Fuxie Sword Spirit

"That is..."

Opening his eyes, he found it was already early morning. The others had not yet awakened. An Jing subconsciously reached out to grasp something, and the broken sword responded to his will, shifting from ethereal to solid, appearing in his palm to be gripped tightly.

Once he realized what had happened, he was already drenched in cold sweat.

The broken sword vibrated gently. An Jing lowered his gaze and muttered to himself, "Subduing Demons... Fuxie... is that your name?"

"I do not remember."

The Sword Spirit spoke in a calm voice, "I am broken, and I remember very little. There are not only gaps in my memory, but many parts that contradict and conflict with one another."

"...Why choose me?"

"The other children did not possess such intense curiosity and drive. They would only feel fear, and they would eventually forget."

The Sword Spirit chuckled, "But you did not, which is why I warned you, so that you would not die so quickly."

"And the subsequent events proved your uniqueness—after learning the truth, your first thought was to kill all these wicked thieves."

"This is 'Fuxie'."

"Because of this, I chose you."

"Sister Fuxie, or Brother Fuxie?"

An Jing sighed, "How should I address you? If you have any other cultivation methods, teach me as soon as possible. I am in a manor controlled by the Demonic Cult, and there is a Manor Master at the Internal Strengthening realm. Relying solely on the Qingjing Sword Temple and some basic martial arts is likely not enough."

"That is indeed true. But do not use 'brother' or 'sister' to address me. I am a sword and have no gender. You may call me Sword Spirit, or Fuxie."

The Fuxie Sword Spirit said, "As for cultivation methods, I do wish to teach you... I was once an Immortal Sword, and what I know are the marvelous techniques of the Immortal Path. Although most have been lost, teaching you will not be a problem."

"However, after the Great Catastrophe, the Huaixu Realm abandoned the cultivation path of 'Spirit Root Qi Refining' and replaced it with the current martial arts of destiny. There must be a profound reason behind this, and I dare not guide you recklessly or play the teacher without cause."

"Spirit Root Qi Refining?"

An Jing frowned slightly. Thanks to the fact that he was half a scholar, he vaguely remembered some related information recorded in the Da Chen classics: "Drawing talismans and conferring registers to command ghosts and gods?"

"That was only a part of the ancient Qi Refining Immortal Path."

The Fuxie Sword Spirit denied this, "Likewise, in my era, martial arts were merely a branch of body refining, destined to return to the Orthodox Qi Refining Path."

"But the Huaixu Realm has clearly developed a brand-new martial arts heritage, profound and vast, seemingly no less than the Immortal Path. This is why I am unwilling to guide you casually."

"In my memory, there are no specialized martial arts techniques, but if you are willing to take a risk, I do have an idea."

At this point, Fuxie recalled softly, "I possess a sword cultivation technique called the 'Tai-bai Haoling Divine Prohibition'."

It had waited for an incredibly long time to finally find an An Jing who met its requirements. It had already thought everything through and now spoke at length, "This method condenses evil energy into qi, transforms that evil into a prohibition, and refines the prohibition into the body. It is a top-tier sword cultivation body-refining technique. However, the entry is extremely difficult; it requires using pure evil energy to connect with one's vital energy, forging a 'Tai-bai Prohibition Seed' within the body, and then irrigating it with the essence of the five metals to make it grow."

"Once cultivated to completion, one can unleash a great divine ability: the 'Tai-bai Disaster-Cutting Evil-Breaking Indestructible Body'."

"This method does not involve external forces or draw upon spiritual evil; it is purely internal cultivation. Although it is arduous and difficult, its effects remain consistent regardless of how the world's environment changes."

"Pure evil energy is hard to come by, but you have my sword-evil as a guide. If you have sufficient resources, you can make rapid progress."

"By entering through this, you will become a cultivator. You will be able to fear no ordinary blades, swords, arrows, or even spells. It should be the most suitable path for this world."

Fuxie thought for a moment and added, "However, the initial stage of this method requires a massive amount of refined black iron, purple tin, and other five metals. It is extremely resource-intensive, which is why it is also known as the 'Tai-bai Gold-Swallowing Divine Prohibition'."

"The only problem is that the Xuanming Manor does not seem to have any [refined five metals]."

"Indeed."

Thinking of this, An Jing, who had been quite excited while listening, immediately calmed down, "The method is good, but it is useless if I cannot even get started."

"There will always be a way." Now it was the Sword Spirit's turn to comfort him, "Observe carefully for now. The Xuanming Manor might have an armory; there might be refined five metals there."

"That is true. Thank you."

An Jing composed himself. At this moment, the other youths in the dormitory had also awakened. An Jing knew he had to start preparing to lead the morning training.

As always, nothing had changed. Only Cang Linzu vaguely noticed something; he leaned over and whispered, "Boss, the corners of your eyes are a bit red. Did you not sleep well?"

"I just dreamed of those who left." An Jing smiled and patted his shoulder. After the other boy exclaimed, "Boss, you actually dream of them too?!", he dragged him to the training ground and worked him until he was gasping for air, unable to say another word.

In the afternoon, while leading the training, An Jing encountered Manor Master Yao, who had 'happened' to come by for an inspection.

The two locked eyes.

The old man wore an encouraging smile, and An Jing returned it with a calm gaze.

One side believed this was a sign of submission, or perhaps a manifestation of a cold and unfeeling nature.

The other side was waiting, enduring.

Just like a tiger crouching on a barren hill, hiding its claws and teeth while it waits.

Time flowed on.

Because the number of people had been set at one hundred and eight, divided into twelve groups of nine, the training at the Xuanming Manor gradually became routine. An Jing also feigned calmness as he continued his life and training for over a month, without revealing a single flaw.

During this time, An Jing mastered his Internal Breath bit by bit, using the meditation of the Qingjing Sword Temple to maximize the efficiency of the Xuanming Manor's resources to improve his Internal Breath and blood energy.

Because An Jing had a deep foundation, his breakthrough resulted in an Internal Breath like a river, skipping the weakest and slowest-developing 'Internal Breath like silk' stage. Thus, his absorption of various nutrients was terrifying. Even with the extra food provided for his status as the senior apprentice, he was always the first to finish, then would indicate that he was still not full.

Originally, the Xuanming Manor would not provide extra resources, but with the tacit approval of Manor Master Yao, An Jing was able to eat three times the amount of a regular disciple every day. This terrifying appetite and digestive ability made all the disciples of the Xuanming Manor feel immense awe, especially since An Jing's physique remained completely unaffected.

And all of this food was transformed into the resources An Jing used to improve himself.

Internal Breath has three stages of cultivation: like a thread, like a river, and like a tide. The gap between these three realms is immense.

[Internal Breath like a thread] is like a drop of water under the summer sun; even if it can moisten the lips, it will quickly dry up.

It was just like when An Jing's mother fought the bandits; she became slightly exhausted after killing seven of them, which allowed the bandit leader to find an opening and wound her.

Only when the cultivated Internal Breath exceeds a certain limit, transforming into a river flowing within the body to reach the realm of [Internal Breath like a river], does it become like a puddle that can persist for a long time even under the scorching sun, allowing one to use Internal Breath for extended periods and become a martial artist in the true sense.

An Jing's Internal Breath was originally only slightly better than the thread stage, flowing like a babbling brook; although he could use it for a period of time, it only lasted for about a minute or two.

But relying on the resources of the Demonic Cult, his Internal Breath gradually grew stronger, and the time he could circulate it approached three minutes.