One with the Sword

Tatsuya's arrival at the Heavenly Sword Villa did not raise any suspicions. He performed the natural process whenever a disciple would come back from their supposedly journey. Tatsuya simply reported that he didn't managed to finish his tasks.

The overseer of the mission progress of every disciple, found Tatsuya's reasoning believable, as he did not pursue why Tatsuya did not come back for more than a single month to the sect. After all, it is normal for every disciple to spend their time outside the sect, once they had the permission to explore.

"…"

He quickly arrived at the dormitory, but he didn't go into the building. He just stared at it, as he stealthily removed the formation diagram laid out around his room. He had already gotten too skilled with his control over his formation diagrams. He could control this mastery, as if it's just his own power.

Calling him an Emperor among kings is an understatement, when it comes to his skills at Formation Mastery. He could confidently use it alone to deal with the beings below the Seven Divine Profound Realm.

His skills from Earth were fully used at this world, as he could finally maximize his skills and potential without any problems. Back at Earth, he would always be locked by boundless amount of chains, because of his unique powers that threatened everyone in power.

Even his roommate, Ling Quan, didn't felt any connection to Tatsuya. They both felt the same way, because of the lack of interaction between the two of them. Every disciple in this sect is just too pressured to get stronger, to earn fame, money, strength, and women. Tatsuya didn't share this goal, thus the disciples in this sect felt uncomfortable beside him.

The people who once provoked and offended him, didn't even dare to show their faces before Tatsuya. They knew when to retreat, and when to advance, which relieved Tatsuya in every possible way. He didn't want trouble, and for the first time, no one came to trouble him.

(After fetching Mo Yan'er, I should just quickly visit Xia Qingyue… My Supreme Territory paired with my Elemental Sight should allow me to sense more peculiarity from her.)

Tatsuya thought to himself, as he really wanted to know why Xia Qingyue's rare oddity allowed him to temporarily gain access to the Quintessential Dimension. Even the Phoenix God wasn't knowledgeable when it comes to the Quintessential Realm, isolating the fact that only the Ancestral God may know more things than Tatsuya when it comes to knowledge about the Quintessential Realm.

If Tatsuya could just gain even a fraction of second of permission to access the Quintessential Realm, he might be able to gain more hints and knowledge on how he'll develop an innate ability that will allow him to access the Quintessential Realm without any outside help. Even now, he's not sure whether Xia Qingyue is the factor why he entered the Quintessential Realm back then.

"Shiba… Tatsuya."

As Tatsuya indulged in his own thoughts, he heard a sweet voice resound in his ears. He immediately woke up, and he slowly turned his head around. There, he saw his only retainer in this world. Mo Yan'er, the talented girl who possesses the Partial Divine Sense.

Partial Divine Sense is a divine talent that could potentially evolve into Primordial Divine Sense. This potential is too earth-shattering. This sense could allow the user to sense the whole Primal Chaos Dimension, as if its their own backyard. Having this skill will give you the power to infinitely monitor the whole universe. But, attaining this level of sense is simply impossible without the help of your own fate and willpower. Only a single person has ever attained this sense, and that is the Ancestral God who was naturally born in this universe.

"..."

Tatsuya simply stood before Mo Yan'er, but the latter immediately felt an endless surging flow of power crashing upon her shoulders. She could feel that the Tatsuya before her had even gotten stronger compared to their last meeting. She could feel an enclosed space around her, that made her fearful.

"A real and true domain…"

She muttered to herself, as she kept quiet and meek before Tatsuya. Right now, she's nothing but Tatsuya's retainer. Any mistakes might cause her to lost her own life. Even still, she couldn't help but wonder how Tatsuya became so much stronger in just a short two months.

"Mo Yan'er, just like what I told you before, I need you…"

"Yes… master…"

They were exchanging words, but the people around her who was trying to listen to them, couldn't hear a single thing. Even trying to analyzing their words seemed impossible for some reason. This is the effect of the formation diagram that Tatsuya stealthily deployed around themselves.

"Mo Yan'er, we'll be leaving this sect."

"W-what? But that's!"

Mo Yan'er immediately tried to dissuade Tatsuya in her way, because she knew that leaving this sect would only make the Heavenly Sword Villa suspicious. Specially now that they are still finding the other persona that Tatsuya used back then.

"Don't worry, we'll not leave normally…"

"Not normally?"

She can't help but raise a question. She thought of different ways that would allow them to get out of this predicament, but she couldn't come up with a single viable way. Even then, she knew that someone of Tatsuya's level should be able to get them out of here pretty easily.

After all, the young man standing before her is a Monarch! Monarchs are existences that could be basically called God. She still found everything unbelievable, despite the two months of being under Tatsuya's control. She mentally prepared herself in that time, because she knew that even though her freedom was restricted, being with Tatsuya allowed her to possess a bright future.

"Mo Yan'er, you just pick some mission from the Mission Hall, and leave the sect normally. I'll do the same."

"…"

Mo Yan'er felt disappointed, upon hearing Tatsuya's plan. Because she imagined a more complicated plan where they would even frame up someone, kill them, or even threaten them in a way. She didn't notice how peculiar her way of thinking is compared to ordinary people.

Tatsuya can read her like a book. He felt quite surprised, when he perceived her thinking pattern. It seemed that the time she's been under the spying role within the Heavenly Sword Villa, managed to affect her fundamentally. Even then, Tatsuya just ignored it, because he knew that he was the same way.

He had already managed to regain control over his emotions, but he still felt emotionless most of the time. It was because of the fact that he's been living for years without feeling any emotion, except for his brotherly love towards his little sister. Having emotions still felt new to him, as it was quite unique for him to show any kind of emotion on his face.

"This is the only way without raising any suspicions."

"Yes… I'll do as you say."

Tatsuya would have formulated a plan if he wasn't confident of his strength. But he already deemed it more troublesome to do such thing, when he's just dealing with the level of Heavenly Sword Villa. Moreover, even if he's a heavenly genius in the eyes of the Heavenly Sword Villa's upper echelons, they would never connect him to his other persona, Xue Wangzi.

"When would we leave, Sire?"

Tatsuya felt surprised, when Mo Yan'er called him respectfully. But he didn't show this surprise on his face, as he still carried the usual indifferent expression. Even then, he could feel that Mo Yan'er seemed to have thought things over while he was gone. It was indeed beneficial for her to accompany him. She still didn't know how powerful Tatsuya really is, but just staying beside Tatsuya already secured her standing in the world.

"I just came back. We would leave this place in a week."

"Understood."

It was indeed suspicious if Tatsuya would immediately leave after coming back after more than a month of journey. Mo Yan'er leaving at the same time as him might cause any misunderstandings which may lead into further troubles. Tatsuya hated troubles, as he decided to just spend the entire week for studying the way of the sword.

"I'll leave now, master."

Mo Yan'er respectfully bid her farewell, and even attempted to bow her head, but Tatsuya called her to stop such actions. Right now, she must not show any signs of obedience towards Tatsuya, because of the prying eyes of the Heavenly Sword Villa's upper echelons. Tatsuya also felt uncomfortable when people treated him so respectfully.

"Way of the Sword, huh."

Tatsuya muttered to himself, as he also began walking towards an empty region where not a single trace of person could be seen. He decided to use this place to practice his sword skills. After all, having a calm atmosphere and environment felt calming towards oneself.

"A branch should be enough…"

Tatsuya then slowly walked towards a tree and plucked a single branch off it. He wanted to use this branch as a sword, because he knew that the only difference between a branch and his Demon Condemning Sword is their innate strengths.

"A branch possesses no additional power, but my sword can boost my power. A branch or sword, as long as it could be used to slash and stab, is a sword."

Tatsuya quietly said to himself, as he involuntarily entered the State of Equilibrium, entering the state of enlightenment. A heavenly and divine energy seemed to flow towards him, helping him to comprehend the different states of the universe.

His innate abilities all seemed to benefit from his current state, as Tatsuya's control over them increased bit by bit. Even though, he already possessed absolute control over his Elemental Sight, Eidos Modification, and other innate abilities, having more knowledge and understanding about the universe, also slowly affected these innate abilities, propelling each innate ability to become stronger in their own.

*Slash!*

Tatsuya slashed the branch non-stop, without any thread of hesitation present within his eyes. He would even switch to stabbing once in a while, allowing him to become more skillful in his sword skills in each passing second.

*Stab!*

The Supreme Territory state which Tatsuya already possessed since the time he received the White Tiger God's inheritance, seemed to have allowed Tatsuya to sense the heavenly nature surrounding him. He could feel his comprehension becoming even more monstrous.

No one was watching Tatsuya practicing slashing and stabbing continuously without any stop. If someone is indeed watching Tatsuya, they would be gaping in shock right now, because each simple slash and stab of Tatsuya possessed the strength to easily kill a True Profound Realm cultivator.

He wasn't even exerting any physical strength or any kind of power to boost the power of his slashes and stabs, but it still carried a deadly force behind it. This was the fact that Tatsuya is slowly but surely comprehending the profound laws and mysteries of sword.

Halt. Suddenly, Tatsuya stopped moving, halting his practice of the sword. He stood immobile in the empty space without moving for a few minutes.

"Unbelievable…"

When he did, shock was written on his face. He couldn't believe that almost a month had already passed when he was practicing the way of the sword. He could feel that his understanding towards the sword had grown exponentially.

"With just my understanding, I could already kill a True Profound Realm cultivator, without exerting anything on this branch…"

Tatsuya muttered to himself, as he swung around the branch within his left hand. Every swing of the branch produced a ripple of power that could cut anything. Surprisingly, not a thread of profound energy or any forces could be felt from that swing. It was as if Tatsuya was simply swinging the branch around.

"One with the sword…"

Tatsuya said to himself, as he could sense an invisible aura around himself. It was a very sharp aura that could make anyone feel a prickling sensation, as if invisible swords were dancing around their body. It was the aura of a swordsman!

He even felt his self-made skill Quasi Domain Art, improving by leaps and bounds. This skill actually merged with his own domain, allowing him to materialize swords that could slash and stab within a certain range. The really good part is that his improvement in the way of sword, also affected the speed of the materialized sword of his domain.

Tatsuya inwardly summoned his domain into the material plane, as an invisible threatening space descended into the empty land. He quickly materialized swords that floated around him, as if guarding him from harm. These swords now contained an aura of profoundness that could make anyone below Emperor Profound Realm shiver in fear.

With just his domain, Tatsuya could already massacre everyone below the Tyrant Profound Realm like ants. This was something that Tatsuya didn't possessed back then. Right now, he could just use his domain, instead of using his other abilities. After all, he prefers to hide them, as his trump cards.

Right now, Tatsuya doesn't even need to summon the Demon Condemning Sword, as he could just use his domain to materialize a sword that he could use. Back then, he didn't used the materialization skill of his domain, because he wasn't confident enough to dealt with someone else. But, now that he had already managed to improve his sword skills, he's confident enough that he could fight people with just his sword skills.

Furthermore, his domain is peerless when it comes to attacking, because Tatsuya's Elemental Sight allowed him to take aim with absolute precision. No one could dodge his attacks.

"I didn't know that practicing the way of the sword could be so fun…"

Tatsuya said to himself, as he finally found another thing that he could enjoy aside from Formation Mastery, and gaining knowledge. He seemed to be encountering more things that are slightly but surely affecting him in a good way.

"I hope that Mo Yan'er did not wait for me too long…"

Tatsuya said to himself, as he used his innate ability Regrowth to instantly recover his lost stamina, and also remove the signs of his training and practice. His innate ability, Regrowth, has been unused for a long time, because it was already difficult for anything to hurt Tatsuya because of his strength.

He then quickly grabbed a mission from the Mission Hall, and immediately left the Heavenly Sword Villa without even going to his room once. He knew that it will be his last time here in the Heavenly Sword Villa, but things don't go that way.

"Shiba Tatsuya, you've been assigned to participate in the Blue Wind Tournament."

An elder smiled amicably towards Tatsuya, while standing beside a luxuriously dressed young man. They both smiled towards Tatsuya, silently forcing their decision onto him. But they soon found out that nothing changed on Tatsuya's face, as he directly looked at the two of them.

"Oh, this sire beside me is the Blue Wind Imperial Family's Crown Prince, Cang Lin."

When Tatsuya's gaze landed on the luxuriously dressed young man, the Elder immediately introduced the crown prince to Tatsuya. Tatsuya immediately understood that the young man before him is trying to recruit him into his own camp.

Right now, with the current emperor of the Blue Wind Empire falling ill, two sides have been fighting for the throne, headed by the Crown Prince Cang Lin and the Third Prince Cang Shuo. They both are gathering supporters from different sides, but it seems that the Crown Prince actually managed to get the support of the Heavenly Sword Villa, who remained neutral in such thing for a few dozen years.

"Sorry, but I can't participate in that tournament…"

Tatsuya respectfully said his reason towards the Elder and the Crown Prince who seemed more than willing to recruit him. Tatsuya knew that he didn't have any more time to play around in this empire, because he still needed to visit Xia Qingyue quickly, before he must go to the Grand Asura Nation to inspect and copy the Evil God's Divine Veins.

"Are you… serious?"

The Elder's face quickly darkened, as he felt offended that Tatsuya actually rejected their offer, even though he already personally offered him the deal. The Crown Prince wondered whether his third brother actually managed to rope Tatsuya to his camp. But he knew that it was impossible, because he couldn't sense any interest from Tatsuya's eyes.

"It's fine, Elder. It seems that Brother Tatsuya still has some business. We won't force you, but if you need anything, you can contact me…"

The Crown Prince did not give up into roping Tatsuya. After all, from what he heard from the disciples in the Heavenly Sword Villa, Tatsuya is an individual as talented as Ling Kun. He knew that Tatsuya was worth the special treatment.

"Then, we'll take our leave, Brother Tatsuya…"

The Crown Prince then grabbed the Elder with him, as they both went to other inner disciples. Before they vanished, the Elder sent a glare towards Tatsuya, expressing his hatred and annoyance towards Tatsuya. Even then, Tatsuya knew that it was none of his business. Sooner or later, they wouldn't even find any trace of him.

"Still, now that the Crown Prince managed to get the support of the Heavenly Sword Villa, the next emperor could be said to be decided already…"

Tatsuya murmured to himself, as he vanished from the gates of the Heavenly Sword Villa. He met Mo Yan'er who's been waiting for him for almost a month outside the sect. Even then, she didn't complain, and just silently waited for him.

Since, Mo Yan'er had already broken through from the Earth Profound Realm, into the Sky Profound Realm, she could already fly around effortlessly. Tatsuya regulated his strength, so he could fly with the same speed as Mo Yan'er.

He just wanted to enjoy the view of the places that they passed at by. Right now, he's already contemplating on how he should approach Xia Qingyue to analyze her once again. He took his time thinking, as they one day finally arrived in the Snow Region of Extreme Ice…