The moment Kent walked through the portal, he appeared inside a lush green garden filled with sword energy.
The energy of the sword is something no swordsman would run from. It’s just there, and when sensed, it means you are indeed walking the path of the sword.
A spearman wouldn’t feel anything if they found themselves there; they would only feel a warm breeze passing through their face.
They wouldn’t feel the sword intent in the air. Though faint, they wouldn’t feel the strands of the sword Will hidden within the sword energy.
Kent was basically standing inside a domain where his swordsmanship could take a huge turn if he desired.
The whole place was lush and beautiful.
The energy in the air was also very potent.
Kent smiled, looking around him.
“Focus and Enlightenment. Sounds easy to me,” Kent said, walking toward a brownstone with a flat surface. He sat down and took out his sword, laying it before him.
He closed his eyes and began meditating, focusing on sword intent and his understanding so far.
Well, in a certain part of the memories he got from Jest, he had gained enlightenment when he was still a Sword Master heading toward the Sword Grandmaster stage.
Back then, he had witnessed a sword fight to the death between two Sword Saints. Through the battle, he gained clarity on how to harness sword intent more actively.
It wasn’t the theory he had discussed with the Gate Master. This was different from what he thought of, but Kent seemed to think it would be a start.
He wanted to understand how he could achieve the concept of harnessing sword intent to enhance his sword qi.
That was the first step.
He hadn’t told the Gate Master because he still did not trust her. He would worm his way into her heart and eventually strike, but for now, trust wasn’t something he would give easily.
So he sat down and began comprehending the memories from back then.
If he managed to gain some clarity from that, he would be able to attain enlightenment and eventually gain something he could use to begin walking the path she had theorized.
An hour passed, but nothing changed.
Kent was just sitting there with his eyes closed. Nothing changed, not even his aura.
The second hour came, and still, there was no change. Kent remained seated, which continued for ten hours with nothing new changing about him. In fact, his aura remained the same.
However, in the 11th hour, his aura—or, more importantly, his intent—started to surge. It began to rise, and from the energy it contained, the only thing that could be felt was a sense of sharpness.
Seventeen hours later, Kent opened his eyes and smiled.
“I don’t need enlightenment now; I need to understand how he did it,” Kent said to himself, remembering the arcs that rained down on him when he challenged the Sword Bridge.
The clone was just too devastating.
“His arcs were sturdier and much more refined than mine. I couldn’t see how he did it back then, but I do now.
It was because the clone was using his sword qi with his intent. So, though those were just sword qi fashioned into arcs, they contained more than just sword qi.
They contained Sword Intent”
Kent gained clarity, and for that, he was happy.
The maximum for that skill was 450 arcs. So far, he had been able to unleash 230. However, now he knew what had to be done to make even the 230 more sturdy.
“I really don’t need the enlightenment simply because I don’t qualify for it. I mean, how was I expecting enlightenment when I don’t even have this much knowledge?”
He drew his sword, raising his intent and qi to the next level. Then he took just a single swing of his sword, causing 10 sword arcs to appear.
“As expected, it was indeed just the qi,” Kent smiled. Then he took another swing, this time trying to add intent to it. However, it was easier said than done.
But Kent didn’t give up. He knew he had messed up when he failed to notice that the clone was actually using both qi and intent.
If he had known, he would have used the [Perfect Sword View] to master it.
It was one of the items he received when he awakened the Sword Tower. This sword view allows him to see the perfect form of a sword skill or technique and even how to master it.
Obviously, he wouldn’t be handed things on a silver platter. No, he would have to comprehend and practice what he saw until he mastered it.
The only advantage here is knowing that this is the perfect form and how to get there. Aside from that, he would need his own understanding.
But if that were the case, he would have by now mastered the intent infused into sword qi to make it much stronger and deadlier.
[It’s good to see the master finally appreciating what I gave him. You should make good use of the tools. You have the [Sword of Enlightenment], which is better than this place when you use it to comprehend something.
Besides that, you also have the Stone of Enlightenment, which I have moved to the front of the Sword of Enlightenment. If you put these two together, this garden will just be a rookie item.]
Gaia seemed to be waiting for this moment so she could rub it in his face.
Kent knew he deserved that. He indeed had the perfect tools inside the Sword Gate.
Aside from wanting to spar with his master and Neomi, he had an item inside the tower that allowed him to challenge powerful swordsmen in a dream-like state.
But besides that, he could easily gain enlightenment on the Stone of Enlightenment while using the Sword of Enlightenment.
If he wanted to master a skill or a technique, he could just use the Perfect Sword View for that. Basically, he had no use for this place.
“But I am here, and it’s here I gained the clarity, so if there is another chance to enter here, I wouldn’t bat an eye. But since I am here now, I might as well make good use of it.”