24 Sword Heart Lotus

His eyes narrowed as he looked around. Instead of the dark soil and the mountain walls at both sides, he stood in a plain expanse.

There was nothing except the ground he stood on, the air, and the rumbling clouds.

Suddenly, lightning struck, and it began to drizzle. Slowly, it turned into a fierce downpour yet Li Chen stood still.

His hair and clothes were soaked but he remained externally calm. 

However, inwardly, his mind was in turmoil. As an author, most of his battles were in his mind. He could be going through a raging internal war while sitting in a train. 

It was daunting yet he developed the instinct of first letting his mind roam free before acting. 

"What is your Will?" 

A whisper.

Yet, it seemed like heaven's failed attempt at being secretive. The voice came with the wind and had the tone of a peaceful, loving scholar who yearned for more knowledge but a sharp, undying energy lurked within.

'To cut…' 

The moment that response sprouted from his heart, bamboo trees burst through the earth's surface. In a blink of an eye, Li Chen was surrounded by towering greenish trees. 

Shocked, he took two steps back, only to discover that the tree was closing in on him. Soon, he would be stuck!

Circulating his energy, he grabbed the hilt of his sword. 

SHING —!

Leaning forward, he swung the blade horizontally and a gleaming radiance cut through the trees. 

Swiftly turning, he released a few more radiances and the trees were cut down. 'I didn't imagine it being so easy.' he thought. The sound of metal scraping against metal pierced the air as he sheathed his sword.

In the next moment, the movements of the wind became erratic and a whistle came from afar. 

Loud noises from bamboo trees rang and another batch grew. This time, they kept growing taller and moving faster!

'What in the world!' His eyes sharpened.

SHING —! 

Unsheathing his blade, he slashed down the trees but they grew back. From the sky, Li Chen could be seen slashing bamboo trees but they kept closing in.

Time trickled by and there was barely any energy left in his whirlpool. Sensing the alarming situation, Li Chen stomped to the ground and soared. 

Akin to a bird with hollow bones, he ran up the bent trees, trying to get to the top but they were just too tall!

Finally, he channeled all his energy and flew above the trees. Looking around, his eyes trembled. 

'These trees are everywhere!' 

"Your Will is to cut. You couldn't even cut down trees. How pathetic!" 

BOOM—!

Li Chen's consciousness returned; his eyes snapped open and he clutched his chest. He felt an inner turmoil within him.

"Hehe, you've spent two days. Here, I thought you were some genius with the potential of the top 10." The man who coughed blood previously sat beside Li Chen. 

He was a couple meters away.

Glancing at the youth, Li Chen ignored him. He focused on drawing energy into an empty space where a spinning whirlpool once dominated. 

Pain from some parts of his body gnawed at him but Li Chen held on. After an unknown period of time, his energy started healing his internal injuries. 

'I can't even cut wood?! Ha! Walking is my will; speaking is my will. I chose to cut and I will cut through whatever stands in my way. Spirits, daemons, gods, anyone!!'

Roaring internally, he stood up, took two steps forward and sat down. The moment he closed his eyes and connected to the law lingering around, his consciousness was transported to the same place.

Like before, it was a plain expanse and after the rain, the forest grew.

SHING—! 

This time, Li Chen focused on his driving force. He wanted to cut till nothing remained and that pushed him.

Time passed in his consciousness yet he kept slashing. His fingers were screaming for him to stop, his shoulders ached badly, his back was hunched and each slash made him stagger.

SLASH—! 

After he cut down a bamboo tree, Li Chen looked around, his eyes droopy. Apart from the cut trees, no tree remained standing for miles! 

THUD—!

He fell on his knees, pierced his sword into the ground and looked at his trembling arms. Despite his body's critical state, his heart was elevated. 

Joy sprouted from the depths of his consciousness as he felt a faint, sharp energy within his core.

2nd level sword intent, his strength had risen by 20 percent!

"Good!" 

A booming voice made Li Chen turn. Suddenly, the terrain changed. He was at the peak of a mountain, sitting before a white-haired man who smiled at him.

[You are?] 

"A mere consciousness of my true self." 

[And how do you know you're just a mere consciousness?]

The man chuckled, stroking his beards before waving his hands and a scene appeared. 

A lean man in white robes floated mid-air. His robes fluttered, while the broadsword within the confines of his fingers looked exquisite.

However, what made it eye-catching were the entwining energies moving about the sword. 

At an uncalculated distance away floated a huge man garbed in brown robes. Both his hands were at his back and he casually stood atop the peak of a towering mountain. 

Li Chen watched the white-robed man lift his sword and simply swung downwards yet that strike gave birth to a myriad of intricate forms all within one radiance.

Li Chen felt a throb while trying to comprehend it.

It was a single strike yet like an illusion, the radiance of the sword came from all sides. 

"Creation. That strike gave birth to the Azure blade grass, me and several others who are in the consciousness of others who are far ahead of you."

[So why did you choose me?]

"I did not choose you. You're the first person to complete this test and push your sword intent to the next level. Your accomplishment brought me." The man replied, still smiling.

"The will to cut whatever stands in your way is very vague yet outstandingly beautiful in many ways. Who is this great teacher of yours?" The man added.

[Trust me. You don't want to know what he's like.]

Unbeknownst to Li Chen, two weeks passed, and many people who were behind him had long passed him.

"Isn't he the genius they were talking about some weeks ago?" 

"Ha! That's what we all thought. To think some sects were about to invite him." 

"So it was just a false alarm. I guess the sword heart lotus belongs to Yan Sen of the Purple Lotus sect or Ming Yue from the Eternal Night sect." 

"Wait, did you consider him to be a competitor before?" A man mocked, his countenance filled with disdain.

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