Chapter 198: Chapter 114: Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand’s Second Limit Break and a New Trait, Cultivating the Seven-Star Bead Slash

"Later, when I saw you kill Wu Quan, the speed of your Seven-Star Bead Slash was unrivaled in all of Cyan Yang Ancient City."

"Your Cultivation is probably not as high as Lin Luoxue’s, but the speed of your Seven-Star Bead Slash could still match hers!"

"I want to learn this fast Sword Technique not because I want to abandon the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber, but because I want to try... to fuse the ’speed’ of the Seven-Star Bead Slash with the ’ferocity’ of the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber."

"Fusing Sword Techniques?!" Cao Feng and Li Qingxue were aghast.

If anyone else had said this, Cao Feng would have berated them for their arrogance, and Li Qingxue would have dismissed it as pure fantasy.

These were two high-level Sword Techniques with completely different styles, each painstakingly perfected by generations of masters. How could they possibly be fused?

This so-called "fusion" meant creating an entirely new Sword Technique!

Easier said than done!

But the one who said it was Chu Fan—

A prodigy who, in a little over three months, had gone from being a common handyman to killing a Hall Master, and had even mastered the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber to the Perfection realm!

Cao Feng and Li Qingxue fell silent.

Once their shock subsided, a faint glimmer of anticipation began to stir within them.

’What if... what if Chu Fan could actually do it?’

’What would the new, fused Sword Technique even look like?’

Even if he failed, the Li Family wouldn’t lose anything by teaching him the Seven-Star Bead Slash.

The Cao Family could pass on their Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber, so why couldn’t the Li Family do the same with the Seven-Star Bead Slash?

Besides, teaching him the Seven-Star Bead Slash would only bring him closer to them.

Moreover, Li Qingxue still owed him a favor.

Chu Fan looked at them both and made a solemn promise. "Teacher, Senior Sister, if I am fortunate enough to master both Sword Techniques and forge a new path, I will gift the resulting technique to the Cao and Li Families, holding nothing back!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Upon hearing this, Cao Feng’s eyes immediately welled up. He said the word three times, so overcome with emotion that his beard trembled.

"Taking you as my disciple was the luckiest and best decision I have ever made in my entire life!"

Li Qingxue was also visibly moved.

The promise sounded like a fantasy, but with Chu Fan, it seemed there was actually a sliver of a chance.

If he truly succeeded, then with this Sword Technique, the Cao and Li Families might one day surpass the other Four Great Clans of Cyan Yang Ancient City. It would no longer be an impossible dream!

...

「Eight days after the great upheaval in the Seven Stars Gang.」

In the courtyard, Chu Fan darted about like a Ghost Shadow, his hands a blur of palms and fists, moving like a butterfly flitting through flowers.

[Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand Experience Points +5]

[Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand Experience Points +5]

He was practicing the Ghost Shadow Illusionary Body Step and the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand at the same time. While Experience Points for the latter kept rising, the former seemed to be stuck...

[Technique: Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand (First Limit Break 2495/2500) (Trait: Bone-Penetrating Cold Attack)]

’Just five more points!’

Chu Fan’s movements grew faster and faster.

After days of painstaking practice, the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand finally reached its tipping point.

As he completed the final sequence of the Palm Technique, the Cold Yin Internal Power in his body surged like a tide. The Cold Qi gathering in his palms underwent a sudden, qualitative change, seemingly fusing with the Formless Gang Qi that surrounded him!

[Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand Experience Points +6]

["Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand" has reached its limit. Spend 50 Spiritual Essence to break the limit?]

Chu Fan let out a sigh of relief, relaxed his stance, and stood still.

As the fifty points of Spiritual Essence were spent—

[Technique: Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand (Second Limit Break 0/4500) (Traits: Bone-Penetrating Cold Attack; Erosion Element Cold Gang)]

[Erosion Element Cold Gang: Each palm strike unleashes a biting Cold Gang that penetrates bone and erodes the target’s essence! It channels Extreme Cold Qi and condenses it into a tangible Gang Force whose piercing sharpness and corrosive intensity surpasses even Xuanbing. Even against an expert’s protective True Qi, it can seep in as subtly as melting Xuanbing, eroding it layer by layer until their Primordial Qi is frozen solid and the Gang Force pierces their body. The Cold Gang penetrates the meridians, invades the bone marrow, and strikes directly at the Dantian, inflicting invisible yet terrifying damage.]

The panel had changed.

Every detail, every single move from his past practice of the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand replayed in his mind.

The Palm Technique, which had already undergone its first Breaking Limit after reaching Perfection, had now ascended to an entirely new level!

’I did it!’ Chu Fan was ecstatic.

The new Trait, "Erosion Element Cold Gang," was clearly an upgraded version of "Bone-Penetrating Cold Attack," and it was highly specialized!

His biggest weakness before had been his insufficient Cultivation. With only Qi Blood Power, he couldn’t control Primordial Qi, making it difficult to break through the Protective Primordial Qi of a Mortal Transformation expert.

Now, with Erosion Element Cold Gang, if he faced a Mortal Transformation expert again, he just needed to find one opportunity to land a palm strike. The Cold Gang would penetrate their Qi and drastically weaken their combat ability!

Even a guy like Duan Tianhong, who runs around in his Iron Crotch, would cough up blood by the liter if he took a single palm strike!

Chu Fan’s hands moved in a blur as he performed the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand again, leaving a string of Residual Images in their wake...

He practiced it three more times before stopping, though he still felt unsated.

Breaking Limit didn’t just grant him a powerful new Trait.

Breaking Limit itself was the ultimate breakthrough!

After the Second Limit Break, the Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand was even faster. The transitions between moves were almost seamless, one strike flowing into the next like a tidal wave.

He recalled his first fight against a Mortal Transformation expert. Back then, his Extreme Night Cold Prison Hand could land three to five palm strikes on Duan Tianhong within a few breaths.

That just showed how powerful this Palm Technique was!

Now that he had achieved another Breaking Limit, Chu Fan guessed he could make Duan Tianhong spit blood within ten moves—even if the man was wearing Inner Armor!

Chu Fan sighed in relief. The gloom that had hung over him for days seemed to have been completely dispelled.

He looked at his panel—

[Technique: Running Technique (Second Limit Break 5795/6000) (Traits: Wind under the Feet, Light as a Feather)]

[Technique: Seven-Star Bead Slash (Small Success) Progress: (477/500) (Trait: None)]

[Technique: Hundred-step Piercing Willow Arrow Skill (Second Limit Break 2452/2500) (Traits: Pursuit; No Distance)]

Eight days of arduous training had yielded gratifying results.

His Running Technique was close to its Third Limit Break;

His Hundred-step Piercing Willow Arrow Skill was also approaching its Third Limit Break;

And his Seven-Star Bead Slash was almost at the Great Success realm...

A thought struck Chu Fan, and he decided to press on and finish everything in one go.

He picked up the Long Saber at his side and began practicing the Seven-Star Bead Slash in the courtyard.

The flash of the blade was like a river of stars pouring down, each strike faster than the last.

This fast saber technique already possessed the "Sword Swift as Lightning" Trait. With its enhancement, the blade’s speed was even more astonishing, leaving clear Residual Images hanging in the air.

"SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH—!"

The wind from the blade tore through the air, seven afterimages of the saber almost forming a single, continuous line!

Tornado Slash!

Ghost Wheel Slash!

Sword Qi Slash!

Chain Slash!

Seven-Star... Bead Slash!

Time slowly passed...

An hour later, the moment of breakthrough finally arrived!

[Seven-Star Bead Slash Experience Points +3]

[Technique: Seven-Star Bead Slash (Great Success) Progress: (3/1500) (Trait: None)]

In his mind, every strike, every detail, and every technique for generating Force from his previous practice was being sorted, integrated, and optimized by a mysterious power.

In the space of a few breaths, his understanding of this rapid Sword Technique shattered its bottleneck, and everything became crystal clear!

Chu Fan withdrew his saber and stood still, his breathing perfectly steady.

At the Great Success realm, the Seven-Star Bead Slash naturally couldn’t compare to the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber in terms of raw power.

But in terms of speed alone, when combined with "Sword Swift as Lightning," it had reached a new level, enough to force even a Mortal Transformation expert into a steady retreat!

Chu Fan took a deep breath and made a decision.

’After I get the Running Technique and the Hundred-step Piercing Willow Arrow Skill through their next Breaking Limit today, I’ll focus my training on this fast Sword Technique and push it to the Perfection realm as soon as possible!’

’Once the Seven-Star Bead Slash also reaches Perfection, I can start thinking about fusing it with the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber...’