Chapter 110
The Han Legacy
Tobias was performing a tea ceremony for Hun Jia to express home truly sorry he was for getting her daughter killed, when Hun Fen awakened from her dao enlightenment. The past few hours had been a hectic whirlwind of events as he stabilised Lung Mei, informed Hun Jia of what had happened, investigated the body, and then transported them all away from Ming City.
Tobias wasn't entirely sure what Hun Fen had done when she picked up his training sword, but he knew that keeping her inside the city would be a disaster. She lacked the cultivation to control what she had become.
She was a living sword.
A being who was both human and sword, capable of expressing both. It was the worst possible scenario, and the one Tobias had been trying to avoid.
Tobias turned to the other mountain peak as the wind suddenly picked up. They were one hundred miles from Ming City, in a place where no one would get hurt.
Tobias had stripped Hun Jia's home of furnishings and placed everything in the cave he'd fashioned behind them. He didn't know how long they would be here, but it would be months. He didn't need more than the clothes on his back, but Hun Jia did.
Lung Mei was on the other mountain peak, watching over Hun Fen. She hadn't finished recuperating from her injury, but Tobias had got to it in time, so it wouldn't grow worse from neglect. He'd tried to get her to stop and recover, but she was too worried about Hun Fen and the fact that she had called her crazy. Lung Mei wanted to apologise.
Hun Jia's eyes followed his gaze.
She'd been terrified for her daughter ever since he had gone to report her condition. He hadn't told her much, beyond needing to move her, because he couldn't gauge the problem until her daughter woke, but she understood the problem was not trivial.
Tobias set down the teapot mid-pour and raised his hand, weaving a spell that would allow Hun Jia to see her daughter waking on the other peak.
"She's awake," Tobias said, nodding to the floating lens beside them. "Lung Mei is explaining to Hun Fen that she can't move while she's there."
His disciple was a quarter of a mile away from Hun Fen, projecting her voice through her spiritual sense, weaving it through the storm of dao attacks emanating from Hun Fen's body. It was still closer than Tobias would have liked. But she needed to be that close to Hun Fen in case she was so powerful she tore the mountain out from under her.
Hun Fen listened to her instructions and remained perfectly still, but the moment she woke, her clothes exploded. Her consciousness was now always in constant interaction with the dao of the sword. The rise and fall of her chest as she breathed projected various aspects of the dao in every direction, cutting the world around her. Every breath was a cut, every twitch a lunge.
She had reached the living sword state, which was Tobias's biggest fear. She was a danger to everyone around her until she gained control. The only danger she posed to herself was if she destroyed the mountain under her.
Hun Jia stared at the image in silence, watching as deep cuts appeared in the mountain around her daughter. "Where are her clothes?"
"She destroyed them the moment she woke. She won't be able to wear clothing until she can control her transformation. Lung Mei has warmed the air, so she won't be cold."
"She must be frightened."
Tobias enhanced the image to show the grin on her daughter's face as she lay there listening to Lung Mei's instructions.
Hun Jia groaned. "Why does she look so happy?"
"She has attained the living sword state. She can sense that she no longer needs to hold a sword to perform her tricks."
Hun Fen opened her mouth to ask a question, and a wall of dao slashes was projected from her mouth into the sky, cutting apart her words. The force behind the dao slashes was so powerful that even her mother could see the blades. Hun Jia pressed her lips together and balled her hands into fists.
Hun Fen tried to say something else, but no sound came out, just dao slashes. Lung Mei explained the problem.
Hun Jia glanced at Tobias. "Is this as bad as you feared?"
Tobias sighed. "Worse. She's reached at least the third rank of the living sword, likely the fourth. No one in her father's family has reached the first rank as a mortal, and only a few ever reached the fourth, and they were sages."
Hun Jia glared. "You have been keeping secrets from me."
"I did not know her parentage until I spoke with Patriarch Ming, and he supplied me with her father's cultivation manuals. I was planning to bring it up when she gained more control over her tricks."
Hun Jia relaxed. "You must have been close with his family for them to trust you with their cultivation method."
Tobias shook his head. "We are old enemies. One of his ancestors came to me for guidance before they attempted to breakthrough to the sage realm and offered me their family techniques as compensation."
Hun Jia frowned. "Why would an enemy seek your help?"
"Because I judge individuals, not groups. He was also going to his death, but he didn't know that. His father was the 2nd Emperor of The Three Kingdoms. The man was a tyrant who had corrupted his son's cultivation methods so that they would perish if they attempted to enter the sage realm without his approval. It was easier to give him what he wanted and let him kill himself in the attempt than fight him."
"You didn't warn him."
"I would have if he had the courage to raise his sword against the tyrants in his clan, but he was a coward at heart. He would have become a weak emperor, one who might have led The Three Kingdoms to ruin. His death was also not assured, just suspected based on his father's personality."
Hun Jia paused. "Hun Fen's father died in a cultivation accident."
Tobias shook his head. "It wasn't an accident. His cultivation method was subtly changed so that he would die when he tried to form the second layer of his core."
Hun Jia sighed. "He was murdered by his clan."
"Likely because he was a sword saint of a branch family. The Han clan's cultivation method is designed for sword saint prodigies. It's the only way they can reach the sage realm, and their bloodline drastically increases the chances of them appearing."
"He was a kind and considerate man and not like those you describe."
"So were his ancestors."
"I hear a deep respect for them."
Tobias nodded. "They did their best to make a better world for all those around them. They created the greatest era of peace this continent has ever seen. They are who I think of when I think of your daughter's lineage. They are who I hope she will one day be."
Hun Jia glanced at the image as her daughter began to stand. Each movement of her body caused more cuts to appear in the stone around her. Once she was on her feet, she began lashing out at the heavens above, sending dao slashes capable of killing foundation realm cultivators into the heavens. For every slash she intentionally projected, dozens went off in different directions.
"She will not be able to eat while awake," Tobias explained. "Lung Mei will have to feed her in her sleep." As Tobias watched, the dao slashes grew noticeably stronger. "I was mistaken. She's reached the fourth rank of the living sword, perhaps the fifth."
"What is the living sword?"
"Do you understand the concept of nirvana?"
Hun Jia nodded. "It is said to be a state of inner peace."
"It is a deep comprehension of the dao of peace which creates this inner peace. It is an understanding of the dao of peace that is so clear that it becomes a part of you. Nirvana is the inner version of this dao comprehension. Peace Master So has achieved an external state of Nirvana. He has no inner peace himself, but he brings peace to the world around him. The living sword is like this. When Hun Fen summoned my training sword to her hand, she held one of the most powerful connections to sword dao there is. When she used it to destroy the evil treasure, she instinctively drew on the higher realm dao concepts trapped within, which most cannot sense. She saw the mountain's peak but had to journey from the foot to reach it, comprehending much that lay between. What she comprehended gave her a clear view of the dao of the sword and made it part of her. The heavens do not distinguish between one who understands dao and the dao itself. Her comprehension has transformed her body into the training sword she picked up. She is the focus."
"You spoke about ranks."
Tobias could hear her concern. "Dao enlightenment is structured by realms. There are nascent soul, sage, and immortal realm enlightenments. Once you have achieved an immortal realm enlightenment, these enlightenments are separated into ranks."
"I don't understand."
Tobias conjured a dao sword. "This sword is my dao understanding of what a sword is. Though it looks plain to your eyes, it encompasses every aspect and function a sword has. However, this sword cannot create the blades that your daughter is creating, because those aspects of the dao are not a part of it."
Hun Fen glanced at the lens before returning her gaze to the dao blade.
"A sword can be used to block, parry, cut, slash, cleave, faint, restrict, deflect, and many other things. Each aspect is associated with a rank and the depth of one's understanding. The higher the rank, the more aspects one understands of the dao of the sword."
"Is a higher rank more dangerous?"
"Only to those around her."
"Are you certain?"
Tobias nodded. "Dao cannot harm itself. She will never be in danger from what she can do. It would take dozens of core realm cultivators to scratch her. Her dao will automatically parry or block any harm that comes her way, but only while she is awake."
"Why awake?"
"It is our conscious thoughts that make us who we are. Those thoughts only exist while we are awake."
Hun Jia watched her daughter practice. "How long will it be before I can hold her?"
"If Hun Fen were anyone else, I would tell you that you would not be able to hold your child until she is a woman, but Hun Fen defies everything I know about the limitations of cultivators, so I cannot judge with so little to go on. We will have to wait and see."
"Can you send my voice to her?"
Tobias nodded. "I can, but please don't tell her where we are, or she will look in our direction. I'm not confident I can protect us from a direct assault."
"You can't?"
Tobias shook his head. "You may speak. Anything you say will reach her ears, but there will be a delay."
"Mama is here. You aren't alone, Sweetheart."
Tobias wove the message through the storm of dao attacks to Hun Fen's ears. A few seconds later, Hun Fen turned around, looking for her mother."
"I can't come to your side right now, but I'm watching over you with your teacher."
Hun Fen smiled and waved her hand in all directions, sending out a cascade of dao attacks. Her mother's eyes widened as she watched the damage the action caused to the mountain.
"You can go back to your training, but if you ever need to hear my voice, just wave at the sky."
Hun Fen's smile grew, and she waved at the sky.
Hun Jia smiled at the image and continued talking.
Thirty minutes later, Tobias was covered in sweat and struggling to focus. Dao whispers were thundering in his ears as he did his best to relay her message. Dodging around so many dao attacks for so long was incredibly difficult and kept giving him insights into sword dao and the dao of dodging.
Tobias didn't like to train. He liked to practice. Practice was easy. Training was about pushing yourself to your limits, and he was certainly doing that right now.
Fifteen minutes later, his nose began to bleed. "I'm about to collapse. Say goodbye."
Hun Jia glanced over. "I need to go, Sweetheart. Your teacher's nose is bleeding. I'll talk to you in a bit."
Tobias gasped for breath as he moved into the lotus position, clinging to the insights he had gathered during their conversation and closed his eyes. "Please do not disturb me unless it's life-threatening."
He took another deep breath and then began to use his dao cultivation method to piece together the insights and form a comprehension. The world around him faded.
***
When Tobias opened his eyes a few hours later, he had a slightly deeper understanding of sword dao. Tobias expanded his aura, taking in the world around him and saw Lung Mei trying to parry dao slashes with her daggers. She had seen how much conveying the message to Hun Fen had helped him and was using the opportunity to train. Hun Jia sat to the side, reading a novel that she had brought with her. A pot of stew was simmering over a small fire, but she was far from relaxed.
Tobias removed the blood from his face with his aura and watched Hun Fen's progress. Her dao slashes had grown stronger over the last few hours, and Tobias didn't expect that to stop anytime soon.
Once he had begun to understand her capabilities, he'd known that offering her his sword at the tournament was a mistake. She was decades away from safely being able to pick it up. The potential within his training sword was simply too powerful, and her instincts too strong. He couldn't consciously comprehend a fraction of what lay within, but that hadn't stopped her from being able to do so instinctively.
Being able to destroy a nascent soul realm treasure with it was beyond his expectations, which was why her transformation was so unstable. She was a living dao storm, except without the dao interactions. She had barely any control over her comprehensions, and every thought and action projected them on the world.
Tobias took a deep breath and relaxed his body.
Hun Jia looked over and then turned back to her book.
Tobias smiled. "It's okay to speak with me now."
Hun Jia nodded and closed her book. "May I speak with my daughter again? Your first disciple informed me that she is incapable of doing what you did for me and that she would train until she can do so."
Tobias nodded. "Give me a few moments to recover, and I will convey your words to her."
Tobias rose to his feet and stretched, sending chi through his body to make sure everything was working properly. Comprehending dao was delicate work, and if you made a mistake, it tended to change you. These changes could be subtle, but those subtle changes could cause your cultivation to deviate in directions you didn't want to. When done correctly, they were beneficial. The insights he had collected mostly revolved around the dao of dodging, and he could sense that his chi cycling was slightly smoother than before, like it was dodging the small burs that had been in its path.
His foundation was slightly stronger than before. If he continued to cycle, he would remove a few impurities from his body that he hadn't been aware of before. Tobias has no interest in doing so. The change would be barely noticeable and wasn't worth the effort.
Tobias got himself a drink of water, swallowed a few energy pills to fuel the coming ordeal, and then returned to his seat. "I'm ready."
***
Hun Jia did not want her daughter to feel alone, not while she was awake, and Hun Fen did not like feeling alone. But there was only so much you could say before you ran out of things to talk about.
Hun Jia's words began to wander off, as small, delicate tears rolled down her cheeks. Hun Fen had been alone on a mountain for over a day, unable to interact with anyone, except through words. She was desperate for attention, wanting to be held, but no one could hold her.
All anyone could do was keep her company, and her mother had run out of things to say.
Tobias walked to Hun Jia's side, sat down, and placed his arm over her shoulder. Such an action would have been promptly rejected by anyone else, but the Blossoms and Flowers of the Silver Blossom Pavilion were much more liberal with touch and words. This familiarity was something Tobias only shared with his clan and disciple, so he was grateful for their openness.
Hun Jia leaned into his side as she wept. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what to talk about. She can't communicate with me. And I have nothing else to tell her."
Tobias removed a book from his storage ring and placed it on her lap. "Then read her this."
Hun Jia wiped her eyes. "She doesn't like stories."
"It's not a story. It's my clan's understanding of what cultivation is. It will give her the basic education she needs to begin learning cultivation."
Hun Jia sucked in a breath and tried to hand it back. "This is too precious. I can't accept."
Tobias didn't accept. "I was going to ask you to read it to her when the time came. This is only a slight acceleration of my timetable."
Hun Jia wiped her cheeks again, trying to keep tears from falling onto the book. "These are your clan's secret teachings. I'm not worthy of reading them to her?"
"And yet you are the only one who should."
"I don't understand."
"Your daughter is destined for immortality. She is destined to walk the lonely road. She will watch generations come and go. The rise and fall of empires. She has tens of thousands of years ahead of her, and most of that time will be without you by her side."
Hun Jia swallowed.
"Hun Fen is going to look back on her choices one day and wonder if she made the right decision, if it wouldn't have been better to simply live a mortal life beside you, accepting the end that came with this decision. When she does, I want her to remember you reading to her, sharing countless books about cultivation, so that she could understand what she needed to build her foundation. It will remind her that you supported her decisions, that you wanted this life for her."
Hun Jia stared at Tobias as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "You would share your clan's secrets with me just so my daughter remembers me more fondly?"
Tobias nodded.
Hun Jia reached out, pulled Tobias's face towards her, and kissed him on the cheek. The action sang with the dao of beauty, conveying her heart, and that he could trust her.
"Thank you."