Four Golden Swords

Countless golden specks of light fell like stars, converging deep within Chu Yan's consciousness into images and information that surged into his soul like a torrential flood.

It was a complete set of sword techniques.

No, rather than a sword technique, it was a method of manipulating intent—a fundamental understanding of the "sword" itself.

Chu Yan felt as if he were standing in the middle of an infinite starry sky, with a phantom longsword forged from pure golden light hovering before him.

The longsword rotated slowly, its surface etched with profound secret patterns, each one seemingly conveying a specific piece of information to him.

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

Chu Yan suddenly understood.

The first form of the Yan Divine Weapon, the Phantom Sword Style, was essentially the manipulation of the 10,081 small golden swords that the Yan Divine Weapon could decompose into. Driven by spiritual power, they could manifest countless golden sword shadows.

These sword shadows were both illusory deceptions and lethal realities.

Each shadow could shift between the tangible and the intangible, leaving enemies with no way to defend themselves.

And at this moment, the deep yellow soul ring had bestowed upon him the core soul skill of this very form.

First Soul Skill: Phantom Sword Style!

Chu Yan immersed himself in that torrent of information, feeling his spiritual power growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The spiritual power that had previously struggled to control even a single small golden sword was now undergoing a frantic transformation.

One, two, three...

When the torrent of information finally subsided, Chu Yan was astonished to discover that his spiritual power could now control four small golden swords simultaneously!

Although it was still a bit of a stretch, this was progress nonetheless.

"Four..." Chu Yan murmured, a stormy sea of shock rising in his heart.

He was very clear on the specifications of the Yan Divine Weapon.

To enter the first form, the Phantom Sword Style, one needed to control nine small swords, and he had mastered four in just a few hours.

"And what's more..."

Chu Yan closed his eyes to perceive the other information contained within the soul ring, a flash of pleasant surprise crossing his eyes.

What this soul ring had granted him was not just the method of manipulating the Phantom Sword Style, but also a supplementary soul skill effect.

The Phantom Sword Style allowed him to control nine small golden swords to manifest sword shadows for attacks. The shadows could shift between the tangible and the intangible, with each small sword possessing an attack power equivalent to 250% of his own soul power. When all nine swords were unleashed together, the power was multiplied!

A 250% increase in attack power!

What kind of concept was that?

For an ordinary soul master, a first soul skill that could increase attack power by 60% was already considered decent, and one that could increase it by 100% was a top-tier skill.

Yet his Phantom Sword Style provided a direct 250% boost!

This meant that the power of his first soul skill was comparable to the third or even fourth soul skill of an ordinary soul master!

This is only the beginning...

Chu Yan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart.

The terrifying aspect of the Yan Divine Weapon lay in its potential for growth; as his comprehension of the Laws of Gold and Space deepened, the power of the Phantom Sword Style would continue to rise.

In the later stages, a single strike from a small sword could even tear through the void!

And for now...

Chu Yan opened his eyes, looking at the deep yellow soul ring hovering around him, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"The first soul ring is already seven hundred and fifty years old... then what about the second and third?"

A guess began to form in his mind.

As the strongest telekinetic weapon below the level of an Immortal, created by Shirodo, the Supreme Elder of the Golden Horn Clan, the Yan Divine Weapon was an independent and complete system in itself.

It did not need to rely on soul beasts or soul spirits to obtain soul rings like ordinary martial souls, because it contained the energy and laws sufficient to condense soul rings on its own.

As long as his physical strength and spiritual power were sufficient, the Yan Divine Weapon would automatically condense the corresponding soul rings.

In other words, the upper limit of my soul rings is only restricted by my own capacity to bear them?

Thinking of this, a sharp light flashed in Chu Yan's eyes.

This meant he could completely skip the process of hunting soul beasts and acquiring soul spirits, instead increasing his soul ring age directly through cultivation and physical tempering!

In an era where soul spirit technology was mature but soul beasts were still constantly going extinct, this was undoubtedly a more efficient and secretive path.

The deep yellow soul ring around him had faded, but he could clearly feel that a qualitative change had occurred within his body.

Soul power surged through his meridians, far more robust than it had been before his awakening.

The newly condensed soul ring hovered within his dantian, rotating slowly and reflecting the golden mark of the Yan Divine Weapon.

"Level eleven..."

Chu Yan murmured the number, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

Having innate full soul power at level ten and breaking through to level eleven immediately after awakening one's martial soul was not uncommon in the world of soul masters.

Many geniuses with innate full soul power can complete this leap immediately after absorbing their soul ring on the day of their awakening.

However, what was rare was that his level eleven was far stronger than that of an ordinary soul master.

His total soul power, spiritual strength, and physical resilience... every single aspect far exceeded those of the same level.

Perhaps this was the benefit brought by a high-age soul ring.

Every soul ring, while bestowing a soul skill upon a soul master, also provides an all-encompassing reinforcement to the soul master's body.

The higher the age, the stronger the reinforcement effect.

An ordinary soul master's first soul ring is only three to four hundred years old, so the extent of the improvement is limited.

Yet his first soul ring was seven hundred and fifty years old, making the improvement nearly double that of an ordinary soul master.

"However..." Chu Yan frowned slightly, thinking of a problem.

He did not know how to explain to his father the matter of the Yan Divine Weapon condensing a soul ring on its own.

The martial soul passed down through the Chu family for generations was the "staff," and such a situation had never occurred before.

If he said his martial soul could grow its own soul rings, he feared his father and the clan elders would think he had gone mad.

But this could not be hidden.

The soul ring was right on his body; as long as he released his martial soul, that deep yellow soul ring would appear.

With the keen eyes of his father and the clan elders, they would be able to tell at a glance that the age of this soul ring far exceeded the norm.

When the time came, he would have to provide a reasonable explanation; after all, he had never been to the Spirit Pagoda.

"Forget it, things will work out when the time comes." Chu Yan shook his head, temporarily casting this worry to the back of his mind.

He refocused his attention on the Yan Divine Weapon, and with a thought, the dark golden long staff appeared in his hand.

Faint golden light patterns flowed across the surface of the long staff, appearing mysterious and profound under the reflection of the candlelight.

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

Hum—

The long staff vibrated gently, and immediately, countless fine cracks spread across its surface.

A palm-sized golden sword flew out from the fissures and hovered in front of Chu Yan. The blade was covered in secret runes, emitting a sharp, piercing aura.

Following that came the second, the third, and the fourth.

Four small golden swords hovered silently in the air, their tips pointing outward, arranged in a fan shape.

Chu Yan closed his eyes, using his mind to perceive the four small swords.

They were like extensions of his own limbs, each one maintaining a tight spiritual connection with him.

He attempted to control one of the small swords to move.

Swish—

The small sword moved in response, carving a golden arc through the air and circling his body once.

The speed was extremely fast, the trajectory fluid, with almost no delay.

"Very good." Chu Yan felt a secret joy in his heart.

He then attempted to control all four small swords simultaneously.

The four golden swords moved in unison, dancing and weaving through the room, interlacing into a golden web of swords.

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

If he added even one more, his spiritual power would be unable to bear it, leading to a significant drop in control precision.

"Four... still five short of the minimum requirement for the first stage of the Phantom Sword Style."

However, Chu Yan was not in a hurry.

He had only just awakened; being able to perform like this was already a sign of extraordinary talent.

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

With a thought, the four small swords flew back to the surface of the long staff and merged back into it.

The dark golden long staff returned to its original state, lying quietly in his hand.

Chu Yan then attempted to retract the Yan Divine Weapon back into his body, and the long staff turned into a streak of golden light, sinking into his palm and transforming back into that golden mark.

Everything was perfect.

"Next... I just need to find a suitable time to confess this matter to Father."