Chapter 64: The Sword Emperor

Lin Heng began attempting to comprehend the sword light that spanned across his sea of consciousness, which represented the realm of the Sword Emperor.

Gathering his focus, he engaged in deep visualization.

At first, Lin Heng merely felt his mind pierced by the sharp and fierce sword light, sending a sensation akin to slow slicing throughout his entire being.

Yet, this failed to break Lin Heng.

For the past year or so, he had grown accustomed to this exact sensation.

It was also the reason why his killing intent had often flared intensely, always driving him to destroy something.

Without finding joyful distractions to alleviate the agony, even the most resilient psyche would inevitably twist under unceasing torment.

Because he had grown used to the mental piercing of the sword light, Lin Heng quickly cast it aside.

As his spirit and consciousness grew more resilient, nourished by the endless stream of vitality and blood within his body, Lin Heng emptied his mind and gradually began to perceive the true meaning contained within the sword light.

It was a feeling of extreme dominance—those who submit flourish, those who resist perish—towering above all, reigning supreme and singular.

Yet, alongside this overpowering dominance, there was also a sense of ease as if everything were firmly under control, a profound compassion encompassing the heavens and all living beings, a benevolence that sought to shelter the common folk, and a yearning for a broader future.

These two contradictory yet unified feelings were bound together by an obsession called survival.

The grand obsession of surviving oneself and leading one's clan to survival harmonized all contradictions.

In the end, all of this was fused into a sword intent renowned for its supreme sharpness.

Thus, it formed the Sword Emperor's realm of absolute supremacy, commanding all swords across the world. Ordinary swordsmen were utterly unworthy of even drawing their blades in the presence of the Sword Emperor.

This was the very essence of the sword light lying across Lin Heng's sea of consciousness.

Having grasped its essence, Lin Heng recalled his own cultivation and life experiences. Though he had never ruled over all living beings, nor possessed the absolute arrogance of those who flourish upon submission and perish upon resistance, he had nonetheless spent a decade walking the earth, eradicating evils and maintaining order.

Ultimately, he had even sought to quell the blood calamity in order to protect the common people.

He had simply failed.

Yet, that will—for his own survival and for leading his clan to survive—was highly unified, carrying a regal bearing that belonged uniquely to Lin Heng.

"It seems my compatibility with the Sword Emperor's realm is exceptionally high."

A trace of a smile surfaced in Lin Heng's heart.

He gathered his essence, qi, and spirit, transforming them into an utterly fierce sword qi that slashed toward the sword light across his sea of consciousness, which embodied the Sword Emperor's intent.

At that moment, the Sword Emperor's intent manifested as a divine figure enveloped in five-colored divine light, rising to meet Lin Heng's attack.

Compared to his first comprehension of the Sword Emperor's intent, when Lin Heng had been completely helpless and crushed under its weight, he now possessed the qualifications to fight it head-on, having comprehended its true essence.

He practiced sword techniques within his sea of consciousness, driving his own sword intent to its absolute limit as he engaged in a fierce battle against the Sword Emperor's intent.

It was an excruciatingly difficult process. Initially, Lin Heng was completely suppressed.

As time flowed on, however, Lin Heng began to improve through combat. He recalled the sword techniques he had witnessed in the past, extracting brand-new insights into the Dao of the sword from them, and used these insights to forge an even sharper edge.

Simultaneously, Lin Heng continuously studied the five-colored divine figure formed by the Sword Emperor's intent, absorbing the essence, qi, and spirit of its every move and stance into his own use.

Through this process, Lin Heng's sword intent grew sharper and more brilliant, and he gradually reached a stalemate with the Sword Emperor's intent in combat.

After yet another period, all the variations contained within the Sword Emperor's intent had been fully observed by Lin Heng and assimilated into his own mastery.

Lin Heng thoroughly seized the upper hand in the battle, beginning to drive the Sword Emperor's intent backward.

In the end, he shattered it entirely, completely uprooting the Sword Emperor's intent that had continuously drained his essence and worn away his origin.

The five-colored divine figure manifested from the Sword Emperor's intent had previously remained cold, its emotions unchanging like ancient permafrost.

Yet, after being defeated by Lin Heng, it exhibited a fluctuation of emotion for the very first time.

Though Lin Heng could not clearly see its face, he could sense from its emotional ripples that it was smiling, carrying a sense of gratification, as if extremely satisfied with Lin Heng's progress.

Finally, the form of the five-colored divine figure dissolved.

It transformed into numerous characters, imparting all its comprehension on how to cultivate the Sword Emperor's realm directly to Lin Heng.

"Come to the Pure Sun Blessed Land."

Leaving behind these final words, the divine figure shrouded in five-colored light vanished completely.

At that moment, a complete map of the Lan Continent emerged within Lin Heng's mind, with a red arrow marking an island region located across the Eastern Sea.

On the side of the map, two lines of text were clearly inscribed:

"Use the Sword Emperor's realm as a guide to open the blessed land."

"Take the combat power of a Martial Dao Celestial as the foundation, pass through nine trials, and obtain the complete inheritance."

Having finished examining the map, Lin Heng drew upon his past experiences of traveling the world to determine that no island representing the Pure Sun Blessed Land existed in the marked region.

"Has it been concealed through some method? It requires the Sword Emperor's realm as a catalyst to open the blessed land, followed by nine trials to secure the inheritance, and the combat power of the Celestial realm to ensure safety during the process."

Pondering this in his heart, Lin Heng temporarily set the matter aside.

Since obtaining the inheritance safely required the combat power of a Celestial realm expert, he would simply cultivate in seclusion for a period and wait for his breakthrough.

There was no need to rush over blindly right now and court unnecessary hardship.

Having made his decision, Lin Heng closed his eyes to meditate, regulating his essence, qi, and spirit, pushing his state to its absolute peak.

With the Sword Emperor's intent no longer suppressing his sea of consciousness, Lin Heng felt as though a mountain that had long weighed upon his heart had been lifted away.

Nourished by the exceptionally abundant essence, qi, and spirit, a sharp sword intent burst forth from Lin Heng's heart, carrying an ultimate piercing sharpness capable of piercing the heavens and all things, surpassing his peak state back when he was a Martial Dao Celestial.

"The hardship of the past two years was not suffered in vain."

Feeling the transformation of his sword intent, Lin Heng murmured inwardly.

The Sword Emperor's intent that had resided within his sea of consciousness had brought him immense suffering, yet it had also served as a powerful tempering.

A sharp sword is honed from grinding, and plum blossoms smell sweetest after enduring bitter cold.

At this moment, with the tempering concluded, a far greater edge was unveiled to the world.

Soon, this ultimate sharpness began to shift.

Into this purest sword intent, Lin Heng's own will was injected, endowing the edge with a resilient, unyielding quality.

A grand obsession—to gather all the power and sharpness in the world, to fight for a chance of survival for himself and for all living beings, and even to tear apart any obstacle in his path for that goal—was infused into his sword intent.

Tempered by this obsession, the sword intent grew even stronger, becoming brilliantly sharp and breaking past its limits, undergoing an essential transformation as it began to radiate an aura of absolute supremacy.

This was Lin Heng's very own Sword Emperor's realm—it was complete!