Boundless light drew inward, finally taking the shape of a human being: a sixteen-year-old boy.
"At last, I've recovered..."
Jiang Ding murmured to himself.
He scanned his current state with his divine sense. His Dharma Body had revived, and an unbroken stream of mana was born in his dantian and flowed throughout his body, filling him with power. No longer was he a sword soul without anything to anchor him. His strength had returned to its former peak and easily surpassed it.
"Can I kill a celestial being at full strength now?"
Jiang Ding pondered in silence.
He should be able to kill an early-stage celestial being cultivator. A mid-stage cultivator might be possible too.
But that was beside the point.
Killing a powerful foe could help a sword cultivator break through, but it was never guaranteed. What mattered most was the cultivator's own accumulation. Challenging a powerful foe chiefly supplied the crucial final leap—the last one percent of inspiration.
That one percent of inspiration was precious beyond measure, deciding the outcome of most things in the world.
But without the other ninety-nine percent of sweat, it was impossible to build a pavilion out of thin air.
In countless sword cultivators' battles to the death, some victors broke through, while others gained nothing. This was why.
A battle to the death only created a possibility.
If one had never laid the groundwork, or if that foundation was too weak, mediocrity would remain mediocrity.
Jiang Ding turned his full attention to his Great Sun Immortal-Mortal Sword Soul.
It was his greatest gain, and the clearest manifestation of his breakthrough through nirvana after the fourth-step principle adjustment.
"Law Annihilation is my instinct..."
Jiang Ding spoke softly.
He let a little of that instinct loose.
In an instant, the light dimmed for ten