[Ding! Congratulations to the User for comprehending the foundation of several ⟪[Basic Sword Techniques]⟫. Please check your Status screen for more information.]
While Shenyan was lost in thought and confused about what happened just now, the mechanical voice of the system rang inside his head immediately snapping him out of his trance-like state.
"Ah..."
'That's right, the system… I can just ask the system!' Shenyan thought to himself as he hurriedly prepared his question.
'Origin, what happened just now? Why do I feel like I spend so much time in some strange place? How much time has passed?' Shenyan bombarded the system with a series of questions. He really wanted to know what happened because right now his mind is in disarray.
[Ding! The User just experienced the 'origin' of the techniques that you have comprehended. The location and environment were picked based on the criteria of the techniques. That is, a simulated space with a serene and peaceful environment suitable for practicing these techniques. As for the time elapsed during your practice, it is only minimal in terms of the time in reality. While the User may have experienced many years practicing your techniques, in terms of real-world time, the user only spent a few seconds in that state. So, the User does not need to worry about it affecting your time in reality.] The mechanical voice gave him a long explanation meanwhile Shenyan attentively listened to every word not wanting to miss anything.
'I see… how mystical… to think that was possible…' Shenyan said in a trance-like voice. Mystified by this whole experience.
However, he did not dwell too much on this as he wanted to test his techniques in the real world.
'Origin, can you show me my status screen?' Shenyan ordered.
[Displaying status screen…]
…
⟪Name: Shenyan⟫
⟪Race: Human(?)⟫
⟪Bloodline: None(?)⟫
⟪Physique: [Blood Refining Physique] and [???] (sealed)⟫
...
⟪Soul Strength: 2250⟫
⟪Physical Strength: 1450⟫
⟪Physical Resistance: 1450⟫
⟪Mental Strength: 1500⟫
⟪Mental Resistance: 1750⟫
...
⟪[Spirit Energy Accumulation]: 0/3200⟫
⟪[Cultivation Realm]: Fifth-Level Spirit Apprentice⟫
⟪[Skill(s)]: [???]⟫
⟪[Technique(s)]: Basic Breathing Technique (Maxed), [Basic Sword Techniques]⟫
⟪[Origin Comprehension]⟫
⟪[???]⟫
⟪[???]⟫
…
'W-Wait… There is a new icon on the right-side bottom…' Shenyan was attentive this time and decided to 'scour' every part of the status for any information that he might have missed, and he immediately found something that he did indeed missed before.
⟪[Spirit Energy]: 3100/3100⟫
'Origin, is this related to how much spirit energy I have right now?' Shenyan decided to ask despite being certain about what it entails.
[Affirmative, this icon shows the User's current Spirit Energy available in your Spirit Core.] The mechanical voice agreed.
'Okay, that makes sense. At least, I can tell exactly how much Spirit energy I have before running out.' Shenyan thought this icon was really useful. One had to know that cultivators usually cannot tell exactly how much spirit energy they have left during a combat, they can only approximate the amount left. Although there are artifacts that can measure the amount of spirit energy one had, but those things are rare and not everyone would have such a handy thing, at most only the rich and influential families or academies would have such a thing.
After confirming everything with the Spirit Energy icon, Shenyan drew his attention to the techniques that he had just learned. Upon a closer look, Shenyan could only see the icon for [Basic Sword Techniques] and not that of the actual technique names. He paused for a moment to think, although ever since he had the system, he never tried touching the status screen before but right now, he had the urge to touch it and see if it would actually work. He then acted right away after thinking about it.
The moment Shenyan's finger tapped on the Basic Sword Techniques icon, a drop-down list immediately appeared showing the comprehended techniques under the Basic Sword Technique icon.
…
⟪[Basic Sword Techniques]⟫
[Stabbing Sword Technique(Foundation)
[Quick-Draw Sword Technique(Foundation)
[Vertical Slash Technique(Foundation)
[Horizontal Slash Technique(Foundation)
[Double Slash Technique(Foundation)
[Triple Stab Technique(Foundation)
[Crimson Crescent Slash Technique(Foundation)
…
"Ohh… it actually worked…" Shenyan audibly expressed his excitement upon realizing that he can indeed touch the buttons and icon on the status screen. This was a strange screen that only he can see; He still had not gotten used to it yet but seeing that he can indeed touch it, the sense of realism dawn on him as he realized that he was not just seeing things this whole time.
Shortly after enjoying the feeling of actually touching the status screen icons and buttons, Shenyan finally calmed down and a sense of itchiness washed over him— the itchiness to want to let loose with his sword.
He had indeed practiced his techniques for who knows how long in that mysterious place and his understanding of the techniques have reached the mastered state but since his current body only had the foundational skills of the techniques, he needs to train the techniques to get his body used to them and also increase their mastery to the mastered state, otherwise he would feel out of balance with his own body when he uses the techniques in the real world.
With that thought, Shenyan decided to head out of his room and pay a visit to the training ground to test out his techniques. But before he left, he had to ask origin something that had been on his mind.
'Origin, last time I received this sword, you said that I had been recognized by the sword's spirit, right? What does that mean? Can it talk to me? And Aso, can the sword still be fixed even though it was already in this shabby state?" Shenyan did not hold back and let out all his questions in one breath.
[Ding! Indeed, the User had been recognized by the spirit of the sword, but it is currently in a weakened state, you can try feeding it your purified spirit energy to heal the spirit of the sword, but this method would take years for it to fully heal itself. But there is an alternative, that is, using the source energy accumulated by the User to nourish the spirit of the sword, which will hasten the recovery rate of the sword's spirit and also repair the physical state of the sword. As for whether the sword can communicate with the User, that depends on the type of spirit and also the bond between you two.] The mechanical voice replied while also giving some relevant information.
'So, the sword can be repaired? Wait… this source energy again. It seemed to be useful in a lot of ways. I have to find a way to gather more of this source points so that I can repair my sword. I always feel like the sword is saying something to me, but I will only be able to confirm after repairing it.' Shenyan was lost in thought as he started thinking about ways to accumulate more source points to repair his sword.
A few moments later, he suddenly recalled what he was going to do before.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about, it is almost dark outside, I need to go the training ground to practice my sword techniques as soon as possible. I will think about ways to accumulate the source points later!" Shenyan hurriedly said as he darted out of his room, and he proceeded to head to the training ground of Deep-Frozen Academy.
…
Soon, Shenyan reached a building designated for storing weapons— although most of the weapons here a [Wands] for the [Spell Casters] to use to control their elemental abilities and only a few are cold weapons like swords, swords, spear, axe…and so on. Shenyan approached the building which had the characters in bold writings at the top plate saying [Weapon Storage Hall].
There was man by the door who appeared to an elder of the academy guarding the door, he demanded Shenyan's identification tag before allowing him in. The moment Shenyan walked into the building, he was greeted by a pair of curious eyes.
There were students already in here and it seemed that they also came here to grab weapons to practice their techniques. But the moment they saw Shenyan, one of them started laughing out loud towards Shenyan's direction before he spoke.
"Hahaha! If it isn't the Untalented Weapon Genius." This statement caught the attention of all the other students who were currently inside the Weapon storage building.