Solitary Sword Sovereign Part 2

Strike! Wielded by Thoughts

"Intent brings one's thoughts to reality, but one can only change reality by refusing to accept universal law. To move faster than light, one must first believe that the speed of light is not the speed limit of matter. To cut an object with a blunt weapon, one must believe it's possible. To slow down time, one must first believe that time and space are malleable. To certain mortals and other beings, these very Concepts are a form of 'insanity'. There is a reason Solitary Sword Sovereigns and other nutcase cultivation manuals are hard to deal with despite only having a small amount of users. I don't think I need to explain the rest."

As the crowd took in the All Father's words, Will's mind continued to destabilize, until Modus finally stepped in.

"Who said a sword needed to be wielded by a being? It might be your hand that swings the sword down, but it is a thought that creates the action. All actions stem from thought, just as how all cultivation starts from the mind. You are not wielded by a being, you are wielded by thoughts!"

Modus' words were not something new, everyone in the room had experienced countless years of cultivation. In fact, to a certain extent, Modus' statement was almost nonsensical to most. It should be obvious that all actions stemmed from thought. Only Jingsung Ha seemed to have a slight understanding. He placed a hand on his chin in contemplation of Modus' words.

'Right, Young Master is also Solitary Sword Sovereign, so he is also kind of nuts.' Hou Yi laughed wryly at the situation. Modus had unexpectedly benefitted Jingsung Ha with his words. Of course these words only solicited a minor reaction from The Raindrop Sword Immortal, but Will's reaction was a whole different thing entirely.

'Right, I'm wielded by thoughts!'

Will's eyes focused as he had an expression that made it seem as if he had found a new lease on life. His Sword Force experienced a qualitative improvement as his Breath stabilized in almost an instant.

From Modus finishing his words to Jingsung reacting, this all took time to describe but it only took a few moments. Adelda and the rest of the higher beings started to sense a fatigue creep into their minds. It was an extremely small and negligible fatigue, like a drop of water falling onto desert sands, but it still made a great difference.

'This is the fatigue that the boy causes observers. Modus had to create a talisman to seal this aspect of the boy, but it steal leaks out. I heard that minor system controllers can't even observe him for long periods of time due to how polar the boy's spirit gate is. The Spirit Gate's nature and his Solitary Sword Sovereign yuan are a nasty combination for the spiritually sensitive.'

Odysseus calmly analysed Will as he came to his own conclusions. Modus had other subordinates monitoring Earth, but Will had special circumstances. If a weak higher being observed him for long periods of time, they would experience mental fatigue. This was an effect produced by the Solitary Sword Sovereign Yuan reacting with the cultivator's Spirit Gate. It didn't do any damage to immortals, but it caused a bothersome lethargy that troubled Modus' subordinates. Adelda's unique bloodline trait as a Literati had shielded her from this issue, but Modus' other subordinates such as Tafi did not have the advantage of such abilities.

Hence Modus had fashioned a device that sealed Will's mental undulations and fused it with Will's body. This talisman also allowed Will to see projections others could not, and it had allowed Will to interact with Adelda without others noticing.

If one talked to thin air, one would not seem mad, because there were many methods of communication within the system that prevented others from seeing what you can see. So no one would question Will's actions much.

Odin narrowed his eyes in interest as he saw Will receive some sort of insight, 'Now that the boy is more aware of his identity, his doubts will vanish. His Intent will become purer, and his sword will swing true. This will result in trickledown effect that will cascade to the rest of his higher powers. Modus is perfect for teaching the boy. It takes a madman to under understand another madman.'

"Now tell me dear disciple, what thought is wielding you right now?" questioned Modus provocatively.

Will released a single breath. Within that breath was one simple word. But that simple word encapsulated a mountain of thoughts. "Cut."

The moment Will spoke, he raised his sword. It was clear that he was readying for a diagonal slash. The yin attribute Sword Force gathered around his sword while the World Energy within his body harmonized with his every breath. Anti-Divinity coursed through every atom of Will's existence while a steady and viral Truth coated the outer layer of the blade.

"Fuelled by Yin Sword Force, guided by The Breath, Composed of Truth and born from Anti-Divinity, this was the nascent form of your Unbound Vector. Now you have included your sword's perspective, it is in its adolescent stage. But there is still one thing missing. Remember the Concepts you have at your disposal. Only you understand what perspective you are coming from. The thought that wields you is 'cut', so, what Concepts will help you reach that objective?"

Sword Force was a way of leveraging the Dao of Metal, but Will still had other ways of leveraging power, especially when it came to the Dao of Water. Will's calm voice spoke once more, as if reaffirming his next action.

"Sharpness."

Will's Sword Force was already sharp, but after he spoke, an application of the sharpness Concept took hold. If an ordinary mortal had been standing in the room, they would have been cut into thousands of pieces by Will's Sword Force.

"Momentum."

With each Breath, Will continued to store power for his strike. The Concept of Momentum allowed one to leverage the power of water to store energy in various forms. The only water near Will was the scabbard on him and the vapour in the atmosphere, but that was more than enough for him to leverage his water Concepts.

"Formlessness."

A short string of white ribbon like energy came out of the sword. The energy was a meter long and danced about like a piece of cloth swaying in chaotic winds.

Athena and Narcissus stared wide eyed as the unbelievable had occurred. For the sake of this test. Modus had requested everyone present to limit their senses to the lowest possible limit, allowing for them to feel the effects of Will's changes. But they never expected to feel something like this.

'I know he is going for a diagonal swing, but I can't pick up the trajectory of the attack at all!'

Narcissus prided himself in the sensitivity of his Higher Senses, but even he was stumped. Granted he had limited himself to the standards of a level 99 mortal, but he was still a deity!

'It's not the shape that's just formless. Even the attack trajectory and targets are impossible to predict.' Athena found it impossible to predict the shape of the ribbon of energy fluttering about with level 99 mortal senses. She had eyes, but it was as if they were useless. She knew the targets were her and Narcissus, but her senses were lost.

"Ripple."

A hurricane can be caused by the beating of a butterfly's wings, this was an example of the Ripple Concept. A small act could snowball and spread, like ripples on the surface of a pond caused by a pebble striking the surface. Attacks fuelled by the Ripple Concept were wave like in nature, and in the right hands seemed never ending.

'The Rippling and Momentum Concepts are made for each other. If they work in concert with entanglement the perpetual nature will be absurd. I see what Modus was planning now.' Athena was thrilled that she was here for this. She was capable of sensing the attack with her own body. This would allow her to fully analyse it and hopefully learn a thing or two.

"Good my disciple, very good. Now there is only one thing left to do. You know what that is don't you?" Modus stepped to the side and calmly observed, eager to see the results of his work.

In Will's vision, many small weak spots manifested across Athena and Narcissus' bodies. And Will intended to hit them all.

"Strike!"

Will stepped forth and did what he was supposed to. He swung his sword!

....

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