Lin Shen's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Han Muye, as if he wanted to eat him.
Draw a million swords was his way of cultivation.
It was his belief.
Now someone was questioning his beliefs, that meant destroying his path.
The destruction of a person's path was irreconcilable.
Han Muye looked at Lin Shen and said softly, "Instructor Lin, let me ask you, is there a difference between swinging your sword a thousand times and ten thousand times?"
"Yes," Lin Shen said without hesitation. "After swinging the sword ten thousand times, my understanding of the sword is much deeper."
Han Muye nodded and said, "Then are there any changes between a hundred thousand and a million?"
"Yes," Lin Shen answered loudly again, but there was a slight pause after his answer.
"After a million times, I will be able to draw my sword and swing it in one go."
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Muye said, "Is there a difference between five million and six million?"
This time, Lin Shen hesitated and didn't speak.
After a while, he seemed to be giving himself confidence. He said softly, "No matter what, as long as I persist for a few more years and draw my sword a million times, I can experience tremendous improvement…"
Han Muye shook his head and said lightly, "If the sword is in your heart, drawing it a thousand times is enough."
"If you don't have a sword in your heart, it's useless even if you draw your sword a million times."
Then, without further ado, he turned and strode away.
"No sword in my heart?" Lin Shen was stunned. His face was filled with confusion. "I have a sword in my heart. Isn't my sword…"
"That's not right. I only trust the sword in my hand. Why would I want a sword in my heart?"
"Wrong. Drawing a million swords meant that I should trust the sword in my heart."
He muttered to himself, and for a moment seemed to forget entirely where he was.
…
Han Muye left the Training Hall and asked for the way to clear stream. After travelling for half an hour, he saw a small river rippling.
On both sides of the river, there were bamboo buildings.
This was the clear stream.
Mo Yuan was considered a famous person here, so Han Muye knew where he lived after asking around.
Unfortunately, he wasn't around that day.
Could he be in the Demonstration Building?
Han Muye turned around and headed for the building.
When he arrived at the Demonstration Building, Han Muye took a sign to enter a room, then walked into it and wrote a line on the jade wall.
"Room No. 183, seeking the demonstration for 'Ancestral Return of 10,000 Swords'. Reward: 10 spiritual rocks."
The message flashed on the jade wall for a long time, but no one replied.
Han Muye could only regretfully reach out and withdraw this messge.
It seemed that the number one outer sect disciple, Mo Yuan, was not in the Demonstration Building.
He reached out and wrote the next line.
"Room No. 183 seeking the follow-up deduction method of "Iron Bull Strength". Reward: 3 merit tokens."
He had only three merit tokens left.
The follow-up to Iron Bull Strength was worth this price.
A moment later, the halo flickered and the message mission was accepted.
After a while, the door to the room was pushed open.
"It's you?" The tall Zhao Pu frowned when he saw that it was Han Muye. "Why, didn't you understand last time?"
With that, he said in a low voice, "Withdraw the task message. As I said, if there's anything you don't understand about Iron Bull Strength, just ask me."
Han Muye shook his head and said, "Senior Brother Zhao Pu, I want to know how many levels there are in the follow-up deduction of the Iron Bull Strength."
"Can I cultivate to the ninth level of the Essence Energy Cultivation Realm with this cultivation technique?"
His words took Zhao Pu by surprise.
"Which level?"
"There is only one level in the Iron Bull Strength. It's one of the lowest-level cultivation techniques in the Demonstration Building. Its cultivation effect is only slightly better than the outer sect's fist techniques."
At this point, he shook his head and said, "It's absolutely impossible to reach the ninth level of the Essence Energy Cultivation Realm with this body tempering technique."
'Only one level?'
It was impossible for him to reach the ninth level of the Essence Energy Cultivation Realm?
Han Muye was disappointed.
Zhao Pu could not have lied to him.
"Let me demonstrate for you again," Zhao Pu said. He took a horse stance and raised his hand to punch. The shadow of a green ox floated behind him.
After a round of punching, he looked at Han Muye. "You practise one time and let me see what went wrong."
Han Muye nodded.
This Zhao Pu was a good person. He was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Taking a light breath, Han Muye raised his hand to set up his stance and moved.
"Hum—"
Behind him, the green ox phantom instantly floated.
"Sure, isn't this already a small success…" Zhao Pu's eyes lit up, then his eyes lit up. "No, this is a big success!"
"You managed to master the Iron Bull Strength in just a few days. Your comprehension abilities…"
Before he could finish speaking, Han Muye punched out. Behind him, a second green ox phantom appeared!
Zhao Pu shuddered and stood frozen.
Han Muye retracted his fist, and the two green ox phantoms behind him slowly dissipated.
"That's my question," Han Muye said quietly, looking at Zhao Pu.
Two illusory green bulls.
Zhao Pu tared at Han Muye and said in a deep voice, "Tell me, how did you do it?"
Han Muye didn't hide anything and explained what he had comprehended during his cultivation.
Following his instructions, Zhao Pu practiced a few times and condensed the second and third green ox phantoms.
Seeing the three shadows behind him, Han Muye's eyes lit up.
He already felt that he could condense more green ox phantoms with the Iron Bull Strength, but he wasn't sure if this was the right direction, so he didn't dare to deduce further.
Zhao Pu dispersed the shadow behind him and looked at Han Muye.
"This Iron Bull Strength seems to have a deeper cultivation method."
"I'll go back and deduce it with my Master. Don't cultivate rashly for the time being."
With that, he smiled and said, "What's your name and where do you cultivate?"
Han Muye cupped his hands. "I'm Han Muye, Sword Pavilion's Sword Caretaker."
"A Sword Caretaker?" Zhao Pu was stunned for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll look for you in the Sword Pavilion after I figure it out."
Then he turned and strode away.
He did not ask for Han Muye's three merit tokens.
Han Muye shook his head with a wry smile.
He had hoped that Zhao Pu would be able to help him, but now it seemed that there was no hope.
How could it be so easy to deduce a cultivation technique?
Turning around, he saw many messages on the jade wall asking for advice on swordsmanship.
Among them was a message that often appeared, "Seek the method to the Third level of the Blue Wave."
It seemed that this must be that Yang Shao.
However, Han Muye was not in the mood to deduce the Blue Wave Sword Technique for Yang Shao for the time being. He found a few tasks offering good prices and accepted them. Then, he took the bronze mask from the front desk and walked into the quiet room.
In an hour, he had earned a total of 11 merit tokens.
Then, he went to pick three body-tempering cultivation techniques.
He spent 400 spiritual rocks for the two manuals of 'Five Elements Body Tempering Technique' and 'Great Iron Armor Technique'.
There was also a 500 spiritual rock 'Dual Body Tempering'.
He found a quiet room and sent out a message. Then, someone came to demonstrate the cultivation technique.
Han Muye also asked a few questions.
The result was disappointing.
None of the three body tempering techniques could be cultivated quickly.
The inner sect senior brother who was demonstrating even warned him earnestly that he had to take one step at a time in his cultivation.
But how could he cultivate slowly?
After returning to the Sword Pavilion, Huang Six looked at Han Muye strangely.
When it was time to wash up after dinner, Han Muye looked at his reflection in the basin and was stunned.
In the reflection, there was a lot of white hair on his temples!
Could it be that his lifespan was really coming to an end?
After returning to the quiet room, he began to practice his body tempering technique.
From the Iron Bull Strength to the Five Elements Body Tempering Technique, he constantly switched between the four cultivation techniques.
He could feel his physical strength rising.
But that wouldn't stop him aging.
On the contrary, because he had cultivated a body-tempering technique, he could clearly feel a certain power in his body losing rapidly.
"Is it because the sword intent in my Sea of Qi is too dense and my body can't withstand it, and that is causing my lifespan to be draining out?"
"Then, should I disperse all these sword intents?"
Sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, Han Muye's eyes flashed.
"Perhaps there is another way?"
After pondering for a moment, Han Muye still couldn't bear to part with these sword Qi.
In the cultivation world, cultivation and combat strength were everything.
He felt uneasy without his sword Qi.