Chapter 19: Nirvana Severing Blade

After Wudi received the jade box, his cultivation had solidified. The item he received was a high-grade Qi consolidating pill, which was Wudi's reward for bringing the Gold Drum Medallion back and for the contributions he made during the battle. But that wasn't all Wudi received. After obtaining the sword Jiang Feng was using, Wudi decided to learn some sword techniques. His uncle immediately retrieved a sword manual for Wudi to learn, but unfortunately, the knowledge couldn't be casually leaked. Wudi had to memorize it before his Uncle Shou took it back.

The sword manual Wudi learned was the Nirvana Severing Blade. It was a considerably hard manual to learn and wasn't recommended for most. The sword art used the essence of life and death. This combination often caused Qi deviation for many cultivators. Most arts only used one essence because it was far easier to cause Qi deviation trying to manage more than one Qi.

This world likely lacked the knowledge to merge multiple Qi properly. Wudi truly believed this because he was able to achieve these results himself. Wudi definitely felt that the cultivation here was behind and lacked much finesse. Perhaps he would learn more when he gets to the proper strength level. Wudi knew that strength was the way here and that might makes right.

Wudi was feeling good enough to practice the sword art and was currently performing the sword manual in his yard. Wudi's dantian seemed to contain a myriad of colors, two being of a deathly glow and a bright golden light. It seemed Wudi was already grasping the meanings behind life and death.

The sword manual mentioned using the two Qi in conjunction and any art that focused on more than one Qi would say the same, but Wudi wanted the impossible as he strived to combine these two differing powers like how the lightning had done. Wudi paused and thought deeply, "The heavenly lightning was the combination of several powers, but it was still lightning." Wudi stared at the sword and realized the sword was the lightning. "So using one essence as the weapon and incorporating the others within." Wudi slightly murmured toward the end and realized that he needed a better understanding of the sword. Once he could master sword essence, he'd try and merge the two Qi using the sword as the basis, increasing the strength of the sword manual.

All things had an essence one could grasp to make Qi including the sword just like how Wudi had grasped fist essence and made an intent with a basis on fist essence. Wudi grasped the sword firmly and started performing a simple slash. Wudi would first familiarize himself with the sword like he had with his fist. Much like cultivation, Wudi believed one needed to start from the bottom to reach the top.

Wudi's dao heart was what made him special because others wouldn't take the time to practice from the beginning stages. Not everyone had such resolve to just start over. After all, it wasn't like Wudi couldn't comprehend sword essence using a sword manual, and in fact, it would be faster. But that didn't mean that it was better. Everyone's comprehension of techniques varied, and that was why someone could display more strength than another using the same move at the same cultivation because they had different comprehension of the subject.

Wudi was practicing diligently when he heard a knock at the door. Wudi yelled, "Come in." Li Mei walked in the room to see Wudi in the yard practicing. Deciding not to bother him, she decided to sit and wait.

Wudi, seeing this, decided to focus on what he was doing and put her in the back of his mind. Wudi eventually finished and came toward Li Mei while sweating and asked, "What do you need of me, Mei?" Li Mei responded with a question of her own, "I heard your Uncle brought over a sword manual from the palace, but here you are practicing mortal moves." She said this with a smile, and it was clear she wasn't mocking but simply wondering why.

Wudi simply said, "I'd rather start from the bottom of the mountain." Li Mei, with a slight frown, said, "Isn't that backward? You may not have practiced the sword before, but it shouldn't be hard for you to make inferences and practice the sword manual."

Wudi gave her a side-eye and said, "You're right. There isn't a difference in how far you can reach. I could start at the beginning or the middle of the mountain and still reach the top." Wudi took a slight pause and then said, "But starting from the middle to reach the top means you didn't see the whole mountain."

Li Mei had a pondering look and whispered, "Starting at the middle doesn't mean you can't reach the top. It just means you didn't see the whole mountain." Li Mei's face went somewhat bright, and she said, "You actually helped me a lot this time." Seemingly forgetting what she even came to talk about, she stood and kissed Wudi on the cheek before running off.

Wudi didn't even flinch at the gesture and just remained where he was. He wasn't sure what she came for, but she was definitely leaving to go into secluded cultivation. At this time, there was a meeting occurring within the fortress main hall. Commander Lui, Tian Shou, Ming Li, and a few others were sitting at a large table across from a group of cultivators wearing the Royal Robes of the Martial Phoenix Empire, two of which were Feng Yuyun and her Uncle Jianyu.

Next to them was a burly man with a cultivation that seemed to rival that of Commander Lui's and one young man with golden hair named Feng Zhilong. He had long hair that looked like a lion's mane and was also very muscular. Feng Zhilong was shockingly in the Minor Completion Stage of the Martial Dao Realm, despite looking only like he was nineteen or so.

Tian Shou and Commander Lui had frowning looks, and only Li Ming was smiling warily, probably knowing that his daughter made a blunder. Jianyu opened his mouth with a smile and said, "Where might the young Third Prince be?"

Li Ming knew that neither Commander Lui nor Tian Shou had the tact to respond appropriately, so he spoke up first. "I just received word from my daughter, and the third prince is still recovering from some minor injuries from when he obtained the Gold Drum Medallion. He should be available after a few more days of rest."

Jianyu smiled and said, "It was quite the amazing feat from what I heard. They say the Third Prince was able to slay several cultivators in the Martial Dao Realm and even kill one in the Martial Divine Realm." However, they all knew that he was mocking them and didn't believe the battle report that was sent back.

Tian Shou responded before the rest, clearly unaware that they were being mocked. "The prince nearly died and was only able to kill the Martial Divine Realm cultivator after he was seriously injured by me." Jianyu had known Tian Shou for many years and knew that he had issues with certain social cues. This made Jianyu rethink the report, as Tian Shou had zero acting ability and what he just said seemed genuine. Jianyu decided to only nod and not say anything more about it, but that didn't stop him from thinking about it.

Feng Yunpeng, a large man whose strength matched Commander Lui, also looked at Tian Shou with an odd look, and it seemed he came to the same conclusion as Jianyu. In truth, part of this meeting's goal for those from the Martial Phoenix Empire was to see if the battle report regarding Wudi was real. The Emperor of the Martial Phoenix Empire was not inflexible. As soon as he heard about the Gold Drum Medallion and the secret realm that might border the two Empires, he immediately sent his daughter out again to reconcile the situation. The Emperor had also heard the ridiculous battle report and sent his fourth son Feng Zhilong to go with them to gauge Wudi's strength.

Yuyun was actually sitting in a somewhat flustered manner with a slight blush the whole time. It seemed that if the rumors were true, then the Emperor might actually marry off his daughter to Wudi. Her blush seemed to slightly leave when she heard Wudi wasn't coming. Wudi, completely unaware of the talks centered around him, was in his room recovering his Qi. He decided that it would be a good chance to catch a breather and stood up to exit the room.

In the past few days, Wudi seemed to have grown taller, and his hair was jet black and seemed longer. His body looked more flexible despite its large muscle mass. One could say that the fourth prince of the Martial Phoenix Empire's muscles were robust, but Wudi looked like a stallion, as each muscle had an outline, and his figure exuded power that could rival a goliath. Wudi donned a robe and exited his room.