Chapter 178: "It was an illusion!"

If a sword cultivator can perfectly perform the sword moves, and also has enough speed in his moves, then he has the ability to challenge the cultivators with even a higher realm than his own.

This is one of the main reasons why Sword Cultivation is one of the most preferred ways of cultivation among all the cultivators.

To get a good sharpness in the moves, a cultivator must perform the sword moves as much as he can, and as perfectly as he can.

In this case, the speed of the moves doesn't matter. What the cultivators go after is getting the moves and attacks right.

Once this thing is set, then they can focus on speed.

Sword Cultivation Manuals are designed in such a way that the closer a cultivator gets to perfecting the sword move, faster he can perform it.

Thus, perfection in sword moves also results in better speed. 

It can be even said that these two main factors, speed and sharpness, are very much dependent on each other.

And as of right now, Ye Tian Yun was working on getting as close as possible to his regular state in performing sword moves, albeit without any Qi flow through his body.

After getting comfortable with the three basic sword moves, lunge, parry, and riposte; Ye Tian Yun then began to focus on performing them faster.

He knew of the way to stabilize his Sword Domain, and for that, he didn't need to do any fancy sword moves with cool-sounding names.

He only needed to focus on the basics and slowly integrate his Sword Intent in these basic moves.

The more he integrated, the better and easier it would get for him. After all, stabilizing his sword domain was just another phrase for how easily he could release and control it.

The more his control got over his sword domain, the better his chances of survival became if he ever faced enemies with higher cultivation, which was kind of inevitable.

And thus, Ye Tian Yun continued to perform the basic sword moves, very slow at the start, picking up speed as time passed.

It didn't take him long to get comfortable with the sword moves even without Qi flow through his body, after all, he had been performing the same moves ever since he was a kid. The moves were now embedded in his muscle memory.

If not for the absence of Qi, Ye Tian Yun was confident that he could perform these basic moves even while he was drunk.

After about an hour since the start, Ye Tian Yun slowly began to increase his speed of performing the sword moves. The faster he got, the more comfortable he felt.

And at one point he subconsciously began to release Sword Intent. 

Sword Intent is something that relies on experience and mastery over the sword.

Sword Intent contains the belief of the sword and this power was displayed through spirit energy to slash through the void. When one had comprehended something similar to the Sword Intent, they were the bane of spirit energy techniques.

A good example is Ye Tian Yun's ability to see through Jun Xie's illusion techniques.

It wasn't something unique to Ye Tian Yun, in fact, anyone with a good understanding and command over Sword Intent, or someone with high spirit sense could see through the illusion techniques.

However, such people were as rare as the phoenix.

After all, there are millions of cultivators on the continent, but the cultivators with Sword Intent were so rare that all the power would fight to death if they ever got a chance to recruit a disciple with such high talent in Sword.

And this is also the easiest way of making enemies with others in power - the one who has disciple with talent in Sword Intent, was usually the center of vile attention - it would only bring them more trouble because others in power wouldn't want to see them grow.

This was one of the main reasons why Sect Leader Su was not doing a public investigation to find the disciple who broke through the Sword Domain.

He wanted to do it as discreetly as possible and wasn't even planning to tell the other higher-ups of his own sect.

After all, a disciple who can reach the Sword Domain realm at such a young age has infinite potential, and he alone could one day change the destiny of the sect - for good or for worse.

Sect Leader Su, of course, wanted to find this disciple and make close ties with him, maybe even accept him as his successor or personal disciple, just so that this disciple could get closer to the Gracious Sword Sect in his heart.

After all, Sect Leader Su wouldn't get any personnel benefits by making that disciple his successor. He was doing this for his sect. He was doing it for the future.

However, if only he knew that the disciple that he was searching from in every corner of the sect, was currently cultivating in the Sword Stele Hall, and not to forget that this disciple was sent here by Sect Leader Su himself.

Unbeknownst to Sect Leader Su, Ye Tian Yun was the one who had broken through the Sword Domain realm. 

And with twists of fate, Sect Leader Su didn't know that the disciple that he was searching for and wanting to make his successor, was the one who had killed his son and was currently in his son's disguise at his own sect.

And as for the disciple in question, Ye Tian Yun, he was unaware of the fact that the news of his  breakthrough in the Sword Intent was now known to at least four other people in the sect.

He was ignorant about this and was currently releasing Sword Intent while performing the basic sword moves.

After releasing a considerable amount of Sword Intent, and feeling a surge in confidence, he focussed on his spirit sense and started to release his Sword Domain.

However, just then!

To his shock, everything around him began to disappear!

And only four words rang throughout his mind as he froze at one spot, "It was an illusion!"