The Awakening of Sword Force

His sword technique grew purer and purer, until one day, a sliver of silver radiance appeared at the tip of Ji Ning’s sword-finger. This silver radiance made the ‘sword-finger’ even sharper—sharper than a true divine sword, with greater penetrating power!

Within the aquatic manor.

The black-robed Ji Ning immediately asked the yellow-furred bear, “Senior Bear, do you know what this radiance at my fingertip is?”

“You don’t even know that?” The bear was puzzled. “You understand Heartforce, but… ah, I see. Patriarch Subhuti was probably worried you’d reach for the stars too soon, so he didn’t tell you yet.”

“What is it?” Ji Ning pressed.

The bear answered directly, “For a Sword Immortal, comprehending the complete ‘Dao of the Sword’ is not the true end. When you have fully mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword and continue to seek the essence of the sword itself, this radiance will naturally appear at your sword’s edge when you fight.

“This radiance is called ‘Sword Force’. It is a power that only peerless Sword Immortals who have fully mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword gradually discover. For you, it’s the most fundamental level.”

“Sword Force?” Ji Ning was enlightened. “I understand. I recall reading in some books at Mount Innerheart that once the ‘Grand Dao of Taiji’ is fully comprehended and one seeks the essence of Taiji, a strange power known as ‘Taiji Force’ gradually emerges. It seems Sword Force is similar to Taiji Force.”

“Right.” The bear nodded with a smile.

Ji Ning now fully understood.

Taiji Force, Sword Force… these were powers that were normally only gradually grasped after one had fully mastered the Grand Dao of Taiji or the Grand Dao of the Sword. They were additional benefits, making one’s combat strength even greater.

“In cultivation, the greatest fear is reaching for the stars,” Ji Ning mused.

When he had first entered the Black-White College, the Primal Daoists and Loose Immortals there hadn’t told him that Daos could be divided into ‘Heavenly Daos’ and ‘Grand Daos’, precisely out of fear that he would reach for the stars and end up achieving nothing. Patriarch Subhuti was the same. If he had told Ji Ning about Sword Force too early, he might have let his imagination run wild during his comprehension of the Dao of the Sword, hindering his progress.

“I haven’t even fully mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword, yet I’ve already gained a sliver of Sword Force.” Ji Ning laughed, amazed.

“The battles you’ve fought over these eighteen years are far more numerous than all the battles you fought before coming to the Realm of Annihilation combined. The Dao of the Sword is the Dao of slaughter. If there were a Heavenly Dao of the Sword here, your progress in it would have been astonishing.” The bear said, “But the Realm of Annihilation has no Dao of the Sword, so you haven’t advanced in it at all. However, having unintentionally sought out the essence of the sword and gained a sliver of Sword Force is an unexpected gain. This insight into the essence of the sword will be a great help to your future comprehension of the Dao of the Sword.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded slightly.

“Monstrous. Truly monstrous.”

“No wonder Lu Dongbin thought he was a peerless Sword Immortal seed, and even Patriarch Subhuti believed his talent on the Sword Immortal path was extraordinary. He hasn’t even fully mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword, yet he’s already grasped a sliver of Sword Force. Clearly, his comprehension of the ‘sword’ is unparalleled.”

Within the illusory space of the aquatic manor, as the yellow-furred bear relayed the news, the seven Fiendgods were also sighing in amazement.

Still, Sword Force was, after all, only at its most fundamental level, providing a very limited boost to his power. It was Heartforce, which had reached the ‘Dominion’ level, that was a true, significant help to Ji Ning’s strength.

Nevertheless, the grasp of this sliver of Sword Force proved Ji Ning’s peerless talent on the Sword Immortal path.

“No matter how great his talent, it’ll only be useful if he can escape the Realm of Annihilation.” The ruddy-skinned, burly man sighed. “The Broken Horn World hasn’t truly forced the young master’s hand yet… but if a real conflict breaks out, we’ll have to act. Then, we’ll have to face the master of the Broken Horn World. I’m not sure if we can win.”

“It depends on whether the master of the Broken Horn World has reached the Daofather level.”

“If he hasn’t, there’s no threat.”

“But if he has… we’ll very likely be walking to our deaths.”

“Still, we have no retreat. Even if we don’t save the young master, the master of the Broken Horn World will eventually discover the Starseizing Manor. Once he finds it, if he’s at the Daofather level, he’ll definitely discover our world… and a war will begin anyway.”

Strictly speaking, Ji Ning had not yet transcended the tribulation to become an Empyrean God. According to Daoist Threelives’ instructions, they shouldn’t even save him. They should just let him die and wait for another successor. But unfortunately, they were all trapped in the Realm of Annihilation and couldn’t leave, so there wasn’t much point in talking about finding another successor.

That day.

Ji Ning had just fought several dozen consecutive battles. He stopped, pretending to restore his divine power, though he still had half of it left. As his Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens had reached the seventeenth stage, his reserves were much deeper. To be prepared, he always stopped when half of his power remained.

The group of violet-caped warriors, as usual, let him recover his divine power.

At this moment…

In the darkness, three powerful wills were clashing.

“Ever since this human started fighting the First Generation, his control over Heartforce has been continuously improving. The amount of Heartforce leaking out has grown less and less, and the fluctuations have become weaker and weaker. Recently, during his battles, his Heartforce hasn’t leaked at all. Although we can vaguely sense it, we can no longer perceive its fluctuations. It’s completely useless for our deduction of Heartforce techniques now.” The First Mother Queen’s will carried a trace of unwillingness.

“Elder sisters, what should we do now?” The Third Mother Queen asked.

“In this period, the number of battles has reached the tens of thousands. We’ve managed to deduce a little. Little Sister, you’ve even managed to condense Heartforce and taken your first step on the path. That’s all thanks to this human.” The Second Mother Queen said, “But I and our Elder Sister still haven’t condensed Heartforce, let alone figured out how to cycle it.”

“Although I’ve condensed Heartforce, I’m still struggling with how to actually use it.” The Third Mother Queen’s will was also reluctant. “If only he had continued to leak Heartforce and fought for another hundred or thousand years…”

A hundred or thousand years meant nothing to them.

Unfortunately, Ji Ning had only given them eighteen years of ‘happiness’. Now, his control over Heartforce was perfect. When he used his sword techniques, none of his Heartforce leaked out. They knew his sword techniques contained Heartforce, but they could no longer deduce it. After all, the more that leaked, the easier it was to analyze.

“We can’t analyze it, and he’d rather die than let us examine his memories. Kill him.” The Second Mother Queen said.

The Third Mother Queen objected: “Let’s capture him alive first, imprison him within our bodies. We can torture him slowly, and perhaps one day, we can probe his memories.”

“Let’s capture him alive. Imprison him in Little Sister’s body.” The First Mother Queen also agreed.

“Fine.” The Second Mother Queen consented.

And so…

They issued the command.

In the Realm of Annihilation, the Golden Cape General of the Broken Horn World and the eight hundred and one violet-caped warriors were chatting idly. Although they had always thought it was against their nature to let an alien live, and many of them truly wished to kill him outright, no one dared to defy the Mother Queen’s orders.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wills from the Mother Queens, attached to the General and hundreds of First Generation violet-caped warriors, transmitted the command.

“Children, immediately capture this alien alive and bring him to the Holy Temple!”

Instantly, the bored Golden Cape General and the crowd of violet-caped warriors perked up, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Finally! It was time to act. Keeping the entire First Army stationed here, along with a million horned warriors, had been dreadfully dull.

“The Mother Queen has ordered: capture the alien alive and deliver him to the Holy Temple.” The General transmitted the command with his will to every violet-caped warrior. After all, only the First Generation received orders directly from the Mother Queen. Many of the other violet-caped warriors were still in the dark. “This time, you are not needed. I will handle it personally.”

“Yes.” No one dared to disobey.

After all, the General had never once made a move.

In the distance.

Ji Ning was recovering his divine power. Two miniature stars hovered above his head, transforming the power of the Sunstar and the Taiyin Star into divine power. But his senses were still sharp. He didn’t notice the General about to act, but the yellow-furred bear immediately warned him: “Ji Ning, that alien General is making his move!”

“What?!” Ji Ning was jolted alert, his eyes snapping open.

Candlelight burned in his eyes, and with a single glance, he saw the Golden Cape General, ten thousand li away, walking toward him. The Golden Cape General had always been the one Ji Ning was most wary of, but he had never fought him. He had always just watched from a distance. From the experience of the past eighteen years, the enemy never attacked while he was recovering his divine power.

“General.” Ji Ning transmitted his divine sense. “After all these years, it seems you’ve finally decided to act.”

“These battles have been a sufficient tempering for our warriors.” The General strolled through the void, his features no different from the other horned warriors, but his gaze was more ancient and profound, and his invisible pressure was far more terrifying. “Alien, it would be best for you to surrender. You might just keep your life.”

“You won’t kill me?” Ji Ning pressed. If he could survive, he would stall for as much time as possible.

“Come back with me to the Broken Horn World. I won’t kill you,” the General said.

Ji Ning’s heart trembled. Go to the Broken Horn World? This stretch of void was merely the Broken Horn World’s territorial border. The Broken Horn World’s true stronghold was within the ancient ruins. The Realm of Annihilation was relatively safe, but those ancient ruins were the enemy’s true nest. If he went in, his chances of escape would plummet. There was no way Ji Ning would go.

“Impossible.” Ji Ning shook his head, staring fixedly at the General.

“Hmph…” The General laughed, and four long whips appeared in his hands.

Ji Ning stared back at his opponent. Whoosh. He immediately manifested his Three Heads, Six Arms.

“Your resistance is useless.” The General was calm, a confidence born of absolute power. His four arms moved simultaneously, and four black whips lanced across tens of thousands of zhang, like four great black pythons, arriving almost instantly before Ji Ning.

Ji Ning kept two arms in front of him for defense, while his other four arms extended their fingers a thousand zhang long, executing sword techniques to intercept.

BOOM! Ji Ning struggled with all his might. He used four sword techniques at once, each one containing only a sliver of his Heartforce. He was barely able to block the black whips, but with a flicker, they had already coiled above his head.

Although Ji Ning fought with all his might, the four black whips had already completely bound him. If the violet-caped warriors were at the pinnacle of the Celestial Immortal level, this Golden Cape General had already reached the level of an Empyrean God.

…

Within the illusory space of the aquatic manor.

“The Golden Cape General has made his move.” The yellow-furred bear’s expression was grave as he sensed the outside world. “Ji Ning resisted, but the whips have already bound him.”

“Let’s go.” The red-haired Empyrean God among the seven Fiendgods immediately gave the order. “Kill every last member of that First Army.”