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

Lei Yang lowered his head, his fingers stroking the hilt of his sword, and uttered these three words.

He raised his head, his chest heaving violently as he forced the surging blood back to his dantian.

His knuckles were white as he gripped the sword hilt, and his voice was cold and hard.

"This Thunder Pattern Sword is made of deep-sea iron from the Northern Region. It is three times heavier than an ordinary sword, and its center of gravity is completely biased towards the hilt. An ordinary swordsman cannot even hold it steady for the most basic horizontal thrust."

Lei Yang took a breath, held the sword horizontally in front of him, and pointed to the dark purple pattern on the spine of the sword.

"But this is not a flaw at all. The Lei family sword technique is all about this kind of weight."

"Without this solid foundation, it would be impossible to suppress the subsequent changes in tactics."

"The heavier the sword, the more powerful its momentum. When I was practicing just now, every time I changed a move, I had to rely on the strength of my waist and abdomen to forcefully pull back this heavy force."

"Only in this way can the next sword strike be accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder."

Zhou Lingxuan didn't interrupt, but listened quietly.

"You're just a blacksmith; you have no idea how dangerous this is."

Lei Yang gritted his teeth, upholding a certain bottom line.

"This sword technique is all about mastering one breath; once that breath is cut off, the sword's momentum dissipates. Your cough just now almost caused my meridians to reverse. If I hadn't stopped in time, I would be a cripple by now."

After listening, Zhou Lingxuan mentally reviewed the boy's sword-wielding movements. The wind rose, the sword was pushed forward, lightning flashed, and the force combined. He recalled the trajectory of the hammer falling during blacksmithing.

"I see."

Zhou Lingxuan nodded, his tone indifferent.

"So your Lei family's swordsmanship isn't about using a sword at all, but rather treating the sword like a bolt of lightning to smash down, right?"

As soon as those words were spoken, the wind in the courtyard seemed to stop.

Lei Yang froze on the spot. He suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Zhou Lingxuan. His pale face was filled with disbelief.

"You..." Lei Yang's voice changed, hoarse and trembling, "How did you figure that out?"

The core secrets of the Lei family swordsmanship have always been passed down only to their direct descendants. Outsiders who watch the Lei family practice swordsmanship only perceive it as expansive, powerful, and unparalleled.

But those who truly understand know that the essence of the Lei family sword technique lies in the word "smash".

Riding the wind's momentum, it shatters all defenses with overwhelming force.

The old sweeper in front of us, who had no cultivation, had only stood at the base of the wall for a while when he suddenly revealed the core secret of the Lei family's century-old heritage!

Lei Yang tightened his grip on the sword again, his breathing becoming rapid. He looked Zhou Lingxuan up and down, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

"Who exactly are you?"

Lei Yang took half a step back, creating some distance.

"What kind of janitor are you in the Heavenly Sword Pavilion? Are you some reclusive sword master, deliberately hiding in this abandoned hall to toy with me?"

Seeing the boy's alarmed expression, Zhou Lingxuan couldn't help but chuckle.

He waved his hand and put his hands back into his sleeves.

"What reclusive master? You've been reading too many romance novels."

Zhou Lingxuan's tone revealed helplessness.

"I'm just a blacksmith. I've been forging iron outside the Heavenly Sword Pavilion for a full hundred years. I was just reassigned to this abandoned hall to tend the furnace a few days ago."

Lei Yang remained silent, clearly not believing it.

Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the broken sword in his hand. "I don't know swordsmanship; I haven't even memorized the most basic sword techniques. But I do know about metalwork."

"When you swung your sword just now, the point of force on the blade changed with each swing. Ordinary swordsmanship emphasizes lightness and agility, thrusting and parrying, with the point of force mostly on the tip and the front of the blade. But with each move you made, the force was all concentrated on the spine and hilt of the sword."

Zhou Lingxuan took a step forward, raised his right hand, and made a swinging motion as if he were swinging a sledgehammer.

"I've been a blacksmith all my life, watching people swing their hammers countless times. A blacksmith's work requires perfect coordination between his waist and stance."

"Rooted in the ground, power rises from the earth, ascends along the spine, and finally flows into the arms."

"When the sledgehammer falls, it's not due to the skillful force of the wrist, but rather the weight of the entire body that brings it down."

Zhou Lingxuan lowered his hand and pointed at Lei Yang.

"Your movements, apart from replacing the hammer with a sword, are exactly the same in terms of the way you generate power."

"Every time you change your move, you have to forcefully twist your waist so that you can put your body weight back onto the hilt of the sword."

"Does this even need a grandmaster of swordsmanship to judge? Any old blacksmith could tell you're just smashing things."

These words were frank and straightforward, without a trace of cryptic pretense.

Lei Yang was stunned. He carefully considered Zhou Lingxuan's words and found that he couldn't find a single fault with them.

The power exertion techniques of the Lei family swordsmanship are indeed similar to those of swinging a sledgehammer.

The boy's tense shoulders finally relaxed slowly.

He exhaled a long breath, and the broken sword in his hand drooped to the ground.

"So that's how it is." Lei Yang gave a self-deprecating smile. "I thought..."

"You thought you'd stumbled upon a master who could teach you a few moves and help you reconnect your broken sword stance?"

Zhou Lingxuan bluntly exposed his thoughts.

Lei Yang didn't refute it. For a fleeting moment, he did indeed place his hopes on this mysterious old man.

He stuck the broken sword into the soil beside him and slid down against the earthen wall.

"My name is Lei Yang." The boy lowered his head, his voice muffled. "I'm fifteen years old."

Zhou Lingxuan calculated in his mind, fifteen years old.

The news of the Lei family's massacre in the Northern Region had already spread throughout the cultivation world five years ago.

In other words, this kid experienced the tragedy of his family's destruction when he was ten years old.

A ten-year-old child, carrying a broken sword, escaped from the Northern Region and wandered all the way to the Heavenly Sword Pavilion in the Southern Region.

The amount of suffering and hardship they endured is unimaginable.

Zhou Lingxuan looked at Lei Yang's stiff, washed-out shirt and the crisscrossing scars faintly visible beneath it.

"He suffered a great calamity at the age of ten and fled for five years."

Zhou Lingxuan stated a fact in a calm tone.

"Staying up all night, dragging yourself half-dead, practicing your family's sword technique. What, are you planning to return to the Northern Region and avenge the Lei family after you've mastered it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lei Yang, who had been quiet, suddenly raised his head.

His bloodshot eyes suddenly erupted with an extremely intense ferocity.

"Revenge?" Lei Yang sneered, his voice filled with gritted teeth and hatred. "Why should I avenge the Lei family?"

Zhou Lingxuan was somewhat surprised.

Lei Yang gripped the rubble on the ground with both hands, his fingernails digging into the dirt. He suddenly grabbed a handful of rubble and slammed it hard against the earthen wall opposite.

The gravel hit the wall, making a crackling sound.

"It would be better if the entire Lei family, numbering in the hundreds, were to die!"

The boy practically roared those words, his chest heaving violently.

"I wish I didn't have Lei family blood flowing through my veins! I wish I had never been surnamed Lei!"

This stark contrast in attitude made Zhou Lingxuan raise an eyebrow.

In the cultivation world, which scions of noble families, after their entire clan is wiped out, isn't burdened with a deep-seated hatred, their minds filled with thoughts of rebuilding their family and avenging their enemies?

But the Lei Yang in front of me, who was practicing the Lei family sword technique with all his might, was filled with hatred for the Lei family.

This is interesting.

Zhou Lingxuan was not deterred by the boy's fierceness. He looked around, walked to the corner of the wall, and pulled over a broken wooden stool with a missing leg.

He placed the wooden stool firmly in front of Lei Yang and sat down slowly.

The night wind blew, stirring up the withered leaves on the ground, and the air was filled with the faint smell of blood and sweat from Lei Yang.

The atmosphere in the courtyard had completely changed from the tense standoff to a weary desolation.

Zhou Lingxuan placed his hands on his knees, looked at the boy in front of him with eyes full of hatred, and softened his tone.

"Since they don't want to avenge the Lei family, and even hate that they aren't from the Lei family."

Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the old wounds on Lei Yang's body that were oozing blood.

"And what happened to all these injuries you're covered in?"