The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 485 Power Surge
After seeing off the people from Tianshan Lingjiu Palace, Xu Xingchen returned to the manor and settled down in his room to carefully explore the various changes that had occurred after his breakthrough.

His Yin-Yang Qigong draws on the essence of many of the world's highest martial arts, encompassing a wide range of topics without any shortcomings.

Whether it's increasing internal strength, skillful application, yin-yang transformation, or strengthening the physical body and developing life potential, it has extremely miraculous effects.

In the world of Tianlong, martial arts cultivation is about enhancing the spirituality within one's inner strength, allowing that inner strength to manifest various wondrous powers under the influence of the mind.

In the previous world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, the function of internal energy was to develop the potential of the physical body, greatly enhance physical strength, and even allow the body to become a giant two or three meters tall.

The Nine Yin Manual, that supreme martial arts manual, is all about the development and transformation of physical strength.

For example: the Nine Yin White Bone Claw that can pierce through metal and stone, the Great Subduing Demon Fist that can split stone tablets, and the Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian that can transform a person and cleanse their marrow.

Xu Xingchen's Yin-Yang internal energy incorporates some of the essence of the Nine Yin Manual, making it extremely effective in developing his own physical potential.

Although he lost his ability to transform due to the changes in the rules of this world, when he broke through to a higher level of martial arts, he clearly sensed that the Yin-Yang internal energy, which had become much more spiritual, was subtly strengthening his physical body once again during its circulation.

He didn't know when this enhancement would end, or to what level it would raise his physical strength.
The changes in internal energy are even more pronounced.

First, the quantity has doubled, almost doubling.

Next, the spirituality within his internal energy increased greatly, allowing Xu Xingchen to achieve an exquisite level of control over his own internal energy.

Therefore, the manifestation of one's own power outside the body has been elevated to a higher level.

Xu Xingchen is now extremely confident that his ten-foot-long sword beam can easily merge with the six sword energies of the Six Meridians Divine Sword. He no longer needs to be as cautious as before, worrying about it suddenly backfiring or erupting.

A while ago, in Xingzilin.

He unleashed a ten-foot-long sword beam that had merged four Six Meridian Divine Swords. The sheer power of the sword was enough to leave the Beggar Clan disciples and the people from the Western Xia First-Class Hall stunned and unconscious.

But that's all he can do. To ask him to fight with that converged sword light, he has the will but not the strength.

But now it's different.

The sword beam, which incorporates the Six Meridians Divine Sword, can be used not only to attack the minds of others, but also to fight against them.

This is a tremendous change from quantity to quality!
The several-foot-long red ribbon, the illusory green mountain, and the magnetic ring—all these powers have been enhanced to varying degrees.

Even his Cloud Escape Technique had been fully formed, allowing him to fly freely in the sky.

Only then did Xu Xingchen feel that his power had once again reached the pinnacle of this world, and he had the confidence to compete with the world's masters.

At this moment, he felt that he could even fight against the sweeping monk of Shaolin Temple.

Explore the various changes in your body.

Xu Xingchen's thoughts suddenly jumped to Murong Fu, Kumārajīva, and Qiao Feng, whom he had fought before.

Of these three.

Neither Murong Fu nor Qiao Feng had reached the state of oneness with heaven and earth. The fact that they were able to hold their own against Xu Xingchen, who had shown mercy, for a period of time was enough to prove their high martial arts talent and the wonder of their divine skills. It also proved that they were undoubtedly the leaders of the younger generation of martial arts practitioners.

What surprised Xu Xingchen was the Tibetan Kingdom's Grand Preceptor, Kumārajīva.

Kumārajīva was also a top master who had achieved the Heavenly Realm, but the martial arts power he displayed was only slightly better than that of Murong Fu.

It's really hard to say who would win if they were to fight Qiao Feng.

Such power is far too weak for a top expert in the Heavenly Realm.

This is incomparable to Xu Xingchen's current tremendous improvement.

Logically speaking, Kumārajīva, who was able to become the national preceptor of Tibet, must have possessed considerable wisdom.

His exceptional martial arts talent earned him the appreciation of Murong Bo when he was young, leading to exchanges of martial arts techniques with him.

Kumārajīva's performance was so unsatisfactory, could it be that he was hiding his true abilities?

Xu Xingchen quickly rejected the idea.

In the world of the book, the martial prowess displayed by Kumārajīva is almost identical to the situation he is currently facing.

Therefore, Kumārajīva should not have been hiding his true abilities.

After pondering for a while without finding a solution, Xu Xingchen temporarily put the question out of her mind.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, circulated his Yin and Yang internal energy, and carefully comprehended it for a while before stopping, getting out of bed, and leaving the room.

Arriving at the side room where Wuyazi lived, they knocked on the door.

Wu Yazi said, "Come in!"

Xu Xingchen pushed open the door and entered, seeing Wu Yazi sitting upright on the bed, looking at her with a slight smile in his eyes.

Clearly, he had anticipated that Xu Xingchen would come to visit him.

"Senior, are you settling into your new environment?"

"This place is much better than my cave!"

"I hope you can stay here comfortably, senior. It just so happens that all the people from Lingjiu Palace have left. I will take Mr. Congbian to choose a courtyard for you to live in later."

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Master Xu."

"Of course," the two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Xu Xingchen was invited by Wu Yazi to sit on a round stool to the side.

Wu Yazi smiled and said, "Master Xu, do you have any questions about martial arts that you would like to ask me?"

“Indeed, I have some questions that I would like to ask you, senior.” Xu Xingchen pondered for a moment and then asked, “Senior, do you think that for someone like me who has just broken through to the Heavenly Realm, will my martial arts grow gradually, or will I suddenly take a big leap forward and grow much more immediately?”

Wu Yazi chuckled and said, "Both of the scenarios you described are possible; the difference lies in whether that person has cultivated the Northern Darkness Divine Art of my Free and Unfettered Sect."

Xu Xingchen looked surprised: "What do you mean?"

Wu Yazi didn't keep them in suspense and said, "When other martial artists first reach the Heavenly Realm and become top masters, their power doesn't increase dramatically all at once. Instead, they progress gradually, slowly absorbing the spiritual energy from heaven and earth, accumulating little by little, thus continuously strengthening their martial arts until they become virtually invincible."

"But those who cultivate the Northern Darkness Divine Art are different."

As he spoke, Wuya Zi recounted the various advantages and disadvantages of cultivating the Beiming Divine Art.

After listening, Xu Xingchen gained some insight by reflecting on his own breakthrough process.

"So, for martial artists who have broken through to the Heavenly Realm, the accumulation of internal energy has become less important; the most important thing is to increase the spirituality within their internal energy?"

Wu Yazi said, "You are teachable; the stronger the spiritual essence within your internal energy, the more refined and subtle our control over it becomes, allowing us to do as we please; and the more varied and powerful our martial arts techniques will become."

"Those who cultivate my Northern Darkness Divine Art, once they overcome the final hurdle, will experience a rapid increase in the spiritual essence within their inner strength, propelling their power to a very high level."

"While other martial artists who break through to the Heavenly Realm will still undergo a gradual process of cultivation and growth."

"They simply have a higher skill ceiling than those experts at the Earth Realm, and also have the potential to rapidly enhance the power of their martial arts techniques."

"Such a person will become more and more skilled in martial arts and more and more powerful in strange arts as he gets older, eventually reaching an unbelievable level."

Xu Xingchen nodded thoughtfully, thinking to himself, "In that case, Kumārajīva's situation can be explained."

"Moreover, according to Senior Wu Yazi, the martial arts skills of the very old Tianshan Tonglao and Li Qiushui are probably beyond my imagination."

Xu Xingchen pondered for a moment, then refrained from asking Wuyazi about the two men.

Wu Yazi hadn't seen those two for decades and was completely clueless about their current situation, so asking them would be pointless.

In the following time, Xu Xingchen consulted Wu Yazi about some things to pay attention to after reaching the Heavenly Realm before leaving the room.

Once outside, he found Su Xinghe and led him to the courtyards on either side to find a place to stay.

After a selection process.

Su Xinghe chose a secluded courtyard near the valley behind the house as his master's place of seclusion.

In the courtyard stands an old pine tree, its trunk bowing as if welcoming guests. Next to it is a small fishpond, and beside the fishpond stands a pavilion.

With its tranquil environment, calm and breezy atmosphere, and cool climate in both summer and winter, it's definitely a great place to visit.

There weren't many rooms in this courtyard, only enough for Wu Yazi and Su Xinghe. The other disciples of the Deaf-Mute Sect were arranged by Xu Xingchen to stay in the courtyards on the left and right sides of the small courtyard.

After selecting a courtyard, Su Xinghe first arranged for his deaf-mute disciples to sweep and clean it again. He didn't trust those rough men from the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Caves to do a good job of sweeping and cleaning!
Then, they found brand new bedding and sheets from Xu Xingchen's storeroom and had the disciples spread them on the beds.

Only after everything was arranged did he take over his master.

Dinner was prepared by a disciple of the Deaf-Mute Sect, and some was given to Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu.

Later, the meals for the two were also taken care of by the disciples of the Deaf and Mute Sect.

Wu Yazi and Su Xinghe are going to stay at the manor for a long time, so what's wrong with their disciples preparing a couple more meals?!

We've had dinner.

Duan Yu arrived at Xu Xingchen's house, first congratulating him, then inquiring about matters related to flying with qi. Finally, satisfied, he returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began to diligently cultivate the Northern Darkness Divine Art.

From this day forward, he also has a dream of flying on air.

On the morning of the second day, Xu Xingchen practiced martial arts to familiarize himself with the power of the Heavenly Mirror.

In the afternoon, he took Duan Yu to the courtyard where Wu Yazi lived, and began to discuss Wu Yazi's injuries with Wu Yazi and Su Xinghe.

Of the four, Duan Yu remained an auditor.

The other three all possess varying degrees of expertise in the principles of martial arts, the mysteries of the body, and medicine.

When they engage in discussions, they often have substantial points to make and their arguments are quite heated.

But after discussing it all afternoon, they still couldn't come up with a solution.

The three of them were not discouraged.

Wu Yazi's injuries were already extremely serious, and finding a way to save him would not be a matter of just one or two days.

Moreover, Su Xinghe and Wu Yazi had tried countless methods and read almost every medical book in the world over the past few decades, yet they still came up empty-handed!

In the following month.

Xu Xingchen cultivated in the morning and went to Wu Yazi's courtyard in the afternoon to discuss treatment methods.

When I get back to my room at night, I often study until the wee hours.

(End of this chapter)