Chapter 951: The Half-Opened Door

On the path of swords in the Sky Tower...

Qin Sang was immersed, battling two swordsmen at once, his sword wheel flashing against the brick walls. The swordsmen on the path of swords were all top experts of the Sword Dao, teachers in their own right, able to easily spot the flaws and weaknesses in Qin Sang’s swordsmanship.

Qin Sang swung his sword without reservation, comprehending the Sword Dao, and felt his swordsmanship had advanced greatly once again. Within the realm of Sword Light Division, he had not truly reached the end. Perhaps for this very reason, he had never been able to grasp sword force, unable to find the path leading toward it.

As he fought the swordsmen, he was also watching and learning, his mind sparking with new insights that he immediately tested within his sword wheel. After countless attempts, sometimes the sword wheel’s power surged, forcing the two swordsmen back with ease.

At other times, he fell into bottlenecks, trying every method, the sword wheel flickering uncertainly, even collapsing altogether. Fortunately, his external incarnation followed closely and intervened in time to rescue him. Stumbling yet moving forward, Qin Sang never ceased.

Clang!

A sharp clash of steel rang out. The sword wheel severed the sword from a swordsman’s hand.

Swish!

The sword tip pressed against the man’s throat. The swordsman clasped his fists in salute, admitted defeat, and retreated into the stone wall.

Qin Sang held his ebony sword, waking from the trance, realizing they had reached the end. Only the final two gatekeeping swordsmen remained, after which he would leave the path of swords.

Shaking his head slightly, Qin Sang let out a long breath. He felt he had gained much, his swordsmanship rising by another stage. Once back, if he continued to ponder, he might even touch the threshold of sword force.

"You only need to keep one occupied," Qin Sang instructed his incarnation.

The incarnation, without any astra, could not defeat a peak Core Formation swordsman whose swordsmanship was extraordinary, but it could keep one occupied, leaving Qin Sang to defeat them one by one.

Swallowing a few pills, Qin Sang adjusted his state to its peak. Exchanging a glance with his incarnation, they stepped shoulder to shoulder into the final stretch of the path of swords.

The next instant, two figures flashed out from the stone walls, swords in their arms, faces expressionless as they stared at Qin Sang. The moment they appeared, Qin Sang suddenly felt a crushing pressure and grew solemn. These two swordsmen were exceedingly strong.

Whoosh!

The ebony sword burst forth from stillness, transforming into a sword wheel in an instant, tearing toward one swordsman. At the same time, the external incarnation moved, its true essence forming armor and seals, striking at the other swordsman.

A great battle erupted. The two swordsmen attempted to flank Qin Sang, but one was blocked by the incarnation. Qin Sang only needed to face one. After only a few exchanges, the incarnation fell into disadvantage, forced into defense, yet managed to preserve itself without danger.

Qin Sang glanced over twice, then turned his full focus to his opponent. His sword wheel shone like the bright moon. That swordsman was no weaker, his sword trembling and splitting into countless lights, his sword qi flowing and converging at will, like a mighty river rushing through the sky.

Seeing this, Qin Sang’s eyes sharpened. His opponent was formidable, having pushed swordsmanship to the peak of this realm, nearly brushing against the threshold of sword force. Yet rather than alarm, joy stirred in him. This was the best moment to comprehend the sword, promising even greater rewards.

Boom!

The sword wheel clashed with the river of sword qi, surging up tremendous waves.

The aftermath struck the stone walls, immediately after which the bricks shone and absorbed the force.

Qin Sang deliberately drew his opponent away from the other battle so as not to hinder his external incarnation.

Rumble...

Sword qi crisscrossed, filling the corridor.

The ebony sword struggled within the long river of sword qi, and Qin Sang, exerting his utmost to control it, felt the strain. In pure swordsmanship, he was clearly at a disadvantage, yet he persisted, studying every move and form of his opponent with hunger.

The passageway was incredibly resilient. Despite the fierce battle, not a single mark was left behind. Before long, he and his opponent had shifted positions without knowing when. They had exchanged hundreds, even thousands of moves. Qin Sang was already showing signs of defeat as he was forced back against the wall.

His sword wheel had grown faint like a dying flame, the ebony sword almost bereft of space to maneuver. Still, Qin Sang felt no urgency, his focus wholly immersed in battle.

Bang!

The ebony sword was knocked aside. Qin Sang’s eyes flickered, as if waking at last. The phoenix wings on his back lit up azure, and in a flash he vanished.

Clang!

The opponent’s sword pierced through Qin Sang’s afterimage, slamming into the wall.

The swordsman was the epitome of a sword cultivator. His face betrayed no change at the miss. Retrieving his blade, he instantly located Qin Sang’s true body, merged with his sword, and pursued with relentless precision.

Such scenes repeated again and again. Whenever Qin Sang was at his limit, he relied on evasion techniques to escape, and in this process, his comprehension of the Sword Dao deepened further.

"I have grown familiar with their swordsmanship..." Qin Sang exhaled slowly, a faint smile appearing on his face. His voice resonated firm and clear, "Thank you very much to the senior who created the path of swords, for guiding my cultivation!"

Even as his words fell, Qin Sang’s aura changed drastically. At last, he unleashed his full strength, his body itself transforming into the sword wheel. In an instant, his whole body seemed to turn into a sharp sword, striking fiercely at his opponent.

The swordsman hastily raised his blade to block, only to feel a tremendous force crash down. He was instantly forced back several zhang.

At the same time, a three-colored evasion light suddenly burst forth from Qin Sang, and he abandoned his current opponent. His figure flickered, appearing above the head of the other swordsman. The sword wheel descended.

At that very moment, the external incarnation, which had been defending all along, also erupted. True essence surged violently, ramming toward the swordsman’s chest.

That swordsman was formidable as well. Even when besieged, he remained calm, retreating swiftly. With a pull of his sword, he even attempted to face both opponents at once. But before Qin Sang, his movement was still too slow.

His sword strike had not yet fully formed when the sword wheel arrived. With a deafening crash, his weapon was knocked flying, and he himself was driven back by a crushing force. The incarnation arrived at that instant!

Boom!

The swordsman barely managed to block one palm from the incarnation, left in utter disarray.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Qin Sang swung the ebony sword backward, intercepting the hidden strike from his previous opponent. After a brief entanglement, he repeated the same tactic.

The two swordsmen changed their moves repeatedly, yet in the face of Qin Sang’s peerless evasion technique, they were helpless. With his chest caved in, one swordsman lowered his head, clasped his fists, and turned into azure light that melted back into the stone wall.

In just a moment of breaking their techniques, the situation was reversed. Qin Sang and his incarnation encircled the last swordsman, and before long, they brought him down as well.

"I finally passed!" A smile appeared on Qin Sang’s face. He knew that although these swordsmen possessed extraordinary swordsmanship, they were ultimately lifeless constructs, incapable of cunning.

Still, the battle had not been as easy as it looked. When he turned his inner vision inward, he found that his true essence had been consumed greatly. He hurriedly took out several spirit pills, swallowed them, and sat down to regulate his breath.

His incarnation’s body was also covered in sword wounds and likewise swallowed pills to heal. What lay beyond the path of swords was unknown, and Qin Sang intended to wait until he had recovered before moving forward.

After a short while, both Qin Sang and his incarnation stood again. With the incarnation leading and Qin Sang following behind, they ascended the stone steps.

The staircase stretched straight upward, disappearing into the darkness, its surface unnaturally smooth as if countless feet had worn it down. The Sky-Eyed Butterfly appeared on Qin Sang’s shoulder, gazing at the top of the staircase, where it discovered a door that was half-opened.