"Seven Kill Sword Technique, second form..."
"Seven Kill Sword Technique, third form..."
Chen Xin demonstrated the first three forms of the Seven Kill Sword Technique before Chen Ci, then said:
"The Seven Kill Sword Technique has seven forms in total.
"The first form, Break Kill, can help you break through a Soul Master's protective Soul Power.
"The second form, Pursuit Kill, lets you pursue an opponent in close combat, while the third form, Slaying Kill, gives you a move to end the battle.
"But with your current strength, learning the first three forms is enough.
"A horse can run itself to death chasing a mountain in sight. Bite off too much, and you won't be able to chew it."
Chen Ci nodded.
Three sword forms were enough.
Chen Xin looked at Chen Ci and continued:
"Now demonstrate them once. Let me see how much you've grasped of these three sword forms."
Chen Xin used Soul Power to carve another sentimental wooden sword and handed it to Chen Ci.
Chen Ci gripped the wooden sword and closed his eyes.
Before long, he opened his eyes again, a certain unique essence filling them.
The Seven Kill Sword Technique Chen Xin had demonstrated kept replaying in Chen Ci's mind, every move and every form broken down into individual movements.
Suddenly, Chen Ci moved.
He demonstrated the first three sword forms of the Seven Kill Sword Technique in their entirety, almost indistinguishable from Chen Xin's demonstration.
The only difference was that Chen Xin was a swordsman with years of cultivation, able to weave every move and form of the Seven Kill Sword Technique into a seamless whole.
Chen Ci, meanwhile, was only just starting out. His execution was stiff, but it already possessed that most important essence.
At the sight of that essence, a flicker of shock crossed Chen Xin's eyes.
This was the spirit of the Seven Kill Sword Technique. Chen Ci had only just begun learning it, yet he had already grasped its essence.
Given time, even though his Martial Soul was not the Seven Kill Sword, it was not impossible for him to comprehend the Seven Kill Sword Intent.
Chen Ci's talent for the sword was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
Chen Xin concealed the astonishment in his eyes and said with feigned calm:
"For the time being, practice the Seven Kill Sword Technique and absorb the whale rubber.
"Once Rongrong reaches rank ten, we can set out for the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings."
Chen Ci nodded and began practicing the Seven Kill Sword Technique.
Through that demonstration just now, he had already discovered that the Seven Kill Sword Technique promoted the absorption of whale rubber more effectively than ordinary sword moves.
If he kept practicing the Seven Kill Sword Technique, he might absorb all the whale rubber before Ning Rongrong reached rank ten Soul Power.
Of course, even if he could not absorb it all, it would not make much difference.
It would only mean a difference of a few decades in the age of his first soul skill. There was no need to delay cultivating Soul Power for such a small difference.
Over the following days, Chen Ci threw himself wholeheartedly into practicing the Seven Kill Sword Technique.
A month and a half after Chen Ci joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong successfully cultivated from innate rank nine soul power to rank ten Soul Power and could absorb her first Soul Ring.
Over that month and a half, Chen Ci had absorbed all the whale rubber he had consumed, raising the age he could withstand for his first soul ring to at least a thousand years.
But Chen Ci was not quite sure of his exact limit. He would have to face a Soul Ring before he could get a sense of it.
Still, Soul Beasts with a mental attribute were scarce to begin with. Finding one around a thousand years old would already be excellent. Finding one whose age sat right around his limit would be like fishing a needle out of the sea.
As for Ning Rongrong, Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong, and Chen Xin had always spoiled her rotten. These past days, simply getting her to cultivate Soul Power had been extremely difficult.
Let alone tempering her body to absorb whale rubber. For a pampered young lady like her, that was far too exhausting.
Still, under Ning Fengzhi's firm insistence, Ning Rongrong had absorbed some of it, raising her limit from over four hundred years to somewhere over five hundred.
Chen Xin brought Chen Ci to Ning Rongrong's usual residence.
When Ning Rongrong saw Chen Xin, she flung herself into his arms and called out in a sugary voice:
"Grandpa Jian, Rongrong has already reached rank ten Soul Power, and I've absorbed lots of whale rubber too!
"Amazing, right?"
Chen Xin stroked Ning Rongrong's head and said dotingly:
"Amazing, amazing. Come on, I'll take you both to hunt for Soul Rings.
"Chen Ci needs a mental-type Soul Beast. We'll probably have trouble finding one in an ordinary Soul Hunting Forest, so we'll go straight to the Star Dou Great Forest."
At the mention of Chen Ci, Ning Rongrong looked a little bashfully at her fiancé and asked:
"Chen Ci, how is your whale rubber absorption going?"
"Of course I've absorbed it all. My Soul Ring age limit has probably increased by several hundred years."
"Huh?"
Ning Rongrong immediately felt a little dejected, and a little envious.
Chen Xin comforted her:
"Chen Ci has innate full soul power. He hasn't needed to cultivate Soul Power during this time, so he's been tempering his body and absorbing whale rubber all along."
Hearing that he had been tempering his body all along, Ning Rongrong stopped feeling envious. She even found it a little unbelievable.
Body tempering is so exhausting. How did Chen Ci keep at it?
Ning Rongrong immediately grew a little curious about her fiancé.
Chen Xin enlarged the Seven Kill Sword slightly, had Chen Ci and Ning Rongrong stand on either side of him, then rode the sword toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Inside the Star Dou Great Forest, Chen Xin strolled along with Chen Ci and Ning Rongrong as though he were walking through his own back garden.
The Star Dou Great Forest might have been an extremely dangerous place for ordinary Soul Beasts, but for Chen Xin, a rank ninety-six Titled Douluo, it really was no different from a back garden as long as he stayed out of the innermost region.
As Chen Xin surveyed their surroundings with his spiritual power, searching for suitable Soul Beasts for the two of them, he asked:
"Chen Ci, can you sense roughly how many years your Soul Ring age limit has increased by?"
Chen Ci shook his head.
"Master, I'm not sure, but it feels like it should have increased by several hundred years. It might have reached the thousand-year threshold.
"Perhaps I could try absorbing a thousand-year soul ring."
Chen Xin immediately rejected the idea:
"There's no need to take that risk. We'll start at five hundred years and work our way up one by one.
"In a moment, I'll start with five hundred years and kill Soul Beasts one by one. You and Rongrong can see whether you feel able to absorb their Soul Rings."
Hearing this method, Chen Ci froze for a moment, then nodded.
Was this what it felt like to have a powerful faction protecting you?
If he had come to hunt for a Soul Ring himself, he might simply have found a Soul Beast barely a thousand years old and absorbed its ring.
After all, hunting Soul Beasts alone would still be rather difficult and troublesome for him.
But for Chen Xin, a Titled Douluo, there was no difference between a hundred-year soul beast and a thousand-year soul beast. Before him, either would be killed in an instant.
Ning Rongrong nodded along as well.
Their pace quickened, and the Seven Kill Sword in Chen Xin's hand kept sending out streaks of Sword Qi, slaying one hundred-year soul beast after another.
A five-hundred-year-old Soul Beast presented no problem for either Chen Ci or Ning Rongrong to absorb.
A five-hundred-and-fifty-year-old Soul Beast presented no problem for either of them.
A six-hundred-year-old Soul Beast posed no problem for Chen Ci, but Ning Rongrong encountered an obstacle.
Seeing that Chen Ci felt no pressure absorbing it while she did, Ning Rongrong finally felt a little regret.
If I'd known, I wouldn't have slacked off on body tempering. Otherwise, my first soul ring could have been at least seven or eight hundred years old too.
Six hundred and fifty years posed no problem for Chen Ci.
Seven hundred years posed no problem.
Nine hundred and fifty years still posed no problem for Chen Ci.
One thousand years...