The Essence of Solitude

'Time is almost up, let's do this.'

Will had concentrated multiple energies into the sword. Life Force, Sword Yuan, Water Yuan and Sword Intent were packed into a complex structure made out of Water Intent. This structure was within the Ice Sword. This was why Will created an Ice Sword instead of using the rusty katana. So he could have a weapon he could freely imbue with Water Intent. To the point where he could create a 'Water Intent Channel System' which also acted as a skeleton for the Ice to attach to.

The skill Will was about to use was made by a Water type swordsman, so it fit Will quite nicely.

'I need to see what it's like to face a swordsman like me. I have to put all my effort into this. No messing around Will focus.

Will was a soft young man who tried as much as he could to remain positive. No matter what lemons were thrown his way he had to make lemonade.

'I had a nearly perfect childhood in terms of needs. Dad did his duty, now it's my turn to do mine.'

If Will had a choice, he would rather not have the fate of his home planet on his immature shoulders, but now it's time to man up.

'Like Dwayne Carter said, I have to look in the face of death and take its mask off!'

Will tightened the grip on his sword. He hadn't mastered the technique he was about to use. He couldn't even use the chant. If he did he would just be talking. A chant was a type of Matrix that resonated with the Dao resulting in supernatural phenomenon. To use a chant requires knowledge of the technique or natural talent in the field. In this regard, Will believed he was only lacking the effort.

Will could feel power surging into the sword, using his body as a conduit. It was a complicated process that the boy made look easy. Will's heart tightened as he decided to take action. World energy rumbled within him but in the outside world it became eerily silent, like an abandoned graveyard.

'Harmony in the mind, chaos in nature. The Dao begot one. One begot two. Two begot three. And three begot the ten thousand things. The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang. They achieve harmony by combining these forces.'

Will finally took action. He stepped forth and his figure blurred!

....

"System, increase Simulation Perception to 100 percent. I want to completely feel what is around that boy."

Responding to Hercules, the room's environment was now like Will's. Nothing in the room had physically changed, but the air, energies and environmental disposition belonged to that of Will's location. It was a cinch for divine beings like themselves to sense both their room and Wills area

Swoosh!

Will's figure was now a step ahead, already in the final pose of a downward swing.

Swoosh!

A blade light materialized as soon as Will did. It went straight through the pillar like a hot knife through butter. The blade light was a dull black, one that lacked any sheen whatsoever. Even the presence of the blade light was weak.

If an ordinary person were to be there, they would have barely felt anything. No energy suppression, no force field of any kind. Barely anything. But there was a select group of people who could identify something within that blade light. As soon as it was produced, no one watching, not Adelda, not Hercules, not even Narcissus would refute that inevitable outcome.

"The person the pillar will produce will be an absolute powerhouse."

Rumble! Rumble!

As the pillar fell apart, one saw it split into two. The top half had fallen, and during its fall, it also destabilized its much shorter counterpart. Resulting in two pieces with superbly clean surfaces created from a sharp edge. Will allowed the now brittle ice sword to disperse. He wanted to observe his work.

.

He put his hand on his chin as a deep look of contemplation showed.

...

"Was that?"

"No doubt about it."

"The Breath?"

"Intent, Truth and The Breath. Just how many Higher Senses does this boy possess? What incredible spiritual sensitivity."

Discussions were abuzz in the control room, but 4 figures remained silent. Hercules was a bit surprised, with a raised brow, but he soon returned to his usual pensive expression and started to work his biceps.

Wodin and Odysseus looked at each other with happy expressions. They were wise and had more knowledge than the others in the room, especially Wodin. Narcissus, on the other hand, was confused.

He had no idea what Will had just done. But looking at the hubbub around him, it was clearly something incredible. Narcissus was no fool. He felt a discrepancy.

'That blade light had barely any presence but something about it felt off. I need to investigate this. The pillars adjust to the user's strength, the data...'

He closed one eye and waved his hand. A screen showing data on the pillar and the type of damage it had taken appeared. Once he read giant words at the top of the screen, he understood everything.

'I see, so that's how it is.'

Narcissus was a divine being with countless avatars cast throughout the system, hence despite his laziness, he was well learned when it came to cultivation. So when he came across a power he was unfamiliar with, he would show interest.

'A perfectly linear cut with barely any energy leakage. According to this, a body cultivator who solely focused on defense would need to be at least level 125 to stand a chance of blocking that. Solitary Sword Sovereign 7th Chapter. What a frightening ability.'

Narcissus sighed, looked up and said, "Brother, I don't recall the Solitary Sword Sovereign manual being this formidable."

Hercules was busy paying attention to Will and had no intention of initiating a discussion with anyone; hence he passed on the baton to his subordinates.

"Odysseus."

Wodin knew more, but Odysseus was better at teaching, hence Hercules choice can be seen as an indicator of how important this lesson was. To Hercules, Narcissus needed to be motivated to put in more effort into his duty, which was to guard Will.

"Prince Narcissus, while it is true that Solitary Sword Sovereign cultivators are usually only above average, from time to time there are exceptions. For some unknown reason, these exceptions usually end up being extreme freaks of nature. There is huge gap between the average SSS cultivator and the next level. If 99.99% of the SSS are just above average at best, then that 0.001% left will all be powerhouses of the highest order."

This news stunned Narcissus. He had seen groups with odd structures and organization but this was ridiculous. How did this happen? Either you are a top level powerhouse or just above average? No in between? This didn't make sense!

"As I said earlier, reason why this so is still unknown, even to us. This is somewhat of an open secret among Immortals so take care not to spread this knowledge around. These powerhouses; the one's that make up that 0.001%; end up being called Solitary Sword Sovereigns. All of them. You get what I mean right?"

Narcissus thought a bit a then said with a stunned face, "They were all Sovereigns?"

This time it was Wodin's turn to pitch in, "Close, but not exactly. They are all natural 1st rank Sovereigns on their worlds! And that boy is one such Sovereign!"

If the first piece of news was like electricity, then this piece was a like thunder in a clear sky.

Natural Sovereign. This was the title that was given to those who were chosen as Sovereigns naturally by the system, without having to fight for it.

Natural Sovereigns are a rare sight, because if they do exist, they don't last that long. Talent does not equate to power. Talent only became power after time; effort and luck were placed in the equation. Usually at least one of these three would go missing, resulting in a premature death.

Looking at Will's low level, Narcissus guessed that Will was from a newly admitted Lower World. But the Lower World part didn't matter. He was a Natural Sovereign. In front of these two gigantic words, all other epithets were pointless.

'A group of Sword Cultivators who are all Natural Sovereigns. That is the upper echelon of the Solitary Sword Sovereign Sect.

Narcissus whistled in administration, "That is some serious membership."

"To truly be 'Solitary', one needs to be at the top of the food chain. Natural Sovereigns are beings recognized by both the resident planet and the laws of the Martial Way as being the most talented. It is said that nothing brings more solitude than being at the top. The creator of the manual is said to have been a Monarch of some sort who came to the same conclusion.

That Monarch gave up the throne and focused on becoming a swordsman by cultivating upon the inspiration of the 'Solitary' concept. The SSS manual was a result of that. "