The Shining Star Above The Heaven

Inside Zander's illusion, his body, almost completely covered in darkness, halted right before it devoured his face, and a strong sword intent exuded from him. His red eyes regained more clarity, and they slowly started returning to their normal color. He pushed himself to the fullest as he unleashed the full power of his sword intent.

The darkness that had devoured his body suddenly cracked before finally crumbling from his neck down to his feet. His eyes returned to normal, and he instantly collapsed, gasping for breath. There were still many whispers filled with negativity and fear generated by the illusion, but they did not affect him as much as before.

'That was truly dangerous. I almost lost myself and was devoured by my own inner demon!' he thought. 'Thankfully, I managed to gain some clarity earlier.'

He took a deep breath and looked upward at the giant eye staring down at him. The sensation of fear, the pressure on his body, and the negative influence that weighed heavily upon him all felt so real. His soul trembled, and he could not help but remember the day when that eye appeared in the sky above the Barisan Continent.

Although this moment's sensation was not as terrifying as that time, for him, standing in the darkness alone with the massive eye gazing at him still gave a different effect. It felt as if the eye's focus was solely on him, which made the entire situation far more terrifying.

Still, he gritted his teeth, and stood up. His sword intent remained active, and he forced himself to maintain it. He unleashed the full power of his sword intent while keeping his gaze fixed on the eye. It was as if he were challenging the eye itself, and he could not help but remember how his master once faced something like this alone and saved the entire continent.

His master's figure had been so small compared to that eye, yet his back had remained firm and unshaken. Anyone who did not know his master, and who thought with ordinary logic, would have believed he was fighting a hopeless battle. There was no way a single man could face something like that.

But his master shattered the despair of the continent by defeating what seemed impossible for any mortal to overcome. With the prayers of the entire populace of the Barisan Continent placing their hope in him, he accomplished the impossible.

Zander truly admired his master, and he longed to be like him. He wanted to be a person who could be relied upon, someone who would bring pride to the people who had already placed their trust in him.

Zander's face grew solemn. As he looked upward at the eye, he also endured the negative effects of the illusion. In this moment, his belief was firm. There was no doubt or despair inside him. He would be different from his past, and he would stand proudly in the future, continuing forward without being trapped by what had once held him back.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. His sword intent blared against the surrounding darkness, and from it, even the illusion of a translucent sword appeared above him. A few moments later, his sword intent grew stronger and stronger.

'To know my worth is also to know the power of my sword. The sword is me, and I am the sword,' Zander reflected. 'To believe in myself is also to believe in the power of my sword. If I doubt myself, then I doubt my sword. I doubt the way of my sword.'

'What is the way of my sword? What is the will of my sword?'

Zander then once again remembered Aldrian's figure, standing alone against something impossible to face. His master, who never backed down even in front of the strongest adversaries, truly inspired him to be the same.

Since that time, he had always imagined what it would be like to follow in his master's steps. He knew he could never become exactly like him, but at the very least, he wanted to take even a small part of his master into himself.

To face anything in his path, to never take a step back, and to never be deterred by anything—he wanted to be a strong sword that would not bend before any challenge. He wanted to be a strong sword that would not break before any obstacle.

'I want to keep moving forward, to stand strong and never doubt myself again. To keep my head straight and not disappoint anyone who has placed their trust in me.'

'My sword will slash through any obstacle in its path. If I feel doubt, then I will slash my doubt. If I feel fear, then I will slash my fear.'

His sword intent suddenly began to undergo a change. It was not only growing stronger, but a much deeper intent was now imbued within it. It was as if the sword's shape carried its own will, and it made Zander's entire being truly like a sword. His body was a sword, and the sword was him.

In the stadium, the people observing Zander were beyond shocked, they were left utterly speechless. They had already been shaken by the fact that he had comprehended sword intent, and such a powerful one at that. His sword intent was so powerful that it even affected the nearby swords in the spectators' section, causing their swords to tremble.

Now, what they sensed from Zander was something even more unbelievable. His sword intent was not only growing stronger, it was undergoing a transformation, something that many swordmasters instantly recognized.

"He has comprehended a sword will!" one of the swordmasters exclaimed in astonishment.

The spectators' hearts trembled at the sight before them. A cultivator who could comprehend a sword will at earl stage…putting aside Aldrian, whose very existence could not be explained, none of them had ever heard of anyone achieving what Zander had just accomplished.

Even the outsiders could not help but feel astonished by this achievement. This man had successfully broken the record of the Sword Maiden!

The Sword Maiden was said to have comprehended her sword will at the Marquess stage, yet this person had done so one stage earlier.

Sword will was something extremely difficult to comprehend, and it was different from sword intent. It required much deeper comprehension and reflection on what a sword cultivator truly desired for the path of their sword.

What kind of power did they want to imbue into their sword techniques?

What kind of purpose did they seek to achieve through their sword?

How would they walk the path to fulfill that purpose?

Once a sword cultivator truly understood what they sought to achieve, and created a strong resonance with their own soul, only then could they shape their own sword will.

Not all sword cultivators could comprehend a sword will. Many of them did not even know why they chose the sword as their weapon, or what they truly wished to achieve with their sword techniques. They merely followed the flow without a deep understanding of what they intended to accomplish with each strike.

There were sword cultivators who could only comprehend sword intent but never reach sword will. As for those who could touch upon sword will, it usually required a long time before they finally achieved it. Most of the ones who succeeded only did so after reaching the King Stage.

There were geniuses who managed to comprehend it earlier, but none had ever done so below the Duke Stage. The only exceptions were the Sword Maiden and Aldrian the Great.

And now, there was one more. Another person who had managed to comprehend sword will below the Duke Stage.

This made many people from Barisan continent tempted to build a connection with this person. If he had no affiliation, they thought to bring him in. Someone as gifted as him would be far too good to pass up!

The outsiders thought the same, for to them, there was no harm in building a connection with such a promising seedling.

However, they knew there was no way Aldrian the Great would allow a genius of this caliber to fall into the hands of other powers outside the Barisan Continent, so they had no intention of poaching him. After all, the most important thing was still to establish a good connection with Aldrian the Great.

At this moment, Zander's body had already returned to normal, and his sword will could be clearly sensed by everyone in the stadium. The swords across the entire stadium trembled violently in response to it.

Inside the illusion, Zander opened his eyes and looked directly at the eye. There was no fear in them, only a solemn, focused expression. His resolve was strong, and there was no trace of doubt.

His hand reached for the sword that had always rested at his waist. He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.

He concentrated, shaping the technique he was about to unleash. He wanted to defeat the thing above. He wanted to be like his master!

He remembered how his master had unleashed that final strike against the eye in the past, the slash that destroyed it. The moment he witnessed that sword technique, he understood that it was a power unique to his master, a technique of pure destruction and annihilation, capable of obliterating anything that stood before it.

It was a sword technique that could shatter any obstacle in its path.

Zander longed to wield a sword technique like that. He could not recreate its true might, but by imitating his master's movements from that time, he could at least capture a fragment of its power.

Slowly, he unsheathed his sword, mirroring his master's stance from that day. Into this strike, he poured his sword will, shaping the technique he was about to unleash for the very first time. No one knew the name of his master's legendary sword attack, and his master had never spoken of it, but that was fine.

This strike would carry its own name, for the sword will imbued within it was his own. Born from the inspiration of his master's movement and power, this was the first technique he had ever created for himself.

'A slash imbued with my will, cutting through anything in its path. Tangible or intangible, it will all be cleaved apart by this technique.'

'A slash that carries my resolve, unshaken and unwavering before anything that stands in my way.'

'Infinite Slash.'