Chapter 147: Sword Dao Heritage

As time passed, Ye Junze gained a deeper understanding of the swordsmanship legacy left by the predecessor Cang Hao.

The sword technique created by this predecessor was straightforwardly named after himself: the Cang Hao Sword Technique.

The layers of profound meaning contained within this sword technique were so breathtaking that even Ye Junze found them awe-inspiring. It certainly made sense why this sword technique could allow the Sword Immortal Cang Hao to remain undefeated throughout his entire era. No doubt, even a consummate Sword Immortal like Cang Hao must have poured a vast amount of dedication and effort into perfecting this technique.

Ye Junze thought to himself inwardly, "I still need to study it diligently. Besides, if nothing else, I cannot let down Lingling's good intentions."

"I just wonder if Lingling and the other sword spirits know about the secrets behind this sword technique."

"However, such a possibility is likely slim. Perhaps the voice of that predecessor just now could only be heard by the one who accepted his swordsmanship legacy."

Lost in his own thoughts, Ye Junze pondered for a moment. Finding no answers, he simply stopped thinking about it, shook his head, and shifted his focus back to the Cang Hao Sword Technique.

After spending some time in comprehension, Ye Junze had already developed a certain grasp of the technique.

According to the Sword Immortal Cang Hao, this sword technique emphasized intent above all else, technique came second, and form was of the least importance.

The "intent" naturally referred to sword intent, "technique" meant swordsmanship, and "form" denoted sword posture.

As for why it was put this way, the predecessor had also provided a corresponding explanation. If a sword cultivator's intent was high enough and vast enough, the moment a single strand of their sword intent was unleashed, anyone in the martial world—whether they were a Qi refiner, a fellow sword cultivator, or any other type of practitioner—would have to yield and step aside upon witnessing it.

Fearing only that his sword intent might not be grand enough to outshine and dim the very moon in the sky.

So declared the predecessor named Cang Hao within the legacy he left behind.

Recalling the remarkable abilities of that sword Immortal, Ye Junze could not help but nod. With anyone else, he might have found such words somewhat arrogant, but coming from Sword Immortal Cang Hao, and given his recent understanding, Ye Junze was naturally filled with profound admiration.

Deep within his heart, he even felt a deep resonance, wishing nothing more than to exclaim, "We cultivators of our generation should all be like this!"

Although the predecessor Cang Hao stated that this path of swordsmanship focused solely on cultivating sword intent and disregarded everything else, he had also explained further, "If my sword intent is strong enough, then many sword movements will transcend form through formlessness, naturally blending into a seamless whole. Even swordsmanship will continuously elevate itself under the influence of the powerful sword intent cultivated day by day."

The overarching meaning was that a sufficiently high level of sword intent could influence the other crucial factors that determined the height of one's swordsmanship.

And the Cang Hao Sword Technique achieved continuous elevation of swordsmanship and form precisely through the cultivation and accumulation of sword intent.

In short, as Sword Immortal Cang Hao had stated, the sole guiding principle of this sword technique was that sword intent reigned supreme.

Because of this, Ye Junze decided to set aside other matters for the time being and focus on cultivating a wisp of his own Cang Hao sword intent, exactly as the manual prescribed.

Ye Junze thought to himself, "There's no need to rush right now. Before I lost consciousness just now, Lingling seemed to be calling out to me. I must have scared them badly. I should go say hello to them first."

With that thought, Ye Junze ended his meditation.

Ye Junze was not worried that ending his meditation would cause the swordsmanship legacy to vanish. Once those specks of light had merged into his mind, they had become deeply etched into his memory. Whenever Ye Junze wished to review them, he could access them anytime, anywhere. Aside from the more profound and esoteric sections at the end, the earlier, more foundational, and easily understandable parts had already been thoroughly committed to memory during his recent period of comprehension, waiting only for him to put them into actual practice.

Upon opening his eyes, Ye Junze saw Lingling, who was also sitting cross-legged in meditation, alongside various candies of unknown origin scattered all around it.

Seeing this, a smile naturally appeared on Ye Junze's face. "This must have been Mengyuan's doing again. It really went out of its way."

Upon discovering that Ye Junze had regained consciousness, Mengyuan spoke up, "You're awake?"

Hearing Mengyuan's voice, Ye Junze nodded.

Mengyuan then asked again, "How did it go with the swordsmanship legacy Lingling gave you?"

Hearing this, Ye Junze replied, "Pretty good, I understand most of it. I'm planning to start practicing shortly."

Hearing Ye Junze say this, Mengyuan felt reassured and responded, "That's good. If you have any questions, feel free to ask anytime. Though I might not understand it, Lingling is here too, and I suppose it should be able to teach you a lot."

Ye Junze nodded and said, "Don't worry, I know."

While the two of them were conversing, Lingling, who had been immersed in its own cultivation, seemed to have heard something.

Looking as though it had sensed a change, Lingling slowly opened its eyes.

Once Lingling opened its eyes, it saw Ye Junze, who had already stood up, looking at it with a warm smile on his face.

Seeing this, Lingling said with pleasant surprise, "Master, you're awake!"

Hearing this, Ye Junze smiled, nodded, and replied, "Mn, I'm awake."

"That's wonderful! How well did you master it, Master? It doesn't matter if you haven't mastered it yet, because I'm here to help, but given how smart you are, Master, you probably picked it up very quickly."

Hearing Lingling show such concern for him, a wave of warmth washed over Ye Junze's heart. He smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I've grasped it pretty well. You got one thing right—your master is quite smart."

Receiving Ye Junze's affirmative reply, Lingling patted its chest in a very human-like gesture and said, "It's good that Master is okay. You really scared me to death just now."

Ye Junze could not help but ask out of curiosity, "Oh? What happened?"

Lingling scratched its small head and replied, "Seeing Master looking so painful just now, I thought I had committed some monstrous mistake. I was terrified that something might happen to you, Master—if that had happened, dying a thousand times wouldn't have been enough to atone for it."

Hearing this, Ye Junze waved his hand, signaling Lingling to come over.

Seeing this, Lingling once again plunged into Ye Junze's embrace.

Catching Lingling, Ye Junze patted its small head and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? First of all, this wasn't your fault to begin with. Even if something really had happened, it would have been because my own strength was lacking, and it was simply a trial I was meant to face. Don't ever say silly things about dying again, or else all the effort I spent waking you up will have been in vain."

Hearing this, Lingling nodded and replied earnestly, "I know, Master. I'll never say things like that again."

Ye Junze nodded, stroked Lingling's head, and smiled. "That's good."

As if suddenly remembering something, Lingling patted its head and said, "Oh, right, Master! Mengyuan was so nice to me just now."

Hearing this, Ye Junze looked intrigued and asked with great curiosity, "Really? What happened?"

"It's these." As Lingling spoke, it reached out and summoned the pile of candies from where it had been sitting earlier.

Then, Lingling picked up a piece of candy, waved it excitedly at Ye Junze, and said, "To make sure I wouldn't worry about you, Master, and to cheer me up, Mengyuan specially made these candies for me. They're sweet and so delicious! Have one, Master."

With that, Lingling handed the candy in its hand to Ye Junze.

Ye Junze smiled, waved his hand, and said, "You should eat these good things yourself. After all, Mengyuan made them specially for you, so your master won't snatch them from you."

Afraid that Lingling might misunderstand, Ye Junze added, "I have plenty of things to eat outside too, so don't worry about it. Keep all your treats to yourself. Once Mengyuan learns more about the outside world, just tell me whatever delicious food you want to eat, and I'll bring it to you next time I come."

Upon hearing this, a literal glint of light seemed to flash across Lingling's eyes as it asked in pleasant surprise, "Wow! Are there many delicious things like this candy where you live, Master?"

Ye Junze smiled and replied, "Of course! Cakes, chocolates, mousses, pastries, puddings, ice cream, milkshakes... So many things, and they're all very delicious. If you want to eat them, should I bring some for you next time?"

Hearing this, Lingling looked as though it were about to drool. Its eyes widened, filled with an expression of longing.

Even so, Lingling seemed terrified of troubling Ye Junze. Looking both expectant and apprehensive, it asked, "Is that really okay? Won't that be a lot of trouble for you, Master?"

Ye Junze waved his hand and said, "It's no trouble at all, what's a small matter like that? It's settled then. If you like them, I'll bring some when I come next time. But you mustn't be too greedy, though—eating too much will make you chubby."

Hearing this, Lingling nodded in pleasant surprise, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Master!"

However, the moment he finished speaking, Ye Junze rubbed his chin, looked at the Lingling in his arms, and said thoughtfully, "Then again, given your spiritual bodies, you probably don't have to worry about getting chubby."

Listening to Ye Junze's muttered words without understanding a single thing, Lingling simply asked out of curiosity, "What are you talking about, Master?"

Hearing this, Ye Junze waved his hand and said, "Nothing. It's settled then, I'll bring some next time. Come, let's pinky promise."

With that, Ye Junze hooked his finger around Lingling's little pinky.

At the same time, he chanted in a rhythmic rhyme, "Pinky promise, seal it tight, hundred years without a slight, whoever breaks it turns into a little pig."

Having finished, Ye Junze retracted his finger and smiled. "Alright, it's settled then."

Although Lingling did not fully understand, it still nodded obediently.

After all, no matter what its master had just said, it only needed to remember one thing.

That was, the next time its master came back here, he would bring it many things just as delicious as the candy, or perhaps even tastier.

Just thinking about it made its mouth water.

Thinking this, Lingling reached out to wipe away saliva that did not actually exist at the corners of its mouth.

Seeing Lingling like this, Ye Junze could not help but chuckle.

Without thinking too hard, he knew Lingling must be imagining how delicious the things he had just mentioned were.

Yet this little guy, being so small, could it really eat that much? Ye Junze maintained a deep sense of doubt regarding that.

Still, he couldn't help but envy the constitution of spiritual bodies that allowed them to eat as much as they wanted without ever getting fat.

Once he relaxed, Ye Junze's thoughts flew wild, and no one could guess what was passing through his mind. Often, before one train of thought had even finished, he would already have jumped to a new one.

Watching Ye Junze chuckle to himself foolishly, Lingling had no idea what he was thinking about, but it figured it must be something very happy.

Therefore, Lingling began to giggle foolishly along with Ye Junze.

The human and the sword spirit, harboring completely different thoughts, nevertheless giggled away in perfect unison, presenting a rather comical and endearing sight.

After a while, Ye Junze gathered his stray thoughts and released Lingling from his arms.

Setting Lingling down, Ye Junze smiled and said, "Alright, the reason I woke up was to keep you from worrying. Now that everything is fine, I'm going to continue studying that sword manual. You two should continue to get along well."

Lingling nodded and replied, "Understood, Master, do your best!"

With that, Lingling even raised its small fist as if cheering Ye Junze on.

Seeing this, Ye Junze smiled and nodded, saying no more.

He turned around, sat down cross-legged, and prepared to cultivate and nurture his own Cang Hao sword intent.