Due to the fog that often shrouded the nights here, most houses were built with large indoor spaces. The dining hall they were currently in, for example, was at least two hundred square ters—incredibly spacious.
Mingde stood in an empty space, his right hand hanging naturally, fingertips pointing toward the ground.
"Watch closely. The first technique of the Qingfeng Sword—Wind Formless!"
SWISH!
His right hand suddenly blurred into a complex flurry of afterimages. The dozen or so afterimages slowly coalesced like the petals of a flower bud.
The next instant, the flower bud abruptly blossod, and a faint white gleam of sword light stabbed out from its center.
Though it was just his fingers, the sword light he produced struck the ground as if it were a real longsword.
PHUT!
A black hole of unknown depth appeared on the ground.
Mingde slowly withdrew his hand.
"Now for the second technique, Single-Handed Cloud Brushing!"
He casually waved his right hand to the side, and overlapping afterimages appeared once more. A mont later, all the afterimages abruptly rged before erupting outward.
This ti, however, there was no gleam of a sword, only an invisible wind scattering in all directions.
The next mont, Lin Hui felt a sudden chill on his neck. He hastily dodged to the side and saw that Mingde had sohow appeared to his right, his fingers held like a sword, pointed directly at his throat.
The image of Mingde who had been standing in front of him just a mont ago faded away like an afterimage.
"The third technique...."
Mingde demonstrated one technique after another, holding nothing back, performing the entire Qingfeng Swordsmanship from beginning to end.
All eighty-one techniques in total were complete, ending with the final killing blow—Wind Manipulation Three Points.
"Did you see it all clearly?"
"I saw clearly! But this disciple is slow-witted. I do not know how to execute such techniques," Lin Hui said in a low voice.
’Watching the full demonstration, he understood the power of the Qingfeng Sword. This swordsmanship was all about one thing: unpredictability.’
’Its core characteristic was to attack in an unexpected, unforeseeable manner, striking a vital point and causing instant death.’
’This style of swordsmanship focused on the unorthodox, the deceptive, and the dangerous. However, when faced with a direct, overwhelming style that was defensively flawless, it was as if it had t its nesis.’
’If your opponent was unassailable and your sword couldn’t break their defense, the end result was what happened to Daoist Baohe. Despite being in the sa realm, he was crushed by Song Zhanlong in just a few moves.’
’It wasn’t a difference in cultivation realms, but a difference in fighting styles. To walk a treacherous path was to naturally expose greater weaknesses. Once that treacherous path was blocked and your own weaknesses were exposed, the result was a swift defeat.’
’But this type of Martial Arts had its advantages, too.’
’Naly, it was lethal on a first encounter. If an opponent failed to react in ti, it would lead to a quick victory.’
"To execute the techniques, you must maintain a certain inner state—the state of your heart. This is the Heart thod. The Heart thod of the Qingfeng Sword requires you to maintain a state as clear as a mirror-like lake, to clearly weave the sword techniques, compress them, and then find an opportunity to unleash them in an instant!"
Mingde explained as he reached into an inner pocket of his robes and took out a small black scroll.
"This is our school’s Visualization Image for the Heart thod. It is used to help disciples experience the necessary ntal Realm. You must rember: if the heart is in chaos, the hand will be in chaos. The heart is the foundation of everything. Keep your heart still, and your swordsmanship will naturally be orderly."
Lin Hui took the scroll and slowly unrolled it. On it was the Bright Moon Mountain Range Painting. A crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting down silver moonlight that fell upon the mountains like silken threads.
A sense of tranquility and relaxation washed over him.
Lin Hui focused on this feeling. Slowly, he seed to vaguely realize that the sensation of executing the Seven-Section Quick Sword’s techniques in a continuous flow was surprisingly similar to the mood of this Visualization Image.
As he kept looking, the various sword forms of the Seven-Section Quick Sword inexplicably surfaced in his mind.
"Alright. Next, you will perform the Nine-Section Swift Sword. Attack with your full strength. I want to test your current Sword Skill Cultivation," Mingde said, clapping his hands and interrupting Lin Hui’s train of thought.
"Understood."
Lin Hui straightened his posture, gripped his sword in his right hand, and closed his eyes.
"Nine-Section Swift Sword. This disciple has reached the Seventh Grade of Body Tempering. Please grant your guidance, Teacher."
"Feel free to begin," Mingde said with a smile. ’Seventh-Grade Body Tempering... a pace like this truly is more genius than even Huang Shan and the others.’
’Huang Shanqiu Yiren’s genius lay in her grasp of swordsmanship, while Lin Hui’s genius was in Body Tempering.’
’Each had their own rits.’
’But it had to be said that Lin Hui’s kind of talent was more easily overlooked. After all, it was a case of accumulating deeply to burst forth later. It wouldn’t show any special signs at the beginning.’
As these thoughts flowed through Mingde’s mind, he watched Lin Hui, who stood two ters before him, and waited for him to draw his sword.
DING...
Just then, his expression shifted. He seed to hear a light, bell-like chi in his ear.
It was like a silver wind chi hanging under a window, swaying and gently clinking in the breeze.
"Nine-Section Swift Sword..." Lin Hui’s voice arrived with the soft chi. "Illusory Golden Autumn..."
The autumn wind howled, the wind chi rang furiously, and in an instant, a series of illusory figures appeared before Mingde’s eyes.
They were figures of Lin Hui.
They connected into a single, straight line, forming a continuous illusion of drawing the sword, raising it, and thrusting it forward.
HISS!!
All the illusions instantly converged into a single human figure, which appeared behind Mingde and slowly turned around.
The blade stabbed silently toward the center of Mingde’s back.
THUMP!!
The blade struck a thin layer of white light, creating a small dent in it before coming to a complete stop.
"...!!!" The smile on Mingde’s face had long since frozen.
His right hand was only partially raised, ford into the shape of a sword. But in the end, he never struck. He simply watched Lin Hui’s entire technique in complete silence.
He had chosen to endure the strike with his Inner Strength, just so he could watch the entire process of the technique without missing a single detail.
His mind had wandered.
Yes.
The mont Lin Hui had drawn his sword, his mind had wandered.
He had never imagined that the sword techniques of the Nine-Section Swift Sword could reach such a flawless state.
That gleam of sword light could not be improved upon nor criticized. It was as if it followed the most correct, most perfect trajectory in all of heaven and earth, irresistibly drawing one’s gaze.
With just a single glance, Mingde felt that the Nine-Section Swift Sword he had practiced before was wrong.
Not just wrong, but ridiculously wrong!
If one practiced it the way Lin Hui did, the power of the Nine-Section Swift Sword would increase by at least half!
"You.... how did you practice this?"
After a long mont, Mingde finally asked, his voice hoarse.
"This disciple just practiced as Teacher instructed. Is there a problem?" Lin Hui replied, sheathing his sword.
’Of course, he couldn’t possibly ntion the existence of the Blood Seal.’
’To be honest, this was also his first ti using the perfected version of the Nine-Section Swift Sword against an opponent. He hadn’t expected his teacher’s reaction to be so strong.’
’He felt sowhat uneasy.’
"Excellent. You’ve practiced very well...!" Mingde said forcefully, a smile reappearing on his face.
But the smile quickly turned stiff again.
’How he wished a genius like Lin Hui had appeared ten years ago... If he had matured back then... he might have been able to stop Song Zhanlong.’
’Unfortunately, it was too late now...’
"You. Perform the entire Nine-Section Swift Sword for again," Mingde said, suppressing the shock in his heart.
"Yes!" Lin Hui nodded, raised his hand again, and drew his sword.
That wind chi-like sound, produced by the blade piercing the air, rang out once more.
The seven afterimages of a Seventh-Grade Body Tempering cultivator flickered continuously, executing the brand-new, perfected version of the Nine-Section Swift Sword again and again.
After a long while, guided by Lin Hui’s demonstration, Mingde readjusted his own Nine-Section Swift Sword. He imdiately felt the speed of his techniques increase significantly. Although his version lacked the strange, srizing allure of Lin Hui’s, which was so perfect it seed illusory, it had genuinely improved his own strength.
The Nine-Section Swift Sword was, after all, a simplified version of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship. Now that it had been improved, the boost to the Qingfeng Swordsmanship itself was not insignificant.
That entire night, Mingde didn’t rest. He spent it continuously adjusting his swordsmanship, integrating the new, perfected Nine-Section Swift Sword into his own style.
What slightly disappointed him, however, was that no matter how hard he tried and contemplated, his execution of the Nine-Section Swift Sword was still a far cry from Lin Hui’s.
That swordsmanship, so perfect it was almost enchanting and hypnotic—he couldn’t replicate it, no matter how many tis he tried to imitate it.
Fortunately, even though he couldn’t replicate it, the lesser version he managed still noticeably increased his level of swordsmanship.
Unlike Mingde, who stayed up all night in deep contemplation, Lin Hui went to rest in the side room his teacher had arranged for him after a few demonstrations.
He wasn’t just resting; he was also preparing for the Blood Seal’s next evolution.
And the Blood Seal’s next target had already been chosen: the Qingfeng Swordsmanship he had just learned.
’He had perfected both the Seven-Section Quick Sword and the Nine-Section Swift Sword. Having co this far, he naturally couldn’t pass up the final destination: the Qingfeng Swordsmanship.’
’This ti, however, Lin Hui didn’t plan to evolve the entire set at once. Instead, he intended to break it down and evolve it one technique at a ti.’
He was now lying on his back in the dark bedroom, his head resting on a hard porcelain pillow. He closed his eyes and quietly stared at the red text at the bottom of his vision.
’Qingfeng Swordsmanship: The primary swordsmanship of the Qingfeng Observatory Master. Focuses on speed and illusion. The style is deceptive, strange, and dangerous, comprising eighty-one techniques in total. It was perfected over many generations of Qingfeng Observatory Masters. Evolvable Branches: 3.’
’Huh? There are actually three evolution branches?’ Lin Hui’s eyes widened in surprise.
’The Qingfeng Swordsmanship was supposed to be the highest level of swordsmanship at Qingfeng Temple, yet now the Blood Seal was offering three evolution branches. This was strange.’
’It reminded him of the strange evolution branches that would appear before, whenever he casually grabbed sothing.’
’Like that chicken leg from before.’
’Could it be that this is just like the chicken leg?’
A sliver of anticipation inexplicably rose in Lin Hui’s heart. He quickly focused his attention and tapped on the evolution branch section.
HISS.
The blood-red characters blurred, then sharpened again.
’Current Evolvable Branches: 1. Perfected Qingfeng Swordsmanship. 2. Qingfeng Swordsmanship - Breath of Purgatory Edition. 3. Qingfeng Swordsmanship - Language of Extre Cold Edition.’
’I knew it. Just like with the chicken leg, it’s connected to Purgatory and Extre Cold again...’ Staring at the three new branches, Lin Hui fell into deep thought.
A mont later, he isolated the first technique, Wind Formless, and had the Blood Seal evolve it on its own.
This ti, however, the only branch the Blood Seal offered was an evolved version of the technique itself, changing from Wind Formless to Boundless Wind Direction.
’Do I have to evolve the entire set at once to access the other branches?’ Lin Hui’s brow furrowed. This conflicted with his previous plan.
’Looking at the branches for evolving the full set, even a fool could tell that the other two—Breath of Purgatory and Language of Extre Cold—were bound to be incredibly powerful. After all, they were on par with the Perfected Qingfeng Swordsmanship.’
’He knew that just from the perfected version of the Seven-Section Quick Sword. It made his Body Tempering speed astonishingly fast and allowed soone of his ordinary aptitude to pass as a genius.’
’It’s ti to make a choice...’
Looking at the three choices presented by the Blood Seal, Lin Hui hesitated.
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