Chapter 694: Training

**Wind Rises in the Nine Provinces**

Death was not unfamiliar to Lu Ye. Since acquiring the Breathing Fruit Nucleus, he had died countless times in the Mirage Realm, becoming completely unfazed. He knew that death in the Mirage Realm wasn't real, which allowed him to act without restraint.

However, in the environment where the Overlord Saber Secret was activated, when the young figure struck with his saber, the aura of death Lu Ye felt was incredibly real. Even after dying countless times in the Mirage Realm, he couldn't help but feel a tremor of fear.

Three breaths. He lasted only three breaths before his consciousness withdrew from the black stone. This didn't mean he could truly withstand the power of that saber strike for three breaths. If such a strike were unleashed in reality, he would likely be dead the moment the saber light flashed. He was able to last three breaths primarily because it was a form of inheritance. Each saber strike he endured caused numerous intricacies of this Overlord Saber form to surge through his mind, allowing him to perceive the mysteries of the strike more clearly. Unlike the crude, direct impartation of knowledge from the Hundred Formations Tower, this inheritance was far more refined. The duration one could endure was likely related to the strength of their divine soul. The stronger the soul, the longer one could last and the greater the benefits received.

Lu Ye could last three breaths, but he estimated Ye Ying couldn't endure for so long. This was indeed true. When Ye Ying first received this Overlord Saber secret, he couldn't even last an instant. Even after his cultivation advanced to the Cloud River Ninth-Level Realm and years of accumulation, he could only endure for less than two breaths. As for Pang Wanhai, he couldn't even last one breath during his earlier attempts at comprehension. For Lu Ye to last three breaths on his first try was already quite impressive.

In that mysterious inheritance space, he could actually move, but the moment the young figure struck, Lu Ye had no room to resist. He could only stand obediently and endure the might of that Overlord Saber form. He had a faint feeling that only when he could block that Overlord Saber form would he have truly mastered it and been qualified to touch upon the second form. If the first form of the Overlord Saber possessed such immense power, what would the second form be like? He couldn't help but yearn for it. However, Lu Ye understood the principle of eating one bite at a time and walking one step at a time; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

This was true saber art. Compared to this, what Lu Ye had practiced before were at most special techniques, including his self-created 'Flash' and 'Continuous Slash.' They were merely combat skills, insignificant like a firefly's glow compared to the bright moon before such saber art. Then again, the cultivation of the person who left behind this Overlord Saber secret was unknown, and how long had Lu Ye been cultivating? If given enough time, he might not only reach that level but even surpass it. So, he wouldn't belittle himself. Respecting the strong was proper, but striving for self-improvement was the true path. Moreover, it now appeared that the Overlord Saber form Ye Xiong displayed probably hadn't even scratched the surface of the true Overlord Saber. Even so, it had still given Lu Ye a sense of danger at the time, and he had even been injured by it. Lu Ye didn't know the extent of Ye Ying's mastery of this form, but he presumed it was stronger than Ye Xiong's. How much stronger, however, was hard to judge.

He collected his thoughts and calmly reflected. In the inheritance space, each descending saber light was a transmission of knowledge, a direct teaching spanning countless years. Just like now, Ye Ying was dead, and the Overlord Saber Villa was empty. There would be no more Overlord Saber Villa, but the inheritance of the Overlord Saber technique had not been severed. The subtlety of the Overlord Saber technique lay not just in its three forms. Many concepts of this saber path were perfectly encapsulated within the saber art itself. Ye Ying was able to establish the Overlord Saber Villa with just one form of the Overlord Saber because he had comprehended and distilled many of his own insights from that single form. What Lu Ye needed to do now was to follow the path Ye Ying had taken back then: organize, summarize, and comprehend. It had to be said that this saber art was very compatible with his temperament. When facing enemies, he was fearless and unstoppable. Even cultivators with higher cultivation often felt immense pressure from him. The Overlord Saber technique required such aggressiveness; only then could its essence be displayed.

After sitting for a long time, Lu Ye suddenly rose, walked out, and came to the open space on the small island in the lake. He drew the Pan Mountain Saber from his waist and began to wield it gently. His movements were not fast, arguably very slow, and his saber strikes lacked any special power. He performed like a novice, with nothing commendable. But magically, his entire aura gradually sharpened, becoming like a long saber about to be drawn from its sheath. The aura of the man and the saber gradually merged into one. The 'Man and Saber as One' state was an accomplishment Lu Ye had achieved as early as when he advanced to the Cloud River Realm. Strictly speaking, a cultivator's spirit weapon is an extension of their own body, especially for weapon cultivators. The reason Lu Ye didn't change his spirit weapon when advancing to the Cloud River Realm, but rather chose to upgrade his Pan Mountain Saber, was because the Pan Mountain Saber had accompanied him through almost the entire Spirit Creek Realm. He had become familiar with the Pan Mountain Saber, and correspondingly, the saber had become familiar with him. Rashly switching to another spirit weapon, even one of better quality, might not allow Lu Ye to unleash his full strength unless he was willing to spend a great deal of time nurturing it. The process of a cultivator refining a spirit weapon is not merely to enable the weapon to unleash greater power, but also to forge a tighter connection between oneself and the spirit weapon, allowing it to be commanded as easily as an arm. Since the fifth level of the Spirit Creek Realm, the Pan Mountain Saber had continuously accompanied Lu Ye. To Lu Ye, it was a part of his body. However, it was still just a spirit weapon.

But at this moment, the auras of the man and the saber gradually synchronized. If one didn't look with their naked eyes, it would be impossible to distinguish between the two. As he wielded it, Lu Ye suddenly lowered his stance and twisted his body, executing a direct stab. A cold gleam bloomed on the dark saber blade, and a tearing sound echoed in the air as a flash of brilliant saber light streaked across. Lu Ye's face paled slightly but quickly recovered. He stood still, contemplating the gains and losses of that saber strike, and after a moment, slowly shook his head.

The first form of Overlord Saber, 'Myriad Stars,' was strictly speaking, a direct stab. Each beam of starlight, seemingly encompassing the collapsing firmament, was in fact a flashing saber gleam. So, what appeared to be a single strike was in reality countless strikes. To fully execute such a strike, a cultivator needed absolute control over their long saber to instantly unleash a multitude of flashing saber lights like myriad stars. The strike Lu Ye unleashed now, in terms of pure power, was no weaker than Ye Xiong's burst. However, in terms of the Overlord Saber technique itself, he was inferior to Ye Xiong. After all, Ye Xiong had practiced the Overlord Saber technique for a long time, while Lu Ye had only just begun. Not enough, far from enough! Lu Ye closed his eyes again and continued to wield his long saber.

Although the previous strike had consumed a fair amount of his energy, it was still within an acceptable range, unlike Ye Xiong, who would be at the mercy of others after unleashing a single Overlord Saber form. Of course, this was also because Lu Ye hadn't truly unleashed 'Myriad Stars.' If he cultivated such a saber art, even if he didn't achieve mastery but only partial success, Lu Ye believed he could be invincible in the Cloud River Realm. Coupled with his current foundation, he could stab even a Ninth-Level Realm cultivator to death with a single strike. He hadn't forgotten his situation in the Cloud River battlefield, where he was like a public enemy, hunted by everyone. A secret realm was a secret realm; there would always be a time to leave. If he could cultivate the Overlord Saber technique to partial success here, he would undoubtedly give the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators a surprise upon returning to the Cloud River battlefield. Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, like persistent ghosts, their shadows were everywhere. Lu Ye had long wanted to kill those two bastards.

There was much to comprehend and absorb. The vast bounty from the Hundred Formations Tower needed to be comprehended, and the Overlord Saber technique also required comprehension. However, this didn't hinder Lu Ye's own cultivation. Consuming plenty of spirit pills daily and comprehending various profound mysteries, his days were more fulfilling than ever before. When inspiration struck, he would practice and dance with his saber in the open space at the center of the small island. To more quickly grasp the intricacies of the Overlord Saber, Lu Ye even used Soul Cleansing Water. The Overlord Saber light endured in the inheritance space also heavily consumed his divine soul. When Ye Ying and Ye Xiong previously practiced the Overlord Saber technique, they could generally only comprehend it once every half month or even a month. Otherwise, if their divine soul power was consumed too rapidly in a short period, there would inevitably be side effects, possibly even divine soul damage. Lu Ye had no such concerns; he had plenty of Soul Water. Although he had used some in the Hundred Formations Tower, much still remained. When his divine soul felt tired, he would nourish it with Soul Water. On average, he could comprehend it four or five times a day, almost equivalent to several months of progress for the Ye Ying brothers. As a result, Lu Ye's mastery of the Overlord Saber technique advanced by leaps and bounds. His cultivation hadn't increased much, but in terms of saber art, Lu Ye was growing at an unimaginable speed. Lu Ye also studied some saber art cultivation insights he had brought from the library. Compared to the Overlord Saber technique, these insights were naturally insignificant. However, it was undeniable that these comparatively minor things were all beneficial for Lu Ye and perfectly matched his current level of attainment. During his half-month stay at Overlord Saber Villa, he was like a bottomless abyss, devouring everything he could absorb. His saber art made immense progress. If his self from half a month ago stood before him, Lu Ye was confident he could resolve the fight within ten saber strikes, purely by relying on saber art.

While he was cultivating intensely, Ye Liuli also gradually emerged from her gloom. This was mainly due to Yiyi and Amber's daily companionship. Although Yiyi knew that this was a secret realm and that everything experienced here was likely something that had happened in this world in the past, merely recreated by some mysterious means, and that Ye Liuli might not even exist anymore, Yiyi couldn't help but feel pity for this young girl who was similar in age and stature to herself. Perhaps it was related to her own past. Yiyi's memory began only when she was transformed into a Resentful Spirit by Amber. Before that, she knew nothing about who she was or where she came from. With Amber and Lu Ye, they were her only two family members. And wasn't Ye Liuli in a similar situation now?