Jared‘s gaze settled on the stone golem’s sword, its edge glinting cold and sharp. Frustration churned inside him. How could an inanimate lump of rock reduce the so-called invincible champion of the Third Heaven to such a sorry state?
“Still, the guardian’s sudden halt felt less like mercy and more like an invitation. Maybe this is a turning point…”
Everett, face lined with worry, whispered, “We could retreat and figure out another plan.”
Jared dabbed the drying blood from his lip but did not look away from the golem. “No… There’s something hidden inside that statue, I can feel it…”
He swallowed his last pill, feeling its power surge along his channels.
Moments later, drew a steady breath, tightened his grip on the Dragonslayer Sword, and advanced again, but this time, refrained from an immediate assault. Instead adopted a cautious guard and began to observe.
The golem’s swordwork remained as fierce as ever, each out following an indescribable rhythm, as if every stroke resonated with the very laws of heaven and earth.
Gradually, Jared discerned that what appeared haphazard was in fact a subtle trajectory, every swing of the stone blade painted a fragment of a grand design, each pattern hinting at a deeper sword intent.
A flash of insight burst across his mind.
Is this guardian meant to test us… Or guide us toward a higher realm of sword intent?
Excitement replaced frustration. Jared no longer regarded the stone golem as an enemy but as a priceless instructor. He began to mimic its movements, searching for the heartbeat inside each arc.
At first, his imitations were stiff; the golem’s counterstrikes forced into awkward retreats. Yet with every attempt, the rhythm seeped a little further into his muscles.
During one defensive exchange, Jared instinctively traced the guardian’s trajectory and let his own blade follow that curve. To his astonishment, the borrowed motion not only neutralized the incoming strike but carried a faint counterforce back toward the golem’s chest.
His pulse leaped.
That’s it!
From that moment, threw himself into the “sparring lesson” with wholehearted devotion. Every clash, every deflection, every glimmer of stone against steel fed his growing comprehension.
Time slipped by unnoticed. The Dragonslayer Sword‘s aura grew refined, its edge now humming with a grace that went beyond brute power. Where before his technique was a union of strength and skill, it now resonated with true sword intent.
He summoned his eight shadow clones again. This time, their blades danced with eerie unpredictability, echoing the golem’s mysteries until hall and guardian alike were engulfed in a whirlwind of interlaced sword lights.
Yet even as his mastery deepened, Jared sensed that the golem still held transformations had not touched, at times it raged like a storm, at others it flowed like a silent brook. Each shift granted fresh insight, and wove those revelations into Nine Shadows, smoothing and perfecting his own art.
Then, without warning, the golem unveiled an entirely new sequence, sword shadows filled the air like falling snow, sealing the very space around him.
Jared could barely hold his ground inside the swirling storm of sword shadows.
The instant felt his strength slipping and believed defeat was inevitable, a sudden spark of inspiration flared across his mind.
He seized that flash, drew on every fragment of sword intent had comprehended during his earlier clash with the stone golem, then blended those fragments into a technique unlike anything had attempted before.
A single, dazzling ray burst from his blade, tore straight through the cage of phantasmal steel, and drove head-on toward the golem.
Sensing the strike‘s terrifying might, the stone guardian lifted its sword in a hurried block. The two forces collided with a roar that shook the hall far more violently than any previous exchange, yet this time, Jared did not fly backward.
