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The crescent moon hung in the sky like a hook, its hazy light piercing through the mist and gently spilling onto the rear mountain of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect. Faint insect chirps echoed from the woods, resembling the low hum of an ancient zither, soothing to the ears. By the mountain path, wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze, emitting a subtle fragrance that refreshed the soul.
This was the exclusive training ground of the Sword and Bone Douluo. No disciple dared to step foot here without permission.
Looking up, Ning Tianchen could barely make out a lone figure standing atop the mountain, gazing at the hazy full moon.
"This is way too high," Ning Tianchen muttered inwardly.
The summit was about five hundred meters above the ground—it would take quite some effort to climb.
Suddenly, Chen Xin's voice drifted down to Ning Tianchen's ears. "Old man has been waiting for you for a while. Fly up here."
"Fly?" Ning Tianchen swallowed nervously, silently thinking, "Using my third soul skill or sword wings to fly this high will consume a lot of soul power."
With a sigh, he spread his sword wings and soared toward the mountaintop.
Midway up the mountain, an invisible surge of soul power enveloped his body, complementing the flight capability of his sword wings. His speed increased significantly, and his soul power consumption decreased.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the summit.
Under the moonlight, the Seven Kill Sword in Chen Xin's hand trembled faintly, emitting a dim glow.
"I heard you've created a new sword technique called 'Heavy Sword Style.'" Chen Xin spoke softly, his sharp gaze fixed on Ning Tianchen.
Every move made by him and Ning Rongrong in Soto City had likely been reported to the sect by the disciples—Chen Xin knowing about it wasn't surprising.
"Grandpa, didn't you say that the second stage of swordsmanship should adapt to the enemy and not be bound by rigid forms? A while ago, I saw the movements of a heavy sword martial soul during a practice session in the sect's arena."
"Inspired during a spirit duel, I came up with this technique."
Chen Xin chuckled. "Clever boy."
His expression soon turned serious. "Do you know what the core of the Seven Kill Sword technique is?"
Ning Tianchen replied, "It's killing intent."
The Seven Kill Sword relied on killing intent and sharpness to defeat enemies. Currently, Ning Tianchen only possessed sharpness but lacked killing intent.
Of course, killing intent wasn't something that could be cultivated overnight.
Chen Xin, now nearing a hundred years old, had accumulated his killing intent through countless battles. Ning Tianchen hadn't experienced real combat—how could he possess such killing intent?
However, he did know of a place where one could quickly cultivate killing intent—the City of Slaughter.
The Killing God domain was highly compatible with the Seven Kill Sword martial soul, and even the Asura God's divine artifact was a longsword.
In that case, wouldn't the Asura God position be even more suited to the Seven Kill Sword martial soul?
It was puzzling why the Asura God had passed his title to Tang Chen and Tang San, whose martial souls were hammers, completely unrelated to swords.
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Chen Xin nodded. "The reason the Seven Kill Sword martial soul surpasses all other sword-type martial souls is its ability to gather killing intent. In true life-and-death battles, every enemy you kill will add to the killing intent condensed within the sword, eventually forming your unique killing intent domain."
"You once asked me how to train in the 'Kill' character sword technique. Its essence lies in killing intent. When your killing intent becomes strong enough, mastering the 'Kill' character sword technique will come naturally. The stronger your killing intent, the greater the technique's power."
"Your Heavy Sword Style already excels in raw power."
"Focus your mind, imagine me as your enemy, and strike with all your might. Let me see how much strength you have."
Ning Tianchen wasn't worried about hurting the other party, but Chen Xin's piercing gaze made it difficult to muster any resistance.
Perhaps this was also a test.
Holding the Seven Kill Sword in his hands, Ning Tianchen locked eyes with Chen Xin.
As someone who had lived two lifetimes, Ning Tianchen did have some "enemies."
In his previous life, his boss, Zhou Bapi, had docked him two hundred yuan from his perfect attendance bonus simply because he stepped into the office with his left foot first. Every time he thought of this, he felt uncontrollable anger.
Imagining Chen Xin as Zhou Bapi was challenging, but closing his eyes and recalling Zhou Bapi's figure was doable.
Lifting the Seven Kill Sword above his head, scenes of Zhou Bapi unjustly docking his salary flashed through his mind.
Fury burned in his chest, and the veins on his arms and forehead bulged.
"Die!" he roared, releasing all his pent-up anger in that moment.
The Seven Kill Sword came crashing down with a clear whooshing sound.
The sword technique was bold and unrestrained, brimming with overwhelming force.
"Not bad." Chen Xin raised his right hand, forming a sword finger, and blocked it horizontally in front of him.
There was a vast gap between a Soul Elder and a Title Douluo—Ning Tianchen couldn't possibly harm him.
Intense sword qi erupted from his sword finger, colliding with Ning Tianchen's Dragon-Emblazoned Seven Kill Sword.
At that moment, dazzling white sword light burst forth.
Within the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, disciples who hadn't yet gone to bed could clearly see what was happening at the rear mountain.
"What? Is Sword Elder still practicing his sword this late?"
"This sword pressure is powerful but lacks follow-through—it's not Sword Elder's sword. Could it be that Sword Elder is guiding a junior in their cultivation?"
The speaker was none other than the sect's expert with the heavy sword martial soul whom Ning Tianchen had encountered before.
His assessment was correct—due to the lack of follow-through. Even though Chen Xin had matched the power of his sword technique to Ning Tianchen's level, the latter was still sent flying.
With a thud, Ning Tianchen landed on his butt, groaning in pain.
"Such instantaneous power might shake a Soul King, but your strength fades too quickly. In a contest of strength, you'd inevitably lose," Chen Xin commented.
It was no surprise—no one had ever taught Ning Tianchen how to wield a heavy sword. How could he know how to apply his strength?
Chen Xin instructed, "Ultimately, it's due to insufficient strength. If you decide to incorporate the Heavy Sword Style into your Seven Kill Sword technique, you must prioritize strength training starting tomorrow."
Ning Tianchen gazed at the Seven Kill Sword in his hand. "My Seven Kill Sword technique? Grandpa, didn't I learn your sword technique?"
Chen Xin chuckled softly and explained, "If you merely imitate my sword technique, your potential won't surpass mine. But if you forge your own path, your limits might be higher."
"To pursue a higher realm, you must walk your own path."
"My path…" Ning Tianchen murmured to himself.
"Do you know why the Seven Kill Sword lineage has never produced a 99th-level Ultimate Douluo?" Chen Xin suddenly asked.
"Why?" Ning Tianchen instinctively responded.
He knew that among Chen Xun, Chen Jianjun, and Chen Xin, the highest soul power level was Chen Xun's 98 levels, while Chen Xin and his father had only reached 97 levels.
"Because my father and I both inherited our sword techniques from my grandfather. His limit became the limit of this sword technique. Unfortunately, I understood this truth only after turning seventy. At that age, forging a new path was impossible."
Pausing for a moment, a faint smile appeared on Chen Xin's face. "Therefore, I suggest you forge your own path. It will be extremely arduous, filled with countless obstacles. But if you succeed, the rewards will be immeasurable."
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