Chapter 174: Chapter 173: The Secret Battle (Part 1)_1
Sword Pavilion, fourth floor.
“How did you get up here? Didn’t I tell you that you’re only allowed to roam the first three floors?”
After an indeterminate amount of time, Fu Qian opened his eyes and saw the middle-aged guard of the Sword Pavilion before him.
The latter was glaring at him fiercely, his voice stern.
“Come down with me immediately, and take out your student card, you haven’t registered yet.”
Alright then!
Fu Qian, familiar with the process, took out his card and handed it over, only to see the other’s expression visibly stiffen.
“…Is this yours?”
“Yes, it is!”
“…You are not from the Swordsmanship Department?”
“I could be.”
“This is a card from the Heaven’s Commencement Institute, and a mentor’s at that… Why did you come here dressed in the Swordsmanship Department’s attire?”
“Could you explain that?”
Just like the last time, the middle-aged man’s face turned cold.
However, unlike last time, Fu Qian had already thought of an answer.
“Living in darkness but yearning for the light, I have just come to realize my true self.”
Fu Qian extended his right hand, his index and middle fingers together.
Under the guard’s puzzled gaze, a mighty sword qi tore through the sky, bringing with it a chill of desolation.
“I’ve recently been sensing something in my heart — I was only looking around outside, I didn’t expect such a warm invitation.”
“Now I am prepared to abandon the dark and join the Swordsmanship Department.”
…
Is this—Sword Intent?
Not only was the middle-aged man stunned, but Ji Liushuang, who was daydreaming beside him, was also dumbfounded.
The Sword Intent that countless members of the Swordsmanship Department had dreamt of, hoped for, and pondered over—had this person grasped it after only a few minutes?
How are the students below supposed to feel about their own efforts?
“To hear the Dao in the morning and to die in the evening would be enough!”
Fu Qian sighed wistfully.
“If it weren’t for your invitation, how could I have realized such truth? I truly cannot thank you enough!”
“In any case… let’s go outside first.”
Seeing the ecstatic look on Fu Qian’s face, the middle-aged guard’s expression was a mix of awkwardness and perplexity, not sure how to respond.
“Alright then, lead the way.”
Fu Qian replied agreeably.
“Oh, right!”
Just as he was about to leave, he turned to look at Ji Liushuang.
“More haste, less speed; you’d better go out and take a walk.”
“Uh… Okay.”
Ji Liushuang replied subconsciously, feeling as though there was a special convincing power in Fu Qian’s words.
…
“Regardless, the Sword Pavilion is only open to members of the Swordsmanship Department…”
At the entrance, the middle-aged man looked at the information that popped up for Fu Qian, his face showing difficulty.
“No need to say more, I understand what you mean.”
Fu Qian was dead serious.
“I’ll go back and take care of the paperwork right now.”
…
That’s not what I meant!
The middle-aged guard didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“Don’t worry, it will be quick; at the Heaven’s Commencement Institute, everyone knows my desire to leave the darkness for the light.”
What is all this gibberish you’re coming up with!
Now it wasn’t just the middle-aged guard, even Ji Liushuang, who had come down with him, was stunned by his words.
“Fu Qian!”
In the midst of an awkward silence, a call came from not far away, and the tall Lanaia arrived on time.
“I just went to look for you and didn’t find you, so I guessed you’d be here.”
Her lines were spot-on.
“You’re not thinking of going in there again—”
“I’ve already been inside.”
Lanaia’s next sentence was only half spoken when Fu Qian ruthlessly interrupted her.
“What?”
Lanaia looked at Fu Qian with a baffled face, not understanding his meaning.
This guy wouldn’t really have gone to the forbidden area of the Swordsmanship Department, would he?
“I was just at the sword platform, enlightening myself on the Sword Dao, and I’ve now put down the butcher’s knife to become a Buddha on the spot. Didn’t you see I even changed clothes?”
Fu Qian continued to spout nonsense while his index and middle fingers came together once again.
Unlike before, this time a blood-colored half-moon howled out.
Two kinds of Sword Intent?
The scene before them caused the middle-aged guard to swallow back the words he was about to say, feeling that his years of understanding had been overturned.
No one had ever heard of someone comprehending two kinds of Sword Intent simultaneously, let alone within five minutes!
Is this guy even human!
What the guard didn’t know was that the Sword Intent emanating from Fu Qian at this moment was far more than just two kinds.
Shortly after sitting down, using his strong obsession and stimulation, Fu Qian quickly sensed something unusual and discovered a special kind of intent being infused into his mind.
As it turned out, his guess was correct—it really was giving out Sword Intent generously; there was no need for any understanding of the Sword Dao or the like.
Less than a second after joining the “swarm,” Fu Qian was overwhelmed by countless surging Sword Intents.
All kinds of Sword Intents, some even completely contradictory in nature, were madly infused into his mind without regard for whether he could digest them or not.
Even now, the ceaseless onslaught of Sword Intents continued to cloud his thinking, as if thousands of steel needles were tearing through his nerves.
It turned out that “it” was more sensitive than he imagined and detected him, the Blasphemer, in an instant.
And its method of eliminating him was to infuse Sword Intents indiscriminately, trying to burn out his brain.
This was why in just a few minutes, Fu Qian’s use of Sword Intent was completely different each time.
Sword Intent?
Lanaia also knew her stuff. Although she did not witness the previous display, the fact that Fu Qian, an instructor from Heaven’s Commencement Institute, could casually produce a signature move from the Swordsmanship Department, made her unconsciously rub her eyes to check if she was still dreaming.
“What do you need me for?”
After shocking the three people around him, Fu Qian composed himself and asked with a smile while resisting the onslaught.
This whole thing had been a mad attempt, and Fu Qian had made several contingency plans for how “it” might react upon discovering him.
The current situation was not too bad.
What followed was a battle of wills.
One must look on the bright side; its current behavior, though intended to burn his brain with the onslaught of information, was essentially still infusing him with the true essence of the Sword Dao.
If he could withstand the assault and control the Sword Intent, wouldn’t he become all-knowing and a reborn Sword God when the time came?
“Indeed, I need you for something. Come with me, and we’ll talk on the way,” Lanaia finally snapped out of her daze.
Recalling the reason for her visit, she didn’t waste any courtesy and started walking off, pulling Fu Qian with her.
The middle-aged man still hadn’t recovered from the shock, his mind a jumbled mess, completely forgetting the issue of Fu Qian’s rule-breaking punishment.
…
Quickly pulling Fu Qian into her vehicle, Lanaia led him straight out of the Academy while briefing him on the recent catastrophe.
“Does the Yuan Clan have other warehouses nearby?”
This time, Fu Qian didn’t ask why the Night Watchman wasn’t involved.
According to the timeline, Ruan Shuo should have left the Sword Pavilion well in advance and already be lying in ambush outside the second warehouse, ready to act before long.
In other words, if the timing was right, he would almost run right into the scene.
Stumbling upon the scene would make things much simpler to handle.
Ruan Shuo’s issue needed to be resolved quickly as Fu Qian still had many things to do.
The frenzied assault of Sword Intent was just an appetizer; the unseen struggle known only to himself and “it” had just begun.