Chapter 619: Wanting to Publish an Article Like a Deity Transformation Master Dinghai Zhenjun and Become the First Author

In the sky, Lei Chong Guang flickered as he used his flying sword to tear through space and travel swiftly.

"You..."

Jin Jin Lingfeng stood with his mouth agape: "You broke through to the second realm of the Sword Dao, Sword Qi Lei Yin?"

Sword cultivators are the most terrifying and ruthless enemies the Immortal Sects have ever encountered.

Back then, they nearly faced the extinction of their nation and race; even now, their textbooks contain extensive introductions to sword cultivators, covering how to defend against them, how to kill them, and how to distinguish their strength from weakness.

An Siyan was also shaken.

Sword Intent is a realm countless sword cultivators strive for; it is enough to fight across realms while at the Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining stages, and the splitting of sword light allows a sword cultivator to dominate among peers at the Jin Dan stage.

And Sword Qi Lei Yin can threaten a Nascent Soul even while at the Jin Dan stage!

They might not necessarily be a match for a Nascent Soul cultivator, lacking in defense and mobility, but a Jin Dan sword cultivator with Sword Qi Lei Yin possesses a flying sword of extreme speed capable of breaking through the defenses of a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun!

No terrifyingly powerful divine soul or flying sword is needed; mere sword technique suffices!

"Hmm, one could say it was a natural progression, or that the breakthrough was forced by sword duels and slaughter."

"No wonder every sword cultivator craves same-realm combat so desperately; it is a shortcut capable of turning one's destiny upside down."

Jiang Ding gazed at the Taiqing Flying Sword before him.

On its blade body, misty Lei Chong Guang had appeared at some unknown time, sometimes bright, sometimes hidden; this was due to the recent breakthrough not yet stabilizing. True Sword Qi Lei Yin is not thunder, but a state of the flying sword.

A state existing between energy and matter.

The Great Sun Sword Scripture contains a phrase: "Before the sword arrives, the sound is heard; its momentum is like thunder."

This somewhat defies common sense.

Shouldn't the sword arrive first, followed by the booming sound of thunder?

The flying sword's speed already far exceeds the speed of sound, tearing through space; only that would make sense.

Jiang Ding had always been in the dark; the books were not very clear. Only upon truly entering this realm did he suddenly understand.

Sword Intent.

This is the core of the sword cultivator profession.

It is also the greatest difference distinguishing sword cultivators from body cultivators, spell cultivators, puppet cultivators, ghost cultivators, and other cultivators. Those without Sword Intent are not regarded as sword cultivators at all, but merely cultivators who use swords.

Its crucial core

lies in using Sword Intent to interfere with matter!

Comprehending Sword Intent and attaching it to a flying sword can grant the flying sword greater speed and sharpness.

Further, upon reaching the first realm of the Sword Dao, Sword Intent strengthens further, allowing one to manipulate heaven and earth's spiritual qi to split into nine identical flying swords of equal power, causing a massive surge in strength.

And when Sword Intent grows even stronger, or when sword technique is superior, it becomes Sword Qi Lei Yin!

At this point, Sword Intent can alter the flying sword, shifting it from a material state to a semi-material state where energy and matter coexist, greatly reducing spatial resistance.

This is not the end.

Upon reaching the realm of Sword Qi Lei Yin, Sword Intent can even directly interfere with space, affect space, and alter space; along the path the flying sword is about to traverse, it forcibly creates a 'spatial expressway' with Sword Intent, thereby increasing the flying sword's speed to a terrifying degree capable of breaking a Nascent Soul's shield with Jin Dan power.

This is the true meaning of 'Before the sword arrives, the sound is heard; its momentum is like thunder.'

At this point, even placing an ordinary flying sword into the spatial expressway would greatly increase its speed.

How the Great Sun Sword Pavilion understood it, I do not know; at any rate, this is how Jiang Ding understood his Sword Qi Lei Yin.

"You should have said so earlier."

Jiang Ding complained: "Making things so cloudy and obscure all the time. We are fellow sect disciples, not outsiders."

Of course, he also knew the reason.

In cultivation, there is something called the Obstacle of Knowledge and Perception. If you explain it clearly, it actually becomes worse; it will greatly increase the difficulty for later cultivators to comprehend Sword Qi Lei Yin. One still needs to grind through it bit by bit on their own, which differs from the Immortal Sects' prevailing cultivation philosophy that everything can be analyzed.

Both have their strengths. One cannot say the Immortal Sects are feudal superstition and the Immortal Sects are immortal path science; they are merely different ways of comprehending nature and the Dao.

The dormitory has arrived.

"See you in class next year."

Jiang Ding used Sword Qi Lei Yin to tear through space, sent the person back, and waved his hand.

"See you next year."

Jin Jin Lingfeng and the other two rolled their eyes.

Returning to the Silver Void Island dormitory.

The Sun God Tree burst from the mirror-like silver metal ground, shooting into the blue sky in the blink of an eye, its blue-gold branches and leaves spreading over an area of roughly one kilometer.

Heaven and earth's spiritual qi and Great Sun essence converged, causing the surrounding temperature to instantly skyrocket to over a thousand degrees, making it unsuitable for habitation.

"Actually feels quite comfortable..."

Jiang Ding scanned the surroundings and only then belatedly realized something was wrong: "Brother, I seem to be evolving into a non-human lifeform; I have a bit of the feel of a fire element life. I feel uncomfortable if the temperature is any lower."

"Fortunately, I haven't fallen for any mortal girls."

"Otherwise, whenever I cultivate, she would turn to ash. Often it is completely subconscious; I simply cannot react in time. That would be tragic."

"The Great Dao is walked alone; loneliness is the destined fate of cultivators..."

He sighed lightly, and in his sea of consciousness appeared an intricate, complex sword technique structure, stacked layer upon layer, larger than a hundred-li mountain peak.

From a distance, it looked like a Fusang Divine Tree with nine suns perched upon it.

However, only the nine suns possessed some substance; the rest of the Fusang Divine Tree's trunk, branches, leaves, and so on were purely illusions, akin to daydreams, hardly constituting any sword technique.

"Discovered seven flaws, and quite large ones at that—the kind that shatter with a single poke."

Recalling the previous battle, Jiang Ding was speechless: "Clearly, the repeated tests in the Immortal Sect Science Academy's Yan Fa Instrument showed everything was fine, with no flaws, but in front of a true sword Dao master, flaws were visible everywhere at a glance. The gap is too great."

He knew this was not because the Immortal Sect Science Academy's precious Yan Fa Instrument was broken or inaccurate.

Rather, the Immortal Sect database simply contained no relevant sword technique data; research in this area was extremely shallow. For others, it was fine; they could rely on overwhelming volume to crush opponents, leaving no flaws.

But when faced with the Taiyin Sword Sect's hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated sword dao heritage and exploration, it was utterly inadequate.

"Normal, perfectly normal."

Jiang Ding consoled himself: "Science advances through trial and error step by step. It's unavoidable—everyone has to go through this process. The predecessors of the Sun Moon Sword Pavilion certainly had times like this too. Take it slow."

The battle with Yu Yu Qianzi had yielded tremendous gains.

A sword dao sect's heritage was far more than just one or two Gong Fa—it encompassed every aspect. Kidnapping her back then had been one of the most successful things he'd done in recent years.

"Let me read the latest research literature first, so I don't fall behind the times."

Jiang Ding did not rush to modify his sword arts; he gently closed his eyes.

His divine sense connected to the Immortal Gate Library, searching with "Jin Zhi" causality as the keyword.

Soon, a large pile of articles appeared—the kind that required extensive capability verification to read. Even Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun might not qualify, and there was considerable danger involved.

Jiang Ding looked carefully.

"Speculation on the Relationship Between Jin Zhi Causality and the Shangzhen Dongxuan Golden Scripture," by Shen Ji, Master Canghai, Yearly Journal of Yuan Xianmen Academy of Sciences, Issue 03.

"Conceptual Application of Jin Zhi Causality in Military Formations," by Master Canghai, Qingfeng University Research Team, Cultivator Journal, Yearly Issue 05.

"The Promotion of Jin Zhi Causality in the Path of Body Tempering," by Hua Hua Lingling, Digital Spirit Cultivator Journal, Yearly Issue 001.

……

A huge pile, all of them research concerning Jin Zhi causality.

The vast majority of results were produced by Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun.

Occasionally Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun also participated, becoming second or third authors—such cases were relatively rare. A single Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun's contribution was often insufficient for authorship, so they could only be credited as a group.

These articles had all been produced over the past five or six years. They were relatively elementary, full of speculation and conceptual ideas, still quite distant from practical application. But they all contained the heartfelt efforts of many Canghai Tianjun and the Central Array Spirit Computer, and their value was beyond estimation.

Jiang Ding refreshed twice and discovered that in just one short year, yet another new article had appeared. He immediately sat up straight and read it carefully, absorbing the research wisdom of the Canghai Tianjun over these years.

(End of Chapter)