Beyond the ethereal realm where the sword soars, I roam freely between heaven and earth.

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After returning home, Chen Longshi was the first to select the sword arts star skills he had acquired.

Thirteen of iron-grade, five of bronze-grade; yet to upgrade Swordmastery from iron to bronze only required five. However, in Chen Longshi’s view, since the path was one of integration and harmony, the more the merrier. Without discriminating, he crushed each of the thirteen iron-grade sword arts star skill cores and absorbed them all.

With his current mastery of sword arts, although iron-grade star skills posed little challenge, learning so many at once still took considerable time. After all, he was never one who favored quantity over quality, as evidenced by his modest skill panel; now, however, he was embarking on a path of numbers!

“Well then, let’s simplify complexity and reorganize what I’ve learned.”

With a longsword in hand, he practiced in the courtyard.

The blade whirled up and down, carving lines into the grass beneath. A breeze swept through, scattering leaves from the trees. Chen Longshi leaped upward. The sword flashed like a startled swan; a maple leaf was cleaved in two, fluttering down in a cascade.

Soon, every star skill reached completion, breaking the 100% threshold and becoming instinctive—almost learned at a glance.

This astonished Chen Longshi; his insight had always been exceptional, but never to this degree.

Why was this?

He opened his attribute panel—besides the addition of thirteen iron-grade star skills and slight boosts to his stats, nothing else had changed. Closing his eyes and entering his soul sea, he finally discovered the source. Unbeknownst to him, beneath the Cycle Purple Lotus, a small pond had appeared, shimmering with three-colored divine light like nectar and jade liquid. The purple lotus floated atop the pool, sprouting roots, appearing more vibrant and alive.

A wave of information surfaced in his mind: Three-Light Spiritual Spring. A life-giving fountain born from absorbing scattered sunlight, moonlight, and starlight.

Sunlight spiritual water dispels toxins of blood, flesh, and bone.
Moonlight spiritual water erodes poisons of soul and spirit.
Starlight spiritual water neutralizes venom of true spirit and consciousness.

The three types of spiritual water resolve the deadliest toxins in the world.

Yet, when golden sunlight water, silvery moonlight water, and violet starlight water merge, they become a supreme fountain of life, capable of purging all toxins and healing most wounds and illnesses.

If the Three-Light Spiritual Water is refined to its utmost, transforming into Three-Light Divine Water, it becomes the unparalleled water of the world, able even to regrow flesh and resurrect the dead. But that remains a legend; it’s uncertain if Three-Light Divine Water still exists.

“This…”

Chen Longshi remembered—before leaving the secret realm, the Cycle Purple Lotus seemed to have gathered something. He was surprised then, but afterward, noticed nothing amiss and let it go.

Now it seemed, the collapse of the Sword Tomb’s secret realm might well have been the doing of the Cycle Purple Lotus.

This journey, perhaps the lotus gained the most.

He was delighted; in any case, it was a good thing. If every secret realm contained a Three-Light Spiritual Spring, he would surely have to exploit a few more in the future.

[Swordmastery]:
Grade: Iron-grade (Growth star skill) (13/5)

Once the iron-grade star skills were mastered, Chen Longshi finally began to upgrade [Swordmastery].

Instantly, the purple eternal star sigil representing [Swordmastery] flickered, and the existing iron-grade sword arts star sigils shattered from their fixed combination. Numerous star sigils spun and recombined in his mind, forming a new series.

When all settled, eighteen star sigils circled a single purple eternal sigil, forming a mysterious array—a perfect star sigil structure at last.

[Nine-Star Swordmastery]:
Grade: Bronze-grade (Growth star skill) (1/10)

Capable of unleashing Falling Star Sword Qi, one sword brings down nine stars.

Chen Longshi quietly felt the new skill, fetched two ordinary longswords, and prepared to test it.

“Control!”

Sword drawn, he wasted no words, thrusting toward the courtyard’s only maple tree.

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The unfortunate maple tree, finally crowned with beautiful red leaves, suffered daily torment from this unlucky fellow—was there no mercy, no justice?

Luckily, Chen Longshi had no intention to chop it down.

As the sword thrust out, he hesitated slightly, but just as it was about to strike the tree, Chen Longshi used [Moment Step] to arrive first at the trunk, swinging his sword to block the attack.

He was truly fighting himself, mind split in two!

This dual-minded technique seemed profound, yet didn’t require a pure-hearted person; once his “Soul Canon” crossed the first realm of Dao Thought, he could do it naturally.

While dodging the attacks of his own [Nine-Star Swordmastery], he wielded the longsword with [Ninefold Sword Arts] in response, eyes ablaze, body following the sword, cold flashes darting left and right, swift as lightning.

His dodging, executed at the peak of [Moment Step], allowed him to circle his imaginary foe, causing [Nine-Star Swordmastery] to miss with every strike. For now, [Ninefold Sword Arts] held the advantage, having become spell instinct, while [Nine-Star Swordmastery] was only just learned.

But mere dodging wouldn’t reveal [Nine-Star Swordmastery]’s true power, for Falling Star Sword Qi had not yet been unleashed.

With a thought, the sword released Falling Star Sword Qi. Chen Longshi parried, clashing the two swords together.

“Zzzz…”

Sword qi scattered, leaving the courtyard in chaos.

He continued wielding Swordmastery, fiercely battling his own [Ninefold Sword Arts], the air filled with clashing metal and slicing sword qi, his form shifting like a duel against an invisible adversary.

Back and forth, neither willing to yield.

Meanwhile, Nie Renxiong returned from gathering news.

Accompanying him was the thick-skinned Zhang Liyuanqing. Somehow, the two had joined forces.

Upon entering, Zhang Liyuanqing’s ears perked.

“Huh, there’s fighting in the backyard. Isn’t Brother Longshi home? Who’s sparring with him?”

Nie Renxiong listened suspiciously—sure enough, the sound of swords clashing. “Impossible, Old Chen’s home; who could match him?”

“Come on, let’s see!” Zhang Liyuanqing couldn’t wait.

“Follow me.”

Nie Renxiong led him to the backyard.

There they witnessed a wondrous scene: as if an invisible master, sword skills supreme, was battling Chen Longshi evenly.

“What’s going on?!”

“…”

Gradually, as time passed, the sword arts of [Nine-Star Swordmastery] grew smoother and fiercer. The initial awkwardness vanished, and the skill’s magic finally emerged.

He controlled the longsword to hover in midair, then split it to two, then four, then eight—nine blades suspended above, humming: “Sword qi falls like nine stars.”

Sword qi surged on the airborne blades, the sword bodies blurring, striking horizontally at [Ninefold Sword Arts].

Chen Longshi, mind divided, responded with utmost concentration, unleashing [Ninefold Sword Arts] to perfection: sword extreme, sword shock, sword spin, sword sweep, sword wave, sword flash, sword cunning, sword block—all deployed, effortlessly.

Sword qi filled the air, even the wind grew sharp.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
“Clang, clang, clang~!”

Ninefold sword qi and Falling Star sword qi collided midair, bursting forth, the shockwave pushing Nie Renxiong and Zhang Liyuanqing back.

Meanwhile, Chen Longshi felt his sword tremble, breath stalling, his technique faltering. With Falling Star sword qi about to rain down, he acted on instinct, executing the most miraculous move of [Ninefold Sword Arts]:

Sword Severance—A Thread of Life.

His body flashed like a white colt, in a blink, he tapped his toe and, eerily, escaped from the storm of Falling Star sword qi.

“Phew~”

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He exhaled lightly, maple leaves raining across the courtyard.

The sorrowful maple tree, in the end, could not escape the fate of becoming bald.

The sword dropped into his hand; Chen Longshi looked at it—its blade was scarred, even its inner structure damaged. He had underestimated the destructive power of Falling Star sword qi.

To fully unleash [Nine-Star Swordmastery]’s power, he would need a proper grade sword.

Hopefully, the “Zhijiang Sword” would live up to expectations.

With a casual toss, he sheathed the sword.

All in all, as [Nine-Star Swordmastery] grew more refined, its power greatly surpassed the ordinary Swordmastery. His mental attribute had surpassed 150 points, even exceeding the three-dimensional limit of golden-level lifeforms. His body, far less robust, couldn’t match Swordmastery with [Ninefold Sword Arts], even when it had become spell instinct.

He was quite satisfied with this outcome.

Previously, his psychokinesis was mostly used to reinforce fists or weapon surfaces—potent, but always felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Now, gaining a star skill to wield swords by mind, at last he had found the proper way to use his spiritual power.

He even began to imagine the scene when [Swordmastery] upgraded to silver-grade—what wonders would unfold?

And, “Beyond the azure sky, swordmaster roams the world with ease.”

When would he reach such a realm?

While Chen Longshi dreamed, the two spectators beside him were dumbfounded.

“Damn~”

“You mean you’ve been fighting yourself all along?”

“Who’s beating whom—Old Chen versus Long’er?”

Nie Renxiong was so shocked, his mouth hung open.

Zhang Liyuanqing, first surprised, then unusually solemn, asked, “Brother Chen, is this swordmaster technique the legacy you gained from the Sword Tomb secret realm?”

He had met Nie Renxiong outside, learned he shared a dorm with Chen Longshi, and decided to visit the trial’s top scorer, hoping to learn about the Sword Tomb’s legacy. He never expected to witness such a unique sparring match.

Zhang Liyuanqing had always been a genius, without doubt.

Even after entering the talent-filled Xuanyuan Military Academy, he didn’t think himself inferior.

But today, he finally realized the clear gap between himself and Chen Longshi. Not to mention the uncanny swordmaster technique—even that [Ninefold Sword Arts] would be hard to withstand.

Chen Longshi had no idea his mind could twist so many ways in a moment. He smiled and nodded, “Not fully mastered yet—just practicing. Brother Zhang, what brings you to our place?”

“If I hadn’t come today, I might have missed a duel that would shock the whole academy.”

Zhang Liyuanqing smiled wryly, “To fight yourself with such intensity, I truly submit to you.”

“Haha, you flatter me.”

Chen Longshi was in high spirits, laughed, “Among classmates, who cares about submission? You’re welcome in our dorm anytime. It’s getting late—why not stay for dinner? We have signature dishes here.”

Zhang Liyuanqing had come to strengthen ties; he’d never leave now, and sat on the sofa, “I must see for myself.”

“Bear, shall we have some beer and crayfish tonight?”

“Damn, you want me to cook again.” Nie Renxiong rolled his eyes.

Though he complained, he was a gourmand himself; just hearing the menu made him hungry. “Not much left in the fridge—go fetch some fresh supplies. I’ll prepare some appetizers and call Goddess Ji and Sister Yun’er too.”

“No problem.”