21: Becoming a Saint through the Sword

At seventeen, you condensed your True Essence Realm to the ninth level. With the energy in the Ascension Pool depleted, you returned to the Innate Great Grandmaster realm.

You began to focus on cultivating the way of the sword. You desired to comprehend and modify all non-sword dao legacy cultivation techniques from your previous life into sword techniques, to enrich your sword dao and make your Limitless Sword Dao even more powerful.

Eventually, you reached a Xuanwu where, though not yet a Heavenly Human, you could open a Martial Saint Domain.

This was not the simple domain you currently possessed, but a domain like that of a true Heavenly Human Martial Saint. This way, breaking through the Heavenly Human Life-and-Death Threshold would be much easier.

In this life, as someone determined to become an excellent practitioner of the Cautious Dao, prudence was a daily essential. You aimed to be a cautious and brave sword cultivator.

You transformed the Five Elements Fist into the Five Elements Sword. You transformed the Six Harmonies Palm into the Six Harmonies Sword... You transformed the Sword-Shod Startling Swan Steps into the Sword-Shod Startling Swan Sword... You once again comprehended the Cang Mountain Chart, and with Sword Heart Clarity, you comprehended the Cang Mountain Sword Cliff. You comprehended Heavenly Human Bagua, and then the Innate Bagua Sword Array... You reshaped the techniques you had once created: Imperial Heaven Dao was changed to Sword Imperial All-Heaven, and Flying Immortal was drastically changed to Flying Immortal Beyond Heaven...

You emerged from seclusion and once again encountered Yu Qingwei. She was still being pursued!

It was still the Thirteenth Bandit of the Green Forest!

In your previous life, after killing the Thirteenth Bandit and several other major bandits in the Martial Saint Ruin, you did not deal with the other bandits. Now, starting anew, these scourges were still harming people, and you decided to eliminate them completely.

First was the Thirteenth Bandit. His Post-Heaven Ninth Level combat power versus your Innate True Essence Ninth Refinement combat power – the advantage was yours; you could do it!

"Young hero..." Before Yu Qingwei's words could fully emerge, you flashed to her side, one arm around the injured hero, your other finger gently touching her red lips:

"Don't speak. I'll take you to kill. You just need to repay me with yourself after your revenge. I'm familiar with the process, let's hurry..."

Without explanation, you completely ignored the minor villain who wanted to make a grand entrance and show off his presence. One arm was wrapped around a slender waist, the other slaughtered like a butcher!

You had truly inherited the essence of Wang Mazi, killing without batting an eye...

You knew the Thirteenth Bandit's lair from your previous life. You transferred a breath of Innate Qi to Yu Qingwei, healing her injuries, and took her, without delay, to kill the Thirteenth Bandit.

The Thirteenth Bandit died!

You interrogated him and found out about the other bandits. You killed your way up: Nine, Eleven, Eight, Seven, Twelve... Not a single major bandit was spared.

They were all a group of bandits who had not entered the Innate realm. You slaughtered them as easily as butchering dogs.

Over three months, spanning six Xuanwus of Great Xuan, you killed until only four Innate-level bandits remained. You gathered their pitifully scarce resources, barely managing to condense your True Essence once more, breaking the limit to True Essence Tenth Level!

After emerging from seclusion, facing the eagerly awaiting Yu Qingwei, you skillfully extended your arm. She skillfully leaned in, and then, with your 'attachment,' you began killing again!

The formidable Green Forest Bandits, a rabble, were mowed down by you like grass, one crop after another!

The Fourth Bandit, whose Innate Grandmaster martial body wasn't even complete, died!

The Third Bandit, whose martial body was complete, died!

The Second Bandit, True Essence Third Level, died on sight!

The First Bandit presented a challenge.

This bandit was a Supreme Innate Grandmaster. Surprisingly, that wasn't all; his public identity was none other than King of Yunzhou Xiao Ruowu, the father of Xiao Tianhao, who was suspected, even confirmed, to be a Child of Destiny.

A king who favored his legitimate eldest son and ignored his concubine's son.

He secretly assembled the Green Forest, even accumulating thirteen major bandits, supplying them with an unknown amount of heavenly treasures, allowing Xiao Ruowu's cultivation to advance so rapidly.

From his appearance, it seemed he wanted to break through to the Martial Saint realm, open a new page in the imperial family tree, and become an emperor, ruling over Great Xuan!

He was an ambitious king.

Unfortunately, king or no king, when it's time to die, one must die.

You did not act rashly. You decided to let him live a little longer, and when your cultivation surpassed his, you would kill him!

Your preparations were not entirely sufficient.

You reached the Eleventh Level of limit-breaking.

You began to travel the world with Yu Qingwei, testing your sword in the Jianghu. You concealed your cultivation, pretending to be at the Post-Heaven Seventh Heaven realm, and challenged Post-Heaven Ninth Heaven experts, fighting "above your level."

You won every challenge along the way. If not for the odd feeling, you might have even developed an invincible will.

Only Yu Qingwei, who was always by your side, rolled her eyes, speechless at your behavior, thinking you were being mischievous.

For you, who slaughtered Innate cultivators like dogs, how could you possibly fight a Post-Heaven Ninth Heaven martial artist to a deadlock, only to unleash your full power at the last moment to kill the enemy...

The genius persona of killing above your realm was fake, but the genius part was real!

At eighteen, you accumulated countless experiences from "transcending realms" in challenges, and comprehended the sword technique: Sword-Breaking Style!

You comprehended three thousand six hundred sword moves!

You comprehended the Sword with No Regrets artistic conception!

It was simply outrageous.

You achieved the accomplishment: high-level combat power often only requires the simplest cultivation method...

The Cautious One speaks for the Cautious!

In your previous life, you went to Cangshan Academy for the assessment at this time. In this life, you did not plan to join Cangshan Academy.

You wanted to develop silently, to be a practitioner of the Cautious Dao. If conditions allowed, you might even assume the identity of a mastermind.

You brought Yu Qingwei back to the small mountain village. In less than three years away from home, you had brought back a wife. Your home was filled with gongs, drums, and firecrackers for a good while.

Three months later, you set out again. True Essence Twelfth Level required a massive amount of resources, and you decided to go to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty to pull off a big one.

You did not bring Yu Qingwei. The Heavenly Saint Dynasty was very dangerous, with the Heavenly Saint Demoness. You felt that bringing an extra person would make it too difficult to control the situation.

Going alone would give you a better chance.

Based on your memories from your previous life, you plundered some wealthy Innate Grandmasters, filling your pockets to condense your True Essence to the Twelfth Level.

The name 'Night Demon Thief' gradually spread throughout the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. The Innate cultivators whose homes were robbed hated you to the core.

Unfortunately, you came and went without a trace; no one knew your true identity.

The Heavenly Saint Demoness, Zi You, heard your story and developed a great interest in you. She organized a group of Innate Realm experts and set up a deadly trap for you.

Unfortunately, she miscalculated one thing.

For you, stealing resources was not as cost-effective as abducting her.

While many Innate experts strictly guarded the treasury, you silently abducted their Saintess.

Dragon-Tiger Battle Great Method activated!

Demoness! I need you to assist my cultivation!

A single grab, instant dual cultivation...

Twelfth Heaven broken!

You became a Supreme Innate Great Grandmaster! Your martial dao cultivation returned to its peak!

To stabilize your cultivation, you directly brought Zi You back to the small mountain village.

Your home once again resounded with gongs, drums, and firecrackers. In less than a year, you had married two wives. Your parents' mouths were so wide with smiles they couldn't close.

Your parents re-evaluated you. They felt that this 'account' of yours was not cultivated in vain!

The Heavenly Saint Dynasty extensively searched for the Heavenly Saint Demoness, Zi You, for a year. Their Saintess seemed to have vanished into thin air and never reappeared. For this, the Heavenly Saint Dynasty implicated and punished a large number of Innate Grandmasters.

The Night Demon Thief was listed as the Heavenly Saint Dynasty's highest-level wanted criminal...

What they didn't know was that their current Saintess was already a married woman.

You spent almost three years in seclusion at home, constantly comprehending artistic conceptions, resonating with heaven and earth, enriching your Limitless Sword Intent. Your strength grew day by day.

With your artistic conception materialized, you opened a sword mound in the back mountain of the small village, where you stored numerous precious swords forged over three years. Each sword contained a sword intent, a legacy, either Post-Heaven, or Innate, and there were even three Heavenly Human Sword Intents.

Your simple sword domain received unprecedented strengthening, possessing a hint of the true might of a Martial Saint.

You could almost attempt to break through to Martial Saint on the spot.

But you chose prudence. You wanted to simulate the experiment countless times in your mind, and only after confirming there were no problems would you choose to break through.

For this, you had experimented for three years, and now you were finally fully prepared. At this moment, the right time, place, and people were all aligned for you!

Success depended on this one attempt!

The Way of Heavenly Human, breaking through the Life-and-Death Threshold, extending life by eight hundred years, martial intent forming a domain, creating a territory of one's own between life and death, achieving Heavenly Human, becoming a Martial Saint!

Body, Essence, Intent – with intent unifying the three Innate realms, the three combining to break the Life-and-Death Threshold, opening the Mud-Pill Palace to form the Heavenly Human Aperture!

Forming the bridge to Heavenly Human, connecting to the path to heaven, fundamentally evolving the life class. One person can contend against a nation; only those of the same realm can resist!

Three days later, the Limitless Sword Domain enveloped an area of three miles. All things transformed into the way of the sword; all things could be swords!

Martial Saint First Style: Myriad Swords Returning to the Origin!

Thus, at twenty-one, you achieved Heavenly Human Martial Saint, becoming the youngest Heavenly Human Martial Saint in the history of the Xuanwu Continent!

After this, you perfected and strengthened the Heavenly Human Aperture to expand your domain, opened the Danzhong acupoint to form the Yellow Court to forge a Martial Saint body, and opened the Guanyuan acupoint to achieve a Martial Saint Qi Sea!

Opening three apertures, establishing the three bridges of Heaven, Earth, and Man!

Afterwards, the unity of Heaven and Man reached the limit of a Martial Saint.

Then you could consider how to open the martial dao's path to further advancement.