Chapter 246 - 131: Fusing Swordsmanship, Ten Thousand Swords Return to One

But Zhang Su was different.

Even after becoming one of the Sect’s Celestial Prides, he still came to ask for his guidance.

’That’s enough.’

Zhao Qianfeng pondered for a moment, then spoke, "Your Infinite Sword Scripture can only be used at critical moments. You do indeed need to practice some powerful Swordsmanship that you can use normally."

He paused and stroked his beard.

"The Five Elements Sect has its Five Elements Reincarnation Sword Technique, and the Medicine Valley has its Nine Spirits Sword Technique. Our Guiyuan Sect naturally has a Swordsmanship of a comparable level for those at the Inner Strength Level, and it is called Guiyi Swordsmanship."

"However, this Guiyi Swordsmanship is extremely special. It requires a very high level of attainment and foundation in Swordsmanship. If your attainment and foundation aren’t high enough, you’ll find it difficult to even reach the entry-level, let alone master it."

"But since you managed to learn even the Infinite Sword Scripture, you might be able to learn this Guiyi Swordsmanship as well."

As he spoke, Zhao Qianfeng stood up from his chair.

He walked to the second floor of the Instructor Pavilion, rummaged through a bookshelf for a while, then came back down with an exquisite Secret Manual.

The Secret Manual’s cover was wrapped in fine silk with gold-trimmed corners. A single glance told you it was no ordinary item.

The title on the cover read: "Guiyi Swordsmanship".

"You are now one of the Sect’s Celestial Prides. You can practice any Martial Arts you wish without needing to exchange contribution points."

Zhao Qianfeng handed the Secret Manual to Zhang Su.

"Thank you, Master."

Zhang Su took the Secret Manual and turned to enter one of the Instructor Pavilion’s Cultivation Rooms.

The Cultivation Room wasn’t large, only a few dozen feet square.

Zhang Su sat on a cattail hassock, opened the Secret Manual, and began to examine it carefully.

The Secret Manual wasn’t long, only a dozen or so pages.

But each page was densely packed with neat and forceful script.

Zhang Su read it page by page, his expression growing more serious as he went.

After reading, he understood why Guiyi Swordsmanship required such a high level of attainment in Swordsmanship.

The reason was simple: the philosophy behind Guiyi Swordsmanship was Ten Thousand Swords Return to One.

It sought to merge all the world’s sword styles, blending them into a single entity.

This would unleash the characteristics of every style, resulting in terrifying power.

But this premise was flawed.

Or rather, somewhat unrealistic.

The world’s sword styles were innumerable and complex.

There were Fast Sword techniques that prioritized speed, nimble swordsmanship that focused on agility, and explosive styles that centered on power, among others.

They were simply too many to count.

How could it possibly be easy to merge all of them together?

What an incredibly profound level of Swordsmanship attainment would that require?

Even masters of the Innate Realm probably couldn’t achieve it.

’So, this must be a failed Swordsmanship.’

’However, for a failed Swordsmanship to still be considered the strongest at the Inner Strength Level in the Guiyuan Sect...’

’It must have its merits.’

Zhang Su pondered this carefully and discovered its greatest advantage.

While it was impossible to merge all sword styles...

...if one only merged similar styles, the power of Guiyi Swordsmanship could be immense.

The more sword styles one merged, the stronger it would become.

Of course, one could only merge styles that had been brought to the Perfection Realm.

At this, Zhang Su’s eyes lit up.

’In fact, I’ve been doing something similar already.’

’My Martial Sense, for instance, is a fusion of many Martial Techniques.’

’But I’ve never been able to fully merge so many Martial Techniques to unleash their full power.’

’But Guiyi Swordsmanship can.’

"Guiyi Swordsmanship: Compatibility 82% (Not at entry-level)"

Zhang Su checked the information for Guiyi Swordsmanship.

The result was a Compatibility of 82%—a remarkably rare figure.

After all, Guiyi Swordsmanship was the strongest sword style in the Guiyuan Sect for the Inner Strength Level.

’For such an advanced Martial Technique to have such high Compatibility with me...’

This was the first time Zhang Su had ever seen anything like it.

So, without any hesitation, Zhang Su spent two Compatibility Value points to raise his Compatibility with Guiyi Swordsmanship directly to 100%.

As his Compatibility increased, Zhang Su’s familiarity with Guiyi Swordsmanship grew.

He immediately began practicing Guiyi Swordsmanship.

Again and again.

Flashes of sword light and fluttering sword shadows filled the Cultivation Room.

And Guiyi Swordsmanship presented almost no difficulty for him.

He skyrocketed from entry-level to Great Success, and finally, directly to Perfection!

However, reaching Perfection in Guiyi Swordsmanship was only the beginning.

He still needed to merge various sword styles into it.

Zhang Su excelled at Fast Sword techniques, so his first thought was to merge them.

And so, he took the Nine Shadows Sword Technique, the Light and Shadow Killing Sword, the Wind and Thunder Sword Technique, and others.

With the exception of the Infinite Sword Scripture’s Extreme Sword Form, which he couldn’t seem to integrate, Zhang Su managed to merge basically all his other Fast Sword techniques into Guiyi Swordsmanship.

Thus, a technique slowly emerged within his Guiyi Swordsmanship: the "Fast Sword Form."

Then, Zhang Su merged sword styles with explosive power, like the Twelve Layers Killing Sword and the Triple Wave Sword Technique.

Zhang Su named this the "Heavy Sword Form," based on the principle of overwhelming power—the kind of force that can work miracles and break through all other techniques.

The Fast Sword Form and Heavy Sword Form were actually modeled after the Infinite Sword Scripture’s Extreme Sword Form and Bursting Sword Form.

He was simply copying the pattern.

He merged many sword styles.

Unexpectedly, it actually worked.

"Guiyi Swordsmanship Fast Sword Form: 31 sword styles."

"Guiyi Swordsmanship Heavy Sword Form: 11 sword styles."

Right now, there was a large disparity in the number of styles merged into these two forms of Guiyi Swordsmanship.

The Fast Sword Form had the most, with a full 31 styles.

The Heavy Sword Form, in contrast, had far fewer, with only 11.

After all, Zhang Su had practiced far more Fast Sword techniques.

’I wonder how strong the Fast Sword Form and Heavy Sword Form are?’

Zhang Su decided to test them.

CLANG.

He drew his sword sharply and executed the Fast Sword Form.

The sword strike crossed a distance of several dozen feet in an instant.

It was incredibly fast.

Zhang Su’s Sword Technique suddenly changed.

He immediately executed the Heavy Sword Form.

He could switch between the two techniques freely.

’This point alone makes it superior to the Infinite Sword Scripture.’

The Heavy Sword Form erupted with terrifying power, and his Shadow-Stealing Sword actually blasted a huge crater in the ground.

’Zhou Dingshan’s Gang Force probably couldn’t withstand this... and I can still practice more Fast Sword or explosive Swordsmanship. Once I reach Perfection, I can continue merging them into Guiyi Swordsmanship, and its power will keep increasing!’

Zhang Su was extremely satisfied with Guiyi Swordsmanship.

Moreover, practicing other sword styles to Perfection would also earn him Compatibility Value points.

Gaining Compatibility Value while also strengthening Guiyi Swordsmanship—for Zhang Su, it was killing two birds with one stone!

Zhang Su emerged from the Cultivation Room and returned the Guiyi Swordsmanship Secret Manual to his master.

Zhao Qianfeng accepted the Secret Manual and asked with a smile, "It seems you’re quite satisfied with Guiyi Swordsmanship?"

"I am indeed very satisfied."

Zhang Su nodded.

"Good. Then practice it well. The situation has been unstable lately, but you can still focus on your Cultivation. After all, you haven’t reached the Postnatal Realm yet. Even if the sky falls, it won’t be your turn to hold it up."

Zhang Su understood his master’s meaning.

Even though he was a Celestial Pride, as long as he hadn’t reached the Postnatal Realm, there were many matters he wouldn’t be called upon to handle.

But once he advanced to the Postnatal Realm, things would be different.

He would have to shoulder the burden of the entire Guiyuan Sect.

’I wonder who will come out on top in the battle between the Celestial Prides of the Three Sects Alliance and the Jingyuan Sect?’

Zhang Su was paying close attention to this as well.

The Three Sects Alliance was not without a chance.

After all, they had Shi Buyi from the Five Elements Sect.

Although Shi Buyi had defeated Yu Hualong in the past, at a time like this, the Celestial Prides of the Three Sects Alliance had no choice but to pin their hopes on him.

「Three days passed in a flash.」

Zhang Su spent his time cultivating the Inner Extreme Divine Technique, practicing various sword styles, and continuing to nurture his Divine Intent.

But he still kept a close watch on news about the Celestial Prides from the three sects.

Especially regarding Yu Hualong’s situation.

He had people watching, with instructions to report to him the moment any news broke.

"Senior Brother, there’s news about the battle between the Celestial Prides of the Three Sects Alliance and the Jingyuan Sect..."

After getting the news, Zhou Peng had rushed back to Pure Yang Peak at once.