This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

gurgle... gurgle... gurgle...

Groups of seagulls flew through the sky, issuing high and clear cries.

The merchant ship sailed smoothly with the wind, the waves slapped against the bow, raising heaps of white foam, making a splashing sound.

At the rear of the fleet, the azure sea was dragged into nine long, rolling silver ribbons.

What a beautiful sight to behold... if it weren't the same every day.

This was the eleventh day the merchant ship had been at sea, and they had completed less than a third of their journey.

Knock knock knock!

The door to the cabin where Lu Qingshan was located was knocked.

"Come in." Lu Qingshan responded.

The person who entered was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, holding a food container.

He was assigned by the ship to deliver meals specifically to Lu Qingshan, their important guest.

"Young Master Lu, here is your lunch for today," the old man called out.

Lu Qingshan nodded to indicate acknowledgment, and the old man, knowing his place, set down the food container and quietly exited.

"Sigh!" Once the old man had left, the Rat King lying on Lu Qingshan's bed sighed listlessly.

Lu Qingshan teased somewhat mischievously, "What now, aren't you always greedy? Why this lamenting when it is time to eat?"

The Rat King rolled his eyes and sniffed, and mumbled discontentedly: "Steamed baby squid, mixed steamed shells, steamed pomfret, steamed Japanese sea bass, steamed...."

"The moment I smell it, I know it's these few kinds, coming and going since we got on board, all steamed, my mouth is becoming tasteless."

It was no surprise, since seafood was the most common staple at sea, and due to the cost of spices, steaming naturally became the chef's preferred cooking method.

Lu Qingshan didn't tease the Rat King any further; after a couple more quips, he took a jade slip and quickly sat down again beside the table.

The Rat King glanced at Lu Qingshan who was engrossed in the jade slip, feeling extremely wronged as it muttered, "Here I am, doing nothing on this ship every day, almost dying of boredom, while you, on the other hand, are happily engrossed in that jade slip."

Demon beasts actually need to cultivate too; although Lu Qingshan had intended to find a cultivation technique for the Rat King, demon cultivation techniques were not easily obtained, and so far, he had found nothing.

This had caused the Rat King's strength to grow solely dependent on the awakening of its own bloodline to date.

Basically, it was a "demon second-generation."

Unable to cultivate and naturally detesting water, it, now trapped on the ship with nowhere to go, found it understandably boring.

At those words, Lu Qingshan actually chuckled and shook the jade slip in his hand at the Rat King, teasing, "As they say, 'Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles.' There's nothing wrong with reading some books when you're idle.

Look at you, this appearance of yours does seem somewhat mystical, but it's just lacking a bit in temperament.

'Knowledge renders the spirit sublime;' read more books, make up for that lacking part, and I think no one would disagree if you were called a spirit beast."

Hearing Lu Qingshan say that, the Rat King immediately got so angry it started hopping, and exploded, "What's wrong with my temperament, isn't it majestic?

Spirit beast, pfft, I don't care about that title, let whoever wants it have it! Forget it, I won't waste more words with you, I'm going for a stroll."

The Rat King's figure flashed, turning into a grey shadow and left the cabin.

But the moment it stepped out of the cabin, a trace of peculiar light flickered in the Rat King's pupils, and it mused thoughtfully, "Spirit Beast, huh? Is what Lu Qingshan said about reading more really useful..."

Clearly, the Rat King was just being stubborn in front of Lu Qingshan.

In fact, it was not only not dismissive of the title of spirit beast as it appeared, but it even harbored some anticipation for it.

"However, the problem is, I can't read human script," it thought, feeling a bit troubled.

......

Seeing that the King of the Western Rats had left, Lu Qingshan didn't say much.

Although the King of the Western Rats had no means of attack, his natural talents granted him strong self-preservation capabilities, so there was nothing to worry about.

Shaking his head, Lu Qingshan's mind once again submerged into the jade slip in his hand.

Sword Qi True Understanding—that was the jade slip in his hand, and also the second jade slip in his storage bag.

This was not a reward from Zhi Shou Tower, but rather something Dantai Qingrun had prepared from his own experiences and understanding of the Sword Qi Condensation and Strike Technique, and then gifted to Lu Qingshan.

Sword Qi is not a spell; it is merely a high-level method of utilizing Spiritual Power exclusive to Sword Cultivators.

Sword Cultivators channel Spiritual Power onto their swords and use a unique technique to transform it into a more solid form, incorporating sharp traits of sword artifacts, resulting in more powerful specialized Spiritual Power.

After mastering the technique of Sword Qi Condensation and Strike, a Sword Cultivator's close combat abilities would leap significantly.

However, to evoke Sword Qi, Sword Cultivators need to make countless attempts and continuously explore.

The understanding Dantai Qingrun had provided as a Golden Core Sword Cultivator could undeniably spare Lu Qingshan from many detours.

The most important aspect was that the cultivation of the Five Elements Sword Armor required Sword Cultivators to master the technique of Sword Qi.

...

Unlike Sword Techniques, which require both enlightenment and practice, releasing Sword Qi solely depends on enlightenment.

Coincidentally, for Lu Qingshan, enlightenment on the Sword Dao was as natural and easy as eating and drinking.

Just on the fourth day of his journey at sea, he already could evoke a strand of Sword Qi using a Peach Wood Sword.

To ensure that the Sword Armor could be manipulated as easily as one's own limbs, the most common and effective method was to refine the Sword Armor using the Sword Qi generated from one's Life-bound Sword.

However, at this moment, Lu Qingshan did not have a Life-bound Sword, and the Sword Qi stimulated through other sword artifacts could not flow from the body as naturally as from a Life-bound Sword, making it flawed for training in the Five Elements Sword Armor.

There was still a solution, though.

Lu Qingshan extended his palm, a strand of tangible yet intangible gray-white air blade appeared at the tip of his index finger, flickering briefly before dissolving into the air again.

Although he could already solidify it, he was still unable to maintain its form.

Lu Qingshan was not very satisfied with this.

This was the Sword Qi condensed out of thin air without relying on a sword artifact.

In terms of power, although it differed from Sword Qi stimulated through a Life-bound Sword, since it was Sword Qi condensed using his own body as a sword, it was completely feasible for refining Five Elements Sword Armor.

The problem was that condensing Sword Qi out of thin air was many times more difficult than stimulating Sword Qi with the aid of a sword artifact.

Even with Lu Qingshan's insight, he had been stuck on this step for nearly a week.

But if other Sword Cultivators were to know about Lu Qingshan's progress in exploring the technique of Sword Qi, they would definitely be green with envy.

—For ordinary Sword Cultivators, even with Dantai Qingrun sharing Sword Qi striking techniques, a quick learner still required one to two years of continuous practice and trying to successfully stimulate the first strand of Sword Qi.

The slow ones might need to grind for about seven or eight years, and there were not a few dim-witted Sword Cultivators who were stuck at this step for several decades.

......

Although innate talent is extremely important in the cultivation of truth, there is no insurmountable barrier set by heaven, and cultivators can overcome the hurdles of talent through effort and opportunities to become great cultivators of ordinary human stature.

But Sword Cultivation is different; it is extremely harsh.

Sword Cultivation is the only one among the six paths of cultivation where without absolute talent, one simply cannot continue.

Because some swords, if you are not born able to wield them, you will never be able to for the rest of your life.