Second World

Everyone in the chamber turned in Jack's direction. They all felt the explosive power when the black light pierced out. Murong was still frozen at her place. She could hardly believe what she had seen.

Grace came over to Jack.

"You've learned it? Congratulation!" She exclaimed.

"Mmm… I can't tell for sure," Jack said. His face didn't look happy for someone who had managed to learn an ancient art. "I do feel like it is in my grasp, but it all feels so unclear. I will have to try doing it again later. I can't now, it's as if my entire mana has been drained. Even my mana sense turns numb. I can hardly sense anything."

"Ma… Master… Is it true? Did he just perform the Nine Yin Phantom Sword? It's not true, is it?" Muilan asked. She had heard Murong muttering the name of the art. She couldn't believe someone who had just started learning the ancient art for one month could have successfully learned it. She had been doing it for years, for goodness sake!

Murong was even more shaken than her. She had been practicing for decades! She had only managed to learn one art, the Nine Yin Abyssal Finger. She had been trying to master either the phantom sword or the devouring palm since then but met with little success. How could this brat do it in just one month?

While the pair of master and disciple were gaping at the impossible event, Jack was discussing with Grace how he pulled the feat just now.

Leavemealone was conflicted if he should go and speak with Jack, but he ultimately turned away. If Jack could do it, then so could he! He declared in his mind. He doubled down on his effort so he didn't lose to Jack.

Jack tried his best to explain to Grace, but he himself was rather unclear about how he did it. He had to try it again later before he could be sure. But one thing was for sure, the mana movement was the key.

"This is all thanks to your mana perception. Otherwise, I won't be able to get a grasp on it," Jack said.

Grace had a talent called mana perception. She acquired this talent recently when she was still in Greed's sanctum. Greed watched Jack in secret when he was using the talent pill. After Jack left the next day, Greed gave a talent pill to Grace as well.

After using the pill, Grace gained the Mana Perception. This talent allowed her to perceive mana using her eyes as if they were colorful fumes. Jack guessed it was similar to the time when his eyes perceived mana when he was inside the Council of Virtus' ancient battleground.

When she gained this talent, Grace panicked a little because she thought something was wrong with her eyes. After a while, she came to understand her eyes' new ability. A talent wasn't something that could be turned on and off. She had no choice but to accept that she would never see the world as it used to be now.

Because of this Mana Perception, Grace was able to see the way the mana flowed when Murong performed her Nine Yin Abyssal Finger and gained a better understanding of it. Jack's mana sense might be advanced enough to detect how Murong articulated her mana during the performance, but it won't be able to rival the way Grace saw it using her eyes.

She told Jack and Leavemealone what she saw. This was how Jack managed to gain a better understanding of how the mana was being articulated.

"I'm glad I can be of help," Grace said.

"Don't say that. I believe you can learn this art as well," Jack uttered.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You are very talented. You just have to believe in yourself."

Grace nodded. "I will try my best."

Grace went and practiced again. Jack rested and waited for his mana to recover before he gave it another go.

"Kid… How do you do it?" Murong asked. She came after Grace left. Muilan was behind her.

"Hehe," Jack grinned.

Seeing that, Muilan scolded, "There is no need to gloat! You just happen to do it by coincidence. I don't believe you will be able to do it again!"

"Who is gloating? I just find it amusing because you two kept on saying it is impossible that we learn the arts," Jack said. "And now you come to ask me how I did it. Well, I'm not a petty person. I don't mind telling you how I did it."

So, Jack explained to them the same as what he told Grace.

"You practice sword's heart?" Murong asked.

"Yeah, Arthur taught me," Jack replied.

"Arthur Bagrat? That sword loner? Why did he teach you?"

"What do you mean why did he teach me? We are friends. He saw me using swords. He taught me, what's the big deal?" Jack asked back.

Jack didn't know, but Murong knew it was a big deal. The Arthur she knew was a rather stingy man when it came to his swordsmanship. Arthur always kept to himself and rarely accepted disciples. So, teaching Jack the pinnacle of his sword zen when Jack was not even his proper disciple spoke volumes about the act.

"The sword's heart did help me a lot in understanding the Nine Yin Phantom Sword, but it didn't help the other two arts. I understand the phantom sword is one of the two arts within the scripture you are still unable to learn, isn't it? If you want, I can teach you the sword's heart."

"You are willing?" Murong was surprised by Jack's offer.

"Yeah, why not? We are allies, aren't we? You are a good friend to my gramps and I'm a good friend to your disciple, Four Winds," Jack said.

Murong was slightly irked Jack said she was a good friend to Domon, but she didn't bring it up. She instead asked, "Won't Arthur be angry with you if you teach it to me?"

"Huh? Will he? He never said anything about I'm not allowed to teach it to someone else."

"… In that case, teach Muilan," Murong said.

"Master?" Muilan was confused by the request.

"I'm not that proficient in swords. Even if you teach it, I will find it hard to learn," Murong explained. "Muilan is different, she is talented with swords. It will benefit her greatly if she can learn the sword's heart."

Jack turned to Muilan, grinned widely, and said, "Call me master and I will teach you."

"In your dream!!" Muilan yelled.

"Haha, I'm just joking. Okay. First, you have to memorize the sword's heart mantra. It goes like this…"