Chapter 1016 - Path’s End
“Really?”
Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. It made him think about what Yin Qing had said. All the asura that wielded the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End had either been killed or died from madness. There was nothing strange about being killed. The Asura realm was about killing left and right in the first place, but dying from madness was quite a curious way to go.
The Asura realm produced powerful asura endlessly, so at least some of them could refine the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End. However, all of them seemed to meet a bad end after refining her, so just what caused the madness?
“You afraid?” The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower tried to provoke him.
“A little.” Li Qingshan confessed.
The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was taken aback by the reply. She never expected an answer like that from Li Qingshan.
“But you’re definitely not what I’m afraid of the most!”
Li Qingshan laughed and sent his soul sense into the s.p.a.ce of blade intent. This time, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower did not put up any more resistance, allowing him to leave behind his mark in the blade. He successfully refined the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End.
Li Qingshan raised the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End, and the edge flashed. With a casual swing, a streak of light flew out, and a mountain split open several kilometers away, collapsing loudly!
“What a fine blade!”
Li Qingshan’s eyes lit up. The destructive power of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End far surpa.s.sed Tiger’s Fang. If he wielded Tiger’s Fang, he could only unleash a swing like that when it was satiated with blood, while just a casual swing of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End could achieve the same effect. He no longer had to worry about being a one-trick pony when he faced the Dragon King of Ink Sea again.
“That goes without saying! But your bladesmanship is far too weak. You’re just swinging it around blindly.”
The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower mocked Li Qingshan’s bladesmanship again. She did have that right.
This was Li Qingshan’s only pity. He had not truly subdued the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower. He had only achieved a cooperative relationship as equals, so he was unable to inherit the profound bladesmanship recorded within the blade. However, he was confident that there would be a day when he could completely subdue the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower and become the true blademaster of frenzy flower as his cultivation continued to increase.
“You want to learn it? If you do, I can teach it to you!” the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.
“Sure!” Li Qingshan could obviously tell she was up to no good, and the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower did not seem to be trying to hide it either.
“I have two different ways of teaching you. One’s quick and one’s slow. How would you like to learn?”
“How does the quick way work? How does the slow way work?”
“You send your soul sense into the blade and spar with me. I’ll teach you hand by hand. That’s the slow way.”
“You can stop right there. I’ll choose the slow way. Patience produces fine results.”
“Though, I’m temperamental, so I might be in a good mood sometimes and in a bad mood at other times. Even if I scold and curse you, you’ll have to put up with it. My guidance will be all over the place too…”
“Alright, just cut the nonsense. How do you want to ‘teach’ me?”
Li Qingshan was not someone who could not put up with some scolding and cursing, but given the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower’s att.i.tude, he probably would not learn anything even if she taught him for a century.
“The quick way obviously! I can guarantee that you’ll achieve the essence of the blade intent without anything unnecessary, and this also happens to be the strongest move of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End. It can make your battle prowess skyrocket instantly and let you kill powerful enemies!”
“There’s actually something as great as that? What’s the name of this move?” Li Qingshan smiled.
“A Madman at Path’s End!”
“That sure sounds auspicious. I go crazy and then reach the end of the path, right?”
Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. She really was a blade from the Asura realm after all. She did not even try to hide this trap, even explaining it clearly to him that he would die if he leapt into it.
“Exactly. If you want great power, if you want powerful bladesmanship, how can you go without taking a little risk?” The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower’s voice was reeking of ill intent.
“Let me think about it.”
Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and his mind became as serene as the ocean. He used the spirit turtle to divine, but the result left him a little surprised.
“If you decline, you better just send me back to the Armoury of War and Chaos! I definitely won’t fight for you! I can accept a weakling, but I can never accept a coward!”
“I can accept that, but on one condition.”
“What condition?”
“If I don’t reach the end of my path as you wish I do, then you’ll accept my control. You’ll fight for me without causing any trouble!”
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“I respect the courageous, and I respect the strong even more. None of the past masters of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End died because of trouble from me,” the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.
Li Qingshan opened his eyes and smiled. “Then let’s try it!”
“Alright. Grip the hilt firmly and open your mind!”
The figure of the blade spirit appeared once more, half-transparent this time and intangible. She overlapped with Li Qingshan’s body and gripped the hilt.
Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and opened his mind.
Suddenly, the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End produced a strange thrum, and a ripple spread through his sea of consciousness. His soul began to tremble with it. He and the blade gradually formed a strange resonance as his sea of consciousness and the s.p.a.ce of blade intent overlapped slowly.
In a daze, Li Qingshan saw the past masters of the blade wielding the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End against various powerful foes, unleashing profound bladesmanship of unpredictable flexibility. He ravished with joy inside. This was the blade intent he wanted to inherit!
“You’re celebrating too early. You haven’t seen anything yet!”
The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower’s lips curled into a smile.
“One With the Blade, A Madman at Path’s End!”
The flower-like blade suddenly bloomed furiously. Gorgeous petals upon petals inverted and wrapped around Li Qingshan’s hands as complicated patterns extended along his arms, covering his entire body in the blink of an eye. It was identical to the patterns on the blade. His skin shone with a metallic l.u.s.tre as if he had become a part of the blade.
Li Qingshan shuddered inside. He felt himself overlap with the figures of the past masters of the blade, and his sea of consciousness turned into a s.p.a.ce of blade intent. Great confidence surged through him. I can also unleash a technique like that!
The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End was no longer so difficult to wield anymore. He understood every single curve and pattern on it. The blade moved with his will, producing afterimages upon afterimages. It seemed like he was merely swinging it around pointlessly, but only after magnifying it thousands of times was it possible to make out the countless specks of dust in the air that had been gently sliced apart by the blade.
Cutting apart mountains was easy, but cutting apart dust was not!
The former only required strength, but the latter required subtle and wondrous bladesmanship!
“How’s that? Have you grown stronger? But this is nowhere near enough. I will completely unleash all of the potential within you!”
The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower laughed madly. Basically all of the asura that had died from madness had died to this move. She really had not gotten in their way as they fought. Instead, she helped them fight, except they would definitely approach the end of their path after the hysterical dance of madness.
“Sure!” Li Qingshan said.
The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower’s laughter halted. “How’s this possible!?”
“What’s so impossible about this?”
Li Qingshan smiled. Turning his sea of consciousness into the s.p.a.ce of blade intent did cause an extremely great mental burden. The furious blade intent left behind by the past masters was enough to drive even Asura Kings to madness. His murderousness also swelled, while his face became extremely twisted with viciousness, but his scarlet eyes remained clear and deep.
The results of the spirit turtle’s divination had left him surprised because there was unexpectedly no danger at all!
“Why haven’t you gone mad?” the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower asked in surprise.
“Probably because I’ve grown accustomed to the madness and the frenzy a long time ago!”