A Thousand Saber Drills, and the Divine Principle Reveals Itself

Chen Jue emerged from his self-forgetful stance practice. It was already eleven at night.

Having practiced the Primordial Stance for three years, this was his first time being so focused that, even without the aid of any instruments, he could still clearly sense the growth of his qi and blood.

And growth in qi and blood corresponded to an increase in strength.

This made Chen Jue even more at ease when practicing the Six Directions Saber Art afterward.

A saber routine that originally took eleven or twelve minutes to perform once could now be reliably shortened to under ten minutes.

Chen Jue timed his washing up precisely. At midnight, he got into bed on schedule, clutching a low-grade spirit stone.

[Log refreshing...]

[Over the past 24 hours, you practiced stances for 9 hours, performed the Six Directions Saber Art 20 times, consumed two High-Grade Qi-Nourishing Capsules, 2 Potent Nutrient Solutions, had Emergency Trauma Salve in effect for 24 hours, studied the Martial King's Calligraphy, and gained a rudimentary understanding of force application...]

[Today's evaluation: Neglecting food and sleep, practicing tirelessly. Reward for Diligence index: 2 (3).]

[Reward settlement]

[Additionally gained the qi and blood from (18 hours of stance practice + four Qi-Nourishing Capsules). Qi and blood realm, ninth level (90.9% → 93.66%).]

[Additionally gained the experience of performing the Six Directions Saber Art 40 times. Proficiency increased to (1000/10000).]

[Stamina fully replenished.]

[Injuries fully healed.]

[Gained a small amount of force-application techniques.]

The spirit stone in Chen Jue's hand had expended less than five percent of its spiritual energy.

The Diligence Rewards Log hovered above his head. After absorbing an equal amount of spiritual energy, it let down strand after strand of golden thread.

Bathed in that golden "thread-rain," Chen Jue felt an endless stream of qi and blood drilling into his body like countless needles and threads.

He did not dare slacken. He hurriedly dispersed the massive influx of qi and blood and circulated it throughout his entire body.

But it seemed to be merely a drop in the bucket.

The excessive surge of qi and blood caused Chen Jue's strength to soar abruptly, while his entire body grew unbearably hot.

His originally fair skin gradually turned red and scalding, like a giant shrimp being steamed. White vapor even rose from the surface of his body.

Fortunately, Chen Jue had returned to his bedroom in advance.

Otherwise, if Her Ladyship Mother saw him like this, she would surely panic herself into shedding little pearls.

"This isn't right..."

As the speed at which he circulated his qi and blood reached its limit—

The excessive increase in strength made Chen Jue one hundred percent certain that the qi and blood gained from the midnight settlement was far more than double what he had gained during the day.

He communicated with the Diligence Reward Talent through his thoughts, and the answer he received from somewhere unseen left him both amused and exasperated.

It turned out that all experience returned by Reward for Diligence was "perfect experience."

For instance, Chen Jue had practiced stances intermittently for nine hours during the day. There had definitely been times when he was not in peak condition.

But the Diligence Reward Talent did not care about any of that. It directly returned experience according to the moments when he had been in his best state during those nine hours.

In other words, Chen Jue had just gained the immense qi and blood of eighteen hours of perfect stance practice!

Having grasped the key to it, Chen Jue circulated his qi and blood with even greater effort, determined not to waste this gift from fate!

Under Chen Jue's determined control, the unbearably scorching sensation throughout his body lasted only four or five minutes.

Yet the qi and blood within him was already surging without cease. It was visible to the naked eye that he was about to touch the "peak" of the ninth qi and blood level.

Before Chen Jue could consider whether he should begin preparing for "Martial Foundation Establishment," a flood of information about the Six Directions Saber Art poured into his mind.

Chen Jue did not hold much hope for it.

After all, as an incomplete saber art without any mental cultivation method or secret formula, mastery was already its ceiling. No matter how much experience it gave him, it would only be in vain.

Yet, in a slap to the face, the "Diligence Rewards Log" actually activated a cheat!

[A thousand saber drills, and the divine principle reveals itself!]

[You have performed the Six Directions Saber Art a thousand times. Through indirect insight gained from certain force-application techniques, you have comprehended the essence of the saber art: Inner and Outer Six Harmonies.]

[Inner Three Harmonies: Heart harmonizes with intent, intent harmonizes with qi, qi harmonizes with strength.]

[Outer Three Harmonies: Hand harmonizes with foot, shoulder harmonizes with hip, elbow harmonizes with knee.]

[Your Six Directions Saber Art has reached minor mastery. To attain major mastery, you still need to practice the saber two thousand times.]

The intense feeling of enlightenment instantly sent Chen Jue floating as if he had risen into the clouds.

Looking back now at the Six Directions Saber Art he had practiced over the past year—

Chen Jue suddenly felt countless experiences, mysteries, and essential principles of the saber art pour into his mind like enlightenment poured over his head, clearing the clouds and revealing the sun as everything became clear at once!

At the same time, the Six Directions Saber Art at the minor mastery stage embedded itself into his muscle memory like instinct, making his blood boil until he had to vent it.

Saber, come!

Chen Jue reached out, picked up the guard-post saber on his bedside table, and hurried downstairs in a blaze of motion.

He Yin heard the commotion outside and woke from her sleep in alarm.

She thought something had happened at the guard post and was about to call He Yuanshan when she saw a familiar, upright figure outside the window practicing saber arts in the open space at the center of the residential compound.

"This boy has practiced himself into madness?" Ms. He frowned slightly, a trace of displeasure in her heart.

Chen Jue focused his mind, calmed his breath, and cast aside all distracting thoughts. With a thought, the Wrapping Head and Binding Brain Form of the Six Directions Saber Art rose into motion.

He sank his qi into his abdomen and drove the long saber with the strength of his fleshly body. Its force gathered without scattering, all of it poured into the blade.

His steps were equally steady. As his hand rose and the saber fell, his hands and feet coordinated in perfect sync.

His shoulders and hips were aligned as one; as he wheeled, shifted, leaped, and darted, his body remained as steady as a boulder. His elbows answered his knees, his limbs bending and extending in unison.

The entire saber routine flowed like drifting clouds and running water, the force behind every form smooth and complete.

Compared to his former mechanical imitation, Chen Jue had now grasped part of the essence of the Six Harmonies. Unconsciously, he fused his body, forms, and force into one, and his movements became increasingly solid and fierce.

"The Six Directions Saber Art... minor mastery?"

At the window, He Yin, wearing only a plain white nightgown, watched her son perform the Six Directions Saber Art from beginning to end using the force of the Inner and Outer Six Harmonies. Her narrow eyes widened in shock.

Because the Six Directions Saber Art's mental cultivation method and secret formulas concealed certain profound principles of the top-tier martial art, Six Paths Fist, they had long since been reclaimed by the authorities and great clans and were no longer circulated on the market.

Which black-hearted martial artist had taught her son the complete martial technique?

Were they trying to harm her son?

No, no.

Even if someone had taught him the complete martial technique, the Six Directions Saber Art, containing the true meaning of Six Paths Fist, was famously easy to learn but difficult to master.

Unless a renowned master had guided him hand in hand...

Gold would always shine.

Could it be that her son had extraordinary luck and caught the eye of some formidable old monster?

"Ah..." He Yin let out a long sigh through the window.

She was not happy about her son's opportunity or growth. Instead, her spirits sank as she returned to her room.

In the open space of the residential compound, Chen Jue followed the mental cultivation method and secret formulas he had comprehended and practiced the Six Directions Saber Art two more times.

He only felt that the saber art, whose moves had once been distinct and separate, had broken from its cocoon and become a butterfly after incorporating the force-application techniques of the Inner and Outer Six Harmonies, achieving both form and spirit.

What delighted him even more was that this force-application technique did not work only with saber arts.

Even his self-created Turtle Fist could deal far greater damage than before when he used this technique to exert force!

"I really am a one-in-ten-thousand martial arts prodigy."

Feeling the surging qi and blood within him, Chen Jue sheathed his saber and threw a fist at the sky, his heroic spirit soaring.

Right now, everything felt perfectly smooth!