Chapter 3

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Boom!

Zhou Heng's whole body relaxed, and he immediately fainted.

He didn't know how long it had been before he slowly woke up. He felt every muscle in his body aching, but there was also an indescribable sense of comfort, as if he had taken a cold shower in winter, enduring the initial chill to enjoy the warm and comfortable feeling afterward.

His stomach growled in protest.

Zhou Heng looked up at the sky and saw that the moon was high in the sky, probably around nine or ten o'clock. He had only eaten lunch, so he was naturally very hungry.

He was too lazy to start a fire and cook, so he took some dry rations and ate them casually.

"It seems something has changed!"

Zhou Heng felt that his body had undergone some transformation, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly had changed, which gave him a very strange feeling.

"Right, cultivation!"

This was his only hope. Thinking of this, he sat down on the ground, unfolded the Fiery Sun Technique, and the food in his stomach was immediately refined by the technique, turning into countless free-floating energies, which were then converted into true essence energy and circulated within his body.

When the true essence energy flowed near his dantian, Zhou Heng couldn't help but show a look of tension.

Success or failure, it all came down to this moment!

The true essence energy surged, but the black broken sword showed no reaction at all!

It... succeeded!

Zhou Heng was suddenly overwhelmed with joy! Although this was what he had always hoped for, when it actually happened, he felt a sense of disbelief, fearing that it was just a beautiful dream that would soon wake him up.

"This isn't a dream!" He emphasized to himself, his eyes becoming sharp.

The Fiery Sun Technique continued to run, and his skin cells greedily absorbed the true essence energy, storing it and enhancing his cultivation.

This feeling was so good!

Zhou Heng was so excited that he almost cried! He could finally cultivate!

For others, it was a matter of course, but for Zhou Heng, it was a dream he had been hoping for nearly a decade, making him excited, thrilled, and overwhelmed with mixed emotions, which were hard to express in words.

He tirelessly ran the Fiery Sun Technique over and over, continuously enhancing his cultivation. Although the progress was minimal, even the slightest improvement made him extremely excited.

In less than two hours, Zhou Heng stopped.

It wasn't that he couldn't bear the monotony and didn't want to cultivate anymore, but the food he had eaten had been completely refined.

This dry rations couldn't compare to meat, and the energy it contained was extremely limited.

Zhou Heng had no intention of sleeping, so he immediately ate another meal and continued his first true cultivation journey.

Time passed quietly, and soon the moon was high in the sky, deep into the night.

Buzz! The black broken sword, which had been silent all along, suddenly trembled!

Zhou Heng was startled. Was this guy going to change his mind and fight for the true essence energy again?

At that moment, a massive amount of free-floating energy was released from the black broken sword, filling Zhou Heng's entire body!

What!

Zhou Heng was greatly alarmed. This super thief not only didn't fight for the true essence energy but also generously provided a large amount of free-floating energy for him to absorb?

Was the sun rising in the west?

Despite his doubts, Zhou Heng didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately ran the Fiery Sun Technique, greedily absorbing the free-floating energy—this thief had robbed him for ten years, so it was only right that he gave back a little.

What pure free-floating energy!

Zhou Heng showed a look of surprise, almost stopping the Fiery Sun Technique.

What was the hardest part of cultivation?

It was converting the food eaten into free-floating energy, which took up more than 90% of the time. The reason why some people chose the painful Fiery Sun Technique was that it could use sunlight to shorten the time needed to convert free-floating energy.

The black broken sword released free-floating energy that could be absorbed directly, saving Zhou Heng a lot of time.

Moreover, this free-floating energy was extremely pure, with each strand being equivalent to ten strands that Zhou Heng had previously converted!

Zhou Heng was overjoyed and, fearing that the black sword would change its mind, quickly absorbed the energy, continuously converting it into true essence energy and storing it in his skin cells.

Half an hour later, the free-floating energy released by the black broken sword was completely absorbed.

"Just half an hour, and it's equivalent to a month of hard cultivation in the past!" Zhou Heng was absolutely shocked, almost unable to believe it!

His cultivation had already surpassed the initial stage of the first level of Body Tempering!

Although the lower the realm, the easier it was to cultivate, it generally took about half a year to go from the initial stage to the peak of the first level of Body Tempering. Zhou Heng had achieved in just half an hour what it would take others a month of hard cultivation to achieve, which was a miracle!

If this continued, he could directly advance to the peak of the first level of Body Tempering with just six more sessions!

"Ha ha ha!" Zhou Heng couldn't help but burst out laughing. As the saying goes, after the worst comes the best. He had been robbed of ten years of hard cultivation by the black broken sword, and now he finally saw the light!

He continued to run the Fiery Sun Technique, trying to induce the black broken sword to release more free-floating energy, but unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, the black broken sword remained unresponsive.

Zhou Heng felt disappointed, but the nine sword diagrams came to mind.

"Although I was cheated by the black sword for ten years, it is undoubtedly a treasure! Otherwise, it would not have been able to exist in my dantian for ten years, and the nine sword techniques must be extraordinary!"

He took out a wooden sword from the house, stood in the courtyard, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind.

The first sword technique immediately appeared in his mind. His vision turned into a starry sky, with only a black long sword dancing, stirring the Milky Way, and exuding immense power.

That black sword should be the black broken sword inside his body, but it was not broken, and it was unclear how many years ago this had happened.

Zhou Heng kept recalling this sword technique, and he didn't know how much time had passed before he slowly started moving, drawing mysterious and indescribable trajectories with the wooden sword.

So heavy!

Zhou Heng felt as if the wooden sword was carrying a weight of ten thousand pounds, so heavy that he could barely hold the hilt. After just a few sword shadows, he couldn't continue.

"It seems the entire world is against me, moving a bit pushes the sky a little and turns the earth an inch, making it extremely difficult!"

"Is it because I haven't grasped the essence of this sword technique that the world rejects me?"

"Conversely, if I can successfully master these nine sword techniques, will I be in harmony with the world?"

"Wow, what kind of sword technique is this!"

His character was resolute, and the more difficulties he encountered, the less he was willing to give up. Otherwise, after being tormented by the black sword for ten years, he would have given up long ago!

This incredible sword technique completely aroused his interest, making him highly motivated and eager to conquer it.

He would definitely master these nine sword techniques!

Over and over again, Zhou Heng tirelessly practiced the first sword technique, completely forgetting the passage of time. He felt that this sword technique was filled with profound principles, giving him deep insights each time he practiced, as if he could see the entire world's movements, the rising sun, the setting moon, and everything within his grasp.

Whether it was sword techniques or saber techniques, these were all called martial skills, distinct from cultivation techniques.

However, martial skills were not just about form; they needed corresponding techniques to maximize their power. Otherwise, they would be greatly inferior. But these nine sword techniques were peculiar. After the nine diagrams in his mind turned into fragments, they seemed to merge with his body!

He didn't need techniques because they were already in his body; he just needed to keep understanding them!

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shone on his body, and Zhou Heng stopped.

After a sleepless night, although his spirit was still excited, he was, after all, a flesh-and-blood being. Combined with the pain he had endured earlier, Zhou Heng felt extremely tired. He returned to the house, took a cold shower, ate something hastily, and fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was already afternoon. Zhou Heng properly made himself a meal, gobbled it down, and began cultivating the Fiery Sun Technique.

Although that mysterious sword technique might have power far beyond his imagination, he needed sufficient strength to use it. He was only at the first level of Body Tempering, so it was more important to steadily enhance his realm.

Cultivating under the scorching sun, feeling the slow refinement of true essence energy, Zhou Heng couldn't help but sigh.

It's like not having eaten meat for a lifetime, which is fine, but after tasting meat once and then eating only vegetables every meal, no one could bear it!

Compared to the free-floating energy released by the black broken sword, the current cultivation speed was excruciatingly slow!

Although he felt a bit disappointed, thinking about how the true essence energy he had cultivated before was all consumed by the black broken sword, this was a heaven-and-earth difference. Zhou Heng didn't mind and continued to cultivate patiently.

The day passed, and night fell. Zhou Heng continued to cultivate until late at night without stopping. From being a "waste" to finally being able to cultivate, he wished he could cultivate 24 hours a day.

Buzz!

When the moon was high in the sky, the black broken sword suddenly trembled again, releasing a massive amount of free-floating energy, filling Zhou Heng's entire body.

Here it comes again!

Zhou Heng couldn't help but show a look of pleasant surprise. For a moment, he didn't think about anything else and just kept absorbing the free-floating energy, converting it into true essence energy and storing it.

Half an hour later, the free-floating energy was completely absorbed, and the black broken sword showed no further reaction.

Just a little more to reach the middle stage of the first level of Body Tempering!

Zhou Heng clenched his fist, and with a thought, true essence energy burst from his skin cells, gathering in his fist. With a whoosh, he punched out, his fist slicing through the air, creating a whistling sound.

The black broken sword released free-floating energy twice, both times at midnight. Was this a pattern?

If so, he could spend the other times studying the nine sword techniques and only use the half-hour at night to cultivate, optimizing his time allocation.

Whether it was or not, he would know tomorrow night!

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