Eli Shan and the headmaster unleashed their sword intent with such force that onlookers felt as though the very air around them had turned into the sharpest sword, cutting them into millions of pieces.

Overwhelmed by the pressure, they leaped from the practice field to an adjacent mountain peak, where they could observe the intense battle from a safer distance.

From their vantage point, they slowly realized that although Eli Shan didn't back down, he was at a clear disadvantage in terms of the sword intent. But what they didn't know was that Eli Shan had not practiced his sword intent for even half a month but still he could stand before the headmaster's meticulously honed sword.

As the intensity of the fight increased, a smile appeared on the faces of both Eli Shan and the headmaster. At this moment, words were unnecessary for them; their connection transcended speech. Through the language of their swords, they communicated on a profound level, understanding each other's every intention, thought, feint, and strike.

On the sidelines, Hao Yu, the son of the city lord, had already accepted his fate as a side character and didn't try to make anything difficult for Eli Shan.

Watching the fierce battle between the headmaster and Eli Shan, he felt like an idiot. How could he have been so foolish as to provoke a monster like Eli Shan? It was already his good luck that Eli Shan didn't find trouble with him, otherwise in the whole school, even the status of the son of the city lord wouldn't have been enough to save him.

As the battle continued, Eli Shan, who was initially at a disadvantage, seemed to become better. His movements became more fluid, his strikes more precise, his sword intent more dense and sharper. With each passing moment, he appeared to grow stronger and more confident.

Sensing his growth with each passing moment, the headmaster couldn't contain his astonishment. "Monster," he breathed, a mixture of admiration and disbelief coloring his voice.

Soon, Eli Shan drew upon every fiber of his being and erupted with the sword intent that reached the pinnacle of the first realm.

As the battle raged on, the headmaster sensed something special about Eli Shan's aura. It felt like he was on the verge of a breakthrough, almost reaching the second level of sword intent. Yet, it felt like something was holding him back, like an invisible barrier.

He pondered for a moment, then looked at Eli Shan with a serious gaze. "Little Eli," he began, "Your sword intent is now completely condensed. However, if you want to break through to the next realm, you must refine it with the help of sword aura."

Amidst his concentrated sword intent, Eli Shan looked at the headmaster with a bewildered gaze. "Sword Aura?"

The headmaster nodded, offering his elucidation, "Much like sword intent, there is sword aura. It's an energy that aids in refining your sword intent." As the headmaster continued his explanation, he demonstrated the concept with a graceful motion. Suddenly, a brilliant white aura emanated from him, taking the form of a sword and enveloping his figure. Its power was so palpable that it seemed to have the potential to reduce onlookers to mere dust with just a glance.

"Later if you reach the higher realm of sword aura, at that time you wouldn't even need to use sword intent. Your sword aura would be enough to turn a cultivator without this formidable energy or equivalent strength into naught but dust!"

Eli Shan's eyes sparkled upon learning about it. He observed the sword aura that enveloped the headmaster's body and closed his eyes in deep concentration.

"Little Eli," the headmaster advised, "Sword aura is unique for every individual. Delve into yourself, and sense the nature of your aura. Consider its color, shape, and strength. Understand yourself and determine what resonates as your true sword aura."

In response to the headmaster's guidance, Eli Shan went into deep thought. "What is the form of my sword aura? What is its shape?"

He delved even deeper into his thought, "Does a sword aura truly require a fixed shape? Can a rigidly defined sword aura truly possess profundity? No! My ideal sword aura must transcend such limitations!" Pouring all of his focus into this vision, a transparent, shapeless aura began to materialize around him.

"Now, about color... What does it truly signify? Isn't it a reflection of our essence? Isn't it all about our attributes? What attribute defines me perfectly?" Lost in thought, his mind wandered through the memories of the soul universe, the big dragon, and the essence of his being. Eventually, he couldn't help but thought of the only attribute in his mind.

Darkness!

Boom!!!

Suddenly, a tremendously powerful dark aura erupted from Eli Shan, sending shivers down the spines of onlookers. It felt as though a mere gaze from him could turn them to dust.

Standing amid the intense dark aura, Eli Shan slowly opened his eyes, a smile gracing his lips. With a confident look in his eyes, he whispered, "Condense!"

Boom!

As the word left his mouth, an immense amount of sword intent began to condense around him and destroy the surroundings. This time, it was more refined and sharper. Gradually, its strength intensified, steadily climbing to its zenith. With a powerful surge, it shattered the confines of the first realm, swiftly reaching the second realm of sword intent.

The headmaster observed everything and grinned. "A real monster. I am glad he is not one of my enemies. But whatever, sparring with him is truly exhilarating."

With astounding speed, he surged forward, not giving Eli Shan time to completely control his newfound power and in the blink of an eye, he threw a fist towards him.

Eli Shan also did not back down and condensed his wind intent and sword intent into his fist, building up an tremendous pressure. He also moved forward with an astonishing speed and unleashed a powerful punch towards the headmaster.

Both of their mightiest punches drew near, colliding with a tremendous force and sending a colossal wave from their point of impact to the entire school's ground.

The mountain they stood upon split into two from the immense pressure, then slowly began to reduce into a cloud of dust and debris. The force of the collision was so overwhelming that even the array that had once enclosed them for safety purposes, shattered into countless pieces.

Even the spectators, including Mu Fan, couldn't stand against the overwhelming pressure and were propelled away by the sheer intensity of the collision.

As the force of their collision subsided, both Eli Shan and the headmaster were forced to take a step back in the air and look at each other with a smile and understanding.

For true warriors, their fists spoke deeper than the words. This held true for both Eli Shan and the headmaster. Through their fists, they understood each other's inner thoughts and loneliness.

The headmaster, still wearing a smile, sighed with a sense of contentment, "I lost."

Eli Shan respectfully bowed before him, expressing his gratitude, "Thank you for your guidance, teacher."

Upon hearing the word 'teacher' coming out from the mouth of Eli Shan, the headmaster felt a surge of happiness. "Little Eli, You possess a remarkable strength and I dare to say that for someone of your age, I've never seen anyone as formidable as you. However, you still have to refine your intent and aura. With thorough polishing and stabilization of your skills, even though I have a higher realm but because of your innate potential, coupled with your strong body and perfected skills, I might not be your opponent."

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Eli Shan listened to him carefully and nodded seriously, "I will remember your words, teacher."

The headmaster, completely content with Eli Shan's reaction, looked below and saw that the mountain peak where they were fighting had disappeared. "Now I will need money for the maintenance of this mountain and array, you will owe me this remember."

Eli Shan wanted to retort but the old man suddenly vanished with his words.

He looked at the place where the headmaster vanished and roared in anger, "You old fox, hmph!"

He controlled his anger and took a deep breath. Then, he looked behind and saw that all the students standing on other mountain peaks were looking at him with reverence in their eyes.

Looking at them, Eli Shan smiled proudly and puffed out his chest.

Feng Qiang flew near him, her eyes full of shock. "You are already so strong? Why are you still in this school? I believe that you can even defeat the city lord now."

Eli Shan shrugged and shook his head. "The Headmaster is strong. I know he didn't use his full power, otherwise, I don't know what would have been the result of this fight."

Feng Qiang thought he was just being modest but Eli Shan couldn't shake the feeling that the headmaster was more than just a cultivator of the Zun realm!

As Eli Shan was lost in thought, everyone sensed a profound distance separating them from him. At this moment, they knew that they couldn't approach Eli Shan anymore.

He was like a colossal mountain in front of them, a mountain that they could try to climb but no matter how much they try, they would not see its peak.

Eli Shan patted Feng Qiang's shoulder, making her the center of attention of everyone. "I've gained some valuable insights from sparring with the headmaster. I'm going to focus on my cultivation for a while now."

Feng Qiang nodded firmly and replied, "I also don't want to lag too far behind you. I'll be putting in my utmost effort in cultivating under the headmaster."

Eli Shan nodded with a contented smile on his face. Then, he began to walk with a sense of pride, making his way back to his mountain peak. There, he settled onto his bed, ready to enter in a focused state of cultivation. As he closed his eyes, he started to assess and calculate the insights and gains he had acquired from the battle.

"I will go back to the soul universe and ask something from Big Brother Dragon."

Inside the soul universe, before a colossal dragon...

"Big brother dragon, do you know anything about swords?"

Little Kai heard his little master refer to him as 'big brother' and felt a surge of happiness. "Little Eli, I am a dragon and I've never used a sword. However, if you're interested in learning about body techniques, I'd be more than happy to teach you."

Eli Shan shook his head, determination in his eyes. "For the time being, my focus is on mastering the ways of the sword. It's strange, but it's like my soul is urging me to grasp the sword art. The very mention of swords sends a thrill through me."

Little Kai mused inside him, "This must be a result of the bloodline he inherited from the master. He too cherished the sword more than anything in his life."

The big dragon looked at the tiny Eli Shan like he was looking at his own son and suggested, "If you want to learn the sword art, then you can follow me to an ancient sword cave."

Eli Shan gazed at the big dragon, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Ancient cave?"

The dragon replied, "You'll understand it once you see it for yourself."

With that, the big dragon enveloped Eli Shan in his aura and in an instant, they disappeared from their place and reappeared before a vast, ancient cave.

The dragon looked toward the cave and instructed, "You might find what you seek about swords in there, but you will have to be careful because even I can't intervene inside."

Eli Shan's face lit up with joy as he sensed the overwhelming sword intent emanating from the cave. "Thank you so much, big brother dragon," he exclaimed, his gaze fixed on the entrance of the cave. With excitement coursing through him, he dashed inside and shouted, "I'm going in now!"

Little Kai watched his little master running inside with a sigh.

As Eli Shan stepped into the cave, an overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over him. It was as if everything within welcomed him with open arms.

He continued to walk and looked around in curiosity. Before long, he spotted a darkened room up ahead and made his way towards it.

Upon entering, an incredibly dense sword intent immediately enveloped him. It was so overpowering that it felt as though he might be reduced to dust in an instant if he won't be careful.

He wondered aloud, "Such formidable and polished sword intent! But who is the owner of this cave? Are there more living beings in my soul universe? And how come there is a big universe inside my soul?"

He pondered over these mysteries, and when he couldn't find any answers, he sighed, "I'll think about these matters when I'm strong enough."

With that, he delved even deeper inside the room until he could barely withstand the pressure of sword intent. There he found a place to sit and started to understand the sword intent.

With the presence of such potent sword intent in the surroundings, it was easy for him to increase his understanding of sword intent into another realm.

"If my calculations are correct, then with my current strength, I should be able to stay in my soul universe for at least one month, right?"

With that, he didn't waste any time and immersed himself in the cultivation of the sword.

As Eli Shan delved even deeper into his understanding, the entire sword intent within the room began to swirl around him and was unconsciously absorbed by his body.

Soon, ten days passed in the blink of an eye and Eli Shan had already absorbed an immense amount of sword intent and effortlessly broken through to the third realm of sword intent.

On this day, he opened his eyes and a smile graced his face. "Now, I can go even deeper inside this room."

He stood up and began to walk, but suddenly he felt as if something from deep inside the room was calling out to him.

At first, he thought it was an illusion, but as he continued to walk, it became clearer and more distinct.

As he ventured further in, he used his cultivation to look deeper but soon he realized that no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn't see beyond a ten-meter radius. The oppressive darkness of the sword qi obstructed his vision, limiting his view.

After a few breaths of walking, he again reached his limits and couldn't walk further. He knew that if he pressed on, no one would be able to save him from his death. With caution in mind, he sat down once more, resuming his efforts to comprehend the essence of the swords.

As he immersed in his cultivation, the sword intent before him seemed to come alive, dancing and swirling, imparting the profound wisdom of the swords to him. As he persisted in his sword cultivation, numerous paths and techniques of the swordway became clearer and more distinct to him.

It was almost as if the person who had left the cave intended to pass on his entire understanding of swordsmanship to him.

After absorbing the sword intent of surrounding, Eli Shan noticed that this time it didn't increase the realm of his sword intent, instead it made his sword intent more refined and polished.

After another ten days passed, he felt that if he were to engage in a battle with the headmaster using his current understanding of swords, he would undoubtedly have the power to cut the headmaster into pieces.

Thinking of this, Eli Shan sighed, "It's so lonely to be invincible."

Just as Eli Shan sighed, a dragon's voice resonated, suddenly reaching his ear, "Then come out and fight me, I will help you destroy your loneliness into millions of pieces."

Eli Shan was taken aback by the sudden voice and instinctively scratched the back of his head, letting out a strange, nervous laugh. "Haha, I was just joking, just joking," he stammered.

Then a thought struck him, "Big brother, didn't you mention earlier that you couldn't enter this cave?"

The dragon snorted, "I can't physically enter due to the dense sword qi, but I can hear and see what's happening inside. If someone as powerful as me were to enter, it wouldn't just be sword intent at the level you're experiencing, but something on a level that could obliterate even me. Understand?"

Eli Shan nodded in understanding and thought, "This cave is really profound, to think even Big Brother is afraid of this cave..."

With that, he stood up and made his way more deeper.

After walking for a while to the deepermost area, he saw a stone tablet, floating in the air, enveloped in an incredibly potent sword aura.

Eli Shan's eyes filled with lust looking at the stone tablet and unconsciously he reached out to grab it, but the moment his hand came close, he felt an overwhelming surge of power that made him feel as though he was going to be torn into pieces. In surprise, he hurriedly withdrew his hand. "Such an intense sword aura," he muttered, his expression grave.

But no matter what, he couldn't back down from it, because he sensed something special about this stone tablet and was determined not to leave without it.

"What should I do about it?"

After some careful consideration, he suddenly got an idea. "I am aware of my unique ability to absorb all kinds of power. I should try absorbing the aura covering this stone tablet too."

He sat down near the floating tablet and closed his eyes. At first, he didn't have much confidence in himself. However, before long, a smile spread across his face because he could feel the sword aura from the stone tablet gradually absorbing into his body.

However, as the absorption continued, his face twisted in pain. The sheer volume of the sword aura of the stone tablet was so overwhelming that it was too much for him to bear, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on, his determination unwavering.

The sword aura from the stone tablet was also working wonders, refining his sword intent to the highest degree. The sword intent that was once unpolished now gleamed with perfect condensation and polish.

Despite the numerous cuts and scrapes on his body, he endured it all and continued to absorb every bit of sword aura with unwavering concentration.