Divine King of Honour

Time flew by, and it had already been ten days.

Since the day Xu Nian visited the Qin family, his cultivation had become even more arduous.

He had not made things difficult for the Qin family; after all, Qin Yuanshan was his biological father, no matter how wrong he had been.

However, Xu Nian did not plan to let Qin Yuanshan off the hook just like that.

One day, he would personally bring Qin Yuanshan before his mother and let her decide Qin Yuanshan's fate.

As for Bai Tianhan, he once again left Tianhai City in a hurry, coming and going quickly.

But before he left, Bai Tianhan had left behind a Divine Demon Gang Skill, the Dragon King Fist, for Xu Nian.

The problem was that the Dragon King Fist was too overbearing. One must reach the Silver Moon Battle Sect level in the Divine Demon Refining Body technique to practice it, so Xu Nian had to suppress his excitement and wait until his Divine Demon Refining Body broke through to start training.

During these ten days, aside from healing his injuries, Xu Nian devoted all his time to artifact refining and sword practice.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Refining by day and practicing the sword by night.

By now, Xu Nian's artifact refining level had greatly improved, reaching the threshold of a three-star Refining Apprentice, able to proficiently forge steel swords.

The level of an artifact master is defined by the materials they can refine.

One who can refine steel swords is an Artifact Refining Apprentice, while those who can refine Xuan Iron Swords are at the Little Artifact Refiner level.

A Meteorite Iron Sword can only be forged by a Great Refiner, and the more unique metals require the level of an Artifact Refining Master.

As for the legendary Divine Iron, perhaps only an Artifact Refining Emperor Master could handle it.

Now Xu Nian was merely at the basic stage of forging steel swords; he still had a significant way to go to reach the level of a Little Artifact Refiner, not to mention the legendary Artifact Refining Emperor Master.

However, the path of artifact refining can't be rushed and requires diligent practice.

The fact that Xu Nian had reached the level of a three-star Refining Apprentice in such a short time was evidence of his strong innate talent for refining.

When it came to swordsmanship, however, Xu Nian had always been unable to step into the realm of Sword Intent.

...

The moon shone faintly amongst sparse stars.

Inside a side hall of Qingtian Hall, Xu Nian stood in the courtyard, holding the Xuan Iron Sword and gazing intently at it.

Every night for the past ten days, he had been practicing his swordsmanship, and now he had mastered both the Ling Feng Thirteen Swords and the Gale Sword Technique to a subtle peak.

One could say his swordsmanship's attacking power had increased by a solid level, but despite this, he still had not attained the realm of Man and Sword as One that Dugu Jingcheng had reached.

Without reaching the realm of Man and Sword as One, his two major sword techniques could not enter the Realm of Divine Transformation.

To achieve Man and Sword as One, one must merge with the sword in hand.

To let the sword bear one's will, in turn unleashing powerful strikes.

But swords are inanimate, and people are alive.

How easy could it be for a living being to communicate and merge with an inanimate object?

Xu Nian chuckled bitterly within his heart. Dugu Jingcheng was not called a Little Sword Saint without reason, given that even some Marquis-level experts had not reached the realm of Man and Sword as One.

"Hmph, you don't even understand what the sword in your hand is to you, how can you grasp Man and Sword as One?" The figure of Emperor Ye Tian suddenly appeared in the courtyard, speaking in a frustrated manner as one might chide an intractable disciple.

"What is the sword in my hand to me?" Xu Nian paused slightly.

Yeah, what was the sword in his hand to himself?

A mere tool?

A weapon of murder?

Xu Nian pondered within his heart.

Had it been before he went to the Qin family, he certainly would not have hesitated to answer, but now Xu Nian could not help but reflect.

The sword in his hand represented not just a weapon, not just a murderer's tool, but a companion that could help him rescue his mother and face any difficulty together.

Companion!

Yes, a partner!

With it by my side, I can be fearless!

Realizing this, Xu Nian suddenly felt enlightened and thrust his sword forward.

There was no fanciness, no special sword techniques, just a plain and simple stab.

Yet, this stab caused the surrounding air to buzz as if a wall in front of him had been pierced through.

Seeing this, Xu Nian was overjoyed and immediately closed his eyes, repeatedly going through the process of that thrust.

And as Xu Nian practiced the thrust over and over again, his perception of the sword in his hands became clearer and clearer.

The trajectory of the thrust and the vibration of the surrounding air began to materialize in his mind, bit by bit.

It is worth noting that at this moment, Xu Nian was not using his Divine Sense, but was simply using his heart to feel the sword in his hands, as if the sword had gradually become a part of his body.

Witnessing this scene, the Yetian God Emperor beside him showed a look of approval and didn't disturb Xu Nian, instead, he took out the three Meteorite Iron Boxes from Xu Nian's space ring and started refining.

A black flame appeared in the hands of the Yetian God Emperor. This black flame seemingly held no heat on its surface, but the three Meteorite Iron Boxes melted instantly upon contact, turning into molten iron.

When Xu Nian came out of his sword practice, the sky had already brightened.

Throughout the night, he had practiced a total of ten thousand and eight stabs, finally achieving perfect harmony with his sword, the so-called Man and Sword as One realm.

Now, when his sword thrust forward, it actually emitted a whistling sound, and the surrounding air seemed to form sword qi that spurted out three feet.

And this was without Xu Nian using Spiritual Energy; if he did use it, the power would undoubtedly be much greater.

"Man and Sword as One, is this what it feels like?" Joy was unmistakable on Xu Nian's face.

Now, within a three-meter range, without needing the guidance of Divine Sense, the Xuan Iron Sword could automatically fly into his hands—such was the marvelous aspect of Man and Sword as One.

"Kid, don't celebrate too early. Man and Sword as One is just the most basic realm in swordsmanship; you still have a long way to go," the Yetian God Emperor's voice rang out again.

Xu Nian nodded vigorously, but the joy on his face was hard to conceal.

The Yetian God Emperor shook his head, no longer offering advice, but with a wave of his sleeve, he tossed a pitch-black object at Xu Nian's feet.

That pitch-black object hit the ground near Xu Nian's feet with a thud, instantly creating a deep pit.

What is this?

Xu Nian was shocked and hurriedly looked down!

A hammer!

Yes, the pitch-black object tossed by the Yetian God Emperor was a hammer.

A cylindrical hammer with a handle about three feet long.

The hammer's surface was as black as ink, incredibly smooth.

"While you were practicing your swordsmanship, I took out those three Meteorite Iron Boxes of yours and had a go at refining them. I originally wanted to forge a Heavy Sword for you, but then I thought a hammer would suit you better," the Yetian God Emperor said casually.

Xu Nian rolled his eyes.

What use was this hammer? For blacksmithing?

To think that the precious Meteorite Iron had been wasted like this!

Nevertheless, Xu Nian was still curious about what kind of weapon the Yetian God Emperor had forged.

But when Xu Nian gripped the handle, preparing to lift the hammer, all his strength couldn't budge it in the slightest.

"Darn it! Why is it so heavy?" Xu Nian fell to the ground and couldn't help but curse.

"I forgot to tell you, I compressed all the Meteorite Iron from those three boxes into this hammer. This hammer's weight reaches four thousand eight hundred pounds," the Yetian God Emperor said with a teasing laugh.

"Four thousand eight hundred pounds?"

Xu Nian's eyes widened in extreme surprise.

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He had tried to move the iron boxes in the cave before but failed to do so, and although he didn't use all his strength, he could tell the boxes were extremely heavy.

Now, how could he possibly move a hammer that compressed three Iron Boxes?

Yet, what the Yetian God Emperor said next almost made Xu Nian spit blood, "From now on, you don't need to do anything else, just practice with this hammer until you can swing it!"