On The Path Of Cultivation To Become God

Chen Tian\'s eyes lit up as he took a wooden sword and twirled it in his hand, feeling the weight and balance.

"This," he said.

Ming Jian raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement dancing in his gaze.

"A sword, huh? It seems some haven\'t even learned the first rule of combat—choose a weapon that complements your strengths. Unless, of course, you enjoy swinging a toy around pointlessly."

Chen Tian\'s grip tightened on the wooden sword. A playful glint entered his eyes.

"We\'ll see."

"Stubborn fool. A sword for a fraud like you? You\'d be better suited wielding a toothpick," Ming Jian scoffed, a hint of contempt in his voice.

He took a wooden sword and swung it effortlessly through the air, the violent whooshing sound echoing around them. Ming Jian was clearly skilled in the art of sword fighting; His movements flowed seamlessly with precision and grace.

Chen Tian, on the other hand, appeared inexperienced, his swings clumsy and uncoordinated.

Of course, that was only to the eyes of the untrained observer or those who hadn\'t practiced swordsmanship to a certain level.

In reality, Chen Tian had already reached a level where he could destroy lower worlds with only his sword intent. What Chen Tian now lacked the most was cultivation. His lack of cultivation was evident in his raw and untamed power.

The higher techniques couldn\'t be used to their full potential because of his lack of cultivation; even the lowest techniques required more spiritual energy, since even the highest world couldn\'t compare to the Qi of the 1st Heaven.

\'I need to reach the Core Formation quickly,\' Chen Tian thought to himself. Once he develops his divine sense, Chen Tian\'s path will become much smoother, and he will be able to take superior missions in the Sect Hall.

"Okay, since both of you have chosen your weapons and are ready to begin, let\'s get this fight started," Old Ming spoke.

All eyes were on Chen Tian and Ming Jian; all the disciples were eagerly looking at Ming Jian since it was rare for them to see their patriarch in action.

Ming Jian looked at Chen Tian with a confident smirk, arching his eyebrow.

"Ready? Don\'t worry, I won\'t go all out. Just enough to show you the difference between a seasoned martial artist and a fake."

Ming Jian\'s smirk widened into a predatory grin. He raised his sword into a starting stance, a posture that emphasized balance and readiness.

His movements were practiced, imbued with the confidence of countless hours spent honing his craft. With a sharp exhale, Ming Jian lunged forward, his blade tracking a vicious arc through the air.

Boom!

A pressure wave rippled outwards as the swords clashed, the force almost tangible as it made the air crackle.

"Wow!"

The force behind Ming Jian\'s move was completely different from that of a martial artist, but for Chen Tian, it was a welcome challenge. Before the wooden sword could land on his body, Chen Tian twisted at the last second. Ming Jian\'s blade screamed past, the wind from its passage whipping Chen Tian\'s hair.

Unlike the weak strikes of a martial artist, Ming Jian\'s attack was a whirlwind of raw power. It was fueled by an energy—not just brute force—an energy Chen Tian recognized as spiritual energy, but this spiritual energy was too weak to pose a real threat. Even a cultivator at the first stage of Qi refinement possessed stronger Qi than Ming Jian.

"Tsk, lucky!"

Disappointed by the near miss, Ming Jian pressed the attack. His movements were a blur, a flurry of strikes. Each swing of his blade wasn\'t just physically powerful; it carried a hint of energy and years of training.

Everyone watched in awe as Ming Jian continued to display his incredible skills.

"Did the patriarch\'s skill improve so much?" someone whispered among the disciples.

"Our patriarch is truly a master of the sword," another disciple replied in admiration.

Ming Jian\'s precision and speed were something the disciples couldn\'t even begin to match.

Even Liang Wei, a prodigy hailed as a genius within the Ming family, was having a hard time keeping up with Ming Jian\'s movements and his ferocious display of swordsmanship. A flicker of frustration crossed Liang Wei\'s face, quickly replaced by burning determination.

"How can I reach that stage?" he muttered under his breath, clenching his fists. The display had ignited a new fire within him, a yearning to push his own realm further, to one day achieve the Divine realm—a dream for every martial artist.

Bang!

For the first time, Chen Tian blocked Ming Jian\'s sword. Ming Jian\'s eyes widened in surprise, a hint of contempt shining through his fierce gaze.

Whoooshhh!

A lower cut followed by a swift upward strike. The clang of steel was replaced by a resounding thwack as Chen Tian met Ming Jian\'s downward slash head-on with his own wooden sword. The impact sent a jolt up to Ming Jian\'s arms, the wood groaning under the force.

Ming Jian\'s surprise was evident in the way his eyes bulged. A flicker of contempt, quickly masked by a snarl, danced in his gaze.

But before he could capitalize, Chen Tian spun his weapon, the wood whistling through the air with a whoosh. He parried Ming Jian\'s swift upward strike with the side of his blade, the blunt impact sending a shudder through Ming Jian\'s sword.

\'How?!\' Ming Jian thought, his mind racing to come up with a reason.

But Chen Tian was already on the offensive, as he launched a flurry of powerful strikes.

Ming Jian struggled to keep up, his movements becoming more erratic as the battle intensified.

Chen Tian\'s sword movements looked like a kid playing with a toy; all his swings lacked any sense of power or skill. Ming Jian and the disciples mocked Chen Tian at first for such poor technique. But as the battle continued, the disciples found it increasingly challenging to deny the truth before them.

Every swing of Chen Tian\'s sword made Ming Jian realize that his opponent was intentionally holding back, toying with him like a cat with a mouse.

The realization fueled Ming Jian\'s anger.

Despite his best efforts, Chen Tian\'s skill and speed proved too much for him to handle.

"Damn it!"

"Enough!"

The blood in Ming Jian\'s body boiled. A seething rage surged through his veins, fueling his actions.

The humiliation of being toyed with ignited a dormant spark within him.

Ming Jian\'s eyes snapped open, a brilliant light shining from within them as he unleashed a newfound power.

\'Oh!\'

Chen Tian watched in shock as Ming Jian\'s demeanor shifted.

All this fight, Chen Tian was using his Chaos Insight, and Ming Jian\'s sudden surge of power really impressed him.

The blood in Ming Jian\'s body seemed to pulse with energy as the spiritual Qi reached its peak. Chen Tian could sense the overwhelming force emanating from Ming Jian, his own Chaos Insight observing these changes.

\'So that\'s it. Truly different from a Qi Refinement cultivator, the spiritual energy can only be mere fuel.\'

The true power of a cultivator lies in their connection to the laws, the fundamental flow of the universe. Ming Jian was only using the energy in his body to strengthen it. Which is a waste.

Now, Chen Tian could understand that the system here has no hope of reaching the highest realms.

In his eyes, Ming Jian was merely a brute force cultivator. No, he couldn\'t even compare to body cultivators.

Body cultivators, at least, honed their flesh into vessels capable of channeling immense power. Ming Jian, however, was a walking contradiction—a mountain of a man reliant solely on brute strength.

But in the blink of an eye, that bull transformed into a mythical beast. Under the surface, a terrifying pressure radiated outwards from Ming Jian\'s body.

The onlookers gasped, their eyes widening in disbelief. Disciples had fanatic eyes as they looked at Ming Jian. Even seasoned Old Ming was impressed.

A powerful martial aura surrounded Ming Jian, making the atmosphere appear to change.

"Isn\'t that dangerous!" Leng Zhiqing asked worriedly, her voice tinged with fear. She sensed the overwhelming power radiating from Ming Jian, causing a mix of awe and fear to tremble through her body.

Everyone present could sense the immense power that Ming Jian now possessed.

If Aria and Emilia were present, both of them would have laughed at such a display.

When both of them enter the Qi Refinement Realm, they could explode with ten times the power that Ming Jian was currently displaying.

Now what about Chen Tian in the Foundation Establishment realm?