Swallowing the Stars: The Wind Sword Master.

Chapter 76 Sword Domain

Two months later.

The trial room, within a virtual space.

This is a vast, boundless desert. A golden sun hangs in the sky, awe-inspiring in all directions. The ground is covered with yellow earth, with only a few scattered patches of green. These few plants look listless, as if they will wither away at any moment.

at this time.

The earth was churning, and mounds of earth rose up on the ground, leaving behind trenches, as if something was traveling underground.

Countless mounds of earth circled around, and in the center of these countless ravines stood a young man with black hair and stubble, dressed in tattered rags.

Through the sword, one could see a face covered in yellow dust, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a face as sharp as if carved by a knife, revealing a hint of handsomeness.

His sword-holding posture was very strange; it wasn't the usual upright or flat sword, but rather something like a hanging sword, though with some differences.

Hanging the sword means placing your hands behind your back, with the longsword pointing straight up along the dragon's spine. But his current action is to hold the silver-white longsword upright in front of him, with the sword passing over his head and close to his face. The blade is like a mirror, and the mounds of earth behind him can be seen on both sides.

Ning Ze was intently observing his surroundings; this was the sixth floor of the Trial Tower.

The sixth level is very difficult. Just how difficult?

Stage A alone requires 50 low-level lords, and he is currently attempting Stage C!

Based on previous patterns, this level will have 190 low-level lords and 10 mid-level lords.

This trial tower is no longer human.

The physical attributes of those attempting the challenge are only at the level of a beginner general. There are four levels between them: intermediate general, advanced general, and beginner lord. Each level has a difference of 2 times, which is a 16-fold difference in strength.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. These first-level lords are so powerful that they're not even on the same level. They can actually unleash their power! Their movement techniques are also perfect compared to humans!

A novice lord can exert twice the power, which is 16 times that of a challenger!

A high-ranking lord can exert 3 times the power, which is 48 times that of a challenger!

What does this mean?

The basic strength of a challenger is 10000 kg. If it is reduced by 48 times, that is only 200 kg of strength. This is for an ordinary person. Less than 300 kg of strength is not even considered a low-level student!

An ordinary person fighting against a warrior-level expert?

Once you reach the sixth level of the Trial Tower, there is no longer a time limit for completing the challenge; if you wish, you can fight until you die.

Even so, no one on Earth has been able to successfully pass through this level. Even Hong, the world's strongest, only made it to this level and missed the scenery of the seventh level.

difficult!

Too hard!

It's so difficult that it makes you completely despair.

Ning Ze was also extremely exhausted. He could only carefully keep an eye on his surroundings. The target of this level was still the Ironclad Earth Dragon!

There are very few monsters that can be called dragons, which gives a glimpse into their power.

The environment here is an endless desert, and as a challenger, he is naturally at a disadvantage. After fighting for more than two hours, he has only killed 23 low-level lords.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Countless sonic booms exploded in the virtual space, and the ground was like a Yellow River swamp, with gushing torrents of water gushing out.

As these yellow figures rushed towards Ning Ze, he gradually made out the monster's shape.

It was a dragon-like monster covered in a yellowish-brown tortoise shell, with a long neck covered in fine scales. In front of it was a huge head with sharp teeth and claws that looked terrifying. Its claws gleamed with a cold white light in the sunlight.

A sharp claw pierced through Ning Ze's chest, and then Ning Ze's body slowly dissipated.

He had already left. These monsters were faster than the speed of sound, and they started attacking before the sound even reached him. He could only fight by relying on his sight and senses.

His situation was far from optimistic. These monsters were also at the perfect level of movement technique, their attacks perfectly coordinated. And now, the monsters attacking him were no longer just the two or three around him. In front of him might be a sharp claw, above him a gaping maw, beside him a sword-like tail resembling a long yellow whip, and below him…

Ning Ze's pupils suddenly contracted, and he roared as he slashed horizontally with his longsword. The silver-white sword light swirled around his body. Although he was not strong enough, he could still use the force of the attack to move quickly.

The earth was churning, and yellow sand flew several kilometers into the sky. The dust filled the air for hundreds of kilometers around, and Ning Ze's figure gradually disappeared.

Within the yellow fog, only huge, long shadows moved rapidly through the yellow sand, and the sun in the sky dimmed.

At this moment, this territory belongs to the Ironclad Earth Dragon, and the scales of victory begin to tip.

"laugh!"

A sound of flesh being torn apart rang out, the sound was very soft but clear and reached Ning Ze's ears, the speed of which was even clearer than the surrounding roar.

A sharp claw had pierced his chest. Sound travels at speeds exceeding 1000 m/s in liquids and even faster in solids. Ning Ze heard the sound as he was being attacked, and it was the last time he heard it.

Amidst the swirling sandstorm, Ning Ze felt as if time and space had stood still. The endless sandstorm that had been obscuring his vision seemed to have vanished, or perhaps he had gained another perspective, able to 'see' the surrounding scenery without his eyes, somewhat similar to mental power but with far greater control.

In the depths of his mind, he sensed something. Countless swords descended into the space in his mind. One after another, transparent swords suddenly appeared, like compressed air. They looked somewhat illusory, seemingly existing, yet seemingly not belonging to this virtual space.

"Slay!" The vitality of a novice warrior is already quite strong. Ning Ze did not die immediately. He used all his strength to utter a single word.

In the last instant of his vision, he saw countless longswords traversing the air, their numbers exceeding the dust in the sky, even slaying several low-level lords.

As his vision vanished, Ning Ze's consciousness instantly reappeared on that boundless, silvery-white land, before him stood a seven-story, towering trial tower.

He gazed at the horizon where the starry sky met the silvery-white earth, lost in thought, standing there for a long time.

"Is that a domain?"

Ning Ze snapped out of his reverie and stared at the system panel in front of him.

[Host: Ning Ze]

[Realm: High-level War God 327254kg; Spiritual Master 118736kg]

[Cultivation Skills: Gene Energy Cultivation Method "Five Hearts Towards Heaven"; Guiding Technique "Seven Techniques of Spiritual Wind"; Visualization Method "One Sword Seals the Heavens"]

【战斗技能：《疾行》意境861872/1000000；《风绝斩》剑之领域（一阶）72/10000000；《旋风劲》意境663253/1000000】

"A sword domain?" Ning Ze frowned slightly. He knew what a domain was, and had even experienced it several times, but this sword domain "seems a little different from the sect leader's domain?"

The realm of artistic conception is already the highest level on Earth; there is no higher level. Whether it's Hong's "World Destruction" spear technique or Thor's "Ninefold Thunder Blade" sword technique, the highest level for both is the realm of artistic conception.

As for the domain that Hong comprehended, it existed even without a gun; it was an attribute domain and had little to do with gun techniques. Hong's gun technique only had a power level of 7, but he later studied Ning Ze's "Whirlwind Force" and was able to push his power level to 10.

"quit."

Ning Ze said something softly to the person in front of him, and when he reappeared, he was on the sofa in the training room. He took off his helmet and walked outside.

He'll find out what's going on after some experimentation. This is the first time he's comprehended something like this, and he needs to have a good talk with Hong.

"Ning Ze, you came out early?" a handsome man asked in confusion. Ning Ze had always cultivated until the end of the allotted time, and because of the cultivation schedule, he had always been behind Ning Ze in line. Why did he come out early this time?

Ning Ze nodded slightly. "Yes, I have something to do. The Trial Tower still has more than half an hour left. You can use it if you want." As fellow Chinese, the Trial Room was just sitting empty anyway, and he didn't mind letting others take advantage of it.

"I'll go? Okay, thank you." The handsome young man thanked him happily.

Ning Ze nodded slightly without saying anything more, and went to the training camp with ease, then took a car to the headquarters of the Extreme Martial Arts Academy.

Before them stood a colossal spaceship-like structure, tens of thousands of meters long and about a hundred meters high. This massive structure boasted a huge hatch, several tens of meters wide, large enough for a person to enter. And outside this giant spaceship structure… a large number of troops were stationed, creating a very imposing atmosphere.

When Ning Ze first arrived at the headquarters, he was very surprised. This was not a building at all; it looked like a spaceship!

He later confirmed that it was indeed a spaceship, an abandoned spaceship hull, which Hong had brought from underground.

In Ning Ze's mind, he felt that the owner of the museum was a local tycoon who had hidden away a great fortune!

As Ning Ze reached the door, a beam of blue light shot out from the spaceship and enveloped him.

"drop!"

"Ningze student, please enter." The electronic voice announced.

Ning Ze nodded to the people watching on both sides, then walked straight towards Hong's room.

It was an antique-style two-story pavilion. Building an ancient Chinese pavilion inside a spaceship—only the museum owner could probably pull off something like that.

"Oh, Ning Ze is here?" A young and handsome man greeted him with a smile. He seemed quite friendly.

"Inspector Liu," Ning Ze greeted him, bowing slightly, and explained, "I've encountered some problems in my cultivation and would like to seek guidance from the Master."

"It's quite rare for you to encounter cultivation problems." Inspector Liu had a teasing smile on his face. Ning Ze always came to spar with the master, but this sparring was not a battle, but a one-hour experience of the domain once a month.

This situation left Hongdu feeling somewhat helpless, because all he had to do was release his domain, and Ning Ze would remain inside with his eyes closed, not saying a word or asking any questions about cultivation. He just had to stand there, which made him feel like a tool.

"Cultivation always has its bottlenecks," Ning Ze said casually.

Inspector Liu was speechless. He hadn't seen any bottlenecks in Ning Ze's cultivation. His physical fitness was constantly increasing, the Limit House was updating its secret manual, and he was now at the ninth level of power exertion, with a power exertion level of 10. What else could he improve?

"Is the owner here?"

"Yes, I just came out. You've come at the right time."

"Alright, I'll be going now. See you later."

"it is good."

Inspector Liu watched Ning Ze's retreating figure, then chuckled and left. He figured the brothel owner would probably have a headache; he dared not watch the brothel owner's mishap.

Upon entering the reception room, Ning Ze respectfully greeted, "Master."

The reception room was completely empty and dark, with only two cushions.

Hong sat on the inner cushion and pointed to the floor mat in front of him: "Sit."

Ning Ze nodded slightly and walked to the cushion in front of him to sit down.

"What do you need me for? It shouldn't be the agreed time yet." Hong felt a little helpless. He quietly waited for an hour with his domain activated, but there were no problems on the other end. This was not the guidance he had imagined!

"I've grasped something strange, like a domain, but it's a bit different," Ning Ze said, frowning. He wanted to control and understand this sudden ability as much as possible, just as his predecessors like Hong had learned a great deal of information while searching for ancient ruins.

"Domain?" A rather strange expression appeared on Hong's usually aloof face.

He began to speak slowly, "A domain is not a simple thing. As I told you before, even for me, activating a domain consumes a lot of energy, and activating it frequently will make me very tired."

"Secondly, putting aside the level of attainment, this requires a certain level of understanding. The key step lies in willpower, energy, and body! You haven't reached the planetary level yet; your mindset, energy, and body are not yet fully integrated. How can you comprehend a domain under these circumstances?"

The implication is that Ning Ze has not yet grasped the foundation of the domain.

Planetary level is the term used in the universe to refer to those who surpass the God of War. Ning Ze has already learned about the levels of strength in the universe. From warrior to God of War, they are called apprentices. Those who surpass the God of War are called planetary level. Above that are eternal level, universe level, and domain lord level.

There are still planetary-level Earths, but the latter three realms can only be imagined based on videos from some ancient ruins.

"Don't be impatient. I know you want to cultivate a domain, but these things can't be rushed or forced. Being too impatient will backfire. The most crucial step in opening a domain is having a certain state of mind, and I've already talked to you about cultivating that state of mind."

"In our ancient Chinese culture, the cultivation of the mind has always been highly valued... and all kinds of inner questioning and tempering are actually pointing directly to the true nature, seeing through the true nature. The so-called 'Bodhi has no tree, the bright mirror is not a stand, originally there is nothing, where can dust alight?' are actually pointing directly to the true nature, a state of mind cultivation that is to understand the mind and see the true nature."

"But this is only the first level. When you think about a problem, you get straight to the essence. Good and bad are just a thought away. When you encounter problems, you are not angry, not mad, not proud, not arrogant. You get straight to your true self. Your heart is free from dust and you only have a sword. You may have reached this level. But the second level..."

"Upon reaching the second realm, one achieves the unity of heaven and man, and the perfect state of mind. Your direct approach to your true self... having only one sword in your heart is already an extreme! The Dao arises from the union of Yin and Yang. What is the union of Yin and Yang? It is said that Yin gives rise to Yang, and Yang gives rise to Yin. Simply pushing to the limit may improve one's abilities, but the union of Yin and Yang is true perfection."

"You've seen Thor; he's at this level. He cultivates swordsmanship, which should be domineering, fierce, and awe-inspiring, but in his dealings with others, he's very tactful, combining firmness and flexibility—firm when necessary, and gentle when appropriate!"

"The same applies to one's state of mind. When it needs to be sharp and sturdy, it should be sharp and sturdy. When it needs to be gentle and tender, it should be gentle and tender. As the saying goes, 'You can't cut water with a knife,' and you can never cut water with a knife! It is continuous and has a tough side. Just like when you fell into the sea last time, at the extreme speed, the surface of the water was even more solid than Krono alloy. In terms of defense, water is more powerful than the hardest shield."

"This state of mind can be considered the second stage of cultivating the mind—the heart of a child. Children are inherently neither good nor evil, and they view everything with the most clear mind. If you are kind to me, then I am kind; if you are evil to me, then I am utterly wicked. You should have barely grasped this stage, but how can true yin and yang perfection be described in a single sentence? Even if I have touched the threshold of the third stage of cultivating the mind, the heart is infinitely large and all-encompassing, I know that I am still lacking in cultivating the second state of mind to perfection."

Hong used himself as an example to tell Ning Ze not to be impatient. Even Thor had not comprehended the domain, and he himself had only comprehended it for a short time. That meant that Ning Ze was still far from being able to do so.

(End of this chapter)