“Sword Observation Manual?”
It only took Xu Xiaoshou one glance at the thick book to immediately realize that this was the last straw that had crushed him.
At that time, the scruffy-looking man had chucked the thick ancient book in front of him and uttered some nonsense. His words sent Xu Xiaoshou into such a fit that he had promptly fainted.
“Is this a spiritual technique?”
Xu Xiaoshou gazed at this ancient book with a strange look on his face.
He thought of Elder Sang.
Every time that old man asked him to learn a new thing, he never resorted to encouragement and reward. Instead, he always coerced him into it.
In this situation, it could not be a good thing if he was required to learn it himself.
Infernal Heavens required Infernal Fire Seed.
The prerequisite for Infernal Heavenly Flames-White Flames and Dragon Melting Realm was the Advanced Infernal Fire Seed.
He had not even encountered the latter and had no intention of finding out how to get this big Fire Seed.
Now, this man also embraced Elder Sang’s method.
“This Sword Observation Manual… Can it be a good thing?”
Xu Xiaoshou was a little puzzled. Allowing this content to reside in his mind did not seem to be a good idea.
His spiritual senses reached out to it.
There was a buzzing sound. Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt a strong tug on his soul. His entire being was sucked into a mysterious black hole.
Everything was black.
It was an endless blackness that was darker than night.
It was lonely and remote, yet desolate and drowning in adversity. The infinite ocean of darkness was immersive as if it originated from the eternal conception of ancient times.
Xu Xiaoshou was astonished.
“Is this an illusion?”
It was very similar to the unusual illusion that formed when he launched the Expertise Passive Skill.
Was it possible that this Sword Observation Manual was as strong as Expertise Passive Skill, so much that it was almost invincible?
“You came.”
A hoarse voice sounded from behind.
Xu Xiaoshou instantly turned around.
He saw the first ray of white in the endless darkness.
That was sword energy.
Or rather, it was sword cognition.
Experiencing the slightly familiar aura on it, Xu Xiaoshou was extremely sure that this was the Sword Cognition in his energy center.
However…
What about the sound?
“Who are you? And where are you?” Xu Xiaoshou yelled.
The voice slightly resembled the man’s, but it was not identical.
Even though it was also hoarse, it was not that rough and unpleasant. By just hearing this voice, Xu Xiaoshou could sense a majestic nobility to it.
‘How extraordinary!’
Hum—
The sword cognition trembled in response. It swayed and wavered for some time before a white figure gradually appeared.
The white light lit up. It was rather blinding in this endless darkness.
Even so, the figure dressed in white was still very vague. His facial features were not distinguishable to the eye.
One thing was unmistakable, which were the many swords the figure possessed.
That was right.
Above this streak of white light, the figure had two gigantic swords strapped to his back in an “X” fashion. One was purple, and the other was gold.
In addition, there were two sabers on his waist: one black and the other cyan.
Xu Xiaoshou was shocked by the awe-inspiring Sword Intent originating from this figure.
Just as he just wanted to ask questions, the voice spoke again.
“Watch closely.”
“I will only perform one sword.”
Xu Xiaoshou was confused.
He did not even know what was going on, but the matter-of-fact tone brought him to a realization.
The energy within this flickering guy might not have been enough to hold a conversation with him. If he was not mistaken, this guy was a sealed and preserved memory reel.
It was akin to…
A video?
After the white-clothed man finished speaking, he did not perform any movement of drawing out his swords. Instead, he put his hands directly on top of his head.
It seemed that he was about to pull out something from the top of his head.
Xu Xiaoshou had a curious expression on his face.
Didn’t he say that he would draw the sword?
Even if he said that he would perform one sword, he had four swords strapped to his body. If he did not intend to use those, what show was he putting on now?
Was it possible that he would draw a sword from the top of his head?
In the next second, Xu Xiaoshou had to eat his words. He was unprepared for the scene before him and sent into absolute shock.
He only saw the man dressed in white lift his hands from the top of his head. The movement, however, shook all corners of the world.
In the next instant, the space shattered. Time seemed to slow down. Xu Xiaoshou felt that even his breathing stopped, and the seconds felt like years.
The terrifying Order of the Great Path emerged plainly under the gesture of these two hands and then shattered.
An infinite white sword cognition rose from the heavens and the earth. Like moths attracted to light, the sword cognition rushed towards the man who had both arms raised.
Indeed, this man had summoned the white sword hilt formed by half of the sword cognition from the top of his head.
Keng—
A lilting sword cry resounded through the sky, obliterating Xu Xiaoshou’s spirits to fragments.
The sword hilt of this sword was barely visible. It had been drawn out to only half of its grip. Even so, the power was already too much for the earth to bear, and the surroundings disintegrated into pieces.
Boom!
The darkness receded, welcoming the light again.
Xu Xiaoshou looked at the familiar surroundings around him and collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. He was back in the inn room.
“Was that what he meant by one sword? Only one sword?”
“Even a tenth of the sword was not drawn out yet!”
“Powerful!”
“How powerful!”
“What kind of sword technique was that…”
Even if he has mastered the Sword Technique Expertise, Xu Xiaoshou still could not help admiring this sword technique after seeing it.
Such divine Sword Intent of ancient times coupled with stately heroic movements…
How magnificent would it be if he performed the sword movement himself and pulled it from his head? Xu Xiaoshou found that vision hard to imagine.
As for performing an actual strike…
He did not even dare to think about it any further.
He was afraid that after that sword, even this part of the universe would no longer exist.
“It is far too terrifying!”
Xu Xiaoshou breathed out a sigh of relief. When he was relaxed again, he realized that cracks ran down the entire length of his body.
The broken cracks on his body were constantly oozing blood. Furthermore, there was the familiar sword cognition entangling him.
Though the wounds were recovering, the recovery speed was slow. It was unusually snail-paced.
His Eternal Vitality had already reached the Master Stage, so how could his recovery speed be so slow?
Xu Xiaoshou’s body could withstand even the swift cuts dealt by Red Dog under extreme duress.
“Wait a minute…”
Was that swordsman not a phantom?
Did everything in his illusion affect reality?
Xu Xiaoshou was shocked again.
He felt as if he could manipulate the sword cognition on his body.
With a thought order, he removed the foreign objects entrenched in his wounds.
They shrunk back above his energy center, resuming the docile appearance he saw in the beginning.
As soon as they disappeared, the wound healed quickly.
“Is this the Sword Cognition that the man bestowed me?”
Xu Xiaoshou felt it was the only possibility.
If his guess was correct, this sword cognition was included in the Sword Observation Manual and transmitted into his body.
In this case, the phantom in the sword cognition should naturally be the man.
‘Is he that strong?’
Xu Xiaoshou wondered.
The memory of the man killing a Sovereign Stage with only two fingers resurfaced. Although it was most remarkable, it was nowhere close to the impact of the sword drawn from the top of the head of the white figure just now.
Xu Xiaoshou could not restrain his inner curiosity anymore.
He opened the Sword Observation Manual in his mind.
When he turned over the first page, it did not mention any obscure sword technique. Instead, there were a few lines of small words.
“Do you wish to learn the Sword Worship Technique that you just saw?”
“Do you wish to have the esteemed honor of One Sword from the East?”
“Do you wish to reach the pinnacle of this world with your saber and cut away the infinite shackles from the impoverished heaven?”
“Open me!”
“Do not hesitate, for here is an opportunity not to be missed. This moment will never come again!”
This feeling was deeply familiar. Until this point, one abominable character has made an appearance in Xu Xiaoshou’s mind.
This tone belonged to none other than the scruffy-looking man.
His face contorted in a grimace. Although he wanted to slam this cursed book shut, his curiosity got the better of him.
‘What the hell?’
‘Is this so amazing?’
Xu Xiaoshou’s mind was racing. Thinking that uncle was not there now, and no one was watching him, he decided to continue reading.
“Listen up! Once you choose to open this book, you will never be able to look back.”
“Now, you have three seconds to consider whether you wish to flip to the next page or not.”
“Of course, I warmly offer a kind suggestion. If you choose not to proceed, the Sword Cognition in your body will probably explode.”
Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.
“What the hell…”
He immediately sank to his energy center. He saw the Sword Cognition had begun to expand and seemed to be ready to explode any second.
Xu Xiaoshou’s face turned green. So, was this thing a time bomb?
“I have been conned!”