One Body, Two Sides

Back to Chen Yuan. After returning to the estate, he began living in seclusion once more, just as he had in the past. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping at fixed times, he practiced swordsmanship and Meditation.

With nothing else to disturb him, Chen Yuan completely immersed himself in his own world. Time flew by, and more than twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Chen Yuan walked into the Training Field and pulled a 128-catty greatsword from the Weapon Rack. He had specially commissioned this greatsword from the Blacksmith Shop to temper his strength.

Chen Yuan gripped the greatsword with both hands and set his stance. He exhaled sharply and let out a shout, drawing strength from the ground. His legs stood firm like old trees rooted in the earth. He raised the sword, exerted force, and moved his entire body, channeling all his strength into his arms. With one swing, the air seemed to explode beneath the blade, unleashing waves of piercing roars.

Chen Yuan had never neglected his daily sword-swinging training. Though he had long since met Chen Xin's requirements, he was now pushing himself even harder.

With the 128-catty greatsword, he had to swing with all his might a thousand times every day. Swing, withdraw, repeat, over and over again. By the time he finished today's training, several hours had passed.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down Chen Yuan's face, and his white training clothes had long been soaked through. Though his body was exhausted, his spirits remained high.

After loosening up his limbs a little, Chen Yuan began his next round of training. He tossed the 128-catty greatsword back onto the Weapon Rack, then summoned the Seven Kill Sword and began practicing the Seven Kill Sword Art.

His feet struck the ground as Chen Yuan moved. The sword moved with his body, and in the blink of an eye, layers upon layers of sword shadows had appeared around him. Cold light flashed, and fierce winds scattered in every direction.

At the same time, Chen Yuan continued comprehending Man and Sword as One. It was difficult. Chen Xin had said that one had to forget the sword in one's hand and become the sword oneself, reaching the state where the sword was the person and the person was the sword. That was Man and Sword as One.

However, the knowledge was all laid out in the textbooks, yet not everyone could get into Tsinghua University or Peking University. Sometimes, one truly needed a moment of sudden enlightenment.

Chen Yuan's thoughts began to drift.

The Seven Kill Sword is my Martial Soul. On Douluo Continent, Martial Souls come from bloodline inheritance, inherited from the stronger bloodline of one parent. A Martial Soul condenses from one's bloodline. Whether it is a weapon Martial Soul or a beast Martial Soul, it is not some lifeless thing. It is an inseparable companion, like another you...

At this thought, Chen Yuan's eyes suddenly widened.

One Body, Two Sides. The Martial Soul is oneself, and oneself is the Martial Soul. Therefore, the Seven Kill Sword is me!

A flash of understanding crossed his mind. The Seven Kill Sword in Chen Yuan's hand seemed to sense something and began trembling continuously, sword qi surging and withdrawing. Then, sword qi burst forth, spreading from the Seven Kill Sword across Chen Yuan's body. Sword qi surrounded him, making him seem like a divine sword himself.

Chen Yuan was somewhat dazed. He had entered an incredibly profound state. The Seven Kill Sword in his hand and he himself were no longer distinct from one another. He no longer even needed to rely on the Seven Kill Sword. With only a flick of his finger, he could unleash Seven Kill Sword Qi.

Within his Dantian, all his Soul Power boiled, transforming into a surging sword qi that coursed through his meridians.

The chilling sword qi tore through his meridians and cut into his body, sending waves of stabbing pain through him. Chen Yuan immediately came to his senses. Without hesitation, he slashed a sword toward the sky. This sword qi finally found an outlet and burst forth like an enraged dragon.

Boom!

All the sword qi around Chen Yuan condensed into a seven- or eight-meter-long blade of light that shot into the sky. Within fifty meters, its power was formidable. Beyond fifty meters, its power weakened, and only at a hundred meters did the light blade dissipate into nothingness.

This was undoubtedly Chen Yuan's strongest move at present, comparable to a Soul King's ten-thousand-year soul skill. Although it had consumed all his Soul Power, its might had not disappointed him. The Seven Kill Sword's edge was indeed unstoppable.

Chen Yuan continued staring into the sky. He had already withdrawn from the Man and Sword as One state, and his face was somewhat pale. It was not only because of the immense expenditure, but also because of the damage the sword qi had inflicted on his own body.

Before harming others, it harmed himself first. Man and Sword as One truly was a self-sacrificing technique. It seemed his body still could not withstand the sword qi's rampage.

Still, its power had indeed doubled. Turning all his Soul Power into sword qi could allow someone to erupt with several times their usual combat strength at a critical moment.

At that moment, Chen Yuan burst into laughter.

"Haha, mastering Man and Sword as One means that the Seven Kill Sword Art has reached major completion, and the Killing Word Technique is nearly mastered as well. Of the Chen Family's Three Supreme Techniques, only Refining Rings is something I have yet to truly master."

"However, even my teacher has yet to successfully refine Spirit Rings. In the original story, Teacher only succeeded in refining his nine Spirit Rings into the nine stars above his Martial Soul after breaking through to Level 97 Spirit Power. That means he only suppressed the energy of all nine Spirit Rings after reaching Level 97 Spirit Power, completely making them his own. It seems I still have a long road ahead."

The Chen Clan's Refining Rings was in no way inferior to the Clear Sky Sect's Ring Detonation. Ring Detonation meant detonating Spirit Rings and releasing all their power, thus unleashing attacks beyond one's limits.

As for Refining Rings, it suppressed the energy of Spirit Rings and completely made it one's own. The power gained was more stable and had no severe aftereffects, but it was also more difficult. Only when one's own Soul Power was sufficiently vast could it be achieved.

Just consider Chen Xin. Even with two yellow, two purple, and five black Spirit Rings, he needed Level 97 Spirit Power to suppress them. If Chen Yuan absorbed two or three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings in the future, or even a Million Year Soul Ring, how immense would his Soul Power have to be to suppress their energy and completely make it his own?

However, the greater the investment, the greater the reward. If he could refine a Million Year Soul Ring, then his Seven Kill Sword should be able to become a Divine Weapon. Put another way, it would become a god-level Martial Soul.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, the pain all over his body made Chen Yuan bare his teeth. He turned around and dragged his body back to his room, where he began to meditate. After recovering a little Soul Power, he infused it into the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone and activated the "Wildfire Cannot Burn It All, Spring Breeze Brings It Back to Life" skill.

A gentle blue energy rapidly flowed through every part of his body. Nourished by this blue energy, his body felt cool and refreshed, while the original stabbing pain gradually faded away.

The Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone had truly been worth absorbing. It was practically like carrying a top-tier healing Spirit Master at all times. For a Combat Spirit Master like him, it was enough to greatly increase his ability to survive.

His body recovered quickly, and there was something else that pleased him: his Soul Power had become increasingly pure. It seemed that after this experience, it had become as easy to control as his own limbs.

With this, given ten days, Chen Yuan was confident he could break through to level forty...