what was happening within.

Seeing this sight, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows twitched a little.

He was able to create isolation barriers on the spot as well, but the elder was able to do it with far greater ease, and he even infused spatial laws into the barrier to further reinforce it.

From this feat, it could be seen that even though the elder was not a God Monarch, the strength he wielded still far surpassed that of most Conferred God Kings. At the very least, Zhang Xuan knew that he would not be a match for the elder.

Nevertheless, as long as the young man did not bear any ill will toward them, there was no point in thinking too deeply into this. Holding his God King Sword tightly, he allowed his consciousness to become one with the sword.

Hula!

The sword moved.

A slight wind blew, and water ripples emerged on the surface of the nearby pond.

With movements as smooth as flowing water, Zhang Xuan executed the four sword arts of the Pathos of Heaven one after another. His movements carried strong sentiments, bringing the onlookers into the conceptualization he had in his mind.

The young man looked at the execution of the sword arts silently, seemingly enjoying the performance.

Finally, Zhang Xuan retracted his blade, and the sword qi that he had released swiftly surged back into his sword. He clasped his fist and said, “It would be a delight if you could offer some pointers on my swordsmanship.”

The young man before him was known as the strongest sword practitioner in the Firmament. Even a word of advice from the other party would surely benefit him greatly.

“The sword art you have comprehended is truly extraordinary…” A smile finally appeared on the cold face of the young man as he spoke. “I don’t think that there are any pointers I can offer you. You are paving your own way forward, so there’s very little that I can help you with… I did notice something, however. Your sword carries a lot of yearning, and in return, it lacks resilience and protection.”

“Resilience and protection?” Zhang Xuan asked.

Thinking about it, most of what the sentiments he had comprehended so far were indeed related to the idea of yearning. However, the sword art of the Pathos of Heaven was based upon the sentiments he carried toward those around him, so it was bound to carry some hints of yearning.

“Let me put it another way. If your loved ones are caught in a disaster and are in a life-threatening situation, what would you do?” the young man asked.

Slightly perplexed by the abrupt question, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before replying, “Well, I would do my best to protect them from danger.”

“And that’s what I mean by protection. It’s the act of shielding a person of danger regardless of the cost. However, I don’t sense such sentiments within your sword art,” the young man replied.

Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.

Indeed, his sword art was lacking such sentiments.

“A sword of sentiments shouldn’t just carry yearning; it should carry the responsibility that comes along with it as well. Take your last sword for example, I could sense your yearning for your parents and the regrets of being unable to treat your loved ones better, but have you thought about the responsibilities that you should take on so as to avoid these regrets?” the young man asked.

“I think I get what you are saying.” Zhang Xuan nodded slowly. “My swordsmanship is filled with past sentiments; it focuses on what has already happened instead of trying to influence what is going to happen. Subconsciously, I have been placing myself in a passive position all along…”

“Indeed. If we wish to reach for higher heights, our eyes must be set in the future. Wallowing in emotions of self-reproach and yearning will only slow your footsteps,” the young man replied.

“You’re right.” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

Emotions could be classified into two types, those that helped people grow and mature and those that caused their footsteps to screech to a halt.

A sorrowful experience could either be a reason to despair or a reason to drive one to work even harder.

If we allow our emotions to bog us down, our lives will simply pass us by like a fleeting cloud. It will appear as if everything has been transient and meaningless.

To give our life meaning, we have to continue marching forward even during times of hardship.

Suffering is simply a part and parcel of life, be it ageing, illness, death, parting, envy, hatred…

We must learn to take pain in stride, and we must also learn how to let go of things.

That’s simply how life is.

No matter how bitter things became, we would have to grit our teeth and force ourselves to look forward.

“Thank you for your guidance…” Zhang Xuan said with a deep bow.

He felt like he had just grasped something really important. Even though it was still very abstract, he felt like it could change the trajectory of his cultivation for good.

It had been a short exchange, but he had benefited greatly from the guidance of the young man.

“I’m impressed that you managed to get it so quickly. It looks like you are the right person after all,” the young man said with a smile before rising to his feet. “I’ll have to get going now. You only have yourself to rely on for the road ahead of you, so I can only wish you all the best.”

“You’re already leaving?” Zhang Xuan was surprised.

He had thought that there would be some deeper intent behind the young man’s visit, but the latter had only seen his sword art and given a few pointers, and he was already going to leave. Or did this mean that the young man had made his way there just to give him some pointers?

The young man glanced at the elder behind him and said, “Jian Yao, give him the Crimson Heaven Sword[1]!”

“Yes!” The elder nodded.

With a flick of his wrist, the elder presented a sword respectfully to Zhang Xuan.

As soon as the sword appeared, dimension rifts began appearing around the area. Even the God King Sword in Zhang Xuan’s hand struggled free of his grasp to pay respects to the sword in the elder’s hands.

Such a sight made Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shoot up in astonishment.

The God King Sword, just as its name suggested, was a God King realm artifact. It was the strongest weapon he had ever wielded. Yet, it had bowed down to the Crimson Heaven Sword without any hesitation.

How strong must the Crimson Heaven Sword be then?

“I can’t accept such a heavy gift from you!” Zhang Xuan quickly clasped his fist and rejected the sword.

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. This is a sword that I forged specially for you several decades back. Take it, it belongs to you,” the young man said without turning back.

Several decades back? Zhang Xuan was baffled. I am only in my early twenties this year, and most of it was spent on the Master Teacher Continent. If I translate it into time in the Firmament, I have only lived for slightly more than a month now.

Yet, you said that you forge this sword for me several decades back?

Nevertheless, seeing how the other party was determined to have him accept the gift, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and said, “Thank you!”

Following that, he stretched his hand forward to grab the Crimson Heaven Sword.

As soon as he closed his hands on it, he could sense that it had already become his. The frightening pressure that it had emanated a moment ago vanished altogether, causing it to appear no different from an ordinary sword.

The first thing Zhang Xuan noticed about the Crimson Heaven Sword was that it had no weight or sword spirit at all. Strangely enough, he did not feel any discomfort holding the sword. It was as if the sword itself was nothing more than an extension of his arm.

He felt like he could easily unleash devastating strength through this sword.

If he executed the Pathos of Heaven with this sword, even the massive face that was created by Fairy Linglong’s will would be no match for him!

Feeling deeply agitated within, Zhang Xuan quickly bowed deeply once more in order to express his gratitude. It was then that he suddenly thought of something, and he said with anticipation gleaming in his eyes, “Pardon me for my insolence, but I am very interested in sword arts. If it isn’t too much to ask, it would be an honor to see your sword art!”

He felt like he could deepen his understanding of sword arts by looking at the other party’s techniques.

[1] The Crimson Heaven Sword, otherwise known as the Chixiao Sword, is a sword used by Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty. It is also known as the Sword of Ascendancy.