Everyone had a unique personality. Even if two people practiced the same sword skills, their swordminds would develop based on their individualities. Despite starting from the same base, the resulting swordminds might be very different.

Han Sen had a very different personality from the man who had created the Proud Bone Swordmind. Because they were so completely different, there was an extreme gap between their swordminds. Han Sen was having a very hard time trying to understand the Proud Bone swordmind.

Both the name “Mad Sword” and “Proud Bone” were very representative of the man’s character. He had been a very proud and very wild person. He approached problems and came up with solutions in a very different manner than Han Sen.

Han Sen’s swordmind was based on tenacity. No matter what endeavor Han Sen undertook, whether it was gravely important or exceedingly trivial, he finished what he started. His determination carried him continually forward, but sometimes he was so focused on his goals that he could miss out on the views along the way.

As long as Han Sen could reach his goal, he was willing to follow whichever path would get him there in the end. This aspect of his character sometimes made him seem lackadaisical and uncaring. He seemed to change plans easily, as if he was okay with everything and nothing really mattered to him. But in reality, Han Sen never s.h.i.+fted from his true purpose; he was just willing to adapt his plans as many times as necessary in order to achieve that purpose.

Han Sen, who seemed like such a casual individual, was actually more stubborn than most. But the things he stubbornly pursued were so far in the future that other people couldn’t see them. That was why others thought he showed little concern over the things around him.

Mad Sword was different. Mad Sword wasn’t obsessed with an end goal; he cared more about the experience of the journey itself. Ironically, though, he was the most unique and noticeable thing on most of the roads he traveled.

Born pretty to die pretty. That was what Mad Sword was looking for.

Two different personalities and two different lives. Neither of them was right or wrong. They were just the decisions made by separate people. If Han Sen wanted to learn Mad Sword’s Proud Bone Swordmind, he would have to give up his own faith and purpose to properly understand the faith that Mad Sword placed in his own beliefs. Han Sen could do that, but he didn’t want to.

Despite this ma.s.sive disconnect between them, Han Sen still wanted to gain something from the swordmind. It would be much harder for him than for others, who could simply accept Mad Sword’s swordmind for what it was.

Half the day had pa.s.sed by this point, and the swordminds of some of the royal children were starting to reflect the five words, “Pride and bones are made.” They had been able to achieve a lot.

The most obvious was Bai Ling Shuang. Her swordmind was connecting with the carved script. The swordmind was melding into her body, and with its power, it also brought a certain arrogance.

Han Sen was surprised. Bai Ling Shuang was talented, but she definitely wasn’t the best of the royal children who had made it to the top of the mountain. But since she had achieved so much already, her personality was a fine match for the Proud Bone Swordmind.

“It looks like I have wasted my time here.” Han Sen sighed. He had been unable to tap into the Proud Bone Swordmind.

It was like when a lazy person failed to understand a workaholic. Their thoughts didn’t operate on the same wavelength. They were so different that they could never be the same.

In the end, Han Sen gave up trying to learn the Proud Bone Swordmind. No matter how strong it was, it didn’t match his own personality.

Han Sen had to take Bai Ling Shuang back down, though. Waiting around for her was boring, and he quickly grew uncomfortable as he sat around doing nothing. So, he started playing with his jade gourd. He also summoned his water fairy.

Han Sen intended to have the water fairy give him a ma.s.sage, so he could wait for Bai Ling Shuang in a more comfortable fas.h.i.+on until it was time to leave. Once they reached the bottom, he could lay claim to the other fifty King cla.s.s genes he had been promised. But when the water fairy emerged from the gourd, she looked straight at the carved words. She stood on the spot, completely unmoving.

Just as Han Sen noticed her strange behavior, the water fairy’s body began to change. The liquid within his translucent form swirled slowly, s.h.i.+fting in almost imperceptible ways.

Most of the changes that took place in the water fairy’s appearance were minute, but when he looked at her again, she seemed like a completely different person. Even her powers had altered radically.

The water fairy had originally been as soft as water. She could listen to someone’s complaints without becoming perturbed, just like a maid.

But after these small changes, the water fairy looked as cold as ice. Her whole body was like a sharp and powerful sword.

Han Sen looked at the water fairy, and he thought her power actually seemed rather familiar.

“Pride and bones are made,” Han Sen murmured to himself. He had realized why she now looked so familiar; it was because the water fairy’s new power reminded him of the five words carved into the knoll. The Proud Bone Swordmind seemed to radiate from her form.

“What is going on?” Han Sen asked in pleased astonishment.

In all the time that had pa.s.sed since he first discovered the water fairy, Han Sen hadn’t figured out what the water fairy could do. He usually used her as a maid, but now, she seemed to possess a power that was beyond his imagination.

The water fairy’s changes continued. The less-obvious the changes became, the more her powers altered. And not long after, when Han Sen looked at the water fairy, she had become a personification of the words, “Pride and bones are made.” She looked exactly like the real Proud Bone Swordmind. It was remarkable.

Fortunately, Han Sen was sitting behind most of the royal children, and they were too focused on learning the swordmind to pay attention to him, anyway. If any of them had seen the water fairy undergoing those changes, they would have been astounded.

The swordmind was something that could only be felt, not embodied. It wasn’t like a geno art or some piece of scientific knowledge that could be written down as words.

It couldn’t even be drawn or photographed. It was a sensation that had to be felt inside oneself. It couldn’t be copied with any form of tool.

But the water fairy somehow did the impossible; she copied the words to embody the Proud Bone Swordmind. If a deified elite had seen what she did, they would have reacted the same way that Han Sen was.

A while later, the changes within the water fairy finished. Her power and swordmind had completely transformed into the Proud Bone Swordmind.

“It is perfect! Perfect!” Han Sen complimented. The water fairy had copied that power like a cheater. Han Sen had never heard of any other treasure being able to do something like this.

As Han Sen thought about how lucky he was to have the jade gourd and water fairy, the water fairy suddenly moved over to Han Sen. She placed her hands on Han Sen’s chest and made her water body suddenly blend into his own.

“What is this?” Han Sen wondered. Then, a foreign swordmind suddenly flowed into his body. He recognized it instantly; it was the Proud Bone Swordmind.

Han Sen realized what had just happened. The water fairy wasn’t just copying the mind. She could take that mind and gift it to the master of the jade gourd. Then, the jade gourd master could feel the swordmind in his own body.

The swordmind might have been incompatible with him, but now it was deep within his mind, under his control. Rather than simply seeing the foreign swordmind, now he could experience every facet of it. There was no better way to learn than experience.

It was better to travel than it was to study. The water fairy could take an abstract idea and make it real and tangible.

“I never would have guessed that the alpha’s treasure would be this strong. It’s almost too powerful,” Han Sen thought as a wide grin spread over his mouth.