The Taixu Sword Intent, a supreme cultivation method, is divided into twelve levels. Its power is boundless when used, and the cultivation process is also gradual and progressive. The initial stages are very difficult to train, but the further one progresses, the more solid the foundation becomes, and the faster the cultivation speed gets.

The human body also has twelve meridians, and each of the twelve levels of the Taixu Sword Intent corresponds to one meridian. Only by unblocking the corresponding meridian can that level be considered successfully cultivated.

The Taixu Sword Intent mainly tempers one’s physical body, refining all impurities to achieve a state of absolute purity. It activates every meridian and acupoint, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into oneself. When cultivated to the extreme, spiritual energy flows endlessly—man becomes nature, and nature becomes man!

Therefore, the early stages of cultivation are very difficult, because the practitioner must unblock each acupoint one by one. There are countless acupoints in the human body, and to unblock them all is truly arduous.

But once these acupoints are unblocked, the meridians become active, and the cultivation speed increases accordingly.

During his recollection, William Bolton also remembered a line from the Taixu Sword Intent manual: “Ordinary cultivators pursue ascension to immortality, but when the Taixu Sword Intent is cultivated to the utmost, one’s physical body itself becomes saintly—the difference is incomparable.”

To sanctify the physical body? William Bolton could glean a hint of this from the technique.

The division of the Taixu Sword Intent is also very clear: every two levels correspond to a cultivation realm. That is to say, if one reaches perfection in the second level, their cultivation is at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing stage, with one foot stepping into the Artifact Manipulation stage. If one reaches perfection in the fourth level, their cultivation is at the peak of Artifact Manipulation, with one foot stepping into the Golden Core stage.

This is much better than the methods I figured out myself. The techniques I came up with are a mess, with no rules—how can they form a proper system?

And as for the Heavenly Dao Sword Stance, it is even more extraordinary. The Heavenly Dao Sword Stance has only nine stances, divided as follows: Taiji and Wuji, Two Forms Transformation, Three Powers Creation, Four Phases Reincarnation, Five Elements Exhaustion, Six Harmonies Supreme, Seven Stars Gong Rui, Eight Trigrams Profound Cavern, and Nine Turns Return to One!

At that time, with his Nascent Soul third-level cultivation, William Bolton could only perform the first four stances, and even then, it was somewhat strenuous. But even with just these four stances, other cultivators were unwilling to fight William Bolton, because the power of these four stances was simply too great.

Since he was going to cultivate the Taixu Sword Intent and the Heavenly Dao Sword Stance, a weapon was indispensable. The Pure Jun Sword could not yet be unsealed, so during the day, William Bolton went out to the mall and bought a brand-new longsword made of refined steel. Although it was just a prop, it felt quite heavy in the hand.

For now, it was good enough for sword practice. As long as he didn’t infuse it with vital energy, practicing moves shouldn’t damage it.

That very night, William Bolton began cultivating the Taixu Sword Intent.

The first level of the Taixu Sword Intent trains the Hand Lesser Yin Heart Meridian, requiring the unblocking of nine acupoints, starting from the Jiquan acupoint and ending at the Shaochong acupoint.

Two months of energy-gathering time—neither long nor short—at least William Bolton now had some foundation.

He calmed his mind, discarded all sensory distractions, and mobilized the vital energy in his dantian. William Bolton guided it toward the Jiquan acupoint.

As soon as the not-so-abundant vital energy touched the Jiquan acupoint, it was as if it had hit a high wall—progress was impossible. At the same time, a pain that reached deep into his soul surged from his consciousness.

William Bolton suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, his whole body trembling. The cold wind made his back feel icy.

The first attempt to break through had failed.

But William Bolton was not discouraged. After waiting a moment, he entered meditation again, guiding his vital energy toward the Jiquan acupoint.

It was a tough, resilient wall, an obstacle that utterly disregarded William Bolton’s vital energy. William Bolton cautiously made several probing attempts, but all were fruitless. The vital energy was completely blocked at the Jiquan acupoint.

All night long, William Bolton tried to figure out how to break through the Jiquan acupoint, but no matter how many times he tried, he did not succeed.

By dawn, William Bolton gave up. When he opened his eyes, he found a thick layer of grime on his body, with a faint fishy smell.

So this is what it means to temper the body? William Bolton brought his arm to his nose and sniffed. It had never been like this during previous cultivation. But William Bolton knew that this smell and grime were all impurities from his body.

Although he hadn’t succeeded in breaking through, William Bolton was still very happy, because the Taixu Sword Intent truly had the effect of tempering the body, and it was quite obvious.

For the next few nights, William Bolton kept trying to break through the Jiquan acupoint, and during the day, he took the refined steel longsword to school.

Since he was going to practice swordsmanship, he needed a suitable place—his own room was too small and not suitable.

There was a back mountain at the school, not too big or too small. Because it was remote, few people went there, making it a good place to practice swordsmanship.

William Bolton, afraid of being discovered, went to the innermost part of the back mountain, found a relatively open area, cleared away the weeds, and came here every day to practice the sword moves of the Heavenly Dao Sword Stance.

With so little vital energy now, he could only practice the sword moves to become familiar with them, so as not to forget them over time.

One day, as William Bolton was carrying his sword toward the back mountain, he suddenly overheard a conversation between two students nearby.