I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 1591: Chapter 1592: Grand Elder Chapter 1591: Chapter 1592: Grand Elder “Are you Song Jian?”

An elderly man with a head full of white hair walked out of the thatch hut. Despite leaning on a dragon-headed cane, this old man had a youthful appearance with a straight back and unbent legs, like a sword standing upright, and his body exuded a sharp Sword Intent.

Song Jian knew this elder must be Grand Elder Duan Xingyun, so he quickly stepped forward to pay his respects, “The junior is indeed Song Jian, I’ve come to see Grand Elder.”

“Hmm, very good. In just a few years, you’ve gone from an ordinary mortal to Demi-God level, which to us, is an unimaginable miracle,” Duan Xingyun sized up Song Jian, nodding slightly, “You’ve already begun forging your divine body. It’s a very long process and a single divine bone is not enough. If given the chance, you should replace all your bones with divine bones. I’ll pass on to you a technique called the Star Bone Forging Technique. At that point, you’ll be able to fully assimilate all the divine bones as your own and not have to worry about being influenced…”

After speaking, the elder raised his hand and pressed toward the center of Song Jian’s forehead. Song Jian was startled and instinctively wanted to dodge, but he found that no matter how he evaded, he could not escape the cover of the elder’s finger unless he immediately took refuge in the Shattered Divine Realm.

The elder’s finger lightly touched Song Jian’s forehead, and Song Jian only heard a faint buzzing noise by his ears.

“Buzz~”
His mind slightly shook, and a special technique appeared in his consciousness. At the same time, he also received a prompt from the system.

System: You have obtained the divine skill “Star Bone Forging Technique”; Star Bone Forging Technique uses Sword Qi to hammer and forge all the bones in the body, unlocking their potential and turning them to one’s own use. Ordinary bones cannot withstand the forging of Sword Qi and must be transformed into divine bones to utilize this skill;
“This Star Bone Forging Technique is only an incomplete version!” The elder glanced at Song Jian and said, “There should have been another technique called ‘Star Bone Nurturing Technique’ that can nurture mortal bones into divine bones. Alas, the Imperial Sword Sect did not inherit the ‘Bone Nurturing Technique’ from the Ancient Sword Sect, only obtaining this Forging Technique. However, fortunately for you who are favored by the divine, you can snatch the divine bones from your enemies. This Forging Technique is quite suitable for you!”

“Many thanks, Grand Elder!” Song Jian said, bowing in thanks.

The Star Bone Forging Technique was incredibly complex and profound, using Sword Qi to temper the entire skeleton, unlocking all latent potential. In the end, the entire body’s strength would ascend to another level, completely transforming into a divine body. Moreover, the body contained Sword Intent, able to withstand stronger Sword Qi, making the individual akin to an Indestructible long sword.

Regrettably, Song Jian could only forge one piece of bone at the forehead currently, as the rest of his bones couldn’t withstand the tempering of Sword Qi yet.

“Only divine beings can shed divine bones, and I, a mere Demi-God level practitioner, am thinking too far ahead…” A bitter smile appeared on Song Jian’s face.

Upon acquiring the Forging Technique, Song Jian even began to think of hunting divine beings to obtain divine bones, but soon realized that with his current strength, attempting to hunt divine creatures was tantamount to seeking death – unless he encountered another being like the Desolation God, whose strength couldn’t be fully exhibited because of the Demon Suppression Seal.

“Song Jian, as a divine favorite, it is said that you’re from another world. What exactly is that world like?” Duan Xingyun gently stroked his dragon-headed cane, inquiring.

“It’s a very ordinary world, with no extraordinary abilities…” Song Jian provided a simple description of Earth. Duan Xingyun listened intently, occasionally asking questions. However, soon disappointment appeared in his eyes.

“Land despised by the divine!” Duan Xingyun suddenly murmured under his breath.

“Grand Elder, what did you say?” Song Jian asked quietly, his heart stirring.

“Your civilization is a technologically based one, which is a misguided path,” Duan Xingyun explained, “The way of technological civilization does not value the strength of the individual but the power of the society as a whole, the tribe. A civilization like this, when developed to its ultimate form, turns into a mechanical civilization. But even a mechanical civilization, when it reaches its limit, will begin to pursue the strength and transcendence of the individual…”

“Only those races with no potential for development would turn to advance a technological civilization. Your land, Earth, has effectively exhausted its potential and can no longer produce any superhuman beings. Such regions are often referred by some as lands abandoned by gods, implying they are places despised by deities!” Duan Xingyun said with a disdainful smile as he spoke about deities.

Song Jian remained silent, not revealing that he had planted a Tree of Life on Earth and that superhuman creatures had since emerged, significantly changing the environment.

After pondering for a moment, Duan Xingyun asked Song Jian, “You have cultivated the Chaos Sword Canon, so how many sword moves have you mastered by now?”

“Two,” Song Jian replied, “One is called Red Dust Tribulation, a wide-range attack capable of causing area damage, and the other is God Slayer, a single-target attack that releases multiple Sword Qi to defeat the enemy, and it also has a damage bonus effect against divine creatures.”

“Perform them so I can see,” Duan Xingyun said.

Song Jian glanced around, noting that the valley was not large. If he were to unleash the Chaos Sword Canon here, its tremendous power might forcibly break the seal on this place, and then…

Although he didn’t understand why the Grand Elder Duan Xingyun chose to reside in a sealed valley, breaking the seal might cause some trouble.

Seeing Song Jian’s concern, Duan Xingyun smiled and waved his hand dismissively, implying it was fine and beckoning Song Jian to continue with the sword art.

Song Jian cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, summoned the Sky-breaking Sword, and began performing the Chaos Sword Canon.

The moment the Sky-breaking Sword appeared, Duan Xingyun’s eyes seemed to brighten for an instant, but quickly, his attention returned to the Chaos Sword Canon being performed by Song Jian.

Red Dust Tribulation, one tribulation, one kill; the entire valley was almost filled with chaotic sword radiance. As Song Jian’s strength increased, the number of sword radiance beams from Red Dust Tribulation also multiplied. Now numbering over a hundred, they flickered in and out of existence like illusions.

Boom!

All the chaotic sword radiance suddenly exploded, causing the entire valley to tremble slightly. However, the valley’s seal showed no sign of even a quiver.

“This valley’s seal is even sturdier than I anticipated!” Song Jian thought to himself.

Then, he performed God Slayer once more. Countless sword lights almost split one side of the valley’s rock wall in two, but as they chopped fiercely into the wall, they seemed to hit an extremely hard object. The roaring sounds were incessant, yet there was no damage whatsoever.

“Not bad, not bad at all,” Duan Xingyun nodded and said, “Your cultivation of the Chaos Sword Canon is at a fairly high level. Grasping these two moves also shows your exceptional talent. Xingyun was right; you are indeed material with great potential!”

With that, Duan Xingyun pulled out a token from his bosom and handed it to Song Jian, saying, “Do you know why I choose to reside in this little sealed valley?”

Without waiting for Song Jian to answer, Duan Xingyun spoke as if to himself, “On one hand, this valley can shield my aura, preventing outsiders from detecting my Demi-God Level existence, allowing me to serve as part of the Imperial Sword Sect’s foundation. Should the Sect fall into great misfortune, I can break the seal at any moment to emerge; on the other hand, I am guarding a secret realm of the Imperial Sword Sect. In that realm, you can enhance your understanding of the Chaos Sword Canon. This token is the credential for entering the secret realm!”

…

PS: Thank you to “A Leisurely Day” for the 100 starting coins tip~