Returning to Chen Yuan, after he arrived back at the manor, he began living a reclusive life, much like in the past. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, he spent his time practicing swordsmanship and meditating.
Without any distractions, Chen Yuan immersed himself completely in his own world. Time flew by, and before he knew it, more than twenty days had passed.
On this particular day, Chen Yuan walked into the training ground and pulled out a greatsword weighing 128 pounds from the weapon rack. This greatsword had been specially custom-made for him at a blacksmith's shop, specifically for building his strength.
Chen Yuan gripped the greatsword with both hands, assumed his stance, exhaled deeply, and rooted his legs firmly into the ground like an old tree. He began his movements, channeling power from the ground up, his entire body's strength pouring into his arms as he swung the sword. The air seemed to explode as the sword cut through it, emitting a sharp, ear-piercing roar.
Chen Yuan never neglected his daily sword practice. Although he had long met Chen Xin's requirements, he now pushed himself even further.
Every day, he would swing the 128-pound greatsword with all his strength a thousand times. Swing, retract, repeat. By the time he finished today's training, several hours had passed.
Beads of sweat rolled down Chen Yuan's face, and his white training clothes were soaked through. Despite his physical exhaustion, his spirit remained high.
After stretching his limbs slightly, Chen Yuan moved on to his next training session. He tossed the 128-pound greatsword back onto the weapon rack and summoned the Seven Kill Sword, beginning to practice the Seven Kill Sword Technique.
With a step, Chen Yuan moved. The sword followed his body, and in an instant, layers of sword shadows surrounded him. The cold light of the blade flickered, and the force of the sword sent gusts of wind scattering in all directions.
At the same time, Chen Yuan pondered the concept of Unity of Man and Sword. It was incredibly difficult. Although Chen Xin had told him to forget the sword in his hand, to become the sword itself, achieving the state where the sword and the person were one—this was the Unity of Man and Sword.
But even with the knowledge laid out before him, not everyone could get into Tsinghua or Peking University. Sometimes, a moment of enlightenment was truly needed.
Chen Yuan's thoughts began to wander:
'The Seven Kill Sword is my martial soul. In the Douluo Continent, martial souls are inherited through bloodlines, passed down from one's parents. Martial souls are condensed from bloodlines. Whether it's a tool-type or beast-type martial soul, it's not an inanimate object. It's an intimate partner, like another version of myself…'
At this thought, Chen Yuan's eyes widened:
'Two sides of the same coin. The martial soul is me, and I am the martial soul. Therefore, the Seven Kill Sword… is me!'
A flash of enlightenment struck him. The Seven Kill Sword in his hand seemed to sense something and began to tremble. Sword energy surged from the blade, spreading to Chen Yuan's body. His entire being was enveloped in sword energy, as if he himself had become a divine sword.
At this moment, Chen Yuan was in a trance, lost in a profound state. The Seven Kill Sword in his hand was no longer separate from him. He no longer needed to rely on the sword itself; even a flick of his finger could unleash the Seven Kill Sword's energy.
Within his dantian, all his soul power churned, transforming into a raging sword energy that coursed through his meridians.
The sharp sword energy tore through his meridians and cut into his body, causing waves of intense pain. Chen Yuan immediately snapped out of his trance. Without hesitation, he swung his sword toward the sky. The sword energy found an outlet and erupted like an angry dragon.
Boom!
All the sword energy from Chen Yuan's body condensed into a seven-to-eight-meter-long blade of light, shooting into the sky. Within 50 meters, its power was overwhelming. Beyond 50 meters, its strength diminished, and by 100 meters, the blade of light dissipated into nothingness.
This was undoubtedly Chen Yuan's strongest attack to date, comparable to a Soul King using a ten-thousand-year soul skill. Although it consumed all his soul power, the power it unleashed did not disappoint. The sharpness of the Seven Kill Sword was truly unstoppable.
Chen Yuan stared at the sky, having now exited the state of Unity of Man and Sword. His face was pale, not just from exhaustion but also from the damage the sword energy had inflicted on his body.
Before harming others, he had harmed himself. The Unity of Man and Sword was indeed a self-sacrificial technique. It seemed his body wasn't yet strong enough to withstand the ravages of the sword energy.
However, the power had indeed doubled. By converting all his soul power into sword energy, he could unleash several times his normal combat strength in critical moments.
At this moment, Chen Yuan laughed heartily:
"Haha, mastering the Unity of Man and Sword means I've reached the pinnacle of the Seven Kill Sword Technique. The Killing Principle is also nearly mastered. Of the three secret techniques of the Chen family, only Soul Ring Refinement remains beyond my grasp."
"But even my teacher hasn't fully mastered Soul Ring Refinement. In the original story, it wasn't until he broke through to level 97 that he successfully refined his nine soul rings into nine stars on his martial soul. This means it was only after reaching level 97 that he could suppress the energy of his nine soul rings and fully integrate them into himself. It seems I still have a long way to go."
The Chen family's Soul Ring Refinement was no less impressive than the Clear Sky Sect's Ring Explosion. Ring Explosion involved detonating soul rings to release all their power, allowing the user to unleash attacks beyond their limits.
As for Soul Ring Refinement, it involved suppressing the energy of the soul rings and fully integrating it into oneself. The power gained was more stable and didn't come with severe side effects, but the difficulty was also much higher. Only those with immense soul power could achieve it.
Consider Chen Xin: with his two yellow, two purple, and five black soul rings, it took him level 97 soul power to suppress them. If Chen Yuan were to absorb two or three hundred-thousand-year soul rings, or even a million-year soul ring in the future, how much soul power would he need to suppress their energy and fully integrate them?
However, the greater the effort, the greater the reward. If he could refine a million-year soul ring, his Seven Kill Sword might transform into a divine weapon—or, in other words, a divine-level martial soul.
Pulling his thoughts back, the pain coursing through his body made Chen Yuan grimace. He turned and dragged his exhausted body back to his room to begin meditating. Once he had recovered a bit of soul power, he channeled it into the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, activating the skill "Endless Regeneration, Reborn with the Spring Wind."
A gentle blue energy flowed rapidly through his body. Under the nourishment of this energy, his body felt a cool, soothing sensation, and the pain gradually faded away.
The Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone was truly a worthwhile absorption. It was like carrying a top-tier healing soul master with him at all times. For a battle soul master like him, it significantly boosted his survivability.
As his body quickly recovered, another happy thought occurred to him: his soul power had become even purer. It seemed that after this experience, he could now wield it as effortlessly as his own limbs.
With this, Chen Yuan was confident that within ten days, he would break through to level 40…
(End of Chapter)
Word Count : 1,325
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