I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

In the entire cultivation room, only his long, steady breathing remained.

After a while, Xue Jing opened his eyes with a frown.

"No good, the imaginary mountains of corpses and seas of blood... they lack any sense of reality."

He had reached an impasse in his cultivation of the "Asura Blade Intent."

The Asura Blade required to be tempered in fresh blood.

But he couldn't imagine that kind of pure killing intent, proving one's way amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"It's still not enough material."

Xue Jing shook his head.

The only person he had killed with his own hands was Zhu Yingkun, whom he had burned to death with Shadow Flame during the containment mission that day.

The rest were just two Cockroach Monsters...

The 'material' he had accumulated was so little that he couldn't comprehend the true meaning of the Asura Blade.

Although he could somewhat mimic a feeling through Meditative Visualization, it was still lacking realism; he couldn't experience the essence of true killing intent.

"I can't just go kill people to practice this... Let it be, I'll leave it to fate."

Xue Jing shook his head.

He stood up, raised the long saber, and began to meticulously practice the fundamental routines of the sword skills.

Chop, hack, sweep, intercept, pick, deflect, stab...

He practiced seriously, striving to make the posture and power of each strike as ideal as possible.

With "Combat Skills" activated, he could now feel clear progress with almost every strike he made.

The blade in his hand became increasingly naturals as if obeying his will, and the slashing grew smoother.

Half an hour later.

"Huff—"

The blade cut through the air, making a whooshing sound. Xue Jing drew the saber back, twirled it into a flourish, and sheathed it.

[You have completed a session of sword practice, Weapon Strike Experience Points +55]

[Combat Skills have been raised to Lv2 (23/500)]

In an instant, Xue Jing felt as though his connection with the long saber in his hand had grown tighter, even experiencing a strange sensation of bloodline connection, as if the saber were an extension of his own body, a part of him.

"A few more levels, and I reckon I'll become an 'Innate Blade Tao Holy Body'... Or should I say, the 'Greek God in Charge of Weapons'?"

Xue Jing thought to himself.

"Combat Skills" wasn't just about improving saber skills... It covered all weapons.

At least all cold weapons.

He had also tried using sticks, swords, spears, and such in the past two days, without exception, all had felt excellent, just like the saber.

"In The Old Martial World, there are 'seven great titles', one of which is called 'Army Master'... The Martial Artist who claims this title is hailed as the number one master of cold weapons of the age, skilled in all weapons without exception."

"With 'Combat Skills' in hand, I reckon I could play at being an 'Army Master' too," Xue Jing pinched his chin.

But for now, practicing with just the saber was enough; mastery of all weapons could wait.

He shook his head and continued to cultivate.

A few hours later, as noon approached.

Xue Jing had just finished today's Armor Shaking Skill practice and was feeling a bit hungry. He went to the cafeteria for a medicinal meal then returned to the training room, ready to continue with saber practice.

Just then, his phone vibrated. Xue Jing checked it.

It was a WeChat message from Wu Youqing.

A document titled 'Otogirusu'.

Then there were a few more vibrations, several videos sent in quick succession following the document file.

Xue Jing didn't immediately watch them, but the video covers all featured a long-haired man in black garb wielding a long saber, clearly Otogirusu.

Xue Jing had already contacted the wealthy domineering boss yesterday, saying that he would participate in the U19 and try to see if he could defeat Otogirusu, while also hoping the boss could provide some information on the opponent.

Today, he received the material, quite promptly.

First, Xue Jing replied with a "Thanks BOSS," then he opened the file.

[Otogirusu, male, 18 years old, third heir to the Otogi Zaibatsu...]

As Xue Jing read on, it introduced Otogirusu's family background, relations, hobbies, practiced Martial Arts Sects, and more in great detail.

Many photos were attached, including one from a Sword Dao competition, which seemed intense—his top was torn.

Xue Jing took a close look at the photo, checking his pectoral muscle situation, confirming this person was indeed male.

"His appearance is too deceiving."

Looking at the photo of the delicate-faced, long-haired Otogirusu, Xue Jing couldn't help but comment.

He continued to browse the file.

"Suzaku Style..."

Xue Jing glanced at the detailed introduction of this Martial Arts Sect.

[Far Eastern Sword Saint, Master Tamuramaro, who claimed to be a descendant of the legendary Martial God of the Far East, Sakagami Tamuramaro...]

[Naming the sect 'Suzaku Style' after Sakagami Tamuramaro's treasured sword 'Suzumaru,' the Sword Saint established this Martial Arts Sect]

[Suzaku implies 'swift', and the Suzaku Style is famous in the Martial Arts World for its extremely fast strikes]

[The sect's Ultimate Skill, 'Deity Slaying Strike,' is known as 'Instantaneous Thousand Cuts,' with the highest realm capable of performing a thousand slashes in an instant]

Xue Jing pinched his chin.

"Instantaneous Thousand Cuts, Deity Slaying Strike... Interesting."

About Sakagami Tamuramaro, the Martial Deity of the Far East, Xue Jing was somewhat familiar due to having played some history-themed gacha games that featured historical figures.

There's an intriguing anecdote about him; supposedly, he was a descendant of the Eastern Han Dynasty Royal Family, originally with the surname Liu...

Though it was just a piece of unreliable, wild history not worth a smile, Xue Jing found it deeply memorable because it was so interesting.

"A style that emphasizes 'speed' is exactly the type I'm good at dealing with," he mused.

Xue Jing nodded to himself, feeling somewhat assured in his heart.

'Unrivaled speed' is an ultimate truth in martial arts; opponents who rely on speed have almost no flaws, which causes headaches for most martial artists.

But Xue Jing was different.

With the skill of "Aiming," he possessed extremely strong dynamic vision, which made handling speed-based opponents look easy.

Like the previous two battles against the Cockroach Monster, it was all thanks to this skill.

"I'll strive for it once more, to see if I can level up 'Twin Lifes' before the official fight, then I'll have double the reaction speed..." Xue Jing clicked his tongue.

He began to feel like he was the born nemesis of this Otogirusu.

"But in the end, it all comes down to actual strength... No matter how fast my reaction speed, it's useless if my body can't keep up."

"It depends on how much I can improve in the next month or two..."

After glancing over the information, Xue Jing closed the file and opened the video sent by Wu Youqing.

The video showed a huge open-air venue filled with spectators, with a spacious stage in the center that stood one meter tall.

Otogirusu stood elegantly with a long blade in hand, and his opponent was a young man holding a blade as well.

The video was shot from a high angle, likely an official viewpoint.

The shouts of countless spectators could be heard, mostly in Far Eastern language, creating quite the din.

As the two competitors took their places, the referee drew a line between them, and the match began.

In the next second, the scene cut abruptly, as if edited.

Otogirusu's opponent was on his knees, clutching a shoulder that was gushing blood.

Otogirusu himself was standing with the bloodied long blade—which no one saw him draw—flinging off the blood with a flick to the side.

Then he executed a beautiful blade twirl, sheathed his sword, and finished with a poised stance...

A series of standard Far Eastern Swordsmanship moves, full of ritualistic grace.

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow at that speed...

Soon, the video showed a slow-motion replay of that moment.

In the high-speed camera footage, Otogirusu performed an Iaido Slash, drawing his blade in an upward strike.

Even though it was slow-motion, the footage slowed down tenfold still showed his 'very fast' speed.

In this shot, his opponent hardly moved at all, looking completely bewildered as he took the slash head-on.

Xue Jing closed the video and opened others.

They were essentially similar, with Otogirusu in each video ending the fight in an instant.

"As expected of a child from a zaibatsu, with the world's top resources at his disposal, to be this good at eighteen."

"In a little over a month, I wonder if I'll be able to beat you."

Xue Jing muttered to himself.

"But I've always got to try."

He drew his long blade and continued to practice sword techniques with precision.

...

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Hidden Dragon Dojo's office building.

"Oh? Hidden Dragon Dojo is up there?"

A young man with a hint of roguishness in his gaze looked up at the upper floors of the office building.

"Just one floor? Don't they have their own independent building? Looks a bit shabby."

The young man said with a smile.

He appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, with handsome features and a very tall stature, at least 1.9 meters tall, dressed in casual clothes suitable for movement.

The young man's posture was straight as a blade, exuding a sharpness that made people's eyes wince. Passersby would instinctively give him a wide berth, as if an invisible circle of blades surrounded him.

"Little Junior Brother, Hidden Dragon Dojo is different from us; they don't rely on taking disciples to make a living. Just a few people, so one floor of an office building is completely enough for them," said Su Bijin, the leader of the Razor Gang, standing beside the youth, explaining.

"And this is East City District—rent is quite expensive. To rent a floor here for a dojo is not at all shabby."

Upon hearing that, Li Chengxuan shrugged his shoulders and said:

"Anyway, let's go, Su. Come with me upstairs."

However, Su Bijin didn't move; he hesitated for a moment before saying:

"Little Junior Brother, the master said not to cause trouble recently... Maybe we should forget it, Hidden Dragon Dojo is not easy to provoke, and in a few days, you still have to participate in the Maple City elimination round. If you get hurt..."

"Su, you speak wrongly," Li Chengxuan waved his hand and shook his head.

"I come with the purpose of a proper martial arts exchange, how could that be considered causing trouble?"

"He, a martial arts prodigy who appeared in the news for killing the dreadful Cockroach Monster twice at the age of seventeen—I'm close to him in age and wish to exchange some pointers. That's understandable, right?"

Li Chengxuan smiled, his eyes flashing with a sharp glint.

"...and just incidentally, I want to ask why, when he killed the beast, Kaiping also died there."

Su Bijin was at a loss for words.

Seeing his reaction, Li Chengxuan shook his head and said:

"Never mind, Su, you needn't say more. Kaiping was very good to me. His mysterious death...I can't pretend nothing happened, especially since he had a conflict with this Xue Jing before he died. And strangely, Xue Jing happened to be at the scene. How can this be a coincidence?"

"I need to get some clear answers from him."

After speaking, Li Chengxuan walked into the office building.

Su Bijin, seeing that he had no intention of listening to persuasion, could only sigh and discreetly text their master Jiao Hongyuan.

Then he quickly followed.

...

(There's one more chapter, I'm typing it~)