NOVEL WEB Chapter 47 - Relentless Skill Cultivation—Unity of Man and Sword!
Chapter 47: Relentless Skill Cultivation—Unity of Man and Sword!
“Next, it’s time to bitterly cultivate the Mountain Shifting Art,” Yang Yi mused inwardly. The Mountain Shifting Art was a true method of magic—offering blood as sacrifice, using unique bones as the medium, and borrowing power from heaven and earth. It was a genuine spell. Comprehending it was far more difficult than learning a martial technique, for it required a certain level of insight into the world itself—the Daoist or Buddhist concept of ‘enlightenment.’
The higher one’s understanding of the Dao, the stronger their cultivation, and the more profound the spell’s power would become. Yet the most essential foundation was, of course, one’s own strength. On this point, Yang Yi had no doubts. His foundation was solid beyond compare. Setting aside his innate constitution and flawless body, the mere presence of one hundred and eight Overlord Bones was already an unparalleled advantage in executing the Mountain Shifting Art.
“System, extract twenty years of bitter cultivation time to refine the Mountain Shifting Art,” Yang Yi ordered without hesitation.
Ding!
[Host has entered bitter cultivation.]
[This is the host’s first attempt at cultivating a spell—your first endeavour to comprehend heaven and earth.]
[For you, this process is arduous. Moreover, you remain trapped within a passageway, without complete knowledge of the world beyond.]
[You fall into confusion.]
[However, you do not lose heart.]
[After a year of relentless contemplation, you recall the first time you cast the spell. An idea comes to you: since you cannot comprehend heaven and earth, you will simply rely on repetition and mastery.]
[Thus, you begin tirelessly casting the Mountain Shifting Art within the passage.]
[Day after day, night after night, another year passes, and you notice that the spell’s power steadily increases.]
[You attempt once more to comprehend the heavens but gain no significant insight.]
[You decide to persist with the dull method—casting the spell repeatedly in the passage.]
[Year after year, day after day, the passage is destroyed again and again by your spells, only to be restored again and again.]
[Your hand seals grow ever swifter, and the might of your spell increasingly formidable.]
[Then, one day, as you execute the spell, you suddenly sense the presence of heaven and earth.]
[You understand.]
[Yet at the same time, you realise how little you truly grasp of the Mountain Shifting Art.]
[You vaguely sense that this art is far more profound than you previously imagined.]
[Unwittingly, you find yourself caught once more in a vortex of confusion.]
[On this day, you awaken suddenly. Despite the lingering sense of loss, you are delighted to discover that heaven and earth feel considerably closer to you.]
The twenty years of bitter cultivation vanished in an instant. As Yang Yi opened his eyes, he sensed it clearly—the heavens and the earth were now incredibly vivid to him, almost as though they were breathing alongside him. He even felt, faintly, that his Overlord Bones were brimming with joy.
“I can’t shake the feeling that the Mountain Shifting Art isn’t limited to opening mountains and splitting earth,” Yang Yi murmured. “I wonder whether the version I obtained is incomplete, or whether the Mountain Shifting School itself had not evolved to its full potential.”
Reflecting on these twenty years of cultivation, Yang Yi knew he had gained much, but he still felt he had not touched the technique’s true core. “Ultimately, I am a martial artist. Magic, at its essence, is rooted in the Dao. With my current martial attainments, I remain too far removed from enlightenment.”
Nonetheless, the fruits of these twenty years were substantial. The direct evidence lay in the vastly enhanced power of his spell and, more subtly, in the newfound closeness between himself and the world. Yang Yi smiled faintly. “At this moment, my combat strength must be terrifying.”
The Mountain Shifting Technique and the Mountain Shifting Art had become so powerful that Yang Yi felt confident that, were he to step onto the battlefield, he would stand among the legendary ‘Earthly Immortals.’ The only thing he lacked was real combat experience—actual battles, which he had virtually none.
“Well then, it’s time to continue cultivating my Sword Drawing Technique.” Without hesitation, Yang Yi issued another command. “System, extract twenty years of bitter cultivation time to refine the Sword Drawing Technique.”
With forty-nine years of bitter cultivation time remaining, Yang Yi intended to use it all at once, raising all his skills to their limits to compensate for his lack of battlefield experience.
Ding!
[Host is now in bitter cultivation.]
[Regarding the Sword Drawing Technique, the host possesses a certain obsession.]
[Within the passage, you persist in drawing your sword tens of thousands of times each day.]
[After a year of endless repetition, you realise that since mastering the basics, repeated drawing has yielded little progress.]
[Yet you can find no better method, so you continue relentlessly.]
[For five years, you draw your sword continuously.]
[Gradually, you discover that the sword in your hand feels increasingly light. Eventually, you forget that you are holding a sword at all.]
[The sword, it seems, resonates with you.]
[You continue drawing, another five years.]
[Then you realise that you have become the sword.]
[In the final year, you discover that when you grip the sword, the sword is you, and you are the sword.]
[You comprehend it—Unity of Man and Sword.]
A faint hum echoed. As Yang Yi opened his eyes, a sword’s radiance flashed within them. Qinglian, who had been massaging his back, staggered backwards in shock, her face turning deathly pale. She had glimpsed, for an instant, not a person but a sword—one that had nearly cleaved her in two.
“Are you alright?” Yang Yi snapped back to awareness and quickly asked, his voice filled with concern. “I was comprehending my sword technique just now. Did I startle you?” “I’m fine…” Qinglian shook her head and exhaled in relief. Yang Yi nodded, falling back into thought. He still had twenty-nine years of bitter cultivation time left. Three skills remained that he had not yet refined: the Mo School’s mechanical arts, the Eighteen Ghost Gate Needles, and his medical skills.
However, the mechanical arts were out of the question; that required actual materials and craftsmanship, which were impossible to access here. That left only the Ghost Gate Needles and his medical skills—both of which demanded practical application. “In that case, I’ll devote the time to theoretical cultivation,” Yang Yi decided. “For the Ghost Gate Needles, I can use bitter cultivation to practise the technique on myself.” After a moment’s deliberation, his mind was made up.