System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

10: On the eve of the assessmentThe mountain forest was silent, save for the rustle of the breeze through the leaves.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged on a bluestone; his face was still pale, but his aura had gradually stabilized. The needle-like pain in his mind slowly receded, replaced by a strange clarity.

Although the experience in the Myriad Worlds Sword Tomb was dangerous and his consciousness was wounded, the gains were also immense.

Those faint and mixed bits of Sword Intent he had absorbed were like scattered puzzle pieces, being reorganized and integrated by his insights and understanding from his past life as a Sword Venerable. Especially that brief glimpse of the ”Explosion” Sword Intent at the very end had left an indelible mark on his mind.

”The swiftness of wind, the continuity of flow, the steadiness of weight... all can serve as a foundation,” Ye Chen realized. ”And that Explosion Concept can serve as the fuse for a killing Move!”

He did not immediately attempt to Cultivate the complete Wind Chasing Sword Art, but instead practiced his own Wind Shadow Sword Art (Prototype) again using his finger as a sword. This time, however, in addition to the original speed and unpredictability, his finger’s wind carried a faint sense of heaviness and continuity.

He began to try and integrate the insights he had absorbed from the ”Heavy Sword Intent” and ”Flowing Water Sword Intent.”

It was a bit sluggish at first, but soon, under his exquisite control, these different ”Concepts” began to merge. His finger movements were no longer solely focused on speed; instead, he found a balance between fast and slow, and his power became even more unpredictable—sometimes light as a breeze, sometimes heavy as a mountain, and sometimes continuous like waves.

[Ding! Detected that the host is optimizing and fusing the self-created sword skill ’Wind Shadow Sword Art’. Proficiency increased: Minor Achievement. Sword Intent insight Fusion: Initial.]

The System’s notification lifted Ye Chen’s spirits. It really worked!

He stopped his movements, took a moment to adjust his breathing, and only after the stinging pain in his Divine Soul had further lessened did he take the qingfeng sword into his hand.

A cool sensation came through, and that faint connection between man and sword was re-established.

”Clang!”

The qingfeng sword was unsheathed, its dark green blade glinting with a cold luster under the dappled light of the forest.

Ye Chen did not perform any fixed sword moves; he simply stood holding the sword, slowly adjusting his breathing and infusing his own spiritual power and that faint sliver of Sword Venerable’s will into the blade.

”Buzz...”

The qingfeng sword gave a joyful tremble. On the blade, those dark gold patterns flashed and vanished again; though still faint, they were noticeably clearer than when he was at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. At the edge of the sword, an invisible sharp aura naturally spread out, silently slicing through the fallen leaves on the ground.

”Good partner, let’s go to battle together.” Ye Chen lightly stroked the blade, his eyes filled with confidence.

He began to perform the optimized Wind Shadow Sword Art. With the qingfeng sword as a medium, the power of the sword technique was incomparable to before!

Sword light flashed like wind and shadow! Sometimes swift as lightning, piercing the air; sometimes heavy as a mountain, causing the airflow to stagnate; sometimes continuous, the sword light weaving into a green curtain.

He poured out the Sword Intent insights he had just fused through the qingfeng sword. Although it was far from reaching the Realm of perfect mastery, it had already taken shape, and its power far exceeded ordinary Yellow Rank Low Grade or even Medium Grade sword skills!

More importantly, during practice, he could feel that the ancient sharp intent within the qingfeng sword seemed to resonate faintly with his own Sword Intent, subtly nourishing his understanding of the Sword Dao.

Not until the sun set behind the mountains, with most of his spiritual power consumed and his Divine Soul feeling fatigued, did Ye Chen sheath his sword.

He sat cross-legged, took out the remaining two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and began to operate the Basic Qi Guiding Art to replenish his consumption, consolidate his cultivation, and nourish his damaged Divine Soul.

During this cultivation session, he clearly felt that after the tempering in the Sword Tomb and the Fusion of the new Sword Intent, his spiritual power had become more condensed, and his control over power had reached a new level. The Body Tempering Seventh Level Realm was completely stabilized, and he was faintly progressing toward the eighth level.

”Combat and insight are the fastest ways to improve.” Ye Chen knew this principle well.

For the next half-month or so, Ye Chen’s life became very regular.

During the day, he spent most of his time practicing the sword in the forest, cross-referencing and fusing the Wind Shadow Sword Art with the System-rewarded Wind Chasing Sword Art. The fixed Move patterns of the Wind Chasing Sword Art provided him with a solid framework, while the optimization and multi-Concept Fusion of the Wind Shadow Sword Art gave it greater variability and potential.

With the help of the qingfeng sword, his sword technique progressed rapidly. As for that ”Explosion” Sword Intent, although he did not dare to trigger it easily, he constantly pondered it, trying to understand its core to lay a foundation for truly mastering it in the future.

At night, he devoted all his efforts to cultivating the Basic Qi Guiding Art, refining Spirit Stones to increase his cultivation. The Spirit Stones provided by Ye Qingxue were soon exhausted, but the results were significant.

Three days before the assessment, Ye Chen’s cultivation finally broke through to the Body Tempering Eighth Level as naturally as water flowing in a channel! His strength, speed, and reactions were once again comprehensively improved!

At this moment, holding the qingfeng sword and performing the Wind Shadow Sword Art—which fused the essence of the Wind Chasing Sword Art and contained the prototypes of multiple Sword Intents—his true combat power was enough to rival or even defeat ordinary Ninth Level of Body Tempering Realm Cultivators! If he used all his trump cards, he might even be able to fight against someone at the Kaiyuan Realm First Layer!

[host: Ye Chen]

[Realm: Body Tempering Eighth Level]

[martial veins: Hand Shaoyang Meridian (Damaged, Yellow Rank Low Grade)]

[Cultivation Technique: Basic Qi Guiding Art (System Improved Version)]

[Skills: Wind Shadow Sword Art (Fused Prototype, Minor Achievement), Wind Chasing Sword Art (Initial Mastery)]

[Weapon: qingfeng sword (Suspected special spirit weapon, not fully unsealed)]

Looking at his status bar, Ye Chen’s gaze was calm. In one month, from a cripple with shattered martial veinss to the current Body Tempering Eighth Level, mastering powerful sword techniques and possessing a mysterious spirit weapon, this progress could be called lightning-fast.

But he knew well that this was far from enough. Whether it was Lin Batian in the shadows or Ye Chenfeng who had already entered the Tianxuan Sword Sect, they were both high mountains he had to cross.

”Tianfeng Academy... will be my new starting point.”

On the eve of the assessment, Ye Chen did not Cultivate anymore, but allowed his body and mind to relax completely, adjusting his state to its Peak.

He wiped the qingfeng sword, the blade reflecting his firm and deep eyes.

Tomorrow would be the time for the Hidden Dragon’s first roar and the qingfeng sword’s first cry!