Chapter 6: The Art of the Flying Sword

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When it came to the battles in this world, Xing Tian finally displayed the essence of a God of War before Li Mingxing. He seemed to have fought every deity within this inner world, and with every word, he pointed out their specific tactical weaknesses. It was evident that in terms of pure combat power, none of the gods in this realm could be a match for Xing Tian.

However, after speaking for a while, Xing Tian looked at Li Mingxing with a sense of helplessness, eyeing him up and down. "Given your current strength, you might not be able to participate in the fighting. If that’s the case, it means I’ll be doing all the work for you at the front, which makes me quite unhappy. So, you must join the fray, and you must kill at least a few of them."

Li Mingxing felt a bit helpless himself. His injuries had not fully healed, and even if he were to recover to the peak of this body’s potential, he would still be nothing more than cannon fodder in this inner world; bringing himself along wouldn't be of any use.

Seeing Li Mingxing’s expression, Xing Tian burst into laughter. "Kid, I know what you’re thinking. I have a method here that suits you perfectly. Do you want to try and improve your strength?"

With that, Xing Tian tossed a rock at Li Mingxing. As the stone, which was larger than a human head, landed in front of him, Li Mingxing secretly looked down on Xing Tian, wondering why he couldn't find something normal to record information on. But after seeing the contents recorded on the stone, Li Mingxing swallowed all his complaints, because what was written there was exactly what he needed.

It turned out to be a skill—an offensive skill Li Mingxing currently lacked: Level 0 Flying Sword Technique. A mythical-grade artifact skill, it allowed one to refine a longsword into a "sword pellet" that could be hidden in the mouth or within the body, to be released for long-range attacks when needed.

The power and properties of the sword pellet depended on the sword's attributes and the refining technique. Refining a pellet required at least Mastery or Essence level in either Sword Skill or Sword Qi Mastery. The higher the level of the Flying Sword Technique and the associated skills, the better the effect of the sword pellet.

Upon seeing this, Li Mingxing’s first reaction was that if he learned this, he could turn the swords he had into pellets and hide them on his person. Even if he were to leave this inner world and lose his current skills, this Flying Sword Technique would carry over, and those pellets would become his life-saving trump card.

Seeing Li Mingxing’s excitement, the face on Xing Tian’s torso smiled. "It seems you like this. It was left behind by someone who came to challenge me, but I killed him. It’s useless to me, so I’m giving it to you."

Li Mingxing understood the implication behind Xing Tian’s words. While he didn't know what had taught a warrior like Xing Tian such political maneuvering, Li Mingxing only cared about the technique. He didn't dwell on it and immediately took out the silver rapier he had looted from someone and began to experiment.

Xing Tian watched without interference. Once Li Mingxing held the rapier, he realized that while the technique itself wasn't difficult, crafting the pellet was the real challenge. Without a deep understanding of swordsmanship, it would be impossible to compress a full-length sword into a pellet the thickness of a finger, let alone retain the sword's original power.

But with his Level 6 Sword Skill Essence, it was no longer a problem. After half an hour of effort, a silver, needle-like sword pellet appeared before him.

After testing it, Li Mingxing realized that at Level 0, he could only control the pellet to shoot out and return; he couldn't make it turn in mid-air, let alone use it like a master swordsman or fly on it like an immortal.

He also realized with frustration that this skill was different from others: while other skills required 1,000 spiritual coins to upgrade from Level 0 to Level 1, this one required 7,000. It was both bad news and good news—at least he now knew which combat skill to train in the mercenary camp once he returned to reality.

After playing with the silver pellet, Li Mingxing blew on it, and it turned into a streak of silver light that vanished into his back. There, where his ethereal body resided, he hid the pellet in the venomous stinger of his chimera tail, unbeknownst to Xing Tian.

Having used his rapier to create the pellet, Li Mingxing had no sword left to use. As he hesitated, Xing Tian tossed him a longsword about 1.7 meters in length. "Take this. I use axes and shields; this thing is just a decoration to me."

Drawing the sword from the ground, Li Mingxing felt a surge of immense power flowing into his arm, making his entire body boil. He discovered that his temporarily granted Sword Skill Essence had jumped from Level 6 to Level 7. Though unstable, it gave him the strength to contend with a Seventh-Tier low-level enemy.

Just as Li Mingxing was about to speak, Xing Tian patted his shoulder and said, "Alright, I need to prepare as well. You go down first."

With that pat, Li Mingxing went tumbling down the top of Mount Changyang. Before he could even scramble to his feet at the base, he heard an excited roar from the summit: "Lads, get moving! We’re going to war!"

Before Li Mingxing could react, over a hundred headless warriors appeared nearby. They were all dressed the same, wearing heavy armor, a battle-axe in one hand and a shield in the other. They didn't bother with formation; they just jumped and shouted, appearing to have no combat discipline at all. Yet, Li Mingxing understood that if these headless warriors encountered enemies, they were the ones who would be left standing.

At that moment, Zheng and Aisha arrived at his side. Seeing that he had few injuries, they realized he had completed his task. However, they seemed shaken by the atmosphere. Aisha was composed, but the usually bold Zheng seemed at a loss for how to handle the situation.

Li Mingxing tapped Zheng’s shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, we've completed the first step. But there’s bad news: the Light Alliance has arrived, and they’ve already made contact with *that* one." He gestured toward the sun still hanging in the sky. "Now that Xing Tian and his forces are going to stir up trouble, we need to do our part so his efforts aren't wasted."

"You want to kill those people?" Zheng asked.

"Not exactly an open slaughter, but we should undermine them. They shouldn't know we exist yet. If we don't act now, we won't have the chance once they figure out we’re here."

Seeing Li Mingxing’s faint smile, Zheng and Aisha remained silent. Li Mingxing’s enthusiasm waned; he wondered if he should find a good military strategist, as playing these political games was becoming exhausting.

As he pondered this, Xing Tian descended from the mountain. Unlike his headless warriors, he wore no armor, only a roll of animal hide around his waist, and he was barefoot. Yet, when he stood on the ground, his aura made it clear why he dressed that way—no one could land an attack on him, rendering armor useless.

Xing Tian looked at Li Mingxing. "Are you coming with us, or are you acting alone?"

Li Mingxing would have liked to join, but with the three of them suddenly appearing among such a unique army, it would certainly raise questions. "We’ll act independently. We want to visit some of the other gods."

"And which god do you plan to visit next?" Xing Tian asked.

"I heard the God of Shadows ascended from the lower realms," Li Mingxing replied after a moment's thought. "I want to ask him about the process of apotheosis."

"I see. Given your current progress, it is appropriate to inquire about that. Be careful when you see him; he’s a suspicious one." Xing Tian understood his intent and offered the warning.

With that advice, Li Mingxing knew how to handle the God of Shadows. After Xing Tian and his massive army departed, Li Mingxing nodded to Zheng and Aisha, and they led their own forces toward the south.