AI Cultivation: Reborn as a Sword
Chapter 63: Dharma Enlightenment

After a moment, Lan Xiaohui closes her palm and the mote of sword Qi disappears, releasing one final wave of force that disturbs the surface of the water.

In its absence, the water’s tranquil surface becomes more chaotic, producing natural motion and waves that I can only barely detect with my absolute perception.

It was not that the sword Qi only produced waves, but it also stilled the water while it was extant.

“Show me again,” I tell her while trying to enumerate all the possibilities behind the strange nature of that sword Qi.

Perhaps, I reason, it is a reflexive action brought about by Lan Xiaohui’s near-death experiences — like a survival instinct that she has learned to control. A physical sword may become weaker after being reforged countless times, but the Dao of the Sword only gets sharper with each tempering.

This may also be why Lan Xiaohui is so gifted at cultivation or comprehending the Dao of the Sword — her shattered cultivation has made her uniquely suitable to cultivating this Dao.

Once broken, twice powerful.

I doubt the explanation is that simple.

Lan Xiaohui once more summons her sword Qi, and this time I follow suit, calling up mine. Her sword Qi forms a wreath of night sky darkness above and behind her within which red and white stars pulse. To me, it appears like the milky way galaxy that spans the entirety of the world behind her, but that is merely the physical manifestation of the phenomena that is sword Qi. Sword Qi is a field of energy that is virtually always present around Lan Xiaohui — like an aura — and it certainly does not span the entire world, but only her immediate surroundings.

My sword Qi is by far more potent than hers and to Lan Xiaohui it might appear as a constellation of swords glittering black and gold, like miniature copies of my vessel. I immediately collapse my sword Qi field into a single point ahead of me, and the physical manifestation of a single, thin sword appears.

Lan Xiaohui’s heart immediately wavers and her shoulders slump as she leans slightly back, as if bracing herself like I am about to strike her. I have no intention of harming Lan Xiaohui but her reaction is not that mysterious.

My consciousness infused with [Tyranny] gives rise to my sword Qi, and when I refine and compress it to a single point, it no doubt must appear to her like a sword that could bring about the extinction of all life — especially compared to her shallower Dao.

“Proceed,” I remind her.

As if remembering how to breathe, Lan Xiaohui sucks in a breath, furrows her brows, and then nods.

This is where I spot the first difference.

Lan Xiaohui’s field does not collapse like mine does when I compress it, but her sword Qi focuses into a single glittering star that immediately stills the surface of the water.

It is as if her sword Qi is still present, yet somehow, only this one star manifests.

In fact, it is not that her field shrinks, but I feel its influence expands to cover the entire basin, which is likely what causes the stillness of the water’s surface. Its other effects also become apparent to me. I did not notice it at first as I have no sense of touch or hearing — I perceive the world through information, not physical senses — the wind also quiets and stills.

My desire for knowledge only grows deeper in the split second when I consider my options and the possibilities behind this strange phenomenon, and I cannot resist but want to perform a proper experiment.

My compressed sword Qi slashes down at the single mote of energy above Lan Xiaohui’s hand, and she closes her eyes once more, affected by my [Tyranny].

The very moment my sword Qi impacts hers, I feel rattled to the core, as if I was within a bell, and someone on the outside was pounding into it with a metal mallet. Not only is my sword Qi stopped in its tracks by something that should, in theory, be its far lesser, but it loses all cohesion and the carefully compressed field unravels, causing my sword Qi to form a corona of black and gold blades around Lan Xiaohui’s single star!

A powerful wave of force disperses through the body of water, and I don’t need to hear Lan Xiaohui’s pillars humming their deadly song of annihilation for me to comprehend what that mote of sword Qi is!

We both formed the same amount of Foundation Pillars, and they are most likely of the same nature: Sword Law.

In the process of adjusting her sword Qi to withstand Wukong’s attacks, she must’ve somehow comprehended how to utilize the mysterious force of Sword Law to enhance her sword Qi.

As my sword Qi disappears, I ask her: “Did you comprehend Sword Law?”

Lan Xiaohui also disperses her sword Qi and chews on her bottom lip. She is silent for a few long seconds before answering. “I don’t know.”

“Explain what you are doing,” I tell her.

She nods and opens her palm once more. “Ever since our tribulation, I’ve felt like the Sword is everywhere.” Here she trails off, but her expression suggests there is more to it.

“Continue,” I tell her.

She nods. “Do you remember that Yin-Yang Grass that comprehended sword Qi?”

The Yin-Yang Grass did not comprehend sword Qi, it only temporarily likened itself to the Sword, allowing it to create sword Qi.

After a pause, Lan Xiaohui continues. “It is kind of like that. The Sword is in everything. It is everywhere. I can reach out and wield it.”

As she says those words, the sword Qi in her hand collapses into a single point that contains the Sword Law.

[ Obtained: Deep Insight into the Dao of Sword. ]

[ Sword Law (First Glimpse) ->Sword Law (Domain First Stage - Dharma Enlightenment) ]

“I understand,” I tell her.

Her explanation is adequate, even though it is terrible. There must be a field of sword Qi that encompasses all of creation — it is what quantum physics is to chemistry. Law refers to the very function of the universe itself. Someone with a glimpse of the Sword Law can bring their sword Qi closer to the essence of the perfect sword.

Judging by the test I performed earlier, it is also far more powerful than ordinary sword Qi.

Lan Xiaohui smiles at me, seemingly happy that she could help me understand the sword. I am grateful, of course, but the enlightenment still leaves me unsatisfied.

It is clear that we both possess the same trait now which allows us only the first glimpse into the Sword Law until we reach the Dao Palace Formation realm.

Maybe things aren’t so bleak. Perhaps the talent version of that trait has nothing to do with cultivating Sword Law, and has, instead, some other effect like the evolution of my Life Devourer trait, which became the World Eater talent, and formed a black sphere in my sea of consciousness.

I don’t need to tell Lan Xiaohui to keep practicing it. Even if there is a limit to how deeply we can comprehend Sword Law before Dao Palace Formation, it will be an advantage in combat.

Naturally, its focused form is largely unusable in battle — that would require precision and reflexes that I am not so certain I could provide to Lan Xiaohui even with the mnemonic device assistance. However, if she is able to infuse most of her sword Qi with this Sword Domain, the benefits could be unthinkable.

Without hesitation, Lan Xiaohui activates the Inner World Sphere array with her consciousness, emitting a very happy: “I will go practice it!”

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