The Sovereign’s Ascension

Lin Yun followed Mu Xueling down the valley. When he raised his head, he could see Mu Xueling wearing a white dress, and the starlight was like a sacred veil enveloping her.

“Saint Elder, do you know the Sword Heart?” Lin Yun couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t. I only briefly understood it through books and mimicked some techniques of the Sword Heart earlier. It’s far in comparison to the genuine Sword Heart.” Mu Xueling said without turning back. She continued, “Actually, you have already come in contact with the surface of the Sword Heart.”

“Really? Why don’t I know about it?” Lin Yun asked.

“There are many things you don’t know about.” Mu Xueling replied, still as indifferent as she always was. She continued, “It’s hard to grasp the Sword Heart, and Heavenly Dome Sword Intent is the basic requirement. Many people who’ve grasped the Heavenly Dome Sword Intent don’t grasp the Sword Heart. Many saints know how to use the sword and have grasped the sword intent, but they cannot be called a Sword Saint if they don’t grasp the Sword Heart.

“Only those who grasped the Sword Heart can be formally called a swordsman and possess the qualification to practice the Divine Firefly Sword. Even if your master can’t teach you, he should’ve arranged something instead, or he wouldn’t have let you practice the Divine Firefly Sword. After all, you’ll easily run amok if you carelessly practice this sword technique, and the higher your talent, the easier accidents will happen.”

“Saint Elder, how do you know about that?” Lin Yun asked. His master did instruct him to go to the Heavenly Dao Sect and let his senior brother teach him.

“It’s nothing surprising. I only read many books.” Mu Xueling replied. When she stopped, she said, “Give me your hand.”

Nodding his head, Lin Yun stretched his hand out. When Mu Xueling grabbed onto his hand, she leapt into the air, and Lin Yun could feel that he had passed through a particular membrane.

When Lin Yun’s vision recovered, he noticed that he was standing on a snowy plain. This place was filled with spiritual energy that was even denser than the snowy mountain where Yue Weiwei stayed. But when Lin Yun took a deep breath, it was so cold that he shivered.

“This is the Aquafrost Secret Realm, and there is only one spiritual energy attribute here with no influence of the outside world. This place is pretty suitable to grasp the Sword Heart, and I like this place.” Mu Xueling casually found a place to sit down and looked at Lin Yun.

“Saint Elder, what is the Sword Heart?” Lin Yun asked.

“It’s hard to describe with words alone. Come here.” When Lin Yun walked over, Mu Xueling tapped her finger on Lin Yun’s forehead.

When the cold touch came in contact with Lin Yun’s forehead, his vision became dark, and his five senses were sealed. He couldn’t see, hear, or sense anything. His world became dark, but his heart was bright. When his heart lit up, the surrounding world also became apparent.

Lin Yun could ‘see’ everything within a ten-mile radius, and everything was so beautiful. He noticed that the usual Mu Xueling he saw wasn’t the genuine Mu Xueling. There was not much difference between the two, but the current Mu Xueling was a little too beautiful. Her features were perfect, her skin was as smooth as snow, and she looked ethereal, like a fairy.

While Lin Yun was being breath taken by Mu Xueling’s beauty, a power swept over him and sent him flying. When he fell onto the ground, his senses recovered. Raising his head to look at Mu Xueling, the latter was still beautiful but not as much as before.

“Don’t look at me.” Mu Xueling said coldly.

Knowing that he was discovered, Lin Yun awkwardly changed the topic, “That’s the Sword Heart earlier?”

Nodding her head, Mu Xueling replied, “That’s more or less it, but it’s not the true Sword Heart. I only allowed you to briefly experience it.”

“So what did you mean earlier when you said I already came in touch with the surface of Sword Heart?” Lin Yun asked.

“When you grasped the Heavenly Dome Sword Intent, did you feel that you can avoid danger by occasionally relying on your senses?” Mu Xueling asked.

“How do you know about it?” Lin Yun replied in shock.

“It’s written in books.”

“What book is it? Can I take a look at it?”

“The Book of Sword Dao is on the divine mountain. So I can’t loan it to you.” Mu Xueling said.

Hearing how Mu Xueling replied seriously, the corner of Lin Yun’s lips couldn’t help twitching.

“I will seal your six senses and sword intent now before using the Heavenly Sword Baptism Score to temper your sword intent, helping you to quickly grasp the Sword Heart.” Mu Xueling said.

“Is it useful?”

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“It is, but you can only rely on yourself to grasp the Sword Heart. After grasping it, it will be easier for you to practice the Divine Firefly Sword.” Mu Xueling explained.

“Alright. Saint Elder, please help me.” Lin Yun said.

“It’s a shortcut, and the process will be painful. Are you sure about that?” Mu Xueling asked again.

“I am.” Lin Yun had already made up his mind when he came here. As long as he could increase his strength, he was willing to bear any hardship. His master might only have two years of lifespan left or even a year. He wasn’t willing to think about it, but he knew that he couldn’t resolve anything if he only knew how to avoid the problem.

When Lin Yun was done speaking, his vision suddenly became dark. Soon, he discovered that it wasn’t just his vision but his sense of smell and touch as well. His sword intent was still around, but he couldn’t sense his sword intent, and his mental energy was also locked within his profound palace.

Lin Yun was briefly stunned before he soon calmed down. When Mu Xueling tapped on him before, her saint dao must’ve entered his body.

“Time to begin.” Mu Xueling transmitted her voice to Lin Yun before she played the lute in her embrace.

Her lute music was like swords flying out from her hands, and her ten fingers were highly agile.

Lin Yun couldn’t see or hear anything but could sense the incoming dangers. He quickly executed his movement technique, avoiding the swords manifested from the soundwaves. But more sword rays flew over from the surroundings like a violent storm.

This immediately made Lin Yun panic. He wanted to release his sword intent and dragon origin by instinct, but it was futile because he still couldn’t see anything. In the next second, Lin Yun was struck by ten-odd sword rays, and he could sense pain all over his body.

Lin Yun was shocked by the pain and knew Mu Xueling was serious. But he knew that he had to calm down now, so he forced himself to calm down. He was like a blind person, and he couldn’t sense anything.

But he could only rely on his instincts to avoid them because he couldn’t see anything. It was fine if it was just a sword ray, but the danger senses from his sword intent became useless when the number of attacks increased. Six hours passed without him knowing, and Lin Yun was taking a one-sided beating. It didn’t take long for him to be covered in blood by the sword rays.

“Let’s stop for now.” Mu Xueling’s voice resounded within his mind. When Mu Xueling’s voice resounded within his mind, Lin Yun’s senses gradually recovered, and his face became pale with exhaustion because it was a huge failure.

Looking at Mu Xueling, Lin Yun asked, “This instinct doesn’t seem to have any usage. Does this really work?”

“Look carefully at your heart, throat, forehead, eyes, and other fatal spots. None of them are injured.” Mu Xueling replied.

Lin Yun was alarmed when he heard that. When he examined himself, he discovered it was really, as Mu Xueling said. He might be covered with injuries, but none of them were fatal, and he didn’t even sense the instinct of the Heavenly Dome Sword Intent.

“It’s… really bizarre.” Lin Yun exclaimed in shock.

“When you can sense those fatal threads and avoid them yourself, you’re not far from grasping the Sword Heart.” Mu Xueling replied.

“Wait…” Lin Yun suddenly sensed that something wasn’t right. He asked, “Saint Elder, are you really going to launch attacks at my fatal spots?”

“That’s right.” Mu Xueling replied.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and wondered if it was too dangerous. He bitterly smiled, “What if I failed to avoid them?”

“You won’t die. Your Blue Dragon Skybreaking Art has already reached the third stage, and you won’t immediately die, even if your heart is pierced.” Mu Xueling explained. “It’s recorded in the books.”

Hearing that, Lin Yun could feel his teeth itching. Ultimately, he could only sit down and activate the Blue Dragon Bone to treat his injuries.

Mu Xueling retrieved the bamboo flute to play the Heavenly Sword Baptism Score. Whenever she played a note, the musical notes turned into wisps of yellow aura that entered his body and heart.

“It’s cooling…” Lin Yun felt as though his heart was being cleansed by water. When musical notes entered his body, his sword intent became gentle, and insights began to appear within his mind. As the flute music resounded right beside his ears, it felt as though the music was achieving a resonation with dao.

This made Lin Yun briefly alarmed before he started to carefully comprehend it. Half an incense later, the flute stopped, and Lin Yun opened his eyes. He said, “Saint Elder, I’m ready to go again.”

“Let’s continue, then.” Mu Xueling said.

Lin Yun’s world became dark again, and he relied on his instincts to avoid the incoming attacks. As time passed, he repeated this dry process.

“Is this fellow insane?” Even Mu Xueling couldn’t help feeling surprised because seven days had passed, and Lin Yun repeated this process for the past seven days, trusting her with his life. He didn’t have any complaints, regardless of his injuries. He gritted his teeth and persevered, chasing after the invisible Sword Heart.

Suddenly, a massive sword aura exploded from Lin Yun, and a dazzling radiance shone on his chest. Lin Yun’s senses were still sealed, but he felt that his senses came back to him, avoiding all the incoming sword rays. No matter how fast Mu Xueling’s attacks were, none could genuinely harm him, and they couldn’t even catch the edge of his robe.

It became easier for him to avoid the attacks, as though he was taking a stroll. Lin Yun became increasingly calmer as the sword rays intertwined, and he could even retaliate. When the radiance from his chest grew even more dazzling, he ultimately soared to the sky, and the radiance was like a sun that exploded.

Mu Xueling’s hands stopped because the strings of her lute snapped.