Chapter 1579 - Radiant Sword Saint's Guidance
“Master, what’s the matter?” Lin Yun came forth, seeing the Radiant Sword Saint suddenly stopping.
“It’s best for you not to see it for now.” The Radiant Sword Saint sighed as he turned to look at Lin Yun.
“Why?” Lin Yun was baffled by those words. He was confident that the Carefree 9 Swords definitely had a ninth sword form. It might be exaggerated to call this sword technique invincible, but the Southern Emperor relied on it to become invincible amongst the same generation. His master had drawn out the sword techniques through his painting, which was enough to prove that there was a ninth sword form.
The Radiant Sword Saint didn’t say anything, but briefly pondered before he replied, “The last sword form overthrows the previous eight sword forms, and you might run amok if you look at it now. This is also why the Southern Emperor didn’t leave the last sword in the painting.”
“Master, what’s the last sword?” Lin Yun might not be a sword fanatic like Zhao Yan, but he did have an intense obsession with the sword path. So he naturally couldn’t help feeling curious about the ninth sword form!
“It's hard to be carefree in the world!” The Radiant Sword Saint smiled, looking at Lin Yun’s obsession. He sighed, “The Southern Emperor truly deserved to be invincible back then, and he might have created this sword technique. But his heart changed when he created the last sword. As a result, the ninth sword form doesn’t connect with the intent in the eight previous sword forms.”
Hearing what the Radiant Sword Saint said, Lin Yun couldn’t help becoming even more curious.
“Let’s not care about that for now and grasp the four sword forms first. These four sword forms have nearly nine hundred varieties, and you will only enter the threshold by grasping all the varieties.” The Radiant Sword Saint continued, interrupting Lin Yun’s trail of thoughts.
“Okay.” Lin Yun nodded and turned around.
“Where are you going? Did I ask you to leave?” The Radiant Sword Saint smiled.
Scratching his head, Lin Yun replied, “Master, didn’t you ask me to practice them? I’ve already remembered them, so I will practice them.”
“The Carefree 9 Swords are nine different sword techniques, and you can split them into three stages. The Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Desolation Sword Forms are considered the first stage. The second stage is the Wind, Fire, Lightning, and ice. As for the ninth sword form, it can be considered the third stage. The second stage isn’t the same as the first because they’re not connected like the first. For example, the Heaven and Earth Sword Forms could overlap, which goes the same for the Profound and Desolation Sword Forms. It is so much so that you can connect the four sword forms.”
Lin Yun’s eyes lit up because this was the first time he had heard such sayings. He had also felt it when he fought with others, especially the Heaven and Earth Sword Forms. These two sword forms could be overlapped together and even distort space at that time.
“The second stage’s difficulty lies in the fact that they’re not connected. Rather, they even restrain each other, and each sword form is considered an individual existence. But their advantage is also obvious; they’re powerful! Each sword form can be considered a king's sword, and the Southern Emperor can be called an unrivaled genius…”
The Radiant Sword Saint briefly paused before he continued, “So you’ll probably take a lot of time to learn them if you practice like in the past. You might be able to barely reach lesser mastery in half a year, and this has nothing to do with talent. Even if your comprehension is comparable to the Southern Emperor, there’s no shortcut to grasping them.”
Lin Yun’s blood couldn’t help but boil when he heard from the Radiant Sword Saint that the second stage sword forms were powerful. But wasn’t it too underestimated that he wouldn’t be able to reach lesser mastery in six months? Lin Yun knew his talent in the sword, and he only needed to practice most sword techniques once to achieve greater mastery, including the Aquaheaven Sword Technique.
“I’ll help you to learn the four sword forms, but you only have a chance. You can only depend on your fortune to see if you can reach lesser mastery.” The Radiant Sword Saint’s gaze became grave when he looked at Lin Yun. “I said there’s no shortcut to learning them, so I can only help you extend the time.”
When the Radiant Sword Saint was done, he picked up the brush, and a few strands of hair fell from his forehead. Only now did Lin Yun realize that the brush his master was using turned out to be a saint artifact. But in the hands of a saint, the power of a saint artifact would reach an unimaginable height.
When the Radiant Sword Saint started writing on the paper, multiple figures flew out from the paper and words turned into sounds that echoed within the surroundings. Enveloped in them, Lin Yun could feel his entire world spinning. When everything in his surroundings became blurred, the time flow gradually slowed.
Before he could think more about it, Lin Yun’s senses began to tingle as multiple blurred figures flew over to him. Lin Yun could only draw out the Flower Burial Sword to face them, executing his movement technique, and shuttled through the figures like a fish in a pond with his sword ferociously thrusted forth.
Everything might seem chaotic, but one would realize that Lin Yun’s movements and attacks were greatly restricted. Those figures had used their swords to create a formation to seal off his path and sword.
Thus, Lin Yun could only follow a fixed path and sword technique to block the attacks from those blurred figures. But this formation kept changing, and Lin Yun would make a mistake if he wasn’t cautious.
In the beginning, he could still follow up. But he gradually fell behind, and the dragon runes on his body's surface were constantly severed. It didn’t take long for his clothes to be dyed in blood and Lin Yun’s mentality became anxious. His breathing was hurried, his heart pumping violently, his blood boiling, and he was unprecedentedly nervous.
His forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was pale as his sword kept changing. Were these sword techniques the varieties in the Carefree 9 Swords? There were too many of them, and he began to wonder if only nine hundred varieties existed. He had memorized them, and he shouldn’t be making any mistakes.
But before he could think more about it, he was forced to keep going and was caught up in it. Time slowly flowed, and he had lost the concept of time. Lin Yun was in the formation for three months, and the Radiant Sword Saint’s brush also didn’t stop.
Under this hellish training, Lin Yun’s sword technique gradually became more profound, and he could already detect the changes in the array. He was no longer like he was at the beginning, forced to follow a fixed path, and the movements of those blurred figures also slowed down in his eyes.
But he didn’t realize his changes, and the formation was no longer changing according to the Radiant Sword Saint’s brush but according to his sword technique. In the end, he was no longer resisting the sword formation, but the Radiant Sword Saint was resisting his sword techniques, and the profundity couldn’t be simply described with words.
Lin Yun had become much more skinny as time passed, but his eyes were shining increasingly brightly. Right then, the Radiant Sword Saint’s brush became slow, with gratification in his eyes before he sped up again.
At that moment, the Radiant Sword Saint’s aura drastically changed and an indescribable sword aura exploded from him. As he wrote with the brush, he said, “I have a sword, wind, like the violent tornado that can annihilate all life.”
Lin Yun’s face changed in the sword formation because the Radiant Sword Saint’s brush had manifested into a violent wind that swept over. He didn’t have much time to consider it and roared with his sword swung out, “Wind!”
When the two ancient ‘Wind’ words collided, space distorted and the sky cracked. All lives were annihilated.
“I have a sword, fire, like the sea of flames that could incinerate the ocean!”
Likewise, Lin Yun soared into the sky and wrote an ancient ‘Fire’ word with his sword. When the two words collided, the surrounding space distorted and was filled with domineering flames that swept down.
“I have a sword, lightning, like a halbert that slays immortals!”
Gently tapping his foot in mid-air, boundless lightning manifested into a heavenly might that descended along with his sword.
“I have a sword, ice, like a frightening chill that can freeze everything!”
As Lin Yun spun in mid-air, a terrifying chill surged as his chilling sword rays drew an ancient ‘Ice’ word. When the two words collided, Lin Yun descended from the sky and looked at the sword in his hand with disbelief. He couldn’t believe that he had learned the Wind, Fire, Lightning, and Ice Sword Forms just like that.
Raising his head, he saw that the strands of hair falling from his master’s forehead still hadn’t fallen on the table. This instantly made his face change, and he asked, “Master, how long has passed?”
“A split second.” The Radiant Sword Saint placed the brush down, and the few strands of hair also fell onto the table.
This made Lin Yun widen his mouth with disbelief because he could sense that three months had passed. But his master told him that only a split second had passed. Was this the ‘shortcut’ that his master spoke of? But he also knew this ‘shortcut’ came with a price.
“Do you know why I didn’t teach you any of my own techniques? I’ve never taught you anything, right?” The Radiant Sword Saint asked.
“Master, please don’t say that!” Lin Yun shook his head. It was true that the Radiant Sword Saint didn’t teach him any martial techniques. Still, the guidance his master gave him was something that couldn’t be replaced, especially the theory that his master taught him during their first meeting, which greatly benefited him.
Not to mention that his master had personally guided his sword technique. Though his sword technique wasn’t created by his master, Lin Yun still greatly benefited from it. The Southern Emperor might have created the Carefree 9 Swords, but his master had taught it by his hand.
“No. I didn’t teach you anything, but I magnified your merits, firming your heart as a swordsman, teaching you the minuscule stage, and telling you not to be distracted before the Dragon Pulse Realm.” The Radiant Sword Saint smiled.
Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts when he heard that.
“Lin Yun, remember that you’re still a raw jade. You only need to keep polishing yourself and not engrave yourself with someone else’s seal. You have to become strong, but you don’t have to be like me. You have to be stronger than anyone else, even stronger than me and Tian Xuanzi. One day, you have to be stronger than the Nine Emperors.” The Radiant Sword Saint said with a grave expression.
Those words immediately gave Lin Yun immense pressure, and he had no idea why his master suddenly talked about this.
“I also learned many things from you. How great would it have been if I had met you earlier? At the very least, we wouldn’t be in this position today.” The Radiant Sword Saint sighed. His lifespan was running out, and he knew that it was hard for him to make it through this ordeal. He wasn’t afraid of death but had many reasons to stay alive.
“Master, don’t talk anymore.” Lin Yun quickly stepped forth.
“Haha, you don’t have to worry about me. You should be worried about yourself, instead. I’m just a dying man in the eyes of many, and not many people believe that I can make that last step.” The Radiant Sword Saint looked at Lin Yun and continued, “But you’re not the same. You’re like a fire, even brighter than the sun. You’re a prick in their eyes and in a more dangerous situation than me.
“The Ancient Barren Battlefield is starting soon, and I’m really worried for you!” The Radiant Sword Saint sighed.
Lin Yun’s heart sank when he heard that because this was the third time his master sighed in this meeting.
“Master, you can focus on making it through this ordeal. I won’t let you down in the Ancient Barren Battlefield. I won’t let what happened two decades ago happen again!” Lin Yun fell to his knees with tears rolling down his cheeks, but he had flames blazing like wildfire in his pupils. “I will definitely show everyone the might of the Sword Sect!”