In the central area of Mingdu, a giant tower rose from the ground, piercing the clouds as if it intended to pierce the heavens.
Even from a distance, pedestrians could only barely see its upper-middle section, the towering body of the tower shimmered with a faint silver glow, like cold iron soaked in moonlight, icy and mysterious.
The eight sharp-angled walls of the tower refracted sharp outlines in the sunlight, while the higher parts were already hidden in the swirling clouds.
The entire tower exuded an intangible sense of oppression, making people hold their breath and focus, as if one more glance would cause their souls to be devoured by it.
This was the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda.
With its soul spirit technology, the Spirit Pagoda had gathered the most top-tier research talents and powerhouses, while also accumulating wealth that could rival a nation.
The Federation had even directly granted eight council seats to the Spirit Pagoda, and it must be noted that there were only one hundred and eight council seats in the Federation.
This was enough to show the pivotal position the Spirit Pagoda held within the Federation.
"Why is that sword lunatic still sitting there?"
"He's been there for ten full days, hasn't he? Is he waiting to challenge Huo Yuhao?"
"Everyone else who was waiting has left, but he's still there."
In the lobby on the ground floor of the Spirit Pagoda, staff members gathered in small groups, whispering to each other. Everyone's eyes occasionally glanced at the lonely figure outside the tower's plaza, Ji Wufeng.
Ji Wufeng of the Ji family, sixteen years old this year, a five-ring Soul King. This man, who was habitually called the "Sword Lunatic" by everyone, had been sitting quietly in the plaza in front of the Spirit Pagoda for ten full days.
He held a gray-white sharp sword in his arms, unmoved by wind or sun. Even more bizarrely, not a single speck of dust had fallen within three inches of his body in these ten days.
"He's probably waiting in vain. Huo Yuhao likely won't come. The news of him being invited by the Illustrious Virtue Hall has been spreading recently. Maybe he's still preparing to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall..."
Before the words could finish, the entire lobby suddenly fell silent.
Because Ji Wufeng had moved.
He slowly opened his eyes, and in those pitch-black pupils, it seemed as if ten thousand swords were returning to their origin.
"He's here."
Ji Wufeng's voice was soft, but it made everyone in the Spirit Pagoda plaza tremble in their hearts, and they all looked up in the direction he was gazing.
In the distance, three figures walked over, but in Ji Wufeng's eyes, there was no one else except the young man in white at the front. The people around him also seemed to be influenced by his intent, their eyes only on that young man.
"Spirit Sovereign, Huo Yuhao! He's finally here!"
The crowd looked at the approaching figure, then at Ji Wufeng, and vaguely understood something. In the heavy atmosphere, they instinctively stepped back, leaving a hundred zhang of empty space in the center of the plaza.
Huo Yuhao walked in the morning light, his hair slightly floating in the morning breeze. When his gaze fell on Ji Wufeng, a trace of imperceptible nostalgia flashed in his eyes, similar, so similar. Not in appearance, but in that pure sword intent and fighting spirit, it was almost identical to that sword fanatic from ten thousand years ago.
"Of the Ji family?"
Huo Yuhao stopped ten steps away from Ji Wufeng.
"Ji Wufeng." Ji Wufeng stood up, staring at him.
"No wonder." Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the morning dew condensed on Ji Wufeng's body, and suddenly smiled, "Ten days of sitting in stillness, just for this one sword?"
"Ever since I saw that punch of yours two years ago, I've been looking forward to this. Please enlighten me."
Ji Wufeng bowed deeply.
Even with mental preparation, the plaza still erupted in an uproar.
The rule that no fighting is allowed within a thousand meters of the Spirit Pagoda doesn't care if you're an insider or not. If it's really for a challenge, there's no need to do it here, right?
Ji Wufeng ignored these discussions. Ten days of wind and sun had left marks on him, but his eyes were becoming sharper, like an unsheathed sword.
Huo Yuhao watched the growing aura of the person before him and didn't say anything to spoil the mood, just nodded lightly.
"Alright."
A simple word, but it instantly silenced the entire plaza. Everyone held their breath and widened their eyes, afraid to miss any detail.
Since the battle with Shrek Academy two years ago, Huo Yuhao hadn't fought in public. Now, he was going to face a descendant of the Ji family. Would they be able to witness an exciting battle today?
But the hurried footsteps from afar interrupted the peace of the place. Five law enforcement officers in silver-white uniforms were quickly approaching, the captain at the front with a dark expression: "Stop! No private fights are allowed within a thousand meters of the Spirit Pagoda!"
Not far away, Gu Yuena and Gu Ruiqiu frowned, about to stop them, but changes had already occurred in the field.
Ji Wufeng suddenly moved, his right hand gently caressing his sword, and a sharp sword intent instantly erupted from his body.
"Clang—"
A clear sword cry resounded through the sky.
The onlookers were horrified. Soul masters with lower cultivation felt their hairs stand on end, as if countless swords were pressed against their throats, and they all staggered back in unison. Even several Soul Sage-level powerhouses looked grave.
"Is... is this really the aura of a Soul King?"
"As expected of the Ji family's sword... The sword intent accumulated over ten days actually made me feel threatened. Truly well-deserved reputation!"
A Soul Sage from the Spirit Pagoda couldn't help but exclaim.
The Ji family of the Spirit Pagoda was a famous anomaly in the entire soul master world. What made them special was not only that their inheritance came from ten thousand years ago, being descendants of the first members of the Spirit Pagoda, but also because of the core lineage's martial soul—"Formless"!
It was said that the martial soul of the Ji family's ancestor, the Sword Fanatic Douluo, was a piece of celestial iron.
Through continuous nurturing with soul power, he integrated his soul into the sword, and eventually, his martial soul completely transformed into energy, perfectly merging with the celestial iron. Man and sword became one, inseparable.
A legendary soul spirit passed down Ji Juechen's insights through generations, but this kind of insight that could only be understood and not explained was initially beyond the Ji family's comprehension.
However, because it concerned their ancestor's core inheritance, they had always been researching it.
After all, how many people in history had risen from a third-level innate soul power to a ninety-seventh-level Super Douluo?
With such a respectable ancestor, they didn't want his inheritance to disappear.
But it was hard, too hard!
For a hundred, a thousand years, no one could truly enter the door. It wasn't until thousands of years ago that another exceptionally talented Ji family disciple, Ji Wuxia, emerged, finally breaking this deadlock.
He abandoned the traditional cultivation methods of the family, no longer obsessed with the past path, but instead used his heart to control his soul, his soul to transform his intent.
After ten years of arduous cultivation, his martial soul actually gradually "disappeared"—no, more accurately, it completely merged into his spirit and flesh, then integrated with the sword he had been tempering since childhood, becoming a sword god.
This situation was called by the Ji family, Refining the Weapon into the Soul, a post-natal change of the martial soul, which had a similar effect to the legendary God-given martial soul, and was a unique inheritance of the Ji family!
What their original martial soul was no longer mattered. Those who could complete the Refining the Weapon into the Soul would have their martial soul transformed into energy, merging with the weapon they had been nurturing since childhood, and the weapon the Ji family chose was naturally, the sword!
From then on, the core lineage inheritance of the Ji family was finally established, and it became one of the most mysterious existences in the soul master world.
Thousands of years later, there were still very few people in the Ji family who could complete the Refining the Weapon into the Soul, and there had even been a generational gap. But every core disciple who completed it was a fearsome existence.
And Ji Wufeng was one of them!
Ji Wufeng ignored the discussions from the outside world. The spirit, energy, and mind accumulated over ten days of sitting in stillness were now released without reservation.
His entire body seemed to transform into an unsheathed peerless sword of calamity. The gray-white sword body lit up inch by inch with sword patterns, trailing a meteor-like tail flame in the air.
What kind of sparring was this? It was clearly the aura of a life-and-death struggle!
Facing this earth-shattering sword intent, Huo Yuhao's eyes shone with a brilliant light. No soul rings appeared, no soul power fluctuations, just a change in his gaze—
The entire world seemed to freeze in an instant. Ji Wufeng's sharp sword intent seemed to crash into an invisible wall, shattering violently three feet in front of Huo Yuhao.
Even more terrifyingly, an indescribable sense of oppression descended from the sky, making Ji Wufeng's sword-wielding hand suddenly feel as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Huo Yuhao knew that this was the kind of battle the other party craved.
Between the two, the purest duel had already begun, devoid of any soul skills or techniques, only the most genuine collision of intent!
Ji Wufeng clenched his teeth, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He felt as if he were in a deep sea, every movement having to resist the pressure of the entire world.
At this moment, in the comparison of auras, he was completely at a disadvantage! The sword intent emanating from his body was easily torn apart like thin silk meeting sharp scissors in front of Huo Yuhao's condensed, tangible intent.
But Ji Wufeng did not feel discouraged. The sword in his hand was excited, and the fighting spirit in his eyes grew stronger.
He still didn't use any soul skills, but the light in his hand grew brighter and continued to expand. What expanded was not the physical sword, but a transparent yet dazzling sword shadow.
The sword shadow trembled slightly, emitting a lively aura. Although it didn't have the aggressive sense of oppression, with its appearance, Ji Wufeng's aura instantly soared to the Soul Emperor level!
The onlookers were all moved by this.
"Sword Soul?!"
Not the unity of man and sword, nor sword intent, but Sword Soul!
The realm of the sword path, Sword Intent, Sword Soul, Sword God. A sword path powerhouse who possesses a Sword Soul can gain a terrifying boost, possibly even elevating their own level by one rank. Becoming a peerless powerhouse in the future is almost a certainty.
Ji Wufeng had actually reached this realm at the Soul King level? Or was it even earlier?
However, some prodigies from the Spirit Pagoda were not surprised.
For those who possess a sword martial soul, understanding its intent, grasping its profundity, and possessing its soul, gaining its spirit, is the Sword Soul.
The Ji family's path of Refining the Weapon into the Soul was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Only one person in several generations could complete it. The last one was Tower Master Ji Xuanqiu. But once completed, a Sword Soul was inevitable in the future!
Because their martial soul was what they had tempered themselves. Few understood their martial soul better than they did, and loved their sword more than they did.
Moreover, the Sword Soul realm usually required a soul ring as a vessel, but the Ji family didn't need that. Their martial soul was their soul, their "Sword Soul"!
Ji Wufeng's sword intent soared with the release of his Sword Soul. In the next moment, his entire body seemed to transform into a strange ray of light, skimming the ground as it shot towards Huo Yuhao.
The astonishing sword qi filled the entire space, and the overwhelming pressure caused Huo Yuhao's robes to flutter without wind, the rustling fabric as if emitting a silent wail.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao smiled and finally moved. His right hand formed a fist, simply pushing forward. This punch had no frills, but it seemed to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.
What is Sword Intent, what is Sword Soul, what is Sword God?
The foundation of cultivation is spirit, energy, and mind. True sword techniques are the perfect combination of a soul master's spirit, energy, and mind with the sword.
So-called Sword Intent, Sword Soul, Sword God are all realms derived from this foundation, ultimately an extension of the "self"!
Where the fist passed, Ji Wufeng's sword intent, capable of severing mountains and rivers, melted like snow under the scorching sun, disappearing without a sound. Huo Yuhao's fist had no dazzling soul rings, no flashy soul skills, only the purest "intent."
"Boom—"
At the moment when the fist and sword were about to collide, everyone felt as if the air within a radius of several dozen square meters had collapsed inward, and everything around them became distorted.
But the sword and fist did not actually touch, only the two intents collided.
On the left, sword qi surged like a tide, stirring up a sky full of killing intent in the void.
On the right, there was eternal silence. No wind, no sword cries, only a pure emptiness. This silence was not nothingness, but a depth that encompassed all things, a domain where even time seemed to freeze.
The two intents clashed fiercely in the void. Each collision caused the entire space to tremble violently. The sword qi shattered one after another, but that silence remained unmoved, even silently devouring the shattered sword qi.
The difference was clear at a glance.
The silent intent on the right was like a world of its own, an absolute realm that transcended moves and techniques, a true peak of intent!
Ji Wufeng's originally cold face showed a subtle change. At this moment, the shock in his heart was indescribable. Only by experiencing it firsthand could he truly understand how astonishing the aura Huo Yuhao was emitting now.
There was divinity in it, a realm he had not yet touched!
But what Ji Wufeng felt in Huo Yuhao's punch was not just that.
The peak of the sword path is not to master one of Sword Intent, Sword Soul, or Sword God, but to combine all three perfectly.
To integrate one's emotions, thoughts, and spirit into it, merging spirit, energy, and mind into one. Only then could the sword techniques be like domains, like intents, that was the true sword!
And in Huo Yuhao's punch, he saw such a shadow.
'What I saw two years ago was indeed not wrong. He had already merged spirit, energy, and mind back then.' Ji Wufeng's emotions were hard to calm, but his eyes shone with brilliance, striving to grasp that trace of divine charm in the fist.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao's lips curled slightly, and only after the fist and sword had been in a stalemate for about a second did he suddenly exert force. Then, a deafening roar exploded.
—Boom!
Centered on the point where the two clashed, the ground suddenly cracked and collapsed in large areas, spreading outward at an extremely fast speed, only gradually stopping after extending several dozen meters.
Ji Wufeng was instantly sent flying back twenty meters. After stabilizing his stance, his face was very pale, and his sword-wielding hand was covered in blood. But his eyes were filled with unprecedented excitement, with no trace of discouragement. "I lost."
After uttering these three words, he sat down cross-legged, meditating and comprehending his gains, paying no attention to the blood on his body or the gazes of the onlookers.
'...What a nostalgic scene.'
Huo Yuhao's eyes revealed a sense of nostalgia.
One sword, one punch... They had been like this back then.
You have a successor, Juechen.
Without lingering, Huo Yuhao walked straight towards the entrance of the Spirit Pagoda.
At this moment, the onlookers finally came back to their senses, still finding it hard to believe. "A Soul King with Sword Intent and Sword Soul actually lost in a contest of 'intent'?"
First invited by the Illustrious Virtue Hall, now suppressing the descendant of the Ji family in intent. He wanted to ask, was there anything Huo Yuhao couldn't do?
Master of all, proficient in all, what kind of monster was this?
As for the law enforcement team, looking at the devastated plaza and the three departing figures, they finally turned their gaze to Ji Wufeng, who was meditating, their eyes gleaming with malice.
You caused this mess, and you're so calm?
We'll settle the score after you finish your comprehension!