You call this the way of the sword?

[Cultivation Level: 101 days]

[Level: 9 (98%)]

In the third hour since entering the Misty Canyon, Yang Qingfeng had swept through the monsters on the outskirts, gaining a massive amount of experience and leveling up by nearly 3 levels. Moreover, he had entered the canyon interior and begun to encounter level 10 monsters, which also improved his cultivation level.

Although the cultivation level only increased by one day, it was still quite encouraging.

In this world, a cultivator's level does not represent their final combat strength. Rather, it is more like a series of thresholds on the path of cultivation. Only by advancing in level can one come into contact with more things and thus improve their cultivation.

Dao Xing refers to the cultivation level that cultivators often talk about. Unlike level information, it is not displayed to the outside world, nor is it specifically differentiated in terms of levels internally. Even the most powerful beings at the top do not dare to say that they have fully mastered its function.

Therefore, some people say that Taoist cultivation is omnipotent.

As long as you have enough skill and find the right method, you can accomplish anything.

Yang Qingfeng had also wondered if, with enough cultivation, he might be able to resurrect his grandfather.

Most cultivators probably have had this idea, but it's somewhat unrealistic and too far-fetched. At least for Yang Qingfeng, it's not a goal for the time being.

What Yang Qingfeng values ​​now is the enhancement of his cultivation level to the spirit sword, and the fact that the use of certain special equipment also requires his own cultivation level to reach a certain level.

These two points alone determine the indispensable role of Taoist cultivation on the path of spiritual practice.

Yang Qingfeng did the math.

He killed 14 level 10 monsters, gaining 1 day's worth of cultivation points.

This includes a 10x boost to the [Eternal Dao Heart]. If you remove the boost, it would take killing about 150 level 10 monsters to gain one day's Dao cultivation.

Based on the data conversion, this means he is about 15000 monsters ahead of others, and this advantage will continue to grow, with less than 6 days left until the big exam.

In other words, as long as he maintains his current efficiency, his level and cultivation will far surpass those of other newly promoted cultivators, enough to achieve an "excellent" grade in the grand exam.

"I didn't expect that before the big exam even started, I'd already achieved two out of six perfect scores..."

Yang Qingfeng had thought that the National Academy would be very difficult to get into, so when Qiao Wanyi asked him, he didn't give a definitive answer and left himself some leeway.

Only now have I realized that it was completely unnecessary.

Upon entering the canyon, the eight sword spirits continued their poetic rampage. The level 10 monsters had significantly higher stats, and those with high defense could withstand a single sword strike from one of the sword spirits.

However, the difference between one sword strike and two sword strikes is really not that significant.

As the saying goes, speed is the only way to break through any martial art, and swordsmanship happens to be one of those speed-oriented techniques.

From a distance, the sword spirits could be seen slashing and thrusting with their swords, and in less than a second, before the monster was even completely dead, they would have already flown away to find the next one.

With the 19x damage bonus from [Sword Control], it looks like a piece of cake.

Hearing the monster's miserable howls, Yang Qingfeng himself was afraid of being accidentally injured by the sword spirit.

The damage is 19 times greater; even a mere scratch would feel so painful it would make you question your existence.

[Defeat a level 10 Stone Spirit, experience +500]

[Defeat a level 10 Ghost King patrol soldier, experience +500]

【…】

As wisps of spiritual energy surged in, Yang Qingfeng's body once again shone with the light of an upgrade.

"Finally level 10!"

The last 2% of experience points took almost 20 minutes.

The interior of the canyon is rugged mountainous terrain, where monsters are relatively rare. In addition, this direction connects to the outer secluded forest, making it an essential route for cultivators to enter and exit.

It's easy to imagine that anyone who saw a monster while passing by would go up and slash it a couple of times.

Looking at the stronghold on the mountainside just ahead, Yang Qingfeng felt a sense of relief.

The level has been upgraded, the advantage has been firmly maintained, and the destination is not far away. Everything in my mind is progressing step by step and in a smooth manner. It couldn't be more perfect.

"It's not time to relax yet; the real battle is yet to come."

"Reaching level 10 in six days is not difficult; many people can do it. However, not many people can reach level 15, which shows that the real challenge begins after level 10."

"Level 5 is the threshold, Level 10 is the quantitative change..."

Yang Qingfeng glanced at the experience points and thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

The joy of the upgrade was immediately overshadowed by the pressure that arose spontaneously.

If we compare experience points to drops of water, then before level 10 you only need a bowl to fill it, but after level 10, you need a bucket...

Killing a level 10 monster just now gave me 0.05% experience, but now that I've leveled up, killing two only gives me 0.01%. This not only illustrates the difficulty of leveling up after level 10, but also highlights the drawbacks of hunting in the wild.

Monsters in the wild are unevenly distributed. Monsters inside the canyon are sparse and scattered. You might not be able to level up even after a whole day. It's a real mental hell.

"Time to go run a dungeon."

Yang Qingfeng didn't dwell on it and continued to check his upgraded attributes while heading towards the stronghold.

Name: Yang Qingfeng

[Cultivation: Swordsmanship]

[Cultivation Level: 104 days]

[Level: 10 (0.58%)]

[Constitution: 150 (Strength)]

[Mana: 400 (Spirit)]

[Agility: 130]

Endurance: 130 (Stamina)

[Equipment: None]

【Sword Domain: 9/100】

[Talent: Eternal Spirit Dao Heart (Level 2)]

[Eternal Spirit Dao Heart: Increases Comprehension by 20 times, and increases Dao Cultivation gained in battle by 20 times]

[Active Skills: Summon Sword Soul (Level 20), Transform into Sword (Level 20)]

Passive Skills: Sword Master (No Level Requirement), Sword Control (Level 20)

[Summon Sword Soul: Consumes mana to summon a Rank 7 Sword Soul]

[Sword Transformation: Transforms a sword spirit or other unclaimed soul into a spirit sword. The spirit sword is influenced by the sword master's cultivation level and can inherit some of the soul's skills from its previous life.]

[Sword Master: Ruler of the sword path within the domain; as long as the Sword Master exists, the sword soul will never die.]

[Sword Control: Everything can be a sword; control it with your mind. All sword skills deal 20 times more damage.]

Yang Qingfeng looked at his level 10 attributes, and his heart began to beat faster involuntarily.

All four attributes were increased.

The increases in Constitution, Dexterity, and Stamina are relatively small, only an additional 30 points on top of the 10 points per level, while Mana increases by 100 points on top of the 30 points per level, reaching 400 Mana.

This also means that you will gain 100 mana points for every level you gain.

At first glance, it seems that the magic power has increased, but that is not the case.

Yang Qingfeng continued to look at the skills, when suddenly the four big characters "Seventh Grade Sword Soul" fiercely absorbed his mental energy, and he couldn't even care about the 20x amplification of [Eternal Spirit Dao Heart] and [Sword Control].

He hurriedly closed the attribute panel, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

Skill: Summon Sword Spirit.

As a crack opened in front of her, an incomparably vast aura blew out, and a wisp of pure soul power answered the call. Accompanied by the fierce sword wind, the soul power condensed into a female version of a sword spirit.

Unlike the male version of the Sword Soul, whose features are more rugged, the female Sword Soul's appearance is also shrouded in mist. While she possesses an equally imposing and heroic aura, her almost tangible soul body is noticeably slender. The details of her clothing and hair perfectly accentuate her figure, making her a truly remarkable example of slender branches bearing abundant fruit.

Like a stunningly beautiful female knight-errant who has roamed the martial arts world for years and captivated countless petty thieves, her demeanor and physique are flawless from the inside out, and her beauty is beyond compare.

Upon seeing it, Yang Qingfeng thought of the pure, ice-crystal-like Eternal Spirit, but in his haste, he didn't think much of it, because at the same time the female sword spirit answered the summons, his 400 points of mana evaporated once again...