Having broken through to the Seventh Rank of the Pre-Natal Realm, Chen Xuan didn't rush to move on. Instead, he continued to practice over and over again, consolidating his Seventh Rank realm thoroughly before finally standing up and looking at the magic bear inner core, which had already turned white. Even an Eighth Rank inner core wouldn't provide him with much more true power.
It seemed that if he wanted to advance quickly, he would have to find a Ninth Rank magic beast. Chen Xuan tried punching towards the wall; his physical strength had reached 5,000 kilograms, and combined with his true power, it was 10,000 kilograms. This was more than twice the true power of the Sixth Rank of the Pre-Natal Realm. It seemed to be related to the compression of his true power. If it were in his previous life, Chen Xuan couldn't even imagine that a person's strength could be so terrifying.
"You don't even know what you were doing just now!" Old Li said, a little annoyed.
"You mean compressing true power? It was just a sudden inspiration. I tried it out and found that after compression, the purity of true power increased significantly. If I were to face a Great Earth Magic Bear again, one slash would be enough to deal with it!" Chen Xuan said excitedly.
"I told you, kid, do you have any common sense in cultivation? While compressing true power can indeed make it more pure, it will also cause trouble for your next breakthrough. Each time you break through, your true power will be compressed twice as much, and you will need twice as much spiritual energy. But there are pros and cons. With higher purity of true power, it means you have the strength of two people at the same level. The higher the purity of true power, the more difficult it will be to break through in the future. Originally, it might take a month for you to break through, but now you'll need two months. Remember, a person's lifespan is limited, so you'll have to spend twice as much time cultivating in the future. I've already told you that there are no shortcuts in cultivation; you have to be steadfast." Old Li said angrily.
Old Li was so angry that he was hopping around, then continued, "If the same genius as you advances one level while you advance two levels, you won't feel it at first. But as each level increases, they will always be one level ahead of you. How will you continue to cultivate? While you're still at the Seventh Rank, others have already reached the Spirit Warrior Realm."
"It's also my fault for not informing you earlier. You're too reckless, kid. If you compress your true power poorly, you'll be stuck at the Seventh Rank for the rest of your life. Forget about advancing." Old Li said angrily.
The lifespan of a person at the Seventh Rank of the Pre-Natal Realm is generally around a hundred years. Breaking through to the Spirit Warrior Realm can extend it to two hundred years, which means Chen Xuan will have to race against time in the future.
Chen Xuan's heart sank when he heard this, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, instantly drenching him in cold sweat. It was all because of the fantasy novels he had read in his previous life, saying that compressing true power could make it more pure. He didn't expect there to be so much truth behind it. He had almost ruined his own path of cultivation. Even now, his heart was still pounding.
"Now you know how serious it is. But it's not too late. If it were someone else, they might have to find a place to cry, but not you. You have the Sky Swallowing Technique, which allows you to quickly absorb spiritual energy, or even plunder it from others or absorb it from beast inner cores. Cultivation is always defying the natural order. One wrong step can lead to demonic cultivation. You're really like a calf who's not afraid of tigers!" Old Li said again.
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After listening to Old Li, Chen Xuan finally relaxed a bit. At least he could still continue to cultivate. Even if he had to spend twice as much time as others, he knew that there was always a return for what he put in. Although he would be slower in cultivation than others, his true power was twice as strong as others at the same level. Thinking about it, he felt relieved.
You can't have all the good things in the world. If your true power is twice that of others, how can you cultivate faster than others? It's even more difficult for others to catch up when you're already two levels ahead. Chen Xuan realized that all those stories about challenging higher levels were just deceiving people.
"For the next period of time, don't go out. Just stay here and practice the second move of the Seven Kills Blade, 'Void Slash,' until you have mastered it. Then I'll teach you a set of body techniques, and we'll practice together!" Old Li said.
"Old Li, what level of body technique are you going to teach me?"
"Heaven Level!"
Chen Xuan jumped up from the ground. This was the first time he had heard of a technique at the Heaven level. Although the Sky Swallowing Technique was powerful, it didn't have a level. Old Li said that the Seven Kills Blade was a top-tier Earth-level technique, and now he was going to teach him a Heaven-level body technique, which Chen Xuan had never practiced before.
"Then teach me quickly!" Chen Xuan hurriedly said.
"Why are you in such a hurry, kid? First, master 'Void Slash' thoroughly before you talk. Don't be anxious like a monkey. If you try to practice two things at the same time, it will only distract you. You should focus on one thing to make faster progress. Don't listen to those who say you should practice one thing in the morning and another in the afternoon. It's not that easy. You should practice swordsmanship in the morning, meditate in the afternoon, and summarize your swordsmanship insights from the morning. At night, cultivate your true power. I want you to tell me your insights into swordsmanship every day. Just practicing without understanding is useless. Also, you're not allowed to practice on land. You have to practice your swordsmanship under the waterfall."
For the next few days, Chen Xuan practiced swordsmanship under the waterfall every day. At first, he couldn't even last a minute before coming down. Let alone practicing swordsmanship, he couldn't even stand steadily.
Two days later, Chen Xuan finally got used to the impact of the waterfall. He could stay for about a stick of incense's worth of time, barely managing to perform the 'Void Slash.' However, his swordsmanship was strange and irregular, and each strike didn't hit the intended target.
Chen Xuan also asked Old Li how to avoid this situation. Old Li threw out a sentence: "You have to understand the flow of water. Battles don't always take place on land."
In the following days, Chen Xuan pondered how to prevent the flow of water from obstructing his sword strikes.
Ten days passed, and Chen Xuan finally grasped the direction of the water flow. To move against the current required much more effort than going with it.
Old Li didn't care about how Chen Xuan was practicing under the waterfall; he only cared about him understanding the resistance of the air. 'Void Slash' was about breaking the flow of air. Only by understanding the resistance of the air could his swordsmanship become faster. Realizing this, Chen Xuan fervently practiced 'Wind Slash' under the waterfall.
Ten days later, Chen Xuan had perfected 'Void Slash' under the waterfall. He came to a nearby forest to test the power of this move.
"Boom!"
Rows of trees as thick as water buckets fell in a large area. All the cuts were neat and tidy. Chen Xuan stared in disbelief at everything before him, hardly able to believe his eyes.
The destructive power of 'Void Slash' was too strong. This move would be his trump card. Unless absolutely necessary, he must never use it. Its lethality was too great.
"Not bad, kid. It's impressive that you've mastered 'Void Slash' to a decent level in just ten days. You could be considered a genius." Old Li appeared again, his tone filled with praise.
"What do you mean by 'considered'? I am a genius." Chen Xuan said proudly.
"You're puffing up even when you're fatigued, aren't you?" Old Li couldn't help but admire Chen Xuan's comprehension. Some people could never reach the level of mastering 'Void Slash' even in their lifetime. You might understand the move, but mastering it is a different concept. If you only have its form but not its essence, you won't truly understand the essence of swordsmanship.
Breaking the form and understanding the essence is the highest realm of martial arts.