Chapter 138 - 111: Fusing Blood Shadow Saber, 2 Layers of Saber Shadows, Iron Cloth Shirt Upgrades Again

Chapter 138: Chapter 111: Fusing Blood Shadow Saber, 2 Layers of Saber Shadows, Iron Cloth Shirt Upgrades Again

He Chong took out the parchment. Opening it, he muttered softly, "Blood Shadow Saber Technique!"

After bidding farewell to He Yuan and his son, Su Chen hurried back without stopping, finally making it inside the city gates before curfew.

Upon returning home, Su Chen shrugged off his exhaustion and laid out the night’s spoils on the table. It had been a highly rewarding trip. Not to mention the twenty Qi Blood Pills, he had acquired over fifty thousand taels of silver. On top of that, there was a saber technique he had been thoroughly coveting.

The parchment detailing the Blood Shadow Saber Technique contained not only the complete set of moves but also the corresponding Entering the Realm Method. In other words, it was a force-training saber technique that met the system panel’s requirements.

"In terms of speed alone, apart from the instant the blade is drawn, the Sword Drawing Technique’s power in its other moves falls short of the Blood Shadow Saber Technique," Su Chen mused. "The Blood Shadow Saber Technique is not only fast, but its strikes are incredibly tricky. When combined with inner force, even I struggled a bit to defend against it!"

When it came to inner force, there was no doubt he completely crushed the Blood Saber Sect Leader. However, relying on this tricky Blood Shadow Saber Technique, the opponent had managed to forcefully fight him to a draw. Although the man had relied on a gimmick, it was enough to prove the technique’s formidable strength. But now, this powerful Blood Shadow Saber Technique belonged to him.

"It’s just a few hundred taels. Pocket change. Panel, top up! Activate Easy Mode!" he chanted in his mind with the swagger of a newly rich tycoon. A moment later, the panel’s notification chimed:

[Easy Mode activated. Swing the saber fifty times to achieve Minor Mastery in the Blood Shadow Saber Technique.]

Picking up a steel saber he had looted from a Blood Saber Sect disciple on his way back, Su Chen began to swing. Fifty swings took him less than five minutes to complete. He didn’t stop there. He continued to top up, activate Easy Mode, swing his saber, and top up again...

It wasn’t until his fourth time activating Easy Mode that the panel sounded:

[Easy Mode activated. Swing the saber five hundred times to train the Blood Shadow Saber Technique to its absolute limit.]

After five hundred swings, all the various moves of the Blood Shadow Saber were etched into his mind and transformed into bodily instinct. He could now execute them reflexively without needing deliberate thought.

"Great. Next up is integrating the Blood Shadow Saber. I really wonder what kind of changes the Sword Drawing Technique will undergo once it’s merged with it. Just thinking about it makes me excited!" Su Chen muttered to himself, brimming with anticipation.

Without hesitation, he topped up in one smooth breath and waited for the panel’s prompt:

[Easy Mode activated. Swing the saber two hundred times to train the Sword Drawing Technique to the second layer.]

The required number of swings was even fewer than what it took to push the Blood Shadow Saber to its limit. In about ten minutes, Su Chen completed the task of two hundred swings. The panel quickly refreshed:

[Martial Arts: ... Sword Drawing Technique (Second Layer 1%)]

[Easy Mode: ... Sword Drawing Technique (300 taels + any max-level Entering the Realm saber technique / time)]

The Sword Drawing Technique had stepped into the second layer! A look of joy spread across Su Chen’s face. His hand gripping the steel saber trembled slightly, as if resonating with the blade.

After a moment, he calmed his racing heart and stepped into the courtyard. Even though it was late into the night, he didn’t feel the slightest bit sleepy.

Drawing the blade, swinging it, slashing down, and sheathing it—the entire sequence flowed like water, executed in one seamless motion. As the user, however, Su Chen saw something different in it and felt it far more intimately.

"A single slash actually produced two afterimages, as if I had chopped twice in one go. Both the power and speed have doubled compared to before," he murmured.

Su Chen stared blankly at the steel saber in his hand, a trace of astonishment in his eyes. The power of the second-layer Sword Drawing Technique truly took him by surprise. Those two afterimages, in particular, gave him an unbelievable sensation. Even though he had only swung once, in an enemy’s eyes, there would appear to be two simultaneous, overlapping strikes, with their destructive power directly doubled. If an opponent wasn’t careful, even if they blocked the first shadow, they would be seized by a moment of laxity and slain by the second. Such a move was simply a lethal weapon for one-hit kills!

"With a strike like this, not only would the Blood Saber Sect Leader fail to catch it, but even I—before cultivating the Blood Shadow Saber Technique—might not have been able to retreat unscathed. It’s truly terrifying. Fortunately, this is my move. The ones who will get a headache are my enemies, not me, haha..."

Su Chen couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Tirelessly, he continued testing his new technique. By the end of his tests, he coated the blade with his inner force to see how much more powerful the Sword Drawing Technique would be with its enhancement.

In a secluded courtyard, the wind blew and the leaves RUSTLED, accompanied by high-pitched screams echoing through the air.

Not far away, a ghostly figure approached rapidly. In just a few strides, he arrived at the courtyard entrance. Hearing the hysterical shrieks inside, he stopped in his tracks and waited quietly by the door.

An unknown amount of time passed. The shrieking turned into hoarse wailing, and the wailing faded into agonized cries, before a raspy voice finally rang out from inside the yard, "Come in!"

Only then did the shadowy figure slowly open the door and step inside. Keeping his head bowed and without casting a single glance at the woman who had died a tragic death nearby, he knelt on one knee and reported, "Reporting to the Dharma King. Protector Chang sent word that the Blood Saber Sect bungled their task and let the people from the Mixed Element Sect escape. Furthermore... all the Blood Saber Sect disciples, including their Sect Leader, are dead!"

"Hmm?" Hearing this, the tall man, who had just finished dressing himself, furrowed his brows and asked, "Do we know who did it?"

"Protector Chang Yuan is currently investigating!" the shadow replied.

"If he can’t find out, tell him to bring his head to me," the tall man replied indifferently. Then, without sparing the shadowy figure another glance, he turned and walked away.