Ethereal Blade Method (2)

When the elder mentioned that the chance of death existed inside the next test, Serina pinched Shui's shirt and many other potential disciples flinched. Most of them already knew about what the next test would be about, but few of them were truly prepared for death. The elder snorted at these cowards before continuing his explanation.

"As you can see, there are four paths you can take. The one furthest to the right is the easiest but also the longest path, while the one furthest to the left is the hardest but also the shortest path. Only the first thirty will be qualified to be inner sect disciples, the rest will be placed according to their overall results. The only rule is to go through the path as quickly as possible."

As anyone with at least half a brain could tell, obstructing your competitors in this trial was perfectly acceptable, which further increased the chance of dying in there.

"Serina, do you trust me?" asked Shui as he turned to her.

"Mhmm."

"Okay, follow me then."

Shui grabbed her hand and focused on the leftmost entrance. Measures had been taken to hamper spiritual sense, but Shui could still get a basic grasp of what was in each one. All four paths started with traps, then captured beast spirits followed by a big, open room with a strong enemy. The difference between them was in the difficulty of the traps, the strength of the beast spirits as well as the concentration of the obstacles. One would normally have to be at least late Soul Realm to pass through the hardest path, but it would be nothing difficult for Shui even if he brought Serina with him.

"Now, begin!"

The moment the test began, rather than the easiest path, most went through the two middle paths. There were a couple heading to the hardest path, and at the front of them were Shui with Serina on his back. The middle-aged elder looked at the two and scoffed, especially at Shui. The black pass was only to show his potential, but the stamp imprinted a distinct aura on it so that the elder could detect it.

'For such a talented youth to be so foolish. How regrettable.'

It was the same sight every time so he wasn't surprised. These youths who were so confident in themselves would charge into the hardest path and fail. Some would even lose their lives because they didn't know when to step back. It was a pity that a potential genius would also be buried, but that was his fault for being dumb.

While the inner sect elder was already sure he would die, Shui blazed ahead of the group. His body was strong enough to handle the sudden knives that shot out, but he had a passenger with him. Still, his spiritual sense could detect all of the hidden traps, and take Serina into consideration as he moved at an extremely fast speed to evade them. Those following behind him noticed how he was avoiding all of the traps but his movements were far too quick for them to copy.

"Who the hell is that guy?!"

It was as if he could see through the walls, as if nothing could stop his eyes and his other senses. As if he truly had attained omniscience.

After blazing through the traps, horned boars and other beast spirits started to appear. However, this was even easier for Shui to dash through.

'Charge' 'Protect'.

A barrier enveloped him and Serina that allowed him to ignore the horned boars and rush through them. If there were an elite few who could follow him up to now, they were surely stopped here. Being strong enough to quickly defeat these beast spirits was one thing, but it was an entirely different matter to straight up ignore them. As Shui smashed through the horned boars, Serina closed her eyes so that she didn't see the sight of blood and entrails being splattered, but she didn't feel fear. Though the sight disturbed her, since she was on Shui's back she felt totally safe and was in awe as he broke through so straightforwardly.

'Wow, he's so strong...'

While Serina got a front row seat to Shui's strength, they eventually entered a wide open space. It was too dark for Serina to see much, but Shui captured everything in his eyes. The space was structured like a dome and there was a gigantic, humanoid figure made of rocks sitting at the centre of the space.

"Serina, get down for a little bit."

"Hmm, okay."

Serina didn't know why he told her come off of his back, but she obediently listened. With the weight on his back gone, Shui stepped further inside the room. As soon as he made three steps, lights in the form of lamps which were mounted on the wall suddenly lit up. While Serina was bewildered, especially by the golem that was at the centre of the room, Shui was busy deciding how to go through this.

Since there was a clear exit behind the golem, it was probably okay for him to just run to it with Serina. However, he had to be wary of this golem. Not because it could harm him, but because he wasn't sure if his barrier would be able to block all of the force from the golem which was made by the spell of someone in the Earth Realm. Since his barriers weren't as strong as his body, so he was worried Serina might be in danger if by some miracle he took a hit.

True golems were just dolls, or machines that could be created with special materials and could be stopped as long as the power source was destroyed, but spells which imitated a golem's form normally continued to exist until the caster ran out of energy or stopped giving it energy. It could be a rather annoying foe but not one that Shui was helpless against.

'I suppose I could use this as a test.'

With a confident smirk on his face, Shui put his hand on his chest and summoned Sui. Once it was in his hand, the golem shook and slowly got up as if to face his challenge. The two holes in its rock head were focused on him as he dashed forward. One swing of its hand gouged out the ground but even though it covered a large area, it was far too slow to catch Shui.

Shui took the opportunity to run up to the golem's shoulder while it was swinging its arm. He struck its hard surface with his weapon, and as expected of a blade made for the sole purpose of cutting, it left a mark. However, it was far too shallow. Even so, Shui was only more excited to fight it. As the golem slapped its shoulder with its other arm, Shui leaped and landed on its head. This time he slammed his palm down and used 'Burst', but it only left a small dent.

'Perfect.'

This lack of damage was exactly what Shui wanted. If it could be so easily defeated then it wouldn't serve as a good test for the technique he was trying to create.

As the golem came after him with both hands, Shui jumped once more and planted his legs on the ceiling and summoned a wisp of his heart flame which he threw in its direction. The blue flame quickly engulfed its right arm but the golem decisively detached that arm and allowed it to burn away before regenerating a new arm. If it was alive, it wouldn't be so easy, but for a golem spell it was simple to resist the enticement of the flame.

'Good!'

The final test made Shui satisfied so he began to attack with just his blade. Every strike made a dent that was deeper than the last, but none of them satisfied him.

'Faster. Smoother.'

It seemed like he was just attacking randomly, but every slash was intended to be perfect. He had already decided on the basis of his technique, but only in real battle could it be further refined.

'Firmer. More Precise.'

A few minutes after he first started and his skill was noticeably better. The golem became more frantic as if noticing it, but Shui hadn't been caught even once.

'Okay, I think I have it.'

As the golem chased after him with both arms, Shui landed on the ground and entered a stance. While the blade became more slender, he held it at his waist and pointed it behind him with both hands. Once it started looking more like a normal sabre, Shui focused on the image of the golem. What he was about to do was still in the basic stage, but he couldn't resist the urge to try it. Just like he studied the path of martial arts, it was time for him to walk on the way of blades.

"Ethereal Blade Method,"

Right now, it couldn't be called a proper technique, it was just him showing off his abilities. But he was confident that in time, it would become something special that belonged only to him.

As he prepared to perform his technique for the first time, the golem's hand slammed down towards him. Serina clenched her hands over her chest in worry as she concentrated on believing in him.

'He can do it. He can do it.'

The golem's palm was mere inches from his head when he made his move.

"Speed Form, First Stance: Instant."

Before the wind itself noticed, Shui had swung his sword and was behind the golem. Along with a gust of wind, the golem's right leg shattered, but Shui turned around before it could fall and activated his Sage God Eyes. He could even see the lines of fate so finding the connection between the golem and the caster was easy. Once he found the link, Shui cloaked his blade in his heart flame and performed his technique once more. The slash bisected the golem and then engulfed it in his flame. With only ashes beneath his feet, Shui looked back at Serina and held out his hand.

"Let's go."

With a refreshed smile he called out to her.