Some Sword Saint Thoughts/Feedback

★Ignoring whether a weapon is heavy or not is a fine approach - I stand by the thought that people can be trusted not to always go for the most damaging weapons, though I might be wrong.
**O** Cutting out exotic weapons Monk can already get access to is a little odd, at least considering chain whips. I already know the arguments against ranged weapons and accept them, of course.
★Giving the ability to replace unarmed strikes up front without relying on the reader seeing WCX's general changes (or having the book at all) is a good idea!
•As for the main mechanic, the damage type bonuses, my feelings are mixed. I kind of like how simple they are, and they're certainly powerful - I actually get a Brute Fighter vibe from them - but they also feel a little bit much in some ways even by WCX martial standards, though that's just my instinct. I'm used to balancing for vanilla stuff, so it's difficult for me to say how exactly it compares to the elevated variety/power you aim for. Regardless, I think they should be rethought a little. (Maybe triggering if you have advantage on the attack is a condition that could be good? I suppose that might encourage Stunning Strike too much, though.)
―Bludgeoning in particular is *way strong*. There are already a few AC bypass/reduction mechanics in WCX, but unconditional -1 per hit until the target's next turn surpass (and stack with) those. I could see it being fiddly to keep track of in big fights, in addition to messing with Status and Power Attack-style maneuvers. It's also a little surprising to see a free, easily spammed save-or-prone effect, given that comment on the other Monk about grabbing Open Hand's niche which you took seriously. (I'm not sure if I agree with that comment, but I do think the prone effect is too easy to use. Strength saves *are* kind of all or nothing and it's on the lower ki save DC, but sheer quantity might win the day by itself. Being on that DC does help, I admit.)
―Piercing is neat anime stuff. More anime than usual, anyway. It's not as powerful as Sunderer (though I assume it's more "weapon catches/snags the opponent somehow" than "you literally stab someone clean through every single turn", given the abstraction of HP, although then again people can shrug through fireballs and such...¯\\\_(•.•)_/¯), at least in concept. Still, you should probably be required to successfully hit the second target to do the launch thing on it. Actually, is it an actual attack or just an attack roll to qualify for being launched? Can you launch with only one impaled enemy? And why 30 feet, could/should a check play a part? Despite all of my picking, it's a novel effect, and I like the image of it.
―Slashing is the odd duck out. It's got no utility whatsoever, unlike the others, and the accuracy effect until your turn ends is strictly worse than lowering AC until the target's turn because no one else can capitalize on it. The little bits of easy extra damage can certainly add up, especially early in the game and with the increased chance for Status, but the whole thing is honestly really dull. If anything could use a touch of anime, it's probably Slashing effects, given that we seem to struggle to come up with things beyond extra damage or simulated bleeding in the usual flavor of the game.
**O** Unlock the Blade is okay. Doesn't immediately do much on its own. The way the subclass is currently laid out, probably doesn't need to/shouldn't, given how big the 3rd level features are and how novel/useful getting a third weapon can be. The nods to magical weapons are appreciated and will certainly help the Monk stand out at high levels if/when the party has a bunch of magic stuff, but that's high levels, and this is 6th. In the meantime, maybe you can find a way to use those tools in RP.
**O** Unbind the Blade is pretty cool. Was a little bewildering at first, but I see the intent now, giving you a potent backup or defensive option that doesn't interact with the rest of the subclass's features as a tradeoff. Usual disclaimers about Force damage being strong apply. The AOE feels pretty extraneous, though. Despite my first instinct, 2 ki is probably a reasonable cost given the acceptable range and set damage, and I guess Dexterity for the damage makes a certain sense? I dunno though. It doesn't feel like anything makes sense for non-elemental force explosion thing to key off of, besides maybe Wisdom. How the flavor should dictate/intersect with mechanics probably depends on if you're thinking "sword beams" or "the Zero/One keyblade with Targeting Lock activated", as right now the former makes sense for the attacks but keying off Dexterity makes sense for the latter (though the Zero/One is also kinda obscure so it's probably not that :b ).
•You need a little more language to make the ranged attacks work with Understand the Blade, there's no effect for Force damage and no way to not deal Force damage. I know that 17th level Monk features tend to be powerful effects, so "on top of being faster than light you can attack 60 feet away" and "you get yet another attack every turn" certainly manage that. But then there's *steel wind strike*...I know it's cool, and fitting for the flavor you've drummed up, but it's also really powerful as a 5th level spell, moreso with the modification you gave it. And 8-10 uses would still be totally excessive if it didn't key off of Dexterity. Please reduce it to 1-2 uses or give it a ki cost or something! I get the feeling that one of these three features could comfortably be removed from Unleash the Blade altogether, to be honest.

Overall, I like a lot of the ideas here, and the over-the-top flavor of the subclass is cool too. (I wouldn't switch over to it with my Kensei since it's so different from the original in features and flavor, but that's both an edge case and a personal preference, of course.) Execution probably ought to be reconsidered, though - it monkeys with combat fundamentals like accuracy, spacing/position and condition pretty heavily and very consistently without using any resources at all, and the way everything eventually combines and can easily be switched out, I get the impression that its basic attacks are flat out better in several dimensions than even the unique or limited stuff other classes/subclasses get at higher levels. The properties of the mastered weapons themselves, besides their damage type(s) and passive qualities like Status, run the risk of being lost in the face of 60 foot range and either force damage or overpowering on-hit effects. I'm not sure if that's by design or not.