The sword was larger than Isshin had envisioned. As his fingers closed around the hilt, he sensed its potential, its dormant power. Using it with grace and accuracy, however, was another matter altogether.
With each swing, Isshin was overcome by the overwhelming burden of inexperience. The sword flailed about like a fledgling bird attempting flight. His muscles screamed in protest as he labored through the motions, but he would not quit.
Raijin, the strict instructor that he was, observed with discerning eyes. He knew only too well that to master the sword took more than brute strength. It took discipline, commitment, and a rock-steady resolve to get better.
"Again," Raijin ordered, his tone uncompromising.
Isshin's days merged into an endless routine. The sun would dawn, casting its warmth over their training area, and the clash of steel on steel would echo out. One thousand swings a day, a rigorous routine that pushed Isshin's willpower to the breaking point.
But the boy went on, day after day, swing upon swing. Each time, his actions grew smoother, the sword a part of him, not a burden. Muscles that had once been frail and trembling now rippled with a new strength.
As the weeks went by, Isshin got better. His swings were no longer wild and uncontrollable but calculated, trained to hit with lethal precision. Raijin watched his student's transformation with an approving nod.
After what seemed like an eternity, the month came to an end. Isshin's body was a map of his tireless training, a canvas of bruises and callouses that spoke to his dedication.
Raijin was nodding, grinning. "You've come a long way, Isshin."
Isshin, breathless but resolute, could only nod in reply.
"Now," Raijin began, "time for the next step. Sword aura."
Raijin decided to show what sword aura was. He picked up Isshin's sword swung it at a tree and cut through it with ease because of his power, "Now this is with sword aura" Raijin says.
Suddenly his sword glowed with mana, Raijin didn't even have the movement to slash down, he just had his sword alongside the tree and touched it in close proximity, but the tree got sliced down quite easily, Isshin was surprised with the power of the sword aura.
Raijin observed Isshin's resolve with a combination of patience and pride. The road to the control of sword aura was perilous, and Isshin had begun it with a passion that few could match, even impressing the dragon god.
The days turned into weeks as Isshin persisted, his blade occasionally flashing with brief, frantic bursts of mana. His frustration would intermittently get the better of him, only for him to take up the practice once again with renewed intensity.
Throughout his training, Isshin explored deeper into the woods to fight ruthless foes. Beasts of all sizes and shapes, from swift wolves to giant bears, felt the keen edge of his sword. Each battle was a test, a trial of his evolving skill.
Yet it was in these sessions that Isshin's sword started to mirror his resolve. It would shine with a soft, otherworldly glow for fleeting instants in time as if in approval of his impenetrable will. Raijin, watching from the sidelines, saw the faint telltale hints of improvement.
One night, as Isshin came back from a triumphant hunt, his sword carried not only the blood of his enemies but a hint of something else—a fragment of sword aura, if only for a moment.
Raijin walked towards his student with a calculated look. "You're getting closer, Isshin."
Panting, Isshin nodded. "I can feel it, sensei. It's like trying to catch a gust of wind."
Raijin smiled, a rare look for the stoic dragon god. "It is, yes. But remember, patience is the key to learning sword aura. It comes from the mixing of your soul and the sword."
After 4 months of hard work, Isshin finally grasped Sword aura, he had been hunting low-level beasts for a long time too and he saved up lots of points.
"Isshin Ryugen
Level: 11
Health: 12
Strength: 11
Endurance: 14
Mana/qi: 11
Intelligence: 9
Points Available: 7
Level of cultivation: Body Refinement Realm 2nd Stage
Contracted Beasts: None
Titles: None
Isshin thought about his new power and how he would distribute his points as he listened to Raijin's speech. "It's time for you to break through," Raijin said with resolve that sparked Isshin's resolve.
With unshakeable determination, Isshin set out on the arduous practice of cultivation. It was a path that was strewn with suffering, a test by flesh and spirit. But he finally found himself at a superior level. He did not just rank up once but twice, which brought him to Body Refinement Realm 4th Stage
Following his attainment of the 4th level of the Body Refinement Realm, Isshin's training took a shocking turn. His teacher, Raijin, presented a new method that would push him to his limits: Thunder Qi. This wasn't just any skill; it was tapping into the energy of Raijin's internal power, an energy capable of electrifying someone to their very core.
His Thunder Qi initiation was baptism by lightning. The pain was indescribable; it felt as though he was being assaulted by bolts of electricity, five hundred volts per second flowing through his veins. If he were to flow this energy through his entire body, it would be like enduring fifty thousand volts per second, a degree of pain beyond the imagination.
Yet, Isshin's indomitable will refused to yield. He battled his body's resistance, working to keep at bay the fierce Thunder Qi within. Months turned into an eternity of unbroken labor, every day forging endurance and perseverance into his very essence. Advancing incrementally by inches, he stretched his limits, learning to maintain Thunder Qi for a full ten seconds.
But even this was not sufficient. Raijin saw the insurmountable obstacle that Thunder Qi presented for Isshin. They decided – they would travel far from their isolated training areas.
"Where are we going?" he said to Raijin.
But before there was a response, Raijin hastily ordered him to conceal himself. Isshin promptly hid behind a huge boulder, his heart racing as he witnessed two enormous creatures fight ferociously. A Basilisk, a giant reptilian poisonous creature, and a Chimera, a mythical hybrid creature, battled in an awe-inspiring display.
"I flew by and spotted this forest blanketed in 4-7 star beasts before I saved you," Raijin explained, describing the incredible place they had found themselves in.
Led by Raijin, Isshin arrived at a huge cave, a whole ecosystem within it. There, Isshin met a legendary creature: a Phoenix, a powerful 6-star monster. Fear crept through his veins as he hesitated to pluck a feather. Raijin prodded him despite the risk. Isshin gathered his wits, walked up to the sleeping Phoenix, and succeeded in plucking one feather without awakening the monster.
However, his triumph was short-lived since the Phoenix awakened in a rage, its enormous eyes fixing on him. Pandemonium broke out as Isshin narrowly escaped the Phoenix's angry attack. In a last-ditch effort, he called upon Thunder Qi, bracing against the pain, and ran from the angry creature. His body ached from the steady electric shock, but adrenaline carried him to safety.
Returning to their camp with the feather in hand, Isshin wondered about its purpose.
"What do I do with this?" he asked Raijin.
"As you inhale Qi from the air, attempt to pull Qi from this feather directly," Raijin instructed him.
Isshin had absorbed the feather's Qi, which was painful but endurable, unlike the pain of Thunder Qi. When he finished the absorption, a notification popped up:
"Successfully absorbed Feather of Phoenix x1"
"You have leveled up!" "You have leveled up!" "You have leveled up!" "You have leveled up!" "You have leveled up!"
Isshin Ryugen
Level: 20
Health: 14
Strength: 13
Stamina: 15
Mana/qi: 12
Intelligence: 11
Points Available: 5
Cultivation level: Body Refinement Realm 4th Stage
Contracted Beasts: None
Titles: None
Isshin decided to distribute his points evenly again, further developing his attributes. He also resumed training in Thunder Qi, now able to maintain it for a full ten minutes.
Isshin Ryugen
Level: 20
Health: 17
Strength: 15 - 19
Stamina: 15 - 36
Mana/qi: 12
Intelligence: 11
Points Available: 0
Cultivation level: Body Refinement Realm 4th Stage
Contracted Beasts: None
Titles: None
With Thunder Qi now more in his control, his attributes skyrocketed.
Raijin continued to train Isshin by teaching him his very first sword technique: the "Thunderclap Blade." Isshin struggled at first since he needed to infuse Thunder Qi into his sword. Every swing had a lot of power in it, so it was a test of his endurance. Through continuous training, though, he mastered the technique.
Under Raijin's careful eye, Isshin learned the subtleties of the old sword style called the "Thunder Slash Blade." Raijin started by teaching the footwork, a precise dance of elegance and poise that Isshin learned with enthusiasm, replicating his master's movements increasingly skillfully.
Yet the real heart of the technique was in the swordplay itself. Raijin's sword sliced through the air, a deadly extension of his intent. In every swing, Raijin showed not just the strength but also the elegance of the Thunder Slash Blade. It was a continuous flow of motion – a thrust, a strong upward slashing motion, and a following slash downward at a 120-degree angle, a progression that boded destruction to any enemy.
Isshin's first efforts were plagued by adversity. The Thunder Qi, coursing through his blade, filled each strike with a colossal energy that appeared certain to upset his balance. The force was gigantic, and mastery was fleeting. Yet he continued.
Gradually but assuredly, Isshin got into his groove. The actions were smooth, a dance of grace and strength. The Thunder Qi flowed through his sword with managed intensity, and every swing cut a swath of pure devastation.
Through determination drenched in sweat and hours of endless training, Isshin was finally able to assert mastery of the Thunder Slash Blade
As Isshin kept training, his way was led through constant trials and battles. Four years of continuous training and hunting had made him a capable warrior. With his eyes fixed on the horizon of advancement, Isshin believed that it was the right moment to test his progress.
With a feeling of anticipation, he reviewed his statistics:
"Isshin Ryugen Level: 44 Health: 27 Strength: 26 Stamina: 44 Mana/qi: 23 Intelligence: 22 Points Available: 0 Cultivation level: Body Refinement Realm 9th Stage Contracted Beasts: None Titles: None"
The figures drew the picture of a warrior who stood at the threshold of a profound change. The Golden Core Realm was calling.
He required a rank 3 beasts core to rank up.
Deep in the woods infested with dangerous creatures, Isshin came face to face with a serious opponent—a young Basilisk, a rank 3 monster. With confidence coursing through his veins, he confronted the creature, which had exposed its toxic fangs in a poisonous glare.
With a blast of Thunder Qi, Isshin launched himself into the air, avoiding the snapping maw of the Basilisk by mere inches. Isshin descended onto the beast, invoking the power of his Thunder Slash Blade technique, a technique honed from years of tiresome practice.
His sword fell on the Basilisk's smooth scales, cutting a great gash in its middle. The beast reeled back in pain, but its reprisal was prompt and merciless. With a crashing sound within the woods, the Basilisk's tail smashed into Isshin, slamming him into a tree. The giant impact of the attack reduced the tree to a thousand shards.
Stunned but not fallen, Isshin regained his footing just in time to avoid the Basilisk's second attack. With a smooth, practiced movement, he stepped aside from the fatal bite, avoiding the monster's venomous jaws by inches.
Taking advantage of the moment, Isshin focused the power of Thunder Qi into his sword and struck with every ounce of strength he had. The Thunder Slash Sword bit deep, cutting through the Basilisk's head. Lightning flashed along the blade as it connected, burning through the monster's eye.
With a last, futile struggle, the Basilisk thrashed. But Isshin's determination could not be moved. Blow on blow rained down until finally the beast was defeated, its vital force quenched.
With victory were the spoils—a prized core pulsating with intense energy. Isshin had defeated the rank 3 monster, gaining the key to his advancement into the Golden Core Realm.
"You have leveled up!"
"You have leveled up!"
"You have leveled up!"
"You have leveled up!"
"You have leveled up!"
"You have leveled up!"
"You have leveled up!"
As the sounds of combat quieted in the distant depths of the beast-ridden forest, Isshin was left bruised and battered from his fierce fight with the young Basilisk. His body ached wherever he shifted, and his breaths were strained and heavy.
He nursed his wounds with utmost care
With utmost fear and determination burning in his eyes, Isshin was finally ready. He held the Basilisk's core in his palms, its pulsating energy in sync with his own. As he began the intricate process of integrating its essence, he felt a surge of power unlike any other.
His body quivered as the power flowed through him, remolding his very essence. It was a baptism of energy, a rebirth that signaled his transition into the mysterious domain of the Golden Core.
Having spent decades in isolation and brutal training, the day that Isshin had been dreaming of had finally arrived. His voice trembled with excitement and fear as he finally asked the question he had been waiting for so long of Raijin.
"I can go at last, can't I?" Isshin's voice was weighed down by the weight of his decades of dedication. The prospect of human contact, of venturing beyond the boundaries of his secluded training grounds, was one that sent a very clear thrill through him.
Raijin, the wise sage who had taught him at every stage of his journey, met Isshin's gaze with a knowing smile. His response was simple but contained the promise of a world yet unknown.
"Yeah," Raijin said, his voice a deep, reassuring rumble. It was a word that marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of another—an affirmation that Isshin was finally ready to face the challenges and wonders of the world beyond. Isshin wished to review his stats once more "Isshin Ryugen Level: 51 Health: 27 Strength: 26 Stamina: 44 Mana/qi: 23 Intelligence: 22 Points Available: Cultivation level: Golden Core Realm 1st Stage Contracted Beasts: None Titles: None "It's time to head to the mainlands"