You call this the way of the sword?

After Colonel Lu left, the Kongwu stronghold welcomed a new batch of officers.

The new broom sweeps clean, and his actions are swift and decisive, burning down almost the entire garrison at the stronghold.

New blood replaces old blood, and the corrupt officials of the past years are all credited to the new officials.

However, none of this has anything to do with Yang Qingfeng.

Over the next two days, with the help of the Ghost King's jewelry, he filled the empty slots in his Sword Domain by consuming Na Yuan Pills, and his level successfully reached 17 during the wild hunt.

Although he didn't break any new records, he has already made his name a part of those records.

Yun Sheng once said that being too outstanding can easily attract external evils.

Yang Qingfeng wholeheartedly agreed, especially when his cultivation suddenly stopped increasing. He was shocked to discover that he had actually reached the upper limit of a first-level cultivator!

Name: Yang Qingfeng

[Cultivation: Swordsmanship]

[Cultivation Period: 39 years and 364 days]

[Level: 17 (8%)]

[Constitution: 360 + 1300 (Strength)]

[Mana: 1100 + 1450 (Spirit)]

[Agility: 340 + 1300]

Endurance: 340 + 1400 (Stamina)

[Equipment: Enchanted Cloak]

【Sword Domain: 170/170】

[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 27), Transform into Sword (Level 27), Sword Explosion (Level 23)]

Passive Skills: Sword Master (No Level Requirement), Sword Control (Level 27)

[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 Explosion: Detonates a controllable sword, dealing damage equal to 330% of the sword master's cultivation level. The higher the sword master's cultivation level, the larger the explosion radius.】

[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 27 times more damage.]

The boost from the two Ghost King accessories allowed Yang Qingfeng's attributes to surpass the level 20 threshold ahead of schedule.

The Sword Master has reached level 27, with its four main attributes reaching a staggering 5600 points. However, what's most terrifying isn't the Sword Master's attributes, but its sheer number.

After the Sword Domain was full, Yang Qingfeng possessed a total of 170 sword souls, 10 of which transformed into permanent spirit swords and all received a 27x damage bonus from [Sword Control].

This is equivalent to a sword-wielding team with attributes comparable to a level 29 peak and combat power sufficient to surpass their level, and this is only Yang Qingfeng's basic combat power.

Since mastering the skill "Sword Explosion Across the Thousands of Directions," Yang Qingfeng began cultivating his Taoist skills.

The increase in cultivation level allowed the talent [Heart of Eternal Spirit] to fully unleash its power, which in turn caused the damage of the Spirit Sword and Sword Explosion to explode.

Through the abnormal damage of these two skills, Yang Qingfeng realized that the core of his swordsmanship was not attributes, but cultivation.

To be precise, it's not about Taoist cultivation level, but rather the actual level of cultivation that Taoist cultivation represents.

There was no specific data on this true cultivation level. Yun Sheng didn't understand it, Chang Maofu wasn't around, and Yang Qingfeng couldn't find anyone else to ask for advice, so he could only put it aside for the time being.

It is worth mentioning that his cultivation level has increased by nearly 40 years, but the spirit sword has remained unchanged, still as small as a toothpick when released.

The damage is immeasurable.

With the addition of Sword Explosion, level 23 can unleash a terrifying 330% damage based on one's cultivation level.

Yang Qingfeng conservatively estimated that his true combat strength was definitely enough to kill a third-tier demon, and he could try a fourth-tier one. He might be able to scratch a fifth-tier demon, but there was no need to take the risk.

Before he could figure out his true cultivation level, his true combat strength would remain a mystery. Yang Qingfeng reminded himself that he had no right to be arrogant or complacent if he was unclear about his true level.

Because his cultivation level has stopped increasing, killing more monsters with his sword soul is useless.

The fact that one's cultivation level has stopped increasing indicates that there is indeed an upper limit to one's cultivation!

Yang Qingfeng clearly sensed a certain rule that restricted him, and this rule was not unfamiliar.

Just like how some equipment cannot be used if your level is not high enough, your cultivation level cannot continue to increase if your level is not high enough.

The explanation was logically sound, but Yang Qingfeng still couldn't get over it.

"What exactly is wrong?"

Just as Yang Qingfeng was trying to understand the rules, a melodious bell rang out between heaven and earth.

The sound of the bell acted as a signal, spreading throughout the entire canyon.

Whether in the wild or in a dungeon, all the newly recruited cultivators were drawn to the bell at the same time and realized that the time was up.

"Should we go back now?"

Yang Qingfeng's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell, and he turned to look down and scan the surroundings.

At this moment, he sat on Yu Jun's sword, suspended in the air, with two female sword spirits floating around him.

The female sword spirits had amazing figures; just looking at them could make a young man's blood boil. However, Yang Qingfeng didn't summon them for this reason.

As his skills grew stronger, Yang Qingfeng felt increasingly weak, especially after dealing with the Sun family these past few days. He realized that dying was really easy.

Considering that he might encounter various evil forces in the future, he decided to let the sword spirit stay with him 24 hours a day and become his protector.

Of course, having the Sword Soul active also has other uses.

For example, talking to him, playing with him, demonstrating swordsmanship, and... helping him fly on his sword.

"I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to come back to the Misty Valley again."

"Let's go, it's time to go back."

After taking one last look at the stronghold, Yang Qingfeng raised his hand, and two blue and white ribbons supported him on either side, helping him leap into the air and stand steadily on the sword.

Then, he put one hand on the sword spirit's shoulder and urge Yu Junjian to fly forward. It looked not only impressive, but also the envy of others.

Yang Qingfeng didn't show off much, flying at high altitudes the whole way without entering any strongholds, but he was still discovered by many of his fellow new recruits.

"Look up at the sky, who's flying there!"

"Hiss, which powerful figure is it?"

"And with beautiful women by my side, hugging two at once, that's so great!"

"I want to be like that when I grow up!"

"Strive for excellence in the grand exam, go to the capital for further training, work hard and make progress, marry eight hundred wives, go for it!"

Outside the canyon, dozens of cloud boats had already taken off, with only one remaining on the ground.

As usual, the gentlemen gathered together, but unlike in previous years, they did not quarrel. They discussed how to settle the students of Wendao Caotang and how to explain Chang Maofu's matter.

"That old Chang, he silently caused a huge uproar, leaving these kids behind..."

"Sigh, I guess he calculated it correctly."

"Yes, once the big exams are over, the children will all have their own paths to follow, and what the teachers in their hometown are like or not will no longer matter."

"In that case, shall we keep this from Old Chang for now?"

"Very good, so as not to affect his children. They have a big exam tomorrow and cannot be distracted."

"Then let's discuss it, how about we suggest that Lao Chang go to a brothel?"

The atmosphere was somewhat somber because the matter involved the cabinet. A gentleman tried to lighten the mood with his humor, but the moment he uttered his words, the world fell silent.

Dozens of eyes stared at him silently, as if he were being slowly tortured.

At this moment, the mountain guard, who had been tortured by them for several days, came over and said, "I'll do it."

What was clearly just an ordinary sentence sounded like a thunderclap to the gentlemen, who immediately made way for it.

Even though the mountain guardian had held a high position for many years, his lips twitched slightly upon seeing this.

You know, at this time of year in previous years, these gentlemen weren't this quiet. Now they seem to have changed their ways, but actually they're just really hiding their true colors.

They're all shrewd people.

Just as the mountain guardian boarded the cloud boat of Wendao Cottage, Yang Qingfeng emerged from the canyon.

An old gentleman reacted quickly. He glanced around and immediately led the other gentlemen to bow to the mountain guardian, saying loudly, "We are from Tiannan Blessed Land. On behalf of Chang Maofu of Wendao Caotang, we thank General Zhuguo for his care."

"Thank you for your kindness, General."

Yang Qingfeng raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at the mountain guardian on the boat.

I thought to myself, "Wow!"