Sword Control Art

After reaching the hillside behind the courtyard, Fang Chen set down his bundle of books, picked up the Myriad Beast Compendium he had been reading, and summoned the Floating Immortal Sword. Book in one hand and sword in the other, he began chopping at a tree.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

As the Floating Immortal Sword struck the trunk, streams of cool air flowed from its hilt into Fang Chen's palm, then surged through his meridians and across his body. When they reached his mind, his spirits lifted and his thoughts quickened. He could remember nearly everything on a page after a single glance.

"Haha! Just as I thought. I can improve my cultivation and read at the same time. Now that's efficiency!"

Fang Chen burst out laughing, then kept reading as he chopped.

As time passed, Fang Chen felt more and more alert.

One incense stick later.

"Buzz!"

A roar sounded deep in Fang Chen's head. The next instant, everything around him vanished. All he could see was the Myriad Beast Compendium in his hand.

He stared at the words on the page and memorized them all at a glance.

"Whoosh!"

A fierce gust of wind swept past, flipping rapidly through the Myriad Beast Compendium in Fang Chen's hand. The contents of every page were branded deep into his mind.

After roughly ten breaths, the mysterious spiritual power within Fang Chen ran out, and he slipped from that wondrous state. Though it had lasted only ten breaths, he had finished the Myriad Beast Compendium, a book three inches thick. He could now recite its contents backward.

Fang Chen knew he had entered a state of sudden enlightenment again. In that state, the mysterious spiritual power flowing into him from the Floating Immortal Sword was consumed rapidly, leaving him only ten breaths.

Even so, Fang Chen had gained a great deal. Under normal circumstances, memorizing the entire Myriad Beast Compendium would have taken him at least a month. Yet only a little more than one incense stick had passed since he began chopping, and he had already committed the whole book to memory.

"Hahahaha... Keep going!"

Laughing wildly, Fang Chen returned to his bundle and selected another book almost as thick as the Myriad Beast Compendium. It was called the Herbal Flora Atlas.

The Herbal Flora Atlas recorded information on spirit herbs and spirit trees. Alongside its written descriptions, most entries had illustrations.

Holding the Herbal Flora Atlas, Fang Chen continued reading and chopping.

Two incense sticks later, Fang Chen entered the state of sudden enlightenment again and immediately began flipping through the book.

This time, the state lasted a full fifteen breaths. By the time he emerged, he had finished the Herbal Flora Atlas and memorized everything in it.

Fang Chen was thrilled. He went on reading as he chopped.

At noon on the third day.

Fang Chen put away the Floating Immortal Sword and looked down at the book in his hand, a faint smile tugging at his lips. It was the last book he had bought. He had finished them all.

After several days of frenzied reading, Fang Chen had memorized everything those books contained. He now understood the Barbaric Realm in a new way.

"To think the Barbaric Realm has so many wondrous Demonic Beasts and plants!"

Fang Chen could not help marveling. The Savage World was vast, and nothing within it was too strange to exist.

Some of the Demonic Beasts and spirit beasts recorded in the Myriad Beast Compendium possessed abilities beyond mortal reckoning. The Void-Piercing Beast, an ancient spirit beast, could travel through space. The Time-Space Bird could travel through time and space. Then there was the Five-Step Serpent, an ancient exotic beast that wielded a special Space Law. Anyone it bit became trapped within a space of five steps. Cross that boundary, and the Space Law would instantly rebound upon them and kill them.

Some of the spirit medicines recorded in the Herbal Flora Atlas had extraordinary powers as well. The Sky-Reaching Divine Wood, for example, was said to stand a million zhang tall, reaching the starry sky. Sky-Reaching Divine Fruit grew upon it, and eating one could let a person attain the Dao and become an immortal.

There was also the Enlightenment Tea Tree, a wondrous tea tree that could bring people into a state of sudden enlightenment, allowing them to grasp the laws of the great Dao with ease.

And there was the Elixir of Immortality. Consuming it could prolong life and grant undying longevity.

But whether it was the Void-Piercing Beast, the Time-Space Bird, the Five-Step Serpent, the Sky-Reaching Divine Wood, or the Enlightenment Tea Tree, all were too elusive. The books contained no illustrations of them. They existed only in legend.

"I've finished all these books. I'll go ask Elder Yun if he has any books on alchemy I can read."

Muttering to himself, Fang Chen packed up the books and headed down the mountain.

A little later, Fang Chen reached the foot of the mountain. Li Yanshan was sorting through a great many bottles and jars. Fang Chen walked over and asked, "Uncle Li, what are you doing?"

Li Yanshan looked up at Fang Chen. "I'm choosing spirit medicines. The Trial Path isn't as simple as you think. There are plenty of powerful Demonic Beasts in there, along with poisonous insects and plants. The fumes from some mushrooms can make people dizzy and nauseous, cloud their minds, plunge them into hallucinations, or even kill them outright. Once I've finished sorting these, I'll put together a set for you too. Oh, and Elder Yun has repaired your sword. Wait here. I'll go get it."

With that, Li Yanshan went into his Stone House and brought Fang Chen a sword wrapped in strips of cloth, along with a book. Three large characters on its cover read "Sword Control Art."

"The Sword Control Art?"

Fang Chen's eyes lit up when he saw the title. He had not expected Elder Yun to obtain the Sword Control Art for him as well.

Li Yanshan looked at Fang Chen and said, "You can start practicing the Sword Control Art once you reach the Third Layer of Qi Refining, but mastering it is extremely difficult. Not everyone succeeds. It took your Uncle Li three months back in the day. Take your time studying it, and come to me if there's anything you don't understand."

"Of course! Thank you, Uncle Li!"

Fang Chen bowed slightly to Li Yanshan, then unwrapped the Black Iron Sword. The once rust-covered blade looked completely renewed. Its body was still pitch-black, but its edge gleamed with a chilling silver light. Fang Chen also noticed dark golden patterns along the blade.

"Much better-looking!"

Fang Chen could not help admiring the renewed Black Iron Sword.

He swung the Black Iron Sword a few times, then opened the Sword Control Art.

The Sword Control Art was only a little over twenty pages long, with both text and illustrations. Fang Chen soon finished reading it.

Over the past two days and more, Fang Chen had read while chopping trees and entered sudden enlightenment nearly a hundred times. His ability to read and think had improved tremendously as a result. Even without the Floating Immortal Sword's help, he could now memorize the entire Sword Control Art with ease.