Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art

The Immortal Sect is different from any cultivation sect currently known; it is very special.

Inherited from the previous civilization era, it places extreme importance on mortals, not viewing them as mere ants whose only purpose is to produce Spirit Root cultivators.

The "Sixty-Eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Art" is a product of this ideology. The project was born on the very first day cultivators were discovered, over ten thousand years ago. It has undergone painstaking improvements and refinements by generations of Immortal Sect sages, with many God Transformation Ancestors and numerous Nascent Soul Cultivators participating. To date, it has been iterated sixty-eight times.

Even now, one of the core threads of the central Array Spirit Computer is still deducing the sixty-ninth generation of the "Eagle's Takeoff Art."

If there are breakthrough advancements, even the current God Transformation Ancestors might invest in it to accelerate its research and development.

This is absolutely a groundbreaking innovation in the cultivation world.

Those large and small sects, sacred lands, might possess similar capabilities, or perhaps not. However, they would absolutely never pour vast resources and high-level cultivators into such an endeavor.

Historically, those fleeting high-level cultivators with Four Spirit Roots were all beings who obtained heaven-defying opportunities, with no possibility of replication.

The "Sixty-Eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Art" is a popular textbook on Luminous Blue Star, divided into Sword Arts, Saber Arts, Fist Arts, Staff Arts, and more. It is all-encompassing; if you desire it, you can find it within.

Jiang Ding is precisely cultivating the "Sixty-Eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art"!

Unfortunately, the difficulty of a technique often matches its effectiveness!

He started practicing martial arts at the age of seven, and it has been nine years. He is still only at the Proficient Realm, far from Minor Accomplishment!

How can he cultivate to the point where True Qi is born from his bone marrow at this rate?

Jiang Ding's aptitude, though considered the bottom tier on Luminous Blue Star.

However, he is still the bottom tier among Luminous Blue Star's martial artists!

With the assistance of the Rongcheng Array Spirit Computer, he would be considered a genius among geniuses in any small world with only martial arts heritage. It's a dimensional strike; it wouldn't be strange for him to have reached the peak of the Inner Qi Realm by now.

The reality is also true; if he were cultivating martial arts techniques other than the "Eagle's Takeoff Art," he might have a chance at reaching the Innate Realm by now.

The only drawback is the severance of his path to cultivation.

The vast majority of Mortal Martial Arts were created by mortals and low-level cultivators. With their abilities and knowledge, they are simply incapable of bridging the gap to cultivation.

The process of cultivating Mortal Martial Arts involves forcibly destroying numerous subtle meridians within the body that martial artists cannot observe, causing an already extremely poor aptitude to fall below the baseline.

Even if one forcefully switches to cultivating immortal techniques at the Innate Realm, risking certain death, the highest attainable level would be Qi Refining Level One or Two at most, with a significantly reduced lifespan.

"Today, I will continue cultivating the 'Sixty-Eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art'," Jiang Ding said, taking a Green Steel Sword from the weapon rack.

It was a double-edged Han sword, one meter and thirty centimeters long, sharpened. The forging material was N2702 Law-Breaking Steel, possessing a slight inherent law-breaking effect that could be enhanced with Internal Force.

This material is also commonly used for manufacturing bullets. At supersonic speeds and under spin, it can block a certain degree of spiritual interference from cultivators, preventing the bullet from deviating from its initial trajectory due to slight spiritual disturbances.

He placed his hand on the hilt.

Instantly, The figure on the light screen moved.

It stretched its limbs, and its body gradually enlarged, becoming the same size as Jiang Ding—identical in height, shoulder width, and arm length. However, its body was composed of faint blue light, with every muscle, bone, and subtle meridian clearly visible and labeled with small text.

"Preparation Stance."

With a mechanical voice, the blue figure moved. It stepped forward with its right foot, bending its knee slightly, placing its left hand on the scabbard while its right hand moved to the hilt at its waist.

The surrounding air seemed to stagnate.

Despite being merely a figure composed of faint blue lines, lacking any skin, a heavy aura emanated from it, like a towering pine tree.

Jiang Ding knew this was not a simple act of gripping a sword.

From his perspective, he could clearly see the figure's meridians and muscles undergoing dozens, even hundreds, of complex changes in less than half a second, like numerous springs of varying sizes compressing internally, gathering various forces to accumulate energy for the earth-shattering strike to come.

The imposing aura was not an illusion but a warning issued by the human brain upon sensing danger, urging the body to distance itself from the source of peril as much as possible.

Jiang Ding gripped the hilt, his posture mirroring the blue figure exactly. He closed his eyes, feeling the accumulation of power in his muscles and meridians.

Out of 639 muscles, 52 could not achieve perfect energy accumulation. These were mainly the smooth muscles located in the digestive system and bladder, as well as the cardiac muscle of the heart. Even though he had long completed the Flesh Refining Realm cultivation, he still couldn't perfectly train these muscles.

A millimeter's difference can lead to a thousand-mile divergence.

The resulting effect was at least a threefold reduction in accumulated power compared to the figure before him, even though the figure was formed using his complete muscle, meridian, and bone data, with the same foundation.

"Exhibiting Sword Style."

The faint blue figure was like a spring coiled to its maximum tension. Suddenly, it shifted from extreme stillness to rapid motion, using the sword tip as a brush to draw a perfect circle around itself.

Hundreds of muscle lines transitioned from tautness to release, following a certain rule, as graceful as a piano master performing, filled with rhythmic beauty.

Jiang Ding followed suit, but the circle he drew always had a slight disharmony, a deviation, preventing him from releasing the accumulated power one hundred percent.

"Arm Sword Style."

"Step Sword Style."

"Internal Organ Sword Style."

"Turning Sword Style."

"Harmony Sword Style."

"Running Sword Style."

Jiang Ding followed the figure, dancing with his sword. He would suddenly lunge forward with a thrust, then slash to the right, then execute a series of rapid stabs around a single point. The sword's edge whistled through the air, and his figure flickered throughout the hundred-square-meter training room.

"Hidden Sword Style."

The sword blade was sheathed silently. Jiang Ding's body trembled slightly as he desperately tried to calm his ragged breaths, exhaling waste gas bit by bit. Large amounts of sweat poured from his pores, instantly soaking his clothes and clinging to his skin.

Including the preparation stance, the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art had only nine forms. It emphasized extreme speed and explosive power, integrating cultivation and combat. It was a profound sword art that had exhaustively researched meridians, muscles, and bones. If one reached Minor Accomplishment with a sharp weapon, killing ordinary Inner Qi Realm martial artists was a trivial matter, done with a casual sword strike.

Jiang Ding felt pain in every inch of his body, his stomach burning like fire.

He took three steps at once, picking up the milky white Essence Condensing Bone Strengthening Soup and downing it in one go. The temperature was still just right; it hadn't cooled down despite sitting for so long.

A warmth spread from his throat to his stomach, then throughout his entire body, instantly relieving the sharp pain.

The Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art delved too deeply into the human body, and thus placed an immense burden on it. If not for the Essence Condensing Bone Strengthening Soup provided by the school, it would be fine for a short period. However, without regular replenishment, it was easy to ruin oneself.

Ding!

Jiang Ding's heart leaped with joy, and he quickly looked up at the figure in front of him.

The body, composed of faint blue lines, flickered at the first spinal vertebra, changing from 62% to 66%.

"Four percent!"

Jiang Ding was invigorated. "Ten more times, and I can refine the first spinal vertebra. Give me another thirty days, and can I break through to the Inner Qi Realm?"

Without daring to rest, he immediately performed another set of sword forms while he had the time.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to his haste, his movements were not precise. This time, let alone four percent, not even one percent of progress was made.

"It really was an illusion."

Jiang Ding felt a bit dejected, but he calmed down instead, slowly contemplating which of his movements were not in place and how the rhythm and sequence of his muscles and meridians differed from the figure.

After practicing for more than ten repetitions in this manner, he finally made some progress.

The proficiency of the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art increased by one point, becoming 33% proficiency, taking another small step towards Minor Accomplishment.

The other spinal vertebrae also improved by several points.

Jingle jingle...

Unknowingly, the class period ended. The faint blue figure slowly disappeared. The lights in the bright training room turned off in sequence, and the training room door slowly opened.

Jiang Ding took a few minutes to rinse off, changed into a blue and white school uniform, and walked out of the training room.

"I heard that cultivation geniuses can improve their techniques by 5-6% and bone strengthening by over ten percent each time they train. Over time, I wonder what realm they have reached?"

"Inner Qi Great Accomplishment? Inner Qi Perfection?"

Jiang Ding pondered silently.

Although First High School was the best high school in Rongcheng City, with the highest number of students admitted to university cultivation departments each year, its martial arts teaching resources were not the strongest. Therefore, it didn't attract those top genius martial artists; they were mostly concentrated at Seventh Middle School.

Along the way, most of the students were returning from the training rooms to their classrooms. Some had their shoulders slumped and their steps unsteady, clearly having trained hard.

In the classroom, people returned one after another. Jiang Ding found his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

Soon, a strong smell of sweat wafted into his nostrils.

"How's your progress?" he asked without opening his eyes.

"It's okay," Li Junhao said in a deep voice. "In a few more months, I should be able to break through the Skin Refining Realm and enter the Flesh Refining Realm."

"Keep it up."

After a few minutes, the noisy chatter gradually ceased, and Jiang Ding opened his eyes.

The class monitor, Hua Bing, was standing on the podium at some point.

"Starting from the first row, everyone, please orderly collect your schoolbags." She swiped her student card on the display screen next to the blackboard, and the small doors on the iron cabinet opened one by one, revealing various colored schoolbags.

Every student was accustomed to this and took out their schoolbags in order.

Soon, Jiang Ding received his gray backpack and a pitch-black sword at his side. He first fastened the sword to his waist, then took out a box from his backpack.

He opened the box.

Inside was a black handgun and a magazine full of bullets.

Type 58 Self-Defense Pistol.

The data for this handgun, which had accompanied him since junior high, instinctively appeared in Jiang Ding's mind.

Year 10558, Type 58 Self-Defense Pistol, manufactured by Luban Arms Technology Company. Magazine capacity: six rounds. Uses 7.62mm N2702 Law-Breaking Steel bullets. Effective range: 50 meters. Within this range, it can break through the internal force defense of a martial artist at Minor Accomplishment in the Inner Qi Realm. Two consecutive shots hitting the same point, or three consecutive shots, can break through the internal force defense of a martial artist at Great Accomplishment in the Inner Qi Realm.

Since over ten thousand years ago, Luminous Blue Star had begun to intersect with the cultivation world. Occasionally, cultivators or martial artists from other realms would abruptly teleport onto Luminous Blue Star, causing significant harm to nearby residents.

Although Luminous Blue Star was barren, it occasionally produced a heavenly treasure that drove cultivators from other realms mad—Law-Breaking Immortal Gold. For this, they would risk their lives, especially many old cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans, who were even more desperate.

Therefore, a long time ago, Luminous Blue Star had fully liberalized gun ownership permits for all citizens, and even junior high school students were required to undergo firearms training.

Of course, it was mainly for self-defense, to buy time to escape. This was also why they were issued handguns.

"Disassemble and maintain!" Hua Bing shouted loudly.

Her Spiritual Sense spread out, and the Type 58 pistol floated in the air, spontaneously disassembling into over thirty parts, including the barrel, recoil spring, slide, firing pin, and magazine. The gun oil bottle automatically opened, and maintenance oil was applied.

Of course, with her Qi Refining Level Six strength, the Type 58 Self-Defense Pistol was merely symbolic and offered no protection.

Over thirty classmates also began to work, with clicks and clacks echoing all around.

Jiang Ding's fingers danced like phantoms, disassembling the handgun into parts of varying sizes, then applying maintenance oil to each before reassembling it.

He was meticulous, checking the wear on each part and the integrity of the bullets – unlike the powerful Qi Refining cultivators, this was something that truly concerned his safety.

Although Rongcheng was still quite peaceful, with no incidents of invasion and slaughter by extraterrestrial cultivators for many years, preparation was still necessary.

By the time he finished reassembling it and placed it in the holster worn at his waist, thirty-two seconds had passed.

Glancing around, everyone else was also finishing up one after another.

"First, firearms must be safetied, begin!" Hua Bing started, and everyone chimed in.

"First, firearms must be safetied, and the muzzle must not be pointed at people, otherwise, it will be treated as drunk driving;"

"Second, on public transport, yield to the elderly and children..."

"...Firearms must not be used for anything other than self-defense."

"Class dismissed!"

"Goodbye, Class Monitor!"

Jiang Ding grabbed his backpack and leaped out the window.

His actions were normal. Some people upstairs directly used Qinggong and Wind Riding Arts to leap over ten meters, while others ran to the treetops and disappeared with leaps and bounds. Even more ostentatious were the rich kids who controlled magic tools and flying swords, soaring through the sky with exceptional grace, drawing envious gazes.

"That's Gongsun Ling from Class Two, also at Qi Refining Level Six. I heard she just got her flying magic tool pilot license a few days ago," Li Junhao said enviously, clinging to the window frame.

"She's only at the middle stage of Qi Refining; isn't she afraid of running out of magic power and falling?" someone nearby said sourly.

"So what if she falls? It's only a dozen meters high; she won't get hurt anyway."

Jiang Ding glanced at the charming girl in the sky, feeling an intense envy himself.

Someone like her, a figure in the clouds, couldn't possibly be harmed even if he emptied his Type 58 handgun, could they? Her shield would remain unbroken.

He, the unlucky one, could only walk on the ground, carrying his backpack, one step at a time.

Boom~

Boom~~

As he reached the school gate, the powerful roars of engines could be heard from afar, one after another.

Jiang Ding quickly moved aside to make way.

"Hurry up!"

"Ouch, you drivers, slow down! The formation is getting messed up!"

A medium-sized tank entered the school gate, its 100mm cannon slightly raised, revealing the bright rifling within. A 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun on the rear-right pointed diagonally upwards at a forty-five-degree angle. Its armor was smooth and thick, and its five pairs of road wheels turned, causing students to scatter as it passed.

A student with slightly darker skin sat cross-legged on the turret, eyes closed, meditating.

Type 62 Training Tank!

The thought flashed through Jiang Ding's mind.

Normally, the driver would be in the cockpit. The frontal armor of a Type 62 tank could withstand attacks from late-stage Qi Refining cultivators without damage.

However, weaker points like the tracks and the cannon muzzle were another matter.

Therefore, many cultivators disliked staying in the cockpit and instead controlled the tank with their Spiritual Sense.

"Formation! Formation!"

Behind the tank followed twelve students from Class 3, Grade 3, each shouldering a Type 89 Heavy Machine Gun weighing 125 kilograms. They marched in almost perfect straight lines, adhering to military formation, strictly aligned with the width of the tank. For cultivators, it didn't matter, but for them, who were still Martial Artists, their bodies were as fragile as paper. This was their only defense on the battlefield after enemy cultivators broke through their own cultivators' interception.

Over a dozen Type 62 tanks rumbled past, kicking up dust.

"Class Three is back from their field training."

Li Junhao complained:

"This old tactic should have been discarded long ago. The current active duty army's squad structure has already been changed to tanks supported by several or a dozen self-propelled artillery pieces, annihilating enemies outside the Spiritual Sense range of mid-to-low-level cultivators for tens of kilometers. It's much better."

Jiang Ding shook his head: "It's not that simple. Extraterrestrial cultivators are increasingly inclined to cultivate concealment or earth and water escape/hide type mobility and concealment spells. Our infantry spirit radar can't always find and lock onto enemies."

As they chatted, the two parted ways at the intersection.

Jiang Ding stopped at the bus stop for route 18, finding a less crowded corner to wait for the bus.

It was past six in the evening, and there were already quite a few people here.

A group of chattering elementary school students contributed the most noise and energy, along with some tired-looking office workers, mostly at the Inner Qi Realm cultivation level, carrying gun cases on their backs. These weren't self-defense handguns like Jiang Ding's, but combat firearms like submachine guns and shotguns.

As for heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, and even twin anti-aircraft machine guns, while generally purchasable for collection, bringing them to public places was extremely difficult. Personal firearm permits for such weapons were rarely issued.

The streets were filled with Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists. Very few people were in the three realms of body refinement; they were either minors, disabled, or excessively lazy loafers.

This wasn't to say that students at Rongcheng First High School, known as the top high school in Rongcheng, were all slackers. There were only three Inner Qi Realm cultivators in the entire class.

It was because the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art was actually a cultivation technique. Even with the assistance provided by the Rongcheng Array Spirit Computer to the students, its difficulty was unimaginably high.

Many people, after graduating from high school, or most vocational school students, would stop cultivating the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art and switch to mortal martial arts, which naturally progressed much faster.

According to online information, the most popular mortal martial arts currently were the Nine Yang Divine Skill and Nine Yin Divine Skill. The former had the effect of strengthening the body and nourishing vital energy, while the latter could nourish Yin and beautify the complexion. The power of its True Qi was also excellent, sufficient to be the foundational martial art of any mortal sect, something only core direct disciples could access.

The extremely popular secret art was the Minor Yin Yang Skill.

Of course, even so, the Innate realm is a threshold that only a select few can cross.

An Innate martial artist can easily secure a middle-class life.

The sharp screech of the bus brakes, a fart-like hiss of air, and the chattering elementary school students swarmed aboard. Then came Jiang Ding and the others. He scanned the interior upon boarding, and without any surprise, found a spot by the window, gripping a handrail.

Leaning back, the wind blew in from the window, bringing a hint of coolness.

Jiang Ding silently pondered the flow of meridians and muscles in the projected body from the previous cultivation class, combining it with the basic principles of cultivation methods mentioned in Chinese and Math classes.

Why is the meridian circulation in the preparation stance the most efficient?

Could it be improved?

Woo~~

Whoooooo~~ Woo~~

Creak!

The sudden air raid siren and braking jolted Jiang Ding, pulling him out of his thoughts. He tightened his grip on his sword hilt, his gaze quickly sweeping the surroundings.

"The notice from above says cultivators are breaking through dimensional barriers to invade. The road ahead is blocked."

The driver shouted an explanation, fumbling to pull an AK47 from a cabinet.

"Cultivators breaking through dimensional barriers to invade?"

The carriage fell silent for a moment, then erupted in an uproar.

"Don't panic! Get off in an orderly fashion. The police are already handling it..." The driver was also a bit flustered. He opened the doors and organized passengers to disembark from both the front and rear doors.

Fortunately, although Rongcheng hadn't experienced a cultivator invasion in many years, news of such incidents in other places could still be seen online from time to time. Everyone wasn't panicked to the point of complete chaos.

Jiang Ding followed the crowd, getting off behind a group of children.

"To the air-raid shelters, quickly..."

"Mom, I'm scared..."

Jiang Ding looked around. The road, which had been bustling with traffic moments ago, was now at a standstill. A large number of citizens were noisily evacuating. Large doors appeared in places that had previously been walls or grassy patches, and the red signs for air-raid shelters were extremely conspicuous.

Whether it was schools or companies, there were monthly air-raid drills. Despite the chaos, the crowd was relatively orderly.

Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp whistling sounds tore through the air.

"Missiles!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Jiang Ding looked up.

One, two, three... over a hundred trails of white smoke, accompanied by flames, roared across the sky. Their speed far exceeded the speed of sound, leaving only afterimages on his retinas before disappearing.