Da Xuan Martial Saint

The rolling Cloud Sea.

A figure stood quietly amidst the swirling mists, gazing distantly at the summit of Yunni Mountain. Clad in a simple blue robe, his eyebrows sharp as swords and his eyes bright as stars, he stood on a sword emitting faint blue light, floating in the air.

"Interesting," he murmured.

He watched in the direction of the Yunni Sky Steps, hands clasped behind his back, not knowing how long he had been watching when he suddenly spoke in a faint voice.

Following that, he waved his sleeve, and a burst of sword light instantly disappeared into the Cloud Sea. Barely a dozen breaths later, this burst of sword light, guiding a pale gold Sword Chart and a figure, flew over.

The figure's face was pale with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth, and it was none other than Zuo Qianqiu.

Guided by a burst of sword light with the Mysterious Heavenly Sword Diagram flying over the clouds, he was not overly discomposed at this moment, only his breath was weak. Upon seeing the figure in the blue robe, he bowed with a somewhat hoarse voice.

"Uncle Master Jiang, I..."

Since achieving the Heavenly Sword, he had swept across his peers, unmatched by anyone at his level, whether it was Hua Nongyue, Yuan Yingsong, or anyone else, none dared to contend against him, and they would keep a distance.

Yet, who could have thought that one day, he would also suffer such an easy defeat at the hands of another, even though activating the Mysterious Heavenly Sword Diagram, he was still no match. He had always believed, since holding the Heavenly Sword, that he could slash through all things, even control Yin Yang, the Five Elements, and so forth. His master had told him this, and he even believed that facing the young geniuses of Central Prefecture who practiced Qiankun, he might still be able to fight at the same level, only to unexpectedly meet a peer who mastered Qiankun in the Cold North Path and be so utterly defeated!

"The current Heavenly Sword is indeed no match for Qiankun,"

Jiang Changsheng looked at Zuo Qianqiu, saying, "But I think, having someone in your generation in the Cold North Path who cultivates Qiankun is not necessarily a bad thing for you."

"Uncle Master..."

Zuo Qianqiu was slightly stunned.

Jiang Changsheng continued softly, "You inherit the Heavenly Sword, and I have always thought that not meeting a match is not good. I even proposed to your master that you should leave the Cold North and go to Jingji Road for training. There are countless talented individuals in Central Prefecture who master Yin Yang, the Five Elements, and even Qiankun; that is where your Sword Dao should be honed."

"Hundreds of years ago, the Human Sword rose from the base of the Sword Dao, step by step, using other sword paths to hone itself, merging the strengths of various schools, and over the centuries, it clashed countless times with artistic conceptions such as Yin Yang and the Five Elements, breaking and sinking into the sand I don't know how many times, but this sword always remained unyielding, eventually transforming into the Heavenly Sword, reaching a height where it could compete with Yin Yang and the Five Elements."

"In your hands, will this sword break at once?"

"Your predecessors have been defeated under Yin Yang and the Five Elements countless times, but ultimately humanity overcame heaven."

The Heavenly Sword, comparable to Yin Yang and the Five Elements, was not initially able to compare to them. It was only through countless defeats and numerous rounds of honing, through the continuous efforts of generations of sword practitioners, that it reached its current state.

At this point,

Jiang Changsheng finally said placidly, "Your predecessors all wished to use 'Qiankun' to sharpen their swords, but practitioners of Qiankun, able to achieve Grandmaster status, have been fewer than ten since a thousand years ago. They wished to hone but had nowhere to do it."

"Having someone in your generation who practices this, what you should hope for now is that this person becomes more outstanding in the future, breaks through the Mysterious Pass and even attains the status of a Qiankun Grandmaster... Only then can you ensure that after entering the Marrow Cleansing realm, you won't lack a worthy opponent to sharpen your sword."
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Hearing Jiang Changsheng's words,

Zuo Qianqiu seemed to understand something, and a new light appeared in his somewhat dim eyes.

Indeed,

he suddenly understood where the gap between him and Chen Mu lay.

He had swept across his peers, dominating the Eleven States of the Cold North Path, forging an invincible Sword Intent, but in reality, his invincibility was merely an illusion, formed by stacking one victory upon another, pursuing personal invincibility.

But Chen Mu, that previous attitude was not a pretense, nor was it meant to humiliate him, but it was a genuine hope that his Heavenly Sword would grow stronger!

That is the real unbeatable Martial Arts will!

No longer pursuing personal strength but instead hoping that the opponent would grow strong enough to stand against him, not merely defeated easily by him, making him lose interest!

No wonder,

he lost to Chen Mu, and lost so easily, so brutally.

The gap between the two was not just between the Heavenly Sword and Qiankun, but fundamentally in the will of their hearts!

"Thank you, Uncle Master, for enlightening me; I understand now,"

Zuo Qianqiu straightened his body slowly.

Indeed,

Chen Mu is strong, which is a good thing. Having a rival among his contemporaries means he won't be lonely. Instead, he fell short, not only in strength but also in mental attitude, to the point that he couldn't even let Chen Mu enjoy the battle.

The path of the Heavenly Sword doesn't face many barriers in the Mysterious Pass, and in the past, all who achieved the Heavenly Sword entered above the level of Grandmaster. In contrast, he should now worry whether, after he himself achieves Grandmaster status, Chen Mu can still keep up since, after all, the path of Qiankun is the hardest in the world, with countless practitioners but few who succeed.

Inexplicably,

Zuo Qianqiu felt that his somewhat dim Sword Intent of the Heavenly Sword was quietly dusted off, as if merging gradually with the Heavenly Sword practitioners of past generations, feeling the regrets of those past Heavenly Sword Grandmasters who wished to contest with Qiankun but couldn't.

"It's good that you understand,"

Jiang Changsheng looked into Zuo Qianqiu's eyes, sensing how his aura changed, knowing he had truly comprehended it.

After nearly a hundred years had passed, the Heavenly Sword had reappeared. In terms of disposition, will, and enlightenment, he indeed was much stronger than his incompetent disciple Gu Hong. Gu Hong had his Heart Sword broken again, but having already enlightened him once, he would not do so again this time. Broken and then established, established then broken again—if he truly couldn't be supported, then he might as well be discarded.