Chapter 1051 - The Studio of the Heart

In Profound Sky Academy, the flying serpent beat its wings. Baleful mists churned as the power of the formation spread outward, shaking the entire stretch of heaven and earth. It was fierce beyond measure.

Su Yi swung his sword and attacked, free and unrestrained, forceful and tyrannical.

The distant onlookers were long since overcome with astonishment, and they fled further away.

Let’s try the Laws of Oblivion next! On a whim, Su Yi changed the Laws circulating around him. The electric sword qi unleashed from the Profound Lightning Golden Bamboo Staff was instantly as boundless and overflowing as a current, with the weight of a primordial divine mountain.

When struck by the aura of oblivion, it was as if the soul and body were sinking into an endless abyss, unable to break free.

It was just as Su Yi anticipated. He’d achieved small success in the Laws of Oblivion too, and they weren’t any weaker than the Laws of Rebirth!

Yet another Law capable of contending with the power of Spirit Nirvana!? The old man in hemp was completely stunned.

After all, in the stars beyond, Law capable of contending with the power of Spirit Nirvana were all the supreme powers of their respective star realms!

Mastering any one of them made you an inheritor of the “will of the heavens” within your star realm. They were enough to let you carry out heaven’s will and suppress all other opponents within your star realm.

Yet now, a young man had mastered not one, but two Laws capable of contending with the Laws of Spirit Nirvana. This was far too terrifying!

There’s no way this is a cultivator of the Dark and Gold Star Realm! The old man in hemp was increasingly suspicious that Su Yi had extraordinary origins. It seemed he was from some major sect of the stars beyond the Wilds and its associated worlds. Or perhaps, he was the scion of an ancient celestial clan!

“My young friend, there’s no grudge between us, so why must we fight to the death? How about we let this end here and have ourselves a nice chat?” The old man in hemp said in a low voice. He wanted to get a handle on Su Yi’s background.

Su Yi didn’t so much as pause to think before refusing him. “Whoever loses will have his soul searched, and that’ll be the end of it!”

Even as they conversed, he swung his sword with increased ferocity. The flying serpent’s wails rang out endlessly.

The old man in hemp snorted coldly, and his expression darkened. “Very well. I’ll just have to knock some sense into you!”

He swung his sleeves, and a swath of resplendent, misty light surged forth, like cloudy ink at the tip of a painter’s brush. In a flash, he’d outlined yet another flying serpent!

Two flying serpents attacked together, like two mighty foes joining forces. Su Yi was instantly in grave peril.

However, this obviously took quite a toll on the old man in hemp. Beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his face was a bit pallid.

Even so, he single-handedly directed two flying serpents into battle, all the while circulating the formation covering Profound Sky Academy. He really was terrifyingly capable.

“This is bad! That fellow Daoist is in danger!” One of the Profound Sky Academy higher-ups cried out in concern.

“Everyone, attack together. Take that old codger down!” A white-haired elder in Confucian robes charged. Murderous intent billowed around him. “I cannot bear to do nothing but watch as our benefactor risks his life alone!”

He spoke with firm conviction, but he’d only just charged into the fray when Su Yi’s voice rang out. “Stay put!”

The elder in Confucian robes was stunned. Is he… telling me to mind my own business?

Yu Changming and the others were flabbergasted too. Why would that young man refuse our aid even at a time like this?

But then, an unbelievable scene played out before their eyes.

Su Yi swung the Profound Lightning Golden Bamboo Staff, and one of the massive flying serpents shattered like paper mache!

The crowd was wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

The disparity was far too great. Earlier, Su Yi had been so badly suppressed that he could barely raise his head.

Who’d have thought he’d turn around and crush a flying serpent in a single swing?

“Don’t tell me… was he holding back and feigning weakness earlier?” Yu Changming and the other scholars were all wondering the same thing.

When one of the flying serpents was destroyed, the old man in hemp suffered a backlash. He coughed up blood and staggered back, surprise written all over his face. How could that attack be so terrifying?

If that boy had such power, why did he hide it all this time?

The old man in hemp was a bit befuddled. He couldn’t even imagine what was going on here.

Just as I thought. The aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells can suppress whatever Law that guy’s using, just like it can suppress the Laws of Heavenly Prayer and the Laws of Cosmic Silence, thought Su Yi.

This result wasn’t at all surprising to him.

Now let’s try ‘Withering and Flourishing’! On impulse, Su Yi switched his power of the Laws once more. The energy fluctuations of a strange cycle of growth and decay now emanated from the Profound Lightning Golden Bamboo Staff.

Life force boiled over, utterly dazzling and resplendent.

Death qi descended, utterly desolate and grim.

Life and death, withering and flourishing. They formed an endless cycle, creating terrifying energy fluctuations of the Grand Dao.

These were the Laws of Withering and Flourishing born of the source of the Sacred Tree of Samsara. Just like Rebirth and Oblivion, its mysteries represented a portion of the Laws of Reincarnation.

“A third Law capable of countering the power of Spirit Nirvana!?” The old man in hemp could no longer keep his cool, and he couldn’t help but cry out.

He dared say with certainty that if any of the “almighty experts” of the stars beyond saw this, they too would be shaken, and they too would struggle to remain calm.

Why? It was simple: if Su Yi controlled one Law capable of countering the power of Spirit Nirvana, that implied that his Law was the supreme power of his star realm of origin, its “will of the heavens.”

But Su Yi controlled three similar powers of the Laws. That was like controlling the Celestial Laws of three different star realms!!

This was far too terrifying.

So, the old-timer’s power of the Grand Dao is called the Laws of Spirit Nirvana, Su Yi thought as the battle raged on.

“Nirvana” was a type of recreation and transformation, while “spirit” could be interpreted as “spirituality”, or as “the spirits of all living things.”

Does the name Spirit Nirvana imply that his Laws let him recreate and transform living things? How wondrous! Indeed, the flying serpents he created earlier were fierce and lifelike, almost exactly like the real thing.

The ‘flying serpents’ are just a manifestation of the old-timer’s power of the Laws, but they can kill Profound Serenity cultivators with ease!

And that’s despite him only having early-stage Profound Serenity cultivation himself. With the Laws of Spirit Nirvana, he’s already a terrifying, near-invincible expert within his realm.

Otherwise, how could he have trounced Profound Sky Academy so badly?

Even as he pondered, Su Yi’s movements never slowed. He circulated the Laws of Withering and Flourishing as he fought the flying serpent.

But off in the distance, the old man in hemp was completely frantic. “Fellow Daoist, they say you can only bond through conflict. We’re both from the distant stars. We’re like countrymen! Why must we fight one another?”

Yu Changming and the others were flabbergasted. Is this old-timer from outer space wimping out?

Between now and the start of the battle, the old man in hemp had changed how he addressed Su Yi three times.

At first, he contemptuously referred to him as a “kid.” “Kid” became “young friend”, and now, “young friend” had become “Fellow Daoist.” This was clear proof of how dramatically his mentality had shifted!

“Don’t wimp out now! Have some guts!” Su Yi shouted. He’d yet to test out the Laws of the Far Shore or the Laws of the End; he didn’t want the old man in hemp to back down just yet.

“....” The crowd was at a loss for words.

The rebuke left the old man in hemp a bit stunned too, and his face flushed red.

But he was inwardly increasingly frantic. He could tell that there was something off about the young man’s behavior. It was as if he were using him for practice!

“Hmph! I’ll let you act wantonly today, but I’ll settle the score with you next time!” The old man in hemp snorted carefully, then turned and fled without the slightest hesitation.

The old thing’s actually got quite keen eyesight. Su Yi scrunched up his brow, but he no longer held back.

Boom!

He waved the Profound Lightning Golden Bamboo Staff and cleaved through the second flying serpent with ease.

This tyrannical scene made the old man’s heart quiver. Indeed, this brat is incomparably insidious. He was holding back to test his abilities against me!!

The old man fled even faster than before, his figure flashing through the air as if teleporting. Moments later, he was already shooting toward the distant dome of heaven.

“You think you can escape?”

A calm voice rang out, like the low hum of a sword. It slammed ruthlessly into the old man’s soul.

The old man felt a rending pain in his soul, and he saw stars. He staggered on his feet and almost fell from the sky.

"This is bad!” The old man in hemp panicked and immediately tried to defend himself. Misty light burst around him, outlining a scroll painting of a towering divine mountain. In a flash, the mountain appeared out of nowhere, right in front of him.

Boom!

A streak of unstoppable sword qi shot toward him, emanating a mysterious, unfathomable aura. One strike, and the towering divine mountain split in two as if it were made of tofu. It transformed into a rain of light and scattered.

And the slash continued, cleaving into the old man in hemp with a splash of blood.

His soul had only just escaped his corpse when Su Yi reached out and grabbed it.

“I admit defeat!” The old man in hemp immediately caved and said frantically, “Fellow Daoist, I won’t lie to you: if you search my soul, I’ll die, but you’ll suffer a backlash too!”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”

The old man in hemp was so desperate to stay alive that he set aside all other concerns and launched into a rapid-fire explanation.

“Every disciple of the Studio of the Heart has a scroll painting of remnant will in their souls. Our founder places them there personally, and they burst with utterly destructive power on contact!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised.

But before he could think it over, the old man in hemp’s soul quivered, and he let out a miserable shriek.

Su Yi’s heart shook. He immediately relaxed his grip and moved further away.

But he was ultimately one stop too late.

Boom!

The old man’s soul exploded, and terrifying destructive power swept outward.

It was an utterly terrifying power of the soul, like an avalanche or tidal wave. It slammed into Su Yi’s sea of consciousness, giving him no chance to resist.

The moment it struck, Su Yi caught a faint glimpse of a mysterious scroll painting unfurling in his sea of consciousness. Its surface reflected a multicolored, mysterious realm.

An elegantly handsome man in white sat casually inside, only to shoot to his feet as if alarmed.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Then, the mysterious scroll painting shattered with a bang, transforming into radiant light and fusing into the man’s body.

A moment later, he was utterly dazzling, as dignified as a god or immortal!

“You tried to search the soul of a disciple of my Studio of the Heart? How foolish.” The man in white sighed.

It was just a voice, but it was full of dignity and majesty, as if it represented the will of the heavens. It shook Su Yi’s sea of consciousness, leaving it roiling and churning.

The sense of a lethal impending threat made Su Yi stiffen.

“Remember this: those of the starry skies call me the Painter. Dying beneath my imprint of will is your good fortune; you could accumulate good karma for eight lifetimes without ever being so lucky.”

As this calm, leisurely voice rang out, the man in white raised his hand and pressed down.

Boom!

Su Yi’s sea of consciousness churned, and he felt as if a windstorm of destruction were assailing his soul.

But it was in that moment that the strange hum of a sword rang out.

Su Yi’s churning sea of consciousness had been on the verge of collapse, only to calm down in the blink of an eye.

The man in white looked flabbergasted. He gazed into Su Yi’s sea of consciousness and caught the faint outline of a Dao sword wrapped in mysterious divine chains.

“Oh? Interesting…” the man in white murmured.

A moment later, he silently split into pieces, which disintegrated into countless fragments and dissipated.

Only the humming of a sword remained in Su Yi’s sea of consciousness.