Chapter 87: Supreme True Intent
“So that means the most important thing in martial cultivation is willpower.”
Lu Sheng spoke with a thoughtful look.
From Lu Chunyuan’s words, he could clearly tell that the power of the Supreme Grandmaster’s true intent was by no means something an ordinary grandmaster could rival.
In this world’s martial cultivation, willpower was everything.
“Of course. As a martial artist, the most important thing is to possess a will that never yields.”
“Without will, no matter how formidable your martial arts may be, you are nothing more than a walking corpse.”
Hearing Lu Sheng’s understanding, Lu Chunyuan nodded in approval.
Then he gave an example and said to Lu Sheng:
“Take Duan Zhengfei, the current number one on the Heavenly Ranking, for instance. The reason he became the top name on that list at the age of forty”
“was above all because of his unwavering will.”
“That is why, after becoming a Martial Sovereign, he was able to rise at once to the very top of the Heavenly Ranking.”
Eight years ago, after Si Mingyue became a Grandmaster in the Divine Ruins, the one who should have inherited her place as first on the Heavenly Ranking was Duan Zhengfei’s grandfather—
namely Duan Tianhe, who had secretly advanced to Grandmaster level in the Western Regions and had then stood second on the Heavenly Ranking.
But after word of Si Mingyue’s breakthrough spread, Duan Tianhe was soon challenged by Xia Yinglong, who was also in Wildzhou, and was defeated by him.
It was precisely at that moment that the newly ascended Martial Sovereign, Duan Zhengfei, rose abruptly, defeated Xia Yinglong, and became the new number one on the Heavenly Ranking.
Although his cultivation made him the target of countless challengers over the past eight years, every single one of them was defeated by his Justice-Severing Blade.
Some were even crushed so completely by the terrifying blade intent that their martial will broke apart, and they fell into utter ruin.
Meanwhile, through these years of victories, Duan Zhengfei had become, without question, the strongest man beneath the Grandmasters of the present age.
What he relied upon was nothing other than his own martial will.
“To judge what is right and wrong in others, one must first judge what is right and wrong in oneself.”
“Those who still carry such judgments in their hearts all become spirits beneath my blade.”
Reciting those four lines, Lu Chunyuan sighed.
“How many people in this world do not have right and wrong in their hearts?”
“Duan Zhengfei severing right and wrong—this man’s Justice-Severing Blade truly can cut away the judgments of all under heaven.”
As the current number six on the Heavenly Ranking, Lu Chunyuan had never met Duan Zhengfei because he was responsible for the Martial Academy, but his understanding of the man was by no means shallow.
Through the descriptions of some close friends, and by comparing records with others, Lu Chunyuan could see clearly that—
he was not as good as Duan Zhengfei.
Between the two of them, whether in inner force cultivation or in their comprehension of heaven and earth, Lu Chunyuan—who was already over a hundred years old and old enough to be Duan Zhengfei’s grandfather—was undoubtedly more refined.
Yet in the most important aspect, martial will, Lu Chunyuan was not as pure as Duan Zhengfei.
Although Duan Zhengfei had still not become a Grandmaster at this point, all Martial Sovereigns and Grandmasters in the world knew that—
this man was already walking the path of the Supreme Grandmaster.
His goal had always been to condense martial true intent and become a Supreme Grandmaster.
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“Duan Zhengfei, first on the Heavenly Ranking.”
Hearing Lu Chunyuan’s assessment, Lu Sheng finally understood why that man could become the number one on the list.
And he also dimly understood how precious the Primordial Unity True Intent he had comprehended truly was.
As expected, after citing Duan Zhengfei as an example, Lu Chunyuan said:
“Lu Sheng, before you had grasped your own intent, you were already able to sense the Primordial Unity True Intent left behind by Emperor Jing”
“So your current intent must be founded upon the Primordial Unity True Intent that Emperor Jing left behind.”
“With such fortune, so long as you continue to study the Primordial Unity True Intent, whether in condensing intent or mastering intent, none of it will be difficult for you.”
“You may even have a very real chance of comprehending the Grandmaster realm’s law intent.”
“It can be said that as long as you keep studying it and grasp more of the Primordial Unity True Intent”
“the road to Grandmaster level is already open before you.”
“You will have a very good chance of becoming a Grandmaster in the future.”
Looking at Lu Sheng with satisfaction, Lu Chunyuan felt deeply gratified.
For him, being able to instruct a descendant of the Lu clan who had a very real chance of becoming a Grandmaster was an honor beyond compare.
Because of that, he understood even more clearly how much importance Lu Wanshan placed on Lu Sheng—
a descendant with the potential to become a Grandmaster was not something even the Lu clan of Great Jing had in abundance in any generation.
Such a person naturally had to be carefully nurtured, lest he stray onto the wrong path.
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“Then can I follow this path and master the Primordial Unity True Intent?”
Unlike Lu Chunyuan, Lu Sheng was not so pleased. He frowned and said:
“As far as I know, those who follow the path of the Supreme Grandmaster have never actually become Supreme Grandmasters.”
“If I keep comprehending the Primordial Unity True Intent left by Emperor Jing, I may indeed have a better chance of becoming a Grandmaster, but it will also be harder to break free from the limits of the Primordial Unity True Intent.”
“But for me, who aspires to tread the road toward immortality, becoming a Supreme Grandmaster and shattering the limits of this world is the thing I most want to do.”
“He and Duan Zhengfei are the same: his goal has always been the Supreme Grandmaster.”
“Master the Primordial Unity True Intent?”
Seeming to hear Lu Sheng’s intention, Lu Chunyuan frowned, but still gave him an example:
“The Venerable Clear Void of the Void Heaven Sect was once acknowledged as the man who had the strongest mastery of the true intent left by a Supreme Grandmaster in all the world.”
“Indeed, according to the comments of certain Grandmasters, the Void Heaven True Intent he comprehended was already very close to that left behind by the Ancestor of Void.”
“But until he lived to six hundred and twenty-six and died of old age, he never managed to make his own intent affect the real world and become a Supreme Grandmaster.”
“Even after the Hunyuan King achieved great mastery in martial arts, the person generally recognized as second only to Emperor Jing in this world was my Great Jing Lu clan’s Hunyuan King, not this Venerable Clear Void.”
“He failed to do it himself—yet you still want to master the Primordial Unity True Intent?”
The lesson of Venerable Clear Void had indeed left the powers that inherited the traditions of Supreme Grandmasters deeply uneasy.
They undoubtedly possessed the most formidable inheritances in the world, but that very fact also imposed a restraint upon them.
If they could not break through the barriers set by the true intent of a Supreme Grandmaster, then for all their lives they would never be able to become one.
This was also why, back then, Lu Zhengyang had taken the initiative to seek a battle with the Blade King of the Long River, allowing his original intent to be broken—because only through that shattering and rebuilding could he take one more step forward from the very edge of perfection and become the first person after Emperor Jing.
So although he had understood what Lu Sheng meant, Lu Chunyuan was not optimistic about his idea.
A man who had not yet even become a Grandmaster was already thinking about how to break free from the confines of the Primordial Unity True Intent.
For Lu Sheng, such thoughts were rather too early.
Thus, after answering Lu Sheng’s question, he went on to cite many more examples of those who had comprehended the true intent left by Supreme Grandmasters but ultimately failed to become Grandmasters, and he solemnly warned Lu Sheng:
“What you need to do now is, while comprehending the Primordial Unity True Intent, accumulate inner force as quickly as possible, sense the laws of heaven and earth, and once you reach unity of man and heaven, advance to Grandmaster level as soon as you can.”
“Only after becoming a Grandmaster and possessing several centuries of life can you qualify to explore your own path.”
“Otherwise, neither your lifespan nor your enemies will slow down to wait for you.”
“The current number one on the Heavenly Ranking, Duan Zhengfei, is already in grave danger precisely because he is exploring the path of the Supreme realm.”