"I'll flip to the next page!"

Xu Xiaoshou did not dare to risk his life and agreed without hesitation.

​​

He had witnessed firsthand the formidable power of the man's two fingers and also seen the destruction that the Sword Worship Technique attack brought.

If he were to let this sword cognition explode in his energy center, he feared that his body would not be intact in his death.

The spiritual senses in his mind turned the pages of the ancient book automatically with a flick.

Before Xu Xiaoshou could see the content clearly, it suddenly broke apart. It shattered into starlight before integrating with his Yuan Mansion.

Enlightenment was born from the depths of the spiritual altar.

Xu Xiaoshou's expression changed suddenly.

As he expected, this Sword Observation Manual was a spiritual technique cultivation method.

The existence of the spiritual technique cultivation method was equivalent to Xu Xiaoshou's Breathing Technique.

The higher its level, the faster the cultivation speed of the Spiritual Cultivator would be.

Unlike other cultivation methods, this Sword Observation Manual also was the most fundamental spiritual technique used to build a strong foundation.

But its function was quite different from the cultivation method of ordinary spiritual techniques.

There was no mention of spiritual energy cultivation at all. Instead, it colorfully introduced a swordsman method from ancient times.

"The Ancient Sword Technique?"

Xu Xiaoshou lightly spat out those words, somewhat unexpecting it.

He had heard of the Ancient Sword Technique.

His pure sword intent battle route was one of the paths in the Ancient Sword Technique.

He did not understand this before talking to the masked man and looking up information from the classics. Xu Xiaoshou later learned that this Ancient Sword Technique had its moment of glory back in ancient times.

At that time, spiritual energy did not exist in the heavens and earth.

As for Spiritual Cultivators, one could not even catch a glimpse of their shadows.

At that time, the so-called swordsmen were genuine swordsmen befitting of their name.

They repaired swords, understood swords, and even slept with their beloved swords until they developed an emotional connection with their swords. This bond resulted in the birth of spiritual intelligence in their sword.

It was an arduous journey. Once cultivated, its power was tremendously terrifying.

One could tell by observing Xu Xiaoshou's 10 Sections of the Finger Sword and the battle between the scruffy-looking man's Acquired Stage against four Sovereign Stages.

The downfall of the genuine ancient swordsman was due to the Ancient Sword Technique, which by consensus was too difficult to practice.

After the rise of spiritual energy, the Ancient Sword Technique was abandoned by the times. Only a few cultivated it.

People were interested in manipulating spiritual energy and pursuing powerful spiritual techniques. They could achieve an effect almost equivalent to the Ancient Sword Technique through spiritual strength.

It was only natural that they would opt for the easier road.

Even so, the powerful Ancient Sword Technique faced extinction because it was exceedingly difficult to cultivate. However, this did not mean that one could not do it.

On the contrary…

If two opponents had the same cultivation level, the one who understood the sword intent and cultivated the Ancient Sword Technique could instantly kill the other.

That was the power of the Ancient Sword Technique.

What surprised Xu Xiaoshou was not the detailed introduction of the Ancient Sword Technique in the Sword Observation Manual.

It was because this ancient book documented far more knowledge than merely the Ancient Sword Technique.

The introduction turned out to be the pièce de résistance of the Ancient Sword Technique. It was accumulated over thousands of years and then condensed into a crux through thousands of Great Paths, thus producing this discovery—a nugget of wisdom that transcended generations.

"Sword cognition!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked a little intimidated.

According to this classic, the tremendous power of the sword cognition had far exceeded his imagination.

The scruffy-looking man only used a tiny sliver of the sword cognition to launch his phenomenal strike.

The Sword Observation Manual turned out to be an Ancient Sword Technique Cultivation Method that claimed to be able to cultivate endless sword cognition.

To speak of it, this could no longer classify as a spiritual technique cultivation method.

It was the essence of the Ancient Sword Technique from ancient times. It was an ultimate cultivation method that gathered, condensed, and distilled the learnings of all predecessors.

"Who created this marvel?"

Xu Xiaoshou was already considerably impressed by the introduction of this cultivation method.

He did not know much about the Ancient Sword Technique.

even so, he knew that sword cognition transcended generations and crossed ages. This discovery did not exist at all in those ancient times.

Even the Ordinary Power of Thought realized by Xu Xiaoshou through 10 Sections of the Finger Sword was a small-scale outcome that transcended generations.

In the past, these things had never existed.

"According to Elder Sang, 10 Sections of the Finger Sword is Bazhun'an. Then, the Eighth Sword Deity would have created it..."

"This Sword Cognition is similar to Ordinary Power of Thought, but the quality is as different as day and night."

"So, was this also created by the legendary Eighth Sword Deity?"

"Hmm…"

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for a moment.

First, he could not ignore the fact that the Eighth Sword Deity has met his demise. Moreover, speaking of that man alone...

Could his tattered appearance be connected to the existence of the illustrious and highly revered Eighth Sword Deity?

If they had no relation at all, then where did this guy obtain such a terrifying Sword Observation Manual?

"Are you yet another fan of the Eighth Sword Deity?" Xu Xiaoshou had a surprised look on his face.

Before this, there was the masked man. Now, it was this scruffy-looking man.

What kind of existence did this the Eighth Sword Deity possess?

If any random follower of his was so powerful and terrifying...

Could this world accommodate his existence?

"Perhaps, the masked man is this scruffy-looking man, and these two are Bazhun'an."

Xu Xiaoshou was fearful of his thoughts.

He shook his head.

"It should not be possible."

When he saw the man that day, he did consider whether the guy was the masked man.

However, the dissimilarity was unmistakable from his words and behavior. The contrast was too strong.

Although the masked man was terrifying, he always lost his words and was tongue-tied each time he faced Xu Xiaoshou. He could not exasperate Xu Xiaoshou as he did to him.

It was impossible that their previous encounters had changed his character or that he had a split personality disorder.

Besides, that masked guy was only obsessed with abducting Xu Xiaoshou to be a Saint Servant.

He had blacked out that day. If the scruffy-looking man was the masked man, would he not find himself a sack and kidnap him being presented with such a perfect opportunity?

Xu Xiaoshou knew that his way of the sword prowess brought forth by the Sword Technique Expertise was terrifying. If that man truly appreciated his talent, he would not have been able to leave the man's hold on him to return to the inn.

Shaking his head, Xu Xiaoshou stopped these meaningless thoughts.

Although, he was curious as to why the man suddenly appeared and treated him so well.

Maybe, he was simply attractive to others.

Elder Sang was like that, and the masked man was like this. Adding the scruffy-looking man to the list did not seem like an exaggeration.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the Sword Cognition above his energy center.

After the ancient book shattered into starlight, it was calm again. The sword cognition wandered along Xu Xiaoshou's body quietly, seeming to be actively contacting his spiritual source.

"What's going on?"

Xu Xiaoshou had a splitting headache. He wanted to get rid of the sword cognition, but it was not something he could remove.

It was indifferent to his Breathing Technique.

After further observation, he realized that the sword cognition had no intention of causing harm to others. Xu Xiaoshou shifted his focus to the Sword Observation Manual again.

Whoever hung the bell on the tiger's neck had to untie it.

If sword cognition was cultivated, perhaps this sword cognition from the man could be expelled from his body.

Or could it be absorbed?