Chapter 127
Gripping the great wooden sword tightly with both calloused hands, Ji Wuye raised it skyward, the carved tip pointing toward the inky black canvas of the night sky.
He positioned the blade between his furrowed brows, the rough hilt pressing against his sweat-beaded forehead. With a deep, steadying breath, Ji Wuye slowly closed his eyes, allowing the night's stillness to envelop him as he focused his consciousness inward.
The newfound mental focus, harnessed from the freshly forged Dantian furnace pulsing in his body, channeled outward through his meridians.
It flowed into the simple yet sturdy wooden great sword clutched firmly in his grasp. Gradually, a faint bluish Qi aura began radiating outward, bathing Ji Wuye's body and the blade in a protective, shimmering membrane.
"Huff…" Ji Wuye exhaled deeply through his nostrils, the warm breath briefly perturbing the glowing aura surrounding him. His brows knitted tighter in intense concentration as he moved to the second transcendent move of The Eternal Blade Art - resonance.
His mind worked diligently, manipulating and guiding the swirling Qi energy encompassing him and the wooden great sword into a distinct resonant pattern, the form reminiscent of experiences etched into his consciousness from the previous timeline.
The nebulous Qi shroud rippled and wavered like disturbed water before stabilizing once more as Ji Wuye deftly navigated its invisible currents through his meridians, channeling it into the deceivingly simple wooden great sword.
The natural, grainy fibers of the sturdy wood responded differently to the infusion of Qi compared to tempered metal, given its unique organic properties.
Concentrating deeply, Ji Wuye's consciousness delicately guided and stirred the Qi through each individual woody fiber, akin to the dexterous plucking of strings on an ancient zither. The Qi interacted with and vibrated each strand in an intricate, reverberating harmony.
One strand after another, Ji Wuye's focus plucked and stirred hundreds, thousands of fibers comprising the wooden great sword's core.
Concurrently, a faint yet insistent ache akin to a dull knife's steady pressure bloomed within his furrowed brow. Despite the building discomfort, Ji Wuye's Qi surged intensely from his Upper Dantian and the rest of his Dantians in a crescendoing breakthrough.
Suddenly, a shrill, piercing tone not unlike a thousand plucked zither strings filled the silent courtyard.
Ji Wuye's eyes snapped open, the sweat drenching his forehead glistening in the wavering Qi's ethereal glow. He gulped a trembling breath, his chest heaving slightly from the monumental effort.
"Finally..." Ji Wuye uttered with a satisfied smile, observing the humble wooden great sword now enveloped in a faint yet visible tremor ran along the wooden great sword's edge in a continuous, harmonious wave.
Dropping into a steady lower stance, feet digging into the stone tiles ground, Ji Wuye raised the humming wooden great sword as high as his arms could extend.
With a flex of his core and a grunt of exertion, he swung the resonating blade down in a decisive arc, cleaving the night's stillness.
BOOM!
With only minimal physical effort and a seemingly casual swing, the aftermath was utterly devastating. The humble wooden great sword, its resonant vibrations amplified by the infusion of Ji Wuye's Qi, bore into the stone-tiled courtyard with frightening force.
The great sword blade effortlessly drilled through the hard masonry, leaving behind a scattered trail of pockmarked craters and rubble akin to the grueling work of a crew of laborers toiling with pickaxes.
A faint, shrill whistling reverberated from the blade as it carved through the air and earth, the sonic oscillations forcefully displacing the loosened dirt and debris.
"Heh…" Observing the wooden great sword's increased potency with an analytical eye, Ji Wuye realized he had not merely surpassed his previous self's abilities from the former timeline, but had managed to execute and sustain this move for an unprecedented duration.
A satisfied smile played across his lips as he tested the lingering vibrations still thrumming along the wooden great sword's edge.
…
A moment later, Ji Wuye found himself sprawled out on the living quarter's wooden deck in a state of welcome exhaustion, the great sword leaning casually against a sturdy pillar beside him.
He spread his arms out wide, palms caressing the cool, weather-worn planks as his chest rose and fell with each relaxed breath. 'One hour...' he muttered inwardly, scarcely believing his own achievement.
He had managed to maintain the resonant state harmonizing his Qi and the wooden great sword for a staggering sixty minutes - far exceeding the mere fifteen minute threshold he had faced in the previous timeline before the mental taxation grew too immense.
Though a dull, throbbing ache still lingered in his temples, the requisite duration and consumption of his Qi had markedly diminished compared to his former self's attempts. The strain on his mind and mental focus was a fraction of what it once was.
'The Qi training skill played its role as well,' Ji Wuye concluded with a contented nod, his crimson eyes fixating on the silver moonlight hanging hauntingly in the lonely, black sky above.
He raised one calloused hand, fingers splayed as if to grasp the glowing celestial orb within his palm.
'Besides, the Qi reserve is still abundant,' he thought.
He could keenly feel the remnants of his Qi reserves flowing richly between his meridians and Dantians in a gentle, continuous cycle.
Unlike before when it raged like a tumultuous sea crashing against rocky shores in violent waves, it now flowed calmly and smoothly - akin to a meandering creek replenishing a still, mirror-like lake.
The only reason he stopped was because, on the first try, he was not used to this kind of feeling in his body in this timeline.
'Then what if I combined it with Slash Breaker?' Ji Wuye mused, imagining the unprecedented results.
In the previous timeline, he had to choose between using Slash Breaker skill or Sword Resonance move, as the Qi consumption for both techniques was too high.
But now, the already destructive vibration, coupled with the Slash Breaker skill—which could enhance his weapon's sharpness enough to cut through the thick skin of an ogre—promised extraordinary potential.
"Hahahah!" Overcome with joy, Ji Wuye burst into loud laughter, a laugh that signified no one would look down on him again.
It was a laugh of triumph over those who had forced him into dire situations, and a declaration of his newfound strength, potentially enough to settle scores with those who had wronged him in the previous timeline.
But the laughter soon died down. 'That's all in my past now,' he reflected. These were his past desires, but now, having lived two lives, what he had once found unattainable was now within his grasp.
"The peace..." Ji Wuye yearned for the peace he had dreamt of—a life unmarred by the chaos brought by the Tower of the Gods.
However, he acknowledged that pausing his quest for strength would mean falling behind once more. 'Getting stronger is my only choice,' he resolved, fueled by past humiliations from Elder Xia, Elder Mu, and the taunts from Qin Bai across both timelines.
In addition, there were also the Tower of God floors.
'Free from the grasp of the Tower...' Ji Wuye mumbled inwardly, recalling the words that rang out when the Tower first appeared in Jianghu.
Suddenly, he grew curious about what one could gain and what awaited on the highest floor. How could the Tower appear in Jianghu and force everyone to participate?
Shaking off these disturbing thoughts, Ji Wuye decided, 'Forget about the future, let's focus on the present.'
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STATUS SCREEN
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[->] Name: Ji Wuye
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[->] Level: 21 (+5)
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[->] Strength: 127 (+10)
[->] Agility: 121 (+10)
[->] Qi: 121 (+15)
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[] Skills:
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- Quick Adaptation(E)
- Healing Art Primer(2nd)(E)
- Cloudsoaring Steps(2nd)(E)
- Pulse of Blade Sword Art(1st)(??)
- Deflecting Blows(E)
- Feline Reflexes(E)
- Pressure Form Perfection Style(2nd)(D)
- Slash Breaker (E)
- Qi Training(???)
- The Unbreakable Vajra Form(2nd)(C)
- Heavenly Dragon Fusion Gongfa(2nd)(C)
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…
The night eventually passed, and Ji Wuye, who had been sleeping peacefully on the living quarter deck, soon stirred as veins began to appear on his forehead.
"Ugh," he groaned softly, his crimson eyes flickering open. He noticed the night sky had faded, and as his hearing gradually returned, loud, incessant banging from his courtyard gate filled the air.
"Brother Ji, please open the door…"
"Brother Ji…"
The voice was rough and hoarse, far from gentle, and it was this noise that had disrupted his rest. With a frown, Ji Wuye rose and walked to open the door, only to be met by a male disciple wearing a look of displeasure.
"Finally opened, huh?" the disciple remarked snidely, then continued, "The sect has assigned you a task to collect a herb in Baiyun Village, starting in three days. You have two weeks to complete this task."
A/N:
A zither is a stringed musical instrument that belongs to the family of plucked instruments. It typically consists of a flat, rectangular wooden body with multiple strings stretched across it. The strings are usually made of metal or nylon, and they are plucked or strummed with the fingers, fingernails, or a plectrum to produce sound.
Zithers have a long history and can be found in various cultures around the world, with each region having its own unique design and playing style
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