Luke looked at the shattered remains of the sword, his mind working at full speed.
He had discovered the exact amount of Qi that marked the sword's absolute limit—the point where it delivered maximum attack power. But it was still confusing. Qi was supposed to enhance and protect the sword, and Qi argument was doing that… yet after a certain threshold, the same Qi ended up destroying the weapon. It seemed to defeat the entire purpose of Qi argument. Still, there was a silver lining: within a specific limit, the technique could enhance the sword's power, even if it would eventually crumble after a few uses.
It feels like performing Qi argument requires the weapon to have a certain foundational strength to begin with. But that's not entirely true either. If I'm right, there must be multiple Qi argument techniques, each utilizing different Qi pathways to exhibit unique properties. The technique described in the manual is likely the simplest but not the most efficient method.
It was already late at night, so Luke didn't want to disturb Solomon. He was too excited to sleep, either. Instead, he planned to head to his family's private library—specifically the restricted section, where manuals and books on cultivation beyond Level One Body Refining Realm were kept. Until now, he hadn't had access to that part.
After entering the restricted section, Luke was eager to check how to advance to Level 3. But he paused that thought and instead picked up a few books related to Level 2—mostly focusing on Qi argument techniques for weapons and the body, as well as books about Qi pathways.
After reading the books, Luke was able to clear some of his doubts but in the process, new questions formed. He spaced out a bit, lost in thought. Only now did he realize that he had full access to his Qi pathways, while his peers still needed more time and effort to open them. That was one of the key reasons he had been able to perform Qi argument so quickly an achievement that even red-tier cultivators struggled with.
His suspicion that there were other Qi argument techniques for different purposes also turned out to be true. What he had learned so far was just the most basic and simplified technique, designed to help beginners initially clear their Qi pathways. In a sense, it wasn't difficult—just time-consuming, depending on one's talent and willpower.
He hadn't even needed to clear his pathways one by one it had happened naturally. But this wasn't shocking to him. He knew it was the result of refining his soul a hundred times.
[Qi Sword] was an advanced Qi argumentation technique that mostly offset the drawbacks of the basic technique Luke had previously learned. Unlike the earlier method, which focused solely on offense, this technique was divided into two parts: attack and defense. Because of this dual nature, it theoretically had no limit the defensive infusion would counterbalance the pressure caused by the offensive argument.
In essence, if Luke infused x amount of Qi into the sword for attack, he would simultaneously infuse x amount for defense, reinforcing the sword's foundation to withstand the enhanced output. However, this approach was impractical for most cultivators due to their limited Qi reserves. That's why most cultivators preferred high-quality weapons forged from superior metals. But for Luke, with his vast reserves and Qi that was 30% higher in quality than others in his realm, this technique was a perfect fit.
Still, mastering the technique required precise and deep control over one's Qi pathways. Although Luke had already cleared all his Qi pathways and had unrestricted access, his actual experience with fine control was limited. He understood that practicing this technique wouldn't fall under recklessness it was a calculated, necessary risk.
With determination in his eyes, Luke began reading the manuals on this advanced technique, ready to take the next step.