The power of the mental attack he used was at 1(Cultivation Rank) × ((1.6(Mind) + 1(Telepathy Metac)) × 5(Mind Stab/Willpower), which is 13 units. This much power is too much for a normal person with a mind ranging from 0.1 to 1 and a Dao Heart of level 1 to bear.
In the case of this particular enemy, whose mind was at 0.7 and a Dao Heart of level 2, his total mental power without the enhancement of any Metac is 0.7 × 2, which is 1.4. So the power of that mental attack was 9.286 times more than his limit. This made it as if his mind was butter and Loki had stabbed it with a sharp and hot knife.
Even if Loki had let him go after that single attack, his mind would have been terribly injured and would have been in danger of fracturing for good. That’s why he felt so much pain and forgot about the fight.
Then Loki took advantage of the situation with the power of his physical attack at 1(Cultivation Rank) × (0.6(Body) + 1(Body Lever) + 1(Living Armament Metac)) × 5(Sword Heart), which was 13 units. Compared to the power he could produce with only his body, this power is 21.667 times greater.
This kind of absurd power at rank 1 was produced because of the Sword Heart Metac. The Sword Heart Metac replaces his skill amplification, which is at 100%, with the level of his Dao Heart, which is at level 5. It is similar to how the Dao Heart enhanced his mental attack using the Mental Stab Metac.
This kind of power is why it is said that disciples of the Sword Way sect have the highest offensive capabilities and why he was able to kill rank 2 cultivators despite being at rank 1. It is all because the Sword Heart Metac makes him fight with the power of his Dao Heart, not the power of his skill.
So as long as he is determined enough to cut someone down, it is possible for him to disregard the difference in cultivation and cut down the enemy.
He didn’t even use the Branch Metacs of the Sword Pathway. Yet, the power of the swing of his claymore was such that even if he hadn’t used the mental attack to cheat, he would have still won by a landslide.
If he had used the Branch Metacs of the Sword Pathway, the power of his attack would have been far more deadly. However, he didn’t use them because he didn’t need them, because he couldn’t use them, and because if he used them, it would be obvious, and the fact that he possessed more than one pathway would be exposed.
He couldn’t use the Branch Metacs of the Sword Pathway even if he wanted to because there is a limit to how many Metacs he can use at once.
The limit of how many Metacs a cultivator can use is the product of their Dao Heart and the power of their Mind. In his case, the limit is 5 × 1.6, which is 8.
Since he used 3 Liquid Metal Metacs, 1 Living Armament Metac, 1 Body Lever Metac, 1 Telekinesis Metac, 1 Mind Stab, and 1 Sword Heart Metac, he had reached his maximum limit. There is also the immense energy cost of using 8 Metacs at once, but he can easily bear it.
So even if he wanted to use the Branch Metacs of the Sword Pathway, he couldn’t. And if he could, he had to make sure that he wouldn’t be exposed after using them.
After the fight, he looked around for other enemies, but didn’t see anyone. Neither his physical nor his mental senses perceived anyone nearby.
This made him snort and say, "So they sent one person after me. They must think I’m easy to take. Have they grown cocky now that their cultivation has reached the peak and they have a lot of Metacs?"
Since there was no one else to fight, he deactivated his Metacs. Then he turned to look at his dead foe.
As his armor, shield, and sword liquified and returned to his energy well, he smiled and said, "Another one bites the dust."
He didn’t feel proud that he defeated his enemy. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time they were battling. He had gotten used to his victories after their many fights.
He can’t even be proud of this victory when his very first fight had ended in victory. So his victory was expected. The only thing he felt was faint amusement that another one of Slav’s lackeys, who used to mock him, had died for their master.
He was thinking about this and feeling somewhat superior when the body at his feet exploded. The corpse exploded into a large fireball that submerged his body and crushed it.
The power of the attack was so bad that his frail body was quickly broken and burned. If he had been wearing his armor when the explosion happened, he would have been able to bear it. Unfortunately for him, it should be too late for regret now.
As it turned out, Loki still had time to be regretful even though he was killed by an explosion. He truly died, but thanks to the Rebirth Metac, he woke up one month in the past.
Right now, all that his cultivation can manage is to bring him 32 days into the past. Fenrir can only travel this far into the past with 4 energy chambers at the peak of rank 1.
When he woke up, he was in his house on his bed, cultivating and practicing. This is practically what he did with most of his time.
He was sitting on the bed with his back to the wall, and there was a small liquid sword in his hand. The sword was turning along its length as well as revolving in a large orbit around the palm of his hand.