Although it was summer, the temperature at the cave abode training grounds’ mountain summit was extremely low.
Meng Chuan stood there, and—without any warning—he drew his saber instantly. The saber beam transformed into lightning.
This strike made Meng Chuan shake his head slightly. Senior Guo Ke’s second strike could condense the lightning to an extreme. The lightning tore through the void, leaving a trail of distortion in the void. Even the distance changed. A distance of hundreds of feet warped, turning into a distance that wasn’t more than ten feet. With such a change in distance, attacks reach the target several dozen-fold faster. Furthermore, the attack’s trajectory is difficult to pinpoint. His attack is far more terrifying than mine.
I’m afraid I’ll die from one of Senior Guo Ke’s moves.
Senior Guo Ke had demonstrated five Heart Saber Stance variations. The first variation was the simplest. At the time, he had understood 90% at a glance. He understood everything after some careful thought. The third variation was beyond his realm. He didn’t understand it! The fourth and fifth strike was way beyond him.
Only Guo Ke’s second Heart Saber Stance variation was suitable for contemplation at the moment.
Be more restrained when attacking? Meng Chuan pondered for a moment before he swung his saber. His hundred-foot perception domain let him see his saber techniques clearly. He shook his head in displeasure and continued cultivating.
As he immersed himself in cultivation, he forgot about time. Without any distractions, he focused on improving his saber art.
In the past, he had relied purely on words and drawings to cultivate the Heart Intent Saber Art. Now that the entire legacy was imprinted in his mind, he had many ideas to try.
Some failed despite plenty of attempts. Some ultimately succeeded after repeated revisions.
Every time he succeeded, the improvement in his saber art filled him with joy. He could clearly sense his saber art increasing in might, and he became more knowledgeable. This feeling intoxicated him.
...
Days passed...
Meng Chuan only had his saber art on his mind! He thought about his saber art while eating. When forced to bathe by Qiyue, he would still be thinking about his saber art. He thought about his saber art even before sleeping.
He even forgot about his daily drawing! He had also forgotten to cultivate his Quintessential Essence every day! All of this was thrown to the back of his mind...
When he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he practiced his saber.
Ah Chuan used to have long chats with me during dinner, but he’s so terse when we have dinner together nowadays. Liu Qiyue saw Meng Chuan rush to the training grounds alone after he was done with dinner. She couldn’t help but smile. All these years, she hadn’t seen Meng Chuan so obsessed. However, she still felt very happy. She knew that this was a time for Meng Chuan to advance by leaps and bounds. He couldn’t afford any interference.
“Lady Liu Qiyue, someone wishes to meet you,” Steward Liu said respectfully.
“Oh?” Liu Qiyue came to the cave abode’s entrance and saw a mortal middle-aged man. He said respectfully, “Lady Liu Qiyue, I’m here to invite you to Blood Red Cliff tomorrow afternoon. The name of Godfiend, Senior Chang Yong, will be engraved.”
“Senior Brother Chang Yong is dead?” Liu Qiyue was slightly taken aback.
Engraving a name on Blood Red Cliff meant a Godfiend’s death. The engraving of the name was for Archean Mountain juniors to pay their respects.
On the 28th of every month, the Archean Mountain Godfiends—who died in battle over the past month—would have their names engraved on Blood Red Cliff.
“No other Godfiends’ names are being engraved on Blood Red Cliff this month, right?” Liu Qiyue asked again.
“Yes, just Senior Chang Yong.” After saying that, the middle-aged man left respectfully.
Senior Brother Chang Yong... Liu Qiyue frowned slightly. She obviously knew the names of all Archean Mountain disciples of recent years. Senior Brother Chang Yong was a Great Solar Godfiend. He was already 152 years old this year. For him to die in battle at his age, he was considered to have lived a long life among the Godfiends.
Liu Qiyue felt terrible every time she witnessed the name-engraving of a fellow sect member who had died in battle. However, she had gotten used to it after all these years.
Every year, Godfiends died in battle, numbering from just a handful to thirty Godfiends. She had been to too many engraving days, so she could now face everything calmly.
Ah Chuan is madly cultivating his saber art, and he said that he cannot be disturbed. Liu Qiyue looked towards the distant training grounds. Through the courtyard entrance, she could see Meng Chuan sitting there in a daze. I won’t tell him about this.
Not attending the name-engraving ceremony at Blood Red Cliff on two or three occasions wasn’t a problem for the entire human race. Stopping Meng Chuan’s mad cultivation would set him back significantly. Even the Supremacy had specially instructed him not to participate in any matters.
...
Inside the training grounds, Meng Chuan sat still. His mind was constantly in motion, even though he was seemingly dazed. He stood up after ten minutes. After using his saber art a few times, he sat down in confusion and continued to ponder.
He had cultivated the Heart Intent Saber Art for nearly eleven years. This was the first time he had obtained the legacy via intent. There were too many things that required further verification.
Days passed, and he acquired greater insights! His saber art also transformed rapidly!
...
23rd July.
Meng Chuan instantly drew his saber, and the saber beam transformed into blinding lightning. At this moment, the extremely restrained saber beam made the lightning even more resplendent. Through the saber in his hand, Meng Chuan could vaguely sense the fluctuations coming from the void. He followed one of the fluctuations closest to his target and attacked, causing the saber beam to teleport dozens of feet away.
Despite being dozens of feet away, the distance between him and his target seemed to be greatly shortened by following the fluctuation’s trajectory in the void.
How magical. Meng Chuan was overjoyed after executing that strike.
It was truly magical. It was akin to two points. By taking detours, one might walk five kilometers to go between the two points! But if one took a straight path from one point to another, one would only walk one kilometer. Despite the same outcome, the time it took to achieve that outcome differed.
It was the same with Meng Chuan’s strike. When one looked at it with the naked eye, the target appeared to be 30 to 40 feet away. However, when his attack followed the mysterious void fluctuation, the distance between him and the target was reduced to ten feet.
The more condensed the strike’s might, the stronger the lightning. It can even influence the void. Meng Chuan came to a realization. To the average Godfiend, the void was extremely stable. However, when he condensed his strike’s power to a certain extent, the void would distort and warp. The distance between him and the target would change. By following the nearest fluctuation, he would be closer to his target.
Guo Ke could warp his attack from hundreds of feet away to just being in arm’s reach of his target. The condensed strike’s strength, the control over his strength, and the control over his Quintessential Essence were ten times more brilliant than Meng Chuan’s.
Meng Chuan had just scratched the surface of the Heart Intent Saber Art.
Since I can affect the void, it can be considered a qualitative change. According to the books, I have attained Greater Mastery of Saber Soul. Meng Chuan nodded slightly.
Meng Chuan didn’t think too much about his achievement. Instead, he continued to cultivate like crazy because he still had many ideas. He didn’t focus on only the Heart Saber Stance; he also experimented with Swallow Stance, Dragon Roar Stance, Tiger Roar Stance, Red Lotus Stance, and Extreme Yin Stance. He had many ideas that required experimentation.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was already late autumn.
Meng Chuan returned to normal on 19th September.
He had tested every idea he thought of in the three months. Some of his ideas were on the wrong path while he gained significant benefits from others. He was quite satisfied with attaining Greater Mastery of Saber Soul. It wasn’t easy to reach the Realm of Soul’s peak. Of course, it was much harder to break through from the peak of the Saber Soul realm to the Saber Dao realm. Many Great Solar Godfiends would fail to succeed their entire lives.
Wonderful. Meng Chuan stretched his back on the training grounds. It’s about time to become a Great Solar Godfiend. Once I clear the Nine Mystical Caves, I can leave the mountain.