Chapter 73

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In the small courtyard, the sword light was brilliant, and the sword shadows flickered, with the sound of clashing swords echoing and sparks flying.

Two figures leaped and dodged, their long swords as agile as their fingers, one with unpredictable and mysterious changes, the other straightforward and sharp.

After a brief intense battle, the two put away their swords.

They were Chen Zong and Chen Chuyun.

"Brother, your sword skills are profound, not a bit inferior to mine," Chen Chuyun said seriously, with a hint of joy in his eyes.

Just now, the two had fought without using any advanced martial arts, only using the basic sword techniques, freely and spontaneously, without being bound by any specific moves, adapting to the actual situation.

Chen Zong's sword skills excelled in flexibility and versatility, capable of handling any style, like a versatile talent. Chen Chuyun's sword skills, on the other hand, discarded the flashy moves, becoming concise and direct, each strike being extremely sharp, as if designed solely for killing.

"There is nothing more I can teach you about sword skills," Chen Chuyun said. "Now that your internal injuries are healed, you should focus on improving your cultivation."

A martial artist's strength is composed of two aspects: cultivation and martial arts. Neither can be lacking.

If one has high cultivation but low martial arts skills, they will not be able to fully utilize their potential, and will not be strong enough. Conversely, if one has low cultivation but high martial arts skills, even if they can exceed their limits, their foundation is limited.

Chen Zong's sword skills have already surpassed many of his peers, what he lacks is cultivation.

"I have a Da Chi Xue Wan (Great Crimson Blood Pill). When taken, it doubles the effect of qi and blood cultivation for a period of time," Chen Chuyun took out a red pill and handed it to Chen Zong.

The Da Chi Xue Wan is more effective than the Xiao Chi Xue Wan (Small Crimson Blood Pill). Taking one pill for ten days of cultivation is equivalent to thirty days of normal cultivation.

Chen Chuyun left, as she also needed to cultivate and could not stay with Chen Zong all the time.

After another session of cultivation, Chen Zong left the courtyard and headed to the dining hall.

The dining hall of the Sword Radiance Hall was large, with a wide variety of dishes, all available for free, and one could eat as much as they wanted. However, the food was quite ordinary, such as the meat of fierce beasts, vegetables, and rice and steamed buns. If one wanted better food, such as the flesh of demonic beasts or soups made from herbs with some age, or specially cultivated tiger tooth rice, they would have to pay.

The better the food, the more it nourished the body of a martial artist.

However, Chen Zong only took some free food, as he needed to be frugal and save money for other uses.

"Even daring not to compete, he directly forfeited. Sitting at the same table with such a person, I feel ashamed."

Chen Zong had just sat down when the person at the same table snorted in anger and got up to leave.

"He was even the first place in the Wind Martial City's Talent Battle, but turned out to be this kind of person."

"A complete waste."

It was as if a stone had stirred a thousand waves. The gazes that fell on Chen Zong were filled with contempt and ridicule.

Chen Zong ignored them and continued eating on his own.

A few days ago, he had gone to the Eight Directions Martial Arena to watch the competition, which was very exciting. There were several participants whose strength was so great that Chen Zong admitted that even if his internal injuries were healed and he used his full strength, he had no absolute confidence in defeating them.

In the end, the first place was won by Nangong Ao from the Supreme Martial Main City, the second place by Lei Jiu from Thunder Martial City, and the third place by Jin Zhongyue from Gold Martial City.

In previous years, the disciples of the Sword Radiance Hall would always occupy one of the top three places, which was very prestigious. This year, however, they did not, and it was not because of defeat, but because of forfeiture.

In the eyes of many, to forfeit before the battle was to be a deserter, like a defeated dog. As a result, the disciples of the Sword Radiance Hall were often mocked by the disciples of other halls, and they were very dissatisfied with Chen Zong.

Chen Zong would not explain, nor did he need to.

"If I were his father, I would have killed him long ago," someone suddenly said angrily, drawing a sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through him.

Chen Zong had already stood up, his eyes cold as if a sword had been drawn.

"What, did I say something wrong? You, a coward who flees from battle," the person glared back, not willing to back down.

"You can say anything about me, but you cannot insult my family. Either apologize or draw your sword," Chen Zong's voice was icy and stern.

"I'm not afraid of you..." the person stood up abruptly, but was quickly pulled back by someone next to him, who whispered something in his ear, causing his face to change dramatically. He then smiled at Chen Zong, "Sorry, sorry, he has a sharp tongue, but no ill intent, don't take it to heart."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," the person said casually, his apology lacking sincerity.

Chen Zong vaguely knew that the person apologized out of fear of Chen Chuyun's reputation. He suddenly lost his appetite and got up to leave.

"I still haven't reached the realm where I am not disturbed by external things," Chen Zong smiled wryly as he walked out of the dining hall and headed to the Hundred Medicinal Herbs Tower to buy some medicinal herbs and a medicinal cauldron to brew the Ice Fire Quenching Ointment.

Although there was no discount, it was cheaper than the Dingtian Pavilion. One portion cost 8,000 white jade coins, and Chen Zong bought three portions, leaving him with over 10,000 white jade coins for backup.

With experience, he returned to the courtyard, placed the bronze medicinal cauldron in the kitchen, and began to brew the first portion of the Ice Fire Quenching Ointment.

Each portion of the Ice Fire Quenching Ointment required three days and three nights to brew. During this time, Chen Zong did not need to constantly monitor it and could either cultivate or rest.

After taking the Da Chi Xue Wan, Chen Zong clearly felt his qi and blood power increasing at an astonishing speed.

"At this rate, I will definitely break through to the sixth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm within a month," Chen Zong thought to himself.

For him, every improvement in cultivation also brought a significant increase in strength.

Every month, the disciples of the Seven Radiance Martial Academy could receive a Xiao Chi Xue Wan for free and had one opportunity to choose a medium-grade human-level cultivation method or martial art for free. Chen Zong thought about it and decided not to choose for now.

He already had the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique, which was far superior to a medium-grade human-level cultivation method. In terms of sword skills, the higher the grade, the more qi and blood power it consumed. With his current fifth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm, he would likely run out of qi and blood power after using a medium-grade human-level sword skill twice. Therefore, he did not need it for now.

Moreover, the Light Splitting Sword Technique, when cultivated to perfection, was quite powerful, and the True Secret Heaven Light Cloud Shadow Sword was even more formidable.

Chen Zong planned to temporarily keep this opportunity and focus on breaking through his cultivation.

Every disciple of the Seven Radiance Martial Academy was very diligent, either training every second or taking on missions to gain experience, trying to improve themselves as much as possible, whether in cultivation or martial arts.

On the first day, the White Jade Tower did not cause any trouble, perhaps due to the deterrent effect of Chen Chuyun's reputation. Chen Zong was happy to have some peace and focused on his cultivation.

After applying the Ice Fire Quenching Ointment to every part of his body, he practiced the Body Strengthening Technique, alternating between cold and heat nine times, and sprinkling medicinal powder, making his skin much tighter.

After finishing the Body Strengthening Technique, he practiced his sword skills, followed by the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique. With the help of the Da Chi Xue Wan, Chen Zong spent more time on the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, half a month had passed since Chen Zong entered the Seven Radiance Martial Academy.

When he performed the Light Splitting Sword Technique, the sword light flickered, and the seemingly scattered sword beams were all under his control, easily manipulated and instantly converged. Each sword beam was extremely powerful, and the changes between splitting and merging were even more unpredictable.

"Good, the Light Splitting Sword Technique has finally reached the Subtle Realm," Chen Zong wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.

The Subtle Realm referred to the Light Splitting Shadow and the Light Splitting Void both reaching the Subtle Realm, where they seemed to merge into one, capable of splitting or merging, without any distinction between the first and second levels.

Reaching the Subtle Realm was due to his progress in sword skills and the result of multiple sparring sessions with Chen Chuyun. Chen Chuyun had also practiced the Light Splitting Sword Technique and reached the Subtle Realm earlier than Chen Zong.

Once he reached the Subtle Realm, he understood the essence of the Light Splitting Sword Technique more clearly. He felt that the Subtle Realm of the Light Splitting Sword Technique and the True Secret Realm of the Heaven Light Cloud Shadow Sword seemed to have some common ground, and he began to study it in detail.

However, his understanding of the True Secret Realm was still limited, and he had not found any clues.

He began to practice the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique. His cultivation had already reached the peak of the fifth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm, and the next step was to break through.

The qi and blood power flowed like a sword, moving through his body repeatedly. Suddenly, Chen Zong felt his qi and blood power fluctuate, thinking it was a breakthrough in cultivation, but it turned out to be a breakthrough in the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique, reaching the third level.

The third level of the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique had a faster cultivation speed and recovery speed.

Thanks to the practice of the Body Strengthening Technique, his body's ability to withstand force had greatly improved, and the qi and blood power of the third level of the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique did not cause any burden to his body.

After another cycle of the True Sword Heaven Absolute Technique, the qi and blood power began to vibrate again, and this time, it was a real breakthrough.

The sixth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm!

The sixth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm, also known as the Qi and Blood Tide, felt like a tide surging through his body.

Strands of qi and blood emerged from his body, continuously increasing, and finally, it was like a wave of a tide surging.

As the qi and blood power flowed, Chen Zong immediately felt a stronger force throughout his body.

His arm strength could reach 4,000 pounds.

"With this level of cultivation, my strength is even greater. Even without using the Heaven Light Cloud Shadow Sword, I can fight a typical seventh layer of the Qi and Blood Realm," Chen Zong thought to himself.

In the past, without using the Heaven Light Cloud Shadow Sword, he could sweep through most of the sixth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm, but he was still not a match for the seventh layer.

"The gap between the sixth and seventh layers of the Qi and Blood Realm is even greater and cannot be crossed in a short time."

"However, if I can cultivate in the Boiling Blood Pool, perhaps I can break through to the seventh layer of the Qi and Blood Realm in a short time."

One of the rewards for the top three in the Talent Battle of each martial city was the opportunity to cultivate in the Boiling Blood Pool. Last year, Chen Chuyun used this opportunity to advance from the peak of the sixth layer to the seventh layer of the Qi and Blood Realm. Since then, with his superior sword skills, he made rapid progress, eventually reaching the eighth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm.

Chen Zong had already applied for the Boiling Blood Pool cultivation at the Hundred Affairs Pavilion, which required a payment of 10,000 white jade coins. He was scheduled for the 130th batch, meaning he would have to wait 129 days. If he wanted to go earlier, he could challenge someone in a higher batch and replace them.

"I will focus on cultivating to reach the peak of the sixth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm, while taking on some less time-consuming missions to earn jade coins. Now that my cultivation has broken through to the sixth layer and the Light Splitting Sword Technique has reached the Subtle Realm, I can go to the Sword Martial Tower to find a medium-grade human-level cultivation method or martial art to practice."

With this plan in mind, Chen Zong headed to the Sword Martial Tower.

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