Recalling the devastating power of sword cognition, Xu Xiaoshou was tempted.

It was such a strong cultivation method, not a spiritual technique. He thought, ‘If you wanted me to learn it, you should have just told me and not do it this way.’

‘Did you really have to force me?’

‘I am not a fool! I know the value of this thing!’

Xu Xiaoshou thought as he continued to recall the practice method of the Sword Observation Manual.

Just looking at the introduction was enough to make his blood rush in excitement.

However, that changed when he saw the content at the back. Once he saw it, his face turned as dark as charcoal.

“The Sword Observation Manual was named as such because it focused on sword observation!”

“Observing the sharpness of the sword, understanding the true form of the sword, comprehending the way of the sword, breathing as one with the sword, forming oceans with spiritual energy, and transverse it into the sword…”

“The tougher the life of the sword, the higher the probability of cultivating sword cognition. Hence, the best swords to cultivate sword cognition would be the famed swords.”

Xu Xiaoshou took a look at it and understood the meaning of these sentences.

The cultivation of the Sword Observation Manual was in essence observing the sword.

If the sword under observation was a famed sword, cultivating sword cognition would be much easier.

What made his face turn pale was not those few lines. It was a line of fine print hidden at the end of the passage.

“Observing the sword, allowing the sword cognition to enter the body, as if knives cutting the flesh, is extremely painful. Please take caution.”

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

When he read this line, he immediately knew why that scruffy-looking man used this method to force him to learn the Sword Observation Manual.

“Observing the sword is very painful? How painful?”

It was not written inside.

Based on that man’s performance, wouldn’t this be even more terrifying than Infernal Fire Seed?

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou wanted to give up the idea of cultivating it.

He was a person good at everything, even at enduring pain, but he was lazy.

With the Breathing Technique to cultivate stably every day, who in the right mind would want to endure the pain of Infernal Fire Seed?

Just because the name contained the word “shou” did not mean endure. Did it mean Xu Xiaoshou had to constantly endure pain?

“Humm…”

As soon as he had that thought, the sword cognition above his energy center shook a little and started to expand.

Xu Xiaoshou almost peed his pants.

“I was kidding. I was kidding. It was just a casual remark. Please do not explode!”

“Let’s all calm down!”

Something magical happened.

This broken thing actually understood his thoughts and regained its silence.

“…”

Xu Xiaoshou’s whole body immediately went soft.

“This f*cking…”

That stupid man had thought of everything.

‘What is going on with me? I have not escaped from Elder Sang’s grasp yet, and now I have fallen to another stupid man’s trap.’

‘Oh, how sorrowful!’

Xu Xiaoshou felt the unjustness of fate.

This feeling of having everything planned for him was something that he did not like, yet it seemed like what he was afraid of most always happened.

He first thought that leaving Tiansang Spiritual Palace would enable him to escape from the cage and gain his freedom.

He never thought that the words Elder Sang told him on the night he became his teacher would come true.

This was what it meant to get trapped by a stronger and larger lock right after escaping from a smaller space.

“Red Dog, and the scrap-collecting man… Where is the end of all of this?”

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists.

He did not intend to bow down.

If given sufficient time, he was confident that he could break all these chains. Unfortunately, he was lacking time.

“Train!”

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated no longer and set his resolve.

Not only would he learn the Sword Observation Manual, but he would also even pick up Elder Sang’s Infernal Heavenly Flames – White Flames and Dragon Melting Realm.

“Isn’t it just some pain?”

“Once I endure this period of suffering, it will be all rainbows after the storm!”

The person who made him determined to endure such suffering was not Elder Sang nor that scruffy man. It was Red Dog.

“Sovereign…”

Xu Xiaoshou’s faced darkened.

He thought that his enemies would not be at the Sovereign Stage so quickly, but Red Dog’s appearance destroyed his wishful thinking.

That man’s horrifying vitality and explosive attack power…

Those were what he could not take at this stage of his cultivation.

If not for that man arriving, Red Dog might have killed him.

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou stopped hesitating. He sat down cross-legged and took Hidden Bitter out.

It was a tenth-grade spiritual sword.

Xu Xiaoshou actually had a sword of a higher grade on him that he did not use, which was Cheng Xingchu’s spiritual sword.

Because of the introduction of the Sword Observation Manual, the method of observing the sword could benefit the body and the grade of the sword could be increased with the cultivation.

Xu Xiaoshou did not know where the famed swords initially came from.

He now knew.

The mainland’s 21 famed swords were all in essence some strong being’s sword from the past.

During that era, pure swordsmen did not use the best material to forge their swords.

Although of good quality, those grades of swords were not able to form connections with their owners.

The strongest existences were instead those that had grown with their owners since they were young and formed spiritual connections with them.

Once the sword developed a spirit of its own, it would be able to cultivate as well.

Xu Xiaoshou had finally found a way of upgrading Hidden Bitter without spending any money.

He was actually fine with spending some money and had even thought of re-forging Hidden Bitter.

But Hidden Bitter had already developed some spirit. He was afraid that if he reforged it, the spirit might not be able to endure it and disappear.

That would be equivalent to him directly killing the spirit of the sword.

“Spiritual possession of the sword?”

Xu Xiaoshou was still reluctant to do that sort of thing.

The appearance of the Sword Observation Manual solved this problem.

‘Dang…’

Xu Xiaoshou pulled out the black sword, casually threw the scabbard aside, and mumbled, “Little fella, I have found a way to upgrade you, and that is…”

“Couple cultivation!”

The body of the black sword curved as if frightened and instinctively wanted to fly out.

Xu Xiaoshou was joyful.

It had been a while since he had seen this sword. Now, it seemed that it had even more spirit.

He grabbed hold of this scaredy-cat, accumulated sword cognition onto his fingertip, and gently fondled the body of the sword.

Hidden Bitter shook intensely. This was a form of love that came from its owner. It was something that any spiritual sword would not be able to resist.

It made a sound of excitement as the body of the sword stood straight and tall. It looked proud.

Xu Xiaoshou felt the dirt on his hand and felt a little sorry for it.

This black sword had silently followed him for so long and had endured a lot.

It had been punished harshly when it tried to take over its owner, had been hit explosively by Luo Leilei’s Forbidden Lightning Purgatory, and had even fought many weapons of a much higher grade than itself.

This fella had endured so much pain that it should not have had to at this stage.

To be honest, it being able to survive until now was really something.

Even after all of that, with just one touch from Xu Xiaoshou, it still experienced climax.

How was it possible to not feel sorry for such an existence and not give it the status it deserved?

“Come, let us cultivate!”

“From tonight onward, you are bound to grow stronger.”

Xu Xiaoshou held Hidden Bitter. He put it on his knee, followed the sword observation method of cultivation in the Sword Observation Manual, gathered his power, and looked straight at the sword.

One breath…

Two breaths…

Three breaths…

Hidden Bitter curved in shyness and started to curl up.

Xu Xiaoshou’s face turned green. Veins were popping from his forehead.

“We are cultivating, understand?”

“You f*cking lie down properly and don’t move around!”