Fate, Connecting to the Divine

Fate: God-Communicating. Mianzhu Mountain, Qingwei Sword Sect, Outer Court.

Inside the Bamboo Cottage.

Yu Xiu looked up at the sunlight filtering through the bamboo slats, feeling as if he were in a dream.

Once the shackles are cast aside, only today do I know who I am!

He wore a pale green robe, his figure tall and well-proportioned. His thick, black hair was tied back with a green bamboo pin, and his features were remarkably handsome (only half a point less than the esteemed readers looking at the screen).

Yu Xiu felt a sudden inspiration, inexplicably recalling this line that fit the moment perfectly.

Having transmigrated into this world sixteen years ago, the arrival of the Qiantang River tide today had suddenly awakened the memories of his past life; everything seemed different now.

Just then, two youths wearing the same pale green robes passed by outside the Bamboo Cottage.

One of them, a naive and simple-looking youth, hurriedly lowered his head and cupped his hands: "Greetings, Senior Brother."

The slightly older youth beside him forced a smile at Yu Xiu, then grabbed the naive youth and quickened his pace to walk away.

"You haven't been in the sect long, so I'll do you a favor: don't get involved with that Yu Xiu, lest you be implicated!" the older youth warned.

"Why?" the naive youth asked, confused.

"About a year ago, this Senior Brother Yu Xiu happened upon a fellow disciple, Fang Jibai, using a 'Sacrificial Evil Art' to break through his realm. There were eight victims, all eight-year-old girls whose life essences were supposedly complementary to his. Fortunately, Yu Xiu intervened in time and saved those eight girls.

"Later, an Outer Court enforcement disciple found out, stripped Fang Jibai of his cultivation, and threw him into the Earth Fire Prison, where he died after three years of suffering from fire poison."

The older youth sighed: "This was a good deed, but the trouble is that Fang Jibai had a powerful older brother in the Inner Court. Because of what happened to Fang Jibai, he was implicated and lost his qualification to advance to the Main Sect."

The naive youth was shocked: "So this Senior Brother Yu Xiu ruined the path of Fang Jibai's brother and is now being held in a grudge?"

The older youth shook his head: "For the past year, although we haven't seen any moves from Fang Jibai's brother in the Inner Court against Yu Xiu, everyone knows this isn't over. Who knows when Yu Xiu might just end up dead!

"How could anyone close to him avoid being implicated by Fang Jibai's brother?"

The naive youth said indignantly: "Can the sect not manage Fang Jibai's brother? Senior Brother Yu Xiu saved eight lives and successfully reported a fellow disciple for using evil arts; does the sect not care about that?"

The older youth replied helplessly: "Fang Jibai's brother hasn't made a move in the past year, and the sect can't just go looking for trouble with him for no reason. Besides, he has already suffered consequences.

"Furthermore, Yu Xiu has been in the Outer Court for nearly three years. Of the four Ascending Dragon barriers, he is still stuck at the first, unable to reach the second. Clearly, his potential is lacking. According to sect rules, if one cannot break through within three years, they must go out for experiential training to hone their Sword Heart.

"It's fine here in the Outer Court where no one dares to act rashly, but once you leave, if you die, you might not even know how it happened!"

Having said this, he sighed and gradually walked away.

In front of the Bamboo Cottage, Yu Xiu heard everything clearly.

Fang Jibai's brother!

Fang Jiming!

Stuck at the first Ascending Dragon barrier!

Sent out for experiential training!

Yu Xiu suddenly chuckled.

Dangerous?

Everything was different now.

Yu Xiu silently opened the mental panel that had awakened along with his past-life memories.

[Fate: God-Communicating (Training any martial art, cultivation technique, or secret skill to perfection permanently increases comprehension and lifespan, with no upper limit)]

[Comprehension: 9]

[Lifespan: 16/84]

[Realm: Ascending Dragon First Barrier, Flawless, Late Stage (481/500)]

[Flawless Realm Techniques: Tide-Rising Sword Art Ten Chapters (Chapter One Great Success (295/300), Chapter Two Great Success (293/300), Chapter Three Great Success (293/300), Chapter Four...), Indeterminate Sword Art Ten Chapters (Chapter One Great Success (296/300), Chapter Two (296/300), Chapter Three...)]

[Basic Techniques: Basic Sword Technique Sixteen Chapters (Chapter One Great Success (99/100), Chapter Two Great Success (99/100)...)]

[Flawless Martial Arts: Three Winters Sword Great Success (294/300), Wild Goose Returning Sword Great Success (288/300), Drifting Wind Sword Great Success (298/300)]

Yu Xiu tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling upward, but in the end, he couldn't quite hold it back.

The proficiency panel went without saying; once mastered, it was mastered forever. Any martial art he learned could never be forgotten and would never regress.

And this wasn't even the most exaggerated part. The most exaggerated part was the Fate: God-Communicating.

It could permanently increase comprehension and lifespan, with no upper limit.

With 9 points of comprehension, you say my potential is lacking; I won't argue with you.

But when I have 10,000 points of comprehension, what will you call me then?

And as for lifespan, that went without saying.

With this sword, possessing a hundred thousand years of cultivation, can you block it?

Now, with this cheat, how should he use it?

Kick the nursing home at the southern mountain?

Punch the kindergarten at the northern sea?

From then on, act cool and slap faces all the way to the pinnacle of life?

None of that.

Only two words occupied the mind of Yu Xiu.

Development, development, and more damn development!

A late-game cheat should be played with a late-game strategy.

Stay steady, don't get reckless!

Stack comprehension, stack lifespan, and I shall be invincible in the late game!

He had practiced so many cultivation methods and so many sword arts; all told, they added up to thirty-nine in total.

Among them were thirty-six cultivation methods and three sword arts.

Furthermore, all of them were at the Great Success stage, nearing perfection. All of these could be converted into comprehension and lifespan.

If he could bring them all to perfection, his comprehension would skyrocket—if he didn't take off, who would?

However, through the panel, Yu Xiu also discovered his own flaws intuitively for the first time.

No wonder I have been cultivating for nearly three years yet have been unable to break through to the second pass of Ascending Dragon!

So, that was where the problem lay.

He practiced many methods and many sword arts, but not a single one was perfect.

Many skills, but none refined.

This wasn't because Yu Xiu was greedy and bit off more than he could chew, but because the path of martial cultivation was inherently opaque.

Take those basic methods and sword arts, such as the ten volumes of Tide-Rising Sword Art and the ten volumes of Indeterminate Sword Art; Yu Xiu had practiced them all to Great Success, nearing perfection.

Therefore, in Yu Xiu's previous understanding, he was already at perfection.

The trouble was that he thought he had reached perfection, but in reality, he was still a little short—just a little bit.

Yet on the path of cultivation, being short by this little bit meant far more than just a little difference.

To be unaware that one's cultivation is incomplete—one can imagine how fatal that is.

This was not just a personal problem for Yu Xiu; countless cultivators would encounter this very issue.

But with the panel, it was different. Whether something was perfect or not, he could see at a glance, and he could also see exactly how much was missing to reach perfection.

No joke, even without destiny or divine connection, as long as he had this panel, Yu Xiu would save at least half the arduous effort on the path of cultivation and could go much further.

And with destiny and divine connection?

Then, his future would be boundless.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the reason Yu Xiu practiced so many methods and sword arts was not out of greed.

It was simply the nature of the sect itself.

Qingwei Sword Sect was divided into two lineages.

One lineage practiced the "Sword-in-Hand," which was the lineage Yu Xiu belonged to.

The path of this lineage was to integrate cultivation methods into sword arts; the faster one practiced the sword arts, the faster the speed and progress of cultivation would increase.

It also involved gradually merging with the sword in one's hand, eventually forging supreme sword intent where all things could serve as a sword.

There was another lineage that practiced the "Sword-in-Chest." This lineage placed greater emphasis on innate bone structure and aptitude, with extremely strict requirements for taking on disciples.

They cultivated a single "Sword Qi" within their chests; when practiced to a profound level, they could transform their bodies into swords, and a single breath would become supreme Sword Qi capable of splitting mountains and cleaving seas.

Even a single strand of hair would reveal a sharp edge, capable of cutting gold and severing iron.

Realm: Ascending Dragon Four Passes (Flawless, Qi Circulation, Qi Sea, Life Spring), Four Great Passes (Five Viscera, Five Elements, Five Spirits, Divine Heart)