<h4>Chapter 59 - de Intent</h4>


    As Liu Wuxie’s consciousness sank into his dantian, the painting disappeared and the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron spat out a powerful de aura that rushed to his soul sea.


    Swords had sword aura, and des had de aura, but only a true genius couldprehend the de aura.


    When the golden de aura merged with his soul sea, it manifested into a golden de hovering in his soul sea.


    “de intent! This is the de intent!” Liu Wuxie eximed and jumped, nearly knocking his head on the roof. Even the slightest de intent could destroy everything. Compared to de intent, the sword intent was easier toprehend, which was why the de was considered the king of weapons.


    Throughout history, des and swords were often mentioned together, but des always came first. Due to the difficulty inprehending de intent, most cultivators preferred to use swords, leading to their widespread poprity. There were many swordsmen, but few truly stood out.


    As Liu Wuxie’s consciousness left his soul sea, a terrifying de aura swept out from him, reducing the table and chairs in the room into fragments. The room was messy, and each fragment was like a de piercing through the wall and window, heading towards other rooms.


    In an instant, the entire room was riddled with holes, and all the furniture was gone. Moonlight shone into the room through the holes, making them look like a ho’s nest. The room seemed on the verge of copse.


    Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao had just gone to bed, knowing they needed to rest well for thepetition the next day. But they were soon awakened by a powerful surge of energy.


    “Yun Lan, you bastard! How dare you sneak up on me at night?!” Bi Gongyu roared, charging out of his room riddled with holes, thinking that Yun Lan had attacked him in his sleep.


    Lei Tao was also startled awake, rolling off the bed in fear as projectiles flew towards him, capable of tearing through his defenses.


    Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao rushed out of their rooms, not even stopping to put on their clothes. Liu Wuxie also emerged from his room, and the three of them stood in a triangle formation, staring at each other in shock.


    Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao were shocked to see Liu Wuxie’s room, with its walls riddled with holes and looking as if it might copse at any moment.


    “Y-You’re the one who caused all of this?” Bi Gongyu lowered his guard, realizing that it wasn’t an attack from Yun Lan, and pointed at Liu Wuxie’s room, speechless. As a cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, it was rare for anything to make him nervous, but this scene was beyond his understanding.


    “Sorry about that. I lost control whileprehending martial intent.” Liu Wuxie said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He hadn’t expected to cause such destruction whileprehending de intent, and that was even with him holding back. If he had unleashed his full power, the entire courtyard would have been leveled.


    “T-T-The painting you bought in the afternoon contained martial intent?!” Lei Tao stammered, his legs shaking and sweat dripping down his forehead. He was still puzzled as to why Liu Wuxie had bought such an ordinary painting for 100 gold coins.


    “That’s right. The painting contained de intent,” Liu Wuxie admitted openly to Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao. It would have been impossible to hide it from them, and they would have figured it out eventually. Besides, even if Bi Gongyu wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be easy.


    After calming down, Bi Gongyu realized that the destruction had indeed been caused by de intent.


    “Alright then,” Lei Tao said, at a loss for words. Xiao Mingyi had spent 1,000,000 gold coins on a fake painting, while Liu Wuxie had bought a painting containing de intent for just 100 gold coins. Comparing himself to Liu Wuxie would only lead to frustration.


    “Can I see the painting?” Bi Gongyu asked, curious about the painting that had allowed Liu Wuxie to quickly strengthen his de intent. He thought he might benefit from seeing it.


    But Liu Wuxie spread his hands apart with an innocent smile. He had revealed the truth because the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had already consumed the painting. “Will you believe me if I say that the painting disappeared?”


    Liu Wuxie’s innocent expression seemed genuine, and Bi Gongyu didn’t press the matter. He knew that if Liu Wuxie wanted to hide something, he could easilye up with an excuse. But he had chosen to reveal the truth, which made Bi Gongyu feel that they were friends.


    “I’ve heard that it’s a long process toprehend marital intent in a painting, ranging from a year to ten years. This is the first time I’ve heard someoneprehending de intent in just one night.” Bi Gongyu was knowledgeable, but this was within his knowledge blindspot. If he were the one trying toprehend a martial intent in a painting, it would take at least a year for him toprehend anything.


    The True Core Realm, or grandmasters, could infuse their martial intent into various items. Artists could infuse their martial intents into paintings, sword masters could engrave their martial intent on walls, talisman masters could infuse their martial intents into talismans, cksmiths could infuse their martial intent into weapons forged by them, and alchemists could infuse their martial intent into pills.


    The martial intent left behind by each grandmaster was different, and it couldn’t beprehended overnight.


    “Please help me keep this matter a secret. If someone asks about it, just tell them my true essence went berserk because I was careless in my cultivation.” Liu Wuxie cupped his fists together. He didn’t want to cause too much trouble, and many people woulde after him if they knew heprehended martial intent.


    Being in the Xiantian Realm didn''t hinder him fromprehending martial intent, a feat usually achievable only by grandmasters. Since he had already grasped martial intent, it was just a matter of time before he became a grandmaster himself.


    “Don’t worry about it. We won’t divulge a single word about what happened tonight. It’s gettingte, and you should rest quickly. We’ve offended many cities, and I’m afraid many people will target us in thepetition tomorrow.” Bi Gongyu wasn’t a fool. He would naturally choose to establish a good rtionship with a future grandmaster in advance because there were only benefits and no losses.


    “I’ll cultivate for a little longer. Pavilion Master, you can go and rest first.”


    Liu Wuxie’s room was already inhabitable, and he could only wait for the Treasure Pill Pavilion of Zen City’s branch to repair it the next day.


    With that, Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao returned to their rooms while Liu Wuxie stood in the courtyard holding the de in his right hand. There was an artificial mountain in the courtyard''s center and several massive trees, but Liu Wuxie’s gaze was fixed on the mountain.


    As he drew his de, a cold light shed from its reflection. He didn’t release his de intent, knowing that it would destroy the entire courtyard, but even so, the de aura emanating from his de was ten times stronger than before.


    The de aura plunged into the fake mountain smoothly without a hint of resistance, leaving Liu Wuxie stunned.


    “What’s going on? Liu Wuxie wondered, confused. The de aura he had released should have been able to kill someone at the peak of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, but there was no sign of any energy fluctuation. As he approached to investigate, the artificial mountain suddenly began to crack down the middle. It shattered into pieces, releasing a powerful burst of energy from within. Stone fragments flew out as the mountain was reduced to rubble, causing further destruction to the room.


    “Isn’t this a little too powerful?” Liu Wuxie curled his lips, realizing that his fighting prowess had risen tenfold, and no ordinary Spirit Cleansing Realm cultivator could withstand a strike from his de.


    He sheathed his sword, not daring to test his strength further.


    As the de aura dissipated, Lei Taoy in bed, still shaken from when Liu Wuxie had drawn his sword. He pulled the covers over his head and muttered, “Monster... he’s a monster... not human at all...”


    The night passed quickly, and Liu Wuxie sat in the courtyard throughout the night, circting the Deste Devouring Art to devour spiritual energy. His cultivation had improved, and he was closer to the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm.


    Liu Wuxie was determined to win thepetition and im the fourth-grade pill as his reward, using it to reach the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm. But he kept his goal to himself, not wanting Bi Gongyu to think he was overreaching.


    In the morning, Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao emerged from their rooms with dark circles under their eyes, yawning. It was clear that they hadn’t slept well. Every time they closed their eyes, the image of Liu Wuxie’s terrifying de would appear in their minds, causing them to startle awake. Even trying to cultivate couldn’t calm them down, so they stayed awake until dawn.


    As the morning progressed, people began to leave their courtyards and head towards the za at the center of Zen City, where thepetition was being held. All the ns and notable figures in Zen City had been invited to attend.


    Azure Billow City’s team of three came out of their courtyard, freshly groomed and ready for thepetition. Forty alchemists in total were participating, with the top-ranked cities sending two representatives each.


    As Liu Wuxie made his appearance, all eyes turned to him, filled with curiosity, shock, and even hatred.


    Liu Wuxie scanned the crowd, sizing up hispetition. While he felt some pressure from the top-ranked alchemists, he paid little attention to the others.


    “Brother Liu, you certainly made a name for yourself yesterday!” eximed Zuo Hong as he approached and pped Liu Wuxie on the shoulder. This gesture surprised everyone, as Zuo Hong was known for his pride and aloofness. The sight of him being friendly with Liu Wuxie left many baffled.


    The forty alchemists ranged in age from their twenties to fifties, with Liu Wuxie standing out as the youngest at sixteen or seventeen.


    “Even you’ve heard about it, Brother Zuo,” replied Liu Wuxie with a wry smile. “I’m embarrassed to talk about it, but what can I do when someone insists on being put in their ce?”


    As Xiao Mingyi and Du Mingze approached, they overheard Liu Wuxie’s words and nearly tripped in surprise. They shot him a re, their eyes conveying that their feud from the previous day was far from over.


    Zuo Hong, however, merely smiled and continued walking alongside Liu Wuxie, following behind Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao.


    “Brother Liu, how did you know the painting was fake? And how were you so certain?” Zuo Hong asked curiously. After all, even Kuang Zhan, the second elder of the Kuang n, had been unable to tell that the painting was a forgery.


    Not far away, two young women paused in their tracks to listen. Female alchemists were a rare sight, and they, too, were eager to hear Liu Wuxie’s answer.


    “I guessed it!” replied Liu Wuxie nonchntly. Zuo Hong’s forehead creased in confusion, while the two women covered their mouths and giggled at the unexpected response; this was their first time seeing such an interesting person.


    Xiao Mingyi and Du Mingze, on the other hand, were seething with rage, feeling as though they could spit blood at Liu Wuxie’s outrageous luck in guessing correctly.


    “Brother Liu, you truly are a talent!” eximed Zuo Hong, shaking his head in disbelief. He decided not to press the matter further and made his way down the stairs to thepetition venue.