The maple leaves were as red as fire, swaying in the wind like bright red flames dancing and swaying. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
The maple leaves around the Red Maple Meadow swayed. A figure stood among them, holding a sword in one hand in front of him. The index and middle fingers of his left hand were close together, slowly brushing the red blade.
"Body and Sword as One …" Chen Zong murmured softly. His eyes contained a clear and deep light, as if reflecting a world. In that world, there was a miniature of the sword in front of him, incomparably agile.
Before, Chen Zong didn't know much about Body and Sword as One. Therefore, there were many things he didn't understand. But after returning to the Guan Mansion, he borrowed relevant books and finally had a more intuitive understanding and mastery of Body and Sword as One.
The first level was Return to One. After mastering this level, one's strength could be completely integrated. The most important thing was the high degree of integration of weapons and martial arts, surpassing the limit.
The second level was Lingwu. Whether it was weapons or martial arts, it would be as if they were given life and become incomparably agile. Naturally, their power would be correspondingly increased, and they would be more flexible in battle.
The third level was Divine Reflection. This was a very mysterious level. Chen Zong didn't have a comprehensive understanding of it from the books. There were only a few records, and he could only imagine it from bits and pieces of words.
After all, in the entire Cloud Dragon Dynasty, there were very few martial artists who could master Body and Sword as One. And those who could comprehend Body and Sword as One to the second level were even rarer. As for the third level, it was still unknown whether anyone had reached it.
Chen Zong was sure that after comprehending Body and Sword as One, he had indeed reached the second level. This was a level that many True Martial Realm experts couldn't reach.
However, Chen Zong gradually understood his shortcomings.
That was, the time he had spent comprehending Body and Sword as One was too short. He couldn't fully display the mysteries contained in it.
This was good. Pseudo Spiritual Weapons.
Pseudo Spiritual Weapons had extraordinary power. Martial artists in the Qi Refining Realm could use Pseudo Spiritual Weapons to display their power, but only a small part of it. Only those who had reached the True Martial Realm could display most of the power of Pseudo Spiritual Weapons. Only those who had reached the Pseudo Transcendence Realm could display the full power of Pseudo Spiritual Weapons.
To display the power of Pseudo Spiritual Weapons, it depended on cultivation. To display the mysterious power of Body and Sword as One, it depended on cultivation, comprehension, and mastery.
Although there were differences between the two, there were also similarities.
After half a month of cultivation and comprehension, Chen Zong's understanding of the first level of the Body and Sword as One had become more comprehensive. However, it was still very difficult to completely grasp it. In other words, there was no limit to this level of understanding. As long as one continued to cultivate and comprehend it, they would continue to deepen their understanding.
If the realms were to be compared to two lines, one was horizontal and the other was vertical.
The vertical line represented the height of the realm, extending from low to high. The horizontal line represented the width of the realm, and how many mysteries were contained within it.
This was Chen Zong's understanding after half a month, and it was also very accurate.
....................
The Red Thunder Sword was swung out very slowly, as if there was no power behind it. However, the air under the sword rippled like water, spreading out invisible ripples.
It was like a sword cutting through water.
It was slow and light. It seemed weightless, but it contained amazing power.
This was the power of Body and Sword as One.
Chen Zong withdrew his sword and waved it again. He was neither slow nor fast. Under the uniform speed of the sword, the dust in the air seemed to be crushed. Again, a layer of water-like ripples appeared.
Sword after sword. Sword after sword, they looked so ordinary. But they were all tempered to the extreme.
The sound of the sword was melodious and the wind was whistling. There seemed to be invisible Sword Qi in the air. Suddenly, sword marks appeared on the rockery more than ten meters away. The marks were smooth as if they had been cut by a divine weapon.
In the past half a month, Chen Zong repeatedly waved his sword at Body and Sword as One. He waved his sword at least a thousand times a day. He didn't feel tired or bored. He was completely immersed in it. His understanding and mastery of Body and Sword became deeper and deeper.
After practicing, Chen Zong sat cross-legged and began to cultivate Origin Breaking Force.
Origin Breaking Force was still at the fifth level. The sixth level was harder to break through than Chen Zong expected.
The vigorous, domineering, and sharp Chaotic Heaven Origin Shattering Energy was like a surging river. It circulated endlessly, passing through Chen Zong's bones and muscles like an undulating python. From the outside, Chen Zong's muscles seemed to be expanding and contracting.
In the past half a month, Chen Zong practiced his sword again and again. After exhausting his inner force, he sat down to cultivate Origin Breaking Force. His cultivation kept improving. Now, he had reached the peak of the middle stage of Training Force. He was only a step away from the late stage.
Impact, impact, impact!
His whole body trembled as if something was broken. The powerful inner force in his body paused for a moment and then moved again. It seemed to be more powerful. Chen Zong knew that he had made a breakthrough.
The late stage of Ninth Transformation of Training Force!
"I finally made a breakthrough," Chen Zong said to himself with a smile.
A breakthrough in cultivation meant a further improvement in combat strength. However, it was only a small breakthrough. It probably couldn't make his combat strength reach the peak.
After all, it was more difficult to reach the late stage of Training Force. It was more difficult than a small breakthrough in cultivation.
Chen Zong estimated that if he could reach the peak of the ninth transformation of Training Force, his combat strength would reach the early stage of five-star.
However, he was now at the late stage of the ninth transformation. The peak of the ninth transformation was not far away.
Chen Zong continued to practice his sword with his inner force fully recovered.
In the blink of an eye, the one-month time limit for the State Knight Exam was up. Someone came to the Guan Mansion to inform Chen Zong to gather at the Coiling Dragon Palace.
After tidying up quickly, Chen Zong left the Guan Mansion with his two swords and headed to the Coiling Dragon Palace.
When he walked into the Coiling Dragon Palace, the Amethyst Dragon King was sitting on the throne. There were three other people who arrived earlier than Chen Zong.
After waiting for about half an hour, two more people arrived.
"Yuwen He, Jiang Tianmu, Ceng Zhanjun, Chen Zong, Su Xiaoshui, Yuwen Bing. I congratulate the six of you for completing the exam within the time limit." The Amethyst Dragon King said. Chen Zong was stunned.
There were a total of nine assessment missions, but only six people had completed them. This caused Chen Zong's heart to tremble.
"There were ninety-eight people who participated in the exam. Ninety-one came back alive." The Amethyst Dragon King said again. Everyone's expression changed slightly.
Seven people died.
It also meant that it was very difficult to become a State Knight. It was life-threatening. However, everyone still rushed to the exam.
The Amethyst Dragon King glanced at everyone as he spoke. He paused on Chen Zong's face. These days, he had learned about the details of the Thousand Mile Chase.
He had to admit that everything was so unexpected. He also had to admit that Chen Zong was a genius with great potential.
Although Yuwen Ran was very unwilling, he did not hide anything. Otherwise, he would not only lose the title of State Knight, but also his moral character as a warrior.
Moreover, there were other examinees. Especially the fatty Yang Qifeng, who was saved by Chen Zong. It was even more impossible for him to hide anything.
He was good at sword arts and archery. He could actually use a bow and arrow to intimidate Ma Qianli, making him unable to escape. In the end, he even mastered the Unity of Body and Sword and killed Ma Qianli who mastered the Unity of Body and Sword.
In other words, Chen Zong was able to complete the exam without any tricks. It was his real strength.
"There are only three State Knights. There are six of you. Therefore, you will have a final battle. The loser will be eliminated. The winner will get the right to be conferred the title of State Knight." As the Amethyst Dragon King finished speaking, the six people's eyes shone brightly.
State Knight!
It was a symbol of status. It was a symbol of honor.
Even though being conferred the title of Kingdom Knight didn't have any real authority, it was still an extremely high honor and status. It was also possible to enjoy the special treatment of the dynasty. It could be said that this was a very, very high title. It was the goal of countless martial artists.
Six people, three spots. It meant that three people were going to be eliminated. Immediately, everyone's eyes swept over and saw the other five as their opponents.
"Follow this king." The Amethyst Dragon King said. He waved his sleeve and walked out of the Coiling Dragon Palace. He walked through the square in front of the palace and walked along the white jade dragon corridor. He then walked through the garden where the red flowers were still blooming like flames. He passed through the green bamboo forest that was swaying in the wind. Finally, he arrived at an octagonal arena.
There were eight huge pillars around the arena. Each pillar was made of white jade. There were dragons coiling around them. Their heads were facing the sky and their mouths were slightly open. It was as if they were roaring towards the sky.
"This is the Dragon Battle Arena." The Amethyst Dragon King said.
There were many people standing around the Dragon Battle Arena. Looking at their clothes, each of them had a high status. Their bodies were filled with tyrannical aura.
These people belonged to the royal family. Chen Zong saw the Black Dragon King and Yu Wen Ran.
When Yu Wen Ran saw Chen Zong, he was slightly startled at first. Then, his eyes emitted a sharp light and shot over. Chen Zong ignored him.
Here, Chen Zong also saw other people who participated in the assessment but were eliminated. He also saw Shi Huan Yue.
Shi Huanyue was standing with two other people. One of them was a middle-aged man wearing a moon-white robe embroidered with a pair of dragons circling around his robe. His scholarly aura made him seem like a Confucian scholar, but at the same time, he was full of vigor and vitality.
The other person was also wearing a white robe, but there were no dragon patterns. He was a young man in his twenties. He looked similar to Shi Huan Yue. He should be Shi Huan Yue's relative.
Perhaps feeling the gaze, Shi Huan Yue looked over. Seeing that it was Chen Zong, she smiled. Chen Zong also smiled back. This scene happened to be seen by the middle-aged man and the young man. Their eyes fell on Chen Zong's face at the same time. A sharp light flashed in their eyes, as if they wanted to see through Chen Zong.
Immediately, a figure appeared. He strode over and appeared in front of Chen Zong. His face was full of smiles and he looked very enthusiastic.
"Brother Chen, congratulations on passing the assessment." It was the second prince, Yuwen Yi.
"I still have to fight." Chen Zong smiled.
"It's okay. Do your best." Yuwen Yi smiled. He didn't dare to say that Chen Zong could take the title of National Scholar. Otherwise, if Chen Zong was eliminated, it would be a slap to his face.
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