Ancient Godly Monarch

Above the mountain peak, the number of people gathering there increased, all of them staring at the young man currently walking on the pathway of the grass hut.

The first time Qin Wentian came here, he had comprehended a total of 14 sword strikes and broke the record of the grass hut. After so long had passed, he was about to attempt it again.

“The 15th sword strike onwards, those below Celestial Phenomenon would be unable to decipher. Would Qin Wentian be able to?” many silently speculated. As Qin Wentian had already ‘cleared’ the first 14 sword strikes, he would naturally start from the 15th. It was just that they didn’t know if he would be able to bring them a surprise, comprehending this sword strike that was said to be incomprehensible by those below the Celestial Phenomenon level.

Ye Lingshuang also arrived. Her attitude was completely different compared to the first time Qin Wentian was comprehending the sword strikes. Back then, she didn’t like Qin Wentian, she thought that he was extremely lecherous and had even taught Little Rascal to be so. Matters didn’t improve when Little Rascal ‘assaulted’ her sensitive chest area. However right now, she was only filled with anticipation.

“Senior sister Lou.” At this moment, a beautiful woman landed on an ancient peak opposite the grass hut. This was none other than Lou Bingyu. Her calm and cool eyes regarded the figures ahead.

“Bingyu.” It was unknown when Ji Feixue arrived beside her. Lou Bingyu glanced at him, she discovered that ever since they returned from the Immortal Martial Realm, her attitude towards him had totally changed. There was no longer a sense of competition nor a faint admiration. She could face Ji Feixue in total calmness, she had already underwent a silent transformation.

“Feixue, you have to work harder. After her closed-door seclusion, junior sister Lou’s cultivation has already broken through to the eighth level of Heavenly Dipper,” Lin Shuai stared at them both as he smiled. His words causing Ji Feixue’s eyes to flash as he regarded Lou Bingyu intently. Lou Bingyu was one of the few that could comprehend the runic patterns inscribed in the inner space of the ranking monument of the Immortal Martial Realm. Her outstandingness was slowly being revealed.

Li Hanyou also arrived, her gaze was filled with complexity when she glanced at Qin Wentian. He was an existence whom she once looked down upon, but right now he couldn’t even be bothered to take a look at her. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Qin Wentian had never once looked directly at her. In the Immortal Martial Realm, after that painful slap, she had been completely enraged and cursed Qin Wentian to the death in her heart. Yet, she discovered that Qin Wentian had managed to walk all the way till the end and became the top ranker of the Immortal Martial Realm. The complex feelings this invoked, only her would be able to experience it, others wouldn’t be able to.

Other than the disciples of the Battle Sword Sect on the mountain peaks, there were also a few other Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants of the Battle Sword Sect in the shadows, turning their perception onto this place.

Qin Wentian’s action of coming back to the grass hut caused a huge commotion in the entire Battle Sword Sect.

This sort of commotion was something characters like Lou Bingyu and Ji Feixue had never been able to evoke. In the last hundred years, the only one who had managed to do so was Qin Wentian.

Perceiving the sword is a kind of comprehension, a kind of understanding. Since he had already understood their essence before, his second attempt at walking through the path was naturally effortless. He directly started at the 15th sword strike.

Once again, he saw the scene from back then. A mountain rampart with moving images engraved upon it was in front of Qin Wentian. Right now, he saw violent and savage ancient demonic beasts devouring the skies and exterminating the earth, causing total destruction. However right now, a sword strike flashed by as everything disappeared. When that sword landed in the midst of the evil dragons and devilish phoenixes, everything turned to dust, ending in complete annihilation.

“The wills of various Mandates could all be sensed in the earlier 14 sword strikes. Even if the effect created in this image is a result of a fusion of Mandates, I still can’t perceive anything. Could it be that my earlier analysis was right? This sword strike is a fusion between the wills of different Mandates on a far deeper level?”

Qin Wentian mumbled in his heart. If it was really a deeper level of fusion. It would be insanely difficult for him to figure out which Mandates were used in the fusion. It was highly likely that he would return in low spirits and remained unable to comprehend this sword strike.

Yet right now a strange notion flashed in Qin Wentian’s mind. This particular sword strike seemed exceedingly pure. So pure to the extent that there seemed to be only a single Mandate. It didn’t feel like a fusion of Mandates.

But naturally, it could also be the will of a new Mandate that occurred after completing a deeper level of fusion. With his current strength, he had no way to perceive this at all.

Qin Wentian closed his eyes, trying to imprint the image right into his mind as he repeatedly attempt to figure out the essence of the 15th sword strike.

“If one isn’t at the Celestial Phenomenon level, they wouldn’t be able to comprehend the 15th sword strike,” Qin Wentian murmured.

Celestial Phenomenon? What exactly is Celestial Phenomenon?

The Celestial Phenomenon Realm requires the comprehension of one’s Mandate to reach a brand new level that surpassed the Perfection Boundary of the second level insights. And this level, is also referred to as the true intent of Mandates.

‘True,’ as in comprehension of the truth of one’s various Mandates.

For example, Force. He comprehended the first level of insight in the Mandate of Force which was strength, the second level of insight in the Mandate of Force which was vibrational void shockwaves. But does that mean that was the end of it? Were there only two kinds of insights to be comprehended from the Mandate of Force?

Evidently no. There was still a third kind, and a fourth kind. An example was gravity, an omnipresent force. Only through truly comprehending the Mandate of Force would one be able to step pass this level to comprehend the true intent of Mandates.

Yet to step past this level was already a feat of exceptional difficulty. The number of people stuck at this step, unable to breakthrough to Celestial Phenomenon, were countless in number.

However, this was only one of the conditions to breakthrough to Celestial Phenomenon. If one wanted to break through, other than comprehending true intent of Mandates, they had to re-merge their astral novas back into their astral souls, causing their astral souls to undergo evolution, and become the starry constellations which were also known as celestial phenomenons. Only by first comprehending the true intent of Mandates would one be able to take the next step of understanding and comprehending their own constellations.

The constellations in the skies were all-embracing and all-inclusive, containing a multitude of variations and transformations. When comparing those at the same level, if one had an unusual, and extraordinary constellation that surpassed the norm, he would find it effortless to crush ten or even twenty opponents with ordinary constellations. In fact, he might even be so strong that he could insta-kill them.

Even though countless people were stuck at this step, unable to breakthrough to Celestial Phenomenon. The instant they stepped past this gulf they would be filled with incomparable satisfaction and joy. Only to discover, to their sorrow, that the disparity between people of the same level might be so large that it was impossible to surmount.

The more Qin Wentian understood, the more he felt how terrifying the disparity of strength among those in the same level was. Back then, if it wasn’t for him transforming into an ancient primordial great roc and wielding the demon sword, the Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants of the Pill Emperor Hall could crush him to death with a single finger. And it was precisely because nobody expected that he would undergo the transformation and even managed to use the demon sword, the Pill Emperor Hall missed the best opportunity to kill him as they believed they would be able to do so anytime. Eventually, their lapse in judgement caused Qin Wentian to split apart their Pill Emperor Hall with a single sword.

“For this sword strike, is there a possibility that there would be the true intent of a particular Mandate infused within it?” Qin Wentian was suddenly seized by a notion upon him contemplating over the question of what was Celestial Phenomenon. The saying was that one would be unable to decipher this 15th sword strike if one didn’t break through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm. In other words, if this 15th sword strike contained true intent of a Mandate, it was naturally beyond difficult for a Heavenly Dipper Sovereign to decipher the essence behind this sword strike.

Qin Wentian started to contemplate in this direction and discarded the notion that it was a fusion of will from various Mandates. As he closed his eyes, that sword strike repeated that same motion over and over again. After it replayed more than tens of thousands of times Qin Wentian’s sea of consciousness finally perceived something different, something he had failed to see before. More things came to his vision, allowing him to see more clearly.

Time unconsciously flowed by, Qin Wentian understood how terrifyingly monstrous one’s perception must be for that person to walk all the way to the grass hut. How could such a person not become one of the most outstanding heroes of their generation?

A day later, the number of silhouettes on the mountain peaks were still as numerous as ever. They simply stared down at Qin Wentian, hoping to see a miracle, yet he remained motionless.

Was the 15th sword strike really unsolvable?

Without breaking through to Celestial Phenomenon, one would never be able to decipher the 15th sword strike. Was this iron-clad rule truly unbreakable?

Many sighed in their hearts; it appeared that the miracle they were waiting for might not happen.

Qin Wentian was still in his state of self-immersion. That sword strike replaying in his mind got increasingly clearer. He could now sense what energy was contained within the destructiveness of that sword. That kind of speed, that kind of laceration power, that kind of omnipresent energy. If he had to match this sensation with a particular Mandate...there was no doubt, it must be the Mandate of Wind!

The will of the Mandate of Wind. Or maybe, not the will but rather...the true intent of Wind. Because within the sword strike, he could feel all the variations of Wind! There was Wind Speed, Wind Laceration, Ephemeral Wind, the ever-present Wind!

“Understood.” Qin Wentian opened his eyes and placed his palms onto the mountain rampart ahead. After which, his perception drifted into it and instantly, a brilliant beam of sword light tore through the skies, humming incessantly. At this moment, sword qi engulfed the entire space around the grass hut.

The 15th sword strike was comprehended!

“He used only a single day. Pretty awesome,” Lin Shuai smiled. This junior brother truly surprised him. To think that he was able to comprehend the 15th sword strike while in the Heavenly Dipper Realm. To others, the path to Celestial Phenomenon might be an incomparably huge gap they could not jump across. But to Qin Wentian, crossing that gap was merely a matter of time, and it seemed that it would be sooner rather than later before he bridged the gap.

Him being able to comprehend that sword strike meant that he would be able to comprehend the true intent of his Mandates sooner or later.

“Wentian is truly too outstanding.” Ye Lingshuang’s eyes flashed with joy. This foster brother of hers might be an existence that surpassed her father. How good would it have been if he was her true flesh-and-blood brother? If that was the case, her father would definitely not have to worry about not having a successor.

Both the eyes of Lou Bingyu and Ji Feixue contained waves as the other members of the Battle Sword Sect exclaimed in wonder. However, this was only the beginning.

The second image seemingly resembled the first image completely, as though they were totally the same. Eventually, Qin Wentian took a total of twelve hours and comprehended this.

The energy contained within that sword strike was the energy of space. Although it was similar, the might generated at the instant of destruction surpassed that of the earlier true intent of the Mandate of Wind.

After which, Qin Wentian used a total of eight hours for the 17th sword strike; for the 18th sword strike, he used six hours; for the 19th sword strike, he used four hours; for the 20th sword strike, two hours; for the 21st sword strike, Qin Wentian only used only an hour.

In the span of two days, Qin Wentian comprehended a total of seven more sword strikes, from the 15th to the 21st.

The spectators on the mountain peaks were all stunned into dumbfounded. They could only stare as Qin Wentian’s figure moved closer to the grass hut - he had already reached the 22nd sword strike! This was already challenging a target the vast majority of the members would never be able to see. This was a place where those below the Celestial Phenomenon Realm would never be able to approach, yet Qin Wentian achieved it.

How difficult would it be to comprehend the 22nd sword strike?

The person who broke the record of the grass hut once more, would he still be able to continue forward? Nobody had an answer, but the gazes of everyone in the Battle Sword Sect were all focused on that young man currently on the path of the grass hut!