Lift Heavy as Light, Seven Kill Sword Art

"Hmm, what happened? Why is it so noisy?"

Just then,

Ning Rongrong quietly woke up as well.

Her physical fitness and Soul Power quality were far inferior to Tang Xuan's.

Naturally, it took her longer to absorb the Spirit Ring.

There was nothing unexpected about her Soul Skill.

Power Amplification 20 Percent, Soul Power Level 11.

"It's nothing. Your big brother here is just too powerful and shocked Grandpa's jaw loose," Tang Xuan teased.

"Stinky kid." Chen Xin laughed as he scolded him. "Why didn't I notice you were such a show-off before?"

Tang Xuan smiled sheepishly.

Perhaps settling the matter of his origins had made him relax considerably.

It had even caused him to reveal much more of his childish side.

"Alright, we shouldn't stay here long. Let's hurry back to the sect." Chen Xin skillfully drew the Seven Kill Sword and soared into the sky once more.

After returning to the sect,

Tang Xuan tested his Soul Power.

It was not much different from what he had sensed.

It had reached Level 13.5.

Immediately afterward,

Tang Xuan did not rest.

Instead, he returned to the Back Mountain Waterfall, where he had poured out three months of sweat.

After absorbing the Spirit Ring,

the Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword's weight surged dramatically.

It was now nearly 300 jin.

If he did not train himself to control it,

Tang Xuan feared he would become a laughingstock like Dugu Bo, possessing a treasure mountain yet unable to use it.

This time, he had plenty of time.

Tang Xuan completely copied Tang San's training method from the original work.

First, he asked Chen Xin to temporarily seal his Soul Power.

Then, he used an iron rod with the same shape and weight as the Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword in place of his martial soul.

He continued until he could swing the sword steadily, as naturally as moving an arm or finger.

This step alone took Tang Xuan a full half a year.

Lift Heavy as Light was complete.

Next came Lift Light as Heavy.

He switched from the iron rod to a wooden sword.

He trained until he could split the waterfall's curtain without breaking the sword.

This step was far more difficult than Lift Heavy as Light.

It took Tang Xuan nine months to master it completely.

"Pfft—hahaha! Even without martial arts, I'm not the slightest bit worse than Tang San!" Tang Xuan excitedly poked his head out of the pool.

Tang San had the Mysterious Heaven Skill protecting his body and possessed martial arts experience.

He also had Level 40 Soul Power as a foundation.

Even so, he had needed a full year to master his strength.

Tang Xuan had nothing, yet he had only taken three months longer than Tang San.

Tang Xuan's sense of accomplishment was practically overflowing.

On the shore,

Chen Xin watched his grandson with a gratified expression.

Lift Heavy as Light and Lift Light as Heavy sounded simple.

But in reality, they were as difficult as reaching the heavens.

Even he had not expected his grandson to master them in such a short time.

"Brother Xuan, dry yourself." Ning Rongrong thoughtfully handed him a blanket.

Perhaps because they had fought together and killed beasts together,

the little girl had become deeply dependent on Tang Xuan.

Whether there was something to do or not, she always ran to the back mountain to keep him company.

And over the past year,

she had watched every time Tang Xuan was knocked down by the waterfall and every time he climbed back up.

That unyielding perseverance,

that feeling that no difficulty could possibly defeat him, made her utterly captivated, even infatuated.

Tang Xuan accepted the blanket and casually dried himself. "Grandpa, my control over my strength has now reached perfection. It's time to teach me the Seven Kill Sword Art, isn't it?"

The Seven Kill Sword Art emphasized sharpness.

To Tang Xuan, it was actually rather redundant.

But it was simple and direct, aimed straight at taking the enemy's life.

It shared some overlap with the essence of the Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword.

Besides,

the Seven Kill Sword Art's ultimate profundity—my body as the sword, man and sword as one—

was the endpoint every swordsman longed for.

One had to first see a sword before finding one's own path of the sword.

"You're ready. But won't you rest first?" There was a trace of heartache in Chen Xin's faint smile.

Working without rest all year might be normal for beasts of burden.

But for a seven-and-a-half-year-old child, it was simply too cruel.

"There's no need. The medicinal bath Uncle Ning sends over works wonderfully. I get plenty of rest every day," Tang Xuan said with a smile.

The medicinal bath he soaked in each day was the Breaking Clan's secret art.

Who knew what great price Ning Fengzhi had paid to obtain it.

Seeing his grandson insist, Chen Xin could not say much else.

He merely tapped several points across Tang Xuan's body, releasing the seal on him.

Tang Xuan immediately felt a violent surge of Soul Power flood from some unknown place into his limbs and bones.

The sounds of bottlenecks shattering rang out one after another within his body.

Tang Xuan had no time to think of anything else and hurriedly sat cross-legged to sort out his Soul Power.

This was merely the Soul Power Tang Xuan had passively accumulated over the past year.

It was completely different from Tang San in the original work.

After all, Chen Xin did not know the Soul Sealing Method unique to the Clear Sky Sect.

"Hah, Level 18. Four and a half levels in a year—not bad, I suppose." Tang Xuan sighed softly.

His bitter training beneath the waterfall over the past year

had greatly tempered both Tang Xuan's body and spirit.

Combined with the fact that the first twenty levels were the easiest stage for cultivation, as well as the remarkable medicinal bath,

even passively accumulated Soul Power could keep pace with ordinary cultivation.

But this progress

still could not satisfy Tang Xuan.

He could not forget that, more than a decade later, the danger of annihilation awaited him.

Whether it was for Grandpa's right arm, his own life,

or even for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect,

Tang Xuan would never allow Spirit Hall's scheme to succeed.

But by then, Tang Xuan would at most be a Soul Saint.

Could he turn the tide of battle? Perhaps.

But the hope was still slim.

After all, 10,000 High-Level Spirit Masters alone would be enough to restrain any Titled Douluo below Level 95.

If Chen Xin had not broken through in the midst of battle in the original work,

those 10,000 Spirit Masters, assisted by Four Titled Douluo, would have been more than enough to wipe out the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Suddenly,

Tang Xuan thought of a weapon that could counter Large-Scale Spirit Masters.

But that weapon was still far beyond the current Tang Xuan...

"Brother Xuan? What are you thinking about?" Ning Rongrong tilted her head and waved her little hand back and forth before Tang Xuan's eyes.

"Nothing." Tang Xuan shook away his thoughts. "What about you? Have you broken through to Level 15? Have you learned Mind Control Basics?"

The moment he opened his mouth, he sounded like an old person.

Ning Rongrong's little face immediately fell. "Ah, I'm almost there, I'm almost there! Stop rushing me."

She said she was almost there, but in truth, she was still far from it.

She was a support-type Spirit Master, and her cultivation speed was far slower than that of a Battle Soul Master.

She had only broken through Level 14 a little over two months ago.

As for Heart Separation Control? She had practically not trained it at all.

Seeing Ning Rongrong like this,

Tang Xuan was quite helpless as well.

After all, she was a genuine six-year-old child.

No matter how strong her willpower was, how much stronger could she really be?

At the very least, under Tang Xuan's influence,

Ning Rongrong in this life had already improved greatly compared to the original work.

"Grandpa, time is of the essence. Let's begin the lessons now." Tang Xuan's eyes were filled with anticipation.

Basic sword skills such as chopping, thrusting, lifting, and sweeping

had long since been mastered by Tang Xuan to perfection.

He had wanted to witness the famous Seven Kill Sword Art from the original work, despite how little it had appeared,

for a long time.

Chen Xin gave a slight nod and extended a hand forward.

He drew over the wooden sword Tang Xuan had personally forged from Tang Xuan's hand.

The moment the wooden sword entered his grasp,

Chen Xin seemed to become a different person.

All his former kindness vanished, replaced by incomparable sharpness.

Icy killing intent spread out like something tangible.

Tang Xuan struggled to withstand it while shielding Ning Rongrong behind him.

His eyes were wide open, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

"Watch carefully. My life's ultimate skill—the Seven Kill Sword Art!"

"Seven Kill Sword Art First Form: Killing Intent Revealed!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Chen Xin moved, his motions sharp and graceful.

The powerful Sword Intent pressured Tang Xuan into unconsciously releasing his martial soul.

His mind gradually became immersed in the exquisite sword skill.

Suddenly,

Tang Xuan moved as well.

The Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword, once incomparably heavy, danced lightly in his hand.

It was no different from an ordinary light sword.

From Ning Rongrong's perspective,

Tang Xuan and Chen Xin seemed to have been carved from the same mold, their movements perfectly synchronized.

The seemingly clumsy Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword in Tang Xuan's hand

was as light and nimble as the wooden sword in Chen Xin's hand.