The overwhelming, chilling terror swept through, turning the entire world into a crystalline expanse of ice.
Freezing everything!
Destroying everything!
What a horrifying ice storm!
“Is this the true mystery hidden within the fragments of Mortal Martial Arts? It’s absolutely terrifying!”
Ling Xiao had never imagined a martial artist’s power could reach such heights.
This went far beyond mere physical strengthening, it was outright manipulation of nature’s forces.
Forget splitting stones or cracking monuments, even moving mountains and overturning seas didn’t seem impossible.
This terrifying scene existed only as an illusion within Ling Xiao’s soul, not in reality.
Yet the immense pressure on his soul was undeniably real.
If he couldn’t withstand it, he might very well lose his life.
The impact on the soul could sometimes be more devastating than physical harm.
Fortunately, Ling Xiao succeeded.
He gradually tamed the frigid ice storm, merging it into his martial arts, making it a part of him.
“The Snow Lotus Sword Art! So this is the Snow Lotus Sword Art! I never thought the sword technique paired with the Snow Lotus Qi Art would be a Mortal Martial Art!”
After enduring the final grueling moments, Ling Xiao grasped the overarching principles of this five-move sword technique.
Though the Snow Lotus Sword Art he’d comprehended from the fragmented mysteries was incomplete and less powerful than a true Mortal Martial Art, it still far surpassed top-tier martial techniques.
He finally opened his eyes, collapsing onto the floor of the abc Novel Network’s rooftop, his heart brimming with satisfaction.
An hour of grueling effort hadn’t been in vain, he’d gained what he sought.
That was enough.
“How’d it go, Ling Xiao? You’re the only one who lasted a full hour. How many moves did you grasp?” Ling Xiaotian asked excitedly, approaching him.
“Five moves!”
Ling Xiao said with a hint of regret, “Too bad my soul strength is still too weak, or I could’ve held on longer.”
“Huh? Why are you all staring at me like that?”
After speaking, Ling Xiao noticed several people, including Clan Leader Ling Xiaotian, gaping at him as if he’d turned into some kind of monster.
“Heh, Junior Brother, did you know the most anyone’s ever gleaned from the Mortal Martial Art fragment’s mysteries is five moves? You must’ve gotten the full framework of this technique. What’s it called?” Ling Yixue said with a smile.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. Not bad then.”
Ling Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his result wasn’t shabby after all.
“The technique I comprehended is called the Snow Lotus Sword Art.”
He answered with a grin.
“The Snow Lotus Sword Art! If you could pair it with the Snow Lotus Qi Art, its power would be even more formidable. Haha, unbelievable! Since our ancestors, the Ling Clan hasn’t seen a genius who could grasp five moves, until now!” Ling Xiaotian threw his head back and laughed, tears streaming down his face.
He was beyond thrilled.
And how could he not be?
“But though I’ve grasped the Snow Lotus Sword Art, I can’t yet use it in combat. The five moves are still just in their embryonic form,” Ling Xiao said seriously.
“That’s normal. The time was too short. Having the framework is like a woman carrying an embryo, as long as you nurture it, it’ll grow,” Ling Xiaotian said with a smile. “Here’s an idea: Ling Xiao, why don’t you seclude yourself here? Most of the Ling Clan’s buildings are destroyed, but the library’s still intact. Reconstruction’s underway outside, and there’s no good place to train.”
“Thank you, Clan Leader.”
Ling Xiao could clearly feel that since that life-and-death battle, the Ling Clan had fewer members but was more united.
A Ling Clan like this might even grow stronger than before.
“Also, the medicine hall’s gone, but we’ve still got a batch of Gang Qi Pills. As the Ling Clan’s most promising martial artist, you can have twenty of them. Take them and train well.”
“Yes!”
After handing the Gang Qi Pills to Ling Xiao, Ling Xiaotian and the others left.
The fourth floor was now Ling Xiao’s alone.
He didn’t waste time. First, he swallowed a Gang Qi Pill, then began restoring his soul strength and stamina.
Once he’d recovered enough, he started refining the Snow Lotus Sword Art he’d comprehended from the stone tablet.
Though it was derived from a fragmented mystery, its cultivation difficulty far exceeded that of high-tier top martial techniques.
Even perfecting the first move, Flying Snow, to a usable state was as challenging as mastering the “Terrifying Finger” he’d learned from the blue-clad woman.
Perhaps even harder.
So Ling Xiao didn’t overthink it. When he hit a bottleneck and couldn’t progress, he didn’t force it.
Instead, he shifted to practicing his other martial arts.
The Snow Lotus Sword Art was indeed a treasure right now, like the finest material for forging a divine weapon. Though it couldn’t be fully utilized yet, having it meant it’d prove invaluable later.
He wasn’t in a rush.
After all, he hadn’t fully mastered his Shadow Sword Technique, Nine-Turn Golden Body Art, Snow Lotus Qi Art, Cherry Tree Martial Soul, or Dark Cloud Martial Soul.
He spent three full days on the fourth floor of the library.
At last, he perfected the Shadow Sword Technique to the fifth layer. Now, a single strike didn’t just produce three shadow clones,
More crucially, those clones could merge with different martial souls, unleashing distinct attacks.
So far, each clone’s strength had reached about 80% of Ling Xiao’s own.
That was terrifying.
Ling Xiao even wondered if, once he mastered the Shadow Sword Technique to its pinnacle, the clones might hit 90% of his strength, essentially like four of him attacking at once.
Even if only for a fleeting moment, the thought was thrilling.
The Nine-Turn Golden Body Art was fully stabilized at the seventh turn, but he couldn’t break through further, his gold liquid was depleted. He’d need to acquire a large amount of gold next.
A gold mine would be ideal.
The Snow Lotus Qi Art had reached the ninth layer’s perfection, massively boosting his gang qi reserves.
It also elevated his cultivation to the mid-sixth stage of the Martial Vein.
His total gang qi now matched a mid-seventh-stage Martial Vein master’s level.
Of course, that was just in quantity.
Beyond that, he’d begun mastering the attack methods of his Cherry Tree Martial Soul and Dark Cloud Martial Soul.
As he’d noted before, martial souls weren’t inherently strong or weak, only suitable or not.
But the same soul in different hands could yield vastly different power.
That’s because martial souls could level up:
– Residual Soul (10% to 100%);
– Complete Soul (Transparent, Ethereal, Solid);
– Soul Departure (Can freely separate from the martial artist’s body to assist in combat);
– Wandering Soul (Can travel far from the martial artist, acting independently on orders, like assassination);
– Thunder Tribulation (Nine stages of thunder trials);
– Divine Soul (Rumored to be the strongest form).
Whether a martial soul or a ninja spirit, combat souls generally progressed through these six stages.
Each advancement made the soul significantly stronger.
Ling Xiao couldn’t quite place his Mountain River Martial Soul’s stage, but the Cherry Tree and Dark Cloud souls were likely at the Transparent Complete Soul level.
Stronger than Residual Souls, but not top-tier among Complete Souls.
