269: Chapter 269 New Sword Intent Comprehension, Blood-Slaying Chain

Morning light had just begun to crawl up the blue-tiled eaves of the Chen Family's main domain, and dew slid down the ridge, splashing into dark, circular spots on the stone steps.

Chen Wuwang walked along the path back to his residence; his pace was not fast, but every step was firm.

He had just emerged from the Artifact Refining Workshop, his mind still turning over the material ratios and progress milestones for "Anti-Blood No. 1." In the background, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye was still running risk assessment models, with data streams flickering across the edge of his vision.

His fingertips were still tapping the tabletop—one, two—the rhythm never stopping.

This was an old habit from when he used to debug code on Earth; he could not stop whenever he was nervous or focused.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the distance, shattering the quiet of the early morning.

Before the figure arrived, the voice crashed over first: "Head of the Chen Family! Head of the Chen Family!"

It was Chen Xiaodao.

He almost rushed over, his shoulder armor grazing the air and emitting a low hum. The mechanical prosthetic on his left arm shone with a cold light. His breathing was a bit ragged, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, like a sword blade ignited in the night.

Chen Wuwang stopped. He did not move or speak, only lifted his eyes, his pupils slightly contracting.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye automatically initiated scan mode, instantly pulling up data bars for spiritual power fluctuations, meridian pathways, and heart rate rhythm.

Everything was normal.

There was no instability, no disorder, and no signs of the madness that precedes Qi Deviation.

It was a genuine Breakthrough.

"Explain clearly." He spoke, his voice controlled—not loud, not cold, yet like a blade laid across the conversation. "What kind of severing method is it?"

Chen Xiaodao caught his breath and grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth: "I have realized a new Sword Intent; I can sever the 'Connection'."

"It's not about hacking hard at the Blood River, nor is it about trading attrition... It's about cutting its 'connection'."

He raised his hand, palm upward, and a cyan Sword Qi slowly emerged. It was not as violent or ostentatious as before; instead, it was as thin as a hair, weaving between his fingers as if simulating some invisible network.

"The reason the power of the Blood River is so troublesome is that it relies on a 'resonance chain' to maintain itself. If one segment is broken, others immediately fill in, like a web. But I discovered..."

He paused, his gaze sharpening. "As long as you find the node and lightly slash—it's severed, it just breaks. It won't explode, it won't backlash, and it won't regenerate."

As he finished speaking, he pressed his fingers together to form a sword and lightly slashed at the air.

Hum—

The air vibrated slightly, and an extremely thin fissure appeared. It dissipated in less than half a breath, but Chen Wuwang's Mechanical Prosthetic Eye captured that instantaneous energy fault: precise, clean, and without any redundancy.

It was just like deleting a line of erroneous code with a function.

Chen Wuwang finally smiled. The corners of his mouth lifted; he did not make a sound, but the fatigue that had weighed on his eyes all night was suddenly washed away.

He raised his hand and slammed it onto Chen Xiaodao's shoulder armor, the force making the youth sway. "Good! Well done!"

When these words left his mouth, he was stunned for a moment himself.

It had been too long since he had praised someone so directly.

Ever since he became the Head of the Chen Family, everything he said was "feasible," "continue," or "mind your boundaries"; even his nods carried the weight of calculation.

But this sentence had come purely from his heart.

Chen Xiaodao was also taken aback, then lowered his head and smiled, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the texture on the interface of his left mechanical arm.

"I was practicing sword techniques at the Martial Arts Field last night, trying over and over again.

At first, I always wanted to use brute force to hack through the residual Qi of the Blood Puppets, but the more I fought, the messier it got.

Later... I remembered you telling me that the instructions given by the System never tell you the answer directly, but rather let you 'connect' them yourself."

He looked up, his gaze burning. "I thought, could I also turn my Sword Intent into a 'connection identifier'? Not to confront, but to cut in, to cut the line."

Chen Wuwang stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Demonstrate it for me."

"Now?"

"Now."

Chen Xiaodao nodded, took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.

Sword Qi emerged once again, this time steadier and thinner, slowly flowing along the Meridians of his arm, actually forming a resonance with the spiritual energy circuits of his mechanical prosthetic limb.

Cyan light moved around him, like an invisible web being woven and calibrated bit by bit.

Suddenly, his protective mecha armor's alarm sounded—

[Warning: High-risk energy fluctuation detected. Immediate termination advised!]

Two patrol guards rushed over at the sound, their hands already on their weapons, their faces tense. "Young Lord? What happened?"

"Stand down." Chen Wuwang raised his hand. His voice was not loud, but it suppressed the entire scene. "Seal off the communication frequency band for this area; no data streams are allowed to be transmitted outside."

The guards hesitated for a moment, but still executed the order, quickly withdrawing and activating a shielding formation.

Chen Wuwang crouched down, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye switching to microscopic mode, locking onto the trajectory of the Sword Qi running within Chen Xiaodao's body.

He saw it.

That cyan Sword Intent did not advance in a straight line; instead, like a program crawler, it slowly advanced along the simulated Blood River energy chain. Every time it reached a node, it would vibrate slightly, then sever it.

The entire process had no violent collisions, yet it caused the connection lines on the virtual Blood River map to extinguish one by one.

Severed without exploding, clear without chaos.

"Is this even Sword Intent?" he said in a low voice. "You are writing antivirus code."

Chen Xiaodao opened his eyes and smiled. "As long as it works."

"Of course it works." Chen Wuwang stood up and reached out to pull him up. "And it's more important than you think."

He stared into the youth's eyes. "Blood Butcher can flee, he can hide, he can change bodies, but he cannot leave the Blood River.

That is his lifeline, and also his shackles.

Now that you can sever the 'Connection,' it means you can make his Cultivation Technique glitch and his True Qi disconnect—even if it's only for an instant, that's enough for us to send him to Hell."

Chen Xiaodao's eyes grew hot. "Then I'll go find him now! While he's injured, I'll dismantle the Blood Demon Sect in one go!"

"No." Chen Wuwang interrupted directly. "You are a Sharp Weapon now, but not a reckless brute."

He turned and took a black chip from his waist, inserting it into the interface on Chen Xiaodao's arm armor.

"I have already had the System reverse-analyze the neural network topology map of the Blood Puppet remains captured last night.

You take this and practice with it first. Slash ten times a day; each time you must accurately sever at least three core chains. Once you can do it blindfolded without misjudging—"

He paused, his voice sinking:

"I will let you dismantle Blood Butcher's lair with your own hands."

Chen Xiaodao's breath hitched; his fist slowly clenched, then slowly relaxed.

He knew this was trust, and also a test.

It wasn't that he wasn't allowed to go, but rather to ensure he could go more steadily.

"Good." He nodded. "I will definitely practice until I am infallible."

Chen Wuwang looked at him, suddenly reached out, and slammed his shoulder armor heavily, with even more force than before.

"Remember one thing." His voice was low, but every word was clear. "The sword is not born for killing."

"It is to let the people behind you sleep in peace."

After speaking, he turned and left, his pace steady, his back straight like a flag planted into the earth.

Chen Xiaodao stood in place, not moving, not responding.

The morning breeze blew across the Martial Arts Field, swirling up a few fallen leaves that brushed past the tips of his boots.

He slowly closed his eyes and sat cross-legged again, palms overlapping. Cyan Sword Qi emerged once more; this time, it was more solid and more tranquil.

His mechanical left arm shone with a faint luster, like a fish swimming under spring water.

Chen Wuwang walked along the corridor, his footsteps not stopping.

The Main Hall was already before his eyes. A string of wind chimes hung under the eaves, not yet ringing.

He knew that the next wave of news would come very soon.

And for now, he only needed to keep walking forward.