272: Hunting the Sphinx

Practice forcibly ended?

What’s going on?

Shen Xi was a bit puzzled; this was the first time something like this had happened since he Acquired the System.

One must know that previously, there was only one situation where practice couldn't continue.

That was when the Yao Beast lifespan was insufficient.

But now, Shen Xi’s Yao Beast lifespan could be said to be extremely abundant.

Continuously fighting against the Yao Beast army allowed Shen Xi to gain a large amount of Yao Beast lifespan. Although the vast majority of it was spent on breaking the Blood Rust Seal of the broken sword, he still had over a million points left.

This was completely enough to push Shen Xi’s Realm to the Dian Ling Realm.

But unexpectedly, Shen Xi was forcibly stopped from practicing when he was at the Half-Step Dianling Realm.

This made him feel that something was wrong.

“System, what’s going on?”

“Ding! This System has forcibly stopped the practice process for the sake of the Host’s future.”

“Is it because of the broken sword?”

Shen Xi quickly reacted.

“That’s right. The Sword Spirit of the broken sword recognizes a master. If the Host breaks the first layer of the Seal in the Xiantian Realm, the Sword Spirit will fully acknowledge the Host. But if the Host breaks the Seal after breaking through to the Dian Ling Realm, the Sword Spirit’s attitude towards the Host will be completely different.”

“According to this System’s analysis, breaking the Seal in the Dian Ling Realm would at best make the Host a Named Disciple. Once the broken sword encounters a successor with better Aptitude, it will abandon the Host and leave with that mighty being’s Legacy. However, if the Seal is broken in the Xiantian Realm, then it would be a true Personal Disciple, and the treatment would be entirely different.”

Shen Xi nodded in agreement.

From Little Doll’s description of the Sword Spirit, it was clear how arrogant the Sword Spirit was. If one couldn't perfectly meet its requirements, it would likely look down on them.

For his own future, stopping Martial Arts practice was the correct decision.

After all, the System could indeed practice everything on the Martial Dao path, but it didn't have a Legacy.

Swordplay, Cultivation Technique—these all required Shen Xi to work hard and fight for them himself.

And the Legacy left by the broken sword’s owner, that supreme mighty being, was clearly the most suitable for Shen Xi.

“Then practice Sword Intent!”

Shen Xi immediately ordered.

“Starting practice. Since the Host is at the Fifth Level Sword Intent Realm, ten thousand points of Yao Beast lifespan will be consumed each year!”

“Year one, you did not rush to improve your Sword Intent, but rather re-evaluated the path you had previously taken.”

“This process lasted for three full years. To your surprise, sharpening the axe doesn’t delay chopping wood. During this period of reflection, you discovered your shortcomings in the Dao of the Sword, and your Sword Intent actually improved significantly!”

“Year three, you finished organizing your past experiences and began to Cultivate your Sword Intent wholeheartedly. Your Sword Intent was steadily improving!”

“Year ten, you have already reached the limit of Fifth Level Sword Intent, just one step away from breaking through to Sixth Level Sword Intent.”

“Year thirty, you spent twenty years to complete this step, successfully breaking through to Sixth Level Sword Intent.”

“Ding! Practice ended. Beginning feedback!”

Shen Xi’s combat power was rapidly increasing.

Half-Step Dianling Realm, Sixth Level Sword Intent.

With the two complementing each other, his combat power could completely cross a major Realm and contend with a strong practitioner at the Initial Dian Ling Realm.

If this were to spread, it would be enough to shock the Secluded Factions.

One must know that the Dian Ling Realm and the Xiantian Realm are separated by more than just a chasm.

One is in the heavens, the other on the ground.

Blood Refinement, Origin Qi, Acquired, Xiantian—these four Realms are collectively referred to as Martial Artists.

These four Realms are also known as the Martial Artist Four Realms.

What is a Martial Artist?

Nothing more than a scholar on the path of Martial Arts.

For Martial Artists, they are still in the process of learning.

And the Martial Dao Five Realms are completely different.

This has already touched the edge of the Dao; these are completely different concepts.

It is precisely because of this that the Dian Ling Realm and the Xiantian Realm, although only separated by one major Realm, have a gap between them that is even greater than the distance from an ordinary person to Innate Transformation of Strength.

Even among the favored children of heaven, the Dragons and Phoenixes among men, only a handful out of ten thousand Geniuses can contend with a Dian Ling Realm practitioner while in the Half-Step Dianling Realm.

And Shen Xi did it!

This alone is enough to make countless Secluded Factions extend an olive branch.

After all, even within the Secluded Factions, there are no Geniuses of this caliber.

“Half-Step Dianling Realm allows for short periods of flight, so it won’t affect my pursuit of the Sphinx.”

Shen Xi spent some time and finally mastered the power of the Half-Step Dianling Realm.

Subsequently, he directly rose into the air and chased in the direction the Sphinx had left.

“Damn it, how did this Human kid catch up again?”

The Sphinx couldn’t help but curse.

It had only just escaped Shen Xi a short while ago, thinking that the other party had given up the chase. But unexpectedly, not long after, Shen Xi caught up again.

Not only that, Shen Xi was even flying!

This made the Sphinx’s scalp tingle.

Originally, it could use its advantage of being able to fly to widen the distance between itself and Shen Xi, but now, the other party could also fly, and its biggest advantage was nullified.

Fortunately, the Sphinx hadn't sensed Shen Xi’s true Realm at the moment, still thinking that he was using some special forbidden weapon to fly.

Otherwise, if it knew that Shen Xi had broken through from the Greater Completion of the Acquired Realm to the Half-Step Dianling Realm within these few minutes, thus gaining the ability to fly, its jaw would surely drop.

Others struggle and toil to break through, needing to go into seclusion for decades to break through a minor Realm, yet Shen Xi accomplished in a few minutes what others take decades to do. This was truly outrageous.

“Sphinx, where do you think you’re running to?!”

Shen Xi roared.

Killing the Sphinx was not only for the sake of eliminating harm for the people, but also for the Wind Chasing Swordplay, and for the massive amount of Yao Beast lifespan.

It was still the same point: for every additional Yao Beast the Sphinx hunted, Shen Xi would lose hundreds, even thousands, of Yao Beast lifespan points.

“Damn Human kid, you’re really not going to let me go, are you? Do you believe I’ll fight you to the death?!”

The Sphinx cursed while fleeing.

Although its words were fierce, its steps showed no sign of stopping.

Its state had not yet fully stabilized, and facing Shen Xi, who had an endless supply of trump cards, it didn’t have much chance of winning.

‘Once my state fully recovers, I’ll definitely kill you!’

The Sphinx thought viciously.

Now that they were not near the Thatched Cottage, Shen Xi couldn’t use its power and could only rely on forbidden weapons to fight.

However, if the Sphinx recovered to its Peak state and completely solidified its Origin, it would not fear forbidden weapons.

But for now, it still had to avoid its sharp edge. If it were injured by a forbidden weapon, it would need to consume more blood food to solidify its Origin.

Furthermore, if its Origin were accidentally damaged, the Sphinx would not be far from death.