To the naked eye, there was only a faint swirling in the purple miasma above. The motion of the world’s energy caused even the miasma to move about. Song Lu Tian sat motionlessly and it appeared as if nothing was going on.

On the other hand, to cultivators that could sense energy, and to those with Spiritual Sense that could feel it, the true Icefire Valley, was a violent storm of churning energy. It was commonly said that the energy of the Heavens and Earth could go through infinite changes, and Song Lu Tian was resonating with it, causing it to twist and transform into a form of law energy that felt like a dominating sword. Sage could feel the law energy that Song Lu Tian wielded began to change. Without any formal system of qualification, most cultivators would name their own laws, or others might slap a title upon them after it was shown off in battle. Even those who cultivated the same law might start a fight over whose name for their law was more appropriate.

Yet, even without a name, he could still get general feelings about its nature and also with more experience he was starting to feel he could gauge the quality of the law. He’d been able to coax some basically accepted qualifications about laws from Tao Ba and Guan Zhenyan. The quality he spoke of was related to the class of the law. Minor, Major, Primal, and Core. There was also a level of mastery, or what he imagined as a quantity, which was known as degrees.

Law Degrees. Hehe.

He stifled his own laugh at such a stupid thought, not wanting to make himself look like a fool while these two Elders were so protectively watching over their young genius. He did not want to be misunderstood as laughing at his own friend. That would definitely not go over well. While observing the law energy in the air, Sage felt something other than the sword and it gave him a feeling of unity and camaraderie. It had that same feeling as standing in formation and saluting in unison with dozens of others. The feeling of a team that could do anything.

Gauging these two laws, Sage watched as Song Lu Tian advanced them from Minor Laws into Major Laws. Two laws at the same time. Not only did they both advance, Song Lu Tian also broke through. He suddenly threw back his head and let out a loud roar. A ghostly figure shot out of his body.

He condensed his Nascent Soul so quickly!

The spirit form was vague and wispy at first, but it touched against the laws in the air and Sage was amazed at the form it took. Most Nascent Souls would be shaped as a cultivator’s ideal appearance, what they looked like in their own mind’s eye. Sage’s own soul was unusual in that it took the form of the Tree of Life, which was caused by his cultivation technique and the Heavenly Seed that gave it to him. Yet, Song Lu Tian was also such an anomaly. His soul didn’t just take a different form, it was an extremely strange one as well.

A pair of circles formed out of the spirit body, the most common base of a Formation Array, but that was only the beginning. Between those two rings, many small swords appeared. They had wide blades, but they weren’t as exaggerated in triangular shape as the ones Sage had made for him. The nine swords flitted about and then took a familiar configuration.

“Heaven Destroying Sword Formation!”

Elder Zhong couldn’t help himself, calling out the name of that arrangement of swords. Song Lu Tian’s Nascent Soul had taken on the form of his most powerful technique. Just as Sage’s soul had conformed to his cultivation technique, Song Lu Tian also seemed to be very in tune with his sword formation.

Hmm, there must be some sort of correlation. A connection to a technique that is greater than the sense of self?

He could only speculate. His own mastery and connection with his cultivation technique was essentially forced by his early bond with the Seed of Life. That Heavenly Material had reshaped his dantian and guided the formation of his core. It wasn’t surprising for it to also take over when his Nascent Soul was formed as well. Perhaps Song Lu Tian had a similar experience with his sword formation, or maybe it was merely his extreme dedication or compatibility?

Song Lu Tian’s soul flew about in the air for a while, seeming to act with a will of its own, slashing the sky and opening up a crack in the poison miasma above. Then the sword formation seemed to grow tired and flew back into Song Lu Tian’s body. The man’s head rose up from where it had slumped and he released a hearty laugh, “Ha Haa!”

He lifted his hand and clenched his fist, staring at it for a while and then he waved it at the sky. Law energy flooded into him, pouring into his body and causing his strength to skyrocket. Sage’s eyes widened.

He’s forming a body of laws while also breaking through stages at the same time? Madman!

Sage had also taken risks like that in the past, but they were always when he was on the verge of death and had no other choice. He’d lucked out and pulled through, but he would always work towards staying away from such situations. Yet, right in front of him, Song Lu Tian didn’t even bother to stabilize his realm as a Nascent Soul before diving right into the law energy to baptize his body. Even crazier, he was also pulling in more energy to increase his level simultaneously.

Geniuses are truly scary.

Breakthrough after successive breakthrough, Song Lu Tian’s momentum only came to a stop when he reached the peak of the sixth rank. He rapidly shot past Elder Zhong at level 63, then past Sage at level 67, and even surpassed Elder Meng at level 69, finally coming to a stop at level 70. Or at least, that was how Sage gauged his progress. Those that were stronger than oneself were hard to measure, but because of his wild breakthroughs it made it easier for him to track the energy flow.

Song Lu Tian had gone from the peak of Core Formation to the peak of Nascent Soul. He’d transformed from the weakest in their group to the strongest in just the span of a few days. If this was how he always cultivated, it was no wonder that he was known as the strongest young genius in the entire Kingdom.

After Song Lu Tian’s rapid improvement, he showed his domineering side and roared out a challenge, “Come, Second Elder, let me test my new strength!”

The long haired elder’s sleepy eyes shot open and he drew the sword from his back with lightning speed, but it was only barely fast enough to catch the blade of the sword that appeared in Song Lu Tian’s hand. The two of them danced back and forth, seeming to move slowly, but the air filled with a furious staccato of metal clashing to metal. The two never seemed to touch, but the thunderous sounds showed that their attacks were just too fast to see.

It was at this moment that Sage truly appreciated how powerful a sword cultivator could be in single combat. His own abilities were varied, making him extremely unpredictable against a new foe, but if he tried to face off against one of these sword cultivators head on, he would stand no chance at all. His most powerful attacks, Wave Combustion or the Divine Breath with the enhancement of Stormbreath, were only slightly more forceful than what he felt coming from their clashes. He could only perform those attacks with some preparation time and the time between uses was definitely not immediate, yet these two seemed to put out that much power constantly.

There is a vast difference between the elites of a First Rate Power like the Mount Song Sword Sect and a low talent cultivator like myself. How scary.