Chapter 119: You Have No Idea What Really Happened

Xiao Nan understood Jiang Yu’s intent. The so-called loaning of this heirloom jade pendant would certainly not happen now, but only after he had fulfilled his end of the bargain.

This object was specifically being used as bait. It was highly likely that she had withheld several critical details, such as the immense difficulty of comprehending it. She was only responsible for lending it out, not for ensuring he actually learned it.

As soon as the jade pendant was produced, Xiao Nan felt an abnormal fluctuation in the surrounding vital energy. The Spring Essence he had realized through his own spirit became more agile and vibrant, resonating with the pendant from a distance.

"The Sword Intent inheritance of a Ninth-Rank Grandmaster?"

No matter how much Xiao Nan tried to feign indifference, he could no longer hold back. The three realms of a Grandmaster—Danyuan, Neigang, and Waijing—corresponded to the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Ranks, with the Ninth Rank being known as a Grandmaster. In recent days, he had gradually learned some classified information through television and the internet. Although he was unsure of its veracity, Xiao Nan preferred to believe it was true.

It was said that a Grandmaster who had achieved the unity of heaven and humanity could command the vital energy of the world with a mere gesture. They could manifest the phenomena of nature and control thunder and storms. Humans powerful to such a degree could no longer be entirely classified as human. The most recent battle was the Lijiang River diversion incident. Internet news claimed that a Sword Grandmaster had slain an evil god above the Lijiang River. At that time, mountains collapsed, the river flow was cut off, and the scene was left in ruins, as if it had been struck by a dense barrage of missiles. It took the authorities half a month, mobilizing countless human and material resources, to widen the riverbed and restore the flow.

"May I take a look at it first?"

As soon as he saw the jade pendant, the bronze mirror in his mind began to vibrate slightly, causing a tingling sensation in his brain. Aside from that blood sacrifice incident where he absorbed a trace of divinity, he had never felt the bronze mirror react this way before.

Old Wu’s expression was quite displeased, but he did not speak. Jiang Yu, however, was magnanimous and reached out to hand it over. "Go ahead and look. I’m not lying to you. After comprehending this inheritance, with the power of the Four Seasons Sword, you won’t have to fear any supreme techniques from any sect or school. Perhaps you don’t understand what Sword Intent is? It is different from the essence of ordinary techniques; it is the spirit within the sword, the sword’s ability to generate life. It is the user’s willpower interfering with reality—peerless in its lethality."

Xiao Nan no longer had the capacity to ponder these words. His entire focus was consumed by the bronze mirror’s strange activity. As his finger touched the emerald jade pendant and his spirit sank into the internal space, he discovered a golden streak of sword light pouring directly in. The sword light pierced through the fog, moving like a dragon or a snake, whistling to and fro. Seemingly satisfied with the environment, the sword light circled a few times before coming to a halt. It descended into the center of the misty square and transformed into a figure clad in white, holding a long sword.

The figure appeared to be in his forties, with long eyebrows, narrow eyes, and a refined, scholarly face. This must be Jiang Hongbo, the founder of the Four Seasons Sword Sect and the Waijing Grandmaster known as the "Four Seasons Sword." Xiao Nan sensed the aura of this person and harbored his own guesses. As his spirit approached, the figure raised his sword, and an unparalleled murderous intent surged forth.

"Boom!"

Xiao Nan’s spiritual power was shredded and scattered as if struck by a thousand blades. He hurriedly retreated from the bronze mirror’s space, his face pale and cold sweat beading on his forehead, yet deep within his soul, he was extremely exhilarated.

"Hehe," Jiang Yu covered her mouth and giggled. "I forgot to tell you, don’t use your spiritual power to probe it, even though your spiritual realm is quite decent." When she said "quite decent," her face was filled with mockery. "Over the years, I have also contemplated it meticulously, only to grasp a mere shred of this Sword Intent. After all, my realm is insufficient, and my sword techniques are not profound enough. But in my opinion, you can do it. The deeper your grasp of the Four Seasons Essence, the more it will help you comprehend the Sword Intent."

Xiao Nan finally managed to calm his spiritual fluctuations, his complexion improving. He didn't care about Jiang Yu mocking his overestimation of his own abilities in trying to probe the secrets of the Sword Intent; he only cared about whether he had damaged the jade pendant, which would be a catastrophe. In fact, he had not. In Xiao Nan’s sensing, the pendant still resonated slightly with the surrounding vital energy, though the sensation was a bit weaker. If the previous pendant felt like a strong, healthy adult, it now felt like a hollowed-out, pale, and bony wretch. Although the essence remained, much of the vitality had been sapped.

*It shouldn't affect the comprehension, right? Anyway, in your hands, you only understand a little bit of the surface; you couldn't use anything more profound anyway.*

Xiao Nan looked at Jiang Yu with a slightly strange expression. *You have no idea what just happened. If you knew that I had already recorded this Sword Intent inheritance into my mind and could study and spar with it at any time, you would definitely be jumping with anxiety.*

"When shall I start learning the sword from you?" Xiao Nan was not the type to take the benefit and deny the debt. Having received such a boon, he felt a bit embarrassed. Besides, he wanted to learn the Four Seasons Sword, and since he had already gained so much from Jiang Yu, he saw no point in putting on airs.

"You agree?" Jiang Yu’s voice rose an octave, her eyes crinkling into a smile. *What a silly girl.*

"Since the Pavilion Master is so sincere, what is a little sword sparring? As long as the opponent isn't two realms higher than me, I have some confidence in winning," Xiao Nan nodded and smiled.

"It’s not just sparring; I might also need your cooperation for the Four Seasons Sword’s publicity," Jiang Yu added quickly.

"Fine."

"Don’t be in a rush about learning the sword. I tell you, I will be responsible for you; I won't be perfunctory at all. When I go back, I will send a message to the headquarters to have the video materials of my father teaching us the sword sent over. You know, in my Yuanjiang Four Seasons Sword Pavilion, including myself, no one has truly grasped the essence of it..." Jiang Yu’s face flushed slightly. As the Pavilion Master, she had only realized the essence of the Spring and Summer swords; she hadn't even touched the Autumn and Winter ones. This was quite shameful.

Old Wu, standing to the side, had indeed learned them, but with his level, he was only fit to teach ordinary disciples; if he were to teach a genius student, he would likely hold them back. Old Wu turned his head away, as if he hadn't heard anything. *Miss Yu has invested everything this time; I just hope it’s worth it.*

"The blood-bathing trial is on Monday. I don't have much time to learn the sword anyway, so this is for the best." At this moment, Xiao Nan’s mind was no longer here. He wanted to return early to carefully contemplate exactly what this Sword Intent inheritance was all about.

Fortunately, Jiang Yu was also a very straightforward person. Once the matter was settled, she did not delay further, bidding Xiao Nan farewell with a radiant smile. She was in an excellent mood. In this day and age, finding a good teacher was not easy, but finding a brilliant, genius student was even harder.

"Jiang Yu, you’d never guess... when the time comes, I’ll let you see the teaching quality of my Yuanjiang Four Seasons Branch."

*What a spendthrift.* Watching Jiang Yu hurry away, Xiao Nan was speechless, but his heart was filled with inexplicable excitement. In terms of martial arts, this world had advanced much further than his previous life. Aside from the early-stage techniques of hardness and softness, lightness and weight, and square and round, the martial arts here involved the spirit, divided into the profound realms of Spirit, Intent, and Momentum.

Sword Intent was a mysterious power. It was the perfect integration of spirit and blood, where willpower interfered with reality. As for its power, those who hadn't seen it couldn't imagine it. Most of those who had truly witnessed such power were already dead. Being able to see Sword Intent in advance within the bronze mirror’s space and study it countless times was, to Xiao Nan, no less than discovering a treasure.

...

Two days later, at dawn, the sky was faintly lit, and everything around was quiet. Xiao Nan sat cross-legged on the bedroom floor, a piece of golden-yellow incense burning beside him, the room filled with faint clouds of smoke. This was Soul-Nourishing Incense. After passing the blood-energy test that day, the school had distributed another First-Rank Blood Energy Pill and a piece of Soul-Nourishing Incense. Xiao Nan wasn't particularly thrilled about the Blood Energy Pill; breaking through to a First-Rank warrior wasn't a matter of one or two pills. The Soul-Nourishing Incense, however, was quite useful to him.

His spirit sank into the depths of the space, into the deep fog, where the golden light on his near-tangible body had gradually faded, leaving only a faint golden glow on the surface of his skin. He took a long breath and lunged forward, his sword transforming into a misty drizzle, with eight white flowers blooming midway. The sword flowers scattered, and the sword wind whistled. Standing opposite him was the white-clad man, silently contemplating something.

As Xiao Nan’s sword flowers pierced through and transformed into countless petals, the white-clad figure’s arm moved slightly. A single point of sharpness blossomed, abruptly turning into nine sword flowers, which instantly transformed back into one. Without a sound, five petal-shaped sword shadows appeared before Xiao Nan’s brow.

It was impossibly fast.

Xiao Nan arched his back, retreating wildly. The edge of his sword transformed into an illusion, and with a miraculous touch, a faint shadow appeared, piercing exactly into those five sword shadows.

"Pop..."

A bloodstain appeared on Xiao Nan’s brow, and he was sent flying five meters away. The long sword in his hand was still trembling, but the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a smile.

"In the last two days, after being killed over a hundred times, my 'Falling Flowers' can finally manifest eight sword flowers, and I have even managed to grasp a trace of Sword Intent from it." Thinking of how Jiang Yu had spent many years to achieve even that much from the jade pendant, while he had learned it in just two days, he couldn't help but feel a bit proud, even with his calm disposition.

*Finally, I've entered the gate.*

The consumption of using this trace of Sword Intent was truly immense. It would not only drain his spiritual power in the 'Sitting and Forgetting' realm dry but also leave his body weakened. He shouldn't even think about using it a second time in a short period. But that was only because he hadn't mastered it yet. Although the consumption was great, the power of the sword technique was even greater. Compared to the Thunder Sword of the Spring Awakening Dragon-Snake Essence, its lethality was more than doubled.

"If I want to study it further and advance this Sword Intent, not only do I need to learn the sword techniques of the other three seasons, but I also need enough energy." After the joy, he looked at the divine radiance on his body, which had faded to the point of being barely visible, and he sighed in his heart.

Nothing in this world comes without a price.