There was no time to waste, Zephyr had to get stronger and quickly. But first and foremost, he had to develop his physical strength.
Next to the worn-down wooden house he stayed in, he saw a training field with a sandy floor and five scarecrows lined up in a single file line. He spotted the wooden practice swords right next to the first scarecrow and grabbed one of the swords.
In Zephyr's past lives, he had been in both the Scarlet Ember Sect and the Verdant Sky Pavilion, so he already knew many advanced techniques those sects had to offer. However, he had never reincarnated into the Cult of the Withering Moon, so he had no idea how he would get stronger in such a short amount of time, knowing zero sword techniques.
Zephyr wanted to test if he could even perform sword techniques in the first place, even though he knew he probably couldn't use them while a member of the cult was looking. After looking around to make sure nobody was watching, he stood in front of the scarecrow, closed his eyes, lifted his blade, and concentrated.
Blazing Crescent Slash, verse 1
A blazing red fire appeared for a split second, surrounding the blade, but then just disappeared as the blade cut down, striking the scarecrow in the shoulder.
Huh? What happened to the fire?
After glancing around once more to make sure nobody saw that technique, he sat down criss-crossed, rubbed his chin, and began pondering.
I had no trouble performing these simple techniques in my past lives, so why can't I do it now? As soon as I tried to swing my sword, the energy disappeared. That couldn't be possible. It's as if my body itself lacked the understanding of the technique, even though my mind remembered it masterfully. It might be because of the owner's body, but even when I started anew in the other cults, I was easily able to perform basic techniques with bodies weaker than this one. ... It's the doing of the Goddess, isn't it?
Zephyr had deduced that this was what the goddess meant when she said that he would have to work for it. For each sect in Kyomora, each kingdom in Mystharow, each village in the Nyxthorn Thicket, and each territory in the Eclipsed realm, there lay a Divine Energy Stone. These stones contained divine energy, and if one wanted to create a new sword art for a new sect or a new mana trait for a kingdom, they would need to lay their hands on the divine stone to transfer information into it. There is a confirmed total of 12 stones throughout the Umbraxis, but there was a chance more stones could be found; it just hadn't been confirmed.
Because these energy stones had divine energy, it would be easy for him to track down these stones with divine energy. But in his past life, he could strictly use one type of energy, so even if he could find these stones, besides destroying an entire kingdom by destroying them, there was no use for them. Now that Zephyr has all four energies in this life, obtaining these stones would be essential to powering himself up and using his past abilities. It was not only essential, but a requirement because it seemed that the Goddess had sealed away his powers, and these powers would only activate if he had the stone linked to the specific type of technique and energy.
It's no use. I'll just hone my body for now by slashing this scarecrow until I can cut it in half in one strike. I'll track down the stone tonight.
...
Zephyr lay face up on the ground, dripping with sweat, trying to catch his breath as a shadowy figure loomed over him.
"Old man?" Zephyr muttered under his breath struggling to find his words.
"Old man? Do you want to get beaten again? At least you're making an effort to train even though it looks pathetic," the old man said scornfully.
"Go hurry up and get changed, since your favorite "butler", Yun Aran, has prepared your food," Yun said, pointing at himself.
Zephyr flung himself upright, looking at Yun with a scrunched expression.
Yun Aran?!
Back in Zephyr's 665th life and onward, when the angels first appeared on Umbraxis, the name Yun Aran had been passed around as one of the main slayers of the angels. He had been around the first to slay around twenty or so, which doesn't sound like a lot, but at the time, no one was able to even land a hit against them.
Huh, I didn't think he was part of the cult, looks like he ran away for some reason.
Zephyr staggered over to his small house and saw the steamed rice, congee, and seaweed soup on the table. He plopped down on the seat and started devouring the entire meal. He hadn't remembered the last time he had tasted something so delicious.
After the meal, he wearily walked over to the bed and trained his qi until midnight.
...
Zephyr opened his eyes and hopped off the bed.
It's time.