novelraw Chapter 224 : Sword Comprehension
Chapter 224 : Sword Comprehension
Chapter 224: Sword Comprehension
Chu Huaixu’s death was an “euthanasia”.
Under this sword strike, he died in peace, died in joy, and died so thoroughly that he could not be more dead.
"How powerful! So powerful I don't even know how to describe it!"
One couldn’t judge how strong this sword was just by vision alone.
Only by being struck by it could one personally experience its power.
And the stronger the sword, naturally, the greater the rewards to come.
When his vision returned, he found himself once again standing where he had been earlier.
But when he looked up, he could no longer see the Daoist standing atop Ask-Dao Peak.
It was clear that the time ahead was meant for him to comprehend.
“Will I get another chance to observe the sword?”
“Or was that the only time?” Chu Huaixu had no immediate answer.
He sat cross-legged amidst the forest.
Then, he attempted to open his Character Panel and awaken the System.
Unexpectedly, it actually worked.
“If I’m meant to feel this sword, then clearly I’m meant to comprehend something from it.”
What could a low-level Outer Sect cultivator comprehend?
Nothing but—Intent!
Chu Huaixu was a Sword Cultivator. What he sought to comprehend was Sword Intent.
Sword Intent, like techniques, was divided into four levels:
Comprehend Sword Intent → Minor Mastery of Sword Intent → Major Mastery of Sword Intent → Perfection of Sword Intent.
After reaching Perfection, one could then condense a Sword Heart.
The Sword Heart, too, was divided into four levels, with the highest being Sword Heart Clarity.
However, Sword Domain was different.
The Domain, in fact, was a power grasped by cultivators of the Seventh Realm.
Once one reached the Seventh Realm, the Domain would naturally arise.
But Sword Heart Clarity was an extremely difficult state to attain. Those in the world with Sword Heart Clarity were exceedingly rare.
Therefore, many Sword Cultivators who possessed a Sword Domain did not necessarily possess a clear Sword Heart.
For Chu Huaixu at this stage, Sword Heart Clarity belonged to the Spirit Embryo Divine Ability of the Heart Sword.
Simply put, even if his Heart Sword reached that level—he himself was far from it!
His current Fearless Sword Intent was still only at the level of basic comprehension. To reach Minor Mastery, he had only two paths.
The first was gradual comprehension.
Fighting the strong, experiencing life and death, encountering fortune, or learning powerful sword techniques—any of these could aid in understanding Sword Intent.
There were many methods, and the System had its own internal algorithm for making judgments.
The second path was brute-forcing it with Experience Points.
This was the simplest and most direct approach.
When Chu Huaixu had just comprehended Fearless Sword Intent, he had checked the EXP required to upgrade—it was 972,134.
Nearly one million EXP!
He had never managed to save up that much in one go.
Besides, he never thought it necessary.
Because there were simply too many ways to advance the progress bar.
All the trials and victories he’d experienced, all the events and encounters, and the fact that he had learned the Earth-grade sword technique Six Formations of the Broken Array—all these could boost the progress bar.
Therefore, he hadn’t even considered using EXP to force an upgrade.
That was the choice of the vast majority of players in Borrowed Sword.
After all, spending EXP on other things could often bring about progress in Sword Intent naturally.
For example, after directly advancing Six Formations of the Broken Array to Minor Mastery, the progress bar for Sword Intent immediately rose by 16%!
In fact, every time he obtained a point of Comprehension, the EXP required to upgrade Sword Intent would also decrease.
Overall, Borrowed Sword clearly encouraged players to experience and comprehend Intent for themselves.
"I remember the last time I checked, I only needed 230,000 EXP to upgrade Sword Intent," Chu Huaixu thought.
Now, upon checking the panel again, it was down to just 110,000!
“One sword reduced it by 120,000?” Chu Huaixu was overjoyed.
“No, no, it can’t be that much.”
“Because the last time I checked was before entering the Origin Spirit Realm.”
His battle with that Old Nascent Soul Mutt must have helped too.
But Chu Huaixu knew very well—the System had its own algorithm.
That one sword from the Dao Ancestor had granted him immense fortune!
The reason the EXP dropped only this much—it wasn’t because of the Dao Ancestor, or because the sword was lacking in power.
“It must be me!”
“I only have 6 Comprehension, after all.”
And besides, Intent was never something achieved overnight.
Even sudden epiphanies required long-term accumulation before erupting in a single moment.
He sat down cross-legged once more, trying to recall that sword as clearly as he could.
He put all his effort into comprehending it—relying solely on himself.
Several hours passed.
Chu Huaixu opened the panel for a look.
“F*ck! Only dropped by 2,000!” he cursed aloud.
Clearly, relying solely on sitting and pondering like this—who knew how long it would take to truly comprehend it!
If it were Little Xu, who had Comprehension 10, things would surely be different.
Chu Huaixu knew full well—even the gap between Comprehension 9 and 10 was massive, let alone his measly 6.
The further one advanced, the bigger the difference a single point would make.
“Still gotta get slashed—getting slashed is way more efficient!” he thought to himself.
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
Chu Huaixu had now been stuck here for twelve hours.
Which meant, his physical body had also been sitting on Han Shuangjiang’s lap for twelve hours.
Yet he wasn’t too worried about that.
“Big Ice Block is still a cultivator, after all.”
“Even if she’s not a Body Cultivator, she’s not going to get crushed to death from me just sitting on her.”
What he was more concerned about now—was food and water!
He was a meticulous person, and quickly realized the problem.
“If I can’t comprehend it, then I can’t get out of here.”
“I wonder if I’ll starve or dehydrate to death?”
Cultivators could endure more than ordinary people.
But low-level cultivators still had limits.
Especially Body Cultivators like him—they were all Big Eaters, with significant needs.
That was exactly why, during his refining of the Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin, Jiang Zhi would feed him a Fasting Pill every day.
What was even stranger—though his consciousness was trapped here, he, this Big Eater, could actually feel hungry?
“Could this be part of the test?”
“As time goes on, with rising hunger, a sense of urgency would follow.”
In other words, it was a race against time.
Moreover, this was a true test of mental fortitude.
If the heart was unsettled, comprehension efficiency would plummet, creating a vicious cycle.
Chu Huaixu frowned instantly.
He wasn’t worried for himself.
He was unsure how long Han Shuangjiang had been sitting cross-legged, trying to comprehend the sword!
Logically, he shouldn’t worry.
Because in Borrowed Sword, Han Shuangjiang—the girl blessed by fate—would inherit two legacies from the Dao Ancestor.
That meant, under normal circumstances, she would definitely pass through the secret realm.
But he still worried.
Because he cared.
When you truly care about someone, you don’t gamble on low odds—you think only of guaranteeing their safety.
What’s more, even if her life wasn’t in danger, he didn’t want Han Shuangjiang to suffer hunger and thirst.
Surely, most people in the world weren’t so selfish and cold-hearted—if even a close friend were starving, they’d lend a hand.
Let alone a romantic partner.
Chu Huaixu wasn’t even sure if this sword comprehension was just about leveling up his Sword Intent.
While he was thinking, the Daoist in robes appeared once again atop Ask-Dao Peak.
And that gentle voice echoed once more.
“Child, look up.”
A while later, the next sentence came:
“Child, feel this sword well.”
Only then did Chu Huaixu understand why there was a pause between the two lines.
Clearly, the Dao Ancestor was waking those lost in meditation.
Then, giving time for them to prepare before unleashing the sword.
This supreme being had thought of everything—down to the smallest detail.
Everything repeated exactly as before. Chu Huaixu saw the same sword energy.
And was once again reduced to ashes.
When he “reformed,” Chu Huaixu immediately opened his panel.
“Only 10,000 EXP needed to level up.”
“So this sword was worth about a bit over 100,000 EXP.”
Chu Huaixu’s gaze sharpened, and without hesitation, he chose—Upgrade!
Over 10,000 EXP meant nothing to him now.
In the next instant, he felt like his mind exploded.
His comprehension of swordsmanship transformed in that moment.
Everything around him shattered instantly—the entire space collapsed.
Chu Huaixu’s consciousness soon returned to chaos.
Then, the him who had been sitting on Han Shuangjiang’s lap suddenly opened his eyes and gasped heavily.
He immediately got off her lap—even though the feeling under his rear had been pleasant, and the bounce against his back not bad either.
Chu Huaixu retrieved a Fasting Pill from his Storage Token.
Han Shuangjiang, who was still sitting cross-legged, clearly didn’t look well.
Her lips, once rosy, were now pale and cracked.
He lifted his left hand and gently slid his thumb into her mouth.
Then, skillfully pried her teeth open.
Chu Huaixu’s finger pressed against her lower teeth, stopping her mouth from closing.
His thumb had gone quite deep—deep enough to touch the girl’s tongue tip.
It wasn’t as moist as when he had tasted it before—but still soft.
He raised his right hand and pushed the Fasting Pill into her mouth.
Clearly, he fed her far more gently than Jiang Zhi had fed him.
That Little Martial Uncle Ancestor would grab Chu Huaixu’s face with one hand, force his mouth open, and throw in the pill.
Only after feeding her did he withdraw his hands.
The pill slowly dissolved in her mouth, turning into a warm flow that nourished her body.
In the consciousness space, Mountains Beyond Mountains.
Han Shuangjiang sat cross-legged, absorbing the sword she had just witnessed.
She didn’t know how long she had been trapped there.
But she could feel unbearable hunger—and worse, dehydration!
She had felt it long ago.
But the girl didn’t know how much longer it would take to comprehend the sword.
Fortunately, she had excellent mental strength and a stubborn personality. Even under such conditions, she could stay calm and force herself to focus.
Still, hunger and thirst were undeniably awful sensations.
Han Shuangjiang sat cross-legged, eyes closed, feeling as though she had grasped something—but it slipped away again.
She longed to see that earth-shaking sword one more time.
But just then, she suddenly opened her beautiful eyes and let out a—
“Eh?”