Chapter 230 – Sword Cultivator? Sword Cultivator! Rather Die Standing Straight Than Live Bent Over!

In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and gave a slight nod.

“Worthy of being a purple talent — a fifty-percent damage bonus truly does counter the Dragon Race!”

“And right now, the strongest power I possess is not Spirit Burst… but the Heaven Sword Art, which is approaching Minor Mastery-level!”

“Combined with the Dragonslayer talent… if Old Dog Dragon has no more trump cards, I should be able to cut him down!”

Thinking this, Su Xing’s gaze turned toward the simulation panel.

【Protector Dragon quickly senses the Body Integration stage spiritual energy cultivation on your body.】

【He is astonished — in this Age of Dharma Decline, with spiritual energy so thoroughly depleted, how could this world still give birth to a great cultivator of the Body Integration stage?】

【He is certain you must harbor some secret, and so his killing intent toward you becomes absolute. He manipulates his terrifying dragon race true form and sweeps toward you.】

【The Dragon Race bloodline innately grants powerful physical strength and defensive capability; even among body cultivators of the same realm, they stand at the very top.】

【What’s more, Old Dog Dragon leads you by an entire major realm. In a pure contest of close-combat ability, you know you are no match for him.】

【But compared to the dragon race true form, you also possess your own advantages — you are far more agile, and your vital points are far harder to strike.】

【You drink down a mouthful of spirit liquid, then unleash another Spirit Burst, hurling it straight at Old Dog Dragon’s head.】

【Old Dog Dragon’s massive frame cannot dodge in time, and he instantly takes the hit with a cry of pain, his flesh left a mangled mess by the Spirit Burst.】

【But this strike of Spirit Burst has also thoroughly enraged Old Dog Dragon. Black light rises from his entire body as he lunges toward you.】

【Seeing this, you activate your Protective Hardened Qi and primordial energy armor, layering two defenses onto yourself.】

【The terrifying force strikes your Protective Hardened Qi, halting for only a single instant before shattering it completely.】

【Even so, you have blocked the vast majority of the damage. You are blasted back a thousand meters by the impact, landing steadily on your feet.】

【With the Protective Hardened Qi shattered, you have suffered only a light wound. You once again ignite your primordial energy, and the Protective Hardened Qi re-condenses.】

【Seeing that a single strike has failed to grievously wound you, Old Dog Dragon grows even more furious and charges at you again.】

【And you show no courtesy either — circulating your primordial energy, you raise the spirit sword Blackice in your hand, and hundreds upon thousands of streaks of sword qi slash toward the dragon race true form.】

【A terrifying onslaught that nearly collapses mountains and shifts the very color of heaven and earth…】

【Hundreds upon thousands of streaks of sword qi all strike the dragon race true form. The indestructible dragon scales block the vast majority of the attacks, yet wounds are still carved by the sword qi, and a torrential rain of blood pours down from high above.】

【Old Dog Dragon charges at you with furious rage, and a fierce battle begins.】

【Relying on the Heaven Sword Art, bolstered further by the immense cultivation of the Body Integration stage and the Protective Hardened Qi among other enhancements, even against the dragon race true form, you do not fall behind in the slightest.】

【In the blink of an eye, the two of you — one man, one dragon — have exchanged several hundred rounds of combat. Everywhere you pass, mountains are leveled to flat ground and great rivers are split in two.】

【The terrifying shockwaves of battle are sensed by powerful cultivators across nearly half the Immortal Martial World, who all hide in their homes, not daring to step outside, trembling with fear.】

【Several hundred more rounds of bitter fighting.】

【By now, both you and Old Dog Dragon have expended considerable stamina. You have downed dozens of bottles of spirit liquid just to barely keep your own spiritual energy sufficiently replenished.】

【The primordial energy within you still has more than half remaining, enough to continue sustaining the Protective Hardened Qi — but after this grueling battle, you are covered in dust, your long hair hanging loose and disheveled, and your body marked by several wounds.】

【Compared to you, Old Dog Dragon has clearly suffered far greater injuries.】

【To you, a sword cultivator, that enormous dragon race true form is practically a living target.】

【Countless sword scars cover the dragon scales, and Old Dog Dragon’s dragon race true form has taken serious damage, crimson blood soaking the earth below.】

【You and Old Dog Dragon continue to tangle in battle, when suddenly you spot an opening. In that instant, you infuse your sword with both the Essence of Speed and the Essence of Strength.】

【You have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. In a battle between high-level cultivators, any single opening is often fatal!】

【In this moment — the Heaven Sword Art is unleashed!】

【A hundred-meter-long streak of sword qi, wrapped in the power of two origin forces, drives straight toward Old Dog Dragon’s neck.】

【This is the most powerful strike you have delivered thus far!】

【A look of panic flashes in Old Dog Dragon’s eyes. He tries to dodge, but this sword is too fast, too powerful — there is simply no way to evade it.】

【The soaring sword qi strikes just below the dragon’s head, along a stretch of dragon body dozens of meters long — the location of the Dragon Race’s neck, the one area on a dragon’s body where the defensive power is slightly weaker.】

【In an instant, the sword qi enters the body, penetrating dozens of meters deep. This single streak of sword qi nearly severs Old Dog Dragon’s entire dragon head clean off.】

【A wound so deep the bone is visible — dragon blood pours down onto the ground like a torrential rainstorm.】

【After taking this sword head-on, Old Dog Dragon immediately lets out a howl of agony. His writhing body soars into the clouds and flees into the distance as if riding the mist, not even pausing to look back at you.】

【Having grievously wounded Old Dog Dragon with a single strike, how could you possibly let him escape? Naturally, you press your advantage and pursue.】

【However, Old Dog Dragon rides the clouds with tremendous speed, and even as you urge on your Minor Mastery-level Sword-Controlling Technique, you cannot catch up in so short a time.】

【In just a few moments, the two of you have ranged across several thousand li.】

【Old Dog Dragon finally comes to a stop above a human city.】

【You look down at the million ordinary people in the city below, and a sense of foreboding immediately grips your heart.】

【Sure enough, a black-red vapor begins radiating ceaselessly from Old Dog Dragon’s body.】

【This vapor sweeps across the entire city in an instant…】

【Without any power to resist, every single ordinary person in the entire city — one million souls — is blood-sacrificed by Old Dog Dragon within a short span of time.】

【The lives of these common people are transformed into a dense surge of vital life energy that rapidly heals Old Dog Dragon’s wounds.】

【Injuries so deep the bone was visible begin to slowly close… dragon scales that had been battered to ruin become solid once more in the blink of an eye.】

【In just a few moments, the fatal wound on Old Dog Dragon’s neck has fully restored itself to its original state.】

In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and his eyes went wide.

“Just as expected… this Old Dog Dragon is as ruthless and vicious as ever!”

“A million members of the human race — in his eyes, they probably aren’t even worth as much as ants!”

Su Xing drew a deep breath, finally gaining a complete understanding of just how savage and depraved an evil cultivator could truly be.

One million common people — the entire population of a city — blood-sacrificed by Old Dog Dragon so effortlessly, all just to heal his wounds.

“Heh, this Old Dog Dragon really isn’t afraid of karma piling up on him!”

Su Xing shook his head.

It should be understood that even among evil cultivators, none would casually slaughter the innocent on such a massive scale.

Because evil cultivators, more often than not, feared the accumulation of karma even more than ordinary cultivators did!

But… for Old Dog Dragon at that moment, staying alive was undoubtedly far more important than whatever so-called karmic entanglement might come afterward.

“However, if this is the only trick he has up his sleeve… Old Dog Dragon still cannot defeat me!”

Su Xing let out a cold laugh.

So what if his wounds had healed?

Since Su Xing had been able to deliver the first sword strike, naturally he could deliver a second.

When that time came, there would be no opportunity left for Old Dog Dragon to heal his wounds again.

Thinking this, Su Xing’s gaze turned toward the simulation panel.

【Old Dog Dragon blood-sacrifices one million members of the human race, and his wounds are restored in an instant — you even sense that his condition and aura have immediately returned to their peak.】

【At the same time, you also sense that the karma and resentment of one million human souls have wound themselves around Old Dog Dragon’s body, lingering and refusing to disperse.】

【You grip the spirit sword Blackice, borne aloft on spiritual energy, hovering in the sky a thousand meters up, separated from Old Dog Dragon by ten thousand meters, facing each other from afar.】

【From that ferocious dragon head of Old Dog Dragon’s, you can sense the boundless fury raging within him.】

【Old Dog Dragon throws back his head and roars, releasing a deafening dragon’s cry.】

【Then, the aura emanating from his entire body begins to surge violently.】

【The dragon scales that were already solid become even more ferocious, even sprouting backward-facing barbs.】

【In just a brief moment, Old Dog Dragon’s body swells from a thousand zhang to three thousand zhang!】

【He has become a black dragon ten thousand meters in length, radiating a terrifying aura from every inch of his body.】

【Primordial Unity realm mid-stage… Primordial Unity realm late-stage… Primordial Unity realm Perfection!】

【In just a few short breaths, the oppressive might radiating from Old Dog Dragon has multiplied several times over, and his cultivation has surged by more than double.】

【That terrifying pressure nearly changes the color of heaven and earth.】

【Witnessing this scene, your heart goes cold at once, and you recall a legend you once read — True Dragon Nine Transformations!】

In the Real World, Su Xing saw this, and his expression turned ugly.

“How can this be… this Old Dog Dragon… actually carries a True Dragon bloodline within him!”

Su Xing drew a deep breath.

True Dragon Nine Transformations — this was a secret art Su Xing had once seen in the Scripture Pavilion of the Luotian Sect.

This secret art could only be performed by members of the Dragon Race who possessed the True Dragon bloodline; it was an extraordinarily powerful bloodline secret art!

The True Dragon, unlike ordinary members of the Dragon Race, was the king among dragonkind — its bloodline incomparably stronger than that of the Dragon Race by an immeasurable degree.

True Dragons were also exceedingly rare in number — even across the Three Thousand Worlds, they were seldom seen.

“This Old Dog Dragon… actually harbors True Dragon bloodline within his body!?”

Su Xing drew a deep breath, his mind recalling memories related to the True Dragon Nine Transformations.

The True Dragon Nine Transformations — with each transformation, one’s strength could increase dramatically!

Members of the Dragon Race who possessed a diluted True Dragon bloodline could typically undergo one to three transformations, gaining enough strength to fight opponents above their level.

Legend had it that only a true pureblooded True Dragon could fully execute all nine transformations of the True Dragon Nine Transformations.

It was said they could even fight above their level at the Immortal realm — a truly supreme secret art!

“Old Dog Dragon’s aura has risen from the sixth layer of the Primordial Unity realm to Primordial Unity realm Great Perfection… This should be the level of the second transformation…”

“But this also proves that the True Dragon bloodline within Old Dog Dragon is quite impressive… If he could break through to the Immortal realm and undergo bloodline reversion… Old Dog Dragon might be able to execute the third transformation, or even the fourth!”

Thinking this, Su Xing grew even more puzzled.

He didn’t know Old Dog Dragon’s origins — only that this old scoundrel had certainly lived for several thousand years…

“The True Dragon Nine Transformations — this is terrible… I’m afraid I won’t be able to defeat Old Dog Dragon this time either…”

Su Xing let out a sigh, clearly not having expected Old Dog Dragon to be hiding such an astonishing trump card.

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【After executing the True Dragon Nine Transformations secret art, Old Dog Dragon’s strength instantly more than doubled. His terrifying physical power left you nearly unable to resist.】

【You exchanged blows for several dozen more rounds, and you truly experienced firsthand the formidable might of the Dragon Race’s physical body.】

【At this moment, the ferocious black dragon high above gazed down with mockery in its eyes, vowing to tear you to shreds.】

【Facing Old Dog Dragon’s relentless barrage of attacks, there was not a shred of retreat in your heart.】

【Downing a bottle of spirit liquid and gripping the spirit sword Blackice, your heart was filled with incomparable calm.】

【You had a vague premonition — this would be your final battle in this simulation.】

【But even if it was the final battle… you would give it everything you had, leaving no regrets!】

【You drew a deep breath, and dozens of sword qi streaks slashed out, cutting straight toward Old Dog Dragon.】

【Old Dog Dragon regarded this with disdain. His increasingly sturdy black dragon scales negated nearly all the power of your sword qi.】

【At this moment, facing Old Dog Dragon whose defense had surged and whose strength had doubled, you had no path of retreat — only to charge forward and meet the enemy head-on!】

【Another several dozen rounds of combat followed.】

【Your Protective Hardened Qi shattered again and again… The primordial energy within your body was rapidly depleted, soon leaving less than a fifth remaining.】

【Your primordial energy armor absorbed most of the attacks, but the residual force still damaged your internal organs, leaving your aura weak and your injuries severe.】

【You swung your sword again and again, but against Old Dog Dragon, the effect was negligible.】

【Yet even so — even under this absolute disparity in strength, even in this hopeless situation — you had not the slightest intention of giving up.】

【Gripping the Blackice sword, its threads of coolness kept you rational and sharp in your battlefield judgment.】

【Your heart was filled with incomparable calm.】

【At this moment, the only thing in your eyes was that terrifying black dragon stretching ten thousand meters long.】

【There was only one thought in your mind — defeat him!】

【If you cannot defeat him, then die!】

【In this desperate situation, your latent potential finally erupted completely.】

【The surging battle intent in your heart and the spirit sword in your hand seemed to become ever more harmonized.】

【Faintly, you seemed to glimpse the invisible Great Dao of the Sword before your eyes!】

【A sword cultivator!】

【Better to die standing straight than to live bent and crooked!】

【For a sword cultivator, there exists only the purest victory… or death!】

【In this desperate moment, you triggered a Spontaneous Epiphany!】

【The sword in your hand and the sword in your heart seemed to become one in this instant.】

【You drew a deep breath, infusing the very last strand of Essence of Strength within your body into your swordsmanship… Then, the Sword of Speed slashed forth!】

【Facing this strike of yours — a sword born from the resolve to die — Old Dog Dragon’s eyes initially held a trace of contempt.】

【But when he sensed the Origin Force mere inches away, as though it could sever all things…】

【He panicked!】

【But by then, it was too late!】

【In this moment, the Three Talents Sword Art, Heaven Sword chapter, advanced to Minor Mastery!】

【A single sword strike sent sword qi sweeping three thousand zhang, aimed directly at Old Dog Dragon’s massive dragon head!】

【Terror — the aura of death — instantly flooded Old Dog Dragon’s heart.】

【In this final moment, the powerful instincts granted by his True Dragon bloodline allowed him to smell the inescapable scent of death.】

【And so, a vicious gleam appeared in Old Dog Dragon’s eyes.】

【In this last exchange, he completely abandoned his defense and lunged at you with everything he had, jaws snapping…】

【Dragon fangs dozens of zhang long shattered your Protective Hardened Qi and pierced through your heart without question.】

【A terrifying red blood qi surged toward your spiritual energy… In an instant, your soul and physical body alike were torn to shreds…】

【You died!】

【Your talent Die With Eyes Open activates!】

【You saw that sword qi stretching a thousand zhang slash directly into Old Dog Dragon’s massive dragon head.】

【With a single sword strike, head and body were separated…】

【Crimson dragon blood fell like rain across the entire mountain, slowly pooling into a river of blood…】

【You saw it — that dragon head, hundreds of zhang long, its eyes filled with deep, deep terror…】

【This single strike, imbued with boundless sword intent, not only cleaved Old Dog Dragon’s body apart but also annihilated his soul.】

【With this, Old Dog Dragon perished…】

【Ding — this simulation has ended!】

After the simulation concluded, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.

A trace of regret lingered in his eyes, yet also a hint of acceptance…

“So in that final moment, latent potential erupted, and comprehension of the Heaven Sword Art reached Minor Mastery!”

Su Xing drew a deep breath.

“A sword cultivator… better to die standing straight than to live bent and crooked…”

Su Xing murmured, a bitter smile touching his eyes.

“It seems… I’m destined never to become a true sword cultivator in reality…”

For Su Xing, steadiness and safety were the first principles!

And this was utterly incompatible with the sword cultivator’s sword.

The sword is double-edged!

It slays others, but also wounds the self!

“But fortunately, from the simulation I can bring out all of the sword cultivator’s realm and cultivation… For me, this is actually extremely safe!”

Su Xing shook his head with a smile.

Su Xing was probably destined to be the most cautious and careful sword cultivator in existence.

But then, Su Xing felt a surge of joy at the power of the Heaven Sword Art.

“As expected, the Heaven Sword Art at Minor Mastery is already enough for me at early-stage Body Integration to defeat late-stage Body Integration cultivators!”

Su Xing’s base strength was already considerably greater than typical early-stage Body Integration. Add in the Heaven Sword Art, Origin Force… and combined with the Dragonslayer talent, only then was he able to slay a Dragon Race member who had executed the True Dragon Nine Transformations and reached the Primordial Unity realm Perfection level!

“But what a pity… In that battle, the consumption of spiritual energy and primordial energy was too great… After that final sword strike, I had no strength left to defend…”

Su Xing let out a sigh. If he had been a bit stronger, perhaps instead of perishing alongside Old Dog Dragon, he could have slain him while suffering only severe injuries!

“If I want to strengthen my physical defense… the best method would naturally be to find a way to advance my Body Tempering cultivation to the Primordial Unity realm!”

Su Xing murmured, though this matter was not urgent. After entering the Body Integration stage, advancing body tempering to Primordial Unity would simply be a natural progression.

After adjusting his emotions, Su Xing’s gaze turned to the simulation panel’s rewards.

“Next comes the most exciting part — the reward selection!”

【Dragonslayer】: purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy points.

【Twenty Years of Alchemy Experience】: upon redemption, existing alchemy insights will increase slightly. Price: 2,000,000 energy.

【Three Talents Sword Art: Heaven Sword (Minor Accomplishment)】: a sword art left behind by the Sword Immortal Lü Dong. When cultivated to Perfection, one may discover the secret of entering the dao through the sword and achieving the status of Sword Immortal. Its swordsmanship and sword intent point directly to the origin of the Great Dao of the Sword. At Minor Accomplishment-level insight, one has preliminarily grasped the essence of sword cultivation, can unleash thousand-zhang sword qi, and can harness Origin Force to augment one’s swordsmanship. Price: 500,000,000 energy.

【Spirit Vein Dragon (Juvenile)】: born from the convergence of heaven and earth’s spirit veins. Ranked first on the Acquired Supreme Treasures list. Possesses spiritual sentience. Only supreme-grade spirit veins have less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance of giving birth to one. Price: 5,000,000 origin energy.