After sharpening his blade, Chen Xuan went out to hunt for some wild game. It had been a month since he arrived at the Sunset Mountains, and the provisions were long gone. Carrying a wild boar, Chen Xuan returned to the cave. He lit a fire and roasted the boar on a rack while discussing today's swordsmanship with Old Li.

"Kid, reaching the small achievement level in Severing Void by the day after tomorrow is already impressive. With your current strength, even the ninth level wouldn't be your match." Old Li remarked.

"Old Li, what will be the power of martial arts at the Spirit Martial Realm?" Chen Xuan asked.

"The power of martial arts at the Spirit Martial Realm will increase by more than ten times compared to the day after tomorrow. Whether it's in attack or speed, the Spirit Martial Realm can extend its power beyond its limits. That means within a hundred meters, even if the opponent cannot get close, they can still kill you."

"Moreover, at the Spirit Martial Realm, every move and gesture can cause landslides and ground collapses. The destructive power is ten times greater than the day after tomorrow. Ordinary martial arts are almost ineffective. But there's no use telling you all this now. You'll experience it yourself when you reach the Spirit Martial Realm."

"Old Li, are weapons still ordinary at the Spirit Martial Realm?" Chen Xuan continued to ask.

"Not really. The grades of weapons are divided into ordinary weapons like the steel knife you're using now. Ordinary weapons have spiritual artifacts on them. Only spiritual artifacts can withstand the release of spiritual energy."

"Above spiritual artifacts are elemental artifacts. A single elemental artifact can enhance a warrior's attack power by thirty percent. Don't underestimate this thirty percent. On a battlefield where no one has elemental artifacts, that's almost a kill."

"But at the True Martial Realm and above, ordinary weapons are rarely used. No one is foolish enough to engage in close combat with you. They all use weapons to amplify their combat power. In the True Martial Realm, spiritual energy is converted into elemental energy. Warriors only need to gather elemental energy into weapons and release it. But some warriors still prefer weapons. Elemental artifacts can indeed increase attack power by thirty percent, and there are many types of elemental artifacts. They also share one characteristic: they can be large or small."

"Old Li, can you pass on that set of Heavenly-level body techniques to me?"

"I obtained this set of techniques from a powerful expert. I had to fight him and get injured to obtain it. This set of techniques was once famous, belonging to the auxiliary type of Heavenly-level martial arts. Although it's not as domineering as pure attack-type martial arts, as long as you can master it to perfection, or even surpass Heavenly-level martial arts..."

"You concentrate, and I'll transmit this technique to you. I haven't had it for too long. I only practiced it halfway before being besieged. If I can master this technique to the highest level, even double the number of people wouldn't be able to stop me."

Chen Xuan couldn't help but think that it was another domineering technique. Even a dozen peers couldn't hold him back. One could imagine how extraordinary this technique was.

Chen Xuan's mind was filled with many flying figures and some text mixed in. It took an hour for everything to settle down, forming a picture with various character designs.

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"Nine Phantom Changes!"

This was a Heavenly-level body technique, but even after looking at it for a long time, Chen Xuan didn't understand it.

"Nine Phantom Changes are divided into three layers. When the first layer is completed, it can produce three phantoms. Each phantom has thirty percent of the original body's attack power. It's not just for confusing enemies; it also has attacking power. When the second layer is completed, it can produce six phantoms, each with sixty percent of the original body's attack power. In the third layer, it produces nine phantoms, each with ninety percent of the original body's attack power. This technique not only creates phantoms, but its speed is also insane, capable of reaching five times the speed of sound."

At this point, Old Li introduced it to Chen Xuan.

Dominating, that was the first sentence that came to Chen Xuan's mind. When reaching the third layer, it meant facing ten simultaneous attacks. No wonder Old Li said that even if he faced a dozen opponents, they couldn't hold him back.

"Old Li, if I cultivate to the third layer, wouldn't I have a chance to defeat someone in the Spirit Martial Realm?" Chen Xuan remembered the crisis facing his family. If he could master the Nine Phantom Changes to perfection, even facing someone in the Spirit Martial Realm, he would have a chance.

"Are you daydreaming, kid? Just because you've reached it, doesn't mean you've mastered it. What's the point of calling it a Heavenly-level technique?" Old Li continued to explain the essentials of cultivating the Nine Phantom Changes to Chen Xuan.

"For the next period, you'll cultivate the first layer. When you can produce one phantom, we'll go out again."

In the Sunset Mountains, in a jungle, a young man could be seen flying up and down, leaving behind a trail of phantoms. The leaves around were cut to pieces by the phantoms.

"Phantom..."

A roar came from the jungle.

"It's still not enough. The speed is still not enough."

Phantom after phantom remained in the jungle. Chen Xuan had been practicing the Nine Phantom Changes from morning till night, even giving up on practicing True Force. This Heavenly-level technique was different; its difficulty was even greater than Severing Void.

Severing Void only required breaking through the air resistance with the blade, but the Nine Phantom Changes required breaking through the air resistance with the entire body to achieve five times the speed of sound and produce phantoms.

Chen Xuan understood how to break through the air resistance when practicing Severing Void, so he had the most say in how to do it.

The amplification of True Force was still not enough. To burst out five times the speed of sound, the prerequisite was that the True Force also had to keep up. Every time Chen Xuan burst out with True Force, he would exhaust it and need to rest for more than ten minutes, taking out spirit stones to absorb spiritual energy to replenish his physical strength.

He was still a little short. Each time, he was just a little short of forming a phantom. Chen Xuan was not discouraged. He continued to practice repeatedly.

Chen Xuan stood up. His spiritual power had almost recovered. He would practice one last time today.

In these days, Chen Xuan had absorbed all the seventh-rank monster cores, even the meat on the legs of ants was meat. The requirements of the Nine Phantom Changes on True Force were too great.

Dragging his weary body back to the cave, Chen Xuan had still not produced a phantom today. He ate something simple, sat cross-legged, and restored his True Force. Every day during this period, his True Force was exhausted, but each time he resumed training, he felt that his True Force was advancing by one point, becoming stronger every day.

Compared to a month ago when he broke through to the seventh rank, he had increased his True Force by thirty percent. This period was not without gains.

As soon as it was light, Chen Xuan continued to cultivate the Nine Phantom Changes. It had been almost a month and a half since he came to the mountains. In just over twenty days, it would be the coming-of-age ceremony of the clan, and he had to rush back.

"Hiss..."

Suddenly, there was the sound of friction in the air.

"Swish..."

A figure appeared to Chen Xuan's left, exactly like himself.

"Phantom!"

Finally, he had cultivated the first phantom. Chen Xuan controlled the phantom and punched a nearby large tree.

"Boom!"

The tree, as thick as a person's embrace, broke.

"Not bad, equivalent to a single attack of a fifth-rank practitioner."

After delivering the punch, the phantom slowly dissipated.

For the next period of time, Chen Xuan repeated the practice of creating phantoms until he could do it freely.

"Old Li, I've cultivated the first phantom of my Nine Phantom Changes. Shouldn't we go out now?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Do you remember the small valley we passed by last time? There might be a ninth-rank monster inside. You can go in and explore. Since your Severing Void has reached a small achievement level, you also need opponents to hone your skills. Your Nine Phantom Changes technique also needs to be used in real combat as soon as possible."

"Fight!"

Chen Xuan was now filled with an overwhelming fighting spirit. Since he started practicing Severing Void until now, he hadn't really fought. Hearing that there might be a ninth-rank monster in the valley, his blood was boiling. Only through continuous battles could he quickly improve his strength.