The first step in cultivating this Sword Technique is to use oneself as a foundation and learn the way of nurturing essence to accumulate sharpness. Essence Qi must be cultivated, and the moment of sharp release requires accumulation.
Exclusively refining Sword Techniques can be overly harmful to oneself and others. This Qi Cultivation Technique is a top method for cultivating Essence Qi and accumulating spirit."
The preface is very colloquial, half literary and half vernacular. It is hard to identify whether ancient people or modern people added it. However, quite mysteriously, Lin Fei faintly felt that the person should not be from this world. This feeling was peculiar.
Jue Xian Sect? Such a domineering name is rarely seen except in novels. Who would choose such a name in reality?
Calming his mind, Lin Fei began to carefully examine the actual content of Qi Cultivation. Surprisingly, the actual content was only a few hundred words long, and the rest was filled with extensive annotations.
Aside from Zhang Yuan, the annotations included many other names. All were similar.
One section read:
"Yuan has studied demonic texts from foreign domains for thousands of years, and only today did I realize there is a heaven beyond our heaven. Respect to Jue Xian Sect's predecessor Zhang Yuan."
The following annotations and his opinions related to the Technique Decision. Taking this as an example, there were hundreds of different annotations afterwards, whether arrogant, overbearing, gentle, or cautious.
But no matter who it was, they all had a special reverence for Zhang Yuan of Jue Xian Sect in the beginning of the document, which made Lin Fei increasingly feel that he had stumbled upon a treasure. At the same time, he also clarified his previous guess.
This Secret Manual was not likely from this world because he even saw in the last note from Yuan Tianhao that he had accidentally opened a portal to an otherworldly realm.
The revealed outer realm was a completely different and bizarre world, and some of the descriptions within the text clearly referenced what seemed to be the technological era Lin Fei currently lived in.
"Perhaps it was then that this Secret Manual was brought here."
With this conjecture in mind, Lin Fei began to earnestly practice according to the methods described in the Qi Cultivation section.
Since Sword Dao True Solution clearly focuses on inheriting swordsmanship from the beginning, there was a good chance he could practice it.
While the Qi Cultivation section is merely an attached harmonizing Cultivation Technique and consists of only a few hundred words, the details, including pronunciation, mental states, Hand Seals, and Visualization Techniques, were quite complex.
According to the annotations, the entire Qi Cultivation Technique is divided into four realms.
The first, Strength and Skill, primarily focuses on developing one's physical potential to enhance physical qualities with cultivating essence and accumulating sharpness as the main goal.
The second, Qi Realm, involves refining essence into Qi, with the ability to emit Sword Qi as the sign.
The third, Gang Realm, is marked by forming Sword Gang from highly condensed Sword Qi.
The last realm, however, was obscured by countless fogs, unable to be seen.
The practice method explained by Zhang Yuan says that Sword Dao True Solution seeks to nurture one's own body with the lifeline stretching between heaven and earth, with every sword strike mustering the entire body's Essence Qi and spirit. Without striking there is no effect, but once a strike is made it must reap something, seizing the destiny of the souls under the sword.
But such an extreme Swordsmanship Technique, for those without strong enough vitality, would likely die from their own depletion before even executing a complete strike, let alone proceed to advanced Sword Techniques or even execute the Basic Sword Technique.
The Qi Cultivation section was created for this purpose. It helps to steadily enhance one's own vitality before striking to ensure consolidation and safety.
Each of the four realms of Qi Cultivation is subdivided into many stages, with the First Realm divided into five layers, with each layer representing a qualitative change and, of course, with the difficulty increasing dramatically.
The first layer requires forming fifteen different Hand Seals while visualizing fifteen patterns left in the Visualization Book.
The whole process must be completed within five breaths. Five breaths, which is almost ten seconds, such a short time.
It's not easy for anyone to clearly memorize fifteen extremely complex patterns akin to CPU sketches and continuously visualize them while forming corresponding Hand Seals.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Lin Fei tried again and again, but the only result was that his legs became numb from sitting for so long that they couldn't muster any strength.
Suppressing the frustration in his heart, Lin Fei thought it over carefully.
"Fifteen patterns, becoming more complex from beginning to end, the Hand Seals are the same. How could it be possible for someone to master this level of difficulty? Could it be one pattern at a time?"
Relaxing his mind, he began to carefully observe the first pattern once more.
The twisted pattern undulated in his mind, and as he concentrated, the pattern slowly twisted into strange white characters and then quickly disappeared, like a fleeting flower.
Yet in that instant, Lin Fei distinctly felt his spirit become a bit more fulfilled, and his somewhat drowsy head became much clearer.
This discovery immediately invigorated him, and he tried several more times. Each time, the outcome was the same, with his nearly depleted spirit gradually replenishing with each attempt.
"These patterns are indeed not simple!" After five consecutive attempts and no longer able to visualize the first pattern, Lin Fei had to stop. Just the visualization of one pattern had such strong effects—what about when paired with Hand Seals?
This thought would likely wait until the next practice session to be discovered.
Feeling refreshed, Lin Fei got off the bed and looked at the time on the clock; it was just two o'clock.
In the Qi Cultivation section, there was also a small amount of content on basic swordsmanship skills and practice methods.
To the mighty figures who annotated it, this content was undoubtedly a waste, but for Lin Fei, who only had a superficial understanding of swordsmanship, it was a peerless Secret Manual.