Kent stood inside the Sword Tower with a bewildered expression. New elements had appeared, but what shocked him the most was the information displayed before him.
He had received the requirements he needed to fulfill to become a Sword Saint, and they were far from easy.
There were only three, but each one was far more challenging than he had hoped. He even questioned whether it was this difficult for everyone trying to ascend to the rank of Sword Saint.
The answer, however, was no.
While others attempting to become Sword Saints could take a decade or even several decades to complete their trials, his path alone might take far longer.
But Kent didn’t have the luxury of time.
******
⟪ Congratulations on becoming a Grandmaster Swords. You will now receive 2 times the speed of understanding when practicing the sword ⟫
⟪ Your Sword Qi and Sword Intent have gained a boost. You currently have 5/9 Master over Enhance Sword Qi and Sword Intent.⟫.
⟪ All forms of sword attacks using Sword Qi and Sword Intent will gain a 30% boost in attack power ⟫
*****
Although the rewards for becoming a Grandmaster swordsman seem weak, he has, in fact, become much stronger and more dangerous. Thanks to the support from his women, every hour is a boon for him.
Additionally, his understanding of the sword has improved greatly after mastering all 10,002 sword techniques, which played a major role in his highly advanced comprehension of how to wield his sword.
But it didn’t stop there.
Beyond his understanding of the sword, he now possesses a much deeper understanding of how to execute skills and techniques perfectly.
In fact, what the Gate Master called perfect when he executed the true form of the [24 String Weaving Strike] sword skill appeared flawed to him.
Now, Kent has become someone driven by an unquenchable thirst to chase perfection on the path of the sword. He craves perfection, and as it turns out, his next requirement will push him even further.
*****
⟪ Requirements To Become A Sword Saint… ⟫
⟪1. Master all 10,002 Sword Plays using your mind and achieve at least 7 Enlightenments. Both Sword Intent and Sword Qi must break through to the Profound Stage, and Sword Body must at least enter the Silver rank ⟫
⟪2. Cross the Sword Bridge by defeating the 13 Swordsmen using nothing but your swords, Aspects, skills and wit ⟫
⟪3. Create the foundation for three Sword Techniques, with each having the potential to become at least 7 forms of sword technique in the future ⟫
⟪ You have 6 months to complete all three requirements, else you will lose access to your Sword intent and Sword Qi for 10 years ⟫
*****
Kent was shocked beyond comprehension. He simply couldn’t fathom how something like this could be achieved within three years.
“Gaia, tell me this won’t be measured using the time in the tower,” Kent asked immediately, his tone laced with urgency. This was the most critical question.
A day on the outside equaled 24 days inside the tower, so he needed clarification.
[The Master shouldn’t worry. Just as your age is not affected by the time spent inside the tower, the duration will also remain unaffected. So, while you have six months on the outside, you will have 4,320 days, which is approximately 11.83 years inside the tower.]
“Good to know,” Kent sighed.
‘Eleven years… That’s how long I have to become a Sword Saint,’ Kent thought, his expression hardening with determination. He knew he had to take this seriously.
The first requirement was incredibly difficult, and the last two were not walking in the park either.
He needed to master all 10,002 sword plays using only his mind, and if that wasn’t challenging enough, he also had to achieve seven enlightenments.
“Gaia, what is this enlightenment thing? This is my first time encountering it,” Kent asked. He could sense it was something profound and important, so he asked early to prepare accordingly.
[Enlightenment is the most important part of every swordsman’s journey. In fact, any swordsman who has not encountered or gone through enlightenment before cannot be deemed a true swordsman.
In the sword path, sword enlightenment begins when one becomes a Sword Grandmaster. At the Grandmaster stage, one’s understanding of the sword starts to grow. In the path of the sword, they might reach a level of understanding that forces them to enter the stage of enlightenment.
At this stage, they must undergo at least three instances of enlightenment before breaking through to the Sword Saint stage. Gaining enlightenment is entering a state where your understand will undergo a qualitative change]
“Wait a minute. Only three? Then why am I required to do seven?” Kent asked, frustration creeping into his voice.
He didn’t know why he felt that way, but deep down, he could tell that attaining enlightenment wouldn’t be easy. So why seven for him and only three for everyone else?
[The keyword there is at least. Seven is for master. This means, in some cases, the number can vary, especially since there are thirteen Sword Enlightenment stages, each with its own unique nature.]
“…Unbelievable,” Kent sighed, shaking his head.
Aside from the enlightenment, Kent also had to upgrade his sword qi and sword intent to the Profound stage, as well as advance his sword body to the Silver stage.
He was currently at the Copper stage/rank. Thankfully, he now had body cultivation to rely on. But still, the requirements were just too strict.
‘At this stage, I wonder what kind of requirements I’ll face when becoming a Sword Sage…’ Kent smiled to himself and made a mental note to use his charm to fill his large bed with beauties.
Having beauties to spend time with when he was tired from training would, without a doubt, make things much simpler and easier.
“Then how about the sword bridge?” Kent asked.
[For that, you have to cross it. Like in the description, you must defeat the 13 swordsmen. But you must know this: the 13 swordsmen are measured based on how much progress you should have made at a given point in time.
So, let’s say you have mastered 1,000 swordplays and moved your sword qi and intent to 7/9; the swordsman you will be facing will be measured using this metric.
However, it will also be measured based on the tower’s expectations and some other unknown variables.]
“So in other words, the tower is going to fuck me up,” Kent laughed, staring daggers at Gaia, who was looking at him with an expression that said, “I have no idea this is going to fuck up.”
Kent just sighed.
He moved and appeared before the Sword Bridge, which stretched many miles across the landscape.
It was a large sword filled with Sword Will, the same will coming from the Sword of Enlightenment, infused with the 10,002 swordplays.
“So all I have to do is keep mastering the swordplays and then I can walk across this bridge, right?” Kent asked, and Gaia nodded.
Something told him he shouldn’t dare step on it if he didn’t want to experience true pain. He could only relax and wait for the moment when he could contend with it.
“I guess I will start challenging core disciples now… This will make things much easier for me when I face this bridge,” Kent made his plan.
If only he knew that when Gaia mentioned there would be some unknown variables, one of the variables was the fact that the 13 swordsmen would all have Sword Saint-level understanding and mastery…
He is screwed…
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