Every time Joe Di unleashed the Third Blade, he gained new insights. At first, the swirling blade aura could only lock onto a single direction, but later, the vortex from his Third Blade began to influence an entire space.
After practicing the Third Blade continuously for two days, he sensed the presence of the Fourth Blade.
The Fourth Blade of the Di Family Seven Blades is described in the blade manual. Disciples of the Di Family only begin learning the Fourth Blade after fully mastering the Third Blade, following either the manual or their master's guidance.
But now, Joe Di hadn’t even looked at the Fourth Blade’s manual—he simply sensed it.
Joe Di was certain that someone like him had never appeared in the Di Family’s long history. It wasn’t just his talent and aptitude; it was likely because after cultivating the Grandwalk Codex to the second level of Qi Refinement, his understanding of the Di Family Seven Blades deepened.
Without consulting the manual for the Fourth Blade, Joe Di relied on his own instincts and struck out with the Fourth Blade.
Joe Di’s Fourth Blade now contained a true blade intent. When he unleashed this strike, the force of the blade transformed the surrounding space into pure blade intent, which then condensed into a single blade light. This blade light was the true essence of the technique—once released, it brought forth a chilling aura of death.
Although the weather was perfectly normal, after this strike, Joe Di could clearly feel the temperature of the surrounding space drop by a whole level.
Boom! As the blade struck the ground, the temperature around him seemed to return to normal.
Yet within a radius of several meters, Joe Di’s blade had carved deep, shocking grooves and scars into the ground.
Joe Di looked down at the steel blade in his hand—the blade’s edge had completely vanished under the force of his strike, as if melted away by the killing intent of that blow.
So powerful. Joe Di’s heart was still pounding with excitement. This was true blade mastery—only after unleashing this strike did he feel he’d touched the edge of the blade path.
It was his first time using the Fourth Blade, yet it felt as if the technique had been formed long ago, coming to him so naturally.
Strictly speaking, this strike could hardly be called a Di Family blade technique. Joe Di knew he hadn’t relied on the Fourth Blade’s manual at all.
Instead of continuing to practice the Fourth Blade, Joe Di took out the Di Family Seven Blades manual and turned to the Fourth Blade section.
Fourth Blade: The blade casts a shadow, its momentum devours form, and its fall stirs the wind...
Looking at the detailed cultivation instructions, it was all about channeling qi. Only by following this method could one master the Fourth Blade step by step. The Di Family’s Fourth Blade never mentioned blade intent; it relied solely on blade momentum to suppress opponents. But Joe Di’s Fourth Blade had broken through from momentum to intent. If the Di Family’s Fourth Blade was form, then his Fourth Blade had already touched upon spirit.
Joe Di took a deep breath. He knew his Fourth Blade had completely diverged from the Di Family Seven Blades. Not only that, his Fourth Blade had established a new blade path above the Di Family’s techniques.
His Fourth Blade didn’t use any of the Di Family Seven Blades’ qi channeling methods; it relied solely on the true essence he cultivated from the Grandwalk Codex. The reason the Di Family’s blade techniques were so formidable—and impossible to steal—was because the Seven Blades had to be paired with their unique qi channeling methods. Learning only the form was meaningless. But now, he could unleash the Fourth Blade without relying on those methods at all.
To be able to use this Fourth Blade, it wasn’t just his talent—both the Grandwalk Codex and the first three blades of the Di Family Seven Blades played a role. Joe Di understood that, although his technique was built on the foundation of the first three blades, its power far surpassed the original Fourth Blade.
“From now on, the first two strikes will be called the Di Family First Blade and Di Family Second Blade. The third will be the Di Family Whirlwind Blade, and this one...” Joe Di murmured to himself, pausing briefly before continuing, “...this one shall be called the Wind Xiao Blade!”
There’s an old verse: “The wind mourns, the Yi River grows cold.” In Joe Di’s view, this phrase perfectly captures the spirit of this blade. When he strikes, the sweeping blade aura and killing intent coalesce into blade intent, chilling the air around him. No name could suit it better.
Compared to the previous three blades, Joe Di favored this fourth blade even more. It wasn’t just because of its power, but because he had created it himself—wielding it felt exhilarating.
When he fled Ji Kingdom long ago, he’d felt the same wind-chilled sorrow—uncertain when he’d return for vengeance.
Today, he’d comprehended the Wind Xiao Blade. If he continued to break through like this, perhaps returning to Ji Kingdom for revenge would no longer be a distant dream.
After practicing the Wind Xiao Blade several times in succession, Joe Di stopped. He realized this blade differed from the first three—it was a matter of mastery, not repetition. Practicing more wouldn’t make him more proficient. That was the difference between blade momentum and blade intent.
With his current strength, seeking Jia Bule was no longer out of reach; his odds of victory were at least seventy percent. Unfortunately, although he’d cultivated the Grandwalk Codex, he still couldn’t perform the fireball technique the white-robed man had used, hovering in midair for several seconds. He’d studied the Grandwalk Codex many times, but there was no mention of such techniques...
Joe Di paused in his musings. The Grandwalk Codex didn’t cover these techniques—so why not consult the Martial King’s Secret?
The Martial King’s Secret contained some Daoist cultivation methods, left behind by his ancestor, Di Yue. The only reason he hadn’t practiced them was because his spiritual root wasn’t fire-aligned.
Though he couldn’t cultivate the techniques, surely the other methods were universal?
Back then, after learning he couldn’t cultivate the Whirling Fire Technique, he’d stopped reading further. Now, having reached the second level of Qi Refinement with the Grandwalk Codex, he was ready to revisit it.
Joe Di practically rushed into his aircraft, opened his bag, and pulled out the Martial King’s Secret.
As expected, aside from the initial introduction and spiritual root testing, the rest was all diagrams for channeling Qi. When he reached the last few pages, his hands trembled with excitement.
He clearly saw spell descriptions: Fireball Technique, Invisibility Technique, Dust Removal Technique, Wind Blade Technique—four spells in total. Even if it didn’t teach how to hover in midair, Joe Di was still amazed. Truly, he possessed a treasure trove without knowing it.
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Indeed, his Di ancestors were reliable—especially that Fireball Technique he’d long admired.
“Dao cultivators refine inner Qi. During Qi Refinement, true fire cannot be condensed, but true Qi can be used to form the Fireball Technique...”
The explanation was straightforward, and even the complex hand seals were described with clarity.
This reminded Joe Di of the white-haired man casting the Fireball Technique—he’d formed several hand seals at lightning speed, so fast Joe Di hadn’t caught the changes.
Now, after reading the Martial King’s Secret on the Fireball Technique, Joe Di felt it was nothing extraordinary.
Like a child with a new toy, Joe Di spent several days practicing hand seals and condensing fireballs.
On the third day, he finally condensed his first fireball. Nervous from the achievement, he couldn’t help but hurl it away.
Boom! The fireball struck a rock, shattering it instantly.
So simple, he thought. It seemed that white-haired man wasn’t much stronger than him—their fireballs had similar power.
After condensing a second fireball, Joe Di could calmly let it orbit above his palm. According to the Martial King’s Secret, this fireball was formed from his own true essence; unless he wished it, it could not harm him.
However, the Fireball Technique consumed a great deal of true essence. In his current state, Joe Di couldn’t condense too many—after five, he felt strained. Moreover, the later fireballs were noticeably weaker than the first.
Fortunately, through repeated practice, his true essence became more refined, and his speed at condensing fireballs increased over the following days.
In this respect, the Whirling Fire Technique was even better suited for beginners than the Grandwalk Codex. The Whirling Fire Technique stated outright that pairing cultivation with spell practice led to faster progress.
With the ability to cast fireballs, Joe Di became completely absorbed in practicing all the spells—even the Dust Removal Technique, which he tested again and again.
Even when his rations ran low, he was reluctant to leave. Only when he was starving would he venture out to hunt wild game or gather fruit to barely fill his stomach. The rest of the time, Joe Di remained in the canyon, tirelessly honing every minor spell.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends! Two things: first, please vote for recommendations; second, check out the novel ‘The Strongest Abandoned Son.’ Hmm, the author’s name seems to be just like mine...)