Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Heartless Sword Manual

“Disciple, your ability to cultivate Sword-Piercing Fist to Perfection demonstrates your exceptional comprehension in swordsmanship. Master has a cultivation method here called the Heartless Sword Manual, which integrates internal skill manuals and martial techniques with swordsmanship. It happens to be perfect as your follow-up cultivation method after entering the ranks. This Heartless Sword Manual is in no way inferior compared to the primary cultivation methods of the Seven Peaks. Its characteristic is that it emphasizes comprehension and downplays Root Bone. Those with slightly poorer comprehension will find it difficult even to get started.”

Elder Zhou Buping entered the wooden house and retrieved a thin manual booklet, tossing it to Li Qian.

The cover of the manual booklet was yellowed, clearly showing its age.

He gently opened the cover.

The essence of the Heartless Sword Manual lies in devoting oneself to the sword.

The following content was obscure and difficult to understand, seemingly profound and mystical. Li Qian was left utterly bewildered by the various technical terms.

Seeing Li Qian’s confused expression, Zhou Buping immediately said, “Take it back first and ponder it carefully. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come back here and ask Master.”

“Yes, Master.”

Li Qian hastily nodded and replied.

He then left the valley and returned to the Bell Tower.

No one would have guessed that after this simple round trip, he had already become a Formal Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect and even taken a Master.

After returning to the Bell Tower, Li Qian completed his daily bell ringing. He didn’t practice Sword-Piercing Fist but instead began studying the Heartless Sword Manual.

With an internal skill manual, there was no need to continue cultivating Sword-Piercing Fist.

Even if Sword-Piercing Fist reached Perfection, it couldn’t change the fact that it was a basic fist technique.

After studying it for a long time, Li Qian sighed deeply. This Heartless Sword Manual, let alone cultivating it, was difficult even to understand.

In the end, he could only practice Sword-Piercing Fist a few times to ease his frustration.

After ringing the bell for the last time in the evening, Li Qian descended the mountain and headed straight for the valley.

“You’ve arrived.”

Zhou Buping was still leaning against the wooden door.

As he spoke, he tossed a brand new wooden token to Li Qian.

“This is your Formal Disciple identification token, which also functions as a Contribution Token. As for your previous one… if you have any Contribution Points, go to the Inner Sect Affairs Hall to transfer them.”

Zhou Buping explained.

Holding the wooden token, Li Qian found it almost identical to the one he saw at the Black Market stall, with no significant differences.

“How much of the Heartless Sword Manual have you understood?”

Zhou Buping asked again.

“Master, disciple can only understand about ten to twenty percent of it.”

Li Qian said with a ashamed expression.

“That’s normal. You come from the ranks of Odd-Job Disciples and have never cultivated internal skill manuals before. You’re not familiar with many of the terms and specific terminology used in internal skill manuals.”

Zhou Buping wasn’t surprised.

He then began to explain the specialized knowledge of internal skill manuals to Li Qian.

This was the advantage of having a Master.

They could teach you step by step.

If Li Qian were to figure it out on his own, it would not only be time-consuming and laborious but could also lead to problems in his cultivation.

Cultivating internal skills was different from simply practicing fist techniques. The slightest mistake could cause Internal Qi to go out of control, leading to Qi Deviation.

Under Zhou Buping’s guidance, Li Qian gained a deeper understanding of the Heartless Sword Manual.

As he was leaving, Zhou Buping tossed him a cloth bag.

Inside were the monthly stipend and supplies for a Direct Disciple: a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills, a bottle of Spirit Nourishing Pills, and a pound of Exotic Beast Dried Meat.

In addition to this, Zhou Buping also gave Li Qian a precious sword.

“Whether it’s Qi and Blood Pills or Spirit Nourishing Pills, it’s best to take one every other day, alternating between them. You can only take more during breakthroughs.”

Zhou Buping said.

The treatment of Formal Disciples was vastly different from that of Direct Disciples who had a Master.

Formal Disciples received Qi and Blood Pills, whose effects were incomparable to Qi and Blood Pills.

Not to mention Spirit Nourishing Pills, which restored mental energy, were not provided to Formal Disciples.

As for Exotic Beast Dried Meat, Formal Disciples only received two ounces per month.

Most of the two bottles of pills and the pound of Exotic Beast Dried Meat were definitely subsidized by his Master.

This was something Formal Disciples didn’t have.

“Thank you, Master.”

Li Qian hastily said.

Upon returning to the Bell Tower, Li Qian began preparing for the entry level of the Heartless Sword Manual.

◈◈◈

He repeatedly pondered the content of the internal skill manual. Only when he had no more doubts did he sit cross-legged and begin to circulate his Internal Qi according to the instructions.

During the practice of Sword-Piercing Fist, Internal Qi circulated passively.

With internal skill manuals, however, Internal Qi was circulated actively.

At first, Li Qian couldn’t concentrate, making it difficult to precisely control his Internal Qi. It often went out of control and moved erratically.

So he activated the Sacrificial Time Bell, causing the bell to ring continuously.

Instantly, he felt his spirit invigorated. The Internal Qi that was previously difficult to control seemed to become gentle and obedient, circulating along specific meridian pathways under his direction.

After completing a Great Heavenly Cycle, the Internal Qi returned to the Dantian Qi Sea.

Whew!

He let out a long breath, his face filled with delight.

Internal skill manuals were indeed different.

This could be seen just from the amplification of Internal Qi.

Suddenly, he had a thought and summoned the system interface to check the latest information.

Host: Li Qian.

Cultivation Level: Postnatal （First Level 58/100）.

Sacrificial Instrument: Time Bell （Treasure 802/1000）.

Martial Arts: Sword-Piercing Fist （Perfection）, Heartless Sword Manual （Entry Level）.

“One Great Heavenly Cycle actually increased the progress by one point?”

Li Qian was surprised.

Previously, when he was cultivating Sword-Piercing Fist, it took two days to increase the progress by one point.

However, practicing the Heartless Sword Manual once consumed a significant amount of Qi and Blood and mental energy. He had only circulated one Great Heavenly Cycle, and he already felt a sense of Qi and Blood depletion and mental fatigue.

No wonder cultivating internal skills required the support of pills.

Since he had reached the Entry Level, he didn’t continue practicing.

The next morning.

Li Qian rang the Time Bell.

After the bell rang, he felt incredibly comfortable throughout his body. The Internal Qi within him became exceptionally active.

He immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating the Heartless Sword Manual.

Upon completing a Great Heavenly Cycle, Li Qian felt refreshed and invigorated, with no trace of fatigue.

“The first bell ringing of each day has the best effect. The invisible energy contained within the bell sound can greatly replenish Qi and Blood and mental energy.”

Li Qian opened his eyes, a smile on his face.

Therefore, his daily cultivation was most effective after the first bell ringing.

The subsequent bell ringings would have a much weaker effect.

As for not ringing the bell and directly activating the Time Bell to create the bell sound in his mind, the effect was the weakest.

Moreover, the farther away he was from the Time Bell, the weaker the effect of the created bell sound would become.

Li Qian didn’t continue cultivating.

Because the effect of the first bell ringing had dissipated.

He would wait until the Chen Hour bell ringing to cultivate again, as the effect would be better.

In this way, Li Qian cultivated five times throughout the day, completing five Great Heavenly Cycles, increasing his Postnatal First Level cultivation progress by five points.

Previously, it took two days to gain one point of progress while cultivating Sword-Piercing Fist.

But now, cultivating the Heartless Sword Manual allowed him to gain five points of progress in a day, increasing his efficiency tenfold.

Although this was related to him taking a Qi and Blood Pill, it also demonstrated the strength of internal skill manuals, far surpassing basic fist techniques like Sword-Piercing Fist.

As for the Spirit Nourishing Pills, Li Qian found that he didn’t need to use them for the time being.

The sound of the Time Bell could eliminate the mental fatigue caused by cultivation.

Unfortunately, his Qi and Blood couldn’t keep up. He was confident that he could practice the Heartless Sword Manual a few more times.

He sighed inwardly. If it weren’t for Yi Zhong’s threat, he wouldn’t have considered becoming a Formal Disciple. How could he have enjoyed such benefits now?