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nXu Xiaoshou headed east.

nBecause Yuan Tou was listening, he said he was heading westward. The fellow was probably going to hunt him down again. But, with the misinformation he’d just fed him, he might not be able to find him at all in three days.

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nTianxuan Gate was a big place, after all.

nHe hummed a quiet tune, and, as he occasionally pulled his fingertip out of his palm, he could feel himself growing used to the pleasure rippling through his body.

nIn an attempt to stop relying on pain to distract himself from the pleasure, he yanked his fingertip completely out of his palm.

n“Nngh!”

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nIt still felt a little unbearable. Something strange was happening to his body again.

nHe steeled himself, bore the discomfort, and continued marching forward, no longer inflicting pain on himself.

nThe Breathing Technique was a passive skill, and, sooner or later, he was going to activate it by entering someplace that was rich with spiritual energy.

nThis was only the Tianxuan Gate. He was going to leave the Spirit Palace and enter secret realms that were even more powerful than the Tianxuan Gate. Was he going to stop cultivating and becoming stronger because he couldn’t overcome the intense pleasure?

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nNo way!

nResistance was futile. You couldn’t fight life all the time. Sometimes, you had to learn how to enjoy it.

n“Oh, man…this feels great…”

nAlone, Xu Xiaoshou started to let loose.

nAs time passed, he gradually regained the ability to walk normally.

nWhen other people entered the Tianxuan Gate, they would seize the day and either rush to cultivate or rush to locate a secret realm so they could cultivate there.

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nXu Xiaoshou was different.

nHe’d always relied on his passive skills for his cultivation. He could’ve been lying down on the ground right now in the Tianxuan Gate and still would’ve been cultivating. In fact, the results he would’ve achieved from doing so could’ve surpassed that of those who diligently cultivated without wasting a single second.

nHe wasn’t a complete sloth, though. He pulled out the jade scroll containing 10 Sections of the Finger Sword as he headed toward the Black Cliff.

nThis was the technique that the legendary prodigy of the five regions and Eighth Sword Deity, Bazhun’an, had created.

nNow that he knew its origins, the jade scroll in his hands seemed the more valuable now.

nHe had no idea how Elder Sang had managed to acquire the complete version of the technique, but he was certain that he must’ve paid a heavy price for it.

n“I didn’t get a chance to look at it earlier, but now I can finally take a look!” he thought.

nHe placed the jade scroll to his forehead and allowed his mind to scan through its contents. Vast volumes of information flooded his mind.

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nIt was as he’d expected. This was a special spiritual technique whose training focused solely on the practitioner’s ten fingers. It didn’t need a spiritual source. In fact, inherent in the technique were traces of combat strategies that relied heavily on Sword Will.

n“What’s going on? So the Sword Will doesn’t possess the swordsman, then?”

nXu Xiaoshou was slightly baffled. Was this a fusion of Pure Sword Will Combat and Sword Will Possession?

n“That isn’t completely outside the realm of impossibility…” he thought.

nXu Xiaoshou felt as if he’d just been struck by an epiphany.

nThere was only one other person besides himself whom he could think of when it came to Pure Sword Will Combat, and that was the masked intruder.

nAnd now that the jade scroll he had also seemed to touch upon Pure Sword Will Combat…he couldn’t help but be reminded of what the masked intruder had told him. He’d said that the road that Xu Xiaoshou had chosen led to a dead end.

nHad the Eighth Sword Deity chosen this path as well?

nWithout further thought, Xu Xiaoshou studied the contents of the jade scroll again.

nIn order to practice 10 Sections of the Finger Sword, one needed extremely strong fingers. He should be able to fulfill that criteria on account of his Innate Level Physique. Should that fail to suffice, he still had Sharpness to make up for it!

nThis wasn’t going to be a problem at all.

nThe obstacle that had hindered nine out of ten cultivators from learning the technique was easily circumvented, and Xu Xiaoshou moved on to the second step.

nThe Sword Will was to materialize and take possession.

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n“What does that mean?

n“The Sword Will materializes easily enough, doesn’t it? I mean, all those sword energies…”

nXu Xiaoshou grew increasingly alarmed as he continued reading. From the contents of the jade scroll, it was obvious that there was a clear distinction between the Sword Will and sword energy.

nAfter reading the full contents of the jade scroll, Xu Xiaoshou finally realized that he’d been mistaken all along.

nHis techniques like All Things are Swords, the Blade-draw Technique, and various techniques in which he used the force of his sword energy to overwhelm his foe… were all classified as basic ways of employing sword energy in the jade scroll.

nHe hadn’t been using his Sword Will at all!

nThis meant that, strictly speaking, that all along he’d been using Pure Sword Energy Combat instead of Pute Sword Will Combat!

n“This is fascinating…

n“What happens if my will is unable to materialize and take visible shape? How can it be put to good use then?”

nXu Xiaoshou sank into deep thought, and it didn’t take him long to remember his Modified Sword Style.

nThat was the technique he’d stumbled upon in an epiphany the first time he leveled up his Sword Technique Expertise. He’d been fighting Zhou Tianshen then, and the technique had allowed him to deftly deflect the latter’s powerful Deity Mountain-Lifting Technique with little effort, winning him the match.

nBut that particular technique had proven useless in subsequent fights.

nIt was restricted by too many limitations and didn’t have any set moves. He often forgot that he had it in his arsenal and would oftentimes use Blade-draw Technique instead.

nHaving read the contents of the jade scroll, he now knew that of all the techniques that he possessed, only one counted as a technique that relied on Sword Will.

nBecause he’d boxed them into a rigid set of moves, the techniques he’d gained through epiphanies had all ended up as lesser moves.

nHe might have given these abstract revelations visible form, but if he were to continue doing so in this fashion, he would end up straying down the wrong path in the long run.

n“True combat with the Sword Will is one that is without form or essence, with neither move nor technique. Ten thousand blades are but one blade and ten thousand techniques undone without a single blade.”

nRealization dawned on Xu Xiaoshou as he read these words inscribed in the jade scroll.

nThe magnitude of what “ten thousand blades are but one blade” meant sent his mind instantly reeling, and the line that followed next, “ten thousand techniques undone without a single blade,” opened the doors to a whole new universe.

nHow incredibly well put!

nThis was something he’d always dreamed of achieving!

nHe should’ve known how easy it’d be to stray down the wrong path when stuck figuring things out on one’s own.

nHold on a minute…

nWhy did those words sound so familiar?

nHe suddenly remembered that the masked intruder had said something similar after fighting him with something that resembled his own style.

n“The true Sword Will is not bound by levels and cares not for form or essence. It mirrors that which its foe tries to inflict upon it.”

nThat was the line!

nThat was what the masked intruder had said after seizing Xiao Qixiu’s sword and stabbing him with it.

nXu Xiaoshou’s memory had drastically improved since acquiring Sense. All he needed was a brief moment of contemplation to recall something.

nHe could remember how after every move, the masked intruder had made a point of emphasizing…

nInnate Level!

nThe Innate Level All Things are Swords and the Innate Level I Am the Sword…

nThe masked intruder had rambled on and on then, and he’d simply thought the old man was trying to show off. But now that he thought it over again, he couldn’t help but be taken aback.

n“Was he trying to give me pointers?” Xu Xiaoshou stopped in his tracks as realization dawned on him, and he sank into deep thought.

n“Who is the masked intruder?

n“Could he be the Eighth Sword Deity?

n“That’s impossible! Elder Sang told me that the Eighth Sword Deity died!

n“Hold on a minute. He did mention the death…

n“…of a prodigy. Maybe he meant the Eighth Sword Deity is no longer a prodigy.

nXu Xiaoshou’s pupils shrank, and Xiao Qixiu suddenly popped into his head.

nThe man had been stabbed that day but had appeared extremely excited after the battle, which was odd!

nWho would be so excited after being stabbed in the chest? Now that he thought about it, that look on his face then…

nIt was the exact look a fan had when seeing his idol!

nXiao Qixiu… a fan…

n“Oh, man!” Xu Xiaoshou shivered.

nEven if the masked intruder wasn’t the Eighth Sword Deity, Xu Xiaoshou had a feeling that he still had something to do with the latter. He might be the Eighth Sword Deity’s disciple or grand disciple.

n“Woah!”

nWhat a surprise!

nXu Xiaoshou collected his thoughts and carefully stowed the jade scroll away. If he hadn’t read its contents, he wouldn’t have realized what a treasure it was!

nThankfully, he had the jade scroll to point him in the right direction. Otherwise, he had a feeling he would’ve continued down the erroneous path of creating his own techniques.

nBut the Blade-draw Technique was simply too powerful a technique to give up…

nIf he were to abandon it, he wouldn’t have any powerful techniques to employ in battle in the future!

n“I’m painting myself into a corner…”

nXu Xiaoshou was at a loss momentarily, but he quickly shook himself out of it.

nHe was definitely going to choose the way of the Sword Will, but no one said he couldn’t work on creating his own techniques at the same time. There was no inherent conflict between the two.

n“I’m a genius!”

nXu Xiaoshou stared at the skies with a bright, burning look in his eyes.

nBefore reading the contents of the jade scroll, he’d thought the 10 Sections of the Finger Sword a technique that he could do without, but its contents had changed his mind.

nThe Eighth Sword Deity had deemed the 10 Sections of the Finger Sword his pride, so it must have its merits. Besides, he had gained such a powerful revelation from just one line in the text. If he were to master the technique…

nHe might gain himself a terrifying combat style!

nHis next destination: Black Cliff!

nHis calves tensed. The ground caved slightly under his feet, creating a crater, and the impact sent Xu Xiaoshou flying into the sky.

nHe landed a few hundred meters away.

nBoom.

nAnother huge crater later, he shot into the sky once more…

nLeaping around like that was quicker than Innate Level Flight!

n“Hmm?”

n“Why does this look so familiar?”

nXu Xiaoshou realized that something wasn’t quite right as he continued leaping.

nIf his skin were a little greener and his body slightly bulkier, wouldn’t that make him…

n“The Hulk?”

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