75: Chapter 75: The Sword Bone's Draw Shocks Heaven and Earth! Brother, I'm here to avenge your blood debt!

Golden light exploded.

In the secret room, Shen Ji squeezed his eyes shut. The light was too intense, like thousands of golden needles piercing his eyeballs.

At the center of the light, a line of domineering calligraphy he had never seen before was condensing stroke by stroke.

[Golden Trait—Supreme Sword Bone]

Shen Ji's heart felt as if it were seized by an invisible hand, suddenly skipping a beat.

He stared fixedly at those four characters, his throat tightening with dryness.

Beneath the characters, three lines of properties clearly emerged.

[Property 1: Natural Sword Bone. Meridians are naturally compatible with the flow of Sword Qi. Cultivation speed for any sword technique is increased by three times, and the consumption for controlling flying swords is reduced by fifty percent.]

[Property 2: Innate Sword Intent. The threshold for comprehending Sword Intent is reduced to zero. One can condense basic Sword Intent during the Foundation Building stage and attempt to touch the prototype of a Sword Domain during the Nascent Soul stage.]

[Property 3: Myriad Swords Return to Source. The maximum number of flying swords that can be controlled simultaneously is doubled. The resonance between the flying swords and one's own spiritual power increases with cultivation level, with no upper limit.]

Shen Ji read it over three times. Each word was like a rolling thunderclap, exploding in his mind.

He reached out, his fingertips trembling violently in mid-air, failing several times to touch the illusory panel.

Twenty years!

He had been cautious for twenty years, and finally, he had waited for this true path to the heavens!

Without the slightest hesitation, with a thought, he chose to equip it!

Buzz—

An indescribable stabbing pain suddenly exploded from his spine, like a bolt of lightning instantly coursing through his limbs and bones! His meridians felt as if they were being forcibly torn open and widened, then reshaped and bonded together by a gentle power.

After only a single breath, the stabbing pain turned into an indescribable comfort, as if he had shed shackles that had troubled him for years. His entire body became transparent and light!

[Name: Shen Ji]

[Cultivation: foundation establishment level 3]

[Current Luck Value: 1255]

[Equipped Traits 6/6: Wealth Returns After Being Spent (Gold), Supreme Sword Bone (Gold), Phantom Raid (Purple), Blessed with Many Children (Purple), Sword Mastery (Blue), Teaching and Educating (Green)]

Two Golds, two Purples, one Blue, and one Green.

This lineup gave him unprecedented confidence.

Shen Ji exhaled a long breath of turbid air, forcibly suppressing his churning emotions.

His merchant instincts allowed him to calm down quickly.

When obtaining a divine weapon, the first thing to do is always to hide its edge.

[Age 48, mid-February.]

[In the secret room, you summoned the jinhong sword.]

[As soon as the blade appeared, it emitted a high-pitched hum. This sound no longer traveled through the air but rang directly in your mind, like a flood dragon imprisoned for many years, longing for a hearty battle!]

[You grip the hilt, and a feeling of being connected by blood arises spontaneously. You try to inject a sliver of spiritual power, only a tenth of the amount you used in the past.]

[Swish!]

[The jinhong sword instantly left your hand, trailing a dazzling golden afterimage. The next moment, it appeared at the other end of the secret room, so fast that even your divine sense almost couldn't keep up!]

[Your heart jolted, and you immediately cut off the spiritual power supply.]

[Just a sliver of spiritual power has such power! If fully activated...]

[You raise your hand, and the jinhong sword returns at your command, hovering steadily in front of your fingertips. The blade remains motionless, resonating in sync with your heartbeat.]

[You close your eyes.]

[All the obscure and difficult sword principles of the past suddenly became clear at this moment. All the techniques accumulated by [Sword Mastery] were instantly analyzed, reconstructed, and turned into your own instinct.]

[You open your eyes and point casually toward the hard stone wall.]

[Chirp—]

[A bolt of Sword Qi left your body for three feet, condensing without dissipating, and carved a smooth half-inch deep cut into the stone wall.]

[You brush your finger over that mirror-smooth cut. The cold touch makes your heart burn with excitement.]

[Age 48, Summer.]

[In the courtyard, you guide Shen Tian in sword practice.]

["Father, again!"]

[Sixteen-year-old Shen Tian is already at the peak of the fifth level of Qi Refining. He performs a set of Flowing Cloud Sword Techniques with great vigor, striking three times in rapid succession, combining speed and precision.]

[Using only footwork to move, you easily dodge all attacks.]

["Your sword is too upright."]

[Shen Tian sheathes his sword, panting: "The sword technique is grand and upright, what is wrong with that?"]

["Grand and upright is for dealing with the weak. When you encounter a true master, they'll know exactly where your next strike is going even with their eyes closed."]

[You draw the jinhong sword and flick your wrist casually at an empty space.]

[Buzz!]

[A beam of sword light flashed out, unexpectedly turning at a sharp angle in mid-air without warning. It bypassed a nearby stone stool and silently sliced off a leaf thirty feet away.]

[The sword in Shen Tian's hand fell to the ground with a 'clatter'. He stared fixedly at the falling leaf, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't say a word.]

["A sword is a killing tool, not a gentleman's etiquette. Remember that?"]

["...I remember." The youth murmured, picking up the sword again, a flame never seen before igniting in his eyes.]

[On the steps, Shen Fei waved a wooden sword and shouted: "Dad! I want to learn that turning one too! It's so cool!"]

["Build a solid foundation in sword techniques first before talking about that." You replied grumpily.]

[Age 49, first day of the second month.]

[The annual trait draw is triggered.]

[Your Luck Value has reached 1298 points. After equipping the Supreme Sword Bone, your efficiency in teaching your children has greatly increased, and the speed of Luck feedback is nearly thirty percent faster than last year.]

[A white light flashes.]

[White Trait—"Night Owl".]

[You casually put it into the warehouse.]

[Age 49, seventh day of the fifth month.]

[You end your seclusion. The bottleneck to breaking through to Foundation Building Stage 4 has already loosened. The meridians modified by the Supreme Sword Bone make your cultivation speed far exceed that of ordinary people.]

[While you are sunbathing in the courtyard, Shen Tian walks back quickly from outside. His aura is steady; he is already at the sixth level of Qi Refining.]

["Father, I've broken through."]

[You glance at him and nod: "That set of turning sword moves, have you learned it?"]

["I have! Father, look!" Shen Tian immediately began to practice on the spot.]

["Go to the training room and perform this set of sword moves three times perfectly within three breaths. Come back to see me once you've done it."]

[No praise, only higher requirements.]

[Shen Tian pursed his lips, nodded heavily, and turned to walk into the training room.]

[The days flowed by peacefully.]

[Age 49, June 13th, evening.]

[In the secret room, you are immersed in the comprehension of Sword Intent. That layer of barrier, as thin as a cicada's wing, seems within reach.]

[Suddenly—]

[Buzz buzz buzz!!]

[A transmission jade slip stored deep in your storage bag began to vibrate violently without warning! The frequency was so urgent it felt like a death knell!]

[You stop cultivating and take out the jade slip.]

[It's not Manager Luo Bin's.]

[It's the emergency jade slip that Perfected Chiyang personally handed to you, not to be used unless the sect was in a moment of life or death!]

[A strong sense of foreboding drenched your heart like ice water.]

[You immediately inject spiritual power.]

[The voice coming from the jade slip was not the steady voice of Perfected Chiyang, but a completely unfamiliar male voice, hoarse and urgent, with uncontrollable sobbing and fear.]

["Mr. Mr. Shen! I am Zhou Qi of the Fire Cloud Hall! Vice Hall Master Huo, he—"]

[The voice broke off abruptly. In the background were the sounds of clashing weapons, exploding techniques, and the terrified screams of countless people.]

[The next second, a roar of despair that tore through the heart exploded from the jade slip!]

["Vice Hall Master Huo... has been killed!!"]

[Boom—!!]

[Those words were like four red-hot iron nails, smashed ruthlessly into your brain.]

[The transmission jade slip in your hand slipped from your fingers and hit the ground with a 'snap', but you didn't even notice.]

[You opened your mouth, but your throat felt as if it were filled with molten iron, unable to make a sound.]

[Brother Huo...]

[That honest man who laughed and called you Brother Shen.]

[That man who had just become a father, his face full of happiness.]

[Dead?]

[An indescribable, pure, and destructive violence exploded from the deepest part of your heart!]

[Buzz—!!!]

[Beside you, the jinhong sword sensed its master's state of mind that was almost ready to destroy heaven and earth, and it let out an incredibly sharp and shrill wail!]

[Without needing your control, streaks of chilling Sword Qi, as solid as substance, erupted frantically from the blade, like out-of-control blade wheels, cutting wildly in all directions!]

[The hard stone table, stone stools, and even the thick stone walls beside you were as fragile as tofu in the face of this out-of-control Sword Qi!]

[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]

[The entire secret room was instantly sliced into pieces, with crushed stones flying everywhere!]