At that moment, Yuan was in the middle of the training grounds, talking with the youths from the Starship Humans' village who also practiced the Die Feng Sword Art.
A villager asked Shenghui in confusion, "Chief, the Die Feng Sword Art is a top-tier cultivation secret art passed down from an Immortal. Why teach it so readily to an outsider?"
Shenghui smiled. "Of course it's precious to us, but do you think the Isis Race, one of the two top races on Dongyuan Planet, would be short of secret arts like this?"
The villager smiled too, seeming to understand the chief's intentions. "You want to befriend this genius, Chief. But how could the Isis Race bear to leave him out here in the wilderness? Do you think there's any chance we could convince him to stay?"
Shenghui shook his head. "Of course I want to befriend him, but don't even think about keeping him here. You don't know the whole story."
"He was forced to flee to this wasteland before he showed his talent. His family and friends aren't here, and we can't offer him anything close to the training he'd receive if he returned to the Isis Race."
"If a true Isis Race genius came out to gain experience, do you think he'd care about our friendship? Besides, we can barely keep ourselves alive..."
The villager asked, "But what if he can't even get started with the Die Feng Sword Art? Wouldn't we have wasted this secret art?"
Shenghui said confidently, "Don't worry. With the talent to comprehend a Conception at Earth Rank, he'll have no trouble getting started with the Die Feng Sword Art!"
"If he grows into an influential powerhouse within the Isis Race, then perhaps the dozens of Starship Humans' villages might have a sliver of hope of ending this life of constant wandering..."
Thinking of how the Starship Humans had spent countless years wandering, never knowing whether they would live or die, the two men wore complicated expressions.
The villager's eyes darted about as though he'd thought of a clever idea. Leaning toward Chief Shenghui, he whispered, "Since you want to befriend the boy, why not give him the complete Die Feng Sword Art, all the way up to Immortal Level?"
Shenghui's eyes lit up. "Good idea! A manual that can be cultivated all the way to Immortal Level would cost a fortune to exchange for, even within the Isis Race. You've done well, Sijian. You really are the 'brightest mind' in our village!"
Secret arts weren't handed out lightly. What they'd given Yuan earlier was only the first three layers of the Die Feng Sword Art, enough to cultivate up to Universe Rank at most.
If Yuan could get his hands on the complete secret art, then the stronger he became, the greater the help it would provide him in his cultivation!
If Yuan managed to reach World Master Rank by focusing on the Die Feng Sword Art, then even the most ungrateful powerhouse couldn't ignore the enormous debt of gratitude he'd owe them!
Unable to sit still, Shenghui and Sijian hurriedly found an excuse to send Yuan both the Basic Sword Technique Guide they'd given him earlier and the complete Die Feng Sword Art.
Yuan had no concept of the significance of receiving a cultivation inheritance from a community or an entire race, so he accepted it readily.
It only took up a little space on his Smart Wristwatch. Whether he'd ever use it was another question, and he had no idea that it might be an enormous "favor"...
Yuan had received a fairly basic education in cultivation, so he didn't have too much trouble understanding the complete warrior-cultivation knowledge the Starship Humans shared with him.
Even so, Yuan was amazed. When he couldn't yet increase his physical strength, there were still so many wonderful methods for improving his combat power.
He'd never encountered any of this before. It was as if a whole new world had opened before him. Could the path to becoming a powerhouse really be this fascinating?
Thanks to the villagers' enthusiastic explanations, Yuan gained a fairly comprehensive understanding of the Die Feng Sword Art. Even an ordinary World Rank cultivator could use it to deepen their comprehension of the laws.
Even an Immortal Military Lord could use it to bring out impressive combat power. It was a genuine Immortal Level sword manual, with six layers suited to powerhouses at different stages of cultivation.
Each layer also came with a matching movement technique and Guidance Technique. The movement technique increased speed and agility, while using it with a sword increased attack power.
As for the Guidance Technique, it was like the Gene Origin Energy Cultivation Method—Cultivation Guide he'd seen earlier. It helped the user absorb Universe Energy and break through bottlenecks, such as the one between Earth Rank and Flying Star Rank...
In other words, an ordinary genius with enough insight could reach Immortal Level with nothing but the Die Feng Sword Art, without learning any other secret arts!
The first layer was suited to Earth Rank (Planet Rank) cultivation and was further divided into thirteen stages.
At the first stage, one could release one additional burst of Dark Force, producing fourteen times the original power!
At the second stage, one could release two additional bursts of Dark Force, producing twenty-one times the original power!
At the third stage, one could release three additional bursts of Dark Force, producing twenty-eight times the original power!
At the thirteenth stage, one could release thirteen additional bursts of Dark Force, producing ninety-one times the original power! That was more than nine times the body's original strength.
What did that mean?
It meant that if a third-stage Earth Rank warrior like him mastered the thirteenth stage of the Die Feng Sword Art, he could nearly match an eighth-stage Earth Rank warrior!
"This is so hard. The Die Feng Sword Art is incredibly difficult to cultivate. Even getting started is this hard."
Yuan swung his sword hundreds of times in a row, repeatedly trying to add a burst of Dark Force to the power of a single strike. But he couldn't do it at all.
It was too hard!
A sword swing ended in an instant. To release another burst of power from within his body at the same moment as his first strike was simply impossible.
I shouldn't aim too high too soon. The first layer of the Die Feng Sword Art has eighteen moves. The manual says that practicing these eighteen moves will help me understand how to generate force for the first layer.
Yuan nodded. The meaning of a book reveals itself after a hundred readings. It was the same principle: if he practiced those eighteen moves enough times, even a little insight would help him grasp their essence.
A blazing fighting spirit burned in Yuan's eyes. He felt that his chances of getting home had grown a little better...
Although he didn't speak the language very well, Yuan was a second-stage Earth Rank Spirit Reader, and his powerful consciousness soon allowed him to communicate haltingly with the others.
Yuan once again put his passive skill to use. By the time he'd finished chatting with the village's youths,
he'd grown familiar with almost every one of them and had started to get a sense of each person's personality.
The Starship Humans' youths had never heard a joke about the Isis Race before, and Yuan's stories made them burst into laughter again and again. Seeing their reactions made him feel rather pleased with himself.
Surrounded by the crowd, Yuan had no idea that several of the girls were looking at him with a strange gleam in their eyes...
The Tuya Black Hole had unknowingly moved overhead, bathing the entire canyon in bright light.
Shenghui sent the energetic youths back to their cultivation, leaving only two young people who were skilled at the Die Feng Sword Art—a boy and a girl—to teach Yuan the eighteen moves of the first stage of the first layer...
With the foundation of his Light Artistic Conception and his natural affinity for the sword, Yuan mastered all eighteen moves that very day.
Yuan felt that he'd reached a state of perfection in which he couldn't improve the eighteen moves no matter how hard he tried. His frightening rate of progress left the whole village dumbfounded.
After all, that morning Yuan had been a complete beginner who knew next to nothing. In just half a day, he'd caught up with the decades of sword practice an ordinary Earth Rank warrior might put in!
Yuan himself wasn't very satisfied. Although the eighteen moves gave him a basic ability to defend himself against warriors of the same rank, he hadn't even mastered the first layer of the Die Feng Sword Art's movement technique or swordplay.
Even though he hadn't mastered them, Yuan's movement had become more nimble after reaching perfection, and he'd gained finer control over the force behind his sword strikes.
It had only been half a day. It would've been absurd to master the whole thing already!
Yuan mused, Although I still can't release a burst of Dark Force in an instant, at least I have much more precise control over my muscles than I did when I only knew a few ordinary fist techniques.
That day, Shenghui equipped Yuan with a set of first-rank Origin Energy armor and a weapon: a black full-body suit of armor and an elegant silver-white longsword. Shenghui called them a reward for helping protect the village, and Yuan, still inexperienced in the ways of the world, accepted them readily.
Looking at Shenghui's own colorful, seemingly battered armor, which was so different from his, Yuan felt puzzled.
Shenghui smiled and explained. It turned out the Starship Humans weren't lacking in the techniques needed to forge weapons.
Unfortunately, the village's strongest fighters were only Sky Rank (Universe Rank). Their limited strength, combined with their lack of industrial infrastructure, meant they could only make first-rank armor and weapons.
Shenghui's armor might've looked crude, but it was made from various high-grade metals fitted together. It could even provide some protection in a battle between Universe Rank fighters.
Looking at the now fully armed and imposing Yuan, Shenghui was very pleased. More than anyone, he hoped Yuan would survive, grow stronger step by step, and fulfill his dream of bringing lasting peace to all the Starship Humans!
Time flew by. Yuan had now spent nearly fifteen days among the Starship Humans, and his Spirit Reader ability had already broken through to third-stage Earth Rank. His combat ability had made great strides as well.
He occasionally taught the villagers how to operate mechs, instructed Apprentice Rank children in cultivation, and helped repair their smart devices. His days were quite fulfilling.
He could even channel a little of his Light Artistic Conception into his sword to increase his attack power. Unfortunately, he still couldn't produce the first burst of Dark Force!
Yuan felt a little dejected. Shenghui keenly noticed his disappointment and invited him to join a Desolate Beast hunt. Perhaps he'd comprehend the first burst of Dark Force in a real battle!
Yuan thought he had a point. He'd never been in a real battle before, and his fights against the village's Earth Rank youths had always stopped before anyone got hurt. It was time to let his sword taste blood.
Although he was still somewhat afraid, he gritted his teeth and agreed when he thought of how many battles might lie ahead on the seven or eight hundred thousand kilometers between him and home.
How could he become a true powerhouse without experiencing real combat?
Yuan learned about Desolate Beasts and wilderness survival from the village's hunters. Three days later, he was finally ready to face the cruelty of this world for the first time!
Before you continue