Chapter 57: Longevity Sword Dao
Changle Martial Arts Hall.
Inside the main hall.
Gongsun Wu was taking small sips of his hot tea.
He had spent a great deal of time negotiating with the Taizhen Martial Arts Hall to arrange the match for the number one Blood Forging Realm Swordsman of Five Horses Street.
He had finally managed to catch Sikong Jue the moment he came out of seclusion, told him about Lu Changfeng’s performance, and successfully secured his agreement!
As for Lu Changfeng, he was already waiting for a match to be arranged, so there shouldn’t be any problems!
A tall figure strode in with the gait of a dragon and the prowl of a tiger.
Gongsun Wu looked up, and upon seeing the newcomer, he immediately rose with a wide smile.
"Master Lu, you’re finally back. I heard you went to the Broken Moon Sect?"
Lu Changfeng waved his hand, not wanting to get sidetracked. He cut straight to the point, "Mr. Gongsun, have you arranged the match?"
Hearing this, Gongsun Wu didn’t press the matter. The arena had its business, and the Five Horses Street martial arts halls had theirs; each had its own role to play.
Gongsun Wu got back to business. "Indeed!"
"I’ve already persuaded Sikong Jue. The match can be held at any time!"
"As for you, Master Lu, when are you available?"
Lu Changfeng thought for a moment.
Sikong Jue had a great reputation, and he was someone who had materialized his Sword Intent. Lu Changfeng needed to make some preparations to ensure his victory was foolproof.
"Wait for my word. I’ve had some recent gains and need to enter seclusion for a while," Lu Changfeng said.
Gongsun Wu nodded. After all, Sikong Jue had held the title of Five Horses Street’s number one Swordsman for three years straight.
It was understandable that Lu Changfeng would be cautious and want to prepare more.
"Alright, I’ll be waiting for your news then, Master Lu!"
"By the way, for this kind of title match, the contestants get a share of the ticket sales. Master Lu, we’ve estimated that if all the tickets are sold, you’ll probably get a cut of eight to ten thousand taels."
Lu Changfeng raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That’s even better."
’I didn’t expect this extra income. No one ever complains about having too much money.’
With the arrangements settled, Gongsun Wu took his leave.
As one of the senior executives of the arena, his responsibilities went beyond just setting up the match; he also had to handle the publicity.
Although the match had yet to begin, the arena had already begun to build hype and promote the match for the number one Blood Forging Realm Swordsman of Five Horses Street.
The earlier they built up the excitement, the more high-priced tickets they could sell later on.
The match was also drawing a great deal of attention in Jiangzhou City.
Various factions and common folk alike were discussing it with great enthusiasm.
Lu Changfeng’s Changle Martial Arts Hall experienced another surge in enrollments, making Chunzhu consider whether they should buy the adjacent property to expand the hall’s grounds.
For the time being, Lu Changfeng paid no mind to the affairs of the outside world.
After Gongsun Wu left, Lu Changfeng went to the back courtyard to begin his seclusion.
First, it was time to fuse his Supreme Sword Dao Talent.
Lu Changfeng opened the interface.
The borders of four similar Swordsmanship-type Talents—[Swordsman], [Sword Heart], [Sword Vein], and [Sword Hero]—were shining brightly.
This was the prompt indicating to Lu Changfeng that a fusion was possible.
About to fuse his first Supreme Talent, Lu Changfeng felt a surge of excitement.
After all, the Giant Elephant Woman, who had slumbered at the bottom of a lake for who knows how many years, only possessed a Supreme-Level Talent.
This alone showed just how rare Supreme-Level Talents were.
"Interface, fuse them!"
"DING! The process of fusing a Supreme Talent is irreversible! The fusion of same-type Supreme Talents is unique! Do you wish to proceed with the fusion?"
’Unique? Does that mean I can only fuse one Swordsmanship-type Supreme Talent?’
"A Supreme Talent is the visualization of the host’s own soul, hence its uniqueness," the interface proactively answered Lu Changfeng’s inner doubt.
A thought struck Lu Changfeng. ’Then can I copy someone else’s Supreme Talent of the same type?’
"Others’ Supreme Talents originate from different souls than the host’s Supreme Talent, and can therefore be copied."
Lu Changfeng smiled faintly. With this ability alone, he had broken through a barrier that others could never surmount in a lifetime.
"Fuse them!" Lu Changfeng confirmed.
"Beginning fusion!"
Deep within Lu Changfeng’s soul.
The four High-Grade Talents began to vibrate unceasingly, causing Lu Changfeng’s soul to undergo a metamorphosis.
[Swordsman] allowed Lu Changfeng to comprehend the concepts of swordsmanship.
[Sword Heart] allowed Lu Changfeng to face his own heart of the Sword Dao.
[Sword Vein] made the pathways of swordsmanship and Sword Intent appear with unparalleled clarity in Lu Changfeng’s mind.
[Sword Hero] filled Lu Changfeng with an indomitable aura on his path of the Sword Dao, ensuring he would never be lost; with a sword in hand, a heroic spirit would surge forth.
The four High-Grade Talents circled endlessly until they transformed into a ray of light that completely merged into the depths of Lu Changfeng’s soul.
At this moment, Lu Changfeng’s soul trembled slightly, emitting a faint, unique glow.
"Fusion successful!"
"You have obtained the Supreme Talent [Longevity Sword Dao]."
"This Supreme Talent was formed from the substance deep within the host’s soul."
"It is the thing the host desires most."
"[Longevity Sword Dao], Supreme Talent. Each swordsmanship style absorbed increases lifespan by a certain amount. Each swordsmanship style absorbed increases the power of your sword strikes by zero point one percent."
After reading the attributes of the [Longevity Sword Dao] Talent, Lu Changfeng was stunned.
There were countless swordsmanship styles in the world. With his current talent for swordsmanship, it would only take him a few dozen days to master a new one.
’How much lifespan would that add up to in a year?’
’Will I grow younger the longer I live?’
And the zero-point-one percent increase to the power of his sword strikes seemed very small.
This was probably because the [Longevity Sword Dao] focused on longevity.
But under the premise of ’longevity,’ if he were to live for several thousand, or even tens of thousands of years, the power of a single sword strike would likely reach an unimaginable level.
’[Longevity Sword Dao]... It truly is something that reflects the depths of my soul. Ever since I witnessed my master’s fall, I’ve feared death deep down, and thus yearn most for longevity.’
’Time to test the power of the [Longevity Sword Dao].’
His thoughts concluded, Lu Changfeng activated his Supreme Talent as easily as moving his own arm.
In some mysterious way, all matters related to the [Gale Swordsmanship] flowed from his mind and into the depths of his soul.
It was absorbed by the [Longevity Sword Dao].
’It increased my lifespan by about three months, and the power of my sword strikes by zero point one percent. The increase is too small to perceive clearly.’
’The increase in lifespan is fed back to me very directly, but as for the increase in my sword strikes’ power, I’ll probably need to wait months, or even a year, to see a noticeable change.’
Lu Changfeng continued to have his talent ’eat’ his swordsmanship styles.
The lifespan increase provided by [Rapid Sword] and [Gale Swordsmanship] was not much different from that of Gale Swordsmanship.
Next was the [Storm Sword Technique]. This top-tier Blood Forging Realm Sword Skill, which Lu Changfeng had created himself, directly increased his lifespan by a full year!
At this moment, all of Lu Changfeng’s swordsmanship styles had been devoured by the [Longevity Sword Dao], leaving him with only the Storm Sword Intent to command.
Lu Changfeng felt a sense of mental exhaustion, but at the same time, his Storm Sword Intent had become even purer. Driven by the intuition of his Supreme Talent, Lu Changfeng opened the [Broken Moon Sword Manual].