There was absolutely no response to his subsequent questions.

　　Yet today, for some reason, the girl's expression seemed momentarily dazed, then she began to murmur to herself.

　　"Who am I? I am Wuya—no, I am a sword spirit! The sword spirit of Qingyun Sword, Emily Lawson. You may call me Emily—"

　　After speaking, the girl calmly asked, "Are you willing to learn swordsmanship with me?"

　　Sword spirit?

　　Adam Carter thought of his own decayed sword. He mused to himself, as expected, there really is a connection between the two. The woman before him was the spirit within the sword.

　　He was secretly amazed; the ancient books all said that divine swords have spirits, and that sword spirits could even possess intelligence like humans. It turned out to be true.

　　He didn't know whether it was because of the life-saving grace not long ago, or because the sword spirit before him took the form of a beautiful woman, but Adam Carter's aversion lessened somewhat. With a curious look in his eyes, he continued to ask, "Why is it that you can speak today?"

　　"Spirit in harmony, will in harmony!"

　　The voice of Emily was like celestial music, but after uttering those four words, she offered no further explanation. Her gaze was deep, as if pondering something.

　　Adam Carter was completely confused and could only speculate on his own. Spirit in harmony? Will in harmony? According to legend, many supreme spiritual swords require cultivators to carry them and nurture them daily with spiritual thought to fully unleash their power. Some demonic swords even require daily nourishment with blood, but their power is also astonishing.

　　Could it be that his relationship with this sword was the same? Seven days ago, he had only just come into contact with this sword. So the girl in his dream could only say that one sentence.

　　And over these seven days, his contact with the sword had deepened, forming a "bond." So the spirit within the sword could now speak to him, could now communicate with him?

　　"Then, Miss Emily, why did you choose me? I practice boxing, not swordsmanship! All my instructors at the academy say I'm not suited for weapons training, and I agree with them."

　　"It is sword intent! The will and the sword are one—"

　　Still as sparing with words as ever, but Adam Carter noticed that Emily's gaze was unfocused, clearly still lost in thought. It was obvious that this answer was mostly a subconscious response.

　　Sword intent? The will and the sword are one? What does that even mean?

　　Even more puzzled, Adam Carter continued to ask, "You said that if I train in swordsmanship with you for ten thousand years, I could become a peerless immortal king. But how could a person possibly live for ten thousand years? As far as I know, even Nascent Soul cultivators only have a lifespan of six hundred to a thousand years. And is there really such a thing as immortals in this world?"

　　"Ignorant!"

　　Emily Lawson seemed to finally come to her senses, let out a cold snort, and a chilling aura instantly filled the entire dream.

　　Her gaze fell upon him again, and Adam Carter suddenly felt a chill all over, as if a sword was pointed right at his brow.

　　"Above the Nascent Soul you speak of, there are five more realms: Void Refinement, Unity, Return to Origin, Great Ascension, and Ascension to Immortality. After these five great realms, one can become an immortal and enjoy a lifespan of thirty thousand years! As for the so-called peerless immortal king, as the name suggests, it is one who stands out among all immortals! If you follow me in sword cultivation, after six or seven thousand years, if you do not die, you will surely attain eternal life and freedom!"

　　Adam Carter was stunned this time, unable to accept it. In his mind, a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining was already an extraordinary figure.

　　And the legendary Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms were practically gods. Even a single one could destroy a nation.

　　For example, in his own country of Eastern Wu, it was only because a Golden Core ancestor guarded the royal family that they were a minor hegemon in the southeast.

　　There were actually other countries with territory and power comparable to Eastern Wu, but because they had no Golden Core cultivators, they could only look up to Eastern Wu.

　　If not for the checks and balances of other great nations, Eastern Wu would have long since swept across the southeast and annexed the other states.

　　Shocked, Adam Carter shook his head again. Nascent Soul, Void Refinement, Unity, Return to Origin, immortals—these were all far too distant from him, not worth thinking about! Even now, he was still quite far from even entering the Qi Refining stage.

　　"Then just now, was it you controlling my body? And why?"

　　"It was me!"

　　Emily nodded and said indifferently, "You are the Qingyun Sword Master I have finally chosen in this millennium. If I let you die, Emily would have to wait another thousand years to choose a new master. That would be far too troublesome. Do you understand now, Master?"

　　Her tone was utterly flat, as if she were speaking of the most ordinary thing.

　　Adam Carter couldn't help but blink. A master every thousand years? In other words, this Qingyun Divine Sword had not chosen only him as its master? What about the previous sword masters? Where were they now?

　　Could it be that they no longer existed in this world?

　　"I suppose I understand, but Miss Emily, would you ever seize my body?"

　　This was what he truly cared about. Adam Carter did not want his body to be inexplicably taken over one day.

　　"I am a sword spirit; the sword is my body. What would I want with your body? Just now was an emergency, so Emily acted on her own initiative and controlled you with the sword."

　　At this point, Emily glanced at Adam Carter's expression and said coldly, "If you dislike it, then from now on, unless you give your consent, I will never control your body again! In fact, there is no need to worry. At that moment, your fighting spirit resonated with mine, which is why it was possible. At any other time, I would not have that ability."