He had just crossed over from an immortal cultivation game, still carrying a bit of the game’s lightheartedness, like the childlike innocence in cultivation, which perfectly matched the spirit of the Chicheng Heart Method. David Stone, on the other hand, was scolded by his master every day. Watching as the senior brothers who entered before him and the junior brothers who entered after him all surpassed him one by one, while he remained stuck in place with no progress at all, his obsession had become so strong that it was already hindering his cultivation. This was no longer the mindset of a true cultivator. Moreover, David Stone’s aptitude wasn’t very good to begin with. Although Brian White was a bit reserved, his personality was lively and unrestrained, and he was ten times smarter than David Stone. He could pick up anything quickly since childhood. Of course, without the foundation laid by David Stone’s twenty years of hard cultivation, Brian White wouldn’t have been able to so easily break through this so-called first great barrier of cultivation—the Sensing Realm.

With a long howl from Brian White, the dim yellow sword light suddenly produced endless variations, slashing out a hundred feet away, circling and thrusting, combining hardness and softness, displaying all sorts of exquisite sword techniques rarely seen in the mortal world. However, due to David Stone’s limited cultivation, Brian White could only control this low-quality flying sword to circle within twenty or thirty steps around him, unable to freely use the various advanced sword techniques from Shushan 2, let alone travel a thousand miles by sword.

In Shushan 2, Brian White became famous for his sword control techniques. He had spent countless effort and time breaking down the sword techniques of all the major sects in the game move by move, then recombining them to find the style that suited him best.

In Shushan 2, most people used the system’s preset sword moves. As long as these moves were set as shortcuts, they could be triggered with a simple click during battle, unleashing dazzling sword techniques without much thought or effort. But Brian White believed the true wonder of sword control lay in the phrase “do as you wish.” The system’s moves, though flashy, lacked variation and adaptability, and wasted a lot of true energy. Sometimes, a single change could secure victory, but the system would rigidly execute all seven variations. Clearly, just sinking the sword light a bit would kill the monster, but the system made the sword move with mechanical precision, never deviating even after ten thousand uses. Only by mastering one’s own unique sword techniques could one grasp the true essence of swordsmanship.

There were quite a few people in Shushan 2 who thought like Brian White, but very few could persist in not using the system’s preset moves and actually develop their own unique sword techniques. These were the true experts of Shushan 2—out of ten thousand players, there might not even be one such prodigy.

“That’s strange... Hmm! No, I’m right. This really does work...”

Chapter Five: Grandmaster of Swordsmanship

Brian White originally thought that the immortal world he crossed into would be different from the game. According to the memories of this unlucky guy called David Stone, his more than twenty years of cultivation had been filled with endless hardships, so mastering sword techniques shouldn’t be as easy as in the game. But when he reorganized David Stone’s memories and demonstrated the Chicheng Sword Manual move by move, he found every move came naturally, nothing like the difficulty in David Stone’s memories.

“The Qi Control Technique is solid cultivation, and this guy David Stone has a pretty stable foundation. But the twelve basic sword forms of the Chicheng Immortal Sect... only twelve forms, and he practiced for twenty years and still performed them so poorly! That’s just outrageous. Are there really people this dumb? These twelve beginner sword forms are much simpler than the few sword techniques I created myself. I’ve only practiced for a day, and I already use them better than he does...”

In the end, Brian White could only shake his head, unable to imagine why such simple sword techniques could be so hard for someone to master.

He spent just one day mastering the twelve basic forms of the Chicheng Sword Technique, wielding them as if he’d practiced them all his life. He could even innovate upon these twelve basic forms, correcting their flaws and creating dozens of variations for each move. As for the sword techniques he’d created himself in Shushan 2, he could unleash them as easily as breathing—after all, he’d practiced those killer moves thousands or tens of thousands of times. Brian White didn’t feel any different from playing the game. If there was a difference, it was that in this real immortal world, there were even fewer restrictions on swordsmanship than in the game, making it even more free and natural. The sword light responded to his thoughts, changing at will, as if it were an extension of his own body. This gave Brian White a sudden sense of clarity and joy, and his swordsmanship seemed to have reached a new level. Aside from being limited by his cultivation, which annoyed him, everything else felt even more perfect. Controlling the sword light felt more effortless and natural than manipulating the game through a neural interface.

When Brian White modified the twelve basic forms of the Chicheng Immortal Sect, he didn’t think much of it. He had no idea that what he was doing would be considered a grave offense in the major sects of the Southern Toad Continent.

In this Southern Toad Continent, respecting teachers and valuing tradition was an extremely strict rule. Disciples who received instruction from their elders only sought to perfect the sword techniques exactly as they were taught, never daring to alter them in the slightest. But Brian White, having crossed over, though he absorbed David Stone’s memories, regarded the taboos and restrictions that David Stone considered sacred as nothing more than a bunch of dead brain circuits, utterly dismissing them.