Volcanic Age

I've completely mastered the Fourteen Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom, so let's see… It's time to train the Twenty-four Sword Forms. Let's start by supplementing the first form.

Just because he had completely mastered the Fourteen Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom didn't mean that he didn't need to train the first fourteen forms of the twenty-four forms.

The fourteen forms didn't even amount to half of the Twenty-four Forms; it was closer to a quarter. Abridging twenty-four forms into fourteen meant that there was a need for the other forms to be simplified as well.

Thanks to this, the time it took to train each form differed as well. A cultivator training the fifth form of the Fourteen Forms would only be training in the second form if they were training in the Twenty-four Forms, due to the difference in training difficulty.

Still, it's good that I've practiced some of them before. I should train just a little before moving on to the next form. I've trained the fifteenth form before, so it's time for the sixteenth form, Plum Blossom Rain.

Similar to the Violet Haze Divine Art, this was his first time learning the Twenty-four forms. This martial art was reserved for the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, so Zhou Xuchuan only knew of its sutra.

"Urgh, it's terribly difficult." He muttered helplessly whenever he executed the Twenty-four Forms.

Despite his enlightenment being in the Harmony Realm, performing a difficult sword art like the Twenty-four Forms of the Plum Blossom was challenging, particularly because it was his first time.

Zhou Xuchuan didn't have exceptional talent to begin with. It was his first time learning it, so he was bound to make mistakes.

"Tsk, now that my internal qi has reached a full cycle, the Plum Blossom Life Art is getting less effective, too…"

While it might be obvious, the Plum Blossom Life Art didn't stay effective forever. If it were permanent, Mount Hua Sect would have two divine arts, not two.

"Good work, Plum Blossom Life Art, see you again in the future," He bid farewell to the Plum Blossom Life Art. Training in it any further was a waste of time.

He judged that training something else would be more worthwhile and let go of it without hesitation. He hoped to see it decades later, discovered by a genius cultivator.

"Well, then. Now…" He took out a book from his bosom. It was one of the secret manuals he had in his possession.

"I was lucky to obtain this."

Gulp.

At the top of his list of items to obtain from the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's treasury was the Ten Thousand Convergence Art.

He knew that the Ten Thousand Convergence Art was somewhere in the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's treasury but didn't know exactly where it was. He was originally planning on raiding the treasury until he found it, but he ended up finding it much earlier than he had expected.

"The Ten Thousand Convergence Art…"

Two martial arts couldn't be learned at the same time—this statement wasn't entirely true. Strictly speaking, cultivators did not learn two martial arts at the same time.

There were three reasons for this.

Firstly, achieving full mastery in just one martial art was difficult enough, regardless of its type. Even being acknowledged as a full-fledged cultivator in the art was difficult.

That was how difficult the study of martial arts was. So, what would happen to someone trying to cultivate several at once? Obviously, they wouldn't succeed in any of them.

Secondly, the dangers of executing the martial arts.

Would it be possible to perform different types of martial arts in quick succession or even at the same time? For example, executing a fist art or a palm art while performing a sword art? It wasn't entirely impossible, but no one would be able to say with confidence that they could do it either.

Performing two different arts at the same time was practically impossible. Executing a sword art with the right hand and a palm art with the left hand would lead to an overlap or a clash in circulating internal qi, which would lead to qi deviation.

Thirdly, the required cultivation arts.

To perform a sword art of the Mount Hua Sect, one must have cultivated the Plum Blossom Cultivation Art or a similar cultivation art beforehand. Without such preparation, not only would proper execution be impossible, but it could also lead to qi deviation.

To make matters worse, an orthodox cultivator trying to imitate a martial art of a different nature, such as those from the Evil Faction, could also lead to severe consequences. That was how sensitive martial arts were.

However, there were some exceptions. One was the Duality Divine Art of the Wudang Sect, and the other was the Ten Thousand Convergence Art.

In the case of the former, this art surprisingly allowed a cultivator to execute two different martial arts at once, such as a fist art and a palm art. Training in both at the same time wasn't a problem either. However, two was the limit. Any more than that was impossible.

Moreover, the Duality Divine Art was limited to the martial arts of the Wudang Sect. Martial Arts outside of the sect couldn't be used, even if it was one from the Daoist sects. In other words, it could only bypass the first two rules, the third rule still applied.

In the case of the Ten Thousand Convergence Art, it was the opposite—it could only bypass the third rule. Even two martial arts of different natures could be executed no matter what cultivation technique one might have learned. Truly, the art lived up to its name.

"Though, it can only bring out half of the original power…"

The Ten Thousand Convergence Art wasn't all-powerful either. If it allowed a cultivator to unleash the full power of both martial arts performed, it would be more than a divine art and would be the number one art under heaven.

The Ten Thousand Convergence Art allowed a cultivator to train in multiple martial arts but at the cost of halving the output.

To be honest, if Zhou Xuchuan were asked if it was extraordinary art, he would struggle to answer. Aside from the martial arts that the cultivator specialized in, they wouldn't be able to bring out the full power of anything else, and they also needed time to train.

Besides Third-Class or Second-Class cultivators, it was much better to focus on the martial arts of one's affiliation rather than relying on something so unstable.

"But it isn't so bad for me."

For Zhou Xuchuan, learning the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect, except for the Violet Haze Divine Art, the Violet Haze Sword Sutra, and the Twenty-Four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom, didn't require much effort.

Even then, his progress in training those three arts was slower compared to the others he had also trained in his new life. From an ordinary perspective, his progress was incredibly fast.

"I can compensate for the shortcomings with my internal qi."

At the age of twelve, he possessed sixty years' worth of qi. He couldn't imagine how much he would have at the age of twenty. He also had some Lesser Circulation Pills remaining, so he was sure that he would see significant increases in the quantity of internal qi in the future.

Even if he was lacking in power, he could make up for it with his large amount of internal qi in order to make use of them.

But how to use these things comes second. I didn't obtain this just for that.

Zhou Xuchuan had memorized every single thing in the Ten Thousand Divine Art on his way here and incinerated the manual today. He set up a campfire near a valley to avoid causing a mountain fire and burned the manual.

"With this, I ripped a wing off of the Dark Heavens Association Leader."

The Era of War and Chaos.

This era saw the rise and fall of numerous heroes, villains, and experts. However, when asked about the most renowned figure, everyone would name just one:

The Number One Under Heaven, Dark Heavens Association Leader.

There was a faction shrouded in mystery that had yet to reveal themselves to the world. That was the Dark Heavens Association.

Even Zhou Xuchuan didn't know their origins or history. However, he knew that they had plans to take over the martial world.

The Dark Heavens Association involved themselves in various events happening in the martial world in order to control the Central Plains behind the curtains, excluding the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's treasury. However, as the factions within the martial world weakened, they emerged from the shadows, igniting a war.

That war was intense and lasted for a long time, even in the Era of War and Chaos. It was known as the longest dark period in martial world history.

However, the seemingly endless war came to an end after the death of the Dark Heavens Association Leader, which also brought the Era of War and Chaos to an end.

I've only seen that man once, but he couldn't be called human.

He couldn't remember when exactly it was. Combing through his memories, it should have been around when he was sixty years old. The mere sight of the Dark Heavens Association Leader left him frozen in fear. He trembled uncontrollably, unable to move a single muscle.

Even now, the fear lingered. He couldn't see a way to defeat that man, even if he had reached the Harmony Realm at the time. Numerous Harmony Realm experts had perished without inflicting a single injury on him. He was a monster that deserved the title of the Number One Under Heaven more than anyone.

Not only did his martial prowess defy common sense, but his intellect was also exceptional, and he practically had the martial world in the palm of his hand.

If it weren't for this Ten Thousand Convergence Art!

In the original history, the Ten Thousand Convergence Art fell into the hands of the Dark Heavens Association Leader, consequently leading to a disaster.

The very existence of that man defied common sense. Not only was he the genius of the era, he effortlessly mastered any martial art he learned. To that man, the notion that training in multiple martial arts would impede progress was only the whining of a loser.

Whether it was sword arts, saber arts, or spear arts, as long as he could obtain it and start learning it, mastering it completely didn't take him much time at all. Acquiring the Ten Thousand Convergence Art was akin to granting a tiger, no, a dragon wings.

"It's a crazy era in many ways…" Zhou Xuchuan let out an empty laugh. His eyes, tinged with a sense of absurdity, reflected the ashes of what used to be the manual for the Ten Thousand Convergence Art.

There was no other era that produced so many talents in history, be it heroes, villains, geniuses, or monsters. Just thinking about the arrival of such an era gave him a headache. There were many reassuring allies, but annoying enemies would match them in number.

"Let's return." Zhou Xuchuan stood up.

He searched the surroundings just in case a trace of the Ten Thousand Convergence Art was left. Despite witnessing its destruction firsthand, he took extra care to double-check, recognizing how important it was.

Zhou Xuchuan gathered a handful of ashes and threw them into the stream. As for the rest, he scattered them across the surrounding land or stuffed them into the mouths of small animals he caught nearby.

"You need to become a little weaker, Dark Heavens Association Leader."

*

The next day.

Zhou Xuchuan started training in the Ten Thousand Convergence Art at sunrise. It wasn't that difficult, so he completely mastered it before long.

He then immediately started his subsequent training exercise.

"Hmm…"

Before climbing the mountain, he had bought a bow and some arrows from a nearby village. Although he told the shop owner that he was going to use it to hunt, in truth, it was for the training he was about to do.

"Archery itself isn't that difficult…"

A wooden bow rested in his hands; an arrow nocked onto the bowstring.

Pah!

The arrow soared from the bowstring, trailing like a comet before striking the exact center of the target he had marked on the tree. His aim was extremely accurate, well, from the perspective of an ordinary man.

Martial artists were mostly good at archery because of their basic physical capabilities.

"Utilizing internal qi is much trickier than I expected."

He nocked a new arrow onto the bowstring. Despite chanting the sutra of the Eclipse Divine Archery Art and imbuing qi, it was difficult.

Considering he had never used something like this even in his past life, his struggles were understandable.

"That leaves training and more training."

He shot one arrow after another. It was a boring, repetitive routine. Sometimes, he would practice on live animals, training in the Eclipse Divine Archery Art separately.

"Big brother. You always tell me to focus on cultivation, but why are you doing something unnecessary?"

Archery was looked down upon even by the likes of Zhuge Shengji, who practically had no knowledge about martial arts.

"Shut up." Zhou Xuchuan ignored Zhuge Shengji's opinion.

And just like that, a month flew by.

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