Translator: Aristophaneso Editor: Caron_
Warm sunlight fell through the window.
Inside, Ye Tian sat cross legged, his hands palm up on his knees.
Dense, Thick True Qi pumped through him at a steady pace, following the beats of his breath as it flowed like a river through his meridians.
His Ninth Principal Meridian was halfway open, only a small portion of the filth and corruption left. Soon, he would be able to break through.
“Hu!”
As the sun caught his eyelids, Ye Tian stirred, two fine beams of light gleaming from his pupils. He stood, stretching as he basked in the strength and energy pumping through him with his mind, True Qi, and body at their maximums.
Peak Stage Level Eight! My strength has increased again. Fighting powerful beasts is truly the fastest way to level up! Ye Tian reflected excitedly.
After the hunting expeditions and battles with all manners of powerful beasts, Ye Tian’s cultivation had soared.
Yesterday, he felt as if he were breaking through a barrier as he fought the Purple Cloud Cheetah. Now, after a night of cultivation, he had truly broken through.
He was now only a half-step away from Level Nine Martial Artist and was confident he would smoothly advance in the near future.
Shua!
Ye Tian pushed into the living room and out into the courtyard, moving like lightning as he appeared in the yard.
My Thundering Palm must’ve grown with my Peak Stage Level Eight strength! Ye Tian thought expectantly, assuming the position as he struck forward gently, the nine Palm Shadows manifesting before him, blotting out the skies and casting a shadow on the earth.
Hong! Hong! Hong…
To Ye Tian’s happy surprise, a chain of deafening blasts filled the air.
He turned, striking out at a large tree beside him. The branches shook and leaves fell before they exploded into fragments.
“Hong long!”
Ye Tian was filled with excitement and emotion as he examined the scattered pieces of tree and shredded trunk. With his Thundering Palm’s new strength, he would surely be able to defeat the Purple Cloud Cheetah that he had struggled with just the day before.
“Now my saber.” Ye Tian had been working on his own original saber skills, not content with relying completely on the saber techniques he had learned in his past life. Lately, he had felt close to success.
Ye Tian retrieved his Scarlet Saber from his room and began practicing.
The military techniques seemed to almost manifest a ferocious killing intent, but Ye Tian felt as if something was missing so he experimented, weaving together different forms.
Finally, his months of practice congealed together into a technique he was happy with, the deaths of all those beasts manifesting into his new skill “Slaughter”.
And with the basic form of “Slaughter” completed, all that remained was honing practice.
“Shua! Shua! Shua!”
Ye Tian danced with his saber, his body flowing around the blade, his powerful legs sending him flashing all throughout the yard. The waves of his saber seemed to carry the unyielding strength of the ocean, wave upon wave layering together into a ceaseless chain.
Every strike was a killing blow, the multi-layered savage intentions exploded with oppression. The fierce, swift technique was sure to strike fear into any who faced it.
“Ka Cha!”
Ye Tian stepped lightly, his saber drawing a red arc through the air, cutting through another large tree and toppling it with one blow.
The angled cut was neat and clean and the blade struck with precision, speed, and power.
“Gua…”
A big bird had just flown over to perch on the tree when the branches toppled beneath it, startling the feathered animal away.
“En?”
Ye Tian’s pupils shrank and he felt as if a light shone through his mind. The strange and wonderful feeling from yesterday’s fight reappeared within him.
Shua! shua!
The saber’s aura transformed, its pressure manifesting into a cutting, killing intent, audibly slicing the air around it.
Ye Tian paused for a long moment, the blade in his hand seemingly disappearing.
No!
The blade morphed like it was part of his body; the sensation of the blade in his hand disappeared because it had become part of his arm.
This strange extension of his limbs was actually incredibly comfortable, and as he moved, the piercing air around his saber only grew more and more forceful, its killing intent billowin up into the sky.
Finally, Ye Tian struck out, cutting through the air and slicing down a tree out of his reach.
“Hong!”
The large tree shook against the ground, waking Ye Tian from his trance and pushing him out of his momentary enlightenment.
“This…” Ye Tian’s eyes fell wide open at the collapsed tree ten meters away from him.
“Only Martial Master experts can manifest their True Qi and cut with Saber Qi, and I didn’t use any Saber Qi just now…”
Ye Tian was utterly baffled.
When a Martial Warrior broke through to the Martial Master Realm, his True Qi became dense enough to be wielded outside his body, capable of defense and offense to great effect.
This was the separation between Martial Artists and Martial Masters, the difference between two realms.
Ye Tian had heard that some powerful Martial Masters could cut with Saber Qi so strong that it could kill enemies tens of meters away and they could strike with Sword Qi so unshakeable that it could carve a hole into a mountain.
And just now, Ye Tian had struck air with his saber, cutting down a large tree ten meters away, but there was no sign of Saber Qi.
Ye Tian hadn’t felt the True Qi within him push outward, and he was certain that he hadn’t cut the tree with any manifestation of his Qi.
“Strange, it’s that feeling again. Yesterday, it let me wound the Purple Cloud Cheetah and today, it gave me such an impressive ability. What’s going on?”
Ye Tian frowned, his eyes filled with confusion and curiosity. He put away his saber and headed over to the Martial Instruction Pavilion to seek out the elder.
He didn’t understand what the strange feeling was but it had given him power. If he could figure out how to wield this strong ability, it might propel him to a whole new power level.
Right now, anything that gave Ye Tian more strength was worthy of eager pursuit.
In the living room.
“Dad, tell Uncle Ba later that we won’t go hunting today,” Ye Tian said as he quickly finished his breakfast, hurrying off to the Martial Instruction Pavilion.
“Brat, you’re being lazy again!” Ye Meng called out with dissatisfaction as Ye Tian hurried away.
“Ah…”
Suddenly, Lin Mei’s cry filtered in through the door.
“What is it?” Ye Meng called back hurriedly, almost slamming his bowl as he rushed out to the courtyard.
Everything was a mess; three trees had been cut down and saber strikes and palm marks covered half of everything.
“That brat! What is he doing? Is he trying to tear down the house!” Ye Meng erupted at the clear evidence of Ye Tian’s practice.
Could the brat not restrain himself a little? He was already a Level Eight Martial Artist—how could a tiny yard survive his blows?
“Alright, let’s clean it up,” Lin Mei said to her husband, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She was actually incredibly happy; the more powerful her son became, the safer he would be.
Martial Instruction Pavilion.
A dozen or so youths were coming and going, all of them filled with respect and admiration as they greeted Ye Tian.
At this point, Ye Tian’s position in the Ye Family Village was incredible and he had already become the idol and ideal for all the young men.
“Little Tian, what is it? You’re coming here today instead of hunting?” The Martial Instruction Elder’s familiar voice filled his ears as Ye Tian stepped into the pavilion.
Ye Tian smiled, turning in the direction of the voice. Nearby sat two men around a stone table, the elder and Ye Feng.
“Elder, Uncle Feng!” Ye Tian greeted, bowing with whole-hearted respect.
“Enough. Come sit!” Ye Feng called out, a small smile on his face as he looked over at his favorite apprentice, gesturing to a stone stool.
The Martial Instruction Elder examined Ye Tian with some curiosity as he approached and sat down, chuckling as he spoke: “Boy, no one comes to the temple without cause. What do you need from this old man today? Haha!”
“Elder!” Ye Tian called out, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Alright Uncle, don’t tease him.”
Ye Feng said, rescuing Ye Tian from his embarrassment.
Ye Feng turned back to Ye Tian, smiling. “So, what’s the matter? I’m also curious. Why’s the crazy cultivator coming here instead of going off to fight some beasts?”
Ye Tian was speechless. After days of challenging different powerful beasts, the news had long spread throughout the entire village.
And because he threw himself into his quest for strength, the Ye Family Village had given him a new nickname—Crazy Cultivator!
“Uncle Feng, Elder, it’s like this—yesterday while I was fighting the Purple Cloud Cheetah…” Ye Tian began, explaining what had happened.
As for the matter this morning, he said nothing. Cutting from a distance was too shocking, unbelievable even given his other accomplishments.
“En? You felt as if the Scarlet Saber was part of your arm?” Ye Feng’s brows furrowed lightly, his eyes gleaming as he sank into thought.
“I feel as though I’ve read about this somewhere…” The Martial Instruction Elder frowned, lowering his head and thinking. After a moment, he looked up with his eyes bright. “Yes, I think there was a fragment about this. Wait here. I’ll bring it to you!”
With that, the elder stood and ran over to a row of bookshelves.
“The elder is truly a treasure!” Ye Tian grew excited. He had only wanted to exhaust his options, but the Martial Instruction Elder really did have information!
“Ye Tian!”
Ye Feng finally opened his mouth, his eyes sparkling and bright with emotion.
“Uncle Feng?” Ye Tian turned to examine Ye Feng, wondering if his teacher also knew something about this matter.
“Saber Intent!” Ye Feng’s face was filled with excitement as he explained with emotion: “Ye Tian, have you heard about this? If I’m not mistaken, you’ve gained enlightenment about Saber Intent!”
“Saber Intent?” Ye Tian paused, unfamiliar with the phrase.
“Exactly, Saber Intent!”
The Martial Instruction Elder echoed, an ancient sheepskin scroll in his trembling hands, excitement on his face.