Chapter 8  : Speedy Improvement

Rumble~~~~~

The air resounded with an incessant tearing sound, and crackling sounds came from the walls. It was the sound of air being squeezed together and then slammed against the walls.

The sound of wind and thunder rang out as if a thunderstorm would soon appear in the room.

“You rascal, are you going crazy again? Are you thinking of smashing everything in the house?” The old man angrily walked in. He saw Fang Xingjian sitting on the bed, creating a series of afterimages with the wooden rod in his hand. It was as if over ten wooden rods were being thrust out at once, not only one.

The afterimages disappeared the next moment. Fang Xingjian started coughing furiously, so much so that traces of blood were dripping off the corners of his lips.

The old man took the wooden rod away from his hands, and looked at Fang Xingjian, who was coughing non-stop. Helplessly, he said, “I told you not to move around recklessly. Do you want to die?! Do you know how seriously hurt you are?!”

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Fang Xingjian replied in the Common language, which he had not mastered yet, “…I don’t have much time left.”

The Common language was the most widely used language in the Miracle World. In fact, Fang Xingjian had taken it up before, whilst in Demonic City. It was just that, in the beginning, the old man’s accent had been too heavy for him to figure out.

Later on, after realizing that this was actually the Common language and that he was in the Miracle World, he started pestering the old man to chat with him daily. Thus, he managed to increase his proficiency in the Common language by leaps and bounds.

This was because he really did not have much time left.

Indeed, since the purple flames had already bestowed the sword arts talent upon him, then it was obvious that, just as promised, his lifespan would have also been taken away from him.

Now, Fang Xingjian had been left with a lifespan of merely five years. If he were to seek revenge, five years would be very little time for the many things he had to do.

He not only wished to take revenge, but he also wanted to kill Caroline and eradicate the Onassis Clan.

He also wanted to return to Demonic City, travel back to the Fang Clan, and outrightly ask Li Shuanghua about the way his mother had died.

And all of these required power.

He took a look at his stats in the Techniques Column. Although he had only gotten up for a brief practice everyday, his Basic Sword Technique had already risen to level 20 with 0/500 experience, a level unprecedented in history!

A level 20 Basic Sword Technique. An ordinary person’s Basic Sword Technique could be raised to around level 10 at maximum, and only a few talented geniuses would be able to break through this restriction and reach level 12, 13, or even level 15. But Fang Xingjian had never even heard of, let alone seen before, someone with a level 20 Basic Sword Technique.

This had all been achieved after his talent had changed for the better.

Having reached level 20 in the Basic Sword Technique, his sword thrusts had also increased in speed and accuracy. Furthermore, his attributes had also increased: 1 point in strength, 2 points in agility, 1 point in reaction, and 1 point in flexibility. It was the equivalent of having risen five levels!

…

Another ten days or so passed. Fang Xingjian walked out stumbling into the courtyard. With a raise of his arm, countless beams of black light instantly appeared as if they were black pythons, pouncing forth and tearing across the air. The black lights had swiftly appeared and then disappeared, leaving behind only shrieks in the air.

With a slight tap of his feet, he dashed towards the earth wall, and the branch in his hand once again turned into a fiery black python. He thrust towards the wall ahead of him in a graceful arc.

From the bottom of his feet to his lower thighs, upper thighs, chest, shoulders, and elbows, all the collected energy condensed into a ball as his muscles and bones made rattling sounds. Fang Xingjian felt as if he had turned into a sharp sword as he thrust, releasing all the energy from his body in an instant.

The speed from the instantaneous explosion caused a series of sharp howls in the air. Eventually, the branch knocked against the earth wall, producing a loud, explosive boom and creating a small fist-sized hole in the wall.

A level 25 Basic Sword Technique made the attack speed of Fang Xingjian’s sword over two times faster than before. He could display astonishing power even if he was merely holding on to a tree branch.

However, the instantaneous explosion made it much more difficult for him to breathe. After all, he could only just manage to stand up, and the wounds on his body had not ameliorated.

But even so, Fang Xingjian raised his arm once again, planning to practice his sword swings.

He had no time left.

Therefore, along with the gradual recovery of his wounds, his training became more challenging and more frequent.

…

One month later, Fang Xingjian was practicing the Basic Sword Technique. However, he did not simply practice a single stance, but instead he practiced the whole set of 12 basic sword moves. These included the following: split, chop, burst, stir, cut, brush, intercept, stab, agitate, push, parry, and wave.

They were the basic techniques which one could easily learn from a dojo or school back in Demonic City.

Fang Xingjian meticulously continued his practice, going through the various basic stances and training the simplest moves of the Basic Sword Technique.

A minute later, the Basic Sword Technique leveled up once again, reaching the unprecedented level 30 in the history of its existence.

In that moment, Fang Xingjian also felt that he had reached the limit of the Basic Sword Technique, and that it was no longer possible to level it up any further. Checking his Techniques Column, he saw that it was just as he thought. There were no other experience requirements after achieving level 30 in the Basic Sword Technique. This meant that he had already reached the maximum level.

The increase in attributes from training the Basic Sword Technique included 2 points in strength, 3 points in agility, 1 point in reaction, and 1 point in flexibility.

Other than that, he had also gained his first specialty.

Specialty Genius Swordsmanship: an almost perfect mastery of each basic stance, allowing the individual to be able to master any sword technique with exceptional speed.

It was obviously a passive skill increasing the speed of learning swordsmanship. Fang Xingjian already had the aptitude to learn quickly. With this specialty, he wondered how much faster it would be now.

A satisfied smile broke out on Fang Xingjian’s face, and the wooden sword in his hands once again formed a series of afterimages, as if a beam of cross-shaped starlight flashed through the air, leaving a cross-shaped mark where it had struck the ground.

The ‘brush’ and ‘split’ sword movements were connected, and one would almost not be able to see any loopholes between the two. The cross on the ground was so deep that it seemed to have been created by blades or axes, and not at all by a wooden sword.

At level 20, the Cross-slash had also reached its maximum level and could no longer progress. At level 10, the Cross-slash had brought an additional 1 point increase in agility and a 1 point increase in flexibility.

At its current 20th level, the gains were an increase of 1 point in strength, 2 points in agility, and 2 points in flexibility.

Fang Xingjian revealed a carefree smile. He had been practicing swordsmanship for over ten years, but this was the first time he had felt so good. His swordsmanship was progressing at a speed which could almost be seen by the naked eye. His techniques were leveling up almost daily.

In a mere one to two months’ time, despite having spent most of it lying in bed, his swordsmanship was almost equivalent to one who had been training his swordsmanship for over ten years.

Seeing himself gradually getting stronger and stronger, the feeling of contentment was simply intoxicating.

But even so, he still continued with his training. Although constantly practicing the Basic Sword Technique and Cross-slash no longer had any effect, he was actually practicing for his third technique, the Single-handed Sword Grab.

His Single-handed Sword Grab had already reached level 19 and was close to leveling up once again.

Having reached level 10 in the Single-handed Sword Grab, due to the increase in skill mastery, Fang Xingjian had also gained a 1 point increase in strength and a 1 point increase in agility apart from the increase in dealt damage.

Fang Xingjian repetitively practiced a series of basic stances in the courtyard. Although it did not look good, the endless booms of thunder which echoed when the wooden sword sliced through the air made one feel as if each sword move contained extreme power and speed.

With the Genius Swordsmanship specialty, Fang Xingjian felt as if he had become one with the sword in his hands. Each movement, each strand of strength, and each constriction of the muscles felt as natural as breathing to him.

Finally, Fang Xingjian’s fierce movements stopped, and a smile of satisfaction shone on his ice-cold face.

He had reached level 20 for the Single-handed Sword Grab, which included an additional attribute increase of 2 points in strength, 2 points in agility, and 1 point in flexibility.

Fang Xingjian’s overall attributes had changed to:

Name Fang Xingjian

Age 16

Occupation Warrior’s Squire

Level 9

Strength 14

Agility 16

Reaction 7

Endurance 6

Flexibility 10

Within one to two months’ time, it was as if Fang Xingjian had achieved a qualitative improvement, but he had yet to fully master the Single-handed Sword Grab.

However, in his current state, there was no way for him to compare against the massive Onassis Clan. Even so, the training during the past months had raised his confidence immensely.

‘Now, I only require sufficient sword techniques to be able to endlessly continue my training.

‘If the technique’s maximum level is high, then the training speed will also be many times faster than that of an ordinary person.

‘A hundred techniques, a thousand techniques… So long as I practice enough sword techniques, my power will continue to grow limitlessly.

‘The only thing left to do is to look for more sword techniques.’

An ice-cold killing aura flashed past Fang Xingjian’s eyes. It was as if black flames were burning in his eyes.

‘Onassis… and Caroline. I won’t let you wait for long.’