Chapter 67 - Quiet Consolidation
Su Ming stood at the edge of the training pavilion, watching his disciples head back to their quarters. Once their figures vanished behind the bamboo screen, he let out a slow, heavy breath.
He checked his storage ring, feeling a metaphorical ache that had nothing to do with his body.
To reach the fifth stage of body cultivation, Organ Subjugation, he had pushed his body to its limits under the Primordial Yang Sovereign Body Art. The breakthrough had consumed ninety percent of the Liquid Yang Qi, ninety percent of his high-grade yang herbs, and a mountain of Thunder Fire Lightning Crystals. The toll on his wealth was painful, and his storage ring felt lighter than it had in months. Yet, his physical strength was now equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator, humming with raw force.
But this success exposed a critical bottleneck. His soul cultivation, currently at the peak of the third stage under the True Soul Origin Scripture, was stuck. No matter how much energy he refined, his soul sea could not expand. Unless his Qi path broke through to the Nascent Soul realm, his soul path remained permanently blocked.
Lamenting his lightened pockets, Su Ming retired to his study. With the special token granted by Sect Master Jun Tianya, he had recently spent several quiet afternoons on the restricted fourth floor of the central library.
His research had been highly productive. He had studied the detailed mechanics of Nascent Soul, the advanced theories of Avatar Formation, and classified scrolls detailing the fragile spatial boundaries of the Heavenly Origin World. The world barrier, thinned by the ancient Heavenly Tear, was prone to spatial rifts and void bleeding, particularly near the southern mountain borders.
Tucked away in the restricted archives, he had also discovered an ancient scroll documenting the first two pillars of sword comprehension.
Sword Will and Sword Intent.
According to the record, Sword Will was the first step towards reaching the realm of Sword Intent. It is a state where a cultivator forces his will by imposing the concept underneath his sword technique through raw power and discipline, rather than letting them resonate organically. The scroll detailed its four stages. Stirring, Focused, Tempered, and Unrelenting Will. This was a concept he intended to teach his disciples in due time.
This discovery shed light on his own progress. He had also selected two high-grade Mystic-rank sword manuals for his disciples: Thunder Cleaving Sword Art and Blazing Heaven Sword Art. He intended to learn them first to ensure he could teach them correctly, though his main focus remained on his two Saint-rank techniques, Cloud Dragon Sword Technique and Sky Sovereign Sword Technique.
Completing the reconstruction of Wang Tian’s meridians had filled Su Ming’s soul sea with another batch of Samsara Resin. With this newly replenished soul force, he had spent the last two weeks looking deeper into his Saint-rank techniques.
His analysis had led him to a profound conclusion. The Cloud Dragon Sword Technique and the Sky Sovereign Sword Technique were two sides of the same coin. They both ended in the same place—an absolute, unanswerable state that could not be contested, dodged, or reversed—but they arrived there from opposite directions.
The Sky Sovereign technique was top-down, representing authority from above. Judgment descended onto the world, making the wielder a conduit for an unquestionable verdict. Power expressed itself through the scope of authority.
The core philosophy was simple. You are judged because something above you has already decided, and you can not contend with it.
In contrast, the Cloud Dragon technique was bottom-up, representing presence rising from within. The dragon did not judge; it simply announced its existence, more and more undeniably. Power expressed itself through the intensity of presence.
The philosophy was declarative.
You cannot argue with what has become absolute. Its endpoint was silence because motion itself had ended, leaving nothing to move.
Yet, despite reaching what the ancient scroll classified as the third stage of Sword Will—Tempered Will—in the Cloud Dragon Sword Technique, and the second stage—Focused Will—in the Sky Sovereign Sword Technique, Su Ming knew he had reached a limit.
And reaching the threshold of Sword Intent was a matter of another realm.
He rubbed his temples, letting out a quiet sigh. ’One step at a time. The foundation must be solid.’
His professional paths had also progressed steadily. In medical diagnostics, Bai Qingxian still classified him as a junior physician, pointing out that his success was driven by his strange intuition rather than traditional mastery.
Su Ming did not argue, knowing his clinical accuracy relied mostly on his Essence Sight. In alchemy, he was not yet a senior alchemist due to his limited high-grade formulas. In formations, he remained a junior.
Su Ming walked out of his study toward the eastern veranda, which overlooked the lower gardens. Under Elder Bai Zhen’s care, the spiritual herbs were growing steadily, their light fragrance carrying on the wind. Bai Qingxian had settled into her role as the Senior Physician in the Medicine Hall.
When Sect Master Jun Tianya learned about her background, he offered her the choice to join any of the nine main peaks, but she had declined without hesitation, choosing to remain on White Lotus Peak to repay her benefactor.
The decision was mostly to enjoy the quiet and not have to answer too many questions. But she had grown to like this peak.
By the afternoon, the training courtyard was once again filled with the steady rhythm of practice. Having rested, Lin Yao and Wang Tian stood in the pavilion practicing the Sky Sovereign Sword Technique.
Su Ming stood before them, demonstrating the movements. Unlike the coiling paths of the Cloud Dragon style, the Sky Sovereign moves required a demeanor of absolute, descending authority.
"The first move is Sovereign’s Gaze," Su Ming explained, holding his wooden blade upright as a faint pressure rippled outward. "It is an imposition of your will. You project a pressure so immense that it locks down the opponent’s spiritual sense, rendering them unable to dodge."
He shifted his stance, bringing the wooden blade downward in a slow, vertical line. "The second move is Heaven’s Mandate, representing the sky’s decree. This cut aligns with the laws of a Heavenly Decree, bypassing physical defenses to deliver the verdict."
Wang Tian and Lin Yao watched with rapt attention, attempting to mirror the strike while Su Ming corrected their postures.
"And the third move is Sovereign’s Judgment," Su Ming continued, lowering his blade. "When executed with Qi, it manifests a colossal, white-and-silver phantom sword descending from the heavens to crush physical and spiritual bodies. It is judgment from heaven."
They practiced for another hour, trying to ground their movements in this hierarchical authority. Wang Tian’s movements were sharp, while Lin Yao’s nether flames flickered with quiet, suppressed intensity.
A soft, whistling sound cut through the quiet air.
Su Ming looked up. A pale green streak of light descended from the clouds, gliding smoothly toward the training courtyard. Bai Qingxian materialized from the mist, riding gracefully on her flying sword. Her green and white robes fluttered around her ankles as she touched down, her movements carrying a refined grace. She had stabilized her new Core Formation cultivation, her aura calm and steady.
"Pause the training," Su Ming said to his disciples, lowering his wooden sword. He walked down the steps of the veranda to greet her. "You are back."
"I am," she replied, stepping off her sword.
They moved to the stone table under the shade of the bamboo. Su Ming had prepared a batch of spiritual tea, grown on their peak under Elder Bai Zhen’s care. He heated the water and brewed the leaves, pouring the hot, fragrant tea for everyone. Elder Bai Zhen soon joined them with a content smile.
"Thank you, Master," Lin Yao said, accepting her cup with a bow. She then turned to greet Bai Qingxian. "Greetings, Lady Bai."
Wang Tian echoed the formal greeting, bowing respectfully.
Bai Qingxian sighed softly, a subtle smile playing on her lips as she shook her head, having long given up on correcting their naming habits.
Su Ming poured a cup and placed it before her.
"Thank you, Peak Master Su," she replied.
They discussed the steady growth of the herbs, the defensive arrays, and general peak affairs in the comfortable domestic atmosphere they had built together over the past months.
Su Ming finished his tea and set the clay cup down, looking toward the southern horizon where the jagged peaks of Spirit Beast Peak rose.
"I will be leaving the peak for a short while," Su Ming announced.
Lin Yao looked up from her tea. "Are you going to the Scripture Hall, Master?"
"No," Su Ming said, his gaze fixed on the distant peaks. "I need to visit Spirit Beast Peak to acquire a mount. I think it’s about time White Lotus Peak gets one of our own."