Chapter Eighteen: The Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique

“If it’s too unbearable, you can try cultivating the Mindwave Technique,” Old Wu kindly reminded him.

Hearing Old Wu’s words, Lin Xiaobao, overwhelmed by pain, didn’t even have time to think before he immediately began to attempt to cultivate the Mindwave Technique. The advantage of his powerful mental strength became apparent at this moment; when Lin Xiaobao focused his mind on the Mindwave, after the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he felt himself slipping into that mysterious realm once again, with everything around him reappearing in his consciousness.

Bathing and sleeping had nearly become the main theme of Lin Xiaobao’s life. During this period, the browless youth had come to find Lin Xiaobao several times, but each time he saw him soaking in the water barrel, sleeping, he lost all hope for him. In the browless youth’s eyes, someone like Lin Xiaobao would have no other fate after a year than being swept out of the Wind and Snow Pavilion.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Xiaobao had scarcely left the water barrel, and whenever he awoke from that mystical state, the pain in his body forced him to dive back into it. The water in the barrel was no longer clear, having turned inky black, yet every time Lin Xiaobao awakened, he found the pain in his body had lessened.

During his cultivation of the Mindwave Technique, Lin Xiaobao discovered that the range covered by the visions in his mind was expanding, almost encompassing several miles around the thatched hut. Moreover, the visions grew increasingly clear, more accurate than what his eyes could see. Suddenly, Lin Xiaobao felt the images in his mind begin to shake violently, as if caught in a powerful earthquake, with everything seemingly on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, the water in the barrel also seemed to boil, as the dark medicinal liquid around Lin Xiaobao’s body bubbled furiously.

What was happening? Was something wrong with his cultivation? Having never encountered such a situation before, Lin Xiaobao accelerated the Mindwave Technique, pushing its rhythm faster and faster. But as he increased the speed, the trembling in his mind grew ever more intense. Lin Xiaobao tried desperately to stop and ask the two elders what was going on, only to discover he could no longer control the rhythm of the technique. Instead, as he relaxed, the technique operated even faster.

Demonic deviation? The thought flashed through Lin Xiaobao’s mind. Yet just as his focus wavered, his mind erupted with a thunderous boom, plunging into total darkness...

Lin Xiaobao felt himself sinking into a space of utter blackness, but the Mindwave Technique continued to operate ceaselessly. Suddenly, a light of indiscernible color appeared in the darkness. Lin Xiaobao could sense clearly that with the movement of the Mindwave, invisible, intangible forces seeped into the light, causing it to expand.

Like sunlight illuminating the world, the light slowly brightened the entire dark space. The visions that had vanished from his mind reappeared, but this time Lin Xiaobao felt they were even more real, as if he were physically present within them.

Unconsciously, Lin Xiaobao opened his eyes. Yet, unlike before, the visions in his mind did not vanish when he emerged from that mystical state.

“What’s happening?” Lin Xiaobao was at a loss in the face of this strange situation.

“Remarkable! You’ve actually completed the first layer of the Mindwave Technique, the Condensation of the Void, after only two months!” Old Wu’s voice echoed in Lin Xiaobao’s mind as he hesitated.

“Condensation of the Void?” Lin Xiaobao was puzzled.

“To put it simply, you have now cultivated spiritual awareness, which only peak innate warriors possess. And in terms of the strength of your spiritual awareness, you surpass them by several degrees!” For once, Old Wu, usually so critical, was full of praise for Lin Xiaobao.

If others knew that Lin Xiaobao, who wasn’t even considered a basic martial artist, had already cultivated the spiritual awareness that only peak innate warriors could acquire, they would surely go mad. Looking at his handiwork, Old Wu was extremely satisfied. “Take some time to get used to your spiritual awareness.”

Lin Xiaobao nodded, and his mind began to shift. He found that within several miles’ radius, whatever direction he thought of, everything within would instantly appear in his mind. Was he the legendary Clairvoyant?

While Lin Xiaobao was reveling in his new abilities, a tingling itch spread through his meridians. “What’s happening now?”

“It means your body has absorbed all the medicinal energy. Your meridians are now at least twice as spacious as before. From now on, you can begin cultivating martial arts techniques,” Old Mo announced, marking the end of Lin Xiaobao’s bathing regimen.

“Martial arts techniques?” Lin Xiaobao was instantly excited. He had already experienced the advantages in formations and elixirs, but, influenced by his past life’s dreams of martial arts, he was even more eager for martial techniques. “Martial arts are a matter of life and death. I trust you won’t be stingy, Old Mo?”

Afraid Old Mo might try to get away with something, Lin Xiaobao skillfully slipped in a bit of flattery amid his excitement.

“You possess extremely strong mental power. I happen to have a set of Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique that should suit you well,” Old Mo seemed to have already prepared it for Lin Xiaobao.

Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique? The name alone sounded formidable. Lin Xiaobao nodded enthusiastically, like a chick pecking at grain. “Let’s start right away!”

Just as he spoke, Lin Xiaobao seemed to remember something and hurriedly shouted, “Wait—”

But it was too late. An immense flood of information poured into his mind, as if a phantom figure in his consciousness was demonstrating every move of the sword technique. At first, they were ordinary moves, but as the sequence progressed, the power of the techniques grew stronger, until the final moves were nothing short of earth-shattering.

“What a powerful sword technique!” An hour passed before the demonstration ended, and Lin Xiaobao could not help but praise it.

“Of course it’s powerful. This was the signature technique of the Sword Dao Master. If he hadn’t come to me for an elixir for his beloved concubine, he wouldn’t have exchanged this technique with me,” Old Mo said smugly.

“Why isn’t my head hurting this time?” Coming back to himself, Lin Xiaobao realized that not only had he not fainted, he didn’t even feel dizzy.

“That’s because your mental strength now exceeds that of innate warriors; naturally, you won’t suffer as you did before. Well, the technique is yours now. How far you can cultivate it depends on your own fate!” Old Mo glanced at the two medicinal herbs Lin Xiaobao had replanted: the Dragon Beard Ginseng and Dreamgrass, which had only grown half a foot tall. “These two herbs will mature in about a month and can be used to prepare your medicine then.”

“The Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique is all about speed. Looks like I need to help you further!” Just as Lin Xiaobao was about to stretch his limbs, Old Wu, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke. Without giving him a chance to protest, he controlled Lin Xiaobao’s body, picked up the wolf-hair brush on the table, dipped it in cinnabar, and once again painted strokes across Lin Xiaobao’s body.