After announcing the start of the second phase, the Sword Tower Master continued, "A sword cultivator refers not merely to a cultivator who uses a sword as a weapon. If that were all it took, who under the heavens wouldn't be a sword cultivator?"
Lu Yang nodded inwardly. The Sword Tower Master was right. What cultivator hadn't dreamed of becoming a sword immortal? Most of them simply tried using a sword as a weapon, found it ill-suited to them, and gave up.
"Then does a sword cultivator refer to someone gifted in the Sword Dao? That is not entirely true, either.
"A true sword cultivator not only possesses talent in the Sword Dao far beyond ordinary reach, but must also possess a sword heart—which is to say, the attitude you hold toward your sword!"
*There's such a thing as a sword heart?* Lu Yang was baffled. He had never heard his master or Eldest Senior Sister mention it.
Lu Yang felt that he really ought to attend more gatherings of sword cultivators. He was lucky if he got to see Master once a year, Eldest Senior Sister hadn't taught him sword techniques since the Foundation Establishment stage, and as for the Immortal Fairy, that went without saying—she was utterly clueless about the Sword Dao.
"The Sword Inquiry is divided into two parts: inquiring of the heart, and inquiring of intent.
"This inquiry of the heart tests your sword heart."
Hearing the Sword Tower Master's words, Lu Yang felt a twinge of unease. If it came to competing in sword intent, he feared no one, but this 'sword heart' was something he had only just heard about today. What was he supposed to do?
A formation appeared beneath the feet of every sword cultivator, projecting an upward curtain of light that enveloped them.
"This is the Heart Inquiry Formation. Within this formation, one cannot tell a lie regarding any question concerning the 'sword.'"
This was one of the Sword Tower's foundational heritages—a formation that the Sword Tower Supreme had inadvertently comprehended while contemplating the Sword Dao, and it offered tremendous aid in cultivating a sword heart.
Lu Yang felt that this formation shared similarities with his Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature in certain respects, though it was even more profound and wondrous.
The Heart Inquiry Formation could distinguish truth from falsehood, but it could not proactively ask questions. Thirteen individuals—the Sword Tower's twelve elders alongside the Tower Master himself—took to the field in person to test the world's sword cultivators.
Naturally, the focus of the greatest attention was the Sword Tower Master. To some degree, the sword cultivators he personally chose to examine signified that he held high hopes for them.
The Sword Tower Master first arrived before the green bamboo spirit, Duan Changqing. "Duan Changqing, do you cultivate the Sentient Sword Dao or the Emotionless Sword Dao?"
"The Emotionless Sword Dao."
"If your sword were to break, would you be sad?"
Duan Changqing answered coldly, "If the sword breaks, I can simply forge another. Why should I be sad?"
"Then do you love the Sword Dao?"
"Naturally, I do."
A glaring red light flared from the formation beneath Duan Changqing's feet, signaling that he had lied.
The Sword Tower Master spoke sternly, his gaze sharp as a blade as if looking straight through Duan Changqing. "Speak the truth."
Unable to bear the pressure exuded by the Sword Tower Master, Duan Changqing could only admit honestly, "I became a sword cultivator solely because sword cultivators possess formidable offensive might."
The Sword Tower Master sighed. "Your sword was forged from a part of your true form. While that certainly allows you to wield it with utmost ease, you bear not a shred of affection for the Sword Dao. This will obstruct your path ahead."
The Sword Tower Master then moved on to his left-door closed disciple, Yue Chuan. Yue Chuan drew the Misty Smoke Sword, and the sword spirit, A'lan, nestled affectionately in his embrace.
The Tower Master knew Yue Chuan well, so there was no need to ask whether he cultivated the Sentient or Emotionless Sword Dao.
"Yue Chuan, are you able to live and die together with your sword?"
Gazing at A'lan in his arms, Yue Chuan declared resolutely, "I can!"
"Then what is the relationship between you and your sword?"
Without a second thought, Yue Chuan answered, "I want to marry A'lan as husband and wife!"
The Tower Master pressed a hand to his forehead. Questioning Yue Chuan was just going through the motions; how could he not know what his eldest disciple was like?
If not for the fact that Great Xia law did not recognize sword spirits as legal entities capable of marriage, the two of them would have tied the knot long ago.
"Mingtai, are you able to live and die together with your sword?" The Tower Master spoke with an amiable expression. In terms of seniority, unless the Sword Tower Supreme returned to life, even digging up every past Tower Master in the Sword Tower's history would still place them below Mingtai.
"I can!"
Mingtai held the Hanguang Sword. This was the personal blade of the Sword Tower Supreme as well as Mingtai's true body; if anything happened to the Hanguang Sword, he wouldn't survive either.
"What is the relationship between you and your sword?"
"We are one and the same."
As soon as those words fell, an uproar erupted. The great formation showed no reaction, which meant Mingtai had spoken the truth. Countless sword cultivators heard his answer and felt utterly humbled.
Although their affection for their swords was sincere, compared to Mingtai, they were leagues behind.
"Greetings, Tower Master Guan." Seeing the Tower Master approach, Lu Yang hurried to offer his salutations.
The Sword Tower Master's name was Guan Yi.
"You are Lu Yang? This is our first time meeting." Guan Yi smiled upon seeing Lu Yang.
Though he had friction with Daoist Buyu, that was a matter between the older generation and had nothing to do with juniors.
As the Sword Tower Master, what he loved most was seeing exceptionally talented juniors of the Sword Dao grow.
Given Lu Yang's towering reputation, the moment the Sword Tower Master spoke to him, everyone's gaze was drawn over.
"He really is Lu Yang."
"I wonder what Lu Yang's sword heart looks like."
"With Mingtai ahead of him, no matter how extraordinary his sword heart is, can it really surpass Mingtai?"
Tower Master Guan asked, "Your master cultivates the Emotionless Sword Dao. What about you, Lu Yang? Do you cultivate the Sentient Sword Dao or the Emotionless Sword Dao?"
Lu Yang hesitated for a moment. This was the first time he had ever heard that the Sword Dao was divided into 'Sentient' and 'Emotionless.'
"May I first ask what the Sentient Sword Dao and the Emotionless Sword Dao mean?"
"Your master didn't even tell you this?" Tower Master Guan felt a spike of displeasure toward Daoist Buyu. *Far too irresponsible!*
"A sword cultivator certainly loves his sword, but that love comes in different forms.
"The so-called Sentient Sword Dao refers to treating the sword as a person, loving the sword as one would love another person. Everyone throughout our Sword Tower cultivates the Sentient Sword Dao. Meanwhile, the Emotionless Sword Dao refers to treating the sword as a tool, an object, with a pure and detached love for the blade itself. The most famous representative of that path is your master."
Lu Yang gave it some thought. Although Eldest Senior Sister had gifted him the Green Blade Sword and he was very fond of it, at the end of the day, he still treated the Green Blade Sword as an object and held no special emotional attachment to it.
"Then what I cultivate should be the Emotionless Sword Dao."
Upon hearing this, Tower Master Guan felt a pang of disappointment. *As expected, such fine talent was led astray into the Emotionless Sword Dao by that old scoundrel Buyu.*
Yet immediately afterward, a red light flashed beneath Lu Yang's feet!
"Hm? You lied just now?" Tower Master Guan's face lit up with delight. Didn't this mean Lu Yang cultivated the Sentient Sword Dao after all?
"I lied?" Lu Yang was also astonished. According to Tower Master Guan's definition, he definitely belonged to the Emotionless Sword Dao!
Tower Master Guan guided him patiently, asking gently, "Do you like your sword?"
Lu Yang nodded. He truly did like the Green Blade Sword.
"Do you treat your sword as a person?"
Lu Yang was about to shake his head when he suddenly realized where the problem lay—there actually was a person inside the Green Blade Sword!
Lu Yang could only continue to nod.
Tower Master Guan clapped his hands together, drawing the conclusion for Lu Yang. "Isn't that it, then? You like your sword, and you treat it as a person—that is the Sentient Sword Dao!"
"Hypothetically speaking, if your sword broke or vanished, would you feel grieved, heartbroken, and weep bitter tears?"
Lu Yang imagined the scenario Tower Master Guan described. If the Immortal Fairy were to vanish, he really would be heartbroken and probably break down in tears. He could only keep nodding.
"See? Not only do you practice the Sentient Sword Dao, you have even reached the profound realm of lodging your sentiments within the blade!"
Inside the Green Blade Sword, the Immortal Fairy giggled silly laughs. Though she didn't quite understand why she was laughing, she simply felt that Little Yangzi's answers made her very happy.
"Then are you willing to live and die together with your sword?"
Within the Sentient Sword Dao, a small faction of sword cultivators harbored extreme affection for their swords, advocating that 'if the sword lives, the person lives; if the sword dies, the person dies.' Yue Chuan and Mingtai from earlier were examples of this, and sword cultivators had always lauded such extreme devotion.
Hearing this question, Lu Yang's expression turned bizarre. He didn't know how to answer. "It's not a matter of living and dying together. Even if I die, my sword won't."
Given how utterly defying the heavens the Immortal Dao fruit was, the Immortal Fairy couldn't die even if she wanted to.
Tower Master Guan showered Lu Yang's answer with glowing praise. "Magnificent! Protecting your sword with your life, willing to perish first so that no harm ever befalls your blade!"
Everyone turned their gazes upon Lu Yang with reverence. Only sword cultivators could comprehend what Lu Yang's answer signified—this surpassed even the sentiment of 'if the sword lives, I live; if the sword dies, I die' by a whole tier!
"As expected of Lu Yang! In terms of this devotion alone, who among contemporary sword cultivators can compare to him?"
"Before this, I took him for someone merely gifted in the Sword Dao who bore no true feelings for his sword. How blind I was!"
"No wonder he could execute One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords and One Person Into Ten Thousand Persons back in the Nascent Soul stage! It wasn't just raw talent in the Sword Dao; surely this profound affection for his sword played a crucial role!"
Tower Master Guan asked the final question: "Then what is the relationship between you and your sword?"
Lu Yang felt that telling the truth was somewhat humiliating, but if he didn't tell the truth, the formation would expose him. He could only state honestly, "The sword is the ruler; I am the subject."
The crowd erupted into an uproar once more, their clamor even louder than during Mingtai's turn, staring at Lu Yang in utter disbelief.
"Treating the sword as ruler! That has reached the legendary realm of Man and Sword as One, where the body moves with the sword!"
"No one in all of history has ever reached this stage, right?!"
Sword cultivators were inherently proud. No matter how dearly they cherished their swords, they would at most place the blade on equal footing with themselves; never would they place it above themselves.
To cast aside a sword cultivator's arrogance for the sake of the blade—what an extraordinary sword heart!
The more Tower Master Guan looked at Lu Yang, the more agreeable he found the young man. The sword as primary, the cultivator as auxiliary—why, even the Sword Tower Supreme of old hadn't cultivated the Sentient Sword Dao to such heights!
Chapter 983