Chapter 46

PS: Still climbing the charts, come on! Need clicks, need recommendations! This afternoon, it was on the weekly points list for about an hour. Let's keep pushing...

****

Before leaving, Yan Yan couldn't help but turn back and say, "Yang Dingtian, believe me, everything you see is just an illusion. You are walking down the same dead-end path as Yang Yunchong. I beg you, as your wife, to come back and take the safe and successful path, okay?"

Yang Dingtian took a deep breath, smiled at Yan Yan, and said, "I'm sorry, but I believe I am right."

Yan Yan's face turned pale, and she said, "Since you choose to believe in an illusion rather than your wife, from now on, we have no relationship beyond the name of husband and wife."

With that, Yan Yan stumbled and quickly ran out the door.

Yang Dingtian took deep breaths to calm his agitated emotions.

"I firmly believe that what I see is not an illusion, and the path I have chosen is the right one," Yang Dingtian said, word by word.

Then, he couldn't help but ask in his heart, "Master, did you see me practicing the sword on the floating platform?"

Dongfang Niemie was silent for a moment and said, "I saw nothing."

Yang Dingtian's body trembled, and his face turned pale.

Then, Dongfang Niemie added, "But I believe in your choice!"

"I also believe in my choice," Yang Dingtian said.

He then gripped the steel sword in his hand and practiced the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique ten thousand times. Time was very tight, and there was no time to waste; he had to start now.

...

Just as Yang Dingtian left the Skill Pavilion to find a secluded place to practice, someone blocked his way. A tall and handsome young man led a group of teenagers.

"Are you the toad who dreams of eating swan meat, the one who dreams of becoming the Lord of Cloud Peak City?" the young man asked coldly.

"I am Yang Dingtian. Please let me pass," Yang Dingtian said.

"I am Tang Jin, the son of Tang Bozhao. The Tang Xin you insulted yesterday is my sister," the young man pointed at Yang Dingtian and said.

"What do you want?" Yang Dingtian asked.

Tang Jin's face showed a cruel smile, and he said, "Nothing much, just a warning. In the Great Elimination Battle in thirteen days, I will not only kick you out of Cloud Peak City but also make sure you leave in pieces. I will show you who the true master of Cloud Peak City is."

Yang Dingtian's heart sank, and he looked deeply at Tang Jin, saying, "I heard you. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

Then, Yang Dingtian pushed aside the two teenagers blocking his way and left the Skill Pavilion.

"Yang Dingtian, I am a one-star Xuanwu Warrior. In thirteen days, I will make you regret coming to Cloud Peak City," Tang Jin's cold voice came from behind as Yang Dingtian reached the drawbridge.

Yang Dingtian's body froze. A one-star Xuanwu Warrior was five levels higher than his target of a six-star Xuanwu Warrior, and it was a cross-level difference. Defeating him would be as difficult as climbing to the sky.

But what if the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique was truly the best sword technique in the world?

"Count on you, buddy," Yang Dingtian raised the sword in his hand and thought to himself, "We are beasts that never turn back, no matter what. Don't let me down."

"Brother Tang, should we break his arms and legs now?" a handsome young man beside him asked.

"Acting in Cloud Peak City, do you want to die?" Tang Jin said coldly. "But outside Cloud Peak City, it's a different story."

"I understand," the handsome young man smiled.

****

To prove that his choice was correct, Yang Dingtian almost didn't sleep or rest in the following days. He practiced the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique every day except for meals.

Yan Yan indeed never appeared again and never came to see Yang Dingtian.

Yang Dingtian practiced the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique in the secluded area behind the mountain every moment, even skipping meals and eating dry rations with spring water. Later, he simply stopped eating.

At first, he still went back to sleep. Later, Yan Yan's maid, Luer, locked the door to his room. Yang Dingtian decided not to go back to sleep and would find a place to rest when he was extremely tired.

Practice the sword ten thousand times!

At first, it took him five minutes to complete one cycle of the Nine Tribulations Sword. Ten thousand times would take 50,000 minutes, nearly 900 hours. Even if he didn't sleep or rest, it would take more than a month.

This was impossible; Yang Dingtian didn't have that much time.

No, he had to make progress and simplify the Nine Tribulations Sword.

Yang Dingtian desperately recalled how the Void Floating Flame simplified the sword technique step by step in the floating platform.

Dozens of times, a hundred times, two hundred times.

A whole day passed, and Yang Dingtian made no progress.

It was still the extremely complex and ornate Void Nine Tribulations Sword, still taking six minutes.

Yang Dingtian stopped, looked up at the night sky, and said, "Master, why is this happening?"

"Child, you carry too much, you try too hard," Dongfang Niemie said. "Empty yourself first. I will teach you the Formless Heart Sutra, which can help you enter a state of complete self-forgetfulness."

Yang Dingtian took a deep breath, looked at the pond below, and jumped in.

A cool sensation spread throughout his body. Under Dongfang Niemie's guidance, Yang Dingtian began to learn the Formless Heart Sutra.

Suddenly, it felt as if a force was grabbing everything from his mind.

First, it grabbed his unwillingness.

Then, it grabbed his anger.

Next, it grabbed his memories.

Finally, it even grabbed the crazy practice of the Void Nine Tribulations Sword.

"Now, go practice the sword. Don't count the time or the number of times, just practice..."

Yang Dingtian suddenly leaped out of the water, thrusting the first move of the Void Nine Tribulations Sword, the Descending World Sword!

"Master, from now on, I will enter a state of complete self-forgetfulness and practice the sword like a madman. Wake me up after ten thousand times. If it's not ten thousand times, don't wake me up no matter how long it takes."

Moving forward without hesitation, without considering the consequences! I am a beast that charges forward madly.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." Yang Dingtian, emerging from the water, wielded his sword like the wind.

A few hours later, he suddenly entered the second level of the Void Nine Tribulations Sword. It took him only two minutes to practice the nine moves.

...

The next day, Yang Dingtian was still at the second level, taking two minutes to practice the nine moves.

That day, he practiced 700 times without sleeping or resting.

On the third day, he suddenly entered the third level of the Void Nine Tribulations Sword. It took him only one and a half minutes to practice the nine moves.

That day, he not only didn't sleep or rest but also didn't eat anything, practicing 1,000 times.

On the fourth day, he made no progress, still taking one and a half minutes to practice the nine moves, still at the third level, practicing 1,000 times.

By then, he had practiced 3,000 times, with 7,000 more to go.

And the total solar eclipse during the Yin-Yang Festival was less than eight days away. He hadn't hunted a single demon core and hadn't found a place to set up the Yin-Yang array.

On the fifth day, he still made no progress.

That day, he was still at the third level of the Nine Tribulations Sword.

At this rate, by the time he practiced ten thousand times, the Yin-Yang Festival and the total solar eclipse would be over.

...

At this point, Yang Dingtian had completely entered a state of self-forgetfulness.

He completely forgot about time, everything around him, the Yin-Yang Festival in a few days, the Five Elements Yin-Yang Array, and the Great Elimination Battle in nine days.

Five days and nights without sleep or rest, Yang Dingtian was now ragged, with long hair and beard, a haggard face, and looked like a beggar.

Around the third day, someone accidentally discovered Yang Dingtian practicing the sword madly. Seeing him practice the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique over and over again, the person quickly ran to Cloud Peak City and spread the news.

At this point, the third level of the Nine Tribulations Sword was not very impressive. Yang Dingtian's third level of the Nine Tribulations Sword felt strange.

"That idiot who wants to be the city lord is crazy. He treats the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique like a treasure, practicing it over and over again. I've seen him practice more than a thousand times, and it gets uglier and uglier."

Then, more and more people went to the back mountain to watch Yang Dingtian practice the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique. Seeing the sword technique that looked more and more like slaughtering a pig, everyone burst into laughter.

"Lord Yang Dingtian, your Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique is so impressive, I'm mesmerized. Can I be your disciple?"

Yang Dingtian was in a state of madness and ignored the ridicule.

Suddenly, the crowd laughed even harder.

Later, many children came to watch and threw rocks at Yang Dingtian.

...

But for the higher-ups in Cloud Peak City, Yang Dingtian's crazy behavior reminded them of someone!

Yang Yunchong, the genius with astonishing talent who went completely mad after learning the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

Someone saw Yang Dingtian enter the Unranked Secret Chamber and practice a sword technique as strange as those madmen. So, everyone thought Yang Dingtian had chosen the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique. Yang Dingtian went mad under the immense pressure, choosing the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique and then going mad.

Everyone in Cloud Peak City sighed.

"Poor guy, he would be an outstanding disciple anywhere else, but why did he come to Cloud Peak City?" the Grand Elder Yang Yan sneered.

Everyone in Cloud Peak City, including those within a hundred miles, quickly learned one thing.

Yang Dingtian went mad! Just like Yang Yunchong, he went mad.

...

By now, it was night.

Yang Dingtian was still practicing the sword madly! In just a few days, his beard had grown half an inch, and his hair was like weeds.

He was unrecognizable, his clothes torn into strips, covered in dirt, looking like a beggar.

At this point, the people who came to watch and throw rocks had gone to sleep.

The moonlight accompanied Yang Dingtian's mad sword practice.

"Whoosh..." Suddenly!

Yang Dingtian's body changed.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..." The sword moves became incredibly sharp and fast.

Without warning, he entered the fourth level of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

It took him only thirty seconds to complete one cycle of the Nine Tribulations Sword, allowing him to practice 120 times in an hour.

At this rate, the remaining 6,000 times would take 50 hours, or two days.

Two days later, there were less than five days until the total solar eclipse, and he needed to hunt five elemental demon cores and find a place to set up the array within those five days.

But just two hours later.

Without warning, Yang Dingtian instantly entered the fifth level of the Void Nine Tribulations Sword.

Suddenly, the sword style changed completely.

All the elegance, all the ornateness, all the subtlety disappeared.

All the moves became crude and direct.

At this point, the Void Nine Tribulations Sword underwent a qualitative change, crossing the boundary from the Void Nine Tribulations Sword to the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

Of course, the highest level of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique is the ninth level. But from the fifth level, it can be called the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

The fifth level of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique, with its direct and short moves, took only 12 seconds to complete one cycle.

In an hour, Yang Dingtian could practice 300 times.

He thought it was over.

But unexpectedly, three hours later.

Yang Dingtian's sword style changed again.

The sword technique became even cruder, more direct, and faster.

The nine moves of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique took only 9 seconds, allowing him to practice 400 times in an hour.

...

A few hours later, the sun rose.

Yang Dingtian's body was a mess, completely like a wild man. The steel sword in his hand was completely damaged, with many notches and bends.

Yang Dingtian's sword technique had become extremely ugly and crude.

"Child, you've practiced ten thousand times," Dongfang Niemie suddenly said.

Yang Dingtian was startled and instantly regained his senses.

"Whoosh..." Suddenly, his wrist, limbs, and the back of his head felt warm, and his whole body felt warm.

"Boom..." Deep in his qi sea, it felt as if it suddenly expanded.

"Boom..." Instantly, all his meridians burst open, and his whole body felt as if it was about to fly.

Inside his body, it felt as if countless flames were burning, and all his meridians, the fiery qi sea, were desperately and hungrily devouring the surrounding qi.

Yang Dingtian had completely regained his senses.

"The ten thousand and first time!"

After regaining his senses, Yang Dingtian used all his strength and emotions to swing the steel sword in his hand.

The final practice of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

"The first move, throat stab and bleed!"

"The second move, gut split and open!"

"The third move, head cut off!"

"The fourth move, heart and lungs removed!"

"The fifth move, intestines cleaned!"

"The sixth move, limbs chopped off!"

"The seventh move, split in two!"

"The eighth move, bones removed and meat cut!"

"The ninth move, sword into the cutting board!"

"Bang!" A loud sound, sparks flying, the final move, Yang Dingtian fiercely chopped a huge rock.

"Clang..." Instantly, the steel sword in his hand shattered into pieces.

The final move, the final technique.

"Whoosh..." Yang Dingtian's sword technique suddenly entered the seventh level of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

In the final moment, he entered the seventh level.

The Void Floating Flame had said it would take tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of practices to reach the higher levels of the Pig Slaughtering Sword Technique.

But in just ten thousand and one practices, Yang Dingtian reached the seventh level.

...

"Ah..." Yang Dingtian suddenly roared, "I did it, I did it. I am right, you are wrong, you are the ones who are crazy!"

Then, he saw Yan Yan, the incomparably beautiful Yan Yan, her eyes gentle and full of concern, slowly walking towards him.

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