In the square, space was limited, making it impossible to fully display martial skills during practice, so the only way to train was through mental cultivation.

　　Bo Sword, a purely technical sword skill. The character “驳” has “马” (horse) on the left, indicating speed, and double “X” on the right, indicating dual swords. A Bo Sword practitioner uses two swords to parry and strike each other, changing the direction of the sword’s movement—this is basically the most fundamental technique for practicing advanced swordsmanship.

　　Eyes on the nose, nose on the heart, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, entering a state as calm as a still well. Even with Brian Sutton’s talent, this most basic sword technique actually cost him a whole month of meditation. Awakening from his trance, he opened his eyes, and a half-inch sword gleam shot out from them. His left hand performed the sword technique from before his ascension, while his right hand used Bo Sword, executing a left-right dual attack, countering moves against each other. The final result was obvious: Bo Sword technique was ranked as the ultimate sword art in the mortal world for a reason. Every tiny collision between the two swords would alter the trajectory of the sword path; no matter how perfect the move, under the ever-changing Bo Sword technique, flaws would appear and be exploited for a killing blow.

　　After completing the first level of the mental method, Brian Sutton was shocked to discover that the auras he sensed from others were less than one-thousandth of their actual power. Among the tens of thousands present, there were over ten thousand people whose vitality Brian Sutton could not sense at all—they seemed as lifeless as corpses.

　　Brian Sutton understood that to be like those attendants, one must possess extremely advanced aura-concealing techniques, and naturally, their martial arts would not be weak either. By comparison, even after completing the first level of the mental method, Brian Sutton was still the weakest—by far, not even a fraction as strong as any of the others. Although he knew this was inevitable for new ascendants, Brian Sutton still felt somewhat dissatisfied, which only fueled his motivation to improve.

　　The second level of the mental method: Sword Control. Sword Control technique also has another name—controlling the sword with qi, the legendary art of the sword immortal, using qi to control the sword and take an enemy’s head from a thousand miles away. This is not just a legend; at least Brian Sutton had already come into contact with this sword art. The character “驭” has “马” (horse) on the left, indicating the sword’s swift flight, and the “X” on the right with an extra stroke on top, representing one sword and one qi. In essence, Sword Control is still a method of using two swords to parry and change the sword’s trajectory, except that one of the swords is now replaced by qi, using qi to alter the sword’s path.

　　Practicing Sword Control requires extremely strong internal energy and consumes a great deal of true qi, so one must first possess immense internal strength to train in this art. Unfortunately, the mental method of the Intent Sword Body Great Art does not contain any techniques for increasing internal energy; it seems the founder assumed that anyone practicing this method would already be a master of considerable skill.

　　Brian Sutton was exceptionally gifted, born with a photographic memory. In the underground corridors of the temple, there were as many as a hundred thousand martial arts secret records carved into the walls. Even with his mental capacity, it was impossible to memorize them all, so he selectively chose to remember only those techniques whose characters exuded a powerful aura. Roughly estimated, he managed to memorize several thousand, which was already his limit. The stronger the technique, the greater the mental burden; the more he memorized, the more it drained his mind.

　　After much selection, Brian Sutton finally chose the most powerful technique: “Ninefold Life-and-Death Profound Art.”

　　The Ninefold Life-and-Death Profound Art had extremely harsh requirements: the practitioner must undergo nine life-and-death trials, with their martial arts doubling each time, and so on. However, to practice this art, one must first destroy all of their previous cultivation—something utterly intolerable for those who had already reached a certain level of mastery. But for Brian Sutton, although his internal strength was deep, it was only so relative to the world before his ascension. Here, anyone could crush him as easily as an ant, so he was able to let go.

　　To practice the Ninefold Life-and-Death Profound Art, the first step was to disperse all cultivation, severing the seven meridians and eight vessels throughout the body, exhausting all true qi. After this first step, the founder left a note: “At this step, only six out of ten survive. The danger is immense; those without unwavering willpower must not attempt this art.”

　　Dispersing one’s cultivation is no easy feat; severing all the meridians is almost equivalent to becoming a cripple, unable to practice martial arts ever again. Anyone with even a little martial knowledge would never believe in this technique. In the hundreds of billions of years, those who had practiced this art surely numbered less than ten. Most people, upon seeing the first step—barely even the first level—immediately gave up. But Brian Sutton still chose this technique. In his view, the harsher and stranger the requirements, the more earth-shattering the power once mastered.

　　Ah! Brian Sutton roared in agony, his voice shaking the heavens and echoing across the square. Countless threads of blood seeped from his pores, even from his eyes, nose, and ears. This extreme pain was unbearable, even for someone who considered himself tough. In just a short moment, a pool of blood had already formed beneath him.