Whetstone

"Boom!!!"

The force of the two attacks colliding not only shattered the air but also unleashed a ferocious gale.

The wild wind pressed Sword Douluo's clothes tightly against his body. He narrowed his eyes at Ye Cheng, who stood some distance away with a sword in hand, unable to conceal the astonishment in his gaze! In that brief exchange, he had actually fallen slightly behind.

Their Soul Power was clearly equal now, and with the power of the Seven Kill Sword added in, he had thought that even if he could not crush his opponent, he would at least be able to suppress him to some extent. Yet he had ended up being suppressed instead.

Most importantly, his opponent had not even used a soul skill. He had relied solely on the Martial Soul's own power.

This was simply absurd.

"Try my sixth soul skill."

Unwilling to accept it, Sword Douluo raised his sword. A terrifying current of air spiraled around the Seven Kill Sword before transforming into streams of Sword Qi around his body, filling the air in the blink of an eye.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!"

With a low shout, countless streams of Sword Qi crisscrossed through the air and converged on Ye Cheng.

Flashy but useless. All style, no substance.

Seeing this so-called Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin, Ye Cheng thought that the people of this world seemed to share a common flaw. Their thinking had been completely constrained by soul skills. They would waste a soul ring to obtain such technical soul skills, even though they could have figured out how to use them with a little experimentation.

For example, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Binding skill in the original work, or Sword Douluo's so-called Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin before him.

With the realm granted by his Persona and his profound insight, Ye Cheng effortlessly saw through Sword Douluo's soul skill.

Then, the next moment.

Ye Cheng shook his head and laughed. The Flying Rainbow Sword in his hand blazed with light as Sword Qi began to gather around it, becoming thousands upon thousands in an instant! He then unleashed the very same move—Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Sword Qi collided. Because both sides' power was so pure, it sounded almost like real metal striking metal, and the entire sky was filled with razor-sharp sword intent!

The distant trees were occasionally struck by stray Sword Qi and instantly reduced to powder.

"He actually... copied my Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin just by seeing it once?!" Sword Douluo felt as though his worldview had collapsed. Was this even human? In his eyes, Ye Cheng's talent with the sword—being able to replicate an opponent's soul skill after one glance—was utterly outrageous.

"Hmph, I refuse to believe it."

"Can you copy this move too?!"

Sword Douluo steadied himself, and his entire body began to blur... Dense Sword Qi spread through the surroundings, making him seem as though he had become a sword himself.

A Martial Soul Avatar—one belonging to a Weapon Martial Soul!

At that moment, Sword Douluo merged with his Martial Soul, seemingly becoming a sword for real.

In this state, he could unleash his strength beyond its normal limits and erupt with even greater power.

After transforming himself into a sword, he swayed ever so slightly, and the void seemed unable to withstand it, instantly being sliced open with gashes.

The next moment.

Phantom swords split off one after another, piercing toward Ye Cheng!

"Now this is getting interesting..."

Feeling the power of the sword phantoms, Ye Cheng's instincts told him that they were now capable of posing a certain threat to him.

He did not dare let his guard down and immediately mobilized his strength. Sword Douluo then attacked, the Seven Kill Sword flashing like lightning at an astonishing speed.

Fortunately, Ye Cheng was no ordinary person. Even though his combat awareness had not caught up, his body's instincts made him subconsciously hold the longsword in his hand horizontally before him, easily blocking the incoming Seven Kill Sword.

"Clang!"

The two swords collided, actually sending out a shower of sparks as though they were solid objects.

Seeing his attack blocked, Sword Douluo did not stop. Instead, he continued launching attack after attack at Ye Cheng like a raging storm.

Ye Cheng calmly parried the Seven Kill Sword, relying on the powerful physical instincts granted by his Persona, as well as that surging, boundless strength.

For a time, he forcibly suppressed his opponent's offensive.

Clang! Clash! Clash!...

The two swords collided continuously, unleashing the ringing sound of metal striking metal.

The scattered Sword Qi flew in every direction.

The surrounding earth was constantly carved open into ravines or blasted into deep pits by erupting Sword Qi. The trees suffered the worst. Even rocks would shatter upon encountering Sword Qi, so naturally, the trees could not last long.

After just one wave of Sword Qi, they would be left riddled with holes and reduced to splinters and dust, rapidly turning the once-lush forest around them bare.

Meanwhile, Ye Cheng became more invigorated the longer he fought.

He felt as though his opponent was an indestructibly sharp sword, attacking with fierce speed and precision.

An ordinary person would likely have already died beneath his storm-like barrage.

But Ye Cheng was different.

He possessed the power of his Persona.

Previously, it had merely been that his consciousness could not keep up with his body. But now, under his opponent's sharp and ferocious assault, he could feel himself gradually adapting to this kind of battle. His mind and body's combat instincts were merging, while his awareness continued to improve... allowing him to better match the power granted by his Persona.

To him, Sword Douluo was like a whetstone, sharpening this unsheathed treasure sword of his until it became ever keener!