Chapter 50: The test of will

Long Tao finally stepped into the Advance level intent. This was a huge breakthrough in his path of martial arts. Long Tao was elated by this achievement, when the sudden appearance of a certain thing brought him back to the reality. The picture was that of a cultivator who stood in the middle of an open area. He swung his word and just kept swinging. Long Tao didn't understand why the slab had such a normal movement recorded in it. But he still looked and concentrated on the movement. Suddenly a weird thought came into Long Tao's mind. When he looked at the sword movement from the changed perspective, he found out the difference. Each sword movement, although followed the same path and procedure, had different characteristics to them. One was fast, the slow, then medium. One had fluidity while the other was rigid. The swings continued. But after a period of time the swings seems to have changed. The pattern was same. Long Tao didn't understand the difference at first, but when he saw the whole figure and the body actions he understood. The factor that had changed now was the force behind the swing. This was another great insight for Long Tao. First there was change in speed. Then there was the change in direction and fluidity. Now it was a change in strength. Long Tao understood the essence, and the strength behind the swings began to alter and change in strength. Soon enough the artist was using the maximum output of strength, his body could produce. After a continuation at the maximum output for some time, the body began to change the strength input again. He began to go in the reverse path, decreasing the amount of strength he fitted into each strike, until the only thing remaining was the bare swinging of the sword. The whole cycle was repeated in the head of Long Tao multiple times. Long Tao now started to involuntarily practice in the real world, while still visualizing. At first it was difficult for him to match the speed of the figure in the projection, but as he put in more and more efforts, the swings grew up to flow in coordination of the movements of the figure.

"This boy is really talented.", the only one speaking now was the Dean. All the others were long mesmerised by the actions of Long Tao and chose to see the activity with absolute silence. The Dean too became to introspect his ability to see through the child. This child had monstrous comprehension abilities, was having a very high natural body type and his Qi and Soul power capacity were high too. Also, the genuine thinking of this boy was quite intelligent. If he was able to comprehend the true essence of the sword move that he was currently practicing, he would have to showcase the test video in the core hall. This kind of talent was capable enough to be mentioned within the core hall. Only after that will the decision regarding the child's future can be taken. He hoped that Long Tao would be able to understand the essence.

Long Tao was finally able to synchronize with the movements, but he found out soon enough that there was something missing in the feeling. He continued the swings. 10 times, 20 times, 30 times,100 times, 200 times, 300 times…1000 times, 1500 times. The cycle continued, but Long Tao was not able to feel the same feeling he got when he watched the figure. He was stuck at the moment. He started analysing the moves and compare them to the figure in the memory. The movements were all similar, then what was making the difference in all of it. He continued the cycle. A day passed, then two. After 7 days, finally Long Tao managed to understand what the missing element was. He halted his movements. "Had he ended his comprehension.", the elders began to speculate. But Long Tao was not moving. The impatience in the hall began to rise as more and more wanted to know whether or not Long Tao had finished his cultivation. But soon enough Long Tao started showing activity. The cycle was again continued, but this time there was an additional ingredient in it.

"So, the brat managed to understand it. Good for him��. The Dean said in an appreciative voice. He turned to the elder in charge" You will give me the video of his whole test. I need to show it in that place." The vice-leaders understood, what the phrase 'that place' meant. They were not surprised. The talent that Long Tao had shown in the exam was eligible for such a show.

5 days to end the period-

Li Meng (Long Tao's alias) , who was cultivating in the thunder god pool , had 5 more days in here. He had managed to open 22 secondary meridians with the help of the thunder pool, and his body was being continuously baptized by the aura in here. He opened his eyes" So the missing element was the integration of the sword intent into the sword.". He then closed his eyes again and concentrated in this training. But suddenly an idea crossed his mind." What if I do it that wat? The thunder pool's effectiveness has long diminished now, and the only thing it is providing me at the moment is large amount of Qi to be used. What if I use the Qi with integration of the sword intent to barge into the meridians? Wouldn't that be more effective." Wouldn't that be more effective. Long Tao tried it out. The Qi rushed up in a much higher aggre4ssive mode and hit the meridian blockage. The impact caused Long Tao to nearly lose consciousness. He spurted out a lot of blood. This was a dangerous move. As he speculated the inner of his body he was shocked by his discovery. His meridian blockage was quite open now, but his meridians suffered damage due to the sword Qi. He needed to heal first and then try again. This was another kind of tempering.

Star Emperor Academy-

Long Tao now started integrating his intent into the sword movements, and started picking up pace slowly. This was the real essence behind the sword movement. The movements began to align again with the pace of the figure. Long Tao continue the cycle of execution. Finally, he managed to reach the perfection stage execution level of the cycle. This time no name originated in the mind of Long Tao, but the images were gone and he was back to reality. He sat down, recovered some of his energy and then proceeded towards the next slate. Soon enough he had comprehended the rest of the wills to the advance level. Long Tao now had not only 6 intents, but all of them were in the advance stage of 1st level. All of them could be integrate with weapon or body, released along with the flow of the movement. Long Tao took the highest time period to comprehend the hammer intent, because it was the one, he had used least out of all. The event marked the end of this phase of the incubation test. Long Tao knew that his action must have created a large commotion within the inner circle of the academy. He didn't regret his decision as he wouldn't get such a good opportunity in the near future, so why not make the best use of it.

Thunder-god academy-

Li Meng had completed his seclusion, managing to open 3 more meridians. The total meridians now stood at 25. He was confident that with the resources given to him by Qin Wentian, and the thunder energy collected in the Crimson Lord world, he would be able to break through in the body cultivation and open up all the meridians. He exited the pool, seeing his master standing just at the exit." How was your cultivation brat?". Long Tao bowed in respect and reported" I have managed to temper my body to a very high extent. I feel I am ready to start the gathering of Qi and be on my way to break through the Qi master realm.". Hearing this Bu Puti's eyes shinned with bright light. He had indeed made the right choice to let the brat cultivate here. He gave a ring to Li Meng. "take these resources and go to your residence. You are start the break-through immediately. Long Tao bowed again and proceeded towards his residence.

Star emperor-

"You have completed this level. Proceed to the last phase." The voice of the elder in charge was heard by Long Tao. He complied and proceeded to the next hall. This hall was a big one, with numerous seats surrounding a stone monument in the middle. "You are to sit on any of the seats here and as soon as you do the trial will start. This is the last phase of the incubation test. "THE TEST OF WILL"."