Chapter Sixteen: First Practice with Swordsmanship

  Inside the arsenal of Shui Xian Dong.

  Lei Hao was staring blankly at the towering arsenal in front of him, unsure which weapon to choose to improve his martial arts.

  "Hmm, a hammer? Bullying those weaker than myself is fine, but using a hammer against those stronger than me would be disadvantageous. A gun? The technical requirements are too high, and it can't be used to its full potential in a short amount of time. A staff? There are already too many skilled staff users out there, if I use one too, I'll just lose my individuality...". Lei Hao muttered to himself as he looked at the various weapons before him. "Ah, right! I can use a sword. I remember from my past life that there was a saying... 'A year with a sword is like a month with a staff and a lifetime with a gun'? Alright then, I'll just go with a sword..." Lei Hao thought for half the day, somewhat indecisive, but ultimately made up his mind. It would be too difficult for him to choose a suitable weapon if he didn't have any martial arts skills.

  Lei Hao stepped forward, preparing to select a suitable large knife from the pile of weapons. "This one looks good, huh? So light? Not useful." Lei Hao picked up a plain-looking large knife for a second before discarding it like trash. "How about this one? Damn, even lighter." He picked up another large knife, only to throw it far away again after a second, not even bothering to look at it. "Damn, are these crappy things for monsters to use? So light and doesn't seem very sturdy either." Lei Hao said as he grabbed two knives with both hands, then clashed them together with force, producing a loud "clanging" sound. The two knives broke in half from the middle, leaving Lei Hao's eyes wide with shock. He was preparing to use such knives to duel with the great demons of the Demon King realm alone, fortunately, he came to choose himself, if his subordinates came, they would definitely not even know how they died.

  "It's just a trivial matter. I'll use it for now, and when the time comes, I'll steal that sword from the Demon King of the Mortal World. He won't turn against me over such a small thing, will he?" Lei Hao was nonchalant, but in reality, he still had some apprehension towards the Demon King of the Mortal World. Although he wasn't afraid of him, he knew he couldn't defeat him in a fight. However, it wouldn't be easy for the Demon King to kill him either. In terms of magical power, Lei Hao was slightly weaker than the Demon King, but when it came to physical strength and bodily resilience, Lei Hao was confident that he wasn't inferior to the Demon King. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to think about killing a demon king using the Explosive Cultivation Method.

  Lei Hao, who had made up his mind, grabbed the first knife and walked out of the armory with a displeased face, swinging the large knife in his hand. His eyes showed a hint of disdain, and he didn't think that this thousand-jin heavy knife was suitable for ordinary inner dan realm demons. Only some innate powerful demon clans like Lei Hao's cow demon, elephant demon, tiger demon, etc., could use it, while other ordinary inner dan realm demons couldn't.

  Lei Hao, this pervert, thinks that this sword is too light. At the Inner Dan boundary, he has already reached the level of a Demon King's physical body and strength. To think that Lei Hao can now lift a 15,000-jin boulder, his trusty weapon may not be as heavy but at least it should weigh around 5,000 jin. Even a weak Demon King cannot use such a light weapon...

  Lei Hao didn't have any knife skills in his hands, but he had used the wolf-toothed club for over a hundred years. He knew that even if someone gave him a knife technique now, it wouldn't be of much use to him because he didn't have any experience wielding a knife. Even if someone gave him a knife technique, he couldn't practice it. What he needed most now was to practice the knife styles: sweep, chop, parry, slice, sweep, press, cut and thrust.

  These knife techniques may seem simple and easy to understand, but they are the most commonly used methods that can bring out the power of the knife. If practiced well, even to the point of mastery, their power is immeasurable and formidable. One will also gain a deeper understanding of the knife.

  The sword, the overlord of all weapons! Those who wield a sword have an unstoppable aura in their hearts. Because swords are thick and heavy, they excel at chopping and slashing; one swing can be like a sudden clap of thunder. What's needed is that momentum from a single slash, that unyielding spirit of "if I don't kill you, you'll kill me." Without the determination to cut through anything in front of them, even a lifetime of swordsmanship will only be second-rate or third-rate.

  In Lei Hao's heart, no matter what kind of knife as long as it can be used, one knife cuts out the whole body's energy and spirit are in this knife. One knife builds merit then the knife's momentum increases, one knife blocks then the energy is damaged. That is when the knife has entered the door, touched the edge of the knife path.

  In his past life, Lei Hao had heard of a theory called "one skill to break all methods", which meant that no matter what sword method, knife method or gun method, as long as it was practiced to the pinnacle and entered the realm, one move could defeat countless other methods that hadn't reached the pinnacle. Just like Sun Wukong, who used only his golden hoop rod to defeat countless heavenly soldiers and generals. Moreover, he had also heard of an island nation's technique called "drawing sword method", which involved practicing drawing the sword non-stop, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of times, until it became as fast as a flash of lightning. When facing an enemy, the enemy's sword hadn't even left its scabbard before they died under the drawing sword method.

  Lei Hao stood on the 'small school field' in Kanyuanshan, cutting out one knife after another, carefully savoring the skill and momentum of each knife. Slowly adjusting the posture of the knife, the change in the force of the knife, his mind slowly merged into the big knife in his hand. The 1-zhang-long big knife slowly became like a part of Lei Hao's body, connected by flesh and blood. His breathing also merged with the momentum of the knife. When Lei Hao practiced the knife for the first time, he surprisingly entered the realm of enlightenment, which was hard to come by.

  Lei Hao continued to slash out knife after knife, the big knife cutting through the air with a "whooshing" sound, the sun on his head falling steadily towards the west, casting a long shadow behind him. But Lei Hao's expression was focused, carefully sensing the changes in his knife strokes, completely unaware of the passage of time. The sun finally set, and the moon appeared above Lei Hao's head. He continued to slash out knife after knife, the explosive sound of the big knife cutting through the air growing smaller and smaller. Lei Hao seemed to have gained something, his expression becoming even more focused, his eyes fixed intently on the flashes of snow-white light that streaked across his vision.

  …………

  The sun and moon alternated, and in the blink of an eye, Lei Hao had been practicing his knife skills on the "small school grounds" for over half a month. At this time, Lei Hao's complexion was wan and haggard, with wind and frost marks all over his face, and a short stubble on his lips. His majestic figure seemed to have shrunk by a circle, but his eyes shone brightly, emitting a sharp and fierce aura, just like the large knife in his hand.

  …………

  Another half month has passed, and the little fox and Lei Dabao anxiously watched Lei Hao, who had been practicing knife skills for over a month. At this moment, a strong knife aura surrounded Lei Hao, and the little fox was injured by a knife aura when it tried to approach him a few days ago. Fortunately, the knife aura was still weak at that time, but now it is directly visible under the scorching sun, with one flash of snow-white lightning after another flickering non-stop.

  The little fox and Lei Dabao both knew that this was the result of Lei Hao's successful knife practice, but at this moment, Lei Hao's eyes were dull and his whole body was like a bag of bones, looking like a starving ghost who hadn't eaten a full meal in years. To think that before, Lei Hao's physical strength was such that even when Lei Zuo (Pig-headed Yao) used a big knife to slash him, it could only leave behind a faint white mark, and now he had become like this, the little fox was very worried, he wanted to wake Lei Hao up by force but was afraid of hurting him.

  The little fox didn't know that perhaps in his bones, he had a fierce and ruthless energy. Lei Hao was surprisingly talented with knives, and from half a month ago, he began to infuse his vital energy into every knife stroke. This allowed him to unleash powerful knife auras with each strike, becoming more proficient with time. The fusion of his vital energy and knife strokes grew tighter, until now, every knife strike could merge with his entire being's vital energy. Every strike unleashed intense knife auras, and the sharpness and ferocity within him slowly became internalized. Now, he looked like an unassuming broken sword sheath containing a peerless treasured sword, giving off a sense of danger as if he might erupt in a frenzy of slashing at any moment...

  Lei Hao's intense practice suddenly came to a halt, and just as the little fox was about to pounce, it was pulled back by Lei Da Niu from behind. Lei Hao had stopped, but his aura didn't dissipate; instead, it grew stronger, and a surge of knife energy shot up into the air, chasing the little fox and Lei Da Niu as they fled rapidly towards the 'Small School Field' two hundred meters away. Only when the little fox finally felt safe did it turn around, its heart still racing with fear, to gaze at Lei Hao.

  The sharp aura around 'Little School Field' had disappeared at some point, and Lei Hao's gaunt figure appeared in the sunlight. The little fox noticed that Lei Hao's right hand was trembling non-stop, and the large knife in his hand was jumping violently, as if Lei Hao was about to slash out with it uncontrollably.

  In fact, Lei Hao was indeed unable to control this knife. After a month of continuous practice, Lei Hao suddenly woke up from his epiphany and saw a flash of snow-white light in his mind, but now he seemed unable to bring out this knife no matter what. His hands kept trembling, the stagnant aura on his body grew stronger, and he was like a barrel of gunpowder about to explode. The question was whether the explosion would hurt himself or others.

  In Xiao Hu Li's eyes, Lei Hao's gaze grew more and more ferocious, the veins on his forehead bulging out, jumping non-stop. The corners of his mouth twitched open, revealing long fangs, a thread of saliva slowly dripping from the corner of his mouth. His tiger back burst through the tight blue qigong uniform on his body, his right hand swelling up to be thicker than his thigh.

  "Go to hell, Earth Splitter!" Lei Hao roared, spitting out a mouthful of saliva as he shouted out the name of the move. With his left hand also gripping the hilt, both hands lifted the knife like a massive mountain, slowly swinging it out from the right side. The trajectory of the blade's slash was clear to the little fox and Lei Dabull, who felt an inescapable sense of foreboding that this blow could not be blocked or dodged. A mysterious light flashed as the giant knife energy heavily chopped down on the "Small School Field".

  "Hum" "Hum"...... The moment the massive blade energy came into contact with the earth, a fierce explosion occurred, raising large amounts of dust and debris.

  Lei Hao stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He quickly used his large knife to prop himself up, opening his mouth wide to breathe in air rapidly. His eyes stared at everything before him in shock, he didn't dare believe that all of this was something he had accomplished, he didn't dare believe that Lei Hao had already reached this step...

  The little fox and Lei Da Hao were also stunned by this scene, this was the husband in her heart, this was the one who had been etched in his heart forever. This was done by the head that had transformed with them, living together for over a hundred years...

  Moments later, the Lei Wei brothers, who had sensed the sound, all appeared in their familiar 'small school field'.

  A blue light flashed across the sky, and the green-faced, fang-toothed Demon King of the Mortal Realm also appeared above the "Small School Field". As the flying dust gradually subsided, they were all stunned by what was before their eyes.

  What did they see? They saw Lei Hao, thin and gaunt, his clothes tattered, leaning on a large knife, still panting. They saw in front of Lei Hao a long trench about 30-40 feet long, two feet wide, and two feet deep, shaped like a knife.

  "Is this chopped off?" At this time, it seemed that a question mark appeared on the heads of these brothers, but it also seemed to confirm that this knife must have been chopped off by Lei Hao.

  The demon king in blue robes gazed at the knife-shaped trench with a gloomy expression, then looked at Lei Hao who seemed somewhat weak. The large sleeves of his robe slowly clenched into fists around the hilt of his long sword. Lei Hao had already threatened his position as the demon king, and he didn't want to see another demon king rise from the Water Caverns, so he had discovered that Lei Hao was at a bottleneck in breaking through to the demon king realm and hadn't given him any techniques to help him make progress. But he hadn't expected that even when Lei Hao was still in the inner dan realm, he could unleash such an extraordinary knife aura.

  However, after a long time, the demon king's expression was complicated and he loosened his grip on the hilt of the knife. In his heart, Lei Hao had not disappointed him in the past hundred years. He had completed all the tasks assigned to him perfectly, even creating a reputation for himself as the "Water Cavern Master", allowing him to stand firmly in the demon world after just being promoted to the rank of Demon King. The demon king couldn't kill Lei Hao out of both sentiment and reason. If he did so, it would be said that he was jealous of his subordinate's strength and had secretly plotted against him. How could he still have a foothold in the demon world? In the demon tribe, the strong were respected, but there was no habit of killing off those who threatened one's own position.

  The unpredictable and mysterious demon king glanced at Lei Hao, turned around, and disappeared into the sky in an instant, his speed was so fast that even Lei Hao could only see a faint shadow.

  The Demon King of the Skies has left, and Lei Hao secretly let out a long sigh of relief. It was only then that he realized his palm, which had been gripping the hilt of his sword, was wet with sweat. Earlier, when he saw the complex expression on the Demon King's face, Lei Hao's heart had been racing with fear, worried that the Demon King would take advantage of his current weakness and kill him. If the Demon King were to make a move now, Lei Hao truly wouldn't have any ability to resist - it was just too dangerous.

  With a "ding" sound, Lei Hao's snow-white great knife shattered into pieces, and Lei Hao also fell to the ground. Fortunately, Lei Hao didn't care about these things, and a joyful expression appeared on his face again.

  This time, Lei Hao finally mastered the basic knife skills and also grasped the "Ground Crack" move that could exert his full body strength. After that, he was more confident in fighting against the Demon King.

  "Head"... "head"... Seeing Lei Hao fall to the ground, the frightened Lei Wei brothers rushed over.