The Azure Heart Sutra Sword Art comprises five distinct sword arts, each embodying a unique aspect of the human heart.
The first sword art is the Righteous Sword Heart, which channels justice and honor from the cultivator's heart into their swordsmanship, striking with unwavering integrity.
The second is the Wrathful Sword Heart, a fearsome art that unleashes bottled rage and burning intensity, overwhelming opponents with violent and relentless strikes.
Next comes the Desperate Sword Heart, born from the depths of despair. This sword art strikes with savage ferocity, its power fueled by necessity and the instinct to survive when all hope seems lost.
Following it is the Vengeful Sword Heart, a sword art that can only be mastered by those consumed by revenge, whose hatred and desire for retribution have reached an irreversible extreme.
Finally, the Free Sword Heart embodies liberation itself, allowing the swordsman to transcend all constraints and strike with the purest, most unrestrained expression of will.
Ye Feng decided to focus on cultivating the foundation stage of the Berserk Dragon Fiend God Body Formula. This foundation stage was divided into six layers: the first was Iron Skin, followed by Muscles Mutation, Organs Crystallisation, Diamond Bones, Blood Transformation, and finally, Golden Marrow.
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Three days later
Three days had passed since Ye Feng defeated Zhang Da. Soon after, the academy announced that the Monster Beast Hunting Competition would be held in two weeks. Those who emerged victorious would be granted access to the third and fourth levels of the academy library. This reward instantly stirred excitement throughout the academy.
In preparation for the upcoming competition, many students stopped attending classes and retreated into closed-door cultivation.
Like many of his peers, Ye Feng stopped attending Teacher Li's morning classes. He spent his mornings reading in the library, mastering the Azure Heart Sutra Sword Art after lunch, and cultivating the foundation stage of the Berserk Dragon Fiend God Body Formula at night.
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A Week Later
Every morning, Ye Feng immersed himself in countless books within the academy library, studying a wide range of subjects—mercenaries, monster beasts, alchemy, formations, the myriad kingdoms of the Tian Yuan Continent, and even precious cultivation comprehension notes left behind by Saint Realm experts.
After lunch, Ye Feng will always head to a secluded training ground, fully immersing himself in mastering the Free Heart Sword Art. Each swing of his blood dragon fang was crisp and decisive, and a smile slowly surfaced as he recalled the moment he had firmly resolved to become a sword cultivator and uncover the mysteries of the way of the sword.
Flashback:
Four days ago.
Ye Feng stood at the center of the secluded training ground, eyes closed, his mind sinking into deep contemplation. The words he had read in the Azure Heart Sutra Sword Art echoed in his thoughts: 'To cultivate the Azure Heart Sutra Sword Arts, one must understand human emotions, desires, and the heart itself, for these sword arts are reflections of the human heart.'
'The Vengeful Sword Heart is born from hatred and grudges,' he mused to himself. 'It is a blade forged by lingering resentment, sharpened by the desire for revenge. Every strike carries the weight of past wrongs, calm on the surface yet merciless in intent.'
The more he reflected, the stronger the connection with the Wrathful Sword Heart became in Ye Feng's mind, and a soft smile formed on his face.
'The way of the sword is really interesting it mysteries are really incredible I never ever imagined that sword arts could exist based on human hearts.'
'The only reason I chose to learn swordsmanship as a child was the mysterious sense of familiarity I felt whenever I watched my clansmen and the guards train in swordsmanship.'
'After listening to Uncle Mu's advice, I began learning swordsmanship to uncover the source of the mysterious familiarity I felt and to confirm whether uncle Mu's theory is right.'
'Over time, I began to truly enjoy my swordsmanship training, choosing this path not just to uncover the mysterious familiarity I felt, but because I genuinely loved practicing the art of the sword.'
'But now, none of that matters—I want to unravel all the mysteries hidden in the way of the sword, I want climb to the summit with my sword, and to stand unrivaled atop the cultivation world.'
At that moment, Ye Feng felt lighter than ever; his heart seemed weightless, and his cultivation had broken through from the first layer of the Saint Realm to the second.
A smile curved Ye Feng's lips as he felt his cultivation surge, breaking through to the second layer of the Saint Realm.
He then closed his eyes and said to himself.
'Right now, I should focus on mastering the Free Sword Heart Art, as it suits me better than any of the other sword arts.'
Ye Feng then looked at the blood dragon fang with a smile.
'The reason is simple: I am a free-spirited guy who simply wants to reach the pinnacle of the cultivation world and uncover the mysteries of the Way of the Sword.'
'I am neither a saint who seeks to bring justice to the world, nor someone driven by vengeance. The Righteous Sword Heart, Vengeful Sword Heart, and Wrathful Sword Heart do not suit me—at least, not yet. I must first experience these emotions myself before I can truly comprehend these sword arts.'
'As for the Desperate Sword Heart, I am confident I can comprehend it, for I have experienced the depths of despair in the pagoda and within the Asura Sword World. I will never forget that feeling. Yet, I will not begin with it, for it is not my essence. I must remain true to who I am before branching out in the future.'
After making up his mind Ye Feng closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
The Blood Dragon Fang danced through the air with elegant grace, yet the rhythm of the sword was unlike Ye Feng's usual style of swordsmanship—it was unpredictable, unrestrained, and utterly free of all shackles.
End of Flashback
The Free Heart Sword Art contained three distinct martial skills. The first was the Free Beheading Sword, a decisive and unrestrained strike; the second was the Free Steps, elusive and unfettered movement martial skill; and the final martial skill is the Free Piercing Sword, sharp unpredictable sword thrust.
After mastering the Free Heart Sword Art swordsmanship style, Ye Feng immersed himself in practicing its three martial skills, until the sun slowly set. Only then did he return to his dwelling, preparing to cultivate the Foundation Stage of the Berserk Dragon Fiend God Body Formula.
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In Ye Feng's Dwelling
Upon returning to his dwelling, Ye Feng sat down without the slightest delay and resumed cultivating the foundation stage of the Berserk Dragon Fiend God Body Formula. The moment he swallowed the Saint Concentrating Pill, a vast surge of saint energy flooded his body. Drawing upon his soul power, he swiftly guided the saint energy, carefully controlling its flow as he gradually absorbed it into his skin. As the energy fused with his skin, his skin began to radiate a deep red and grey glow.
When the saint energy was completely absorbed, Ye Feng released a long breath, and thick black smoke poured from his nostrils.
Ye Feng then opened his mouth and sighed. A large black smoke cloud comes out of his mouth.
Ye Feng looked at the Saint Concentrating Pill bottle in his hand and let out another sigh—this one heavy with disappointment.
"I've already used more than half a bottle, yet I've only completed the Iron Skin Layer. This cultivation method truly consumed too much energy," he muttered.
Gritting his teeth, a resolute light flashed in his eyes. Without hesitation, Ye Feng swallowed another Saint Concentrating Pill and immediately began cultivating the Muscle Mutation Layer, his aura steadily rising as he continue cultivating.
Ye Feng began using his soul power just as he had while cultivating the Iron Skin Layer. Following the Berserk Dragon Fiend God Body Formula, he carefully guided the saint energy released from the Saint Concentrating Pill into his muscles, steadily absorbing it into every fiber of his flesh.
For a brief moment, Ye Feng's muscles visibly bulged, swelling with terrifying strength, before shrinking back to their original state the very next second. He gritted his teeth, veins standing out as searing pain spread through every inch of his muscles. Yet he did not stop. Enduring the agony, he continued swallowing saint-concentrating pills one after another, guiding and absorbing their energy into his muscles. Only after he had consumed every last pill in the bottle clenched in his hand did he finally stop.
At that moment, Ye Feng forced the impurities out of his body. A viscous black substance oozed from his pores, clinging to his skin and emitting a foul, nauseating odor.
Ye Feng finally let out a sigh of relief after completely absorbing the saint energy from the remaining Saint Condensing Pills. This time, a faint wisp of purple smoke drifted from his mouth before slowly dissipating into the air. He casually tossed the now-empty bottle aside.
"Oh well, only one bottle left," he murmured. "I should continue cultivating the Muscle Mutation layer but first I need to bath and clean myself from all these impurities that I expelled before continuing."
Ye Feng quickly rose to his feet and headed to bathe, wanting to cleanse the layers of impurities that still clung to his body.
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In the days that followed, Ye Feng maintained his routine. His mornings were spent in the library, while his afternoons, after lunch, were devoted to mastering the Free Sword Heart in the secluded training grounds until sunset. Upon returning to his dwelling, he cultivated the Berserk Dragon Fiend God Formula.
It took Ye Feng only a few days to finish the last bottle of Saint Concentrating Pills, yet disappointment still lingered on his face—he had not managed to break through to the Organs Crystallization layer of the foundation stage.
Ye Feng knew the time had come to advance his Saint Force cultivation using the rank-three monster core. Retrieving it from his spatial belt, he closed his eyes and began absorbing the energy contained within.
Ye Feng's saint force cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds, thanks for the immense energy contained within the monster core and the insights he gained from reading the cultivation comprehension notes in the library.
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Two weeks later
Two weeks had passed since Ye Feng had stopped attending Teacher Li's classes. Today, all academy students were summoned to gather in front of the Azure Dragon Pagoda. Ten academy instructors stood before the pagoda, their gazes fixed on the students as they began to arrive.
Teacher Li watched as students streamed toward the pagoda. When the crowd seemed complete, he cleared his throat and announced, "Today marks the start of the Monster Core Hunting Competition."
All the students could barely contain their excitement, but Teacher Li cleared his throat again to quiet them and continued, "We've decided to try something different in this competition. By the end, there will be three winners."
"Unlike in the past, you are now allowed to form teams, and the number of members in each team is entirely up to you. If you prefer not to team up with other students, that is perfectly fine as well."
"Those who rank in the top three of this competition will be considered the champions. As a reward, you will gain permission to access the second and third levels of the library, just as I mentioned two weeks ago."
"You will all receive a map of the Dragon Forest, where the monster beasts we have captured over the years reside. The map indicates the locations of the first-rank and second-rank monster beasts."
One of the academy staff began distributing the maps to the students. Once everyone had received theirs, Teacher Li continued, "We've divided the forest into two sections on the map: the blue area marks where the first-rank monster beasts reside, and the red area shows the locations of the second-rank monster beasts."
"Your objective is simple: collect monster cores. The three students with the highest number of cores will be the winners. I don't care how you get them—if you want to win, you need to collect more than anyone else."
The students immediately grew excited, their determination sparked by Teacher Li's words. He continued, "Students in the Saint Force realm are only allowed to hunt cores from rank-one monster beasts, while those in the Saint Master realm may only hunt cores from rank-two monster beasts."
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"This competition will last seven days. Each student will also be given a flare formation—use it wisely. When activated, it will send flares into the sky, signaling the academy staff to come to your aid."
"But remember, once you activate the flare, you are out of the competition. Do I make myself clear?"
All the students nodded their heads in understanding and teacher Li smiled in satisfaction.
"Alright, those who want to form teams start looking for members in half an hour the Monster Core Hunting Competition will start."
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With Ye Feng
The students immediately began searching for others to form teams for the competition. Fu approached Ye Feng with a wide smile on his face and said, "Hey, Brother Feng, how about we form a two-man team—just you and me? That way, we'll lock down the top two spots in the competition."
Ye Feng was momentarily amused by Fu's words. Then, his eyes widened briefly before a knowing smirk curved his lips.
"That sounds fun. Your Saint Force is no longer restrained; you've clearly broken through to the Saint Realm."
Fu's face lit up with a proud smile at Ye Feng's words. He summoned his Saint Weapon—a massive golden axe, as tall as he was.
"You are right brother I just broken through recently."
Ye Feng chuckled and nodded his head.
"Alright, let's win this competition together Fu."
Upon hearing Ye Feng's reply, Fu nodded in satisfaction, a wide, excited smirk spreading across his face.
Many students invited Fu and Ye Feng to join their teams, but both of them declined the offers.
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With Zhang Da
Not far away, Zhang Da glared at Ye Feng and Fu, his eyes burning with anger, hatred, and a chilling killing intent. Zhang Wei stood beside him, wearing the same cold, ruthless expression. Turning to his three followers, Zhang Da spoke in a low, commanding voice, "Listen carefully. Those two are our targets. On the third day, we begin hunting them down."
The three students nodded respectfully and replied in unison, "Yes, Young Master."
Zhang Da then turned his sharp gaze toward Zhang Wei and sneered. "You remember Father's letter, don't you? This is your last chance, trash. If you prove useless again, you'll be sent back to the clan. Am I clear?"
Zhang Wei clenched his teeth, his fists trembling, but he lowered his head and nodded.
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With Ye Long
Ye Long and his friends walked toward Ye Feng and Fu, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Fifth Brother, why don't we form a team? Your friend Fu can join us too. I promise—it'll be fun."
Ye Feng rubbed the back of his head apologetically and replied.
"First Brother, I promised Fu that we'd form a two-man team—I can't break my word now."
Ye Long nodded to Ye Feng, sighed, and then smiled knowingly.
"I see, Fifth Brother. If you ever change your mind, come look for me in the forest. I'll see you later."
Ye Long then turned and walked away, his friends trailing quietly behind him.
Ye Feng looked guiltily at Ye Long as he retreated, and Fu noticed the guilty expression on Ye Feng's face.
"If you want to join your brother, we can join them, Brother Feng."
Ye chuckled and shook his head.
"I want to win this competition, Fu. If we join my first brother's team, we'll have to divide the monster cores we hunt evenly among all team members, which will slow our progress."
Upon hearing Ye Feng's explanation, Fu nodded in understanding.
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Half an hour later
Some students formed their own teams, while others preferred to venture into the Dragon Forest alone.
After receiving their individual flare formations from the academy instructors, the students exited the academy gates and made their way toward the entrance of the Dragon Forest.
All the students entered the Dragon Forest one by one, while those who had formed teams went in together.
The Monster Core Hunting Competition had officially begun.