"Qin Ming, Ma Hongjun!" After rewarding Meng Yiran, Ning Fengzhi looked at the two remaining and took out the right arm bone of the Exploding Flame that Jun Tianlin had won.
"This soul bone was Jun Tianlin's championship prize, but he declined to absorb it. Now, I plan to give it to one of you. Both of you are explosive fire-type spirit masters, and your compatibility with this soul bone is extremely high."
"I'll pass. Please give this soul bone to Hongjun," Qin Ming said without hesitation. "But, Sect Master, I have one request. Hongjun is the direct disciple of my teacher, Yu Xiaogang. Since my teacher has retired, could you entrust me with Hongjun's future training? This is what Xiaotian promised me from the start."
"Of course," Ning Fengzhi agreed warmly. "You both follow the same cultivation path. You're the perfect teacher for Hongjun. Besides, he tends to slack off; he'll need a strict mentor to keep him in line. I'll leave him to you from now on."
"Thank you, Sect Master!"
Jun Tianlin silently watched Ma Hongjun's ecstatic reaction to receiving the soul bone, sighing inwardly. This soul bone hadn't been easy to obtain. That little fat man's future was basically sealed; in exchange for a soul bone, he'd effectively signed away his freedom.
Although Qin Ming was usually gentle, when it came to training, he was meticulous—even ruthless. So long as you didn't die from training, he'd keep pushing you to the brink. The members of the Emperor Team had been thoroughly forged under his harsh regimen, and their formidable combat prowess owed much to his teaching.
Lastly, there was Ning Rongrong. For her, Jun Tianlin had snatched the ten-thousand-year Gemstone Mental Illusion Skull from Shi Nian.
In the original story, this belonged to her—and now, it had once again fallen into her hands.
With the soul bones distributed, Ning Fengzhi rose and declared: "Jun Tianlin, Qin Ming, Oscar, and Gu Ran who has yet to return—you four have earned great merits. When the time comes, you will be duly rewarded."
Of course, this was a classic leader's move: promising future rewards—a skill Ning Fengzhi had long mastered.
With the initiation and reward ceremonies concluded, everyone else dispersed, leaving only Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo Chen Xin, and Jun Tianlin behind.
"Master, Uncle Ning, is there something else you wish to discuss?" Jun Tianlin asked.
"It's not me," Ning Fengzhi replied casually, shedding formality. "It's your master."
Chen Xin stepped forward. "Xiaotian, I've watched your progress in the Seven-Kill Sword Technique—you've reached a high enough level. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the Seven-Kill Sword Dao."
"The Seven-Kill Sword Dao?" Jun Tianlin was puzzled. The Seven-Kill Sword Technique was renowned across the world, but he had never heard of a 'Seven-Kill Sword Dao.'
In truth, there was a simple reason: anyone who had witnessed the Seven-Kill Sword Dao… was no longer alive.
It was like the Haotian Clan's Chaos Cloak Hammer Technique—everyone had heard of it. But their true ultimate arts, the Haotian Nine Arts, were unknown to most.
"The Seven-Kill Sword Technique is merely a technique," Chen Xin explained solemnly. "The Seven-Kill Sword Dao, however, is the path of killing itself. It contains no distinct moves like the technique. Every swing is meant to kill. If you insist on naming a move, then it's only one word—'kill.'"
As Chen Xin uttered "kill," Jun Tianlin suddenly felt the blood in his body chill, as if time itself had frozen. Such overwhelming murderous intent—this was the true Seven-Kill Sword Dao!
Chen Xin continued, "Also, your master has created his own soul skill: 'Unity of Man and Sword.' It perfectly merges you with your sword spirit, enabling your attack power to multiply instantly."
"The Prison Lock Mind Blade you used in the competition was impressive, but to me, it hasn't yet reached its pinnacle. That's because there's still a clear separation between you and the sword. You are you; the sword is the sword. How can you achieve the ultimate move if that distinction remains?"
"You must reach the state where **you are the sword, and the sword is you.** Only then can you step into the deeper realms of swordsmanship."
Chen Xin's words were earnest and heartfelt. After a moment, he sighed softly: "Once I've passed on the Seven-Kill Sword Dao and the Unity of Man and Sword to you, your master will have no more to teach. Your future path… you'll have to explore it yourself."
"Master, you've already taught me enough—lessons I'll carry for a lifetime. Oh, right! I also have a gift for you." Jun Tianlin smiled as he pulled out a book from his soul guide. "Master, this is an ancient swordsman's lifetime of insights. The sword techniques I've been using… I learned them from this. With your profound mastery, if you study this, you might be able to break past your current bottleneck."
"Oh? Let me take a look!" Chen Xin's interest was immediately piqued. He'd always been curious about Jun Tianlin's unusual swordsmanship. But out of respect for his disciple's privacy, and because he saw no deviation from righteous swordsmanship, he'd never probed further.
As soon as he flipped through the book, however, Chen Xin was fully engrossed. The depth of sword comprehension in these pages… surpassed even his own!
"Xiaotian, where did you get this sword manual?" Chen Xin marveled. "This level of insight… could only belong to a sword god!"
In reality, Jun Tianlin had gifted him Uncle Xie's sword manual. During Li Xiaoyao's time as head of Shushan, only Xie Cangxing could rival him in swordsmanship. That alone spoke volumes. Chen Xin's guess wasn't wrong—Uncle Xie was, in a sense, a sword immortal.
"Master, do you remember when I absorbed the million-year spirit ring? The million-year soul beast, Tian Meng, resided in my spiritual sea. It traveled far and wide and once found this sword manual in a remote valley. Unfortunately, it lost the original long ago. The one you're holding—I copied down from what Tian Meng taught me." Jun Tianlin smoothly shifted the credit to Tian Meng.
Chen Xin nodded, no longer questioning. He wasn't the type to pry—and besides, he was now completely absorbed by the sword manual.
Ning Fengzhi, however, eyed Jun Tianlin with an amused smile.
*A giant soul beast interested in human swordsmanship? And it memorized the whole manual to teach you?*
*Also… didn't you already use those strange sword techniques long before you got the million-year spirit ring? Don't tell me you secretly raised Tian Meng beforehand.*
*Do you really think your Uncle Ning is as easy to fool as your master?*
Under Ning Fengzhi's sharp gaze, Jun Tianlin nearly let out an awkward whistle. Fooling Chen Xin had been easy… but deceiving Ning Fengzhi? Not so much.
Thankfully, Ning Fengzhi didn't press the issue. Everyone had their secrets. As long as Jun Tianlin remained loyal to the clan and upright in his actions, Ning Fengzhi had no intention of prying.