Chapter 06 - Learning the Path of the Sword.

Mo Xie woke up early and began to cultivate the first cycle of his Heavenly Eyes. He felt that he was close to reaching the second stage.

After spending the rest of the morning at the smithy he returned to the orphanage with two wooden swords.

This time he did not cultivate his internal energy method, but instead began to pass on the information in his mind about how to use a sword, how to cut, pierce, swing a sword, generate and control force and momentum… Reviewing all this information he began his training.

Just like as he had to practice his forging techniques, he started swinging his sword.

'6 months. In 6 months I must master all the basics of sword qi and enter the intent realm.' That was the goal he gave himself.

Clearing all useless thoughts, he went into sword training.

1000 cuts, 1000 thrusts, control of force and momentum… He trained everything that the information in his memory gave him.

As he trained more and more, his sword proficiency steadily increased as well. He didn't care about the surroundings and just focused on improving his swordsmanship.

When the training ended he was sweating profusely but still had strength in his body. He looked up at the night sky and began to absorb the essence of the moon into his left eye and felt the familiar cold sensation he had felt for the past 2 years.

When the last energy of the moonlight essence melted into his eye, he went to the bathroom and cleaned up. After eating something and going back to his room, he sat cross-legged on his bed, going into meditation.

Time passed slowly and in 2 and a half months he mastered the basics of the sword and began to learn how to use the Sword Qi.

Using the Sword Qi was something totally different from what he thought when he read those wuxia novels in his past life.

In the first 2 days he tried to use Sword Qi he failed as he thought it was something that should be felt. He only discovered the trick on the third day, when he tried to use his spiritual power on the wooden sword and tried to convert it into something sharper and thus release a trickle of Sword Qi. Just like that he had a big expense buying new wooden swords because every time he tried to use it on the wooden sword it ended up breaking.

When three months had passed, his cultivation of the Heavenly Eyes of the Sun and Moon reached the second stage. Reaching this stage his eyes took a qualitative leap and his vision was further enhanced and now he could see things in slow motion. His right and left pupils started to take on a golden purple and silvery purple color respectively and he gained two new abilities for his eyes, namely: Spiritual Shock and Energy Flow.

His Spiritual Shock allowed him to use a mental attack on the opponent, making them feel like their heads were being hammered. Of course, if the opponent's mental power is stronger than Mo Xie's he could suffer a rebound from the technique.

The Energy Flow, on the other hand, allowed him to see how energy circulates in a living being. Allowing Mo Xie to see other people's cultivation level at a glance as long as he/she doesn't exceed his mental power. He can also discover how spiritual energy circulates in a person when using spiritual abilities, allowing Mo Xie to react before the attack arrives. He can also use it to copy a person's energy cycle and understand how to use the opponent's techniques. The technique itself was already broken, but there is a high consumption of spiritual and mental power that will start to decrease as his strength grows. At the moment, he can only use this technique for twenty seconds before exhausting all his spiritual and mental power.

Perhaps when he reaches the level of Soul King, he will be able to use this technique more freely.

He also stabilized his cultivation and began to quickly accumulate more spiritual power. His body and soul were also being strengthened little by little.

But with the improvement of his eyes and this technique that allowed him to see the energy flow, he was able to progress even further in his training with Sword Qi.

5 and a half months later.

"I finally managed to master the Sword Qi!" Mo Xie, who was breathing heavily, shouted in joy.

"I also managed to make great improvements in my movement and melee combat techniques and achieved great success." Although he has yet to achieve mastery and perfection in these techniques, Mo Xie was still pleased with himself.

"Now I can start practicing the Yin-Yang Sword! All my work in the last 5 and a half months has been worth it." But although Mo Xie was very pleased with his techniques he knew he had no experience in real combat. So he reminded himself not to be careless and after getting his spirit ring, he will register in the battle arena and gain some combat experience.

"Let's start the mains training now..." muttering to himself, he began to relay information from the Yin-Yang Sword.

"Harmony is the beginning of heaven and earth…"

"Opposite forces attract and complement each other…"

"Only by harmonizing two opposing forces, the power of heaven and earth can be drawn…"

"Entwine them together and let them go their own way…"

"Hardness and Softness..."

"Ice and Fire…"

"Light and darkness…"

"One cannot exist without the other!"

"Only when both can coexist in the same space..."

"...It will be when the harmonization of heaven and earth will be achieved."

"Guide your powers with your intent and create unlimited power capable of overcoming the limits of the universe."

Mo Xie continued to replay his memories as he subconsciously began swinging his sword at various angles. As he was swinging his sword he seemed to start to feel like something was different from normal when using his Sword Qi.

As the sun began to set, a sliver of intent began to appear in his strokes and created a foot-long cut in the ground.

He clearly felt it, it was his Sword Qi mixed with his will and heartbeat. His intent was the intent of the sword. Wherever he went, his sword would go. On that day, he entered the Realm of Sword Intent and began to open the doors to the state of One with the Sword.

"This technique is really profund, just a little comprehension of it allowed me to breakthrough my level of swordsmanship." He started to think deeply about the technique, but ended up not gaining anything.

*Sigh!* "It seems I'm still too greedy… I better focus on improving myself step by step. As I practice this technique I will progress in my comprehension little by little and one day I will end up mastering it. Let's take it easy." Shaking his head, he began to close the cycle of his Heavenly Eyes absorbing the essence of the moon.

He finished quickly and went to eat and start growing in his room.

After 6 months.

Mo Xie was now 9 years old and was ready to go hunting for his first spiritual ring. He used those last six months to familiarize himself with the realm of sword intent and accumulate more spiritual power for his advancement.

His strength had progressed by leaps and bounds and now he could be sure that if nothing went wrong he could have a 1,000 year old spiritual beast as his first ring.

After making all the preparations, he set off towards the Star Dou Forest.

As he wanted to experience the places along the way, he decided to go on foot, forcing him to take a trip that would take 4 days since Star Dou Forest was relatively close to Star Luo City.

During the trip he met several merchants who provided him with various information about the continent. After all, even if he knows the world, it was only superficial information or important points in history. Knowing in first person was a much more detailed experience, and he even managed to get a map of the continent, which showed him directions to the 4 empires on the Douluo Continent and also the path to the Shrek Academy.

"I will have 3 years to go to Shrek after earning my ring… Now that my cultivation speed has increased after completing the first stage of natural qi refinement, I have a chance to at least reach the rank of Soul Elder before the enrollment period start." Mo Xie muttered to himself and then pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

"I can worry about it later! The most important thing is to get my spirit ring right now."

After another two days of traveling, Mo Xie finally got close to the outside of the forest. There was a road made up of several red signs that had the word 'Danger' written on it.

He found a small river at some distance from the forest and sat on the ground to rest.

Pulling some dry rations out of his bag he began to satisfy his hunger and regain his stamina.

When he recovered to the peak, he embarked on his perilous journey to become a Soul Master passing through the entrance to the Great Star Dou Forest.