Chapter 1152 Sword Body
After turning away from Jin Xi, Yuan returned to focusing on the masked man with Divine Gaze.
Very quickly, he realized something.
'T-This is… His muscles and bones are enveloped in Sword Aura!' Yuan cried inwardly after realizing this.
However, that was just the beginning.
"No… Even his blood cells are enveloped in Sword Aura?! How is that possible?!" He exclaimed out loud, his eyes filled with interest.
"Did Brother Yuan just say his blood is enveloped by Sword Aura?" Xiao Hua's voice resounded a second later.
"Yes… It seems like everything inside his body, from his muscles to his blood cells, are covered in Sword Aura." Yuan confirmed.
"Do you know what is going on, Xiao Hua?" He then asked.
"Un. He has achieved what is known as a Sword Body. This is only possible when one unifies the very essence of Sword Aura with their own body. Only those with extreme understanding of Sword Aura and talent could achieve a Sword Body. Since ancient times, there has never been more than 10 Swordmasters that have achieved a Sword Body at any given time within the entire Nine Heavens, and less than 100 Swordmasters have ever achieved this state." Xiao Hua explained to him.
"Is that so… A Sword Body, huh?" Yuan mumbled in a dazed voice.
Then he realized something, "Wait… Does this mean that he's telling me to achieve a Sword Body right now?! How am I even supposed to do that?"
"If he's your incarnation, you should be able to achieve it, Young Master." Feng Yuxiang said.
"How long does it usually take for one to achieve a Sword Body? Assuming they have what it takes to even achieve it." Lin Yingying asked out of curiosity.
"Hard to say, but nobody would be surprised even if it took those with a Sword Body over ten thousand years to achieve it. That's just how extremely rare they are."
"Over ten thousand years?" Yuan swallowed nervously upon hearing this.
Even if he was a genius, this trial will probably take him a long time to complete. Hopefully, he'll finish it before the tomb closes.
"Xiao Hua, do you know the process of attaining a Sword Body?" He asked her the most important question.
"Sorry, Brother Yuan, but there is very little information about Sword Bodies in general. Unless you learn from those with a Sword Body, nobody can really say for sure what it takes to achieve it."
"No worries. I guess I'll start by unifying my Sword Aura with my body— at least try to."
And without saying anything, Yuan took a seat in front of the masked man and began inspecting his body again with Divine Gaze.
However, even after staring for many minutes, Yuan still didn't know where to start.
'How do I even unify my Sword Aura with my body? Which part of my body do I start from?'
Eventually, Yuan just started by releasing his Sword Aura, enveloping his entire body with it.
The Sword Aura would gush outwards, even creating ripples, but no matter what he tried, Yuan couldn't get it to go inside his body.
Minutes turned into hours, and hours quickly turned into days.
Within a blink of an eye, six days have passed since Yuan entered the Sword Temple.
"What's going on inside? It's almost been a week since he went inside. Most people come out after a day or two. I hope nothing happened to him…" Tian Yanyu sighed in a worried tone while her eyes were glued to the Sword Temple, unwilling to look away until she saw Yuan's handsome face come out.
"Have you not been watching him for the last few trials? You should know by now that he's not the type to die easily. Save your worry for something that's actually worth worrying about." Her mother shook her head.
Despite sounding cold, she also showed her confidence in Yuan with such words.
"I know, but I cannot help but worry."
"You sound like his mother. Heck, since when were you the type to worry so much about others? Are you really my daughter? Where did my selfish and cheeky little brat go?" Her mother looked at her with suspicious eyes.
"W-What are you talking about?! Do you have any idea how much he's helped our family? The least I can do is worry about him!"
"Helping our family? Everything he's done up to this point was mostly for you! I'm actually shocked that he hasn't outright proposed to you yet."
Tian Yanyu's face immediately flushed with redness.
If they looked at it from that point of view, Yuan's action would make more sense to them. But to be fair, there's no way anybody would have guessed Yuan's true reason for helping them. In fact, even if Yuan told them, they wouldn't have believed him.
A full week eventually passed.
'He wants to achieve a Sword Body before the tomb closes in less than half a year? Hmph. Not even the Master could do such a thing, much less this greenhorn. Master was considered as the number one genius in the Nine Heavens during his era, and it still took him a little over a hundred years to achieve his Sword Body.' Jin Xi sneered inwardly at Yuan's ambition and ignorance.
Shortly afterward, Jin Xi's eyes gradually widened as she watched the masked man suddenly open his eyes and stand up, before walking behind Yuan and sitting down again.
'What is Master doing all of a sudden?' She wondered inwardly.
Yuan wasn't aware of the masked man's movements, as he was too absorbed in his own thoughts, almost as though he was in trance.
Meanwhile, after taking a seat, the masked man lifted both of his arms and gently placed his palms behind Yuan's back, looking as though he was trying to help Yuan cultivate.
'It can't be! Don't tell me he's trying to—' Jin Xi almost couldn't believe her eyes.
Moments after the masked man's action, Yuan's Sword Aura that was gushing outward gradually began to weaken. However, if one had Divine Gaze, they would be able to tell that the Sword Aura was actually permeating into Yuan's body.
'M-Master's guiding him! But why?!' Jin Xi exclaimed inwardly, her jaw dropped.