【Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused...】
【First year: You swing your sword three thousand times daily, with fifteen hundred strikes embodying the essence of the "Everchanging Post."】
【Twenty-sixth year: You swing your sword two thousand times daily, with sixteen hundred strikes...】
...
"Still not enough..."
Li Mo continued infusing martial insights.
After all, his mastery of the hammer path had long reached perfection, and these insights would otherwise go unused.
【Fifty years of martial insights successfully infused.】
...
【Fiftieth year: You strike only once a day. This single sword carries the culmination of fifty years of relentless practice—a strike so fearsome that when your opponent sees it, they are already dead.】【Deduction complete. Congratulations, Host. "Everchanging Post" has reached perfection!】
【Congratulations, Host. By mastering a supreme sword technique to perfection, your "Nine Swords of Dugu" has greatly advanced!】
As the words slowly materialized, Li Mo exhaled deeply.
He felt a slight pang of regret.
The "Everchanging Post" had been one of the more accommodating sword techniques for him. If it had been finger techniques or hammers, less than a hundred years would have sufficed.
But... as insights flooded his mind and countless sword flashes flickered before his eyes, that single strike forged over decades left even him breathless with awe.
The heavy gates of the sword path now creaked open slightly for the young swordsman Li Mo...
As if light had seeped through.
Hum—
The Celestial Divine Sword trembled faintly, its sword resonance seemingly expressing surprise at Li Mo's transformation.
"This is just the beginning..."
Li Mo decided to reserve two hundred years for emergencies.
After all, if needed for the hammer path, two hundred years would be more than enough.
The rest, he poured into the Sword of Chivalry!
【Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused...】
【Twenty years of martial insights successfully infused...】
【Deduction complete. Congratulations, Host. "Severing Injustice" has reached perfection!】
...
【Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused...】
【Twenty years of martial insights successfully infused...】
【You have grown accustomed to the days of sword practice. Day after day, the Sword of Chivalry has become second nature. Now, when you close your eyes with a sword in hand, the sword also exists in your heart.】
【You have nurtured your first sword intent. "Nine Swords of Dugu" has reached mastery!】
...
Li Mo held his breath, pressing on without pause.
The "Nine Swords of Dugu" was likewise a sword technique rivaling divine arts.
He felt himself walking further and further along the sword path.
Even the realm of perfection was now within sight.
Thus, he reserved only two hundred years of martial insights and devoted the rest to deduction.
【Three hundred and twenty-second year: You practice the sword as always. Having mastered all the Sword of Chivalry techniques within the Celestial Divine Sword, you realize your talent in the sword path has grown stronger than before.】
【You understand that approaching the Dao through skill is a path that grows easier with time—like assembling a puzzle, the more complete it becomes, the less effort it requires.】
【One thousand three hundredth year: Having comprehended all chivalric sword resonances to perfection, you attempt to discard your sword. Suddenly, you feel that no weapon compares to a single, intangible thing.】
【That sensation exists faintly in the void, elusive yet undeniable...】
【If enlightenment strikes, you may reach out and grasp that which seems unattainable!】
The Celestial Divine Sword hummed, its glow flickering between dim and bright!
Ding—
Li Mo opened his eyes, flicked the sword's spine, and exhaled deeply.
Just one step remained—to achieve the state of "no sword in hand, yet a sword in heart," reaching the pinnacle of the "Nine Swords of Dugu."
Perhaps he lacked sufficient insight, or perhaps something else was missing.
He was stuck.
"But this proves one thing."
Li Mo casually executed the "Nine Swords of Dugu." The refined sword light flashed briefly, cleanly severing the waterfall at the edge of the Yin-Yang Dojo within his pocket realm.
The waterfall split as if sliced by a masterfully wielded paper cutter.
Now, even without external aids, his heart-sword technique surpassed Xie Xuan's.
"Even if I focus solely on the Sword of Chivalry, mastery alone will allow me to fully wield the Celestial Divine Sword!"
"That day won't be long..."
At least, not for Li Mo.
After all, no one else had ever held the Celestial Divine Sword for so long—not even its original owner.
Who could have imagined someone walking a thousand-year path in a single day?
Even the dullest talent would become extraordinary under such circumstances.
The young swordsman Li Mo was overjoyed, testing his newfound sword prowess.
"Still not as good as that ice block... How did she even train?"
"Never mind, she has a red destiny. She defies logic..."
Li Mo's physical body remained outside, sleeping beside Ying Bing.
He wondered how she would react when she woke tomorrow morning...
Suddenly, ripples stirred within his pocket realm.
By the time Jiang Chulong arrived, cradling her Verdant Leaf Sword, young Li had ascended to the rank of Celestial Venerable.
"Teacher, no stories today. I want to train seriously."
Jiang Chulong was earnest and obedient.
"Good." The Celestial Venerable teacher patted her head.
Chulong's recent opponents all shared the surname Jiang, each stronger than the last. Li Mo strongly suspected foul play in the matchmaking.
While summoning a white dragon projection, he carefully studied the "Dragon-Slaying Sword Art."
Before long.
【Congratulations, Host. Successful investment in Jiang Chulong—defeated the white dragon projection.】
【Investment return: White Dragon's essence blood.】
【Congratulations, Host. Successful investment in Jiang Chulong—aided her mastery of the "Dragon-Slaying Sword Art."】
【Investment return: Sixty years of martial insights.】
Sixty years might not be enough...
By the time Jiang Chulong sparred late into the night against a black dragon projection, it was already deep into the evening.
After the young princess logged off, $2i Mo, for the first time, raised his sword and approached the Great Sage's projection.
Of course, he held no illusions about the outcome. Even with his hammer, he was thrashed—let alone now, with his sword skills still inferior to his hammer arts...
This didn’t mean sword training was useless for hammer techniques.
How did young Li discover this?
While barely holding his own against the Great Sage's onslaught—sword in one hand, hammer in the other—he instinctively channeled sword techniques through his hammer in desperation.
To his surprise, it worked, and the damage was substantial.
"?"
The Great Sage's projection paused.
Even the Monkey King was left speechless...
"So... the next level of the 'Nine Swords of Dugu'—'no sword in hand, yet a sword in heart'—is this?"
Sadly, this was but a fleeting epiphany.
Subsequent attempts failed nine times out of ten...
...
The next morning.
Li Mo awoke refreshed, greeted by dawn's light—and Ying Bing lying beside him, her slender frame draped in sheer silk sleepwear, her lashes glistening in the sunlight.
He recalled how she used to never sleep lying down, instead curling up in a corner...
When had her sleeping habits changed?
And why did she now sleep without...
"Completely defenseless like this..."
Li Mo quietly observed her, and the more he looked, the more he found the "ice block" oddly endearing in a rebellious sort of way. He couldn’t resist poking her cheek, even feeling the urge to take a big bite out of it.
But then Ying Bing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she turned over, her long legs shifting restlessly.
Her snow-white foot ended up kicking Hammer Baby—and just left it there, seemingly finding the spot warm and cozy for her toes.
As everyone knows, $2ammer Baby is a lively divine weapon.
Especially energetic in the morning.
"Oof—"
Li Mo jerked back in tactical retreat, feeling like he’d just been punched in the nose.
Was this really the place to rest a foot?!
........