Chapter 005: Progress

In the following days, under Obi-Wan's guidance, Wang Bo officially began to cultivate the Force.

Because of his powerful life force, he grasped the Force with considerable ease; for Wang Bo, getting started posed no difficulty whatsoever.

Seeing Wang Bo master the Force so effortlessly, Obi-Wan felt conflicted.

In fact, besides the light and dark sides, there was another interpretation of the Force, proposed by his master Qui-Gon Jinn, who believed that the Force was the embodiment of life, and that Jedi could sense the Force in most living things, hence it could also be called the Living Force.

Unfortunately, this view was too novel, and before the Jedi Order was disbanded, few Jedi accepted it.

Everyone adhered to tradition, believing the Force was light and dark.

However, he did not tell Wang Bo about this interpretation.

After getting started with the Force, Wang Bo soon discovered its benefits: comprehensive enhancement of physiological functions, such as rapid movement, leaping, and superhuman reflexes—all advantages brought by the Force.

And these benefits were very obvious.

This caused Wang Bo's view of the Force to undergo a radical change.

Wang Bo was different from Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan was a human; after cultivating the Force, he gained extraordinary power, so a significant improvement was normal.

But Wang Bo was different; although most of his power was sealed, he was still a superhuman.

Even using the Force, Obi-Wan was no match for Wang Bo.

Yet after cultivating the Force, Wang Bo still found that it could enhance his physiological functions—this was astonishing.

Initially, Wang Bo thought that even if he cultivated the Force, his strength wouldn't increase much.

After all, pouring a cup of water into a teacup is different from pouring it into a swimming pool.

The former fills up quickly, while the latter merely wets a brick on the pool floor.

But Wang Bo soon realized he was wrong.

Cultivating the Force was not like pouring water into a teacup; it was a reinforcement on the existing foundation. Even Wang Bo's current body saw significant improvement.

This immediately made Wang Bo understand the difference between the Force, magic, and true qi.

Although a small amount of magic or true qi had negligible effect on Wang Bo and was of little use.

But the Force was different; even the beginner's Force brought obvious improvement to Wang Bo.

If he continued to cultivate, it would surely become even more remarkable.

This made Wang Bo even more diligent in his subsequent training, and with his originally strong life force, his progress in the Force advanced by leaps and bounds.

In just a week or two, his Force level matched that of other apprentices after a year of training.

Seeing this, Obi-Wan's feelings toward Wang Bo grew even more complicated.

On one hand, he was delighted; Wang Bo's progress showed he was a genius at learning the Force, far surpassing his former apprentice.

But on the other hand, he felt terrified.

Because if Wang Bo ever fell to the dark side, he would surely be even more fearsome than his former apprentice.

In this complex state, Obi-Wan didn't know whether he should continue teaching Wang Bo more advanced Force techniques.

Wang Bo soon noticed this; he wasn't stupid, and every time he saw Obi-Wan's expression, he knew what the man feared.

But Wang Bo didn't take it to heart.

Because in his view, whether light or dark, the Force was merely an application of power; with his soul's strength, he could never be seduced by the dark side.

On the contrary, he could better harness the dark side.

Unfortunately, most Jedi could not resist the temptation of the dark side, so they feared it like a tiger and changed color at the mention of it.

This was also where Obi-Wan's dilemma lay.

Wang Bo knew he could control the dark side, but unfortunately, the Jedi's fear of it meant that even if he said he wouldn't be seduced, Obi-Wan wouldn't believe him.

Instead, he would think Wang Bo underestimated the dark side and was overconfident.

After all, history was full of Jedi who had been seduced by the dark side.

So he would never take Wang Bo's word for it.

Wang Bo couldn't be bothered to argue and continued cultivating the Force. Day by day, his internal Force grew. After about a month, his Force level was comparable to that of a full-fledged Jedi Knight.

By then, Obi-Wan still hadn't taught Wang Bo more advanced techniques.

Because he was too afraid.

However, although he didn't teach advanced techniques, he began to teach Wang Bo Jedi swordsmanship.

The Jedi tradition was long, and combined with lightsabers, they had invented many powerful sword forms, honed over the ages into something fearsome and refined.

Nowadays, every Jedi was skilled in swordsmanship.

A Jedi who couldn't wield a blade was not a true Jedi.

So Obi-Wan taught Wang Bo swordsmanship, hoping to test him through it.

In martial arts worlds, there were sayings like 'judge a person by their sword' or 'seeing his swordsmanship, I know he is not a villain.'

In fact, similar notions existed in the Jedi Order.

Swordsmanship, once mastered, carried a strong personal style.

A person's character could be glimpsed, to some extent, from their swordsmanship.

That was why Obi-Wan taught Wang Bo swordsmanship.

And Wang Bo accepted everything eagerly, absorbing Obi-Wan's teachings like a sponge. He had once been a skilled swordsman, having studied many sword techniques.

Things like the Nine Suns Divine Sword and the Quanzhen Sword Art, his sword qi was superb.

They were no worse than the Jedi Order's swordsmanship.

Unfortunately, all that was sealed; he was now a novice and had to start from scratch. But because of his past experience and muscle memory, his progress in swordsmanship, like the Force, was rapid.

Obi-Wan was stunned.

"I've never seen a genius like you. Your talent frightens me," he said to Wang Bo during a meal.

Obi-Wan could understand Wang Bo's rapid progress in the Force, given his immense life force.

But his swordsmanship also advanced by leaps and bounds.

That was baffling. Swordsmanship and the Force, though complementary, were two entirely different fields.

Yet Wang Bo still surged ahead, mastering the essence in the shortest time.

This was too exaggerated.