Four Golden Swords

Countless golden specks of light fell like stars, gathering in the depths of Chu Yan's consciousness and forming scene after scene. Streams of information surged into his soul like a flood.

It was a complete sword technique.

No, rather than a sword technique, it was a way of wielding intent—a fundamental understanding of the very nature of the "sword."

Chu Yan felt as if he were standing in an endless starry sky, with an illusory longsword formed from pure golden light floating before him.

The sword slowly rotated, mysterious patterns flowing across its blade. Each line seemed to convey some kind of information to him.

"Is this... the Phantom Sword Style inheritance?"

Chu Yan suddenly understood.

The first form of the Yan Divine Weapon, Phantom Sword Style, was essentially the control of the ten thousand and eighty-one golden swords that the Yan Divine Weapon divided into. Driven by spiritual power, they transformed into countless golden sword shadows.

These sword shadows were both illusory deceptions and real killing blows.

Each one could shift between reality and illusion, leaving enemies unable to guard against them.

And the deep yellow Soul Ring had just granted him the core Soul Skill of this form.

First Soul Skill: Phantom Sword Style!

Immersed in the flood of information, Chu Yan felt his spiritual power growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The spiritual power that had barely been enough to control a single golden sword was now undergoing a rapid transformation.

One, two, three...

When the flood of information finally subsided, Chu Yan was astonished to discover that he could now control four golden swords at once!

He could only manage it with some effort, but it was still progress.

"Four..." Chu Yan murmured, waves of shock surging through his heart.

He knew the Yan Divine Weapon's specifications very well.

To master the first form, Phantom Sword Style, one needed to control nine swords. Yet in just a few hours, he had already learned to control four.

"And that's not all..."

Chu Yan closed his eyes and sensed the other information contained in the Soul Ring. A flash of delight crossed his eyes.

The Soul Ring had granted him more than just the method for controlling Phantom Sword Style. It had also bestowed a complementary Soul Skill effect.

Phantom Sword Style let him control nine golden swords, transforming them into sword shadows to attack. The shadows could shift between reality and illusion, and each sword's attack power equaled 250% of his own Soul Power. When all nine swords struck together, their power increased even further!

A 250% boost to attack power!

What did that mean?

An ordinary Soul Master's first Soul Skill was considered pretty good if it boosted attack power by 60%. A boost of 100% was already top-tier.

Yet his Phantom Sword Style offered a full 250% boost!

That meant his first Soul Skill was as powerful as an ordinary Soul Master's third or even fourth Soul Skill!

"This is only the beginning..."

Chu Yan took a deep breath, forcing down his excitement.

The terrifying thing about the Yan Divine Weapon was its potential for growth. As his understanding of the Law of Metal and the Law of Space deepened, the power of Phantom Sword Style would continue to increase.

In the later stages, even a single sword could tear open the void!

And now...

Chu Yan opened his eyes and looked at the deep yellow Soul Ring floating around him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"My First Soul Ring is already seven hundred and fifty years old... What about the Second Soul Ring and the third?"

A guess was taking shape in his mind.

The Yan Divine Weapon, the strongest psychic weapon below the undying level, had been made by Shirodo, the supreme elder of the Golden Horn Clan. It was a complete, self-contained system.

Unlike ordinary Martial Souls, it didn't need Soul Beasts or Soul Spirits to obtain Soul Rings. It already contained enough energy and laws to condense them on its own.

As long as his body was strong enough and his spiritual power sufficient, the Yan Divine Weapon would automatically condense the corresponding Soul Ring.

"So my Soul Ring limit is only restricted by what I can endure?"

A sharp glint flashed in Chu Yan's eyes.

That meant he could completely skip hunting Soul Beasts and obtaining Soul Spirits, and directly increase his Soul Ring's age through cultivation and body tempering!

In this era, when Soul Spirit technology had matured but Soul Beasts were still going extinct, this was undoubtedly a more efficient—and far more discreet—path.

The deep yellow Soul Ring around him had vanished, but he could clearly feel that some kind of transformation had taken place within him.

Soul Power surged through his meridians, far more robust than before his awakening.

The newly condensed Soul Ring floated in his dantian, slowly rotating and shining in harmony with the golden mark of the Yan Divine Weapon.

"Level eleven..."

Chu Yan murmured the number, a complicated look passing through his eyes.

Having Innate Full Soul Power at level ten and immediately breaking through to level eleven after awakening one's Martial Soul was nothing unusual in the Soul Master World.

Many geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power could make that leap after absorbing a Soul Ring on the day they awakened.

What was rare was that his level eleven was far stronger than an ordinary Soul Master's level eleven.

His total Soul Power, spiritual strength, and physical resilience... every aspect far surpassed those of others at the same level.

Perhaps this was the benefit of a high-year Soul Ring.

As well as granting a Soul Skill, each Soul Ring comprehensively strengthened its Soul Master's body.

The higher its age, the stronger the enhancement.

An ordinary Soul Master's First Soul Ring was only three or four hundred years old, so the improvement it brought was limited.

His First Soul Ring, by contrast, was seven hundred and fifty years old. Its enhancement was almost twice as great as that of an ordinary Soul Ring.

"But..." Chu Yan furrowed his brow slightly, thinking of a problem.

He had no idea how to explain the Yan Divine Weapon's ability to condense Soul Rings by itself to his father.

The Martial Soul passed down through generations of the Chu Clan was a "staff." Nothing like this had ever happened before.

If he said his Martial Soul could grow its own Soul Rings, his father and the clan elders would probably think he was crazy.

But he couldn't hide it, either.

The Soul Ring was right there. As soon as he released his Martial Soul, the deep yellow ring would appear.

With his father's and the clan elders' discerning eyes, they would immediately see that it was far older than normal.

When that happened, he would have to offer a reasonable explanation. After all, he hadn't gone to the Spirit Pagoda.

"Forget it. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Chu Yan shook his head, setting the worry aside for now.

He turned his attention back to the Yan Divine Weapon and focused his mind. The dark golden staff appeared in his hand.

Faint golden patterns flowed across its surface, making it look mysterious and profound in the candlelight.

Chu Yan gripped the staff, took a deep breath, and poured his spiritual power into it.

Bzz—

The staff trembled lightly, then countless fine cracks spread across its surface.

A palm-sized golden sword flew out through one of the cracks and hovered before Chu Yan. Mysterious patterns covered its blade, and it radiated a sharp aura.

Then came a second, a third, and a fourth.

The four golden swords hovered silently in the air, their points facing outward as they formed a fan.

Chu Yan closed his eyes and sensed the four swords with his mind.

They were like extensions of his limbs, each closely linked to him through his spirit.

He tried to move one of them.

Whoosh—

The sword moved at once, tracing a golden arc through the air and circling around him.

It was incredibly fast, its trajectory smooth and almost instantaneous.

"Good." Chu Yan was secretly delighted.

He tried controlling all four swords at once.

The four golden swords sprang into motion, darting around the room and weaving a golden web of blades.

But Chu Yan could feel that controlling four at once was already his limit.

One more, and his spiritual power would no longer be able to bear the strain. The precision of his control would drop sharply.

"Four... I'm still five short of the minimum required for the first form of Phantom Sword Style."

But Chu Yan wasn't in a hurry.

He had only just awakened. To show such talent already was extraordinary.

As his spiritual power grew, the number of swords he could control would naturally increase.

With a thought, the four swords flew back to the staff and merged into its surface.

The dark golden staff returned to its original form, resting quietly in his hand.

Chu Yan then tried to draw the Yan Divine Weapon back into his body. The staff turned into a streak of golden light, sank into his palm, and became the golden mark once more.

Everything had gone perfectly.

"Next... I just need to find the right time to come clean to Father."