Chapter 140

Wang Chen felt as if he had returned to the days and nights of his previous life when he’d immerse himself in gaming.

His focus and seriousness often manifested in an obsessive and compulsive manner.

To perfectly clear a dungeon or create a strategy, Wang Chen could tirelessly test and practice over and over again until he was satisfied.

And now, he poured that same spirit into the research and mastery of the Sword Control Technique with great enthusiasm!

Wang Chen had no intention of becoming a pure sword cultivator.

But in his heart, he harbored a dream of the sword fairy.

The dream of a flying immortal sword fairy, traveling in and out of the blue void!

The Sword Control Technique and the Flying Sword he had obtained—exchanging all his possessions—were undoubtedly the starting points of this dream.

So…

Grind, grind to the bitter end!

Once he had the Flying Sword, Wang Chen reorganized his time.

Out of the twelve two-hour periods in a day, he used two to manage his manor, cultivate the Spirit Fields, and take care of the orchard.

And incidentally, to plant some fruits and vegetables.

One two-hour period was for dealing with his three meals while two were for rest, sleep, and reenergizing himself.

Naturally, attending the lectures on the Purple Mansion every third, sixth, and ninth day were a must.

As for the remaining time.

Wang Chen devoted it all to the cultivation of the Five Elements Technique and the Sword Control Technique!

The more time he invested in the Sword Control Technique, the more he could appreciate the profoundness of this technique.

The core of the Sword Control Technique lay in the tempering of the Flying Sword and the Dharma Technique of control.

Then came the basic sword techniques.

The basic sword techniques of the Flying Sword included Thrust, Slash, Shave, Circle, Point, Burst, Intercept, Press, and Return.

All nine moves.

Thanks to his grandmaster-level Object-Controlling Technique.

Wang Chen made rapid progress with controlling the Flying Sword, grasping the essence in a short time.

But learning the nine basic techniques was not as easy.

Unlike ordinary swords, the Flying Sword required a cultivator’s mana and spiritual power for long-distance control.

Naturally, this made performing the sword techniques far more challenging.

Among the basic nine moves, “Thrust” at the beginning and “Return” at the end were relatively easy, but the other seven put Wang Chen’s cultivation level and comprehension to the test!

In the beginning, Wang Chen frequently made mistakes, creating holes in the walls and furniture of his home.

Yet he still couldn’t grasp the essence.

Because his skills were not proficient, the experience points increased very slowly.

Sometimes after much effort, he would gain only one or two points.

The most troublesome aspect was the immense consumption of mana and spiritual power when practicing the Sword Control Technique.

With his Divine Soul attribute at a high of 15 points, Wang Chen’s spiritual power far exceeded that of his peers, making the issue less significant.

But when it came to mana, he was quite lacking.

Wang Chen’s main practice, the Five Elements Skill, was mediocre, and he was currently only at the seventh tier of Qi Cultivation.

He had tested that at full mana, he could perform long-distance attacks only three times!

After that, he would have to rest and recuperate before he could continue practicing.

This resulted in a difficult increase in experience points—it had been half a month and he had not yet reached the peak of the beginner stage.

But Wang Chen was not discouraged by this.

He started with the first move, practiced until he was proficient, and then moved on to conquer the second move.

He ground away, bit by bit, increasing his experience.

And bit by bit, solidifying his foundations!

Hidden away in his secluded manor, far from the hustle and bustle of Sunset Peak.

Wang Chen quietly tended to his crops and diligently practiced his swordcraft.

No matter how dull and monotonous such days were, he never wavered in the slightest.

A heart of the path, growing more rounded and solid with each passing day!

As the weather gradually turned cold and the rice in the Spirit Fields began to yellow,

Wang Chen changed the location for practicing the Sword Control Technique.

Because the relatively narrow confines of his home no longer allowed him the freedom to fully demonstrate the art of the Flying Sword.

For the sake of secrecy,

Wang Chen chose a spot upstream of a small creek.

A dense forest near a valley.

Hisss!

A faint golden light streaked out dozens of steps in an instant, skimming past a large rock covered in green moss by the stream.

With a “crack,”

The rock, which had withstood countless rains and winds, had a large slice sheared off.

The cut surface was smooth as glass.

At that moment, the light circled past a towering tree in front and flew back to Wang Chen.

It hovered in the air, the silvery and frost-like sword’s body vibrating three times, emitting a clear ringing sound.

As if to boast, or perhaps to seek praise.

Wang Chen smiled slightly.

This Fire Crow Sword, after dozens of temperings and nourishments, had formed a solid link with his Divine Soul and mana.

And it had developed a hint of sentience!

Wang Chen had named it the “Fire Crow Sword” because when Huo Zhenghai had first forged the sword, he had integrated both Earthly Fiery Evil Qi and Geng Metal essence into it.

To match his Fire Crow Technique and Geng Metal Finger spells.

The sword’s characteristics were predominantly fire with a secondary aspect of metal.

Once infused with the energy of the Fire Crow flame or the force of Geng Metal, it would unleash even greater power!

Especially after being reinforced with a grandmaster-level Fire Crow Technique, the sword would release fierce flames that filled the sky, with each Fire Crow circling and fluttering, both its lethality and range of damage were terrifyingly fearsome.

The Fire Crow Sword, just as its name implied!

In fact, the upper limit of the Fire Crow Sword wasn’t high; at most, it could only be enhanced to the tier of a second-tier Spiritual Artifact.

Eventually, when Wang Chen advanced to the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or even higher realms,

he would naturally need to switch to a new Flying Sword.

But for now, the Fire Crow Sword was already the most perfect weapon he could possess!

“Return!”

Wang Chen formed a sword-finger gesture and stimulated his mana.

The Fire Crow Sword swiftly circled to his back and inserted itself precisely into its sheath!

[Sword Control Technique·Experience +1]

The notification prompt arrived belatedly.

[Sword Control Technique (Proficient): 183/200]

Almost leveled up.

Reflecting on the challenging times he had practiced swordsmanship in the past, Wang Chen felt deeply moved.

The Sword Control Technique was undoubtedly the strongest skill he had ever cultivated.

And the most difficult one too!

Wang Chen estimated that with his Comprehension, breaking through from Proficient to Minor Achievement would likely take a very long time.

He glanced at his Human Virtue points, which had dwindled to double digits now, and couldn’t help shaking his head.

One only realizes the importance of virtue when it’s needed!

Wang Chen had already pushed several spells to the pinnacle of the grandmaster level, which required a massive amount of Human Virtue for the final promotion.

Now he was stuck.

How he wished he could find another Chaotic Burial Mound or Evil Nest to farm!

As he was thinking, Wang Chen walked along the creek back to his own manor.

Within his orchard, he picked over a thousand pounds of fragrant pears.

The orchard in the manor spanned about seventy mu and mainly planted fruit trees such as peaches, apricots, and pears.

These fruit trees were not very old; they were all still in the fruit-bearing period.

It was just that they had been neglected for a long time before Wang Chen took over, resulting in a very low fruit yield this year due to lack of care.

Later, Wang Chen had pruned the branches, cleared the weeds, and applied a lot of Spiritual Fertilizer.

So the yield of autumn pears was still reasonable.

Wang Chen picked a large fragrant pear and took a bite; the crisp, sweet juice filled his mouth with a burst of Spiritual Energy.

The taste was incredibly good!

These fruits containing Spiritual Energy could of course be sold for Spirit Stones.

But for this year’s harvest, he planned to keep them for himself to eat, or to use some as gifts for others.

For instance, Wei Xiong and Wei Lian siblings, Senior Brother Cao and Manager Gu, as well as the Old Turtle at the mountain gate!

“Ying ying.”

At that moment, a small figure jumped into his arms.

It was Yuanyuan.

Wang Chen petted the little creature and then pulled out a pear for it to taste.

Yuanyuan opened its small paws and struggled to hold the big pear, munching on it joyfully.

In the blink of an eye, it had eaten the pear, which was larger than its own size, clean.

It had even swallowed seeds and skin into its stomach.

“Don’t rush; eat slowly,”

Wang Chen said with a smile, giving it another one, “There’s plenty more.”

He had been working hard, and Yuanyuan hadn’t been idle, burrowing and hunting for treasures underground all day long.

Its spirit of providing for the family was truly touching!

Only, aside from the first time when it brought Wang Chen a few nice items,

recently, the little creature hadn’t had any significant finds.

Wang Chen could tell that Yuanyuan felt down because of this, so he had comforted it several times.

He truly didn’t need Yuanyuan to provide for the family!

“Let’s go.”

Wang Chen summoned the Willow Leaf Flying Boat and flew with Yuanyuan toward the entrance of the Inner Mountain Gate.

As soon as he brought the flying boat to a stop by the stone tablet, the slumbering Mysterious Turtle immediately opened its eyes and sniffed, saying, “Mmm, that’s the smell of fragrant pears.”

What a keen nose!

Without putting away the flying boat, Wang Chen approached the Mysterious Turtle and took two baskets of fragrant pears from his Storage Bag and set them down.

“Senior Mysterious Turtle, please enjoy at your leisure.”

“Wait.”

But just as he was about to leave, the Mysterious Turtle called out to him, “Why the hurry?”

Wang Chen stopped in his tracks, “Senior Mysterious Turtle, is there something else you need?”

Bringing the pears to the Mysterious Turtle was just a courtesy.

The two baskets of fragrant pears weren’t worth many Spirit Stones.

And this wasn’t the first time Wang Chen had brought fruit to this guardian beast.

To be honest, Wang Chen felt that the old creature was quite pitiful.

———-

The first update delivered.

PS: Adjusting the update times, from now on, updates will be in the afternoon and evening, please be aware, thank you all!