Asura

Previously, under the pressure of the Gray Man, Zhao Cheng's spirit was in a state of extreme excitement and tension; the special effect of Battle Blood level 1 was, in part, manifested in this aspect.

Now, suddenly losing the pressure of external danger, Zhao Cheng's spirit was like a taut rubber band that had suddenly been released, immediately swinging to the other extreme.

Zhao Cheng only felt that his spirit had suddenly emptied out—not the emptiness of physical exhaustion, but as if some emotion had burned itself out completely, and his entire being had entered a state similar to the "sage mode."

He didn't want to think about anything, nor did he want to do anything.

It was a kind of spiritual void where he felt that life was meaningless, yet he was too empty to even bother generating such a thought.

Zhao Cheng could be described as unprecedentedly decadent; in terms of mental state, even someone filled with negative emotions would likely be more energetic than him.

Emotions are also conserved and must follow the law of conservation; there is no such thing as an infinite outburst of emotion just because one has a "big heart."

If that were truly the case, this world would have long ago become a paradise for delusional people.

No matter how violent an emotional outburst is, it has its limits; although it can indeed be converted into power to a certain extent, it also requires a recovery period.

The strong remain strong, and the weak remain weak; relying on things like "darkening" to become stronger is not very realistic.

After sitting on the ground with hollow eyes for a full ten minutes, a glimmer of light finally returned to Zhao Cheng's eyes. Immediately after, he gasped for air, breathing violently, as if only in this way could he feel that he was still alive.

Another ten minutes passed before Zhao Cheng's thinking finally turned around completely, and the emotions in his heart recovered enough to support the normal operation of his self-awareness.

Zhao Cheng reflected on the previous battle and felt the excruciating pain in his severed arm, thinking that he had truly been brave before.

Valiant! Fearless!

That was him.

The effect of Battle Blood level 1 definitely isn't that good. My previous state must have been bolstered by an epiphany, leading to an extraordinary performance. The true effect reached at least Battle Blood level 2, or even level 3, which is why the backlash after it ended was so massive.

Zhao Cheng thought to himself, forming a rough judgment on the matter.

That Battle Blood level 1, just like Wind Severing level 1, belonged to a passive effect. Wind Severing meant that as long as he swung his sword, it was a Wind Severing sword, while Battle Blood meant that as long as he fought, Battle Blood would be upon him.

If this special effect were to be quantified, it would likely be: use all emotions in the heart as fuel to convert into battle intent; Will +1, Focus +1, Deterrence +1, immunity to all negative emotional influences.

So-called Will and Focus are attributes that are difficult to quantify, but they are real. Why is it that when facing danger, some people can remain calm, unhurried, and resolve the situation with ease, while others are at a loss and terrified?!

Is the combat power of the former stronger than the latter?

Not necessarily!

But one thing is certain: the Will attribute of the former is far stronger than the latter.

When it comes to studying, some people drift off after five minutes, while others can study continuously for an hour. Is the latter smarter than the former?!

Not necessarily.

But the Focus attribute of the latter is definitely far higher than the former.

With the same swordsmanship and the same vitality, why are some people strong and others weak?!

This also involves the influence of attributes that are difficult to quantify, such as Will and Focus.

However, in Zhao Cheng's view, the most powerful part of the Battle Blood special effect was not the addition of Will or Focus, but its effect of converting battle intent.

As for adding Will and Focus, or even a certain degree of immunity to negative emotional influences, the 17th Basic Swordsmanship 6th Revised Edition could also achieve that, and the effect was not bad.

Otherwise, even in the simulation, knowing he wouldn't truly die, Zhao Cheng might not have dared to act directly when facing such an oppressive monster; he would have hesitated for a long time, needing to build up his own psychological defenses first.

But in battle, the most important thing is not calmness, but battle intent.

Only with battle intent can one become braver as the fight progresses, seek victory in danger, and find life in death.

Calmness only allows one to fight an evenly matched opponent, but battle intent allows one to defeat the strong with the weak!

Otherwise, how could Zhao Cheng, an ordinary student, have been so brave during his first real combat that he used his own arm and shoulder as a shield to block a lethal blow?!

The effect of battle intent was fully manifested here.

If not for Battle Blood, it is highly likely that Zhao Cheng wouldn't even have been able to beat the first grunt in the game, getting stuck right at the beginner tutorial.

However, sometimes having too much talent isn't entirely a good thing. Growth is fast, but the negative effects are also too great.

Zhao Cheng looked at the content on the Panel and muttered to himself, finally understanding the reason for his epiphany.

His swordsmanship talent was stacked too heavily. Analogous to his past life, an lv8 swordsmanship level cap would be a once-in-a-century kendo genius, but his current level cap was lv16. While the level cap only doubled, his talent had increased by more than tenfold.

Under these circumstances, he possessed extraordinary comprehension in anything related to swordsmanship.

This was why, in actual combat, the spiritual growth that should have required dozens, hundreds, or even more battles to achieve was condensed into a single instant.

If his Will hadn't been strong to begin with, that terrifying state just now would likely have left him with indelible psychological trauma, causing his personality to collapse in one corner.

At the same time, Zhao Cheng also understood that even if one were truly battle-hardened, it wouldn't necessarily lead to the awakening of Battle Blood.

Although the self can be shaped post-natally, this process is by no means easy. The key to his "easy" awakening was that his self had been born with this attribute; it had simply been dormant, only waking up just now.

It wasn't just him; everyone's self has dormant parts, and they are all different, but one thing is the same: those who can awaken them are few and far between.

"In summary, the gains from this battle are huge."

Zhao Cheng spoke to himself, his temperament already somewhat different from before the battle.

Even though the battle was over and the special effect of Battle Blood was not activated, the awakening of the self brought about a change in his normal state, which was inevitable.

The seed had been planted; how far it could be cultivated would depend on Zhao Cheng's subsequent practice.

Zhao Cheng's strength would, in turn, drive his own growth.

"In total, I've awakened the first level of Battle Blood, gained 0.3 in Spirit, increased Quietude proficiency by 3%, added 20 points to Swordsmanship proficiency, and even bumped the Void Kalpa Sword evolution rate by 0.1%. These are the changes to my own attributes."

Zhao Cheng did the math.

Of these, ten points of Swordsmanship proficiency came from overcoming his psychological barrier, while the other ten were earned through actual combat.

Swordsmanship proficiency relies not only on practice but also on real combat—though, of course, this refers to life-and-death struggles rather than sparring. In the way of the sword, anyone who can survive a hundred battles, even with mediocre talent, is destined to achieve something great.

It's just that most people die along the way.

Those who do manage to survive are the fierce ones who have attained the Asura Path, or rather, they are Asuras!