73: The second level: Sword Intent Stele Forest

Lu Yu observed the chaotic battle ahead, chose a path with relatively fewer people but stronger Sword Qi interference, and dashed forward.

"Stop him!"

Seeing him trying to sneak through again, someone shouted, and several sword lights struck out.

This time, Lu Yu didn't meet them head-on. With a thought, his Myriad Phenomena Sword Intent instantly flared out. The vast, sea-like, and abyss-deep Sword Intent aura enveloped everything around him; the sharp Sword Intent aura was terrifyingly intense!

The incoming sword lights instantly lost their luster and dissipated in a flash. The people attacking him were also pierced by the thousands of Sword Qi strands from the Myriad Phenomena Sword Intent, falling to the ground heavily injured.

Seizing the Opportunity, Lu Yu exerted power through his feet, activating the Fierce Summer Concept from the second stage of the Four Seasons Sword Art. His figure moved like lightning, flickering several times as he passed through the gaps in the crowd and the spaces between the Sword Qi. He was so fast he left a string of afterimages!

"So fast!"

"Damn, he's as slippery as an eel!"

Under the stunned and cursing gazes of many, Lu Yu moved like a nimble fish, perilously avoiding the last few waves of interception and several powerful residual Sword Qi blasts. With a whoosh, he rushed into the entrance area of the Sword Intent Stele Forest.

"Lu Yu of the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Sect has passed!"

The Heavenly Sword Divine Sect Deacon guarding the entrance announced loudly, recording Lu Yu's aura.

Lu Yu stopped, glanced back at the crowd still fighting behind him, and then carefully examined the Sword Intent Stele Forest before him.

Over a hundred black stone steles stood like a silent forest of swords.

Each stele emitted a unique and powerful Sword Intent.

Some were as violent as a prairie fire, some as deathly still as ice sealing the heavens, some as heavy and steady as the earth, and some as swift and formless as a gale... Some Sword Intents even clashed with each other, creating fine sparks of Sword Qi in the air.

The residual Sword Intent here was more than ten or a hundred times stronger than the scattered fragments in the tunnel outside!

And it was far more systematic and complete!

Lu Yu's eyes instantly lit up.

Was this even a trial stage?

This was clearly a luxury-edition Sword Intent buffet prepared just for him!

The Sword Intent here wasn't like the miscellaneous, scattered intent wandering in the air outside; they were complete and powerful strands of Sword Intent!

He suppressed the urge to rush forward and feast immediately, first observing the others who had passed.

His gaze involuntarily drifted nearby. There, Xiao Wuqing had already opened his eyes and was looking into the depths of the stele forest. In his cold eyes, a hint of burning Battle Intent seemed to have ignited.

Tang Jia Third Young Master also successfully squeezed into the top three hundred with his people and entered the stele forest area.

He swept a gloomy gaze over Lu Yu and Xiao Wuqing, his lips curling into a subtle sneer. He whispered something to his companions, then chose a stele emitting a feminine and treacherous Sword Intent and walked over.

"The first stage was just an appetizer."

Lu Yu withdrew his gaze and thought to himself, "This stele forest and the trials that follow are the main event. Tang Jia Third Young Master, what kind of foul scheme are you and that dog Tang San cooking up?"

He stopped thinking about it and sank his mind into sensing the surrounding Sword Intent.

The Sword Intent Stele Forest was eerily quiet.

Although nearly three hundred people had squeezed in, no one spoke, and everyone even subconsciously lightened their breathing.

Only the slight humming produced by the friction and repulsion of various Sword Intents remained, along with the faint clamor of other groups echoing from the depths of the canyon.

Everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

Over a hundred steles meant over a hundred different imprints of Sword Dao Legacies!

Even just sitting here in meditation and comprehension was a rare Opportunity for a Sword Cultivator.

But the trial rules clearly wouldn't let everyone just sit there.

The voice of the Heavenly Sword Divine Sect Deacon who had announced the rules earlier rang out again, echoing over the stele forest.

"Sword Intent Stele Forest, Second Stage!"

"You must choose a stele that aligns with your own Sword Intent or can provide inspiration to meditate upon. Each stele can accommodate a maximum of three people for comprehension at the same time!"

"Time limit for comprehension: One day!"

"After one day, based on the depth of your understanding of the chosen stele's Sword Intent and the growth of your own Sword Intent, the Stele Forest Great Array will automatically judge and select the top one hundred to enter the final arena ranking battle!"

"Note: During the comprehension period, interfering with others or fighting is prohibited. Violators will be expelled immediately!"

The rules were clear and concise.

Three hundred down to one hundred—a failure rate as high as two-thirds!

Moreover, the judging criteria were the depth of understanding and the growth of one's own Sword Intent, which prevented those with high cultivation but poor Sword Dao Comprehension Ability from muddling through.

After all, this Heavenly Sword Trial was designed to filter for Sword Dao Geniuses.

As the voice faded, the crowd immediately became restless.

No one was a fool; knowing time was of the essence, they all began searching for steles that suited them.

Lu Yu was in no hurry to move.

He first closed his eyes and quietly spread out his perception of the Myriad Phenomena Sword Intent like invisible tentacles, gently brushing over the dozens of nearby steles.

Raging fire, freezing ice, gale winds, thunder, earth, flowing water, metal and stone, shadows... all kinds of Sword Intent attributes.

Whether violent, feminine, swift, or steady, they were clearly fed back to him.

"It really is a good place."

Lu Yu was secretly delighted. Although the Sword Intent on these steles couldn't compare to a true Sword Intent Origin, they were much stronger than the scattered fragments outside and more systematic and complete—like upgrading from snacks to a full meal.

He looked toward the stele ahead that was burning with a phantom of raging flames. At a glance, this stele held a Yang and Fire attribute Sword Intent, which suited the blazing Yang attribute of his own Nine Yang Haori Body.

However, he didn't immediately choose this fire-attributed Sword Intent stele.

His gaze landed on a stele that appeared quite mediocre.

This stele wasn't the tallest; it was grayish-black all over, with no dazzling light or phenomena on its surface, only countless fine lines like a spiderweb that seemed naturally formed.

The Sword Intent it emitted was also peculiar; it wasn't sharp or heavy but was more like a... shifting and changing charm.

Sensing it carefully, he seemed to feel the subtle rhythms of the rotation of the four seasons, the alternation of day and night, and the birth and death of all things.

Within this single Sword Intent, it seemed to contain the essence of the changing four seasons of a year, which was very suitable for his Four Seasons Sword Art. The most important part of the Four Seasons Sword Art was the change of the four seasons within the sword techniques.

If he could comprehend this Sword Intent, the power of his Four Seasons Sword Art when performed would also be significantly enhanced!

"This is the one."

Lu Yu walked to this stele and sat down cross-legged.

Beside the stele already sat a young Cultivator dressed in Star Region attire with a Star Mark on his brow. He was focused with his eyes closed, his brow slightly furrowed, clearly not finding the comprehension easy.

This person was clearly a Disciple of the Star Holy Land from the Star Region.

Seeing Lu Yu approach, he gave a slight nod of acknowledgment and then ignored him.

Lu Yu also composed himself and gently pressed his hand against the cold surface of the stele.

He didn't try to forcibly understand or capture the Sword Intent on the stele like the others. Instead, he emptied himself, letting the Myriad Phenomena Sword Intent in his Sea of Consciousness open up completely.

Buzz—!!!

It was as if a drop of water had merged into the ocean.

The shifting Sword Intent on the stele resonated with Lu Yu's Myriad Phenomena Sword Intent almost instantly!

It wasn't forcibly absorbed; rather, like a long-lost friend or the excitement of a traveler returning home to see their parents, they merged together naturally!

At the core of the Myriad Phenomena Sword Intent, its all-encompassing nature perfectly aligned with the changing rhythm of the stele's Sword Intent.

Lu Yu could clearly feel that this stele's Sword Intent wasn't a single attribute. Instead, it used an extremely exquisite method to weave several attributes of Sword Intent together, like warp and weft, circulating according to some heavenly principle, thus giving rise to infinite changes!

Within this Supreme Dao Sword Intent, it contained: the sharpness of Metal, the vitality of Wood, the flexibility of Water, the explosiveness of Fire, and the heaviness of Earth!

This wasn't a Four Seasons Sword Intent, but a Sword Intent formed by the Fusion of the Five Elements.

But the four seasons were originally formed by the changes of the Five Elements; the circulation, prosperity, and decline of the Five Elements formed the changes of the four seasons.

"So that's how it is... Sword Intent is not isolated; attributes can also generate and overcome each other, circulating endlessly..."