All sorts of cuteness for more favorites, recommendations, and clicks~~~
—————————————
Boom!
Zhou Heng's body relaxed completely, and he immediately passed out.
He didn't know how long it had been before he slowly woke up, feeling every muscle in his body moaning in pain, yet there was an indescribable comfort, like bathing in cold water during winter. After enduring the initial shocking cold, what follows is a warm and comfortable feeling all over.
Gurgle, his stomach immediately began to protest.
Zhou Heng looked up at the sky and saw that it was already moon high in the sky, probably around nine or ten o'clock. He had only eaten lunch, so naturally, he was very hungry.
Feeling too lazy to start a fire to cook, he simply grabbed some dry food and made do.
"Something seems different!"
Zhou Heng felt a change in his body, but when he tried to pinpoint exactly what was different, he couldn't describe it, which was a very strange feeling.
"Right, cultivation!"
This was all his hope. As soon as he thought about it, he immediately sat down on the ground and unfolded the Fierce Sun Jue. The food in his stomach was continuously refined by the cultivation technique into countless free-floating energies, which then transformed into True Yuan Force, circulating within his body.
When the True Yuan Force flowed near his Dantian, Zhou Heng couldn't help but show signs of nervousness.
Success or failure depended on this moment!
The True Yuan Force surged through, and the Black Broken Sword didn't react at all!
Success… achieved!
Zhou Heng suddenly felt a surge of ecstasy! Although this was what he had always hoped for, when it actually happened, he couldn't believe it was true, fearful that this was just a beautiful dream that he would soon awaken from.
"This is not a dream!" he stressed to himself, eyes becoming sharper.
The Fierce Sun Jue continuously operated, and his skin cells greedily absorbed the True Yuan Force, storing it up and elevating his cultivation level.
This feeling was wonderful!
Zhou Heng was so moved he wanted to cry! He could finally cultivate!
It was a matter of course for others, but for Zhou Heng, it had been a dream awaited for nearly a decade, filled with excitement and mixed emotions, truly indescribable with words.
Untiringly, he operated the Fierce Sun Jue over and over, continuously enhancing his own cultivation level. Although the progression was minuscule, even a tiny improvement excited him immensely.
Not even two hours had passed when Zhou Heng stopped.
It wasn't that he couldn't endure the monotony and no longer wished to cultivate, but the food he had eaten had been completely refined.
After all, dry food couldn't compare with meat in terms of energy content, which was extremely limited.
Having no desire to sleep, he immediately ate another meal and continued his first real cultivation journey.
Time stealthily slipped by, and soon it was midnight with the moon high in the sky.
A buzz—the previously quiet Black Broken Sword suddenly trembled!
Zhou Heng was startled. This lord wasn't changing his mind and trying to compete with him for True Yuan Force again, was he?
Just then, a huge burst of free-floating energy emitted from the Black Broken Sword, filling Zhou Heng's entire body!
What!
Zhou Heng was astounded. This super thief was actually showing kindness, not only refraining from competing with him for True Yuan Force but also feeding back a large amount of free-floating energy for him to absorb?
Was the sun rising from the west?
Confused as he was, Zhou Heng didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately operated the Fierce Sun Jue, devouring this free-floating energy—it was only right for the thief who had robbed him for ten years to give something back.
Such pure free-floating energy!
Zhou Heng showed a hint of astonishment and almost stopped operating the Fierce Sun Jue.
What is the most difficult thing on the path of cultivation?
Of course, it was converting ingested food into free-floating energy, which took up over ninety percent of the time. The reason why painful techniques like the Fierce Sun Jue were still chosen was because it could utilize sunlight to shorten the time needed to convert energy.
Yet, the energy released by the Black Broken Sword was free-floating energy that could be directly absorbed, saving Zhou Heng so much time?
Moreover, this free-floating energy was exceptionally pure, each strand of energy comparable to ten strands Zhou Heng had converted before!
Zhou Heng was overjoyed. Fearing that the Black Sword might regret it, he hurriedly absorbed this energy crazily, continuously transforming it into his own True Yuan Force and storing it into his skin cells.
Half an hour later, he had absorbed all the free-floating energy released by the Black Broken Sword.
"Just half an hour equates to the effects of a month of hard cultivation!" Zhou Heng fell into absolute shock, hardly believing it!
At this time, Zhou Heng's cultivation level had already surpassed the initial period of the First Layer of Body Refinement!
Although it is easier to cultivate at lower realms, it generally takes about half a year to advance from the initial period to the peak of the First Layer of Body Refinement. Zhou Heng achieved in half an hour what would take an ordinary person more than a month of hard work—it was truly a miracle!
If he could maintain this pace, after six more times, he would directly advance to the peak of the First Layer of Body Refinement!
"Haha, hahaha!" Zhou Heng couldn't help but laugh aloud. As they say, after extreme adversity comes prosperity. He had been robbed of ten years' worth of hard cultivation by the Black Sword, but now he finally saw the clouds parting and the moon shining through!
He continued to operate the Fierce Sun Jue, trying to coax the Black Broken Sword into releasing stray energy again, but alas, no matter how hard he tried, the Black Broken Sword showed no response.
Zhou Heng couldn't help feeling disappointed, but the image of the Nine Forms Sword Techniques appeared in his mind.
"Although that Black Sword fooled me for ten years, I cannot deny that it is definitely a treasure! Otherwise, it wouldn't have stayed in my Dantian for so long. Those Nine Forms Sword Techniques must certainly be extraordinary!"
He took a wooden sword out of the house, stood in the courtyard with his eyes slightly closed, and calmed his mind.
The first form of the sword technique immediately sprang into his mind. His vision drowned in a galaxy, with only a pitch-black long sword dancing through it, swirling the stars with unstoppable might.
That black sword must have been the same as the Black Broken Sword within him, only unbroken, but it was unknown how many years ago that was.
Zhou Heng kept recalling this sword technique. He didn't know how much time had passed when he slowly began to move, the wooden sword tracing indescribably mysterious trajectories.
So heavy!
Zhou Heng felt as if the wooden sword were laden with a heavy burden, making it so weighty that he could barely hold onto its hilt. After only a few swings, he could no longer continue.
"It's as if the whole world is resisting me, moving the heavens a bit with every move, turning the earth an inch with each step—so many difficulties!"
"Is it because I haven't grasped the essence of this sword technique that the world is pushing back against me?"
"On the other hand, if I can successfully master the Nine Forms Sword Techniques, would it mean aligning with the natural order of the world?"
"Geez, what kind of sword technique is this!"
He was resolute by nature, the greater the difficulty, the less he was willing to retreat. Otherwise, having been tormented by the Black Sword for ten years, he would have given up long ago!
This mysterious sword technique thoroughly aroused his interest, filling him with fighting spirit and a strong desire to conquer.
He would definitely master these Nine Forms Sword Techniques!
Again and again, Zhou Heng tirelessly practiced the first form of the sword technique, losing track of time. He felt as if this form contained profound universal truths, and with each repetition, he gained a deeper understanding, as if he could see the entire world turning, the sun rising, and the moon setting, and everything was within his grasp.
Whether it be sword techniques or knife techniques, these are all called martial arts techniques, distinguished from cultivation techniques.
However, martial arts techniques aren't just forms; they need specific spells to complement them to maximize their power. Otherwise, they greatly diminish in power. Yet this Nine Forms Sword Techniques was odd; those nine diagrams that had shattered in his mind seemed to have fused with his body!
No spells were needed, as they were already in his body, requiring only his continual understanding!
As the first rays of the morning sun shone on him, Zhou Heng stopped.
Having not slept all night, though his spirit was still excited, his flesh and blood body was tired, especially after the pain he had endured earlier. He returned to the house, took a cold shower, ate some food haphazardly, and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, it was already afternoon. Zhou Heng seriously made himself a meal. After wolfing it down, he began cultivating the Fierce Sun Jue.
Although that mysterious sword technique might possess a power far beyond his imagination, he still needed sufficient strength to use it. He was only at the First Layer of Body Refinement, and advancing his realm earnestly was the right thing to focus on.
Cultivating under the scorching sun, feeling the sluggish pace of the True Yuan Force refining, Zhou Heng sighed involuntarily.
It felt like having never eaten meat in one's life wasn't a problem, but after tasting meat once, being forced to eat only vegetables every meal would be intolerable to anyone!
Compared to the stray energy released by the Black Broken Sword, his current cultivation speed was painfully slow!
Although he felt somewhat disheartened, thinking about how the True Yuan Force he had previously cultivated had all been swallowed by the Black Broken Sword—like the difference between heaven and hell—Zhou Heng didn't take it to heart and continued his patient, hard cultivation.
The day passed, and night fell. Zhou Heng kept cultivating into the deep night without any intention of stopping. From being a "good-for-nothing" to finally being able to cultivate, he wished he could cultivate every hour of the twenty-four without stopping.
Buzz!
When the moon was high in the sky, the Black Broken Sword suddenly trembled, and a surge of abundant stray energy was released, filling Zhou Heng's entire body.
Here it came again!
Zhou Heng couldn't help showing a look of surprise and, for the moment, set aside everything else to continuously absorb this stray energy, transforming it into his own True Yuan Force to store.
Half an hour later, this stray energy was completely absorbed, and after that, the Black Broken Sword showed no further reaction.
He was just a little short of reaching the mid-stage of the First Layer of Body Refinement!
Zhou Heng clenched his fists, and as his thoughts shifted, True Yuan Force burst from the cells in his skin, converging in his fists. Whoosh— he threw a punch, his fist tearing through the air, creating a whistling sound.
Both times the Black Broken Sword released stray energy were at midnight; could this be a pattern?
If so, he could spend other times researching the Nine Forms Sword Techniques, only needing to use that half-hour at night to cultivate, optimizing his time allocation.
Whether it was or not, he would know by tomorrow night!