Many thoughts converged, and Li Hao’s mind conjured the image of Lin Qingyue practicing her swordsmanship during these past days.
The graceful figure danced and turned in his mind.
Li Hao’s thoughts had completely calmed down, and his gaze became focused and solemn.
The small imperfections he had witnessed during her sword practice now melded into his heart, guiding the movements of his brush.
He ground the ink, lifted the brush, and laid ink onto paper, where the figure of a stunningly beautiful woman appeared, dancing gracefully.
Her pose was divine, her eyes like a clear lake, her whole being embodying the utmost softness of Sword Dao.
Under Li Hao’s brushwork, her Sword Intent became even purer and more exquisite, like a clear stream, or like swaying rain threads.
The Sword Intent was as soft as cotton, the sword’s edge like thread; her figure rippled like waves, her attack shifting formlessly, elusive and indecipherable!
With the completion of the first painting, Li Hao used his Control Force to suspend the paper in mid-air. Then came the second and the third paintings.
He produced three paintings in succession, spending a total of six hours.
As the three paintings were completed, Li Hao’s Artistic Path Experience also increased by seventy thousand points, drawing much closer to the one million mark.
Returning from his engrossed thoughts, Li Hao turned to look at the woman who was still sitting cross-legged, deep in contemplation of the sword, and directed the three paintings to float before her, saying,
“These are three paintings for you, take a look.”
With that, he stood up, packed away his drawing board and ink, and returned to his own courtyard.
Lin Qingyue opened her eyes and gazed at the three floating scrolls before her. Her attention fixated on the first painting, and at the sight of the woman dancing vividly on the white paper, her heart jolted.
As her gaze became transfixed, the woman in the painting seemed to descend into reality, wielding her sword before Lin Qingyue in a perfect and smooth motion, each swordplay carrying a light, supremely soft beauty.
She suddenly recalled practicing in a similar manner, but that was half a month ago.
And her own posture at the time seemed not as perfect as the one in the painting.
Lin Qingyue was stunned, her thoughts drawn into the Sword Intent within the painting, immersed in it.
When the swordplay in the painting ended, Lin Qingyue suddenly had a realization, she understood where her flaws lay.
Some shock stirred within her, realizing that someone had managed to depict her Sword Intent’s flaws into a painting!
And there were three of them?
Lin Qingyue’s eyes shifted, suppressing the urge to immediately start practicing and instead continued to observe the second painting.
The sword dance in the second painting represented her practice from a week ago.
Lin Qingyue watched intently for a long time before absorbing and enlightening; her expression grew complex, this second painting also completing her Sword Intent.
Her gaze then fell upon the third painting. Aside from herself, there was a blurry figure; Lin Qingyue recognized it at a glance—it was the scene of her battle with the Dragon Slayer Saint Son.
Now, it seemed as if the battle was replaying before her eyes.
But this time, the woman in the painting struck decisively and straightforwardly, with just a silent, moisturizing sword stroke, she shattered his Heaven and Earth Law Manifestation and defeated his true form!
Utmost softness!
What is the utmost softness? Soft as water, as air, softness that exists everywhere!
Sword Intent lingering and spreading into everything, and condensing out of everything!
Lin Qingyue’s eyes revealed a trace of bemusement; in that instant, it felt like her blood boiled, suffused with an uncontrollable excitement.
This was the Perfection of the utmost softness in Sword Intent, the Great Accomplishment in Sword Intent!
She quickly turned her head to look for Li Hao, only to find that his usual spot was empty, his figure nowhere to be seen.
A feeling indescribable filled Lin Qingyue’s heart, like time slipping by, uncatchable.
This feeling left her momentarily lost in thought, but she soon spread her Divine Thought, finding him in his courtyard, carving as usual.
Lin Qingyue’s tense heartstrings quietly relaxed at this moment.
She gazed deeply into the distance, now faintly sensing that this Qingfeng she had brought back was by no means ordinary.
Lin Qingyue’s thoughts retracted, and she carefully rolled up the three scrolls before her, this time with extra care, storing them well into the Heaven and Earth Space.
Two of the paintings depicted her daily sword practice. Lin Qingyue bit her lip slightly, her eyes flickering, but soon her thoughts were once again focused on her own sword.
The Great Accomplishment Sword Intent emerged in her mind, and her sword danced once more.
As a saintess-level genius, her innate talent for Sword Dao was extremely high. Having received such guidance, she quickly integrated and understood.
Moreover, the guidance from painting was easier to grasp than her master’s teachings, akin to a hands-on demonstration.
In the courtyard, the Sword Intent rose and fell like the wind.
Weeds fluttered, and leaves swirled, taken up by the wind, and with them, perhaps not just the sword…
…
The battle for the top sixteen began.
Outside the arena, it was still packed, with outer sect disciples arriving early, and the tens of thousands of inner sect geniuses sat quietly below, having finished their own fights and secured their final rankings. This competition also brought them ample rewards. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire
Now, the fight between the sixteen strongest prodigies within the Sword Ancestor Holy Land was sure to deliver a luxuriously supreme swordsmanship feast.
The clashes at the Saint Child Level mainly involved those at the Five Extremes Realm, and in a scenario where the realms were equal, what differentiated the competitors were their Dao Domain and swordsmanship.
Li Hao followed Alchemist Lin Shanhai and others to the floating seats. Before the top sixteen’s fights even began, the atmosphere was already incredibly heated.
Li Hao watched Lin Qingyue, who stood quietly on the Saint Platform, and seeing her serene eyes knew that she had absorbed the message of his paintings.