Chapter 177 Level One Sword Intent (Part Two)

Evan and Herbert had walked into the house to visit Austin, but as they stepped into the yard, they were almost whipped in their faces by the sword-lights. It scared them enough to turn around and run out of the house as fast as they could.

Hiding behind the doorway, they craned their necks to look at the wondrous sight that greeted them. Feeling emptiness at his hairline, Herbert touched a spot on his forehead. He was astonished to find that it was clear of hair. The hair had been there minutes ago. But Austin's sword had made sure to sear off the hair and the scalp from there.

"Oh my God! What kind of martial arts is Austin practicing? He would have killed me if I'd been any slower to dodge the sword! I'm never coming to his house again, I swear, no matter how badly I'm threatened," Herbert positively howled.

"You know what Tin is like. He practices like the devil, so engrossed in what he is doing that he doesn't see anything else. It's just him and his practice. And nobody can help him out of that state but himself," Evan said helplessly as he peeked yet again into the yard. Lights were still flashing. Austin was still brandishing and striking the sword.

After what felt like a long time, and no one really knew how long it was, Austin finally paused. He stopped swinging his sword and stood there silently, lapsing into a state of meditation.

He occasionally raised his head to look at the skyline. The sun had just started rising, its golden rays lighting up the Earth and bringing every creature back to life from their deep slumber. Before Austin had known it, the night was gone, replaced by a welcoming, brand-new day.

Austin smiled, not caring about how much time had passed.

A few days of practice brought Austin a vague idea about how the swordsmanship worked. He didn't know why, but he sensed that something was going to dawn on him. His mind was going to see a new life bloom from within. But there was a thick layer of membrane that stood in its way, and whatever was coming, it only needed a little push to break out of its thin shell. Once the shell broke, something related to the swordsmanship would appear in his mind.

Austin didn't want to stop at such a critical moment.

The attainment of insights

And this was level one!

Warriors who had achieved understanding of the sword intent could reach a different realm of swordsmanship from common swordsmen. To them, their swords were like their arms, and they could command them to attack opponents in the way they wanted, as person and sword were united as one.

At long last, Austin put the sword back into its sheath. Standing against the wind, sword hanging at his waist, his pupils occasionally flashed glimmers. It was now his moment to shine. He looked like an experienced master of swordsmanship who had practiced the art for many years.

He had taken a leap and made a breakthrough. His confidence had taken a massive boost as he, much to his surprise, cultivated level one of sword intent the very first time he had practiced Illusory Swordsmanship. It looked like he had some talent in martial arts after all. The growing confidence made him even more determined to scale the peaks of martial arts.

"Tin, are you done yet?"

"Tin, are you alright?"

Evan and Herbert popped their heads in and looked at Austin. They had checked on Austin multiple times, to see how he was doing.

And this time, they caught Austin withdrawing his sword, indicating that he might be taking a break. Fearing that Austin would start another round of practice the next moment, they cried out in concern. But they still weren't courageous enough to step into the house.

And the scalded part on Herbert's head was still bald. No change there.