Marvel: A Portal to the World of Swallowed Star

Confirming that everything he ordered had arrived, Rowan stood up and said, "Everything checks out. No problems."

"Great. If you could just sign here."

Rowan took the confirmation sheet and signed it. The delivery man gave a nod and left.

Rowan carried the boxes into the villa.

At that moment, Howard Zhou was still training in the first-floor gym, seemingly eager to recover his strength and adapt to his Doomsday Virus-enhanced abilities.

Rowan didn't interfere and went straight upstairs.

Inside the second-floor training room, he eagerly opened the box and pulled out the five manuals on the top layer.

He set aside the Mental Force Master manual for later and instead opened Ninefold Thunderblade.

"All martial arts under the heavens are invincible not by strength, but by speed. When your blade is fast enough, fast to the extreme, you become unstoppable. The core principle of the Ninefold Thunderblade I created can be summed up in one word: speed!"

That bold proclamation greeted him on the very first page.

Rowan nodded subconsciously. This was the essence of the Ninefold Thunderblade, a style created by Thunder God himself absolute speed.

He flipped to the next page.

*"Why is speed so powerful?"

"First of all, when your blade is so fast that your opponent can't react in time, you can cut their throat before they even raise their weapon. Even if your strength is only a tenth of theirs, that blade will still pierce their neck. Speed allows you to strike where your enemy is most vulnerable."

"Second, speed increases the force behind your blade."

"According to energy calculations, the attack power of a blade equals 0.5mv^2. So if the mass remains constant, the faster your blade moves, the more terrifying its energy becomes. At high enough speeds, even a stream of water can pierce steel; a piece of paper can slice through metal."*

"The Ninefold Thunderblade includes a complete movement technique called Flowlight, a body cultivation method called Ninefold Primordial Core, and the blade technique itself Thunderblade. Of the three, the body cultivation method is the foundation. Only with it can your body become strong enough. The blade technique and footwork are skills they require relentless training and a deep understanding."

As he read Thunder God's words, Rowan gradually became fully immersed.

The Ninefold Primordial Core was divided into nine chapters. According to the manual, this copy only contained the first three levels of the blade technique and the footwork.

Rowan read every word with complete focus.

When he finally looked up, the sunlight was blazing through the windows, filling the room with a searing brilliance. It was a sweltering September afternoon.

"Thunder God truly deserves his reputation as one of the greatest martial geniuses on Earth. To have created such refined techniques entirely on his own… I'm still far behind."

Rowan squinted against the light, filled with awe.

This Ninefold Thunderblade truly deserved its title as the number-one ranked technique in the world. It completely overturned his previous understanding.

Compared to this, all the combat advice and techniques he'd found online felt like child's play.

"Let's give it a try!"

Closing the manual, Rowan could barely contain his excitement. He went to the alloy case nearby and took out the newly delivered Dragoncrest Broadsword.

Shing!

The broadsword hissed as it left its sheath, its razor edge flashing coldly in the sunlight.

The weapon measured 121 cm in total length, with an 89 cm blade and a width of 4.9 cm. Sleek and unadorned, its sharp lines exuded a silent menace.

Rowan gave it a few test swings. Weighing in at around 130 kg, the sword felt solid and well-balanced in his grip.

He tied the scabbard to his waist, sheathed the blade, then practiced a reverse grip draw-cut. The weight made it ideal for storing power, while the motion itself was fluid and smooth.

Once he'd familiarized himself with the Dragoncrest Broadsword, Rowan began to practice, slashing and hacking repeatedly as he searched for the right feeling of force.

The Ninefold Thunderblade had no fixed forms or routines. At its core, the blade technique was all about force control.

A normal person might strike with full force ten out of ten. But a practitioner of the Thunderblade style would strike using only seven-tenths of their strength. Then, at the moment of impact, they would add a hidden second surge of force again, seven-tenths.

That's a total output of fourteen-tenths of normal strength.

At the first level, one extra surge.

Second level, two extra surges twenty-one-tenths of force.

Third level, three surges twenty-eight-tenths.

All the way up to the ninth level, where one could unleash nine hidden surges a total of seven times the original strength.

Such force magnification was extraordinary, especially considering Earth had only been on the path of martial cultivation for a few decades.

"A single slash with seven-tenths of my power…"

Rowan tried to restrain his force.

But no matter how many times he swung, it never felt quite right. The force varied with each strike.

"Wait… I can get Friday to analyze it!"

Rowan suddenly remembered. He dashed to his bedroom and retrieved Friday's mainframe.

He'd already moved most of his gear in, but hadn't had time to properly set up.

He dug out the main unit, then searched through yesterday's shipment from the HR Alliance Marketplace for several auxiliary devices: infrared scanners, low-light cameras, X-ray lenses.

He installed them in the corners of the training room and wired everything to Friday's system.

With these tools, Friday would be able to analyze his movements and force output with precision.

He powered up the system.

"Good afternoon, sir," came Friday's crisp voice.

"Friday, I've installed some new hardware. Please calibrate."

"Beep beep. Calibrating now."

"Calibration complete, sir."

"Great. Analyze my next movements."

"Understood."

Rowan began swinging the Dragoncrest Broadsword again this time at full force.

"Friday, record this. This is my maximum power baseline."

The scanners and lenses in the corners began capturing every detail of Rowan's motion and muscle activation.

"Recording complete, sir."

"Excellent," Rowan said, nodding. "Now I'll try slashing at seventy percent. After each strike, tell me if I used too much or too little strength and by how much."

"Understood, sir."

And with that, Rowan resumed his training, blade in hand, focused on mastering the art of force layering the heart of the Ninefold Thunderblade.

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