He had come into contact with the Sword Quintessence that his ancestor had comprehended ever since he was a child, so he knew that the Sword Quintessence that his ancestor had comprehended would flow in an endless stream. On the other hand, the Sword Quintessence that the other party had comprehended carried an unstoppable momentum. Despite the complete disparity between the Sword Quintessence and his ancestor's Sword Quintessence, how did the other party manage to infuse it into his body in the blink of an eye?
Furthermore, it seemed to be on the verge of achieving a breakthrough to the Quintessence Quintessence.
Buzz buzz buzz!
Just as Zhang Xuan was perplexed by the sight before him, the swords in the hands of the surrounding disciples began trembling non-stop. With a resounding boom, they flew out of their sheaths and fell to the ground, prostrating themselves on the ground.
"Breaking through the Quintessence …"
Jian Qinsheng felt his throat turning dry.
Under normal circumstances, those who had comprehended the Quintessence of Sword Quintessence would receive the blessings of the heavens. In an instant, all swords that were not of a higher tier would submit to the blessings of the heavens.
The young man before him had already comprehended two different Quintessences, and now that he had achieved a breakthrough, could it be that … he had comprehended two different Quintessences?
Just a single Sword Quintessence was enough to trap countless cultivators, making it difficult for them to advance in their cultivation for the rest of their lives. Yet, this young lad actually managed to comprehend two Sword Quintessences consecutively despite being only in his twenties …
More importantly, he had just said that the other party would comprehend the impossible when the other party suddenly made a breakthrough … Did he have to slap his face so quickly?
Jian Qinsheng's lips trembled, and his face paled. He felt as if the world that he had known before was crumbling around him.
He had started practicing swordsmanship at the age of three, comprehended Lower Tier Sword Heart at the age of seventeen, comprehended Upper Tier Sword Heart at the age of forty-six, and comprehended Sword Quintessence at the age of sixty-three … Zhang Xuan's life was as good as a cheat code, but before the other party, he was as pale as a sheet of white paper. He could not bring himself to compare himself to the other party at all.
"The same Sword Quintessence as our teacher?"
Shui QianRou's delicate body was also trembling.
It seemed like the other party didn't even know what the Heaven's Path Sword Quintessence was before coming here, and yet, he actually managed to achieve a breakthrough in the midst of their conversation …
She had been cultivating under her tutelage for several years now, but she had only scratched the surface. Yet, the other party was able to achieve a breakthrough just by chatting with her …
He was so shocked that he couldn't say anything.
Whoosh!
Oblivious to everyone's shock, Zhang Xuan retracted his aura and opened his eyes.
This time, without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan walked up to the 'sword' character. A moment later, when he was right in front of it, he touched it with his finger, and the entire character seemed to jump up, as if it would burst forth at any moment.
"Alright, Senior … does this mean that I've received your approval?"
Zhang Xuan turned to look at Jian Qinsheng and smiled faintly.
"This … counts!"
Jian Qinsheng's lips twitched as he nodded.
He had even acknowledged the 'Sword' character of the founder, and he could not help but wish that he could run along with it … How could he possibly fail the examination?
"That's good …"
Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
After hearing Jian Qinsheng say that he could still comprehend the second Sword Quintessence, Zhang Xuan quickly memorized the contents of the 'Sword' character in his mind.
It had to be said that those who were able to leave behind words on the Library of Heaven's Path had all reached the level of Sword Quintessence. While there weren't too many of them, their words were incisive. After gathering all of them, Zhang Xuan was able to compile the Heaven's Path Divine Art with ease.
With the experience from the first breakthrough, it would be much easier for him to achieve the second breakthrough, which was why he was able to do it so quickly.
"The Library of Swordsmanship is right here. I'll open it now …"
Jian Qinsheng walked over to the corner of the wall and pushed lightly. The wall before him slowly slid open to reveal a door.
"Thank you, but I have some doubts that I need to verify with some books. I'll come out once I'm done reading them …"
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up as he walked in.
He had to admit that there were indeed quite a few sword art manuals in the Compendium of Sword Arts. It was likely that the Compendium of Sword Arts had gathered them over many years.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan scanned his surroundings.
All of the books that he saw were copied into the Library of Swordsmanship. Row after row, they were arranged neatly in the Library of Swordsmanship.
Zhang Xuan continued browsing as he walked in.
"Hmm? Flowing Water Swordsmanship? "
A moment later, Zhang Xuan suddenly came to a halt.
On the innermost bookshelf of the Library of Swordsmanship, there was actually a Flowing Water Swordsmanship manual.
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before coming to a realization. This was the Sanctum of Sages, the land of heritage of the Jian Clan. Those who were able to enter the Sanctum of Sages were those who had cleared the examination, so it was only natural that the most important secret manuals would be placed here.
Zhang Xuan took the Flowing Water Swordsmanship manual and tapped lightly on it.
"Flowing Water Swordsmanship. The Sword Intent of the Flowing Water Swordsmanship is reminiscent of flowing water, granting it an unparalleled defense. Created by the Third Sanctum Head of the Sanctum of Sages, Jian Liushui. Flaws: … "
"It sure has a lot of flaws …"
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
It had to be said that the Flowing Water Swordsmanship was indeed very powerful. It was somewhat similar to the Heaven's Path Sword Art, but it was of a higher tier and stronger.
His current Heaven's Path Sword Art had only reached Saint intermediate-tier. While it was powerful against cultivators of the same tier, it was still lacking compared to a Saint high-tier battle technique.
Despite the flaws in the Flowing Water Swordsmanship, its tier had exceeded Saint intermediate-tier or even Saint high-tier. If he could master it, his fighting prowess would surely soar by leaps and bounds!
It was just like how the principles of the City-Guarding Crossbow and the Crossbow Arrow were similar. In fact, the latter was even more flexible, but in terms of prowess, the former was far superior.
Zhang Xuan continued reading.
"This sword art has an extremely high requirement on one's eye of discernment."
In the Flowing Water Swordsmanship, one's Sword Intent was reminiscent of flowing water.
This required one's Sword Intent to be extremely precise. More importantly, one's eye of discernment far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. Without the Eye of Insight, it would be nigh impossible for one to reach Major Accomplishment in this sword art.
"It's no wonder Shui QianRou said that other than Hall Master Flowing Water, no one has succeeded in mastering this sword art. It's probably not because of a lack of effort or talent but because … one's eye of discernment is lacking!"
Those who were able to become the head of the Sanctum of Sages possessed the Eye of Insight, just like him. This was also the reason why Hall Master Flowing Water was able to create such a formidable sword art. However, it was a pity that most of the hall masters of the Sanctum of Sages weren't proficient in swordsmanship. As a result, the Flowing Water Swordsmanship was buried, and its heritage was severed.
Even though Jian Qinsheng had learned the Flowing Water Swordsmanship, without the support of the Eye of Insight, his Flowing Water Swordsmanship was nothing more than a crude sword art. It was no wonder why he was unable to bring it to greater heights.
"Let's see if I can compile all of the Heaven's Path Divine Art manuals and learn them!"
Since he had the Eye of Insight, he could give it a try.
With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan continued browsing through the books without any hesitation. Ten minutes later, all of the hundred thousand sword art manuals in the room had entered the Library of Heaven's Path.
"Let's see if I can compile the Three Swords of Lingxu first … Compile!"
Taking out the Three Swords of Lingxu and placing it together with the books, Zhang Xuan began browsing through them.
This was the main reason why he was here, so he decided to give it a try first.
Huala!
A book materialized before him.
Zhang Xuan hurriedly flipped it open, but a moment later, he frowned.
"Only a single sword art?"
The Three Swords of Lingxu consisted of three sword arts, namely Sea Severing Sword, Ocean Cascading Sword, and Heaven Desecration Sword!
Each of the three sword arts was more powerful than the previous. Even though he was only at Leaving Aperture realm primary stage at the moment, if he could execute Heaven Desecration Sword, putting aside Grand Dominion realm pinnacle experts, he would be able to put up a fight against even Saint 7-dan primary stage experts!
It was precisely due to this that the Old Sword Maestro was able to dominate the League of Nations unchallenged.
There were more than a hundred thousand sword art manuals in the Compendium of Swords, and he had thought that he would be able to compile all of the Three Swords of Lingxu after collecting them all. Who could have thought that he would only be able to compile the first sword art?
Nevertheless, this was still a frightening feat.
The Three Swords of Lingxu was a sword formation, and just the first sword art, Sea Severing Sword, already had 360 flaws. Without so many books, it would take him ages before he could compile all of them.
"Even though the Ocean Cascading Sword and Heaven Desecration Sword aren't complete yet, their flaws have been reduced significantly. In total, there are less than ten of them.
Zhang Xuan chuckled softly.
Even though he was still unable to learn the remaining two swords, it was clear that the flaws had been reduced significantly. This would make it much easier for him to compile a Heaven's Path sword art in the future.
"There are indeed different types of Sword Quintessences. What Hall Master Liushui comprehended is the defensive nature of swords. It's as though flowing water, flowing endlessly and ceaselessly. On the other hand, what the Old Sword Maestro comprehended is the offensive nature of swords. With a single thrust of his sword, it's as though an unstoppable formation … "
As the knowledge flowed through his mind, Zhang Xuan came to understand many things.
Jian Qinsheng was right. There were many different types of Sword Quintessences. The Flowing Water Swordsmanship focused on the defensive nature of swords whereas the Three Swords of Lingxu focused on the offensive nature of swords.
"Logically speaking, other than the defensive and offensive Sword Quintessences, there should be agility-type and speed-type Sword Quintessences as well …"
These were all introduced in a book that Jian Qinsheng had left behind. As there were simply too many books in the Library of Heaven's Path, it would have been impossible for Zhang Xuan to find them.
Perhaps Jian Qinsheng hadn't found them yet, so he only knew that there were different types of Sword Quintessences.
"Let's try the Flowing Water Swordsmanship!"
After testing the Lingxu Sword, Zhang Xuan swiftly gathered all of the defensive sword art manuals in the Library of Heaven's Path.
Hu la!
A new book materialized in Zhang Xuan's hand, and with a tap of his finger, the knowledge flowed into his Library of Heaven's Path.
"I can cultivate it now!"
Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.
There weren't too many offensive sword art manuals in the Compendium of Swords, but there were plenty of defensive sword art manuals. It wasn't too difficult for him to compile the Flowing Water Swordsmanship into a Heaven's Path Divine Art.
It seemed like Jian Qinsheng's ancestors focused on defensive swordsmanship, so they were more focused on this aspect.
"I'll cultivate this first!"
With the Heaven's Path Divine Art in hand, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to wander around anymore. He found a spot in the Compendium of Swords, sat down, and began cultivating.
The Flowing Water Swordsmanship, as its name suggested, was to cultivate one's swordsmanship to the point where it was as smooth as flowing water.
Upon mastering it, one's defense could be said to be invincible, even more fearsome than Dominion!
As the Heaven's Path Divine Art flowed through his mind, Zhang Xuan began to focus his attention. Following his will, the zhenqi in his body began to take the form of small swords that shuttled around his body.
He had long been able to channel his zhenqi into swords, but the most difficult aspect of the Flowing Water Swordsmanship was to convert the zhenqi into Sword Intent and form an impenetrable defense.
With the Heaven's Path Divine Art and the Eye of Insight, two hours later, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply and stood up.
After a period of hard work, he had finally reached Major Accomplishment in the Heaven's Path Divine Art.
"There are books all around here, so it's impossible for me to test it out. However, through my cultivation, I've gained a better understanding of its prowess. Once I execute it, even Grand Dominion realm pinnacle experts won't be able to breach my defenses! In fact, even Saint 7-dan primary stage experts won't be able to harm me! "
Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.
What he lacked the most at the moment was his defense. After being pummeled by his future brother-in-law to the point where he spurted a mouthful of blood, it was clear that he was lacking in this aspect.
With this Flowing Water Swordsmanship, even if Luo Xuanqing wasn't a match for him, at the very least, he wouldn't be injured by a single punch.
Furthermore, as one's fighting prowess increased, one's defensive prowess would also increase as well.
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