Chapter 185: Heart Integrated into Sword
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Since Zhang Ruochen had already reached the peak of the Completion of the Black Realm, he did not take Sacred Liquid in order to break through to the next realm. Instead, he used the Liquid to refine the Saint Power in his body.
“Boom!”
Sacred Liquid entered his body as if he had swallowed a bomb, and exploded within his body.
Qi Lake, Meridians, and Blood Meridian in his body were instantly filled up with Saint Power. The force of it pushed outwards as if it was going to burst his body.
Wisps of Saint Power surged out from his pores and turned into white Saint rivers, flying around him.
He tried his best to control Genuine Qi in his body. He transferred Vessel of Spirit to his body and stimulated Martial Soul.
Martial Soul was like the illusory image of a soul. It floated above his head and looked exactly like him.
The Martial Soul was also breathing heavily as it absorbed Saint Power, enriching itself.
Saint Power is considered as the best nutrition for the Martial Soul.
With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation he wasn’t able to fully absorb the whole drop of Sacred Liquid on his own. That is why he released the Martial Soul and let it absorb the Saint Power as well.
The power of the Saint Power in Sacred Liquid caused his Qi Lake to expand. The amount of Saint Power contained within the Qi Lake grew larger and larger.
Normally a warriors Qi Lake only expanded when he broke through to a new realm.
Within 15 minutes the capacity of his Qi Lake had doubled in size, and it was still expanding.
Twice the size… three times the size…
After the entire day had passed, his Qi Lake finally stopped expanding after becoming seven times larger than it was before.
Since his Qi Lake had expanded, it also meant that his cultivation had been elevated.
If not for the fact that Zhang Ruochen had not drawn the Chord of Gods, he would have thought that he had already reached the Ultimate Realm of the Black Realm.
He calmed himself down and continued refining the Saint Power of Sacred Liquid so that it could blend into his bones, muscles, five internal organs, Meridians, and Blood Meridian. Every inch of his skin glowed with a white light, his body looked as though it had turned into the Saint Light.
One month later Zhang Ruochen had fully refined the Saint Power of Sacred Liquid. It had combined with the Genuine Qi in his body perfectly.
“My realm has been elevated! At my current ability, I should be able to move at the speed of 80 meters per second. If I practice the Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon to the Succeed, my speed should still have room for improvement. Perhaps I can reach 81 meters per second.”
The Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon was a martial technique of a Superior class of the Spiritual Stage. It was impossible to practice to the Succeed in a day or two, it required long and consistent practice.
“Zhang Ruochen, I’ve finished connecting the 66 fundamental inscriptions in the Abyss Ancient Sword, and it has reached the ninth-level of Genuine Martial Arms.” Blackie carried the four-foot broken sword over to him.
“This is amazing, Blackie!” Zhang Ruochen was exceptionally happy.
He grabbed the handle of the Abyss Ancient Sword and walked out of the internal space of the Time and Space Spinel and arrived in a large garden.
Standing in the middle of the garden he held the familiar sword carefully. It felt like a member of his family had returned to him.
A warm current rushed through his body.
The sword and Zhang Ruochen had combined together like the Blood Meridian.
“Clang!”
The Abyss Ancient Sword let out a roaring sound and shivered slightly as if it had come back to life.
He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment to its fullest. Eventually, he slowly let go of the sword handle.
But the Abyss Ancient Sword did not fall to the ground, it remained floating an inch off the ground.
Blackie was standing far away, his eyes widened and his fur stood on end. “Heart Integrated into Sword!” He yelled.
“Fly!”
Zhang Ruochen spat out a word.
The Abyss Ancient Sword flew out quickly, leaving a long shadow behind it. Within a second it had pierced through the wings of a mosquito hundreds of meters away.
“Swish!”
The Sword retreated back speedily and landed in Zhang Ruochen’s hand.
“Haha! I’ve finally reached the Realm of Heart Integrated into Sword! Abyss, from now on you are going to be my partner throughout my Martial Arts journey!”
Zhang Ruochen had long been unable to break into the Realm of Heart Integrated into Sword. He had not expected to succeed so quickly after remastering the Abyss Ancient Sword.
He held the four-foot broken sword in his hand, closed his eyes and felt a sword shadow as small as a grain of rice inside his Qi Lake in his glabella.
That was called the “Heart of the Sword”. It only happened when warriors broke through to the realm of Heart Integrated into Sword.
The reason why Zhang Ruochen was able to break through to the Heart Integrated into Sword in the Black Realm, was that he had reached the Realm of Heart Integrated into Sword once before in his previous life. Therefore he could easily return to that Realm in this life.
If other warriors reached the Intermediate Stage of the Sword Following the Mind in the Black Realm, they were considered relatively outstanding. The Realm of the Heart Integrated into Sword had been seen as a myth by most warriors.
By reaching the Realm of the Heart Integrated into Sword, warriors were able to perform the Heart of the Sword. They could control the fighting sword and kill from hundreds of meters away.
However, Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation was still fairly low. His Genuine Qi was not dense enough to master the sword. He could only control his sword within a hundred meters at most.
After breaking through to the Realm, Zhang Ruochen felt that his aura had also undergone a change. Just standing there his presence could be felt, like that of a young sword master.
If Zhang Ruochen were to attack, he could break the spirit of a warrior of the Yellow Realm, sending them running at a glance.
“It has been 10 days in the outside world. I guess Kong Xuan is still practicing the exercises.”
Zhang Ruochen went to Zhang Shaochu’s bedroom first and handed him seven drops of Half-Saint’s Essence. He then headed to Zi Qian’s bedroom.
Zi Qian was practicing the Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon and had already reached the Realm of Beginner level.
Speed had always been her forte, so it didn’t take her long to practice a new technique.
She moved through the nine paces so quickly she seemed like a shadow. In an instant she appeared in front of Zhang Ruochen.
“Clash!”
Without any warning a streak of icy sword light struck out from her sleeves and pierced towards Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t move his feet at all. Instead he simply moved his neck and easily avoided the Fish Intestine Sword in Zi Qian’s sleeve.
“Swish!”
Zi Qian then struck out 18 times in a row leaving 18 streaks of sword shadows behind. Again Zhang Ruochen got away easily, the 18 swords did not even touch his clothes.
Zi Qian sheathed the sword in her sleeves. She bit her lip and asked with confusion, “Are you sure you didn’t break through to the Earth Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
After coming out from the Chikong Secret Mansion, Zi Qian had received a large number of cultivation resources. Her cultivation and physical quality had been greatly improved. However she could feel that there was still a huge gap between Zhang Ruochen and herself, which made her feel discouraged.
Zhang Ruochen looked at her as if he could read her mind. He said, “To be honest, you’re a very outstanding warrior. If you challenge the Profound Board, I’m sure you’ll be able to make it into the top 800. After two more years of practice it will be an easy task for you to enter the top 100.”
“But I’m still way behind you!” She responded sadly.
“Your major problem is that the exercises you’re practicing aren’t sophisticated enough. The number of Meridians opened in your body aren’t enough either. That is why you can’t compare yourself to me,” he said.
There were altogether 17 Meridians inside Zi Qian’s body, which was very outstanding compared to other warriors. Yet the gap between herself and Zhang Ruochen was still immense.
“Does that mean that warriors who possess fewer Meridians in their bodies are weaker than those who obtain more Meridians?” She asked.
“No.” Zhang Ruochen responded, “The potential in a warrior is boundless. Nothing will determine the fate of a warrior. Let’s just say those who have more Meridians in their body enjoy an advantage. Right now I have a small advantage over you, that’s all.”
After giving her guidance and helping to correct the problems in her steps, Zhang Ruochen left her to practise on her own.
Zi Qian was determined to practice the Shadow of the Royal Wind Dragon to the Small Success before she went to the Coliseum of the Martial Market. She wanted to break straight into the top 500.
Liu Chengfeng yelled and stopped Zhang Ruochen from a distance. He ran towards him and said, “Senior brother, someone wants to see you.”
“Who?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Yan Lixuan, the No.1 on the Profound Board,” Liu Chengfeng said with excitement.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and asked with curiosity, “Why does he want to see me?”
“Senior brother, don’t you know that when you were in seclusion the fight between you and Xun Guihai spread all over Devil Martial City? People have claimed that you possess the ability of the No.1 of the Profound Board. Yan Lixuan obviously felt threatened and wants to challenge you,” He responded.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, “Why does he want to challenge me? He is already the No.1 on the Profound Board, even if he defeats me it won’t make him any more famous. On the contrary, if he lost he would damage his reputation.”
Liu Chengfeng chuckled, “Well, no one knows what he is actually thinking. Perhaps he’s been ranked first for too long and wants someone to defeat him.”
Zhang Ruochen thought for a while. He nodded slightly, “That could be true.”
With his current realm he wasn’t interested in dealing with warriors like Yan Lixuan. He did not want to meet him. However, since Yan Lixuan visited him in person as a junior, he felt he should see him out of respect.
Being the No.1 on the Profound Board Yan Lixuan was surely outstanding to a certain extent. Perhaps he would surprise Zhang Ruochen with what he possessed.
Yan Lixuan was an elderly man over 60 years old, and wore a plain cotton robe. Although he looked old and his face was full of wrinkles, his hair was black and not a single grey hair could be seen.
His arms were thick and his stature was tall and strong. Although he stood there casually, he gave off a sense that he was at one with the environment. No flaw could be found.
“The peak of Following the Mind.”
Zhang Ruochen could tell Yan Lixuan’s level of cultivation the moment he saw him.
He had indeed obtained both true skill and genuine knowledge about Martial Arts, and he deserved to be the No.1 on the Profound Board.
Although he had been practicing Martial Arts for a few decades, his cultivation remained at the Completion of the Black Realm. His mastery of martial technique however, was at a much higher level than most of the warriors in the Heaven Realm.
If he broke through to the Earth Realm he would only be one step away from becoming the master of the Earth Realm. There was a significant chance he could reach the Heaven Realm soon.
When Yan Lixuan saw Zhang Ruochen his eyes brightened. He saluted with both hands slightly lifted and smiled, “I thought I was the only one capable of reaching the peak of Following the Mind among all the warriors of the Black Realm. I can’t believe you have broken through to such a Realm. You’re definitely going to have a bright future, kid.”
Zhang Ruochen intentionally disguised the fact that he had already reached the Realm of Heart Integrated into Sword. That is why Yan Lixuan only thought that he had reached the peak of Following the Mind.
“I am curious, why don’t you break through to the Earth Realm? With your ability it shouldn’t be difficult for you,” he asked.
Yan Lixuan’s gaze dimmed. He responded, “To be honest there’s a block in my Martial Arts pathway. I have a heart knot I can’t untie, so I can never break through to any other Realms.”
The heart knot in a warrior was something miserable that affected both the Heart State and their cultivation.
If a warrior did something wicked that he felt guilty about, a heart knot would appear. That caused their cultivation to stagnate.
Or if a warrior made a promise and went back on his word. That would also cause a heart knot to be created.
It was also considered a heart knot when a warrior made a huge mistake that resulted in a terrible tragedy, leaving a strong sense of guilt in their heart.
There were countless types of heart knots.
Some of them could be easily untied, but some could not. Some did not have much impact on Martial Arts cultivation, and others had an enormous impact.
Seemingly, the type of heart knot that bothered Yan Lixuan was a massive one. If he cannot untie the heart knot and break through to a higher realm, his Martial Arts career could be over.