Chapter 112: Hard Practice in the Sea of Consciousness

Over and over again, after countless repetitions, those most basic sword techniques had been mastered to perfection by Rod. In his sea of consciousness, he continued to practice tirelessly. Practice makes perfect—through this period of training, Rod finally understood this truth.

With each session of practice, he gained new insights and experiences. Those simple moves, when executed together, possessed astonishing power, all achieved using the simplest techniques.

By combining them and thinking deeply about them, he even managed to devise some new moves on his own.

“Break!” With a loud roar, he swung his Dark Dragon sword at a huge rock ahead.

The sword’s shadow danced, creating fleeting illusions that made it difficult to predict its trajectory. In the next moment, like lightning, the Dark Dragon struck the rock, sending out a spiral whirlwind.

“Boom…” A loud explosion followed as the rock shattered into pieces of debris and dust.

“It worked!” Seeing the result, Rod smiled in satisfaction.

His own original move had succeeded, filling him with excitement as a smile appeared on his lips.

This was a move he had mastered through his training in this sea of consciousness. Using the simplest strikes—slash, thrust, and pierce—he affectionately named it the Wild Wolf Assault!

Like a fierce and cunning wild wolf, it focused all its strength in a rapid attack, unleashing maximum power—this was the essence of the move.

During this time, training in this sea of consciousness made Rod fall deeply in love with it. The scene just now was obviously virtual, yet it was indistinguishable from reality. Here, Rod was a god, able to create anything with his mental power. For example, that rock wasn’t an ordinary boulder but one created with three times the density of a normal one. This meant his moves would be even more effective against ordinary rocks.

Under Xuan Yuan’s guidance, as long as Rod wished and possessed sufficient mental power, he could simulate any object, even enemies, in this sea of consciousness!

So this sea of consciousness could also be considered the best place for cultivation. As he gradually discovered, mastered, and applied its techniques, Rod found himself truly falling in love with this rare sacred ground for cultivation. He became so engrossed in it that he forgot about the outside world, sometimes even reluctant to leave and preferring to stay there to cultivate continuously.

“Huff, puff…” Sitting on the ground, panting, another period of cultivation had passed. As his mental strength grew stronger, the duration of each cultivation session also increased. For example, this time was at least twice as long as his first attempt.

After resting on the ground and catching his breath, he entered a state of dormancy once again!

……

“Shadowless!”
“Autumn Wind!”

A fierce wind swept through the sea of consciousness, with countless voices flashing by and sword shadows covering everything. After mastering the most basic techniques and gaining Xuanyuan’s approval, Rod devoted himself to refining the Shadowless Sword and Autumn Wind Sword, making adjustments to every detail and step.

In fact, Rod had never really practiced these two techniques thoroughly. Both were used accidentally the first time, without proper preparation. The Shadowless Sword was used during a confrontation with Alice’s magical beast, the Flaming Leopard, while the Autumn Wind Sword was only used properly recently!

Relatively speaking, the Shadowless Sword was a bit better—having been used numerous times since the first attempt, it had become much more familiar despite still having some issues. The Autumn Wind Sword, on the other hand, was in a poor state, having been used only a few times, so Rod was still very unaccustomed to it.

Taking this opportunity, he broke down the techniques step by step, making significant progress under Xuanyuan’s occasional guidance. He gained a deeper understanding of swordsmanship, and many issues in the details were improved.

It was not until this moment that Rod realized there were so many flaws in the Shadowless Sword he had taken pride in. Xuanyuan’s criticism left him blushing and speechless.

As for the Autumn Wind Sword, it was thoroughly criticized, causing Rod to suffer in silence, though he did receive a lot of guidance.

“Shadowless!” Another loud shout echoed, and the Shadowless Sword was immediately activated. His figure split into two, then four, then eight, and finally twelve—twelve figures in total, four more than before. This showed that his mastery of the Shadowless Sword had reached a new level, and naturally, its attacking power had increased as well.

I remember the last time I created twelve figures was during the battle with the Earth Bear. Suddenly, a tremendous change occurred—powerful energy surged within me, lifting my strength by several levels and nearly bringing me to the level of a Martial Emperor. Even with such strength, I could only create twelve figures, which shows just how important skill is.

After the sword shadows disappeared, a vast open area lay ahead, filled with dust and continuous rumbling sounds. “Autumn Wind~!” Immediately, the Autumn Wind Sword appeared. Needless to say, it was far beyond what it used to be, having reached a completely new level.

Stopping his training and looking at the results he had achieved, Rod smiled in satisfaction. Not bad—great progress. Now, he was fully capable of dealing with any Silver Warrior. At this level, he could definitely be considered among the best.

With these thoughts, a sense of pride welled up in him. With a faint smile, he stood there, quietly enjoying the peace of the moment.

After the sudden change during the battle with the Earth Bear, his body had undergone some changes—it seemed even stronger, especially his combat energy, which appeared purer. It had risen by one rank in a short time, something Rod could clearly sense.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know what that energy was. When he asked Xuanyuan, either the latter changed the subject or claimed not to know—either way, he didn’t want to tell Rod.

As for whether there were any side effects, Rod couldn’t be sure. He himself wasn’t very clear about his current physical condition.

“Alright, master. Your training is almost done for this phase. You’ve been unconscious for quite some time—it’s time to go back!” Just as Rod had caught his breath and was about to continue training, he heard Xuanyuan’s voice.

“Hm? Why? I don’t feel ready yet. Didn’t you say we could still create virtual enemies to fight against here? We haven’t done that yet. How…?” Frowning, he sensed Xuanyuan’s presence and asked in confusion. Even in his mental sea, he couldn’t see Xuanyuan’s appearance, which made Rod sigh in regret.

“That’s enough for now. Staying here too long won’t benefit you. Everyone has their limits. Yours has been reached. Go back first. There will be more opportunities later. I’ll summon you then! If you don’t wake up soon, someone might go crazy!” With a sly laugh, Xuanyuan said playfully.

“But…” This time, Rod was truly anxious.

“Stop it. Your consciousness is indeed in the Sea of Consciousness, but it’s somewhat disconnected from your body. This state shouldn’t last too long—it causes more harm to the mind than good. You should understand that. Go!” A gust of wind blew, causing a sense of dizziness. Rod knew it was Xuanyuan at work; he must have been thrown out of the Sea of Consciousness. With a sigh of regret, he returned to his body, filled with dissatisfaction.

“I wonder how long I’ve been cultivating this time!” he thought to himself. It seemed like quite some time—at least three months, in his estimation. Based on his feelings, each cycle of cultivation and rest equaled almost one day, and even longer in later stages. Three months was on the low side.

“You damned bastard, aren’t you waking up yet? When will you recover?” Alice sighed, looking at Rod lying motionless in bed. He had been unconscious for days with no sign of recovery, leaving her and the others extremely worried.

Watching Rod lie still, Alice sighed again. When did her attitude toward him change? She couldn’t feel even a trace of hatred… Moreover, that concern seemed somewhat unusual. What was going on? Why was she like this?

The image of Rod from the battle against the Earth Bear appeared in her mind again. Unconsciously, a smile tugged at her lips. He was still quite handsome. She realized he was actually quite good-looking. His spirit, his posture, his gaze—there was something charming about him. At least he was far better than Anderson and the others!

“How can I think like this? I can’t. What’s so good about this little ruffian?”

She quickly shook her head, trying to shake off those thoughts. Panicked, she muttered to herself, her face turning red, though her flickering eyes betrayed her true feelings.

As soon as he returned to his body, Rod heard faint voices. Once everything returned to normal, he felt pain and hunger. The pain came from his wounds and internal injuries, while the hunger came from his empty stomach.

“Cough, cough, cough…” Feeling this, he couldn’t help but cough, his body moving slightly.

“Rod, you… you’re awake? Rod…” Rod’s movement was noticed by Alice. Seeing this, she quickly dismissed her own thoughts and rushed over, calling out anxiously.

The familiar voice came to his ears again. With a groan, he licked his dry lips as Rod struggled to open his eyes.