# Chapter 1: Bestowing the Sword
In the Sword Marquis Manor of Ba Prefecture, Tianyan Province, under the Tianzong Dynasty.
"Meng'er, that strike of yours could be faster and more fierce."
"Good, that strike was much better."
Jian Meng'er, a peerlessly beautiful young girl dressed in snow-white clothing, was practicing a sword technique with rapt focus in the courtyard. Her sword speed was extremely fast, and the person offering pointers was a black-clothed youth standing beside her... Jian Wushuang.
Judging by their appearances, both should have been around fifteen or sixteen years old, yet Jian Wushuang could incisively point out the flaws in Jian Meng'er's swordplay one by one.
After completing the technique, Jian Meng'er sheathed her sword and stood still, then walked over toward Jian Wushuang with a smile.
"Big Brother Wushuang, what do you think of my sword technique?" Jian Meng'er asked.
"The Aurorasword Art prioritizes speed above all else. If one can perform the entire technique within forty breaths of time, it counts as mastery. You just now completed a full performance of the Aurorasword Art in only thirty-eight breaths—that's already very impressive," Jian Wushuang said.
"That's all thanks to your good teaching, Big Brother Wushuang. Otherwise, there's no way I could have mastered this technique in just two short months," Jian Meng'er said.
Jian Wushuang, however, secretly shook his head.
He knew that while his teaching certainly helped, the greater reason was that Jian Meng'er possessed immense talent in the sword. In the Sword Marquis Manor, where swordsmanship reigned supreme, apart from himself, the one with the highest talent in the way of the sword was most likely Jian Meng'er.
"Big Brother Wushuang, if you were to perform the Aurorasword Art yourself, how many breaths would it take you to perform it in full? Could you do it within thirty breaths?" Jian Meng'er suddenly asked.
"Within thirty breaths?" Jian Wushuang smiled faintly and said nothing.
The Aurorasword Art—completing it in forty breaths counted as mastery. But if he gave it his all, a full performance would take him only twenty-three breaths!
That level of skill was already the absolute pinnacle.
"With your talent in the sword, Big Brother Wushuang, it would definitely take you less than thirty breaths. It's just a pity..." Jian Meng'er's gaze toward Jian Wushuang carried a hint of something unusual.
Jian Wushuang of course knew what she meant and couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry. Soon—very soon, I'll become a Warrior."
"Soon?" Jian Meng'er didn't believe it in her heart. After all, four years ago, he had already said the same thing.
Jian Wushuang was a direct descendant of the Sword Marquis Manor. His father had once been the master of the Sword Pavilion, recognized as the strongest expert in the entire Sword Marquis Manor. She had grown up under his father's guidance.
With a father of such standing, he was destined for extraordinary prominence from birth, unquestionably among those of the highest status among the young generation in the Sword Marquis Manor. However, all of that came to an abrupt end four years ago, when he was twelve.
That year, his father left home to travel the world, and from then on, he vanished without a trace, his whereabouts unknown.
And misfortune never comes alone. That same year marked the critical stage when he began condensing spiritual power and advancing toward becoming a Warrior. But when he tried to condense spiritual energy, he discovered that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't produce even a wisp of spiritual power.
Inability to condense spiritual power was a nightmare for any would-be Warrior.
One must understand—the path of martial cultivation required absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and condensing it into one's own spiritual power to become a Warrior.
For a Warrior, one's own spiritual power was the foundation. A person who could not condense spiritual power was destined never to become a Warrior, no matter how long they lived. In the Sword Marquis Manor, where strength was revered, such a person was nothing more than a despised piece of trash.
Over these four years, Jian Wushuang had never truly given up. He had kept striving, always wanting to become a genuine Warrior, and perhaps one day even inherit his father's position and take charge of the Sword Pavilion once more. But reality was cruel.
That said, while Jian Wushuang could not condense spiritual power, his talent in swordsmanship was nothing short of astonishing.
He had studied the sword under his father's tutelage since childhood. Because his father was the master of the Sword Pavilion, and because his own talent in the way of the sword was monstrously prodigious, he could memorize most sword techniques after seeing them just once and quickly assimilate them completely. So although he was young, in terms of pure swordsmanship, few in the entire Sword Marquis Manor could match him.
But no matter how great one's talent or how strong one's swordsmanship, without spiritual power to drive it, what good was it?
"This time it really is soon," Jian Wushuang said with full confidence.
"Fine." Jian Meng'er smiled, not taking it seriously.
"Meng'er, Wushuang." A middle-aged man walked into the courtyard. He had a very kindly appearance.
"Father," Jian Meng'er called out.
"Uncle Lan," Jian Wushuang also called out.
This middle-aged man was Jian Meng'er's father, Jian Lan, the Grand Elder of the Blood Martial Hall lineage of the Sword Marquis Manor.
"Wushuang, you've taught swordsmanship all day. You've worked hard," Jian Lan said with a smile.
"It's nothing." Jian Wushuang shook his head. "Uncle Lan, it's getting late. I'll head back now."
"Very well." Jian Lan and Jian Meng'er watched him leave.
But the moment Jian Wushuang disappeared from their sight, the gentleness in Jian Lan's eyes vanished.
"Meng'er, how is it?" Jian Lan asked, his voice low.
"The Aurorasword Art—I have already brought it to mastery," Jian Meng'er said, her expression solemn.
"Excellent." Jian Lan clenched his fists, wild joy flashing across his face. "It's been almost four years. You've spent every day with that boy, having him teach you the sword, enduring four years of humiliation—and now, at last, it has paid off!"
"Of the eighteen first-rate sword arts of the Sword Pavilion, you have now mastered them all. Next, it is time to carry out our plan!"
"Father, are you certain we should do this?" Jian Meng'er's brows lifted slightly, but her gaze remained ice-cold, without a trace of pity.
"Those who accomplish great things do not sweat the small stuff." Jian Lan's eyes turned cold. "Everything hinges on tomorrow!"
......
Jian Wushuang returned to the courtyard where he lived. After eating something simple, he sat down cross-legged on his bed.
"I told Meng'er today that I would soon become a true Warrior, and she actually didn't believe me?" Jian Wushuang smiled, his right hand involuntarily moving to rest on his lower abdomen.
Within his abdomen lay a gray stone bead the size of a baby's fist. This gray stone bead had existed inside his body since the day Jian Wushuang was born, its origins a mystery.
But this gray stone bead was the very culprit that had prevented Jian Wushuang from becoming a Warrior.
Everyone knew him only as Jian Wushuang, a born good-for-nothing who couldn't condense even a wisp of spiritual power. But only he himself knew the truth: it wasn't that he couldn't condense spiritual power. On the contrary, all one hundred and eight of his meridians had long since been fully opened, and condensing spiritual power came to him with great ease.
Yet every time he cultivated, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that his body absorbed never had the chance to condense and transform into his own spiritual power—it was mercilessly devoured by this gray stone bead in his abdomen.
In other words, all the spiritual energy he absorbed from the outside world during cultivation became food for the gray stone bead. And as the bead devoured it, Jian Wushuang also discovered that this gray stone bead was not limitless—it was, in effect, a container.
For these four years, he had cultivated diligently every single day, constantly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, all in hopes of filling the gray stone bead to complete satiation as quickly as possible. Once it was full and stopped devouring the energy he drew in from the outside world, he would naturally be able to condense spiritual power and become a Warrior.
And just yesterday, he had noticed that the gray stone bead had reached a state of saturation. With just one more day of cultivation—that is, today—the bead would reach its true limit, and he would finally be able to condense spiritual power once more!
"Let's begin." Heart brimming with anticipation, Jian Wushuang immediately began his daily cultivation.
Just as he had predicted, the gray stone bead within his body continued mercilessly devouring the spiritual energy he drew in from the outside world. But as it devoured, the bead finally reached its limit of endurance.
*Hummmm~~~*
The gray stone bead abruptly began to spin within his body, spinning faster and faster. As it spun, the bead's volume actually began to visibly shrink, bit by bit.
In merely a moment's time, this gray stone bead that had existed within Jian Wushuang's body for so long vanished completely.
"It's gone—the bead, it disappeared?" A trace of wild joy flashed through Jian Wushuang's eyes. But in the next instant, his eyes abruptly widened.
A vast torrent of information surged into his mind without any warning whatsoever.
"The Grand Fortune Creation Scripture!"
"Seize the fortunes of heaven and earth, and forge the supreme divine art!"
......
PS: With the launch of this new book, I'll maintain three chapters a day for now—one chapter at noon, and two chapters released together at eight in the evening. Once the new book period ends, I'll immediately release more and increase the update speed to roughly four or five chapters a day. Additionally, I have already properly completed three novels, including *Reborn as a Divine Beast*. My integrity and reputation are guaranteed—I promise no dropped updates, no delayed chapters, no abandonment, and no rushed endings. This book will total well over four million characters upon completion. Please read with confidence and follow along!