Back then, Shuo Feng had seemed to possess full mastery over the wonder of Heaven, "Sword." From start to finish, there had been no sign of it slipping out of control.
Yet unlike now, when facing Su Xiaomei's relentless onslaught back then, Shuo Feng had done nothing but defend, never once taking the offensive.
*Beams of white light, deflecting every single one of his foe's attacks. They were even significantly more potent than the original strikes.*
*Its traits are identical to this wooden sword. Is it simply incapable of attacking on its own initiative...?*
Li Fan seemed to understand why Shuo Feng had never quite managed to master "Sword."
Considering the matter, he figured the young man was bound to realize it on his own eventually. Why not do him a favor and offer some guidance?
He fixed his eyes on the wooden sword in Shuo Feng's hand and frowned slightly. "Logically speaking, given your exceptional talent, Brother Shuo, even a legendary wonder of Heaven shouldn't prove so difficult to control."
Shuo Feng nodded in complete agreement. "I have wrestled with that very question myself."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then spoke as if an epiphany had just struck him. "I have a theory, though I cannot say whether it holds true."
"Oh? Please, Brother Li, speak your mind." A flicker of surprise crossed Shuo Feng's eyes. Though he doubted Li Fan could offer any profound insight, he still replied with courtesy.
"The sword is an instrument of slaughter. Ancient sword cultivators were adept at claiming a man's head from a thousand li away; a single sword could sunder ten thousand dharmas. Were the principles of the sword to manifest in the mundane realm, taking the form of metal, jade, or stone would all be understandable. Yet why, of all things, did it manifest as a wooden sword?"
As Li Fan posed the question, Shuo Feng's brow furrowed, his expression turning solemn.
"I have heard that in ancient sword sects, disciples only ever used wooden swords when they were purely sparring without seeking victory or defeat. Thus..."
Li Fan paused, his voice dropping into a solemn cadence. "I believe that 'Sword' represents the very peak of the sword dao in this world, and as the saying goes, extremes must reverse. Therefore, every trait inherent to a mortal sword has been inverted in the wonder of Heaven, 'Sword.'"
"Killing becomes non-killing; seeking defeat yields victory. Not attacking is winning, and remaining unmoved is absolute invincibility!"
Li Fan's words resonated like a great bronze bell, crashing down like a bolt from the blue, leaving Shuo Feng utterly stunned.
A strange luminescence rose in his eyes. He reexamined the wooden sword in his hands, seemingly slipping into an esoteric, unfathomable state.
He stood frozen like a stone statue, murmuring unintelligibly under his breath.
*It seems he was already on the verge of the breakthrough. My single remark merely pierced the veil, triggering an instant epiphany.* Li Fan quietly circulated the Profound Bird divine ability and peered above Shuo Feng's head.
A pillar of purple smoke soared straight into the sky, twisting like a spiraling vortex, dense and cohesive. It was undeniably an omen of supreme luck, falling short of Xu Ke's by only half a notch.
The pillar of luck was immensely resilient, utterly unaffected by external influences. Even the luck-siphoning domain formed by Han Yi's statue could not sway it in the slightest.
*Makes sense. Without immense luck, how could one be born into such a good life? What other cultivators spend a lifetime struggling for and never obtain, he has had in abundance since the day he was born.* Beholding Shuo Feng's astonishing, heaven-defying luck, Li Fan could not help but sigh with emotion.
*In this Xuanhuang Realm, it is exceedingly rare for two Dao Integration Immortal Venerables to choose to conceive an offspring.* Recalling the rumors surrounding Shuo Feng and his mother, Li Fan could only feel envious.
It was said that after Immortal Venerable Feixue realized she had no hope of attaining Longevity, she decided to place her hopes upon her progeny. To nurture the most exceptional heir, she chose a trite yet effective method: a marital martial contest.
Any Dao Integration expert who could defeat her would earn the right to become her Dao companion. To become a Dao Integration cultivator, who among them wasn't a one-in-a-hundred-million genius? The union of their exceptional bloodlines, paired with the combined resources of both parents, might well give birth to another Longevity realm powerhouse between heaven and earth.
When the news broke, the entire world was shaken. Countless cultivators gathered with great relish, eager to witness a clash of titans between Dao Integration figures. But the outcome was a tremendous disappointment.
Half-hearted responses trickled in from across the world. Nearly a year passed before a single Dao Integration cultivator arrived to challenge her—and he was ultimately defeated.
Only then did the wider cultivation world come to their senses. In the entire Xuanhuang Realm, there were only so many Dao Integration cultivators. Anyone who had reached that stage possessed towering pride; barring extraordinary circumstances, who would lightly abandon the ultimate goal of attaining Longevity?
Moreover, though Immortal Venerable Feixue's combat prowess was merely average among Dao Integration cultivators, she was exceptionally skilled in artifact crafting. Cloaked in an array of protective dharma treasures, defeating her was no easy feat. Venturing to challenge her without absolute certainty would only invite public humiliation.
Compounded by all these factors, Immortal Venerable Feixue's martial contest quickly turned into a ghost town.
Just when everyone assumed the affair would gradually fade into obscurity and end without fanfare, another event occurred that left the world dumbfounded.
Immortal Venerable Feixue was suddenly pregnant! And aside from her, no one knew who the father was!
She remained silent on the matter and officially declared the martial contest void.
From then on, she devoted all her heart and soul to nurturing the child in her womb—who would become Shuo Feng.
Undoubtedly, the one capable of impregnating Immortal Venerable Feixue without a whisper of notice had to be a terrifyingly powerful Dao Integration cultivator. There could be no mistake about that.
Whatever his reasons for concealing his identity remained unknown.
*Not only does he have a mother at the Dao Integration realm, but he also has a father lurking in the shadows who has never revealed his true identity.*
*No wonder Shuo Feng is so brimming with confidence. Vast as the world is, he can roam wherever he pleases.*
While Li Fan was lost in his private musings, Shuo Feng slowly returned from his epiphany.
A faint glimmer of joy touched his face. Taking a deep breath, his expression gradually smoothed into stillness.
The hands gripping the wooden sword no longer trembled. As a mysterious aura descended and locked onto his form, the wonder of Heaven, "Sword," dissolved into a gentle white radiance, slowly melting into his body.
In an instant, Shuo Feng seemed to retract all his sharpness.
From dazzlingly sharp, he became utterly ordinary.
Even the purple pillar of luck above his head slowly faded before Li Fan's eyes, eventually transforming into an unassuming white hue. Without looking closely, one would easily overlook it.
Shuo Feng turned his gaze toward Li Fan. Li Fan retracted the Profound Bird divine ability and cupped his hands.
"Congratulations, Brother Shuo, on returning to simplicity and achieving great mastery in your divine art!"
"Achieving great mastery is far too generous a description. Still..." Shuo Feng made a polite, inviting gesture.
"I hope Brother Li will test my sword!"
Li Fan naturally understood his meaning.
With a flick of his finger, several more blue water swords shot toward Shuo Feng.
Shuo Feng clasped his hands behind his back, neither dodging nor parrying.
Just as the water swords were about to crash into his body, a flash of white light burst forth.
Every single water sword turned against its master.
Chapter 659