I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 58 - 57: Great Success in the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber

Chapter 58: Chapter 57: Great Success in the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber

Dusk settled, and the sky slowly darkened.

The snow piled by the courtyard’s edge had yet to melt.

On the branches of the crabapple tree in the center of the yard, crystal-clear icicles had formed. Amidst the biting wind, the occasional sound of one cracking could be heard.

Chu Fan stood in the heart of the courtyard, his posture as straight as a pine tree, a Long Saber held horizontally in his grip.

The blade’s edge reflected the gray-white light of the sky, gleaming with a chilling glint.

The blood and qi in his body surged faintly. The white mist that puffed from his mouth and nose scattered the moment it met the wind.

HUFF—PUFF—

His breaths were rhythmic, carrying a subtle, peculiar cadence.

Suddenly, he moved.

A flash of the blade erupted like a thunderclap splitting the sky, its passage through the air a piercing shriek!

Four streams of Force—distinct, yet perfectly unified—traveled from his arm to the blade’s edge and erupted with a deafening roar!

BANG!

In response, a man-high bluestone not far away exploded, sending shards of rock flying everywhere!

He could now effortlessly command the Fourfold Blade Force of the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber.

When the fourfold Force was merged with thirty percent of the power from "Sword Heavy as a Mountain," every swing of his saber possessed the might to shatter mountains and split boulders. Compared to seven days ago, it was a world of difference.

Yet, Chu Fan’s brow was tightly furrowed.

[Technique: Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber (Small Success) Progress: (497/500) (Trait: None)]

The breakthrough for the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber was different from that of the Twelve Forms Fist.

From the very beginning, the focus of this Sword Technique was not on its Sword Techniques, but on the Sword Force.

Only by stacking one layer of Force upon another could the Sword Technique continuously break through.

He was now only three experience points away from breaking through from Small Success to Great Success.

But he had tried stacking the fifth layer of Force many times before and had never succeeded.

It wasn’t that his method was wrong.

Nor was it that he didn’t know how to merge them.

It was simply because his current body could not withstand the power of the stacked Fivefold Blade Force!

The strike just now was a fusion of the Fourfold Blade Force.

This fourfold Force already put a terrifying pressure on his body; he could only execute three such strikes in a short period!

If he were to forcibly merge the fifth layer of Force...

He had only recently broken through to the Blood Nourishing Realm. Although the blood and qi in his body were several times more abundant than before, his muscles and bones still needed time to be forged and were far from sturdy.

According to Master Cao, disciples of the Cao Family had to at least be past the Blood Refining Realm to practice the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber.

By the time Cao Family disciples trained this saber to Small Success, their Cultivation was often already at the Bone Marrow Forging stage, or even the Bone Tempering Realm!

Only upon reaching the Bone Marrow Forging or Bone Tempering Realm could a Martial Artist’s muscles and bones withstand the fusion of four, or even five, layers of Sword Force.

And he had only achieved his Blood Nourishing breakthrough a few days ago!

To attempt to merge the fifth layer of Force with such underdeveloped muscles and bones was both incredibly risky and difficult.

But Great Success was within arm’s reach, an indescribable temptation that Chu Fan found impossible to resist!

The wind may be cold...

But inside Chu Fan’s body, his blood was boiling!

A voice seemed to echo endlessly in his mind—

’Try one more time...’

’Just one more time!’

Chu Fan focused his mind once more, slowly raising his Long Saber.

’So what if I’m only in the Blood Nourishing Realm?’

’Who cares if my muscles and bones aren’t strong enough?’

’When has the Sword Dao ever been a smooth path?’

Master Cao once said that the Sword Dao was meant to be walked by gritting your teeth and pushing forward, carving out a sliver of hope from the depths of despair!

With his current physical conditioning, fusing the five layers of Sword Force would be difficult, but not necessarily too risky.

He took a deep breath of the ice-cold air, suppressed his churning blood and qi, and once again raised the saber.

Following the saber’s mantra, the blood and qi in his body rushed faster, surging through the meridians in his arm toward the blade’s edge.

All the muscles in his body tensed, and his bones and sinews emitted a faint hum!

This time, he deliberately slowed his swing.

First, one stream of Force condensed at the tip of the saber, then a second rose from the middle of the blade...

When the four streams of Force had intertwined, he gritted his teeth and pushed out a fifth, forcing it to rush toward the blade’s edge—

CRACKLE!

The moment the fifth stream of Force touched the first four, a sharp explosion of air erupted!

Chu Fan felt as if his arm had been struck by a heavy hammer, and he nearly lost his grip on the Long Saber!

He clenched the handle, his knuckles turning white, but the Rebound force still shot up his arm.

Then came another soft RIP...

The sleeve on Chu Fan’s right arm was blasted apart, and a bloody gash snaked from the crook of his elbow to his wrist bone!

Blood dripped onto the snow, instantly freezing into dark red ice crystals.

’Fifth layer of Sword Force, condense!’

Chu Fan roared in his heart.

Once this fifth layer of Force merged, unlike the smooth rotation of the previous four, it transformed them into a raging Fierce Beast!

The untamable Fierce Beast shook him, making his blood and qi churn and sending excruciating pain through his meridians!

ROAR!

Chu Fan let out a guttural roar. His arm trembled violently, the skin beneath his tattered sleeve flushing red as blue veins bulged like coiled dragons!

A tearing pain started from his Dantian and spread through his upper body, crossing his shoulder blade and extending down his right arm!

BOOM!

His blood and qi suddenly spun out of control and surged upward. Chu Fan tasted sweetness in his throat as a metallic tang rose, but he forced it back down!

’Condense!’

The forcibly merged fifth layer of Force finally, barely, fused with the other four. Like a Fierce Beast, it rushed from his Dantian to his right arm, pulsing menacingly at the tip of the saber!

This power was extremely unstable.

Finally, it violently exploded!

SWOOSH!

Chu Fan swung a wild slash at the giant stone lock in front of him!

An invisible Sword Qi shot five feet from his body and struck the stone lock!

BOOM!

The stone lock was instantly split in two!

The two halves exploded at almost the same time!

Dust and smoke filled the air!

STOMP, STOMP, STOMP!

The backlash from the Force sent Chu Fan staggering back three steps before he collapsed onto the ground with a THUD!

"I did it..."

Cold sweat beaded on Chu Fan’s forehead. He propped himself up with his left hand and looked down at his mangled right arm, yet a trace of joy appeared in his eyes!

[Technique: Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber (Great Success) Progress: (0/1500) (Trait: None)]

The Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber had finally reached Great Success!

Ignoring the searing pain in his meridians, he sat on the cold ground and closed his eyes.

The thousands of swings he had practiced, one after another, flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Every minor mistake, every moment his Force stagnated, every slight deviation in his power exertion...

...all became incredibly clear, then were rapidly corrected, compensated for, and optimized by a wondrous power!

All the vague points and moments of rote memorization from his past training suddenly became crystal clear!

The imperceptible pauses and awkwardness between his Sword Techniques were completely smoothed over by a fluid, flowing rhythm...

Breaking through from Small Success to Great Success wasn’t just an increase in power. It was a fundamental understanding, a sublimation of skill approaching the Dao!

Chu Fan reveled in the joy of his breakthrough, his spirits soaring.

A strike with fivefold Force, enhanced by "Sword Swift as Wind" and "Sword Heavy as a Mountain"...

Chu Fan was confident that this one strike could slay someone at the Bone Marrow Forging stage!

Suddenly, a figure flashed at the courtyard gate, and Zhao Tianxing rushed in.

"What happened?"

Zhao Tianxing’s face fell when he saw Chu Fan sitting on the ground!

He had known Chu Fan for a long time but had never seen him in such a sorry state!

Even his right arm, the one holding the saber hilt, was a bloody mess!

Zhao Tianxing rushed forward. He grabbed Chu Fan’s arm with his left hand and supported his lower back with his right to steady him, then turned his head and glimpsed the shattered stone lock.

Realization dawned on him, and he exclaimed anxiously, "You actually tried to forcibly merge the Sword Force of the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber?!"

"Are you insane?!"

"Master Cao just said the day before yesterday that fusing Sword Force must be done gradually as your Cultivation grows! How could you be so reckless?"

As he spoke, he reached into his robes and pulled out a cloth-wrapped, oilskin bundle. As his fingertips unfolded a corner of the cloth, it still carried the warmth from his body.

Unwrapping it revealed a wild mountain ginseng nestled inside. Its whiskers were intact, and bits of dark brown, damp soil still clung to its roots.

"I’m fine... What is this?"

Chu Fan couldn’t help but be astonished when he saw the ginseng.

The ginseng was shaped like a three-year-old infant, its limbs curled as if alive. Its facial features, though faint, were clearly visible, and the contours of its brow and nose faintly exuded Spiritual Qi.

The body of the ginseng was the color of warm, lustrous jade, its surface covered with web-like Dark Gold patterns. Rubbing a finger over it, one could feel the patterns pulsing faintly, just like a human heartbeat.

At its top, a few emerald leaves still dewed with moisture cradled seven vermilion ginseng seeds. Each seed was perfectly round, and their flowing, amber glow reflected on the snow, casting tiny, fragmented spots of light...

CRACK!

The crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the silent courtyard.

As Chu Fan watched, Zhao Tianxing pressed his thumb into the middle of the ginseng’s body and, with a bit of force, snapped it in two.

A milky white liquid, carrying a faint earthy and sweet fragrance, seeped from the broken ends.

He passed half of the ginseng to Chu Fan’s mouth, cupping his palm beneath it to catch any dripping juice. "Quick, eat this!"