Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 232 - 143: Cyan Gang and Purple Thunder Dual Swords
Elimination Rule 1: Those whose Sword Qi Thunder Sound hasn’t reached a masterful level will be directly eliminated.
Elimination Rule 2: Those who haven’t reached a proficient level in Condensing Sword into Silk will be directly eliminated.
Elimination Rule 3: Those who haven’t mastered Sword Light Division will be directly eliminated.
Extra Challenge 1: Each eliminated participant has one chance to challenge a non-eliminated participant; if victorious, they can take their place.
Extra Challenge 2: ???
Su Yu looked at everyone; in the last round, 20 people had mastered Sword Light Division, and this time most of them had already mastered it, with fewer than twenty who hadn’t.
However, when the light pillar descended, half were directly eliminated, leaving only 38 people not eliminated.
Obviously, the others failed due to not meeting the requirements in other aspects.
Su Yu and Qingchan stood side by side, watching many eliminated participants fight desperately, challenging those not eliminated.
Thanks to the previous round, both he and Luo Qingchan won a reward, having demonstrated strength far greater than others, so they weren’t the targets of challenges from the eliminated and watched the scene with relish.
After all the eliminated completed their challenges, surprisingly five people successfully defied fate and remained.
After the challenge, came the much-anticipated treasure-snatching segment, with ten beams of light descending from the sky, each containing a treasure.
Su Yu immediately checked each one, quickly setting his eyes on a target.
Purple Thunder (Tier Seven): Celestial Weapon, rare item, a signature weapon of Thunder God Palace, containing Nine Heavens Thunder God Power.
Attributes: Attack Power 1300-1500, Attack Speed 700-900, Sword Control Speed 700-900, Sword Formulas Bonus 70%, Special: Armor Penetration +5, Demon Execution, Thunder-controlling Divine Power.
Armor Penetration +5: Attacks ignore 50% of the target’s defense.
Demon Execution: Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Power deals 50% extra damage to demons.
Thunder-controlling Divine Power: Activates the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Power in the Flying Sword, increases Attack Power and Attack Speed by 100%, ignores defense and resistance against demons, lasts 30 seconds, cooldown 60 minutes.
"How perfectly fitting these attributes!"
Just like the Cyan Gang Sword, it also has the Demon Execution attribute, and the attributes of both are nearly identical, making them perfectly compatible.
The obstruction to forcibly combining such flying swords is very low, and the duration will also be longer.
Just as before, when he chose the Cyan Gang Sword, Su Yu pointed at this sword and asked beside him:
"Qingchan, do you want this sword?"
She, just like before, shook her head:
"I have three Tier Seven Flying Swords on me, I don’t need it."
"Then I won’t hold back."
Unlike before when he waited until the end, this time Su Yu actively leapt into the air onto the arena, wanting to be the arena master.
Although his sword heart still doesn’t have a shadow, his Sword Dao Faith has already been triggered, which not only affects the Sword Dao but also his entire cultivation path.
A conversation with Qingchan a month ago wasn’t entirely fruitless; though he still hasn’t comprehended the sword heart, combining Qingchan’s understanding of the sword heart with his own situation and Sword Dao Faith, it’s gradually influencing his behavior.
Whether in Sword Dao or other cultivation, it’s important to move forward relentlessly, to have the unyielding will and the courage to face formidable foes.
The courage to showcase oneself and the courage to challenge oneself.
Letting others fight first and waiting until the end to defeat just one opponent to win indeed is easy, but such opportunistic behavior itself shows a lack of courage.
Of course, Su Yu wouldn’t blindly engage without discernment, that’s not courage but recklessness.
Whether it is called flexible bottom line or wavering will, Su Yu considers it his comprehension and interpretation of courage and determination.
Regardless of whether he can eventually form the sword heart, he feels immensely rewarded.
Waiting a bit on the platform, a figure leapt onto the arena; he looked up and was slightly surprised to see a familiar face.
Wei Wei, with a solemn expression, cupped his hands and said:
"Last time I was defeated by you, I’ve been pondering over it with some reluctance. In two months, my strength has greatly improved, and today I wish to try again."
Su Yu’s expression became serious, and he earnestly bowed with clenched fists:
"To show my respect for you, I will give it my all!"
"Please!"
He was very serious because he saw in Wei Wei’s actions the unyielding will and courage to face strong enemies.
As the countdown ticked away, when the light barrier disappeared, the dual swords suspended in front of him flashed and slashed straight out like shooting stars.
"So fast!"
Fully focused, a look of surprise flashed through Wei Wei’s eyes, and instinctively he controlled his sword to parry it.
"Clang!"
A force beyond his imagination crashed down, and the crossed blocking swords were directly blown apart; in a flash of sword light, he was out of the arena.
"Masterful!"
Wei Wei, who was knocked out with one sword, had a complex expression of shock and bewilderment, at a loss for words.
[Sword Qi Thunder Sound] Proficient, Power Bonus +50%.
[Sword Qi Thunder Sound] Masterful, Power Bonus +100%.
Talent provides a 100% bonus to Sword Formulas attributes, combining the two....
Without superfluous techniques, a direct quick strike delivers an instant kill.
All sorts of fancy techniques are Swordsmanship.
A simple and direct technique is also Swordsmanship.
After three whole months of grinding, Su Yu’s swordsmanship broke through to the level of perfection. His understanding of swordsmanship was entirely different from before, as if he had reached another level.
"This young man has an extremely high talent for Sword Dao!"
Watching Su Yu on the screen easily sending opponents flying with ease in his every move, numerous sword cultivators gave him high praise.
After defeating four people in a row, no one dared to challenge him further.
Su Yu crossed his arms, showing no emotion on his face.
Five minutes later, the Purple Thunder Sword was in his hand.
"Two Tier Seven premium flying swords are enough for quite a while."
These two flying swords have highly compatible attributes. Unless he gets a Tier Nine flying sword, or a matched pair of swords, generally a Tier Eight flying sword doesn’t need replacement.
Upon returning to his private space, Su Yu received Luo Qingchan’s challenge request before even sitting down.
After accepting, he was transported to an arena, where Luo Qingchan immediately asked:
"Has your swordsmanship also reached perfection?"
"I just advanced not long ago."
"Then you’re only one step away from Sword Intent, have you...?"
Su Yu interrupted her with a wave of his hand, shaking his head, he said:
"There’s no need to force it, just go with the flow."
She was silent for a moment and nodded.
Su Yu twirled the Starlight Sword in his hand and smiled slightly:
"Then let’s spar a bit."
"Alright!"
Luo Qingchan unleashed her twin swords without reservation, slashing over, and instantly the crisp clangs echoed on the stage, unending.
Half an hour later, Su Yu returned to his place, immediately sat down, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled the recent battle.
The recent match was exhilarating, and it could be said to be the most satisfying bout he’s had with Luo Qingchan since they began dueling.
Previously, even the duels before entering the Sword Palace were dominated by her, needing her to hold back for him to continue, but this time his Sword Qi Thunder Sound reached perfection, and their skill levels weren’t much different.
As long as she didn’t employ Sword Intent into her flying swords, even if she went all out, she couldn’t easily defeat him.
Only an evenly matched opponent can enjoy the pleasure of battle; it was the first time in his cultivation experience that he felt this way.
In the ensuing days, he returned to his previous rhythm. The only difference being that as his strength increased, besides being able to have a back-and-forth with Qingchan, he could now attempt to challenge four-star projections of past contenders.
Although he still couldn’t beat them, it wasn’t like before where he was instantly defeated without any battle experience.
Now he’s still beaten up, but he at least has a chance to fight back.
This was also preparation for the future; one never knows if he would comprehend the Sword Heart and master Sword Intent later. It’s best to take advantage of having many masters of Sword Intent in the palace now to learn from. So when facing real Sword Intent experts in the future, he won’t be completely powerless.
Countless times of being battered, with his soul and will facing countless Sword Intent impacts, he was somehow beaten into developing a bit of resistance.
Just as skin is tempered to be as tough as leather, difficult for blades to pierce, his soul and will, after being assaulted and reforged repeatedly, torn and healed countless times, became more refined by itself.
Over several months, the strength of his soul and divine sense forcefully refined itself through the constant hammering.
These are benefits unobtainable outside.
Outside the Sword Palace, without soul protection, being impacted by Sword Intent experts would tear the soul apart, probably leading to countless deaths.
As the third phase approached its end, Su Yu still hadn’t comprehended the Sword Heart, nor mastered Sword Intent, though his strength was much greater than before.
First level of swordsmanship [Sword Qi Thunder Sound]: Perfection.
Second level of swordsmanship [Condensing Sword into Silk]: Skillful mastery.
Third level of swordsmanship [Sword Light Division]: Skillful mastery.
Fourth level of swordsmanship [True Sword Intent]: Uninitialized.
The six-month trial in the Sword Palace is equivalent to over three years of arduous training in reality; just the advancement in swordsmanship was worth the journey, making this trip worthwhile.
At this stage, Su Yu accepted reality and no longer hoped for the top tier rewards.
"Obtaining a sect-level Sword Formula isn’t bad either."
With this thought, the time gradually moved to the last day of the third round, with everyone being transported back to the square once more.
Glancing at the remaining 38 people, he curiously pondered:
"In this final round, I wonder how many will be eliminated!"
With a thought to check the third round elimination standards, his eyebrows rose, once again beyond his expectations.
Elimination Rule One: Eliminate those who haven’t mastered True Sword Intent!
Additional Challenge One: Each eliminated person has the chance to challenge someone not eliminated. If victorious, they can take their place.
Additional Challenge Two: ???
"So am I directly eliminated?"
With a sense of foreboding, Su Yu clicked his tongue, then turned to look at the others, wanting to see how many would pass the third round.
Familiar light beams descended, with the sight of a sea of red, almost everyone had the red mark indicating elimination above their heads. He looked up and saw one above himself too.
Looking around, amidst the sea of red, there were two green points. Besides Luo Qingchan, there was actually another person who mastered Sword Intent.
That person intended to look serious, but the corners of their mouth, difficult to suppress, betrayed their inner joy. Their gaze was proud, looking down slightly on others, and when looking at Luo Qingchan, a trace of amazement flashed in their eyes.
Having barely mastered Sword Intent at the end of the six-month period, he became the second contender to master Sword Intent in the current Sword Palace cycle. Before entering the Sword Palace, he hadn’t mastered Sword Intent, and at this moment, Fang Luochuan’s mindset and state had reached their peak, with a sense of destiny in his grasp.
