True Solution of the Sword Dao

Turin City

Atop a hotel roof.

Yellow neon signs flickered in the night, casting an intermittent halo of light.

Lin Fei, followed by several people, stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking down.

Below, the streets were crowded and bustling, a stark contrast to the quiet expanse of the rooftop. Many residents of Turin enjoyed strolling through the night markets after dinner. This beautiful, ancient city in Italy was home to many settlers from Hua Nation, so a fair number of shops on the streets below were owned by Hua people, with plenty of Chinese restaurants readily available.

Turin is situated in the Piedmont region, famous for its chocolate.

It was no exception in Turin, even the air at this moment was filled with a faint scent of chocolate.

"It’s rare for someone to come and greet me..." Lin Fei narrowed his eyes and quietly watched the street below, speaking out of the blue.

Around his body, strands of blue energy spiraled around him like flowing water. The pale blue energy, ribbon-like, glowed with a soft blue fluorescence.

"What did the lord say?" One of the men standing behind hesitated. "All our leaders here in Golden are present. Who else could there be...?"

"Who else?" Lin Fei chuckled. "Who else could there be? You should know this better than I do." He turned to face the shadows behind him.

A brown-haired, middle-aged man in a white-collar dress looked down apprehensively.

"My lord, I still do not understand what you mean."

The other two persons beside him also looked puzzled, but their confusion obviously wasn’t feigned.

Lin Fei was unconcerned. "I’ve only been in Turin for half an hour, and you took the opportunity to slip away to the restroom to make five secret calls. You sent eleven text messages."

The man’s expression remained unchanged.

"My lord, I was merely issuing routine orders to my subordinates, arranging accommodations and such."

"Is that so?" Lin Fei said with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. "Then why do I feel unwelcome in this city? Four counterparts of equal strength, quite a grand gesture..."

"What are you talking about? I don’t understand," said the middle-aged man, his complexion subtly changing.

"I didn’t expect a spy from the Holy See within the Dream Eaters," Lin Fei said, shaking his head slightly and with a thought.

A tall silhouette slowly emerged behind him, shifting from darkness to light, gradually revealing its figure. It was none other than Ning Que, once a Star Lord, now leisurely dressed in casual clothes. He looked less like a Sword Cultivator and more like a wealthy young master ready to go on a seaside vacation, appearing relaxed.

"What’s up? Why did you suddenly pull me over?" Ning Que said lazily. "I was enjoying a barbecue on the beach; my plans were ruined by your summon."

"Someone’s trying to assassinate me," Lin Fei said as a silver longsword slowly appeared in his hand. "My whereabouts have been leaked."

"My lord..."

The man who had spoken previously tried to interject when suddenly the two people beside him made their move.

Smack, smack.

Black and red halos flashed and were gone in an instant; the man immediately collapsed to the ground.

A blonde woman bowed her head and spoke solemnly, "My lord, the entire area is sealed off, ready to activate the barrier at any moment. How shall we deal with this traitor?" She looked down at the man on the ground with a complex expression. Strictly speaking, she had a decent personal rapport with this man. Normally affable, she had not expected him to be a spy for the Holy See.

"Kill him,"

Lin Fei said, waving his hand nonchalantly.

Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he added,

"Deal with his family too; leave no loose ends."

"Understood," the woman nodded, a hint of pity flashing in her eyes.

The other person dared not even breathe too loudly, respectfully waiting for further instructions.

"You may go," said Lin Fei indifferently.

Both parties acknowledged, carrying the body of the man and quickly heading for the stairs; their footsteps receded, growing fainter until they disappeared.

Only Lin Fei and Ning Que remained on the rooftop.

"If it weren’t for my True Qi and demonic power having far greater perception than supernatural abilities and potential energy, they might have succeeded this time," Lin Fei frowned deeply. "Four A-Levels, aren’t they afraid that such strong forces would be too hard to conceal and cause major turmoil?"

Ning Que smiled nonchalantly.

"They probably have some artifact that can seal off the place. Need me to deal with it?"

Lin Fei gave him a look.

"Nonsense, if I didn’t need you to act, why would I have called you here?"

"Then let me try to locate them first," Ning Que nodded slightly.

He reached out his hand and gently clenched it.

With a snap, a mass of silver halo burst forth from the palm of his hand, emitting a multitude of fine sands-like silver light, slowly spinning, forming a small whirlpool like the Milky Way.

Ning Que’s expression grew solemn as the whirlpool spun.

"It’s troublesome. Your opponent is well-prepared this time...."

Lin Fei’s expression tightened.

"How so?"

"Four A-levels, two of whom are inferior to you, two roughly on par with you. But it seems they have an artifact that can block my aura perception. It’s of a very high level," Ning Que said with a grave look.

"I feel the power of this artifact is quite formidable."

"Can it be compared to a Holy Artifact?" Lin Fei frowned.

"You mean the kind of artifact you traced back in the Simulated Space?" Ning Que shook his head, "It should be that kind of thing. And probably one of the stronger ones."

Lin Fei’s face grew solemn as well.

"Is there a way to deal with it? I must obtain the Divine Artifact component this time!"

"To break through in advance is the only way. As long as we don’t give the artifact’s bearer a chance to activate it," Ning Que asserted.

"Easier said than done. On the same A-level, my strength has not yet reached the level where I can instantly resolve a peer," Lin Fei frowned.

His trump card was demonization, perhaps after combining demonization with the Sword of the Void, he might be able to take one of his peers by surprise if the other party was unprepared and off guard. But once the opponent was prepared, it would be hard to take them by surprise. Then, it would be a war of attrition.

For A-level powerhouses, Tracing Shadow Sword Techniques are far less effective than in the lower levels. At most, it could surprise the opponent. At this stage, the speed gained from Tracing Shadow Sword Techniques is unlikely to be decisive; at best, it could give him a certain advantage in combat.

Hence, the only things that could now determine the outcome for Lin Fei were demonization and Sword Intent. However, the latter was unpredictable and uncontrollable, so demonization was his real trump card. Yet, revealing this trump card could have unpredictable consequences.

After demonization, his recovery, strength, speed, defensive power, and energy resistance would all rise to an incredibly powerful level. It also came with an icy aura that covered thousands of meters around him. At the same time, demonic power would automatically demonize his weapons and equipment, enhancing their power.

In this way, his combat power would instantly climb a notch, reaching the mid-A-level. If he used Sword Techniques with such strength, his combat power could even soar to peak levels. But all these were predicated on his True Force and True Qi not being depleted. Once depleted, Lin Fei could not predict if he would still be able to use his Sword Techniques. After all, all his Sword Techniques were cultivated around True Force and True Qi,

Demonic power was a completely different system of strength. It’s very likely that using it in subtleties, Sword Techniques would significantly change.

In past demonizations, he had propelled them with True Force, then used demonic power on the outer layer of Sword Techniques for attack, achieving the powerful effect of both energy systems working together.

But he had never propelled Sword Techniques and Swordsmanship with demonic power. Often after demonization, he resorted to basic Sword Techniques cobbled together from what he learned initially and some basic Sword Forms from Yan Shi’s memories.

"Would I still be a Sword Master if my demonic power completely outweighed my True Force and True Qi?" Lin Fei suddenly asked.

Ning Que nodded.

"Of course. Yan Fei, perhaps you’ve forgotten something," he said solemnly.

"Whether you’re a Sword Master has nothing to do with whether you cultivate the Sword Canon’s True Force and True Qi. The unlocking and upgrading of the Sword Canon are actually related to your realm. As long as you’re still at the Sword Intent realm, there won’t be any change to the Sword Canon. If demonic power completely replaces True Force and True Qi, at most it means that most of the Sword Techniques you cultivate with True Force and True Qi can’t be practiced, but other than that, there’s no problem. After all..."

He paused.

"After all, the Sword Canon was originally just a book recorded by the top powerhouses to interpret the three Sword Shadows. Even though it was later turned into a legacy Holy Artifact by the Royal Court, its essence hasn’t changed."

Lin Fei nodded, contemplative.

"So you’re saying that those three Sword Shadows are what the Royal Court considers to be the three highest realms, which is why they crafted it as the ultimate Holy Canon for inheritance?"

"Exactly," Ning Que looked up at the sky, somewhat wistfully.

"These three realms may not be the strongest, but they are the most mysterious and what all powerhouses aspire to the most. Even the Royal Court is likely no exception."

Lin Fei suddenly recalled the first time he saw the Sword Canon, the opening statement. "I remember the first sentence I saw. The three words, ’without thought,’ ’without meditation,’ ’without intention.’ Do they describe these three realms?"

Ning Que nodded, "Perhaps, I’m not clear either. Our conflict with the Royal Court is one of the longest among the countless sword schools and sects of the Sword Canon, so we know a little bit more about them. But after all, we’re not directly the powerhouses of the Royal Court, so we don’t know the exact situation."

"’Without thought,’ ’without meditation,’ ’without intention,’ these three words could have been left by a top powerhouse of the Royal Court. Generally speaking, the older and more powerful the message left on a secret manual, the more significant it is. To leave a mark on the first page of the Sword Canon might have been the first Sword Master, the founder of the Royal Court?"

Lin Fei pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Isn’t it a bit premature to think about this now? I haven’t even fully mastered Sword Intent, let alone reached the Sword Sect level, not to mention the three realms. Better to focus on the current problems."

Ning Que smiled wryly in agreement.

Lin Fei flicked a finger, and a blue ribbon automatically flew to the back of his head, tying up his again lengthened hair. Every time he underwent demonization, his hair would naturally grow longer, completely unavoidable. It seemed demonization naturally drove him towards perfection.

"The progress in mastering Sword Intent is too slow. Do you have any suggestions?"

Ning Que thought for a moment.

"Sword Intent is actually a form of intangible matter that uses the soul and will to highly condense and transform one’s strength. That’s my conclusion. Different Sword Intents condense different kinds of strength. And just as no two leaves in the world are the same, no one’s Sword Intent can be exactly the same. Like you and me, although both are Guardian Sword Intent, they’re still many fine differences. We just belong to the same broad category."

"If you want to improve Sword Intent, you might try an old method of mine."

"What method?" Lin Fei’s eyes brightened.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it with recommended votes and Monthly Tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)