Chapter 13 The Seventh Form of the Nameless Sword Art

The Sword Tower Forest, with tens of thousands of towering sword towers, stood silently. Dozens of cultivators were scattered throughout the forest, each silently training, none disturbing the others.

Among them was a thatched hut, inside which sat a white-robed youth. Sword energy flowed around him, occasionally coalescing into sword forms.

Suddenly he opened his eyes, a look of joy in them.

"The seventh form of the Heart-Seal Sword Art, the 'Reincarnation Form,' I've mastered it." Ji Ning felt exhilarated. "Back then, my master, Emperor Snowjade, relied on this 'Reincarnation Form' to break through and become a Daolord of Life and Death. Now I've finally learned this form."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh."

Around Ji Ning, flashes of sword light appeared, sometimes surging with killing intent, sometimes eerie and unpredictable, sometimes domineering and fierce. Different sword techniques transitioned perfectly, leaving no flaw in the strike. It was like a cycle of reincarnation; an enemy, under such swordplay, would fall into it with the slightest mistake.

"Emperor Snowjade, such an unrestrained and carefree figure, yet his sword techniques are so meticulous." Ji Ning marveled.

"Hmm, now that my sword realm has improved, I can also practice the seventh form of the Nameless Sword Art." Ji Ning immediately began to ponder the Nameless Sword Art.

With the emperor's legacy, Ji Ning learned the Heart-Seal Sword Art faster!

The Nameless Sword Art was more challenging to figure out, and Ji Ning felt that the seventh form of the Nameless Sword Art was slightly more difficult than the Heart-Seal Sword Art.

……

Inside the Time Hut, which maintained a hundredfold time acceleration, Ji Ning, whose sword realm had greatly improved, found it noticeably easier to comprehend the seventh form of the Nameless Sword Art. He continued to ponder it.

The seventh form of the Nameless Sword Art, named 'Heart of Heaven and Earth,' was far more complex than the Spiritual Heart Domain, and even more profound than the 'Reincarnation Form.'

Thirty years passed.

"Hmm?"

Ji Ning opened his eyes, his vision hazy. Before him, the hut and sword towers had vanished, replaced by a pure, empty void of heaven and earth. In that void, a single teardrop appeared.

This teardrop seemed like the tear of a beloved.

Or perhaps the core of heaven and earth.

"Pfft."

Ji Ning extended his finger, the tip reaching out, gently stabbing as if it were a sword, striking that teardrop.

At that moment, Ji Ning's heartforce naturally spread out, perfectly merging with his finger.

"Whoosh~~~"

A startling sword intent burst forth, spreading around the thatched hut.

Ji Ning was immersed in the beauty and shock of this form, involuntarily closing his eyes, savoring the mystery of that sword strike. His heartforce and sword technique had naturally merged, not like the usual forced exertion of heartforce, but naturally, without even the thought. Purely because of the emotion stirred by executing this sword art, his heartforce naturally aligned with the sword technique, unleashing that ghostly, unfathomable, terrifying strike.

"Rumble~~~"

Suddenly, a loud noise came from outside, and the entire Sword Tower Forest trembled.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning opened his eyes in confusion, looking outside. The ground was shaking, the soil vibrating, the loud noise coming from afar.

"What's going on? The Sword Tower Forest is the foremost sacred ground of the Sword Palace. Who dares to cause trouble here?" Ji Ning wondered, even stepping out of the hut, standing there, looking into the distance.

"What's happening?"

"Could it be..."

"Look."

The dozens of cultivators in the Sword Tower Forest all stood up. Some were World-level cultivators, some were Daolords, but all stared at the source of the tremor. There, at a spot in the Sword Tower Forest, a rumbling sound came as the ground cracked open, and the tip of a tower slowly emerged from underground, rising steadily.

"It's a sword tower."

"A new sword tower."

"Another sword tower? There's another one now. Who gained the recognition of the sword tower?" A commotion arose.

They understood at once: only when someone gained the recognition of the sword tower would a new tower rise in the Sword Tower Forest. Since time immemorial, only a little over eighty thousand had truly gained the tower's recognition. In the current era, only six World-level cultivators had gained it—the six Sword Lords of special status.

Ji Ning watched in surprise. Though he had seen many sword towers before, this was the first time he witnessed a new one emerging.

The newborn sword tower in the distance kept rising, rumbling continuously, the entire Sword Tower Forest trembling slightly. Finally, the new tower stopped, at the same height as the others.

"Whoosh~~~"

Suddenly, countless sword shadows flew up from every corner of the Sword Tower Forest, hundreds of millions of them, all bowing in submission toward Ji Ning's direction.

"Ah." Ji Ning himself was stunned.

The countless sword shadows in the entire Sword Tower Forest paid homage to Ji Ning. The commotion in the Sword Tower Forest was so great that it attracted many Daolords and World-level cultivators from other parts of the Sword Palace, who flew over. For a moment, many cultivators of the Sword Palace witnessed the scene.

"It's him?"

"Isn't that Junior Brother Beiming?"

"His name is Beiming?"

"Yes, he just joined our Sword Palace less than a thousand years ago."

"And he's only a World-level cultivator. A World-level gaining the recognition of the sword tower?"

Those who witnessed it whispered among themselves. It was normal for a Daolord to gain the tower's recognition, but for a World-level cultivator to do so was extremely rare. The Sword Palace had only six Sword Lords before; now Ji Ning became the seventh.

"Junior Brother Beiming, congratulations."

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Beiming."

"Senior Brother Beiming, congratulations."

"Junior Brother Beiming."

Many cultivators came to congratulate him. Within the Sword Palace, gaining the recognition of the sword tower was a major threshold. Those who failed, even Daolords, were looked down upon. Those who succeeded were universally respected.

Ji Ning came to his senses, realizing that the sword technique he had just performed had earned the recognition of the Sword Tower Forest.

"Beiming." A deep voice sounded in Ji Ning's mind. "That newborn sword tower is yours. Only you may leave sword techniques on it."

"You are?" Ji Ning asked in his mind.

"I am the spirit of the Sword Palace." The deep voice said.

Ji Ning understood. Even the Plucked Star Mansion had given birth to a spirit, the 'Yellow-haired Bear.' It was only natural for the Sword Palace to produce a spirit lifeform.

……

In the imperial palace of the Mangaya Kingdom, on the Thirteen Void Thrones.

The great sovereign, draped in snow-white robes, suddenly stirred, revealing a smile. He looked at the nearby Lord Mu Hua: "Mu Hua, congratulations to your Sword Palace for gaining another Sword Lord."

"Haha, I was right about him." Lord Mu Hua also laughed, laughing heartily.

"What's going on?"

"Another Sword Lord? Has another World-level cultivator gained the recognition of the ancient tower? Who is it?"

The other eleven golden-armored grand cultivators were surprised and curious.

Lord Mu Hua said with some pride: "It's Beiming!"

"Beiming? That little fellow who fought Beta Leo?"

"In his battle with Beta Leo, he was quite skilled in defense, but his sword techniques then were still far from gaining the ancient tower's recognition."

"His progress is too fast. Even with a thousandfold time acceleration, less than a million years have passed." Many grand cultivators had watched the battle with Beta Leo, even the sovereign had gone to see it. Though they had focused on Beta Leo, they naturally remembered the other combatant, Ji Ning.

Time acceleration becomes harder to maintain for stronger cultivators; a thousandfold is an extremely high threshold. Ji Ning had joined the Sword Palace less than a thousand years ago, so even with a thousandfold acceleration, less than a million years had passed.

In fact, Ji Ning had trained at a hundredfold time acceleration.

"I had high hopes for him from the start. His talent in sword techniques is remarkable." Lord Mu Hua said smugly. "My Sword Palace has gained another Sword Lord, adding another candidate for the chance at the alternate universe ancient domain."

"Another candidate." The great sovereign nodded.

All who gained the ancient tower's recognition were candidates.

"Let's see what sword technique he created that earned the ancient tower's recognition." The great sovereign pointed into the void. There were originally sixty-six scenes; now another appeared. In that scene, Ji Ning, dressed in white, stood before a sword tower, looking at it curiously.

"Rewind."

The great sovereign watched with a smile. The other twelve golden-armored grand cultivators also stared intently, curious about what sword technique a World-level cultivator had used to gain the ancient tower's recognition.

The scene flowed backward in time, quickly reaching the moment when Ji Ning executed the sword strike.

Ji Ning, sitting cross-legged in the thatched hut, gently extended his finger. A seemingly simple and casual point, yet it held indescribable mystery. Pfft, the fingertip touched a point in the void.

……