Chapter 182: Sword Dao Awakening
The moment the thought surfaced, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's presence vanished completely from within Franklin's spiritual-sense field.
Realizing this, Franklin stopped wasting energy. The four spiritual-energy Buddhas dissolved into drifting spiritual currents at his command.
Opening his eyes, Franklin slowly stood up. It was time to track down where those two had gone.
"Master, was that person you just fought truly someone from the Ōtsutsuki clan? His ability seemed amazing, but the flaw was also obvious."
Franklin, who had been suppressing the opponent the entire time, was slightly puzzled.
"A flaw? Nymph, what did you notice?"
"Yes, Master. According to my scans, his ability only works on things within his line of sight. Anything he can't see has no effect at all."
"Line of sight, huh… that helps."
Feeling for the marker of his Flying Thunder God seal, Franklin glanced at the three girls beside him.
"Do you want to wait here for a bit, or come with me?"
"Master is going after that man, right? If possible, we can help too."
"Protecting Master is our duty."
Seeing Ikaros already in a battle-ready stance, Franklin scratched his head, troubled.
"You all saw his ability. It's extremely unusual—he can shrink objects. For me, that's manageable. With cellular activation and rapid division, I can restore myself.
"And for my body, that ability might even be an opportunity—another chance to strengthen it. But if the three of you get shrunk, I'll be helpless."
Nymph nodded in agreement.
"Master is right. If that guy had shown up during your tribulation, the three of us might have been caught off guard."
Since even the strategist Nymph said so, Ikaros and Astraea both nodded reluctantly.
"In that case, Master, you should put us back into the Dimensional Heavenly Tome first. Once everything is over, you can release us again."
Seeing Nymph speak so seriously, Franklin nodded as well. He was about to store them away when he suddenly paused.
"What does it feel like going into the Dimensional Heavenly Tome? Does it make you uncomfortable?"
Noticing the concern on Franklin's face, Nymph smiled and shook her head.
"You don't need to worry. We barely feel anything. It's like blinking and appearing somewhere else."
Ikaros and Astraea nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Franklin set aside his lingering worry and stored all three inside the Dimensional Heavenly Tome.
"Line of sight determines effectiveness… a black eye with a cross-shaped pupil… and it can shrink any object."
Franklin rubbed his chin. "That ability is far too absurd. The density of the ice spikes I just formed was high enough to injure even me—meaning they reached the femtometer level.
"And yet he still shrank them down to the picometer level. Completely unreasonable. A rule-level alteration of reality."
"A rule-level alteration of reality, huh."
Franklin narrowed his eyes. Using that eye the way Madara used his own wasn't a bad idea.
Remaining calm, he sat cross-legged. His consciousness entered the sea of spiritual sense.
"Sister Elegy, the tribulation is over. Now you can explain why you suddenly stopped talking earlier."
In the next instant, the Guardian Sword manifested, and You Wange appeared before Franklin.
"You saw it yourself. The Heavenly Dao locked onto you. If I showed myself at that moment, I would've been throwing my life away. Saying even two sentences was already pushing it—your lightning tribulation jumped several tiers because of it."
Hearing this, Franklin was speechless.
"So the tribulation got stronger because you talked to me?"
You Wange sighed helplessly. "You wouldn't stop asking. If I didn't answer, you would've summoned me out there. And then the first bolt would've turned you to ash.
"But now that you survived safely, stop overthinking. Since I owe you for that, is there anything you want? I can compensate you."
Franklin was still exasperated, but he had to admit the whole mess did start with him.
"Compensation? Fine. Sister Elegy, do you have any secret techniques for soul attacks? From what I've seen, most strong cultivators in this galaxy are weak when it comes to the soul.
"If I learn a soul-attack technique, I might actually become temporarily invincible."
After thinking briefly, You Wange nodded. "I have one—but… it doesn't suit you."
"It doesn't suit me? Why?"
You Wange fell silent, then spoke frankly. "Look at my appearance and figure. What kind of soul technique do you think I use?"
Franklin froze instantly. "Yeah, never mind then. I'll think about it later. You can hold onto that compensation for now."
Seeing him ready to leave, You Wange raised a hand to stop him.
"Don't rush off. How about this—I'll let you experience what breaking into the Sword Light Realm feels like.
"With your current soul level and comprehension, I think you should be able to reach it.
"And I promise you this: if you succeed in stepping into the Sword Light Realm, I'll let you experience how to break into the Sword Force Realm next."
Franklin's interest ignited immediately. "Sure. I feel like the Sword Qi Realm can't keep up with my pace anymore anyway."
You Wange drifted toward him, placing a finger on his forehead. In the next moment, Franklin felt everything fade away—his mind entering complete clarity and emptiness.
A sharp sword cry echoed beside his ear. You Wange's figure appeared within his consciousness, the Guardian Sword dancing wildly in her hand—seemingly chaotic, yet filled with profound rhythm.
As Franklin sank deeper into the state, mysterious echoes filled his mind.
Sword Dao. The path of man, the path of earth, the path of heaven. A gentleman's sword—meant less for slaughter than for elegance.
The path of man begins with the Sword Qi Realm, abandoning the shortcomings of close-combat swordplay by attacking from range. But sword qi is inferior to arrows.
Thus the Sword Light Realm was created—using absolute sharpness to fight. But in close quarters it cannot match a blade.
Thus the Sword Radiance Realm was created, abandoning both range and close combat—striking the skin to attack from within. Effective, but inferior to a shield's defense.
Thus the Sword Force Realm was created—melding internal and external attacks, combining one's own momentum to suppress the enemy. Those lacking defense inside or out, and those whose aura is insufficient, are guaranteed to lose.
The path of earth…
But before the next words could form, Franklin jolted awake and spat blood. He collapsed unconscious on the spot.
You Wange froze mid-demonstration. She had barely begun—what was he doing? Why did he faint instantly? And why was his soul force draining so severely?
Her questions went unanswered. Franklin had fallen into deep sleep—his soul consciousness sinking into complete stillness.
It was unclear how much time passed before Franklin's soul slowly awakened again. Feeling the flood of insights into the Sword Dao's human realm surging through his mind…
Franklin casually summoned the Guardian Sword and slashed downward.
A torrent of sword qi roared forth, carving deep below. With a thunderous explosion, Franklin sliced a flat plateau into the Earth itself.