Chapter 706: Sword Heart

: xshuquge

After announcing the start of the second segment, the Sword Tower Master continued: "A sword cultivator does not simply refer to a cultivator who uses a sword as a weapon. If that were the case, then who in the world isn't a sword cultivator?"

Lu Yang nodded secretly. The Sword Tower Master was right; which cultivator didn't have a dream of being a sword immortal? It was just that after they tried using a sword as a weapon, they found it didn't suit them and gave up.

"Then does a sword cultivator refer to someone with talent in the sword dao? That's not entirely true either."

"A true sword cultivator not only possesses a height in sword dao talent that ordinary people cannot reach, but must also have a Sword Heart—that is, what kind of attitude you have toward your sword!"

"There's such a thing as a Sword Heart?" Lu Yang was puzzled; he hadn't heard his Master or Senior Sister mention it.

Lu Yang felt that he really needed to attend more sword cultivator gatherings. He might not even see his Master once a year, his Senior Sister hadn't taught him sword techniques since he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and the Immortal Fairy went without saying—she knew nothing about the sword dao.

"Sword Inquiry is divided into two parts: Inquiry of the Heart and Inquiry of the Intent."

"This Inquiry of the Heart tests the Sword Heart."

After hearing the Sword Tower Master's words, Lu Yang felt a bit uneasy. If it were a competition of sword intent, he wouldn't fear anyone, but he had only just heard of this "Sword Heart" thing. What was he supposed to do?

A formation appeared under the feet of all the sword cultivators, and the formation shot up a light screen, enveloping the sword cultivators.

"This is the Heart-Inquiry Formation. Within the formation, one cannot lie about anything related to the 'sword'."

This was one of the Sword Tower's foundations, a formation the Sword Tower Supreme had inadvertently comprehended while studying the sword dao, and it was of great help to the Sword Heart.

Lu Yang felt that this set of formations had similarities to his "Clear Heart and Seeing Nature Art" in some aspects, but this formation was more profound.

The Heart-Inquiry Formation could distinguish truth from falsehood but could not actively ask questions. A total of twelve Elders and one Tower Master of the Sword Tower, thirteen people in total, personally stepped down to test the sword cultivators of the world.

Among them, the one who received the most attention was naturally the Sword Tower Master. The sword cultivators chosen by the Sword Tower Master, to a certain extent, represented that he thought highly of these sword cultivators.

The Sword Tower Master first came before the Green Bamboo Spirit Duan Changqing: "Duan Changqing, do you practice the Sentient Sword Dao or the Ruthless Sword Dao?"

"The Ruthless Sword Dao."

"If your sword were to break, would you be sad?"

Duan Changqing said coldly: "If the sword breaks, I will just forge another one. Why would I be sad?"

"Then do you like the sword dao?"

"Naturally, I like it."

The formation under Duan Changqing's feet emitted a glaring red light, which meant he was lying.

The Sword Tower Master said solemnly, his eyes like swords, as if wanting to pierce through Duan Changqing: "You must tell the truth."

Duan Changqing could not withstand the pressure brought by the Sword Tower Master and had to honestly say: "I became a sword cultivator only because the offensive power of a sword cultivator is very strong."

The Sword Tower Master sighed: "Your sword was forged from a part of your own body. This certainly helps you use the sword with ease, but you have no feelings for the sword dao, which will block your path forward."

The Sword Tower Master then came before Guan Zuo's disciple Yue Chuan. Yue Chuan took out the Storm Smoke Sword, and the sword spirit A-Lan snuggled in Yue Chuan's arms.

He knew Yue Chuan, so there was no need to ask whether it was the Sentient Sword Dao or the Ruthless Sword Dao.

"Yue Chuan, can you live and die together with your sword?"

Yue Chuan looked at A-Lan in his arms and said firmly: "I can!"

"Then what is the relationship between you and your sword?"

Yue Chuan answered without hesitation: "I want to become husband and wife with A-Lan!"

The Tower Master held his forehead. Asking Yue Chuan was just going through the motions; how could he not know what his eldest disciple was like?

If it weren't for the fact that the Great Xia laws didn't recognize sword spirits as subjects of marriage, the two of them would have been married long ago.

"Ming Tai, can you live and die together with your sword?" The Tower Master was amiable. If it came to seniority, unless the Sword Tower Supreme were resurrected, even if all the successive Tower Masters of the Sword Tower were dug up, their seniority would be lower than Ming Tai's.

"I can!"

Ming Tai held the Hanguang Sword; this was the Sword Tower Supreme's personal sword and also Ming Tai's own body. If something happened to the Hanguang Sword, he wouldn't survive either.

"What is the relationship between you and your sword?"

"We are one."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar. The great formation did not react, which meant Ming Tai was not lying. Countless sword cultivators heard Ming Tai's answer and felt ashamed of their own inferiority.

Although their feelings for their swords were very sincere, compared to Ming Tai, they were still several notches behind.

"Greetings, Tower Master Guan." Seeing the Tower Master walk over, Lu Yang hurriedly bowed.

The Sword Tower Master's name was Guan Yi.

"You are Lu Yang? This is our first meeting." Seeing Lu Yang, the Sword Tower Master smiled.

Although he had conflicts with the Unspoken Daoist, those were conflicts between the older generation and had nothing to do with the younger generation.

As the Sword Tower Master, what he liked to see most was the growth of talented young sword cultivators.

As the currently prominent Lu Yang, the moment the Sword Tower Master spoke, he attracted everyone's attention: "He really is Lu Yang."

"I wonder what Lu Yang's Sword Heart looks like."

"With Ming Tai ahead, even if his Sword Heart is excellent, it can't compare to Ming Tai's, right?"

Tower Master Guan asked: "Your Master practices the Ruthless Sword Dao, so what about you, Lu Yang? Do you practice the Sentient Sword Dao or the Ruthless Sword Dao?"

Lu Yang hesitated for a moment; it was his first time hearing that the sword dao was divided into sentient and ruthless.

"Can I first ask what is meant by the Sentient Sword Dao and what is meant by the Ruthless Sword Dao?"

"Your Master didn't even tell you this?" Tower Master Guan was slightly dissatisfied with the Unspoken Daoist; he was too irresponsible.

"A sword cultivator certainly loves their own sword, but love is divided into types."

"The so-called Sentient Sword Dao refers to treating the sword as a person, loving the sword as one loves a lover. Everyone in our Sword Tower practices the Sentient Sword Dao. As for the Ruthless Sword Dao, it refers to treating the sword as an object, simply loving the sword purely. The most famous representative is your Master."

Lu Yang thought about it. Although the Azure Edge Sword was a gift from his Senior Sister and he liked it very much, he ultimately treated the Azure Edge Sword as an object and didn't have any special feelings for it.

"Then what I practice should be the Ruthless Sword Dao."

As soon as these words were spoken, Tower Master Guan was slightly displeased. So it was as expected; such a good seedling like Lu Yang had still been taught the Ruthless Sword Dao by that old thief Unspoken.

But immediately, the formation under Lu Yang's feet emitted a red light.

"Hmm? You lied just now?" Tower Master Guan's face showed joy. Didn't this mean that Lu Yang practiced the Sentient Sword Dao?

"I lied?" Lu Yang was also surprised. According to the definition given by Tower Master Guan, he was indeed the Ruthless Sword Dao.

Tower Master Guan coaxed him, asking gently: "Do you like your sword?"

Lu Yang nodded; he did indeed like the Azure Edge Sword.

"Do you treat your sword as a person?"

Lu Yang was just about to shake his head when he suddenly realized where the problem lay—there was a person inside the Azure Edge Sword!

Lu Yang had no choice but to continue nodding.

Tower Master Guan clapped his hands, drawing a conclusion for Lu Yang: "Isn't that it? You like your sword and treat it as a person; this is the Sentient Sword Dao!"

"Assume that if your sword were broken or disappeared, would you be sad, would you be heartbroken, would you cry your eyes out?"

Lu Yang thought about the scenario Tower Master Guan described. If the Immortal Fairy were to disappear, he would indeed be very sad and would probably cry, so he could only continue nodding.

"Look, this is not just the Sentient Sword Dao; this is the profound realm of placing one's feelings into the sword!"

The Immortal Fairy giggled inside the Azure Edge Sword. Although she didn't know why she was laughing, she just felt that Little Yangzi's answer made her very happy.

"Then are you willing to live and die together with your sword?"

In the Sentient Sword Dao, there is a small group of sword cultivators who hold extreme feelings for their swords, advocating that if the sword is there, the person is there, and if the sword dies, the person dies—for example, the aforementioned Yue Chuan and Ming Tai. Sword cultivators have always pursued this kind of extreme emotion.

Hearing this question, Lu Yang's expression became strange; he didn't know how to answer: "This isn't a question of living and dying together; it's that even if I die, my sword won't die."

Given the heaven-defying nature of the Immortal Dao Fruit, it was difficult for the Immortal Fairy to die even if she wanted to.

Tower Master Guan praised Lu Yang's answer highly: "Good! Protecting your sword with your life, preferring that you fall first rather than letting your sword be harmed!"

The crowd looked at Lu Yang with respect. Only sword cultivators could understand what Lu Yang's answer meant; this was a level higher than the emotion of "if the sword is there, the person is there, and if the sword dies, the person dies."

"As expected of Lu Yang. Just based on this emotion, who among today's sword cultivators can compare?"

"I previously thought he only had talent in the sword dao and had no feelings for the sword. I was the one who was wrong!"

"No wonder he could perform 'One Sword Becomes Ten Thousand Swords' and 'One Person Becomes Ten Thousand People' at the Nascent Soul stage. It's not just sword dao talent; this emotion for the sword must also play a crucial role!"

Tower Master Guan asked the final question: "Then what is the relationship between you and your sword?"

Lu Yang felt it was a bit shameful to tell the truth, but if he didn't, the formation would detect it, so he could only say truthfully: "The sword is the monarch, and I am the subject."

The crowd was in an uproar again, their voices even higher than during Ming Tai's turn, looking at Lu Yang in disbelief.

"Taking the sword as the monarch—this has reached the legendary realm of the unity of person and sword, where the body moves with the sword!"

"No one in history has ever reached this step, right!"

Sword cultivators are all arrogant. No matter how good they are to their swords, they only place the sword in a position equal to themselves and never place the sword in a position higher than themselves.

To put down the arrogance of a sword cultivator for the sake of the sword—what kind of Sword Heart is this!

The more Tower Master Guan looked at Lu Yang, the more he felt that this kid was truly pleasing to the eye. The sword as the master and the cultivator as the assistant—even the Sword Tower Supreme of the past hadn't practiced the Sentient Sword Dao to this extent!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 707 =====