The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

With that strong pride of his, there was no way William wouldn’t take the bait. Beyond his sense of competition and burning desire to defeat Leonard, his ambition as a martial artist stirred within him. His goal was in sight.

First, he has to recognize how complete his energy, essence, and spirit are, Leonard thought. His crimson pupils sharply narrowed, opening his eyes to the essence of things.

Though he could have gauged how far William had progressed by observing his flow of vitality or his acupoints, his Dragon Eyes were more natural and precise, especially because the concepts of qi pathways and meridians weren’t quite the same here.

Eyes that could see through the very flow of the world would have no problem assessing a martial artist stuck in the External Force Tier.

“Hm.” What Leonard saw didn’t surprise him much. He nodded and wrapped his hand around the handle of his sword.

William had already fulfilled the prerequisites for reaching the Transcendence Tier.

As expected of a direct descendant of the Cardenas family. His Three Treasures have already evolved, and he’s not even twenty. From his physical constitution to his mana capacity to his mental resilience, he has everything.

William hadn’t even experienced Dragon Blood Awakening yet, but his physical capabilities were close to that of a Transcendence Tier expert. With the amount of mana he could hold and output, he could imitate augmented energy.

There was nothing more to build on his essence and energy. In other words, once the last of the Three Treasures, his spirit, became refined, he could merge them at any time.

If this was murim, the House of Cardenas would have been the most powerful family, and William was the son of one of its seven peerless warriors. He would have received a comprehensive education.

There was nothing lacking in his bloodline, inborn talent, or training, so naturally, there was nothing lacking in his physical capabilities or his internal energy.

But the spirit was in an entirely different category.

It’s hard to train the soul or mind unless a person goes through repeated trials to clash with their limits. That’s why vagabond warriors tend to be stronger than the rising stars from the Nine Great Sects in that aspect.

They didn’t have everything handed to them on a silver platter from a young age, and most never even ingested an elixir. They trained solely in cultivation arts. Such was the pitiful life of martial artists who trained in the wilderness. They never learned advanced martial arts, of course, and had to start from the very basics with Three Aspects Sword Arts and Eight Directions Saber Arts, stealing martial arts books off dead bodies.

On top of that, because they had no one to guide them, it was very common for them to fall into qi deviation and spurt blood from all their orifices and die. Such was the brutal path of Asura. Only one in a hundred—no, only one in a thousand survived.

Such was the experience of vagabond martial arts masters.

Most never overcome the imbalance in their essence and energy and either despair or stay stuck when they can’t reach the next level. But they never have any problems with their spirit.

Leonard’s thoughts stopped there.

He drew his sword. The murky black blade smoothly slid out, glinting in the sunlight.

“…Is that the sword that was made with the remains of a Void Deity?” William asked with a swordsman’s interest, eyes fixedfixated on the weapon.

Even though the Cardenas family’s arms were the highest quality, no swordsman could remain stoic in the face of such a fine sword.

“That’s right. Its sharpness and its ability to conduct aura are similar to our standard swords, but it can cut through special powers.”

“Amazing. I want one too.”

“If you’re ever assigned to the Order of the White Dragon, go for it. Though, you’d have to get really lucky. Now then.” Leonard leveled his sword. “Shall we begin, William?”

The vigor he gave off when he spoke hit William from tens of meters away. It was so overwhelming that it made William’s head spin, leaving him vulnerable for a few seconds.

In that time, Leonard came all the way under his nose.

“Argh!”William somehow managed to raise his sword to block, but he couldn’t handle the impact and was thrown far back.

He’d gritted his teeth as he shook himself out of a stupor, but in that time, Leonard had reached him, leaving him no time to react. The most William could do was stop Leonard’s sword.

“I don’t intend to overpower you with physical abilities or with aura,” Leonard said calmly as he approached with unhurried steps. “Your talent is impressive, and the Cardenas’ training is superb. So that means there’s only one thing you’re missing.”

“What is it?”

“Come find out for yourself.”

Leonard had no intention of explaining it nicely. He lunged forward again, sword swinging. It was an attack William should have been able to match.

Clang!

William tried to deflect the trajectory of Leonard’s attack, but his sword was thrown off, making him hurriedly take two steps back. Blood dripped from his left ear.

The cut wasn’t a result of Leonard’s physical strength. Nor was it a result of aura.

It simply came from Leonard’s superior swordplay.

William’s instincts told him that, and his eyes seemed to dim.

So he falls into a trance as soon as he realizes the difference in our skill level. Yes, that’s the best way to overcome limits, but…

Leonard was impressed by William’s response, but he also clicked his tongue. That method wouldn’t work when his opponent was ten steps ahead of him, not one. And since this fight was supposed to help him learn, it was pointless. Falling into a trance meant sinking into one’s inner world, but William couldn’t find an answer that didn’t even exist in his Mindscape.

“Wake up.”

Leonard knocked aside William’s sword and punched him in the face.

“Argh?!”

William’s head whirled, and he stumbled before managing to recover his balance. He stared at Leonard.

Leonard read the question in his eyes. “You can’t defeat me no matter how much you concentrate. Think. Think about how you should fight me and think about how you should change your approach. I’m fighting you so you can ponder these things, so why are you just shutting off your brain?”

“Oh. You’re right.”

Befitting his reputation of being a genius, William immediately understood what Leonard meant, and his hazy pupils turned clear again.

And then he used his inborn psychic powers.

Claaaang!

William was on a different level from when they were at the training facility. Everything from his response time to his destructive power was several times, perhaps tens of times, higher. It was to the point that not even a Transcendence Tier opponent would be able to let their guard down. He burst forth with a barrage of such power, making the entire training ground shake.

Is he trying to create a smokescreen? Leonard wondered.

As a result, thick clouds of dirt spouted into the air, limiting his vision. Leonard used his mana senses to feel out his surroundings.

Sure enough, he sensed something silently charging in from behind.

Shing! Leonard swung to cut off the head of the attacker. But he didn’t feel any resistance against his blade. The movement was only intended for him to turn around.

He snickered when he realized what he’d cut through. A psychic avatar. It’s crude and shabby, but he’s clever. People tend to rely on their mana senses if their vision becomes limited, so he used that to trick me.

Psychic avatars were lumps of psychic energy molded into a humanoid shape. This attack didn’t work on experienced fighters, but it was a very good way of making the opponent drop their guard. It was very difficult to get a detailed grasp of one’s surroundings in the middle of a fight.

Clang!

But not even a smokescreen could obfuscate the sight of Dragon Eyes.

Leonard already knew where William was and what he would try. He blocked the sword that flew in, kicked William’s ankles, and knocked him over, regaining the upper hand in just three moves.

Most people would have stopped for a bit and waited for William to collect them himself.

“Ngh?!”

But Leonard brought his sword down, not hesitating for a moment.

If William hadn’t seen the flash of his blade and had rolled away too late, the sword would have penetrated his forehead and buried itself into the ground. The unseemly movement made him look like a pathetic donkey.

“What are you doing?!” William yelped, horrified.

“What are you doing?” Leonard raised his sword again, his face expressionless. “You already have a lot less battlefield experience than most, and you’re telling me you’ve been sparring without even this level of danger?”

“I know the guidelines for emulating a real battle! But in a situation where someone has already made a decisive move, making an attack that could actually kill someone isn’t—”

“You still don’t get it.” Leonard didn’t blink despite his protests and took a step forward.

He wasn’t even using a movement art, but he immediately closed the distance between them.

He was using the same amount of physical strength and aura that William was, but his skill was overwhelmingly superior. If he wanted to kill him, it would be over within ten exchanges.

Claaaang! Clang! Claang!

William narrowly blocked a diagonal slash that would have cut off his hands. As pinpricks shot up his arms, he blocked a thrust.

He could tell from the way their swords clashed that Leonard wouldn’t stop if he couldn’t block or dodge. With each of Leonard’s hits, he felt his blood run cold and sweat trickle down his back. A breeze that flitted past his neck felt like the blade of death.

I’m going to die…! This lunatic seriously wants to kill me!

In a situation where a single mistake would result in losing his head or his limbs, he didn’t have the room to think straight.

Leonard had no reason to actually kill him. In the very rare chance that he would give off killing intent, William would already be dead. He knew this, of course, but Leonard’s ruthlessness instilled that much fear in him.

Blood Sword Asura.

Death’s Caller.

Sword Demon.

These were the nicknames assigned to Yeon Mu-Hyuk before he was called the Sword Emperor. All of them were associated with blood and death. No one was more experienced in killing with the sword than him.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had to manipulate my killing intent so elaborately too, Leonard thought. This was only possible because of the vast difference in their power.

That was, tricking William into feeling that his life was in danger.

This technique was one that would become useless if the opponent realized that they weren’t actually in danger or if they saw through the intent.

Give the opponent no room to think so that all they can do is focus on the sword before them. If they get used to the movements, the technique will fail. Constantly change the intensity of killing intent and the power of each attack so that they physically can’t adapt.

Yeon Mu-Hyuk had learned this technique from a martial arts book he found on the body of the Phantom Wanderer, one of the Seven Absolutes of the heretic sects. It was also the secret behind why the Phantom’s Wail, a sect that occasionally produced Creation Realm martial artists, had been able to maintain its power.

They sacrificed thousands until they successfully produced one, but unlike other martial arts sects, they bought or kidnapped orphans and forced them to join. It was a useful technique for a group that specialized in killing arts.

It didn’t work if the target was too weak and unable to sense danger or if the user of the secret technique wasn’t capable enough.

William should be exhausted from Leonard’s neverending attacks, but his sword only became sharper and faster than before. His eyes were wide open, and as he came face-to-face with fear, he dashed forward.

It was like charging in on a tiger: if he was going to die anyway, he would do whatever he could and fight to the very end.

His body and mana are exhausted, but he still became stronger. That means his spirit has become strong enough to offset the fatigue.

No longer lagging behind the other Three Treasures, his spirit was honed as he stood before a powerful enemy threatening his life.

The strain of trials and hardships he’d never fully experienced quickly addedfilled up as he stood on the edge between life and death.

No matter how much talent he was born with and how good his education was, as a young nobleman in a prominent family, it was impossible for a youth not yet twenty to be overflowing with life experiences that cultivated his heart and soul. The Phantom’s Wail secret technique was meant to let him fill up the void as fast as possible.

In order to reach the Transcendence Tier at a young age, a person must overcome many adversities from a young age and still spend enough time training their body and cultivation.

Most would sneer at the idea and call it nonsense. If someone was constantly experiencing hardships, where would they have the room to train? The body could only become stronger through rest and nutrition, and a person’s cultivation could only become exquisite if they had elixirs or an abundant ground to train on.

Even in the Central Plains, the youngest of the martial artists in the Creation Realm were over thirty, and they say that there are only a few people in the Cardenas’ history who reached the Transcendence Tier before the age of twenty.

In both cases, it was because the spirit couldn’t be honed in the same way as energy and essence.

Even William, who was so hasty to reach the Transcendence Tier, would very likely be able to unify the three with ease if he spent a few years gathering experience as an apprentice knight.

The technique that Leonard was using essentially condensed those years of experience into several minutes by making William think his life was in danger.

It was also a technique that killed nearly everyone it was used on.

But William was a genius among geniuses, and Leonard was already nearing the Demigod Tier.

As William’s Three Treasures were forced to align, his blade blazed and became a crimson Aura Blade. Since he could already use mind arts, he could skip the step of opening his upper dantian.

This was a turning point.