It wasn’t just Xu Ming who caught the sword the old man threw.
In Xu Xue Nuo’s spiritual realm, the young girl caught it too.
Whether it was Xu Ming or Xu Xue Nuo, the mont they caught the sword from the old man, they felt an endless surge of sword intent flooding into their minds and coursing through their blood.
Faced with the sword the old man imparted, their very souls were on the brink of collapse!
Xu Ming, having never undergone systematic training in the way of the sword and with little understanding of swordsmanship, couldn’t comprehend what this sword truly represented.
But Xu Xue Nuo? Her master was the foremost Sword Immortal of the current age.
Having always cultivated by the side of soone standing at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, Xu Xue Nuo understood all too well—the sword in her hands embodied the old man’s lifelong insights into the way of the sword.
One sword to shatter all techniques.
One sword to sever all karma.
One sword to encompass all possibilities.
No matter what kind of sword technique a swordsman practiced, in the end, everything would culminate in one ultimate strike.
This strike was the swordsman’s strongest.
This strike contained their everything.
But how could a single strike that embodied the totality of a Ascension Realm Sword Cultivator’s essence be sothing Xu Ming and Xu Xue Nuo, re middle-five realm cultivators, could withstand? They had no choice but to try. There was no turning back.
“Was it too much for them after all?”
The old man watched the two young ones, Xu Ming and Xu Xue Nuo.
Their souls were like porcelain—shattered, hastily pieced together, and riddled with cracks, as if they might break apart at any mont.
If their souls shattered, their bodies would naturally perish as well.
“Sigh.”
The old man let out a deep sigh, convinced that they wouldn’t make it through this ordeal.
Indeed, not everyone could be like him.
Yet, just as the old man in their consciousness turned to leave, he suddenly sensed sothing unusual behind him.
In Xu Xue Nuo’s spiritual realm, the old man turned around and looked at the girl whose soul was on the verge of collapse. A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Her soul, which had been on the brink of shattering, was slowly nding itself.
Although her expression still showed intense pain, she was clearly moving in a better direction.
Her aura grew increasingly stronger.
The sword energy and intent swirling around her body continuously absorbed everything he had imparted.
“Hah…”
Xu Xue Nuo let out a long exhale, her chest rising and falling heavily.
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and slowly stood up.
Xu Xue Nuo stared straight at the old man.
Initially, she had simply thought of him as a powerful swordsman and didn’t feel much reverence.
But now, after accepting the sword he had imparted, Xu Xue Nuo felt deep admiration for the old man.
She even had a feeling—
Even her master would likely lose in a duel against this man at his peak.
“Not bad, not bad. As expected of Jiang Luoyu’s disciple.” The old man smiled at Xu Xue Nuo, stroking his beard in approval.
Xu Xue Nuo was startled. “Elder, you know my master?”
“How could I not?”
The old man chuckled.
“Years ago, when I dueled your grandmaster, your master was just a young girl of seventeen or eighteen—about your age—standing by with a sword in her arms, watching intently.
Your master was quite beautiful back then, but her temperant was too cold. She was like a sword herself. Hmm… you’re just like her—cold as a blade.
Co to think of it, your grandmaster was pretty cold too. Well, I’ll be damned. You’re all the sa in your lineage.
If I’m not mistaken, both you and your master probably don’t have Dao companions, do you?”
Xu Xue Nuo: “…”
“It seems so, but you won’t admit it. Both your grandmaster and your master are truly skilled at choosing disciples. You and your master are both exceptionally talented,” the old man said as he looked at Xu Xue Nuo. “Speaking of which, how’s that little girl, your master? No, wait, after all these years… is she still doing well?”
“Thank you for your concern, Elder. My master is doing just fine,” Xu Xue Nuo replied, holding her sword and bowing slightly. “Also, I must thank you for not exposing back then.”
“Out in the world, it’s perfectly normal to make up a sect when necessary. Back in the day, when I couldn’t beat soone, I’d claim to be from so sect or another,” the old man said casually, as if it were no big deal.
Xu Xue Nuo: “…”
She hadn’t expected such an awe-inspiring elder to have had monts of shalessness like that.
“Alright, since you’ve managed to withstand my sword intent, it’s ti to see if you can execute the strike I passed on to you.”
The old man pointed at the blood-red sky above them.
“Now, take the sword in your hand and split open that sky!”
“Split open the sky?”
Xu Ming, who had also endured the old man’s sword intent in his spiritual dream, was still reeling from the ordeal. He had almost reached his limit but managed to pull through, thanks to prior investnts in his “will” and “spirit.”
To be honest, Xu Ming felt this was the closest he’d been to death since his life-and-death battle with the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect.
“Yes, split open the sky,” the old man said with satisfaction as he looked at Xu Ming.
Earlier, he had assud Xu Ming wouldn’t make it and was ready to leave his consciousness. But unexpectedly, just like the young girl, this boy had managed to endure.
To think that this unorthodox path could actually withstand his sword intent—it seed that the martial path Xu Ming had trained in wasn’t entirely useless after all.
“Your boxing technique—if I’m not mistaken—is called Heaven-Splitting Fist, correct?” the old man asked.
“Yes,” Xu Ming nodded. “Elder, your knowledge is truly vast.”
“No need to flatter ,” the old man replied, though he seed quite pleased. “Five thousand years ago, I fought a Pinnacle Boundary Realm Martial Artist who left a deep impression on . His technique was also the Heaven-Splitting Fist. But your version of it seems incomplete.”
“That’s true,” Xu Ming admitted without hesitation. “I learned my Heaven-Splitting Fist from a close friend, who explicitly told it was an incomplete technique, ant only as a transitional skill.”
“Hah! The idea of Heaven-Splitting Fist being used as a transitional skill… how ridiculous,” the old man chuckled and shook his head. “Go to the Nether River. I’ve heard that the man I fought back then died there. Perhaps you’ll find the complete manual there.”
“Thank you for the advice, Elder,” Xu Ming said, bowing in gratitude.
“No need to thank . If you want to go to the Nether River, you’ll need to survive this first,” the old man said calmly.
“Truth be told, I’ve never been able to decide on a na for this sword technique of mine. But after seeing your Fist Technique today, I’ve co up with an idea.”
The old man turned around, holding his longsword before him. Sword energy gathered like a vast ocean, causing the heavens to tremble and the earth to quake.
“Watch closely. This strike of mine shall also be called—
Heaven-Splitting!”
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