Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)
Chapter 854: Sword Duels

As God-Noble Goldensword stood there, the pressure he radiated was so shocking and intense that it seemed impossible for anyone present to best him in combat. Furthermore, considering how refined and deadly his sword technique was, even someone who could compare to him in raw power wouldn’t necessarily be able to defeat him.

Furthermore, because he had once possessed godhood, he was able to do certain things that only the legion of gods could do. The methods of the legion of gods were so interlaced with magical laws that even a cultivator with an incredibly high power index wouldn’t be able to match up to them.

That was just the difference between humans and gods.

In response to God-Noble Goldensword’s words, everyone felt deeply shaken. Apparently, they were all going to die if a successor wasn’t found. But how could any of them possibly defeat God-Noble Goldensword in a sword duel?

After a long pause, someone stepped forward and said, “Senior, how exactly are we supposed to gain understanding of your sword technique? Are we supposed to fight you? You’re so strong that none of us here could possibly be a match for you! If none of us succeed, are you really going to kill us all?”

“That’s right,” said the soul of God-Noble Goldensword. “If none of you succeed, you will all die. Your nascent divinities and quintessence energy will become part of my sword formation, and help boost my cultivation base. Then I will continue waiting for my successor to arrive. That said, coming to understand my sword technique won’t involve fighting me. You will simply have to deal with the will of my sword, and my various sword stances. Enter the sword formation and vanquish it. You see, it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make this formation, and it’s filled, not with true energy, but with sword will! And it contains the essence of my sword stances. Exercise caution, for it is a dangerous formation, and if you make the slightest mistake, you’ll either die, or have your mind wiped out of existence.”

“Are we free to leave right now, before we start?” another of the experts said. “We from the Blacktree Cavern were under the impression this area was simply a treasure trove. Our Pontifex Blacktree has a cultivation base roughly on the same level as you.”

“Leave?” said God-Noble Goldensword. “Of course not! If you try to leave, you die. There are no alternatives. The dao of the sword is about walking the most deadly of paths, using your own valor to slash your way through death itself. As long as your sword exists, you exist. If your sword expires, you expire. Walk forward, and never retreat.”

Quite a few people could be seen flinching or frowning in response to his words.

“Let’s go!” one of the experts said. “If we work together, not even this God-Noble Goldensword will be a problem to deal with. We can just break free, call more experts from our organization, then come back and assimilate him!”

“Let’s do it!” There were over a dozen experts from the Blacktree Cavern, all of them clad in pitch black garments embroidered with some sort of divine tree. And in one move, they flew up and unleashed an attack on the shield of light that separated them from the outside. All of these experts had power indexes of between twenty and forty, and when they were added together, it was a total of over two hundred. By math alone, it was obvious they weren’t a match for God-Noble Goldensword, but it would make sense that they should at least be able to break free.

But before they could, God-Noble Goldensword made his move.

He extended his hand, and a sword appeared, golden in color and pulsing with a holy aura. As he swept it out in front of him, it sounded like millions of bells tolling at the same time, enough to cause anyone to cough up blood.

“One sword to record spring and autumn. Two swords to divide yin and yang. Three swords to stabilize all under heaven. Four swords to stir the cosmos. Five swords to birth the five phases. Six swords to sweep the six directions. Seven swords to slash the fleeting clouds. Eight swords to seize the fate of heaven. Nine swords to indulge mighty heroes. Ten swords to seek the future!”

SWISH!

Ten sword moves were unleashed. Sword energy swept through the entire stone arena and sword light shone in epic fashion, making it seem like an ancient god was striding forward with sword in hand, unleashing the most devastating sword technique possible, seeking to fabricate its own ideal future. The future could be considered a very profound and enigmatic thing, filled with endless possibilities. Even the tiniest factors could change it, but somehow this sword technique seemed to slash through the clouds and fog to create a solid path leading to it.

This dao of the sword was boundless and majestic, the type in which one's sword could be used to seek the future.

“Agggh!”

The sword light slashed into the experts from the Blacktree Cavern and they all lurched to a halt and spun in place, looks of disbelief on their faces.

Pointing at God-Noble Goldensword, one of the experts said, “We have life essence divinity lamps back in the Blacktree Cavern that will allow us to be reborn if we die. But you extinguished them!? How!? Your sword pierced through the void and wiped out our seeds of truth?!”

Crack!

His forehead suddenly split open, and blood sprayed out. Then his body collapsed, and all of his blood was absorbed into the surrounding sword formation. Afterward, the other experts from the Blacktree Cavern similarly exploded, and were absorbed.

Everyone present was deeply shaken.

‘So deadly and destructive!’ Yang Qi thought. ‘I almost can’t believe the dao of the sword could reach such a level. My Life-Killing Sword Technique is exquisite, but in terms of true energy requirements, profound variations, and the will of the sword, it’s like nothing compared to this.’

Forgetting everything else, this sword technique could pierce the fog of the future, lay a clear path ahead, and allow one to exercise one's will to the fullest. After all, climbing the Deathless Heavenly Stairway involved converging the will and psychic powers, shrinking them down and simultaneously pushing them beyond all limits.

Suddenly, the power assessment systems provided new information.

[Beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep. Power index of three hundred, with burst capacity of over five hundred! Will convergence is at the Destabilizing level!]

“What?” Yang Qi said. “Will convergence? What’s that?”

[Will convergence level is about explosiveness. The more an expert converges their will, the more explosive their attacks can be, thus, the higher their overall fighting prowess. In other words, it describes the limits of one’s power when pushed beyond the ordinary. You have a power index of one hundred and three. However, if you focus everything in one powerful attack, you could reach the level of one hundred fifty.]

“You said will convergence at the Destabilizing level? What’s that mean?”

The photonic computer quickly provided a detailed explanation.

[Both will and power are vital in fighting. Thus, the power index is not the be-all and end-all. Only by combining the power index with the will convergence level can one’s true fighting prowess be determined. Will convergence levels are as such: Normal. Stupendous. Destabilizing. Terrifying. Paramount. Unbounded. And lastly, Annulled. Upon reaching the Deathless Throne, the will of a god will be at the Terrifying level. However, God-Noble Goldensword has perished, so his soul is only at the Destabilizing level. Of course, a will convergence level like this still surpasses everyone present. Whoever takes the legacy of his dao of the sword will not benefit from an increase in power. However, the Destabilizing will convergence can enable that person to advance by leaps and bounds.]

Yang Qi understood what the photonic computers were telling him. Obviously, power was not the only thing that determined victory. Examples abounded of the weak defeating the strong. One’s will could surpass matters of power, bracing the mind in a way that could secure victory.

“What’s my will convergence level?”

The photonic computer performed some scans and analyses.

[Your cultivation level is low, as you only just reached the Stair of Valor. If you continue to rise on the Deathless Heavenly Stairway, eventually reaching the stairs of Wisdom, Strength, and Endurance, then you will eventually reach the Destabilizing level. At the moment, you are only at the Stupendous level. The other experts present are either Normal or Stupendous. However, the young man from the Star River Sword Sect is on the verge of breaking through to the Destabilizing level. His power index is currently slightly over one hundred, but if he draws fully on the might of the dao of the sword and unleashes an explosive attack, he would reach the level of two hundred. In that respect, he surpasses you.]

Power indexes were mysterious things, but will convergence levels were even more so. And they were crucial in determining how two people would fare in a fight.

“As you can see, no one will be allowed to leave this trial,” God-Noble Goldensword’s soul said. “If you wish to leave, you must forge ahead.”

“Fine. I’ll start!” A young man stepped forward, clad in white garments. He also wore a ring that seemed to be made from numerous interlocking swords. He waved his hand, and a sword appeared in it.

[Power index one hundred thirty!]

“That’s a young lord of the Cipher-Devil Sword Sect,” Holy Daughter Joyflower said. “His name is Cipher Rite-Heaven, and his dao of the sword is nothing to take lightly.”

“Let’s see how he does in the trial,” Yang Qi said. “Taking on God-Noble Goldensword via will is something no one here has ever done.”

As soon as Cipher Rite-Heaven stepped into the sword formation, it spun to life. The golden sword appeared, sending streams of sword light racing toward him. It was not sword energy, but rather sword will. The true battle was to take place in his sea of consciousness!