Chapter 21: Jumping Off a Cliff, Courting Death
After naming the wings, Chen Yuan couldn't wait to try flying. He attempted to control the muscles and bones in his back to manipulate the wings.
However, he was quickly disappointed. He couldn't effectively control the wings. Forget flying—he couldn't even perform simple actions like folding or spreading them.
Chen Yuan's expression darkened, and he turned to Chen Xin:
"Teacher, aside from the enhancement to my soul skill, I can't control these wings at all. Without the ability to fly, they're just a fancy decoration."
Chen Xin also frowned. He stepped forward to examine the wings, reaching out to feel them and releasing his soul power to investigate. After a moment, he came to a conclusion.
He then shared his thoughts with Chen Yuan:
"Yuan'er, your external spirit bone isn't one of the six standard spirit bones that soul masters can absorb. As an additional spirit bone, even though it's grown from your body, it hasn't truly integrated with you."
"After checking, I found that the blood vessels and meridians in your wings aren't connected to your body. Without blood flow, there's no strength. Without soul power circulation, you can't fully control them. Don't worry—once we return, I'll help you find a way to master this external spirit bone."
Hearing this, Chen Yuan felt as if a veil had been lifted. He recalled Tang San's Eight Spider Lances, which only fully integrated with him after being tempered under the soul power pressure of Meng Shenji, the head of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It seemed he was facing a similar issue.
If that was the case, then asking Chen Xin to use his soul power pressure to temper him should help him integrate with the wings more quickly.
However, Chen Yuan glanced at the wings again. Even if they fully integrated, if he couldn't soar through the skies, they would still be nothing more than decorations.
With a light laugh, Chen Yuan looked up at the sky and said:
"Teacher, I've read that when young avian soul beasts grow to a certain point, their parents push them out of the nest, forcing them to leap from cliffs hundreds or even thousands of feet high. If they succeed, they gain the ability to soar through the skies. If they fail, they fall to their deaths."
"This isn't a lack of love—it's the opposite. It's because they love their children and want them to gain the power to fly on their own. Now that I have these wings, perhaps I can follow their example."
"By jumping off a cliff, from a height of hundreds or even thousands of feet, I can integrate with the wings in that life-or-death moment, under extreme conditions, and learn to fly."
Chen Xin's brow furrowed deeply as he looked at his daring disciple. He spoke in a low, stern voice:
"Do you have any idea how risky this is?"
Chen Yuan's eyes were resolute, his handsome face filled with the fearless spirit of youth:
"The greater the risk, the greater the reward. I don't just want to integrate with these wings—I want to truly master them and soar through the skies, not just have them as decorations."
Seeing Chen Yuan's determination, Chen Xin knew he had made up his mind. He didn't try to dissuade him further. After all, with his own strength, he could ensure Chen Yuan wouldn't die from the fall. He shook his head and said:
"Fine. We'll stay here a bit longer. When do you want to start?"
Chen Yuan, overjoyed, replied without hesitation:
"No time like the present. Let's do it now, Teacher. Please take me to the edge of a cliff."
Chen Xin nodded. He grabbed Chen Yuan's shoulder, and the two shot into the air like a streak of sword light. They quickly ascended to a high cliff, standing hundreds of feet above the ground, towering and majestic.
Chen Xin released his grip, and Chen Yuan walked to the edge of the cliff. He looked down, and everything below seemed tiny. The height was enough to make most people dizzy.
However, having flown with Chen Xin before, Chen Yuan wasn't intimidated by the height. He stretched his limbs, adjusted his posture, and focused on the flow of blood and soul power within his body. Then, with a slight bend of his knees, he pushed off the ground with all his strength and leaped off the cliff.
The terrifying sensation of freefall hit him instantly. Chen Yuan's eyes widened as he stared at the ground below. The thrill and danger caused his body to react—his blood surged, and his soul power churned.
His heart pounded powerfully, pumping blood to every part of his body, including the wings on his back. His dantian roiled like a stormy sea, and his soul power surged through his meridians like an angry dragon. Some meridians were clear, while others were blocked. But under the force of the dragon-like soul power, the blocked meridians were forcefully opened, creating a smooth path.
Chen Yuan had no idea that, in this reckless act, his soul power was rapidly approaching level 33. The speed at which his soul power condensed, circulated, and erupted had undergone a qualitative leap. This one act of recklessness was equivalent to several days of cultivation.
As his falling speed increased, Chen Yuan spread his arms and legs wide, using the momentum to extend the wings on his back. The massive wings, with a span of over six meters, became more resilient under the force of the wind, gradually offsetting much of the impact and allowing his body to glide forward.
This relieved Chen Yuan, and it also eased Chen Xin's worries. As long as Chen Yuan could land relatively safely without risking his life, Chen Xin wouldn't need to intervene. In his view, mastering the wings would be a great benefit for his disciple.
As the ground drew closer, Chen Yuan chose a relatively flat area to land. However, the inertia was too great, and he tumbled several times upon landing, leaving him covered in bruises. Fortunately, these were only superficial injuries and nothing serious.
He got up from the ground, wearing only pants and bare-chested, the wings on his back fluttering slightly. Chen Yuan couldn't help but laugh:
"Indeed, jumping off a cliff is great for tempering my Golden Feather Wings. But to fully master them, I'll probably need to repeat this several times. Now, how do I get back up the cliff…"
After a moment of thought, Chen Yuan summoned the Seven Kill Sword. Three soul rings rose from beneath his feet—one yellow and two purple—spinning and glowing brilliantly.
"Third Soul Skill, Sword Wings Like Flight!"
The Seven Kill Sword in Chen Yuan's hand trembled slightly, and a layer of sword light enveloped it, enlarging it proportionally. It grew to about two meters in length and half a foot in width. After Chen Yuan released it, the sword remained suspended in mid-air and lowered itself horizontally in front of him.
Chen Yuan immediately jumped onto it but quickly lost his balance and fell back to the ground. He sighed helplessly:
"It seems I'll need to practice sword flight more seriously in the future!"
Then, gripping the sword's hilt, Chen Yuan activated the Seven Kill Sword to ascend into the sky, flying back up to the cliff.
(End of Chapter)
Word Count : 1,227
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