Chapter 11 Testing the Sword of the Demon Eagle

"Listen well, Yun Bai!" Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's voice cut through the wind as he instructed, "This 'iron kite' is a fifth-grade Flying Sword, not some ordinary iron! The core Formations engraved within it—'Sky-Soaring,' 'Wind-Riding,' and 'Spirit-Gathering'—are interlinked and incredibly exquisite. But for you, there is no need to delve into the mysteries of the Formations; you only need to master the 'method of control'!"

He continued his guidance: "The first step is to gently infuse both your spiritual power and Divine Sense into the Flying Sword beneath your feet. The key is to communicate with the three Spirit Stone nodes along the sword spine and the 'control hub' core at the hilt. Try to 'grasp' it with your Divine Sense, just as if you were holding an extension of your own arm!"

Yun Bai followed his instructions, closing his eyes and slowly channeling a strand of pure spiritual power from the soles of his feet into the sword body. At the same time, his Divine Sense, like an invisible hand, meticulously "stroked" every inch of the iron kite.

Soon, he "felt" the three Spirit Stones on the sword spine like warm, beating hearts, as well as a more complex Formation core near the hilt that resembled a brain. He carefully separated a wisp of his main Divine Sense and gently "touched" that control hub core.

Hum—whir— The body of the iron kite emitted a joyful, clear ring and trembled slightly. The next moment, Yun Bai felt that a connection had been established between himself and the iron kite—one that was deeper and closer than controlling an ordinary Flying Sword!

The Flying Sword felt as if it had become wings growing from his feet. Although controlling this "manned flight" mode felt different from controlling a sword from a distance to fight, appearing slightly more "heavy," that feeling of complete command and mental synchronization was rapidly becoming clear.

"Do you feel it? The sword has become an extension of your limbs!" Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's voice rang out at the right moment, carrying encouragement. "Very good! The next part is critical—you must get used to using the sword as your feet to soar through the skies! Humans are terrestrial creatures. Even if you can perfectly control a Flying Sword, you lack the instinctive perception for using a sword as transport and maneuvering in three dimensions. Many people still lose their balance, or even lose control of their spiritual power, during their first long-distance flight on a sword!"

"You must feel the wind! Feel the difference in pressure as the airflow passes on both sides of the sword body! With a tailwind, you save effort and gain speed; against a headwind, you need to adjust the angle of the sword body to resist! Accelerating, decelerating, circling, rolling... every maneuver brings a load and a change in the sword's posture that is completely different from standing firmly on the ground! Your body needs to adapt to maintaining balance on the narrow sword, and your Divine Sense needs to anticipate and fine-tune the state of the Flying Sword! Pay attention and feel it!"

"Yes! Brother Zhou!" Yun Bai responded in a deep voice, his entire focus immersed in the process of harmonizing his perception with the iron kite and the surrounding airflow. He tried moving his mind slightly, controlling the control hub at the hilt to output more spiritual power to the "propulsion" Formation at the tail.

Whoosh! The iron kite shot forward suddenly, the sword body piercing the airflow with a sharp sound. The sudden sensation of acceleration caused Yun Bai's body to lean back involuntarily. He quickly engaged his core to stabilize his footing, while simultaneously fine-tuning with his Divine Sense, and the Flying Sword quickly regained stability. He began to attempt small left and right turns, feeling the pull of centrifugal force and the subtle operation of countering this pull by adjusting the spiritual power flowing as a faint light on the sides of the sword body.

"Not bad! You're getting the hang of it quickly!" The look of approval in Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's eyes deepened. "Then, let the combat drill begin! Do you see that small black dot next to that floating cloud to the front left? Go, take it down! Use your Flying Sword—no, try attacking with the 'iron kite' beneath your feet, while keeping yourself stable! Remember, you are a 'Sword Cultivator' now, not an archer standing on a boat!"

Before the words had even faded, Supervisor Zhou Shengtai flicked his large sleeve again, and a gentle yet immense force arrived from the air, acting precisely upon the hilt of the iron kite.

"Ah, damn it!" Yun Bai was caught off guard and let out a cry of alarm. The iron kite instantly shot forward, accelerating like a horse whipped hard. The sword body even tilted and rolled slightly because he couldn't control it in time. Terrified, Yun Bai hurriedly concentrated his Divine Sense, desperately "grasping" the control hub core, and only then managed to barely stabilize his posture, his heart pounding.

Standing on a sword body that was only a few feet wide while moving at high speed was much more thrilling than standing in a stable flying boat!

"Whoosh!" Almost at the same time, a purple-black shadow shot out from the clouds to the front side like an arrow. This was an Iron-Clawed Demonic Eagle.

It had spotted this "strange person stepping on a sword" who had suddenly intruded into its territory, as well as his unstable posture. A fierce light gleamed in its eyes. It folded its wings and, utilizing the acceleration of gravity, dove toward Yun Bai like a meteorite! That pair of sharp claws, flickering with a cold metallic sheen, opened wide, aiming straight for Yun Bai's face and chest!

"Dodge!" Alarm bells rang in Yun Bai's mind. He stopped thinking about complex controls and relied purely on his close connection with the iron kite, his powerful Divine Sense reaction, and the physical balance he had trained over many days. He exerted force from his waist and hips, driving the iron kite beneath his feet to suddenly "twist" to one side!

The iron kite emitted a slight sword hum, and the sword body suddenly tilted to the left. At the same time, the propulsion Formation at the tail exerted asymmetrical force, and the entire Flying Sword performed a swift but slightly awkward roll maneuver, using the central axis of the sword body as its pivot!

Whoosh! The Demonic Eagle's sharp claws, carrying a foul wind, grazed the sword body and the hem of Yun Bai's clothes on his right side, even colliding with the protective spiritual light of the sword body and sparking a trail of fire! Yun Bai could even clearly see the flash of astonishment in the Demonic Eagle's eyes, as well as the breathtaking sight of the vast Void Realm beneath his feet.

"Good chance!" Yun Bai's heart was pounding, but his combat instincts had fully awakened. The Demonic Eagle's dive was too fast; having missed its strike, it needed space to pull back up and adjust its flight. Meanwhile, in the latter half of its roll, Yun Bai's iron kite was perfectly positioned with the sword tip slightly upward and its speed slightly reduced.

His thoughts raced; his primary task was to stabilize himself, and the levitation and balance Formations of the iron kite beneath his feet continued to run. Attack? His gaze sharpened!

He did not use any other Flying Sword, but instead, he fiercely urged his Divine Sense! A dazzling spiritual light suddenly lit up the broad sword body of the iron kite beneath his feet, and a highly condensed cyan Sword Qi shot out from the sword tip! This Sword Qi was not emitted by the huaying sword, but was formed by the iron kite's own Formation condensing Yun Bai's spiritual power. Although it was not as incomparably sharp as the huaying sword, it had the advantage of being unexpected and perfectly matched the state of unity between man and sword that Yun Bai was currently in!

The Sword Qi was like a rainbow, fast as lightning, piercing straight at the Demonic Eagle, which had just begun to flap its wings to pull up and was slightly sluggish in its movements! The Demonic Eagle shrieked in panic, desperately turning its body to dodge the vital spot, but the Sword Qi still grazed the base of its wing!

Rip! Feathers flew everywhere, a deep wound appeared, and demonic blood splattered! "Screech—!" The Demonic Eagle let out a miserable, sharp cry as it tumbled and fell downwards, already heavily injured.

Seeing this, Yun Bai controlled the iron kite Flying Sword to follow up with a nimble semi-arc dive, the sword body skimming past beneath the falling Demonic Eagle. He leaned down and reached out, precisely snatching the struggling, wailing Demonic Eagle from the air, twisted its neck, and threw the corpse into his Storage Pouch. The entire action was completed while flying at high speed on the sword, placing extremely high demands on balance and control. Although it was somewhat dangerous, Yun Bai managed to complete it.

"Good! Good! Good!" Three cheers came from the wind one after another. Supervisor Zhou Shengtai was seen stepping on that ancient scroll, leisurely descending from the higher clouds to fly side-by-side with Yun Bai. He clapped his hands in admiration, his eyes shining with wonder: "Kid, to be honest, is this really your first time fighting with a Flying Sword? That move just now was truly cool enough to impress me!"

Yun Bai steadied his breathing, feeling the unique exhilaration of standing on a Flying Sword and riding the wind in the Void Realm, as well as the excitement of defeating an enemy while riding a sword for the first time. Hearing Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's words, he huffed indignantly: "Perhaps the number of times I engaged in aerial combat in my past life is more than the amount of Spirit Rice you've eaten in this lifetime!"

Thinking back to Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's action of pushing him into a dangerous situation without a word just now, he still felt a lingering fear, especially while standing on the swaying sword.