Settlement

In ancient times, such figures were each and every one a terrifying killing machine.

You must understand, an ordinary person who has not undergone training can only exert ten percent of their potential force; even if they master techniques for force generation, they can at most erupt with twenty percent.

Yet, those who stand at the pinnacle of the Swordsman path possess one hundred percent of their force—this is already a fivefold gap.

But one must be clear: a Swordsman's physical fitness and base strength are also several times that of a normal person.

Certain individuals with innate gifts, after undergoing training, can possess physical attributes five or even ten times that of an average person.

Take the ancient Overlords, for example; they were truly born with divine strength. Even before they began cultivation, they could lift heavy cauldrons. Once they achieved mastery, clad in heavy armor on the battlefield and wielding a giant sword, they were nothing short of ruthless meat grinders, killing gods if gods stood in their way, and Buddhas if Buddhas blocked their path.

As for the stage above Swordsman, it is called Sword Master, and in terms of cultivation, it is known as Image Entry.

The so-called "Image" refers to the myriad phenomena of the universe. With a condensed Sword Heart, one reflects the heavens and earth, intercepting the majestic spirit from the universe to refine it into their own Sword Heart, honing its edge until it becomes unstoppable.

At this stage, physical fitness becomes secondary; the key is the spirit.

A powerful Sword Heart is one of ultimate clarity; not only is every thought unhindered, but one can also transform their mental intent into a sharp edge, battling across the vast sky and subduing the enemy without even engaging in combat.

As for how exactly one cultivates to this step, Zhao Cheng is not clear. Although there is some scattered information on the internet, the specifics are beyond what Zhao Cheng can access right now.

In any case, it is extremely formidable.

As for the stage further up, that is the Sword Saint, also known in cultivation as Sitting and Forgetting. In ancient times, such figures were Grandmasters who founded their own sects, the type who were like dragons—seen only by their heads or tails. Even in the modern era, despite it being an information society, this remains the same.

Zhao Cheng only knows that it is said to be the birth of a soul from the heart, forcibly refining a Sword Soul, or rather, a soul itself.

Although various theories claim that humans possess souls, in reality, ordinary people have no such thing. What is called "spirit" is merely a concept combining the subconscious and the conscious. While it can be observed through scientific means, what is observed is nothing more than an unstable fluctuation, with no possibility of existing independently of the body.

However, a Sword Soul is the ultimate condensation of the spirit.

Sitting and Forgetting, devoid of self, and thus the soul is born!

Powerful spiritual strength can even interfere with matter, allowing a wooden sword to slice through iron or a flick of the finger to shatter gold—and by "gold," it does not mean metal, but diamond.

The Sword Saint has already reached such a mysterious level, yet even this is not the end of cultivation.

Above the Sword Saint, it is said there is the Mythical level, the Sword Myth, or what is known as the Sword God; in cultivation, this is called Divine Transformation.

This realm is said to be where the soul reverses the natural order and transforms into a Primordial Spirit.

Once the Primordial Spirit is achieved, one is no longer restricted by the flesh. With the spirit reaching its peak and transforming, one gradually approaches an inconceivable state—divine and enlightened, capable of changing the heavens and striking the earth, or even manifesting the Primordial Spirit as a sword to kill from a thousand paces away.

For the Sword Saint realm, one can still find some empirical evidence online proving that certain descriptions are not artistic embellishments, but are truly achievable.

But when Zhao Cheng first saw the Sword God, his immediate reaction was that he was reading a fairy tale.

In his past life, there was no shortage of legends in various strange tales about cultivating immortality to condense a Primordial Spirit.

But those were all feats requiring a thousand or ten thousand years of cultivation, intercepting various spiritual energies of heaven and earth—in short, it was difficult beyond measure to finally achieve a Primordial Spirit.

Yet in this world, where there is no transcendent energy and it is purely an "evolution" of the body and spirit, the fact that they can forcibly condense a "soul" and cultivate a Primordial Spirit is truly terrifying.

But since such a claim exists, it certainly cannot be without foundation.

A Primordial Spirit manifesting as a sword, killing from a thousand paces—that is no longer human, but an immortal, a true Sword Immortal!

It was only later, as Zhao Cheng practiced the sword with his whole heart, that he felt this was not impossible.

If he didn't look back at his past life, he wouldn't feel anything, but when compared to his previous life, his sword talent in this life would be a once-in-a-century prodigy.

Yet in this world, compared to those around him, his sword talent is merely mediocre. Not to mention the entirety of Xiangnan City, even in his own class, there are several people with better sword talent than him.

If this is the case for ordinary people, one can only imagine how terrifying the true geniuses of this world are.

However, with the appearance of the Panel, Zhao Cheng roughly understands why there is such a huge gap between the two worlds.

The Sword Seed in the Traits column has already explained the reason.

Sword Seed (Fragmented) 13% (Red): Sword art level cap +3, Sword affinity moderately increased, proficiency required for sword art improvement moderately decreased.

This is the effect description of the Sword Seed. Focusing attention on the Sword Seed (Fragmented) 13% reveals a detailed introduction.

Sword Seed: A world-level talent born from the dual influence of strange information interference and the origin of the world. All sentient beings are subject to this interference.

This explanation roughly means that this talent is possessed by every life in this world; even a dog has this endowment.

Zhao Cheng's Sword Seed is only 13% complete, and its effects are already this powerful. The true geniuses must have a higher completion rate, and their talents must be even more terrifying.

A complete Sword Seed is a Red-tier talent. According to the Panel's classification, there are five levels of talent: White, Blue, Purple, Gold, and Red.

Generally speaking, even a White-tier talent surpasses 99% of people. True ordinary people have no talent at all, or perhaps only Gray-tier talent.

The so-called Gray-tier refers to negative talents, such as being born with a disability or being born bald. These talents are debuffs and do not fall into the five-level talent hierarchy of the Panel.

Everyone in this world is born with a Red-tier talent. Even if it is fragmented, it is extraordinary, which is the fundamental reason why the sword cultivation of this world is so brilliant.

And all of this, according to history, can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. Something definitely happened back then.

As for the five-dimensional attributes linked to vitality below the traits, they do not hold deep meaning. The values in the parentheses are the average values for the human species in this world at the peak of their vitality—around 28 years old—if they do not undergo special training and their bodies mature naturally.

Zhao Cheng's five-dimensional attributes are:

Vitality: 1.5 (1.0)

Strength: 6.1 (5)

Agility: 6.5 (5)

Physique: 5.5 (5)

Spirit: 7.2 (5)

For these stats, every single point represents a 1.5-fold increase in substance.

It is evident that his attributes have all surpassed the average, especially his Spirit, which has exceeded the average by more than double.

His smooth progress in cultivation over the past six months is inextricably linked to such formidable spiritual power.

When the spirit is strong, the will naturally becomes firm; this is a natural transformation, and the reverse holds true as well.