Chapter 66 - Two Months Later
The morning mist on White Lotus Peak was cool and damp, clinging to the tall stalks of emerald bamboo and condensing in tiny, clear droplets along the eaves of the main hall. In the center of the training courtyard, there was no turbulence of spiritual energy. No nether flames flickered, no crimson sword manifestations hovered, and no crackling thunder Qi vibrated through the stones. Instead, the only sounds were the clean, sharp clicks of wood striking wood, accompanied by the rhythmic breathing of three figures.
Su Ming stood with his knees bent, his wooden practice sword held loosely in his right hand. He was wearing his simple grey training robe, the wide sleeves tied back securely with thin black cotton strips. Across from him, Lin Yao and Wang Tian stood side by side, their wooden blades raised in defensive stances. Their foreheads were slick with sweat, their faces flushed from intense physical exertion.
Su Ming watched them with a critical, steady eye.
’Their footwork is good, but the weight transfer is still slightly off.’
Without utilizing a single thread of Qi, relying entirely on raw physical coordination, Su Ming stepped forward. His wooden sword traced a clean, downward arc toward Lin Yao’s shoulder.
Lin Yao reacted instantly. She sidestepped with sharp precision, her wooden sword rising to block the blow. The impact sent a dull, solid thud echoing through the courtyard. At the same instant, Wang Tian lunged forward. His wooden blade thrust toward Su Ming’s flank with quiet, unyielding direction. Su Ming twisted his torso by a fraction of an inch, letting the wooden tip slide past his ribs, and tapped Wang Tian’s forearm with the flat of his wooden blade, forcing the youth to stumble back.
"Keep your core centered," Su Ming said, his voice calm and even as he fell back into a relaxed stance. "A sword is not just an extension of your arm. It is an extension of your physical balance. If your stance is weak, your strike will collapse the moment it hits resistance, regardless of how much Qi you channel into it. True swordsmanship begins in the muscles and bones, not the dantian."
"Yes, Master," Lin Yao and Wang Tian replied in unison, gasping for air as they adjusted their postures and raised their wooden swords once more.
Two months had passed since the chaotic days of the grand meeting in the Heavenly Dao Hall. In those two months, White Lotus Peak had settled into a steady, quiet routine. The tenfold increase in resources granted by Sect Master Jun Tianya had arrived in massive, iron-bound chests, providing the peak with an abundance of high-grade spirit stones, defensive arrays, and raw materials. But instead of letting the wealth draw unwanted attention from the other peaks, Su Ming had spent the initial weeks working quietly to reinforce the peak’s concealment and defensive formations, ensuring their daily life remained hidden from prying eyes.
For Lin Yao, these two months had been a period of profound transformation. With Su Ming’s personal guidance, she had successfully broken through to the Core Formation realm a few weeks ago. As the spiritual Qi condensed into her new core, the dormant dark phoenix shadow in her soul suddenly awakened. The shadow consumed a large portion of the surrounding Qi before going back to sleep. Although the phoenix shadow was quiet again, Su Ming could now feel a steady pulse from her soul, confirming that whatever the entity was, it was alive and active.
Before the surgery, Su Ming had taught both Lin Yao and Wang Tian the Yin Yang Origin Scripture to cultivate their Qi. Now that Lin Yao had reached the Core Formation realm, the balanced scripture had allowed her nether flames to grow significantly stronger, shifting from a flickering spark to a disciplined, ice-cold purple-black fire. In the hope of eventually awakening the dormant phoenix shadow, Su Ming had also passed down the True Soul Origin Scripture to her, instructing her to practice it during her quiet hours.
But the biggest change was the technique they were currently practicing. Su Ming had decided to pass down the complete Cloud Dragon Sword Technique to both of his disciples.
As he watched them prepare for another exchange, Su Ming raised his wooden sword and demonstrated the first movement. "The first move is the True Dragon Roar," he explained dryly. "It is the dragon’s voice. It is loud, unaimed, and fills the space to shock the opponent’s meridians and spirit."
"This sword technique is entirely designed for destruction," Su Ming warned them, his tone turning serious. "It does not have the mercy of ordinary sword arts. While executing the second and third moves, you must take caution."
Lin Yao and Wang Tian nodded solemnly, their eyes wide as they stared at the simple wooden sword in Su Ming’s hand. Having heard the distant, thunderous rumble when Su Ming had accidentally leveled a remote mountain peak while perfecting this sword technique, they understood the gravity of his warning.
For Su Ming, executing the technique was almost an extension of his Dragon Will and of his Void Dragon Soul Constitution, which naturally resonated with the draconic nature of the technique. But he knew that with enough time and physical conditioning, anyone practicing the technique could eventually master it.
Su Ming’s gaze drifted to Wang Tian. The youth had made astonishing progress. In just two months, he had reached the peak of the Qi Condensation realm. Because the Shattered Sword Physique did not face standard bottlenecks, Wang Tian was on the verge of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm at any given moment.
As Su Ming had instructed him not to hurry and perfect his foundation before the breakthrough, Wang Tian kept his progress steady.
However, his progress was deliberately managed. To prevent the starving physique from devouring Wang Tian’s vital energy, Su Ming had applied the Threefold Meridian Restriction Seal using the ancient jade slip given by the Sect Master.
The seal was not grand, but its mechanism was highly precise. Instead of acting as a direct throttle, the seal temporarily downgraded the active nature of the Shattered Sword Physique. By lowering its active nature, its hunger was safely reduced, preventing it from consuming Wang Tian’s life force. The side effect of this downgraded state was that his overall cultivation speed was reduced to approximately one-third of the unsealed physique’s potential.
The seal consisted of three locks. The first gate would remain active during the Mortal Realm, unlocking only when Wang Tian reached the Core Formation Realm. The second lock would release at the Avatar Formation Realm, and the final lock would open when he reached the peak of the Saint Realm, where he would have full control over the physique. Even with his speed reduced to one-third, Wang Tian’s progress was still terrifyingly fast.
Wang Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, his teeth gritted in silent determination. He did not complain about the seal or the grueling physical training. He was simply grateful to his Master, forever in his debt. It did not matter what hard work he had to put in; he would do it. He was just happy that he was able to cultivate.
He simply adjusted his stance, his dark eyes locked on Su Ming.
From the edge of the courtyard, Lin Yao watched her junior brother out of the corner of her eye. Internally, her thoughts were in complete disarray.
’Junior Brother is climbing too fast,’ she thought, her mind racing as she adjusted her posture. ’It has only been two months since his meridians were reconstructed, and he is already at the peak of Qi Condensation. If I do not train harder, he will overtake me before the year ends. I am the eldest disciple of White Lotus Peak. I cannot let him show me up.’
Her worry was tempered by relief at his recovery, but it drove her to practice with a fierce, near-desperate intensity. She gripped her wooden sword, feeling the calluses on her palms sting. At the same time, her mind drifted to the strange, dormant presence within her own soul.
She knew about the dark phoenix shadow. She had asked Su Ming about it, and though her Master had not confirmed anything or given her a straight answer, she felt no fear. She trusted him absolutely, knowing without a doubt that her Master would never do anything to harm her.
She shot a brief glance toward Su Ming, who was correcting Wang Tian’s elbow alignment.
The physical clash of their wooden swords continued for another hour, the thuds of wood on wood echoing through the bamboo grove until the sun climbed high above the peaks, burning away the morning mist and bathing the courtyard in warm, golden light.
"That is enough for the morning," Su Ming said, lowering his wooden sword. "Go catch your breath and rest your muscles. Later today we will start practicing the Sky Sovereign Sword technique."
"Yes, Master," Lin Yao and Wang Tian said, bowing deeply as they stepped back, their shoulders slumping with physical exhaustion as they caught their breath.