Chapter 54: Old and New


    The Royal Pce.


    Inside one of the spacious and luxurious halls decorated with great splendor, stood arge group of people ranging from young to old, their faces filled with anxiety and worry. A young male stood in the middle of the group, giving off a majestic aura.


    "Prince Bancroft, what do you hope to achieve by doing this? I genuinely do not understand this move You and I both know that the only reason our enemies haven''t made a big move is because this secret was so well guarded. Why are you nning on unveiling this secret to the public so early?" An elderly but impatient voice immediately echoed, and as a result, the whole group started to murmur.


    A middle aged man spoke with a sense of urgency, "I apologize Prince, but I''m afraid I have to agree. This isn''t a good move. We''re already in a predicament, and I''m afraid that with the release of this information, we will face an even more unfavorable situation." The man''s voice was filled with never ending anxiety.


    "I understand your concerns, my ministers," The young man, Prince ke Bancroft, spoke with a tone of confidence, and the people who had originally been chattering away suddenly went silent. "But you have to understand, we only have a few months left. Time is running out, and I''m afraid we''re going to have to start improvising.."


    "But still, this move is quite reckless.." Another middle man spoke, his entire face filled with concern.


    With a small nod and augh, the Prince responded, "I know that, Minister Paval. But we have to remove our enemies as soon as possible, and for that, we need to switch to offence!"


    ********************


    Swoosh!


    Before the sun rose from the mountains, the sound of swinging des could be heard from the backyard of ude''s residence.


    Casually dressed in his ck training clothes, ude Rayforth was practicing the Sunrise Sword Technique, the sword technique gifted to him by the Headmaster of the academy.


    ''I need to try and get ustomed to the new realm..''


    Although he had climbed up to the sky realm in a shorter time frame than most cultivators, he still needed time to adjust to the changes made to his body.


    After all, whenpared to breaking through ranks, breaking through to another realm was apletely different process. It was like unlocking a new part of yourself. For ude to understand his new limits, he had to adapt.


    "I have to make sure that I do better than how I did in my match with Victor..."


    Back then, ude didn''t have any spare time to think things over. Although he was undoubtedly more skilled than Victor Hannibal, he was too weak to create any chances for him tond a good attack. In the end, ude lost to Victor because he couldn''t bridge the gap between them. Strength may not be everything in a fight, but it sure as hell makes a difference. ude understood that he had to be stronger.


    But of course, the physical enhancement was merely a by-product, as the true essence of a new realm lies in setting up a deep connection with the cultivator, helping them understand and perfect their spiritual energy.


    ''I''ll utilize the Sunrise Sword Technique to get a grasp on my improved physique..''


    In an instant, a strong streak of silver energy shed through the air and onto ude''s palm, and a curved, silver katana materialized in his hands.


    Grab!


    Holding onto the silver katana, ude couldn''t help but smile tremendously. The Sunrise Sword Technique is a special cultivation technique that allows the cultivator to morph the structure and dimensions of their sword to better suit them. But because it is so flexible in its shape and structure, the technique requires intense concentration and a tremendous amount of spiritual energy to power it. So although it allowsplete control over its weapon, it''s also incredibly hard to use.


    However, to someone like ude who was a samurai in his previous life, a katana was almost like an extension of his arm. He felt as though the sword and him were one, a feeling he had never felt in his new life, and he didn''t need to spend as much time to control it.


    Whoosh!


    Using the Floating Footsteps Technique, ude moved through the courtyard elegantly as though he was dancing. As he moved, the air surrounding him began swirling in ordance to his motion, as though it was dancing alongside him.


    ''Feel the weapon... understand it''


    ude closed his eyes, as he started to slowly circte the spiritual energy in a cycle through his body while integrating the katana into the process. Under ude''s control, the Spiritual energy would then be incorporated into both his body and his katana together.


    Ever since he received this new cultivation technique from the headmaster, one of the things that had excited ude was the ''Soul Fusion''. The Soul Fusion was the connection formed between the Sunrise Sword Weapon and the cultivator, akin to a spiritual connection. It meant that the weapon and the spirit of the cultivator were now intertwined by fate, sharing the spiritual energy as if they were one. The sword became the soul and the soul became the sword.


    As a result, the spiritual energy within ude''s body had be extremely dense, more dense than what he was used to. The spiritual energy of a living, breathing being like a human and that of an inanimate object like a weapon wasn''t the same, and because of this difference, the spiritual energy needed to evolve for it to handle the soul fusion, essentially forcing itself to morph into a hybrid that can support both.


    Boom!


    As ude''s spiritual connection with his katana deepened, the violent de Qi surrounding him began to grow even sharper.


    "Even though the Sunrise Sword Technique is supposed to be much more difficult to utilize than the Beau Paradis Technique, it certainly doesn''t feel like it is this the difference between the Earth Realm and the Sky Realm?"


    ude questioned to himself in amazement. The moment he began cultivating the Sunrise Sword Technique, which was known to be extremely difficult, it was as if ude''s spirit and his senses suddenly expanded, bringing up an indescribable feeling within his heart.


    The movements he was having difficulty with were suddenly easier, and the techniques he had already mastered were as simple as inhaling air. He nced at his arms, as his face revealed a look of extreme joy.


    He was getting stronger!


    "I shouldn''t be utilising this technique for too long though.." The katana in his hand started vibrating violently, and ude''s expression changed. He came to the realization that his soul hadpletely harmonized with the katana in his hands, but at the same time, he could feel the dense spiritual energy flowing through his body that seemed to be gradually bing weak due to its strong energy consumption.


    sh!


    ude took a stride forward, raised his katana and directly swung it out, as an extremely terrifying energy burst out at an increasing frequency, practically affecting the flesh, blood, and bones in his entire body. The swift and fierce sword strike tore through the air like a meteor, and it struck a giant rock that was near the courtyard, shattering it into tiny particles, causing dust to suffuse the air.


    Bang!


    The ground quaked in response to the attack, and several cracks were formed as ude let out a long breath of air.


    "Even though I''ve reached the Sky Realm, I couldn''t use the attack for too long..." ude''s face sank. Only a few minutes had passed since he had first been continuously cultivating the Sunrise Sword Technique, but within this short period of time, the technique had already drained more than half of the spiritual energy within his body.


    He knew in his heart that he had to improve his cultivation even faster!


    "ude! Are you here?" Before he could continue with his training, a voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of his abode, and a few secondster, a youth walked in, apanied by his servant, Randall.


    "Hugh" ude said with a surprised look on his face. It was Hugh Kenton, one of the juniors under the Flying Sword Faction who participated in the Prodigy Summit alongside him. ude wasn''t exactly close to the young boy, so he was certainly surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"


    "ude, you need toe to the Second Elder''s ce quickly" Hugh had a serious face, and as he looked at ude his expression became extremely heavy. He said in a low voice, "The Royal Family has released news about the King and the Queen...."


    Hearing the young man mumble to himself, ude had an intrigued look on his face.


    ********************************


    The Headmaster stood in the middle of his office with his eyes closed. At that moment, a muffled knock was heard from the other side of the door. "Headmaster, it''s me, Carlos!" A voice came from outside the door.


    "Enter!" The headmaster turned towards the door and replied.


    Click!


    The door opened, and a young man who looked to be twenty years of age walked in with an ugly expression on his face, and the Headmaster couldn''t help but feel distraught.


    He muttered, "What on earth are they nning..."