Book 4, Chapter 201: Learning About Your Saber’s Will

The saber incubation room was fully enclosed and only had flower-shaped lanterns keeping it dimly lit.

The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered in a thick, wrinkled layer of grayish-white rubber. It was squirming slowly and moved under Chen Chuan’s feet.

The room looked like the organ of some living creature.

At the center was a saber-shaped groove that was about four meters long. It had clear liquid with unknown use.

The moment Chen Chuan stepped into the room, he felt the Frost King Saber tremble minutely. Wisps of light spilled out. Its mutated tissue stirred awake as if knowing that this environment was good to it.

Fenghe Shou said, “Sabers are like us. If you want your saber to get used to your power, you need to make it transform. Aside from a few exceptions, the saber owners need to reach a breakthrough first. Then, they can use their strength to push the blade through its transformation with a higher chance of completing the process.”

“Have there been cases of sabers going through a breakthrough first?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Yes, but they’re rare. Such sabers were created under unique circumstances, and it’s difficult to replicate them. There were people in the past who aimed to get such weapons, and they were called legacy weapons. They could influence their owners’ mutated tissue and make their paths smoother. They could also make it easier to reach a breakthrough. But there is a condition for it: You need to fulfill the saber’s desire first.”

He brought Thunder Listener up. “You should have sensed that sabers have their own will. Mine came from my own will and listens to me. Its will is an extension of mine, and it listens to me entirely. It will also reject anyone else trying to wield it. Even if I had a son and he tried to wield it, he’d have a hard time controlling Thunder Listener.

“Legacy weapons have wills entirely of their own. Because of this, their owners become their subordinates. Legacy weapons use them to train themselves. The owners are merely their puppets.

“Some factions have treated sabers as the rulers of their lives. Among the island nations, there was once a school known as the Form Dismantling School, which sacrificed humans to sabers. I heard that their greatest secret technique was obtaining a saber by giving up on another. This let them take full control of that saber, but practically no one was able to do that. That’s why this school went into decline after just three generations, and it was only around for fifty years. However, for those who seek momentary brilliance, legacy weapons are their best choice.”

Fenghe Shou took two steps forward to stand in front of the groove.

“This is the saber nurturing pool with nutrients good for sabers. If you work together with it, you can make your saber’s mutated tissue grow quickly and transform.

“Each saber needs their own saber nurturing pool and can’t share them with other sabers, but it’s hard to create such pools. It takes at least eight years to make one, but the more time you spend on it, the better.

“During my generation, we created three of such pools. I’m using one of them, and I’m keeping another for my successor, while the third is ownerless, so I’m giving it to you.”

Chen Chuan observed it a bit before asking, “Are there any specifics I should know first, Master Fenghe?”

“There are. Before you put your saber inside, it’s best that it wants to improve on its own instead of you forcing it to. The second method is highly inefficient.

“For the first to happen, you need to influence your saber so that it recognizes your mind and will. Then, when your saber seeks to break through on its own, you can put it in the saber nurturing pool and gain its full effects.

“That’s why, even when you fight without your weapon, it’s good to set it nearby and keep it in your biofield at all times. If your saber’s will is exposed to your biofield for a prolonged period of time, it will be easy to make it want to transform. If you win, this also nurtures the saber’s will.”

Chen Chuan realized why Fenghe Shou had shown such great approval when he brought his saber to witness their fight, even though he wasn’t going to use it. Apparently, this was a way to nurture the saber. It was similar to his mutated tissue being forced to seek transcendence when it sensed an external threat.

But when it came to growth, the Frost King Saber had a unique advantage. Chen Chuan didn’t have to push it to improve at all. From the start, the saber had actively sought to get stronger on its own.

“Thanks for telling me this, Master Fenghe, but I think my saber doesn’t need that,” he said.

“It seems like you’re highly in sync with your saber.” Fenghe Shou was quite surprised. Usually, martial arts masters who had just reached a breakthrough needed quite a long time to nurture their weapons to make them reach their level. It wasn’t strange for it to take several years.

Based on the information he got, Chen Chuan had only recently reached a breakthrough, which could only mean that there was a close connection between him and his mutated saber.

Fenghe Shou continued, “I was thinking about preparing a communication ritual for you so that you can push forward the growth of your saber’s will. It is a ritual unique to Fierce Wave School, but since your saber doesn’t need that, we can skip this step and head straight to saber nurturing methods.

“Nurturing a saber is no easy matter. You need a unique breathing technique to deepen the connection between you and your saber, and it’s best to use it once every day. Before putting your saber into the pool, you need to awaken all of its mutated tissue.

“Fierce Wave School’s saber nurturing technique is best paired with Fierce Wave School’s fighting style, so I won’t be able to teach you that. Fortunately, I have some general techniques that can be used for all sabers in the world. Regardless of whether they are sabers from the Great Shun Republic or the Linacrox Union, all good saber wielders can use them. If you find yourself with a better breathing technique in the future, this one won’t cause any problems when you switch over.

“Right now, I don’t think you need any special breathing technique. The general one will do fine for you. You can search for a better one in the future yourself. I think you should be able to find them in Martial Valor University.”

Fenghe Shou then shared a simple breathing technique, and Chen Chuan memorized it after just hearing it once, since it really wasn’t all that complicated. The hard thing about it was to make his saber’s mutated tissue breathe at the same frequency as his mutated tissue.

After a few tries, he sensed himself communicating smoothly with the mutated tissue in the Frost King Saber. He could sense every change in it.

He looked up. “I’m ready, Master Fenghe.”

Fenghe Shou did a quick check to make sure there was nothing wrong before turning to the side. “You are, indeed. Please put your saber into the pool and let it stay there for two hours. If you need to make any adjustments, I’ll tell you.”

Chen Chuan stepped forward, drew his saber out, held it horizontally in both hands, and lowered it slowly into the pool. The moment the Frost King Saber entered the liquid, it sank down.

After a while, the blade started glowing, and the height of the pool started dropping.

Fenghe Shou was surprised when he saw this. The nutritious liquid should last for several hours, but it looked like the saber was going to finish absorbing it in just a few minutes.

It seemed like this saber was truly unique.

He went to the side, turned open a valve, and more nutritious liquid filled the pool.

But the Frost King Saber was like a bottomless pit. Fortunately, this nutritious liquid was unlike the ingredients martial arts masters took; it could be stored for a long time. Despite having been around for 632 years, such sabers were used by few people, so they had plenty of liquid to spare.

After three hours, the Frost King Saber stopped absorbing the liquid and finally quietened down.

Fenghe Shou observed it for a while and praised it. “If your saber can transform, it will definitely be a good saber. After absorbing enough nutrients, it has entered a state of deep sleep. We’ll come back tomorrow. Based on the saber’s condition, I think it will need to absorb more liquid.”

“Okay,” Chen Chuan answered and left the saber incubation room with Fenghe Shou.

***

Over the next two days, he stayed on the island. Aside from helping the Frost King Saber grow, he discussed various martial arts topics with Fenghe Shou. Since Fenghe Shou was also walking down the path of the human form, he could share a lot of his experiences with Chen Chuan.

In exchange, he learned that after Fierce Wave School became a subject of the Great Shun Republic, the country would provide for all of his training needs. This was a necessary part of the process.

As for the gap, the country currently had no intention of collecting it. Fenghe Shou would be in charge of taking care of it until a new sabermaster appeared, then he would need to submit it to the country.

This served as a buffer. After all, the next sabermaster would have not enjoyed the benefits of or used the gap, so he wouldn’t be too against giving up the gap. Besides, with the Great Shun Republic providing them with their training resources, they wouldn’t need to risk their lives inside the gap anymore.

After becoming a subject of the Great Shun Republic, Fierce Wave School would also need to answer to the country’s summons. This was necessary. Due to the world changes, they could no longer maintain their previous method of passing down their legacy. This choice was beneficial for both sides.

On the third morning, Chen Chuan went to the saber incubation room and took the Frost King Saber out of the pool. There were thick, white scabs on it.

He knocked them all off to reveal the blade and found that it had grown heavier. Until now, the Frost King Saber had always grown heavier whenever its mutated tissue increased. But this time, it was way heavier, which went to show just how much it had grown over the past few days.

Chen Chuan wiped it with a piece of cloth and tried injecting some spirit flames into it. The saber trembled, and the blade started glowing. Wisps of white smoke rose from it.

He nodded. This was much better than before. The first time he held the Frost King Saber after he became a martial arts master, he could tell that it wouldn’t be able to withstand his true power. He had felt like he was holding something fragile.

But now, his spirit flames were flowing inside smoothly. Even though the saber could only contain a small portion of them, this was a good start. All he needed to do next was to make it grow stronger.

Fenghe Shou praised it again. “Your saber hasn’t truly transformed, but it can already withstand a portion of your spirit flames. It is indeed a good weapon. Train it every day from now on. As long as you have enough materials, you should be able to use it freely in three months. I have materials to spare, so when you leave, take some with you.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.