One-Sword Instant Kill, You're the Strongest Sequence — Part 14

"So... this was proof that I'd entered the second tier?"

He knew.

This had probably been caused by allocating points to Sword Breathing.

Su Xing realized that skills like "Slash" and "Breath Rhythm" on the system were actually first-tier skills.

White-Line Slash and Sword Breathing were second-tier skills.

So...

White-Line Slash was similar to a martial art,

while Sword Breathing was more like a cultivation technique?

Just as Su Xing's thoughts wandered, Shen Ruyun spoke again from inside the room.

"Maybe you don't quite understand what I mean. If I release my aura, you'll definitely understand the difference between the first and second tiers."

As soon as she finished speaking,

a faint glow appeared around Shen Ruyun's abdomen.

A pale green ball of light hovered there. At its center floated an ancient character that seemed to read "wind." Waves of second-tier Sequence user aura radiated outward from it.

The aura transformed into layers of swirling currents. Su Yu's entire body stiffened, and the Sequence energy within him scattered in every direction like a cat seeing a mouse. Even with all his effort to control it, he could do little.

Only after Shen Ruyun withdrew her aura

did Su Yu realize that he was covered in cold sweat. He gained a clear understanding of just how weak he was. The thought Am I really a genius? even suddenly popped into his mind.

"This is second-tier Sequence energy."

"It can practically be said to be a completely different kind of energy from that of you first-tier Sequence users. As long as you cultivate diligently until you reach my level, you'll have officially entered the second tier."

Shen Ruyun spoke calmly.

Su Yu shook his head hard, throwing away the dejected thoughts in his mind, then said solemnly,

"I understand."

"Hehe, you don't need to feel too pressured."

Seeing Su Yu drenched in sweat, Shen Ruyun smiled faintly.

"In the southern part of Cang City, reaching the second tier already qualifies someone as a minor expert. Even Liu Ming, the strongest, is only a Sequence user at the peak of the third tier."

"You've only been cultivating for a month, so there's no need to rush."

Su Xing stood at the doorway,

feeling the waves of aura coming from inside the room, which made his entire body tense slightly.

Though he was nowhere near as miserable as Su Yu, Su Xing could still sense that Shen Ruyun was somewhat stronger than him. However, he didn't experience any emotional fluctuations just because she was stronger.

He merely accepted that reality calmly.

Even among those of the same second tier, there were differences in strength. That was only natural.

Though he had become stronger than before, it still wasn't enough. His White-Line Slash and Sword Breathing were both only lv1. He still had far too much room to improve, and he had no idea how many people stood ahead of him on the path of the sword. Yet Su Xing always believed...

His path of the sword would eventually reign supreme over everyone.

Whether it was Shen Ruyun, Liu Ming, Li Yu, or even that Spirit from the Spirit Cult, he would surpass them all one by one. It was a silent kind of strength.

Su Xing listened for a while longer and felt there was no more useful information. After waiting a little while, he finally knocked on the door, told Shen Ruyun that the room was ready, and then returned to his own room.

[Sword Saint Profession System]

[Name: Su Xing]

[Age: 22]

[Profession: Swordsman, Sword Dojo Instructor]

[Professional Skills: White-Line Slash lv1 (28/2000), Thrust lv5 (143/1000), Stance lv3 (12/250), Sword Breathing lv1 (134/2000)]

[Sword Path Points: 3]

Sitting on the bed, Su Xing stared into the air, a faint blue glow deep in his eyes.

Now that he understood the purpose of Sword Breathing, its priority for point allocation had instantly risen to the top in Su Xing's mind. Not only could it strengthen his body, it could also amplify the power of White-Line Slash. There was no better choice.

Without hesitation, Su Xing shouted in his heart,

"System, add them!"

"System, add them!"

As Su Xing's mental command fell,

the [Sword Path Points] section on the system panel was instantly emptied.

All three Sword Path Points flowed into [Sword Breathing].

The proficiency behind [Sword Breathing] suddenly blurred. The original numbers twitched madly as though they had gone insane, surging upward by the hundreds.

[Your Professional Skill "Sword Breathing lv1" Proficiency +1866]

[Congratulations, your Professional Skill "Sword Breathing lv1" has leveled up to "Sword Breathing lv2"]

[Sword Breathing lv2 (1/3000)]

Su Xing shut his eyes tightly. Immediately, he felt a vast amount of information flood into his mind.

The little figure in his mind began cultivating once more. However, perhaps because this was only a level-up rather than an advancement, the figure stopped swinging its sword after only a few months.

A brand-new understanding of Sword Breathing seeped bit by bit into Su Xing's memories, and that feeling of complete comprehension surged through him once again.

Su Xing slowly opened his eyes.

He could feel that he had become stronger. Perhaps if he sensed a second-tier aura again, Su Xing was confident that he would not have any negative reaction to Shen Ruyun's aura this time.

People had to climb upward step by step.

Three points today, four points tomorrow. As long as he kept allocating points little by little, sooner or later, he would become stronger than everyone else.

Just as Su Xing was thinking this, his entire body suddenly froze. His stomach abruptly churned violently, as though it would throw a tantrum if it wasn't fed.

The hunger spread from his stomach throughout his entire body in an instant. Though it wasn't as severe as when he advanced from the first tier to the second, it still made Su Xing feel awful.

However,

just as Su Xing was about to climb out of bed to get something to eat,

he suddenly felt as though every pore on his body had opened. An indescribably cool aura flowed through his nostrils and pores into his body, traveled through his blood vessels, and entered the sword hilt within his abdomen.

As if sensing the influx of energy,

the sword hilt began to grow bit by bit. A curved crossguard gradually appeared, and this sword formed of pure white currents gained its own color for the first time: black.

Its crossguard was black,

like the deepest night, without a trace of impurity, as pure as ink.

Time passed amid this gradual shaping process.

As the energy flowed in, Su Xing's hunger vanished in an instant. A wave of drowsiness rose in his heart, but he still resisted the urge to sleep and watched as the sword hilt slowly condensed into form.

By the time the crossguard had fully formed,

it was already the next day.

Su Xing stood before the full-length mirror, touching the muscles that had become a little more toned. Though his muscles seemed to be shrinking little by little, the strength throughout his body was continuously growing.

Sunlight fell across him,

making his muscles gleam with a golden sheen.

"It really has improved. Both the sword hilt in my body and the strength throughout my body have been genuinely enhanced."

"I just don't know how much my sword skills have improved because of it."

Su Xing murmured as he looked at "Sword Breathing lv2."

He casually picked up a clean short-sleeved shirt and put it on. It felt a little too large, but he didn't care. Once he finished upgrading Sword Breathing and began upgrading White-Line Slash, his muscles would fill out again.

If he wanted to buy clothes, he would need to buy looser ones. Light-colored clothes would be best. It was the height of summer now, and lighter colors absorbed less heat, making them cooler.

After washing up briefly,

Su Xing pushed open the door and entered the sword dojo's training hall. This time, his younger brother was not running as usual. Instead, he was doing some strange movements with Shen Ruyun in the training hall.

When they saw Su Xing,

they immediately stopped and greeted him.

"Good morning, bro."

"Good morning, Brother Su."

Su Xing nodded and replied, "Good morning." Then he took a sword and went to the side to practice.

As his body steadily improved,

running placed very little strain on him now. If he wanted to feel tired, he would need to run for a very, very long time. He might as well spend that time practicing his swordsmanship.