The reason Ling Xiao trained both the Soul Condensation Technique and the Black Iron Scroll of Sword Control together was naturally because the Black Iron Scroll of Sword Control consumed a tremendous amount of soul power.
Even so, with the powerful analytical and rehearsal capabilities of his Mountain and River Martial Soul, it took him just five days to simultaneously master both the Black Iron Scroll of Sword Control and the Soul Condensation Technique—two entry-level top-tier martial arts—to the perfection stage.
However, reaching the transcendent stage would likely require some fortuitous opportunity.
He wasn’t in a hurry. Some things could only be improved through combat, and he was already satisfied with achieving perfection.
Having reached this stage, without a second thought, he used the Bull Demon Technique: Condensing Evil to devour these two entry-level top-tier martial arts.
Top-tier martial arts lived up to their name. Just these two alone were enough to elevate the Bull Demon Technique once more.
At this point, the Bull Demon Technique had evolved from Bull Demon Technique: Condensing Evil to Bull Demon Technique: Transformation.
According to the hints on the Mountain and River Diagram, once the Bull Demon Technique reached the Transformation stage, the evil qi could directly condense into the shape of a bull demon, enveloping the martial artist’s body and providing a dual boost to both defence and attack.
Ling Xiao had always found the Bull Demon Technique a bit strange. He wondered if, after cultivating it to a certain level, he might gain the combat abilities of the Bull Demon Clan.
The Bull Demon Clan was renowned as the physically strongest among the myriad races.
Of course, this was just a fleeting thought. For now, the enhancements from the Transformation stage were more than enough for him.
In the days that followed, he planned to focus wholeheartedly on cultivating the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique.
The Heavy Shadow Sword Technique was, at its core, a superior top-tier martial art—the cream of the crop among top-tier techniques.
As such, it boasted the greatest power but also the highest difficulty. Even Ling Xiaotian, the head of the Ling Clan, had failed to master it.
This was precisely why Ling Xiao had saved it for last.
Leaving the training room, Ling Xiao grabbed some dried rations and heard some news from Ling Luo.
Apparently, three days ago, Ling Feifan had left the Ling Clan to gain experience outside.
Meanwhile, Ling Chen was in secluded training on the third floor of the library, working on some unknown martial art.
This news did put a bit of pressure on Ling Xiao, but that pressure was exactly the motivation he needed.
His rivals were advancing, which meant he had to work even harder.
Closing his eyes, Ling Xiao began to meticulously comprehend every move and form of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique.
As he had anticipated, a superior top-tier martial art was far more challenging to cultivate.
The Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique, another superior top-tier martial art, had only reached its sixth turn thanks to a large amount of gold and the Cold Pool Golden Liquid.
The Heavy Shadow Sword Technique was no less difficult than the Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique.
Even just grasping its essence was a torturous process.
Without the Mountain and River Martial Soul’s exceptional analysis and rehearsal abilities, he might not have made any progress in a month—or even years.
But now, after spending a full day, he finally gained a sliver of insight into the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique.
This martial art hinged on comprehension.
Once it clicked, the actual cultivation became much simpler.
As expected, it’s no small feat. It requires harmonising soul power, gang qi, and the martial soul to create a clone. This isn’t something an ordinary martial artist could pull off!
Yet, the greater the difficulty, the more excited Ling Xiao became.
If he could master something others couldn’t, it would give him a significant edge.
Cultivating this technique was no joke—since it involved soul power, it was easy to lose control and fall into madness.
Only those who practised it truly understood the magnitude of its difficulty.
To fully immerse himself in the training, Ling Xiao even activated “Soul Entry,” entering a state where he had complete control over everything.
This way, even the slightest mistake could be detected and corrected instantly.
For others, this martial art was incredibly dangerous, but for him, the risks were essentially eliminated.
Thanks to having previously perfected the Soul Condensation Technique, his “Soul Entry” state could now last much longer.
He could sustain it for a full hour without issue.
However, after that hour, he had to rest for at least a quarter of an hour.
During this quarter-hour break, Ling Xiao didn’t cultivate. Instead, he summoned a martial soul clone to watch it repeatedly rehearse the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique.
This not only helped him identify flaws in his earlier practice but also deepened his understanding without wasting time.
Finally, after three days, Ling Xiao’s Heavy Shadow Sword Technique reached the first level—officially entering the beginner stage.
In an attack, he could now produce one shadow clone with about thirty percent of his own strength.
When combined, this meant a single strike could boost his attack power by thirty percent.
Of course, this was just the beginning.
At the second level of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique, a second shadow clone would form, with even greater strength.
Though the difficulty increased compared to the first level, having that foundation made it less daunting than he’d imagined.
During the process, he consumed a Gang Qi Pill and, after four days, broke through to the second level.
In terms of raw attack power, the second level of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique had already reached the perfection stage of an advanced martial art.
And this was only the second level.
Ling Xiao was thrilled.
So, he pressed on with his training.
However, progressing from the second level to the third proved problematic.
It wasn’t that there was no improvement—it was just that the difficulty spiked, and his progress slowed to a crawl.
After a full month, constantly using “Soul Entry” even extended its duration by an additional quarter of an hour.
Yet the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique only barely reached the peak of the second level, as if he’d hit a wall he couldn’t break through.
If he could shatter that wall, he’d naturally advance to the third level.
The third level would add another shadow clone, further boosting its power.
What was the issue?
Through analysis, Ling Xiao finally pinpointed the answer.
His own cultivation realm was too low.
If he could raise his realm to the sixth level of the Martial Vein, breaking through to the third level of the Heavy Shadow Sword Technique would be far easier.
With this in mind, Ling Xiao stopped stubbornly pushing forward and began cultivating the Snow Lotus Qi Technique.
The Cold Pool Golden Liquid still lingered in the Mountain and River World within his body. By using it to enhance the Snow Lotus Qi Technique, along with his remaining three Gang Qi Pills, breaking through to the sixth level of the Martial Vein wasn’t out of the question.
Once he started this cultivation, another half-month flew by.
One night, half a month later, a deafening boom suddenly echoed through the training room.
Of course, it couldn’t be heard outside.
The training room’s soundproofing was remarkably effective.
“I’ve broken through!”
Ling Xiao’s face showed exhaustion, but his heart was brimming with excitement.
The Snow Lotus Qi Technique had finally reached the seventh layer, entering the stage of great success.
At the same time, he’d shattered the barrier of his fifth martial vein, advancing to the sixth.
Sixth-level Martial Vein!
The cold energy in the Cold Pool Golden Liquid had been fully absorbed. From here on, if he wanted the Snow Lotus Qi Technique to progress this quickly again, he’d need to find something to replace the cold pool.
Golden snow lotus, for instance, was one such option.
