Transcending the Nine Heavens

Chu Yang endured two purgatory-like months!

In these two months, Chu Yang and Zi Xieqing sparred over three hundred times! Each time, he was being drained of all energy. Every time, he would be too exhausted to have the strength to lift up his eyelids.

In the beginning, Zi Xieqing looked down on him and used taunting words to incite him. In the end, Zi Xieqing kept quiet.

She wanted to taunt him but she was unable to do so!

She had a long life and she encountered countless geniuses! Honestly speaking, Chu Yang, even though he was the Nine Tribulations Sword Master, his potential was far inferior to those geniuses.

Zi Xieqing remembered there was a youth with the blood lineage of the Heavenly Devil. After his awakening, his skills skyrocketed to the level of the immortals!

However, the power from the blood lineage did not come from one’s choosing.

It was the first time Zi Xieqing witnessed such a man like Chu Yang who bent over backward to practice. Although there was no risk of death, she understood the suffering of total exhaustion!

Total exhaustion! Such that there was no energy to swallow the saliva and the body refused to obey his command!

The suffering was worse than death!

Once a person suffered once, it would haunt him for a lifetime.

After numerous sufferings, mental health might be compromised!

For Chu Yang, he suffered four times daily! Each time, he only took a brief rest. After recovery, he would curse and swear as he prepared for the next fight!

Zi Xieqing was moved!

She was high and mighty. Her skills were of immortal level. When she joined Chu Yang, it was purely for the energy of Chu Yang’s Tao state only!

She was prepared to leave anytime once her Tao state’s energy was filled. She did not want to have any attachments.

The fortune-teller advised her to “treasure the person in front of her” but the words did not have any effects on her. To Zi Xieqing, it was complete nonsense.

At this instant, she was truly moved!

Due to Chu Yang’s diligence!

This kind of diligence, with her current constitution, she was unable to do so! If she trained at such a level for two months, she would have broken down.

She developed an admiration for this youth in front of her!

All things would have expansion and contraction!

But Chu Yang was expanding limitlessly!

This kind of cruel training developed his unlimited potential and he was able to endure and persist without slacking!

Two months ago, Chu Yang was like an ordinary metal but now he was refined into a shiny and sharp sword!

Each sparring was like a huge celestial hammer bearing mercilessly down on him, purifying the impurities in his body in the bid for pure refinement.

It was time for the peerless blade!

Unsheath the blade, ride the wind and maneuver the blade!

During this period, Chu Yang had developed the same shortcoming as Nangong Shifeng which was his foul mouth. Especially during the sparring, Chu Yang was extremely foul-mouthed.

Zi Xieqing was too embarrassed to retort him and yet he became more foul in his language!

“Again!” Chu Yang wavered as he spat out his saliva. “I don’t believe a great man like me can’t defeat a little woman like you!”

“Fight again!” Chu Yang panted heavily. “I’m going to defeat you, little woman!”

“Fight me if you have the guts!” Chu Yang looked askance and said, “Beauty, help me loosen my muscles and bones.”

“Beauty, beat me harder if you have the guts…”

“Little woman! I’ll surpass you one of these days. Just you wait! If I don’t make you cry for your dad and mum, my surname’s not Chu! Ah~~” Chu Yang screamed in pain.

“I swear, once I am accomplished, I will torture you first!”

“Just you wait!”

“Just you wait… How you beat me today, I will repay you in the future!”

“So what if you are a woman? Are you invincible? Come! Let me teach you a lesson!”

…

Zi Xieqing was infuriated by the taunts. Drenched in cold sweats, her blows became heavier and more ruthless!

Chu Yang’s days became more unbearable but his progress increased exponentially. Under the cruel training, his resilience became stronger.

His willpower was like steel that was strong and unyielding!

Even when he was motionless, a ruthless killing intent was fused within a single eye sweep.

The current training required tremendous willpower that was beyond anyone’s imagination! Under Zi Xieqing’s immense pressure, the sword spirit of the first generation swordmaster that Chu Yang swallowed melded completely with his spirit.

There were no impurities in Chu Yang!

The process was equivalent to Zi Xieqing breaking down Chu Yang’s spirit three hundred times! After which, the spirit was reassembled and became whole again!

This process if witnessed by a ninth grade Supreme Martial Artist would cause the person to feel terrified!

Though Zi Xieqing was infuriated by Chu Yang’s taunting, she was filled with admiration for him. When Chu Yang revealed his Nine Tribulations Sword Master identity, he would be like a sword that surpassed the Nine Heavens!

He would stand proudly on the pinnacle of success and cast his powerful gaze on the world!

At that time, people would only see his glorious status but few would know the price that Chu Yang had paid. The training for the past two months was able to surpass the training of a 500-year old martial artist ten times!

What was the use of the status of a Nine Tribulations Sword Master? Even if one was the son of the Heavenly Devil and had the blood lineage, without due diligence, the person was only trash!

What if the person was only an ordinary man? As long as the person was diligent, he would have his success!

…

In this Tianji City, at the Orchard Palace that did not belong to him, Chu Yang completed his metamorphosis!

The metamorphosis transformed him from a human into a sword and it resembled his previous life.

A scent of his experience in the battle-hardened martial world!

A scent that he had not smelled for a long time!

The current sword in this life had more compassion!

For the first three days, his cultivation was demoted by Zi Xieqing’s beatings to fifth grade Sovereign of Swords. After recovery, he successfully attained the seventh grade pinnacle. After that, he leveled up step by step!

Eighth grade Sovereign of Swords! Intermediate eighth grade! Advanced eighth grade! Ninth grade!

It was another breakthrough!

Intermediate ninth grade! Advanced ninth grade!

When Chu Yang recalled the night that he was about to attain the Martial Saint level, he trembled with fear.

To break through the Saint of Swords, Chu Yang felt a great bottleneck! It was the result of ingesting too much Heavenly Treasure and the bottleneck became more severe.

The Heavenly Treasure was a good herb but once it entered the body, the celestial essence would dissipate and its medicinal value would be in passive effect.

This herb could have short term benefits but the meridian channels became dependent on the effects of the Heavenly Treasure.

After some time, the dependency became a serious bottleneck! A barrier to level upgrades!

To break through the bottleneck, even if the person was a genius, he had to endure unbearable pain! The magnitude of pain was beyond what a human could bear!

The users of the Heavenly Treasure would have astonishing progress but once a bottleneck was encountered, the users would be stuck at the bottleneck for a lifetime!

Chu Yang has encountered his first huge bottleneck—the bottleneck of Saint of Swords!

This kind of bottleneck would resurface again once he was required to break through to the Supreme Martial Artist level.

That night, he was unable to have a breakthrough. In the end, both of them had to resort to extreme measures.

Chu Yang recalled clearly that Zi Xieqing asked him, “Do you wish for a breakthrough?”

Chu Yang replied, “Of course!”

“Are you willing to pay any price for this breakthrough?” Zi Xieqing questioned further.

Chu Yang nodded with determination. “As long as I’m not required to hand over my heart, you can do whatever you want to this 130 pounds of flesh!”

“In your circumstances, I have to resort to using the ‘Journey to Hades’ for a breakthrough!” Zi Xieqing said, “The pain would be unbearable. Think twice!”

“I’m able to endure!” Chu Yang nodded with fortitude.

“Alright!”

Zi Xieqing said a few short mantras and helped him to regulate his energy in his meridian channels for one round and started the process.

Chu Yang got to know the real meaning of “Journey to Hades”.

He exclaimed in pain as Chu Yang’s right fingers were crushed. Then the long sharp bamboo sticks were inserted into the fingernails!

Chu Yang almost passed out. His body was like a waterfall as he sweated profusely.

Zi Xieqing used her powerful celestial willpower to prevent him from passing out so that he could experience the pain vividly.

In addition to the pain, he had to practice the Journey to Hades Technique and absorb the energy of the Hades.

But all was in vain!

Zi Xieqing was helpless and asked Chu Yang for help.

The lowest point of Chu Yang had arrived. He divulged all his cruel interrogation techniques to Zi Xieqing. He had to come up with various methods to let Zi Xieqing torture him…

This was extremely ironical…

He endured all his interrogation tortures… not only once and different variations too!

When Chu Yang’s flesh was sliced open the third time and Zi Xieqing was about to scatter the salt pellets, her hands trembled. “Shall we… stop? When you gain enough experience, you could have a breakthrough later!”

Chu Yang was tortured beyond recognition except for his pair of flaming eyes. He screamed wildly, “Nonsense! I had suffered through halfway… and you want me to give up? Bring it on!”

The tortures were repeated seven times.

Every time, he would ingest an incomplete Nine Tribulations Pill. After healing, he would be sliced and tortured again and again.

As Chu Yang was about to break down, he muttered a phrase that made Zi Xieqing quiet for a long time.

“I would never allow my brothers to take the Heavenly Treasure, that could allow them to increase their prowess, never again…”