A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

Zhou Lingxuan's hand stopped in front of the door.

The sound of something cutting through the air came from the right, rapid and short, with a slight metallic tremor in between.

Someone is practicing swordsmanship.

He turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.

To the right of the wooden house is a mud wall that has collapsed halfway.

That dilapidated house had been vacant for many years. The roof leaked and only half of the door remained. Even the servants in the abandoned hall usually disliked it.

At that moment, a tiny oil lamp was lit inside the room.

Zhou Lingxuan was somewhat surprised.

The young man from the northern region who had just registered during the day was actually living here.

There are many abandoned halls and empty rooms. Although they are all dilapidated, at least a few can provide shelter from the wind and rain.

The boy happened to choose the room closest to him, whether by coincidence or by chance, it was hard to tell.

Another soft whistling sound pierced the air.

Zhou Lingxuan did not push the door open, but took two steps forward along the wall.

The collapsed section of the earthen wall revealed half of the courtyard.

The boy stood in the courtyard, having taken off his animal skin coat and wearing only a gray shirt that had been washed until it was stiff.

The clothes didn't fit properly, hanging on his thin shoulders and back, swaying back and forth with his movements.

He gripped the broken sword with lightning patterns in both hands and slashed straight forward.

Step on the ground, turn your waist, and extend your shoulder.

The broken sword sliced ​​through the night wind, emitting a dull whistling sound.

As soon as the sword fell, the young man immediately sheathed it and resumed his stance.

It's the same old trick.

Zhou Lingxuan leaned against the wall without making a sound.

The boy was severely deficient in qi and blood, and after practicing for only a short time, his forehead and neck were covered in sweat.

But he didn't stop. Every time the broken sword fell to its lowest point, his arm trembled, but he still raised the sword very quickly the next time.

hack.

Close.

Chop again.

Two shallow pits had been trampled into the hard soil beneath our feet.

Zhou Lingxuan read it more than a dozen times, and his originally casual expression gradually disappeared.

The swordsmanship this young man practices is quite remarkable.

The first move looks like it only involves slashing, but the footwork shifts the weight three times before the sword falls.

The force originates from the soles of the feet, travels through the legs, waist, and shoulders, and finally reaches the wrists.

The broken sword was already heavy, and the boy deliberately pressed down on the blade, so when it fell, it had an extra downward force.

If it were replaced with a complete spirit sword, the power of this strike would increase by at least 30%.

After the boy finished his twenty-third sword strike, he suddenly stepped to the left.

The broken sword swept outwards using the momentum of its recovery.

The lightning patterns on the sword were illuminated by the moonlight, leaving a thin white streak in the air.

Before the sweeping attack was over, he suddenly twisted his wrist, the sword blade grazing his ribs as he rose up, followed by another diagonal slash.

The three moves were executed in quick succession without any pause in between.

Zhou Lingxuan nodded in agreement.

The Lei family of the Northern Region is indeed a first-rate sword-cultivation family, which is true to its reputation.

This sword technique follows a powerful and aggressive approach, with a wide range of moves, yet it doesn't waste much energy.

Each change of move utilizes the momentum left by the previous strike.

Once the first sword strike lands on the opponent, the subsequent sword strikes will become increasingly heavy until the opponent can no longer withstand them.

The boy practiced for the fifth time, and his speed began to increase.

The sound of swords clashing echoed continuously in the courtyard.

The broken sword flew from his hand, its strikes heavy and its return incredibly fast.

The pebbles beneath their feet were pushed aside by the wind from the sword, crashing against the earthen wall and making soft, rustling sounds.

Zhou Lingxuan looked at it more carefully.

He had not been practicing swordsmanship for long, but he had absorbed the pure sword intent left by the testing stone into his mind and had also observed thirty-seven broken swords in the sword tomb.

Those sword techniques had long been dismantled and shattered by the Heaven-Forging Hammer, and dissolved into his sea of ​​consciousness.

After watching the moves a few times, you'll understand most of the power exertion and the way to change moves.

The boy took three steps forward.

The first step is to lower the sword's edge.

The second step is to hold the broken sword horizontally in front of your chest.

With the third step, he suddenly leaped up, raising his sword with both hands and slashing it towards the ground.

hum!

Before the broken sword even hit the ground, the withered leaves in the courtyard began to scatter to both sides.

At the last moment, the boy stopped his momentum, the sword tip hovering half an inch above the ground. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, and his shoulders heaved violently.

This sword strike clearly required a great deal of effort.

He took a few breaths and returned to his original position.

Zhou Lingxuan thought the young man should rest for a while, but to his surprise, as soon as he stood up, he raised the broken sword in his hand again.

"They can actually endure it."

A thought popped into Zhou Lingxuan's mind.

The boy's injuries hadn't healed, and he hadn't eaten much. For an ordinary person, continuing like this would likely mean they wouldn't even be able to get out of bed by tomorrow morning.

But he never slowed down.

Each time he was exhausted, he would glance at the lightning patterns on the broken sword.

The patterns on the blade were damaged, and there was a noticeable chip in the middle of the sword.

After seeing it, he would strike again with his sword.

Although Zhou Lingxuan had not experienced the massacre of the Lei family, he could tell what the boy was thinking from these repetitive actions.

He dared not stop.

As long as you stop, the things weighing on your heart will catch up.

Zhou Lingxuan did not show up to disturb them.

The young man drew his sword once more.

This time, he combined all the moves he had practiced before.

The broken sword first slashed, then parried, and then swept horizontally. The pace gradually quickened, and the loose-fitting shirt clung to the back with sweat. With each turn, beads of sweat flicked off the ends of the hair.

Where the sword passed, there were a few faint, deep rumbling sounds.

The small purple jade hammer in Zhou Lingxuan's sea of ​​consciousness moved slightly.

His attention immediately fell on the sword's edge.

Three swords again.

The vibrations became clearer.

That wasn't the sound of the broken sword itself; every time the boy drew his sword, the surrounding airflow would be altered by the force of the sword.

When slashing, the force is heavy, and the airflow is pressed downwards; when sweeping, the speed increases sharply, and the airflow rushes forward around the blade.

The two forces are alternating at an increasingly rapid pace.

The wind lifts the sword's edge, and the sword's edge then stirs up the next gust of wind.

After accumulating power several times, the lightning patterns on the broken sword lit up briefly.

A faint purple light flashed along the broken lines and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The boy was unaware and continued practicing his swordplay.

Zhou Lingxuan's fingers twitched slightly.

Two artistic conceptions are hidden in the sword moves.

The wind makes the sword faster, and the thunder makes the sword heavier.

The two should naturally complement each other, growing stronger with each iteration. When you reach a high level, a single sword strike unleashes the power accumulated from all the previous moves.

This is where the true power of the Lei family sword technique lies.

The sweeping and powerful moves are merely the surface; the true essence lies in the underlying force of wind and thunder hidden within the sword's momentum.

Zhou Lingxuan had seen the sword intent on the testing stone and had also deciphered Qin Zhaoyun's Cloud-Piercing Sword Intent.

The former is pure, the latter is unrestrained; each has its own path.

The boy's Wind and Thunder Sword Intent was still weak, and had not even truly taken shape, but it already had a clear structure.

If he continues to practice, the power of this sword technique will surely increase dramatically once he enters the Qi Refining Realm.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the purple jade hammer vibrated even more frequently.

Each time the boy unleashed a sword strike, the hammer trembled slightly. The aura of wind and thunder traveled through the night breeze, leaving a brief trace at the edge of his consciousness.

Zhou Lingxuan closed his eyes.

The thirteen moves I had just learned unfolded in my mind one by one.

The first move is to create a gust of wind.

The fourth move is to use the wind to push the sword.

The seventh move shifts to the power of thunder.

The tenth move combines the two forces into one.

In the final three moves, you should unleash all the power you've accumulated.

He quickly figured out the sequence of the entire sword technique.

But when the boy practiced the tenth move, Zhou Lingxuan suddenly frowned.

wrong.

The boy raised the broken sword from below, turning his body to the left. Following the previous swordplay, the next step should be to step to the right, using the wind to propel the sword in a diagonal slash.

The boy paused abruptly for half a beat after his left foot landed.

This pause was extremely short.

If someone who doesn't know anything about swords stood here, they wouldn't be able to tell at all.

The wind that had accumulated here was abruptly cut off at this half-beat.

The boy then twisted his waist forcefully and still completed the diagonal slash. The reverberation from the sword's edge was much weaker, and the lightning patterns did not light up again.

Zhou Lingxuan continued reading.

The eleventh move also involves a pause.

Before unleashing the twelfth move, the boy's right shoulder would subconsciously tuck back.

By the time he landed the final strike, less than half of the original power of wind and thunder remained. The boy could only compensate with brute force, which explained why his stamina was depleted after each repetition.

Did he practice it wrong?

Zhou Lingxuan stared at the boy's footsteps, looked at him twice more, and quickly dismissed the idea.

The boy's every movement was practiced. Even when his legs trembled with exhaustion, his footing was perfectly precise. The Lei family, being a first-rate swordsmanship family, wouldn't have taught their own disciple to be like this.

The problem lies with the broken sword.

After the sword broke, it lost nearly 30% of its length, and its center of gravity shifted towards the hilt. The transition that was originally accomplished using the blade could no longer be completed.

The boy continued practicing with the complete longsword, but every tenth move, the sword would turn back prematurely. To suppress the change in technique, he could only force a half-beat pause and then use his waist and shoulders to pull the broken sword momentum back.

The more proficient you become, the deeper this stagnation will penetrate.

If he continues to train so hard, his right shoulder and waist will be ruined before he even masters the swordsmanship.

What's more troublesome is that that half-beat will also remain in his Wind and Thunder Sword Intent.

Once the sword intent is formed, it becomes much more difficult to change it.

Zhou Lingxuan raised his hand and touched the sword-shaped jade pendant in his arms.

Before leaving, Old Qin told him to stay away from the young man to avoid getting involved with the Lei family. But only half an hour later, the young man had finished watching the Lei family's swordsmanship from behind the wall.

If Old Qin were to witness this, he would surely give him a good scolding.

In the courtyard, the boy had already begun practicing for the ninth time.

His breathing became erratic, and his legs grew heavier and heavier. Several times, the broken sword nearly slipped from his grasp, but he gritted his teeth and pulled it back each time.

By the tenth move, the stagnation reappeared.

This time it's even more obvious than before.

The boy twisted his body forcefully, and a slight cracking sound came from his right shoulder.

He was in so much pain that his movements were distorted, but he didn't stop. Instead, he used the force to push the broken sword forward.

Zhou Lingxuan looked at the broken sword tip and removed his hand from the jade pendant.

The boy had already thrust out his eleventh sword.

As soon as the wind picked up, the lightning pattern began to glow with a purple light.

The next move will be another forced change of direction.

Just as he twisted his waist and changed his steps, preparing to forcefully resume the broken sword momentum, a very abrupt light cough suddenly came from the darkness behind the earthen wall.