OUTSIDE OF TIME

529 So Close, Yet Worlds Apart (1)

Xu Qing took a deep breath and silently sensed the Emperor Sword in his sea of consciousness. He had a feeling that the Emperor Sword had completely fused with him.

It became an inseparable part.

This feeling caused him to feel a sense of strength.

This was the enhancement brought about by the emperor-level cultivation art, and he also felt a sense of familiarity with the sword. This was a change brought about by his deep comprehension of the Emperor Sword.

He was familiar with every part of the sword’s structure, every inch of sharpness in the blade, and every stream of light flowing in its body.

However, this sense of familiarity was ultimately somewhat fleeting and unreal, like the reflection of the moon in the water. He still needed to continue studying and experiencing it until he finally turned the illusory into real, turning it into an instinct engraved in his soul.

“Only then can I advance to the second level and increase my comprehensive combat strength by one palace,” Xu Qing mumbled.

A long time later, he looked at his right palm. With a thought, piercing light spread out from the lines on his palm and rapidly gathered, gradually taking shape and forming a sword shadow.

It contained an aura of sharpness that seemed to want to slay all living beings.

It also had a vast and mighty aura, as if it could crush all the gods and demons in the world.

Xu Qing could sense that the emperor-level cultivation art of the Sword Holders wasn’t meant for protection in essence, but for killing. The baleful aura on it was extremely heavy.

This was a sword that slaughtered to protect.

Xu Qing understood and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. It resonated with the sword light in his palm and fused together.

Vaguely, he seemed to hear the sound of a sword cry. That voice contained familiarity and recognition.

Vaguely, he seemed to see the countless figures he had seen when he was comprehending earlier. Each figure was holding the Emperor Sword, smiling at him as they witnessed a successor who would walk the same past as them.

Xu Qing bowed toward the void.

He was bowing to this sword as well as the predecessors

From this moment on, he finally possessed two emperor-level cultivation arts.

Golden Crow Refines All Life could devour everything in the world.

The Emperor Sword could kill all living beings below the sovereign.

Although the latter still needed time to nourish if he wanted to erupt with strength that surpassed his own, he had formed the Sword Seed. Everything was just a matter of time.

Looking at the Emperor Sword formed by the sword qi, Xu Qing suppressed the waves in his heart. After a long time, he finally regained his composure, and a pensive expression settled on his face.

“It won’t be easy for me to nurture the Emperor Sword Art for many years, so the key for me is to turn it into one of my trump cards in every battle. I have to become more familiar with it and turn it from illusory to real as soon as possible and advance it to the second level to increase my combat strength by one palace.”

“Increasing the familiarity requires a sword…” Xu Qing suddenly understood. He unsheathed the command sword.

Looking at this sword, he found himself lost in thought. He came to realize another use of this sword.

In addition to being necessary for the Sword Holders’ daily needs and constructing the Sword Pavilion, this sword also had a hidden function, which was to increase familiarity with the sword for those who successfully comprehended the Emperor Sword.

This was because it… looked exactly the same as the Emperor Sword.

“As expected of the Sword Holding Ministry that has lasted to this day. Its every action contains profound meaning and foundation.” Xu Qing sighed with emotion.

“With such a foundation, I think in the countless years of the Sword Holding Ministry, a large number of Sword Holders have comprehended the Emperor Sword. Even if there aren’t any who succeeded on the first try, it shouldn’t be strange for them to succeed in two attempts.”

Xu Qing reminded himself that he couldn’t be complacent just because he had succeeded in two tries. After all, Kong Xianglong had also succeeded in two attempts.

At the thought of this, Xu Qing took a deep breath and walked out.

However, he didn’t know that the moment he successfully comprehended the Emperor Sword, the Palace Master, who was meditating on the 89th floor of the Prison Department, slowly opened his eyes.

The huge vertical pupil on his back suddenly opened.

“There’s another person who has comprehended the Emperor Sword in two attempts. His name is Xu Qing.”

A deep voice echoed, stirring up a storm on the 89th floor.

This voice was none other than the one which had spoken to the Palace Master after Xu Qing left.

The Palace Master fell into deep thought and calmly spoke a moment later.

“How’s D132?”

“That place is special. Although I’m the artifact spirit of the Prison Department, I don’t have the right to take a look. However, bad luck is already following Xu Qing around. Also, only you know the secret of D132. You can tell him directly. I’m also curious about how many secrets there are.” The voice in the storm transformed into a rumbling sound that spread in all directions.

“D132…” The Palace Master’s eyes revealed reminiscence.

“There’s more than one secret there.”

“However, I’ve never been biased. Everything depends on fate. If there’s still bad luck on his body in seven days, go and remove him from his post of D132’s guardian. Change it to some other cell. This means that he’s not fated with this fortune.”

The Palace Master calmly spoke and closed his eyes.

At the same time, in the Sword Holding Palace, Xu Qing was walking out.

“Since I’m here, I’ll make a trip to the medicinal shops to buy some poisonous grass. I can’t neglect my research in the Dao of Poison. Also, I have to buy some plain pills to study.”

Xu Qing soared into the air and headed straight for the capital.

At that moment, it was already late at night. Dark clouds shrouded the sky and thunder rumbled. It was evident that a storm was brewing and rain was imminent.

However, regardless of whether it was day or night, most of the shops were open. After all, the main customers were cultivators who didn’t have a particular time for buying goods.

However, the instant Xu Qing soared into the air outside the Sword Holding Palace and was about to step into the county capital, thunder rumbled in the sky. A bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the clouds and headed straight for Xu Qing, who was in the air.

This bolt of lightning looked like a tree branch, with countless forks that split off in all directions.

Its speed was extremely fast and its might was even more astonishing. It seemed like a heavenly tribulation had descended.