Heaven and Man Unity

The strange phenomena around Qie Yunzhou faded. He said,

"Not bad. This is the Heaven and Man Unity Realm."

As he spoke, he walked over to Qie Qiong. Then he raised a hand, and a wisp of visible air slowly wound around his fingertips.

"Unity of Man and Sword is the pinnacle of the mortal realm, where mortal strength and skill come together."

"But Unity of Heaven and Man is when a person's will merges with Heaven and Earth! The mind can sense all kinds of the most fundamental forces between Heaven and Earth. That is the true Heaven and Earth."

"Once you reach that point, your will becomes the force of Heaven and Earth. A mere thought can draw upon the natural might. Then your enemy will be resisting not the strength of one person, but the might of nature itself. That is the most fundamental difference between a Title Rank powerhouse and those below them!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the long sword in Qie Qiong's hand:

"That is the essential difference between Unity of Man and Sword and Unity of Heaven and Man. The former belongs to the realm of skill, while the latter is already close to the Dao."

"I understand, Father," Qie Qiong said seriously.

Five years later.

The Qie Clan's back mountain, the training ground.

Five years had passed. Qie Qiong had been in this world for eleven years now, but he had grown to nearly the same height as in his previous life, reaching around 1.8 meters. And because of his cultivation, he was even stronger.

His gaze had also grown steadier.

He stood beneath a tree beside the training ground, gripping a long azure sword.

Since he was now almost as tall as an adult, the sword in his hand was no longer the specially made one, but the Azure Peak Sword that Qie Yunzhou had used back when he was a Silver Moon Knight.

The specially made sword he had used back then could only just be considered a second-rate alchemical item.

But the Azure Peak Sword was a genuine second-tier alchemical weapon, on the same level as Dongbo Xueying's Flying Snow Spear.

The Flying Snow Spear only had one ability: it could produce a few snowflakes to confuse enemies.

But those snowflakes couldn't fool true experts, so it could only just be considered a second-tier weapon.

The Azure Peak Sword was different. It let its wielder swing faster, and it was sharper than ordinary second-tier alchemical weapons, making it the pinnacle of weapons at this level.

Many Title Rank knights from less wealthy families didn't even have weapons of this caliber.

A breeze blew past, shaking leaves loose from the tree. But the leaves had only just come free and had yet to reach the ground.

A flash of swordlight flickered from the blade in Qie Qiong's hand, and the leaves were all split in two by multiple streaks of swordlight.

Qie Qiong's cultivation had advanced remarkably over the past five years.

He had already cultivated the technique "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique" to the third level.

The Dou Qi in his body was no longer light blue, but a deep purple with a few flecks of black. This was the level of a peak third stage.

He had also reached the second realm of "Flowing Light Sword"—the "Ten Thousand Swords Realm"!

With one swing, he could leave eighty swordlight afterimages in the air. Every one of those swordlights could attack, so for the person being attacked, it was like dozens of people surrounding them.

But although he had cultivated to the second realm, he could at most be considered a beginner. He was still far from his father, Qie Yunzhou.

Qie Yunzhou had already trained "Flowing Light Sword" to its highest level in the "Ten Thousand Swords Realm"—"Ten Thousand Shadows Return to Truth." All the swordlights became real, and none of their power was diminished.

He was still a long way off. Although his "Flowing Light Sword" was also at the second level, he couldn't concentrate its power enough.

As for Dou Qi, over these five years, thanks to the pills developed by his mother, Lin Wantang, and the resources of the clan, he had already become a powerful Silver Moon Knight.

His Dou Qi had formed a virtual core in his sea of qi, and the Dou Qi within him was incredibly abundant.

He wasn't a Title Knight yet. All he lacked was mastery of the "Heaven and Man Unity" Realm. As soon as he mastered "Heaven and Man Unity," he could become a Title Knight like his father.

Qie Qiong slowly closed his eyes.

Today, Qie Qiong didn't practice sword moves as he usually did.

He closed his eyes and stood quietly beneath the tree.

His breathing rose and fell in a rhythm of three short breaths followed by one long one. Just moments ago, he had felt as though he were about to merge with the Heaven and Earth around him.

For five years,

he had practiced his sword every day, exchanged blows with his father, sparred with the clan's experts, and gone with his father to the Qiyun Mountain Range to fight magical beasts.

In terms of skill, he could be called the pinnacle at this level.

His father's teachings from back then echoed in his mind once more: "To reach 'Heaven and Man Unity,' you must imagine yourself becoming part of Heaven and Earth."

"You must learn to sense their flow, let your mind move with them, calm yourself, and feel the original breath and rhythm of Heaven and Earth."

Perhaps it was because his accumulated progress had reached its peak.

Today, things felt different from usual. For five years, he had tried countless times. He could sense the wind moving, the light flashing, and the thunder roaring between Heaven and Earth.

But those had only been simple sensations. Today, he felt the breath of the wind, the breath of Heaven and Earth.

Qie Qiong couldn't help exclaiming, "How beautiful!"

Qie Qiong relaxed completely. He felt his senses flow outward like water, spreading in every direction.

In an instant, he felt his mind finally break through the shackles of his body and merge with the small world around him.

If his previous sensations had been like watching television, then at the instant he broke through, it was like entering the television and merging with everything inside. The two experiences were completely different.

He raised the hand holding the Azure Peak Sword. He didn't stir the surging Dou Qi in his body, or even use a single move.

He simply followed the sensations of his will and mind, completely merging with the rhythm of Heaven and Earth's breath.

He swung once toward the open training ground ahead, an utterly ordinary sword stroke.

Humm—

There were no swordlight afterimages, but any powerhouse in the "Heaven and Man Unity" Realm could sense it: his will flowed along the direction of the sword, clear as day.

At the very instant he swung his sword, the wind within three zhang of Qie Qiong seemed to come to a halt. This stretch of Heaven and Earth seemed to have fallen under the control of some force.

Every moving object froze in place.

All the laws of nature were briefly suppressed!

At that moment, Qie Qiong's will was the Ruler of this small world.

Whoosh—

Qie Qiong slowly opened his eyes and breathed out.

At last, five years of arduous cultivation had brought him its greatest reward.

Qie Qiong had finally found the key to a higher level—"Heaven and Man Unity."

"Heaven and Man Unity!"

Qie Qiong sat down casually, cross-legged on the training ground. A thought stirred in his mind.

Boom!!!

In an instant, the thunder energy between Heaven and Earth surged into his body. As "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique" circulated, it flowed into the dantian sea of qi within him.

"At this rate, I can condense a Solid Core in my Dou Qi today." Qie Qiong was very happy.

In his dantian sea of qi, a deep purple, unreal spherical shape revolved.

This was the mark of a Silver Moon Knight—the virtual core.

But now, this virtual core was turning black at a visible speed and becoming completely solid.