Killing Body Blade

Chapter 30: Killing Body Blade

That day, Ning Ye talked with Xu Yanwen and Chi Wanning for a long time.

He hadn't gotten the chance to go to Green Wood Hall, but it didn't matter. He'd already left a deep impression on Chi Wanning. And as long as Xu Yanwen still wanted to rely on him to improve himself, he'd keep coming to Ning Ye for support, again and again.

That was good.

Today was the day Zhang Liekuang would test Ning Ye's Killing Heart Blade.

In front of the little hut, on the open ground.

Zhang Liekuang stood with his hands behind his back. "Come on. This time there are no illusions—only your master. Attack me. If you've cultivated to the point where killing comes from the heart, where you see no enemy but your target, then you should be able to summon killing intent even against me."

"Yes!" Ning Ye replied with a bow.

Zhang Liekuang was right. Once one reached the point where killing came from the heart, it was no longer difficult to harbor murderous intent toward one's own people. If one wished, that intent would rise.

But as Zhang Liekuang said this, he unleashed his full presence.

At the peak of the Wanfa Realm, when he exerted his full strength, he was like a towering mountain standing before Ning Ye, shaking him to the core. It felt as though he faced an invincible celestial god, someone who could crush him with a single finger.

How could he summon killing intent against such an opponent?

Once fear took root, surely all thoughts of killing would vanish.

Yet that was the test. A true hero dared to raise his killing blade no matter how powerful his opponent was.

Ning Ye murmured, "So it's about drawing your sword."

"What?" Zhang Liekuang didn't understand what he meant and looked faintly startled.

But Ning Ye had already struck.

His blade flashed, a cold light rising as his killing intent surged!

Kill!

A blood-red blade ray stabbed toward the spot three inches below Zhang Liekuang's navel.

That was the Guanyuan Acupoint, where vital energy was governed, and where breath was locked, essence stored, vitality gathered, and strength contained.

A vital point!

Once he'd summoned killing intent, he would strike a vital point!

The blade shot forth with no turning back, carrying all of Ning Ye's hatred and killing intent in a mighty surge, as if he truly meant to kill Zhang Liekuang with a single blow.

For an instant, even Zhang Liekuang raised an eyebrow and called out, "Good!"

Pfft!

The blood-red blade ray struck Zhang Liekuang right at his Guanyuan Acupoint. In the next instant, the blade shattered inch by inch.

Ning Ye could even sense that Zhang Liekuang hadn't used any defensive spell at all. He'd easily withstood the strike with his body alone.

Perhaps that was why he'd been able to leave a blood-red mark there.

Zhang Liekuang had deliberately allowed it, just as he had last time.

Ning Ye lowered his blade.

Even if it hadn't shattered, there would have been no point in attacking again.

The Killing Heart Blade tested the heart first. Once the heart reached the blade, the technique was complete; any further attack would be meaningless.

After a moment, Zhang Liekuang nodded. "Not bad. You really did it. Your Killing Heart Blade is now complete. To improve further, you'll have to cultivate on your own."

Every immortal art, cultivation method, and spell had its own ordinary limit.

That ordinary limit was only the limit under standard conditions. It could change as a cultivator's cultivation and comprehension advanced, but that was a matter for the individual, no longer the cultivation method.

So Ning Ye's Killing Heart Blade could be said to be complete, but it could also be said to have only just reached the starting line. How far he went from here depended on the path he chose.

The next moment, Zhang Liekuang flicked a finger at Ning Ye.

Golden light entered his mind, and three words appeared in the sea of his consciousness: Killing Body Blade.

Zhang Liekuang said, "The Killing Heart Blade puts the greatest emphasis on the will. Once killing intent rises, the blade's intent becomes absolute—that's the foundation of the Seven Kill Blade. For that very reason, it doesn't have much power in itself. True combat strength begins with the Killing Body Blade. The body is its focus, especially the sinews and bones. You need a strong physique to bring it into play. This is a true method of body cultivation. Once mastered, every part of your body, from your skin to your hair, becomes a weapon. Nothing in the world will be beyond your ability to kill. Take your time and grasp it for yourself."

With that, he vanished.

Ning Ye remained standing where he was, absorbing the essentials of the Killing Body Blade.

Zhang Liekuang was right. Compared to the Killing Heart Blade, the Killing Body Blade was a true immortal cultivation method, a weapon for reaping lives.

The body meant the flesh.

The Killing Body Blade trained the flesh and used it to destroy the flesh.

Once the Killing Body Blade was mastered, the body would be as hard as steel. Hands, feet, elbows, knees—even a single strand of hair—could all become blades.

That was why those who cultivated the Killing Body Blade couldn't use weapons before mastering it. They had to get used to fighting with their own bodies.

Only when every movement became a weapon, when they dared to cut down anything and everything, could they be said to have mastered the way of killing with the body.

The key was that they dared to cut—not that they could.

In other words, it didn't matter whether they were capable of it. The only question was whether they dared.

With a will came courage; with a body came killing!

By ordinary logic, one would have to reach the middle stage of the Cang Xiang Realm to master the Killing Heart Blade, and the peak of the Cang Xiang Realm to master the Killing Body Blade.

Ning Ye had a strong will and keen insight. His hatred was unending, and his killing intent never waned. So even though he hadn't yet mastered the fourth level of the Basic Mental Method, he'd already completed the Killing Heart Blade. His combat strength had clearly outpaced his cultivation.

However, the Killing Body Blade placed great importance on the quality of one's sinews and bones, and Ning Ye's were only average. To improve quickly, he would need some spirit medicine to aid his body cultivation.

He did have spirit stones, but he couldn't take out the ones from the Heavenly Mechanism Sect. He could also make money through the Talisman Dao, but Zhang Liekuang would certainly disapprove.

With Zhang Liekuang's temperament, spirit medicine for body cultivation? Fine—but not by doing business. He'd have to earn those resources through his own struggles and battles.

That was also the view held by the vast majority of cultivators.

Since Ning Ye had a few plans that still lacked the means to carry them out, he decided to venture out.

Although his cultivation was only at the third level, he knew quite a few techniques.

Most importantly, cultivation at the third level was already enough for him to use most of the methods he'd once had in the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, so his actual combat ability far surpassed what his cultivation would suggest.

He first spent half a month calmly practicing the Killing Body Blade. Once he was sure he'd basically mastered it, he headed to Seven Killings Cave.

"You want to go out and seek opportunities?" Zhang Liekuang was both surprised and unsurprised by Ning Ye's request.

Going out to seek opportunities was something every disciple of the Immortal Sects had to experience. The various sects even regularly assigned tasks to their disciples, most of them involving combat.

The approach was old-fashioned, but important.

Disciples grew stronger through battle and found opportunities through battle.

What surprised him was Ning Ye's approach.

"You're not taking a mission?" Zhang Liekuang asked to confirm.

"No. I'm going on my own," Ning Ye reiterated.

"Why?"

"Because this disciple believes he'll come back with something."

Because the various Immortal Sects managed the Nine Continents, they posted assignments for their disciples every day. Most involved maintaining order, eliminating evil, and completing tasks in exchange for sect contributions.

But they also stipulated that if a disciple obtained resources beyond what the task required while carrying it out, those resources had to be handed over. The sect would then issue additional rewards based on what had been gained.

The Nine Great Sects didn't care about ordinary gains. But when it came to precious resources that even powerful cultivators might never obtain, they were determined to get their hands on them. Such rare opportunities didn't necessarily go only to the strongest.

That was why the Nine Great Sects had established a dedicated system of oversight. Even so, every year disciples still had fortuitous encounters, hid them, and were eventually found out.

If he wanted to gain something without handing it over, the best way was to act on his own.

The downside was that he wouldn't earn any sect contributions. The upside was that the sect wouldn't investigate him, either.

Hearing Ning Ye's words, Zhang Liekuang gave a soft snort. "You don't have much ability, but your ambition sure isn't small."

Ning Ye replied, "I cultivate the Seven Kill Blade. My will soars higher than the heavens."

The final blade of the Seven Kill Blade was the Heaven Killing Blade.

If he dared to cut down even the heavens, what wouldn't he dare to cut down?

Those who cultivated the Seven Kill Blade were, at the very least, no strangers to boldness and heroism.

Zhang Liekuang was quite pleased with Ning Ye's answer. "In that case, go. Don't linger. Come back as soon as you can!"

"Yes!"