Thus, over the following days, in order to practice the Gale Sword Art, Chen Yuan began an indiscriminate slaughter throughout County-level City No. 0247. Whether it was lone Monsters or herds of beasts, as long as he found them, none could escape becoming souls beneath his sword.
Chen Yuan killed day and night. When he was hungry, he ate Monster meat. When his body grew tired, he found a safe place and entered Deep Sleep. Not only could he recover from fatigue, but he could also absorb cosmic energy to cultivate, killing two birds with one stone.
Five days and five nights passed. Chen Yuan had swept through nearly half the city, and the number of Monsters that had died beneath his sword exceeded two thousand.
But that did not mean Chen Yuan could kill only that many. Rather, as the number of Monsters he slaughtered increased, the bloody stench accumulating on him grew ever stronger. Many Monsters could smell that dangerous aura from far away.
Many Monsters possessed intelligence. Upon sensing this "God of Slaughter" approaching, they fled at the first sign of danger. The Monsters that remained for Chen Yuan to find either had poor perception or were confident in their own strength.
However, regardless of what kind of Monster they were, once they encountered Chen Yuan, there was only one outcome—they became Kill Points in his hands, stepping stones on his path of cultivation.
Of course, this was also because County-level City No. 0247 was not very large. The Monsters gathered here were basically all Beast Soldier Level, and those capable of becoming Advanced Beast Soldiers were already considered top-tier existences here. Yet even these outstanding ones had no ability to fight back before Chen Yuan.
One morning, after Chen Yuan awoke from Deep Sleep, he did not immediately search for traces of Monsters. Instead, he first opened the panel and checked the data he was interested in:
Strength: 4712.77 kilograms Speed: 102 meters per second Hibernation Method: Crystal Meditation: Cultivation-type secret method, B-rank evaluation, current progress: Proficient (25.67%) Gale Sword Art: Combat-type secret method, ultimate evaluation, current progress: Proficient (4.65%) Technique: Micro Level (Conception) Force Exertion Level: 2 Kill Points: 8004
Looking at these figures, Chen Yuan smiled. "As expected, after last night's fierce battle with that beast horde, the Gale Sword Art has finally broken through to Proficient."
With a casual swing of his sword, Chen Yuan could clearly feel that his sword speed had increased by another thirty percent.
"With sword speed increased by thirty percent, my movement speed should have received the same boost. If I also factor in the Force Exertion Level bonus..." Chen Yuan calculated rapidly. "Theoretically, it should reach 198 meters per second. But that is the absolute theoretical value; the actual speed should not be that high. Still, it should reach 180 meters per second."
This speed was already astonishing. One had to know that Chen Yuan was currently only an Advanced Warrior, while the standard speed for an Advanced Warrior was merely sixty meters per second.
A speed of 180 meters per second had already surpassed an Intermediate War General! This was the qualitative transformation brought about by mastering force exertion and Conception.
Just as Planetary Level experts who mastered a Domain could claim invincibility among those of the same rank, Chen Yuan, having grasped the power of Conception in advance while still an Advanced Warrior, could likewise be called invincible among his peers!
"But speaking of force exertion..." Chen Yuan looked at the 2 points of Force Exertion Level on the panel, his brow furrowing slightly as doubt rose in his heart. "According to the original work's description, it should be something like stacking hidden force, just like Thunder Blade. Each layer adds 0.7 times the strength, thereby increasing the force exertion multiplier."
This was precisely what puzzled Chen Yuan. After several days of high-intensity training, the experience brought by the Spirit Wind Sword Art had allowed his proficiency in the Gale Sword Art to rise rapidly. He had now mastered the technique of twofold force exertion.
Yet what Chen Yuan could not understand was that the force exertion technique recorded in the Gale Sword Art was completely different from what he had seen in the original work.
Unlike the original work, where one increased the force exertion multiplier by "stacking hidden force," the core of the Gale Sword Art's force exertion lay in gaining deeper control over one's body.
In other words, by practicing swordsmanship, it activated and controlled muscle groups that were ordinarily difficult to mobilize. When swinging a sword, more muscles worked together to exert force, unleashing greater power.
This was entirely different from the method mentioned in the original work. One used technique to stack power, while the other tapped into potential through control of the body.
"Still, I remember that when Thor came into contact with the Yunmo Planet Martial Artist Manual in the original work, he once lamented that he had been 'wrong.'" Recalling the original work, Chen Yuan's heart stirred. "Could it be that the path of using technique to stack hidden force is actually wrong? Is true force exertion supposed to improve control over the body?"
At that moment, inspiration flashed through Chen Yuan's mind, and understanding appeared in his eyes. "That's right! Although Swallowed Star never explicitly mentioned it, the original author did bring up a similar concept in his later novels."
He recalled another of Tomato's books, Cosmic Professional Player, and thought to himself, It was also about warriors of the stars. In that book, control over strength was not about stacking hidden force at all, but controlling the fleshly body—using powerful consciousness to sense the body's cells, then controlling those cells to obtain even greater strength!
Seeing one spot revealed the whole leopard!
Although the worldviews of the two books were completely different, some core concepts were likely shared.
"If my guess is correct," Chen Yuan pondered inwardly, "then the true direction of force exertion techniques in this world should be controlling the fleshly body. Techniques that stack hidden force may be used as a kind of combat secret method, but they are not the proper path for a Martial Artist."
In other words, the Gale Sword Art, optimized by the system, had most likely taken the correct path when it came to force exertion techniques.
"Still, it is also because I have too little information about this in my memories that the system could only optimize it to fivefold force exertion." Chen Yuan thought to himself. "Unless I can obtain more information on force exertion techniques and optimize it again, it will be possible to raise the Gale Sword Art's upper limit of force exertion."
He quickly thought of a place.
"Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 9!" Chen Yuan's eyes lit up. "Luo Feng obtained the Psychic Master Basic Secret Method from there. As a Martial Artist, I may very well obtain the Martial Artist Basic Secret Method. It must contain detailed information about force exertion."
This thought made the goal of exploring Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 9 even more important in Chen Yuan's heart. He secretly decided that once he broke through to War God Level, he would definitely find a way to enter that place.
"But before reaching War God Level, there is no need to think about that for now. After all, the Gale Sword Art's fivefold force exertion is enough to let me dominate below Planetary Level."
"My next goal is still to continue tempering my swordsmanship and increasing my strength." Chen Yuan packed his backpack, picked up the Streamer Battle Sword, and walked out of the temporary shelter.
His gaze turned toward the southeast of the city, the only place where Chen Yuan had suffered a loss during these past few days.
"Before I leave, I'll settle things with it." Chen Yuan tightened his grip on the battle sword and strode toward the southeast.
About half an hour later, Chen Yuan arrived at his destination. Standing on high ground, he looked into the distance and observed the scene ahead.
It appeared to have once been an estate or ranch. Ahead lay a wide stretch of pasture, with quite a few trees planted along its edges.
Now, the place was occupied by a pack of Lion Mastiffs. As a famous pack-dwelling Monster in the Wilderness Zone, Lion Mastiffs had a far greater reputation than their close relatives, Tiger Mastiff Dogs.
Chen Yuan had explored this place before, but more than a hundred Lion Mastiffs in the estate had forced him to flee in disarray.
Of course, it was not the number of Lion Mastiffs that had made Chen Yuan retreat, but the strength of their leader.
Intermediate Beast General Level!
Before you continue