Chương 14: Breakthrough

Unaware of the subtle glow, Li Chen took short breaks and returned to the basin, training till it was dusk!

With his three arm Yang meridians, three arm Yin meridians, and three leg Yin and Yang meridians wide open, shimmering as jade and growing increasingly stronger as a unique energy stream nourished his bones and tendons, Li Chen fell into a trance.

The pressure of the depths fought against his movements, making each move a dozen times harder than usual yet it evolved his determination.

Li Chen circulated his sacred moon and star's energy to keep his body steady. However, after a while, a terrible ache spread throughout his body, causing him to grunt.

The pressure was too much to bear as his body got weaker but at that moment, Li Chen felt something crack within him and a vast amount of energy streamed into his body.

The soothing energy of the moon moved through his meridians and accumulated in his dantain, forming a foggy whirlpool.

Ka Ka Ka

His tendons crackled like thunder and his eyes gleamed like the stars. Accumulating energy, he blasted out of the water and slowly floated to the ground.

Feeling energy ripples wrapping around his body in continuous circulation, Li Chen felt he would have smiled like a fool if he had a mouth.

In the hut, Old Li's eyes snapped open. 'The kid broke through. Is this a stroke of luck or is he really not just an ordinary mortal?'

Stroking his beard, Old Li pondered deeply.

Unaware that Old Li knew of his breakthrough, Li Chen gasped at the energy coursing through his veins. The power he felt was almost addictive!

[Wow! 11-star-immortal Human. I've broken through the restraints of a mortal!] He gasped, clenching his fist.

The ability to control the circulation of energy outside their bodies to boost their ability was the perk of an immortal human, which was why Xiu Ying could soar weightlessly.

Approaching a boulder with confidence, he raised his fist and paused. Straightening his fingers, he struck with the edge and his palm sank into the boulder.

It cleaved out a rugged path, showing the destructive might of a human palm but the result infuriated Li Chen.

[Humph!]

Snorting, he raised his right leg high, slammed the boulder, and a deep foot print appeared on the rock. Web-like cracks spread from the print and the boulder crumbled.

"Pitiful… You are a swordsman, not a brute fighter. You are being forged to be deadly, sharp, straight, and precise. I see no precision in your attack; your posture is bad and your will lacks meaning."

Old Li's voice drifted from above. "Come back. We shall continue tomorrow."

[I'd rather train.] Li Chen replied firmly.

He leaped to the top of another boulder, crossed his legs, and joined his fist. Closing his eyes, Li Chen traveled into his sea of consciousness.

He channeled energy into his elemental stars, slowly filling them with persistence. As time passed, Li Chen noticed his cultivation speed was faster at night.

'It's probably because of the manual I use.'

Having filled both light and dark stars to a certain point, he got up and stared at several constellations forming, which were actual cultivators.

Every cultivator was connected so they could see those around them but their forms couldn't be identified.

Looking around, Li Chen found a formation of 58 stars that formed like a whirlpool with a tiny glowing sword in the center.

Just gazing at it made Li Chen's eyes hurt. An immortal human had crossed the mortal lifespan limit and even doubled it.

On average, a cultivator at the immortal human level could live over two hundred years, while those at the immortal Daoist level could live up to four hundred years!

'So that old swordsman is over four hundred years old since the aura of death is so thick around him.'

****

Four hours later,

Thud! Thud!

Filling two pots with water, Li Chen picked up the stick with one hand and walked up the mountain.

When he reached the peak, he saw Old Li drinking wine from a gourd. The one he had in the morning was on the wooden table, empty.

[You drink too much.]

"Show some respect for your master! Brats these days," Old Li sighed, shaking his head.

[Tsk!] Li Chen scoffed.

"You don't seem convinced, huh?" Old Li got up and slowly approached the middle of the courtyard.

"I've been talking about will. It's not your conviction but a shapeless force that separates a swordsman from other cultivators. In our era where fire cultivators, earth cultivators, and others of varying elements have taken the mantle of power, the remaining swordsmen must share their legacy to avoid going extinct."

Before Li Chen's eyes, Old Li's hunched back straightened and he stood like a towering sword, threatening to pierce heaven.

A sharp aura burst out of his fragile frame, causing his robe to billow. His hair and beard fluttered as he drew a semicircle with the toes of his right foot.

Inhaling softly, he slammed the heel of his foot against the ground and a sharp crescent light emerged from the ground upward.

SWISH—!

The sound of the air being cut apart and the eye-prickling light made Li Chen retreat. "My will is to pierce the heavens; what will be yours?!" Old Li yelled and waved his palm, splitting three boulders cleanly.

The cut was so smooth that they were reflecting like a mirror.

Seeing the gleam in Li Chen's eyes, Old Li smiled, the wrinkles on his face multiplying. "Here is an 8-star-mortal-grade movement technique. It's called the Nine Phantom Steps. Together with the 10-star-mortal-grade Diamond Body technique, you should have a solid base."

Throwing another bamboo scroll towards Li Chen, Old Li went back to his seat.

After that night, Li Chen kept training with a minimum of rest. Every day he trained in the basin's depths, cultivated atop a boulder and trained his movement art in the bamboo forest.

A week later—

SPLASH—!

A black-haired, golden-masked man burst out of the basin; his skin had a milky white hue and he gracefully landed on the ground.

His broad back was straight, his hands folded at his back and his chest puffed out. A piercing aura billowed around him as he raised his palm and struck down towards a set of boulders arranged in a straight line.

SWISH—!!

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