Noticing the motionless giant spider, Ye Jingyu cautiously approached, only to discover the wound showed not a single drop of blood, and even the blue ichor that had splattered onto the wound had vanished without a trace. Furthermore, the spider’s size had noticeably diminished, clearly as if its internal fluid had been entirely drained…

If not for the pool of blue blood remaining on the ground not far away, Ye Jingyu would have been certain the colossal creature had been completely drained. Staring at the ragged piece of iron stuck in the spider’s body, an utterly absurd notion flashed through Ye Jingyu’s mind: “Could this very blade have sucked the spider’s blood dry?”

Puzzled, he yanked the broken blade out, observing that it remained just as rusty and unchanged as before; it only felt slightly heavier…

Comparing the nearly unaltered broken blade with the carcass on the floor, its vital fluids completely leached out, Ye Jingyu found the whole affair deeply bizarre. Nevertheless, he had undoubtedly saved his own life. Grasping this life-saving treasure in one hand, Ye Jingyu once again moved toward the figure.

Looking at the man who remained seated, unmoving, with an appearance of serenity yet resembling a dried husk, Ye Jingyu instinctively glanced again at the broken blade in his hand. Could this person also have been drained of his vital essence by something, **which is why he was preserved like this?

But his face certainly didn’t resemble that of a mummy in any way?

Judging by the man’s exterior, he should have been dead for a long time; otherwise, how could he be covered in such a thick layer of dust? Yet, how could someone dead for so long show absolutely no signs of decay?

Just as Ye Jingyu was pondering this, he abruptly noticed a dust-caked book lying next to the man. Driven by his strong curiosity, Ye Jingyu immediately picked it up. After blowing the dust off, he saw several sweeping, vigorous characters inscribed on the cover: “Thunderclap Blade Art…”

Simply gazing at this manual, Ye Jingyu felt as if thousands of blade auras were pressing against the characters, threatening to cleave him into pieces. Fortunately, his will was firm; his dark eyes fixed intently on those characters, his face betraying nothing but a sliver of surprise, devoid of any fear…

Carefully opening the first page, he found a drawing of a figure wielding a blade, poised in a strange stance, accompanied by some annotations—it appeared to be a profound blade technique?

Seeing all this, Ye Jingyu quickly flipped through the book (Full novel reading, all at .1.(1.m.Literature Net). , every illustration depicted an extremely peculiar posture, and every annotation was meticulously detailed…

In an instant, Ye Jingyu understood: this was an incredibly advanced blade technique…

Even… even more so than… well… it seemed he hadn't encountered any martial arts manual in his entire life…

In less than half an hour, Ye Jingyu had devoured the entire volume of over a hundred chapters. Upon careful count, he found there were exactly one hundred and eight sections, each accompanied by a corresponding illustration. However, on the final page, a clear line of script was written…

“I spent my entire life accompanied by the blade, and only in my later years did I fully grasp the essence of blade mastery: Swiftness, Precision, Ruthlessness. Thus, I created the Thunderclap Blade Art, comprising three ultimate moves: Thunderclap Cleaving Slash, Sky-Shattering Thunder Command, and Raging Thunder Purgatory. I pen this book to pass it on to one destined by fate…”

The words were few, simple, and direct, yet Ye Jingyu perceived within them the dedication of a swordsman who had poured his entire existence into the Way of the Blade. Swiftness, Precision, Ruthlessness—everyone understood these to be the core tenets of blade work, but how many truly internalized them?

Constantly visualizing the figure drawings he had just seen, he realized that although there were one hundred and eight forms, every thirty-six forms constituted the same fundamental move. This meant each of the three ultimate moves was comprised of thirty-six variations. To master this Blade Art, one needed to perfectly assimilate all one hundred and eight forms…

It sounded deceptively simple, yet Ye Jingyu understood this would be an incredibly arduous undertaking. He looked at the man cross-legged on the stone bed and suddenly grasped everything…

With a soft thud, he knelt on the ground, bowing three times with utmost reverence to the figure. Then, he slowly spoke, “This junior is unworthy, yet to receive the Blade Art created from Senior’s life’s work is my greatest fortune across three lifetimes. This junior will certainly not fail Senior’s expectations and will strive to propagate the Thunderclap Blade Art…” As soon as the words left his lips, Ye Jingyu heard a rumbling sound. Looking up, he saw a stone door, large enough for a person to pass through, appear behind the man. Within, layers of steps descended into the darkness below…

Could this be the escape route left by the Senior? Damn, that’s such a cliché…

But Ye Jingyu still bowed three more times to the corpse, offering thanks for saving his life. Then, without another word, he gripped the old iron shard and headed toward the stone door…

Although he possessed the mighty cultivation method, the Overlord Origin Art, everything he had learned so far were mere cultivation fundamentals—mental exercises. He possessed absolutely no techniques applicable to combat. This was like having a master marksman who was given no firearm; his combat effectiveness would remain zero. This Blade Art, however, was the Desert Eagle; placed in the hands of that marksman, his combat power wouldn't just double, but multiply several times over!

The destruction of the White Cloud Manor, Qin Yan’s betrayal, and the obliteration of Grandmasters like Qin Fengbao and Qin Yukuan made him profoundly realize that to survive in this world, one absolutely needed sufficient strength…

Therefore, his respectful kowtows to the nameless Senior were entirely borne of genuine gratitude and respect…

For he understood clearly how vital strength was on this brutal continent. With this exquisite secret technique, once mastered, his power would increase exponentially. Only by possessing formidable strength could he truly protect himself…

Ye Jingyu’s figure quickly vanished from the hidden chamber. He hadn't eaten for days, and his stomach was growling with hunger. More pressingly, his lips were cracked and dry. There was no water source in the secret room, and he certainly didn't want to die of thirst immediately after obtaining such a profound Blade Art…

A quarter of an hour after Ye Jingyu departed, the man sitting motionless on the stone bed suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, two piercing beams of brilliant light shooting out. He glanced at the desiccated spider on the floor, and a faint smile touched his lips: “What excellent potential. To kill that Bursting Spider relying only on physical strength, without utilizing a sliver of true Qi. I wonder what he will become after practicing the Thunderclap Blade Art. Xuanyuan Jue, is your sword ultimately superior, or is my blade greater? I shall wait and see…”

After speaking these words, the man closed his eyes once more, resuming his eternal, unchanging posture…

The stone chamber returned to its profound stillness, as if nothing had ever occurred…