Going to Settle the Score

Because he had only been in this world for a short time and hadn't experienced the outside world, Lu Ming was unsure of his aptitude level, hence his question.

"It's hard to say."

"I know your previous physical condition. If you weren't so frail, you probably would have broken through to the Second Layer of Inner Qi in just a day or two."

"And judging by this speed, your aptitude is excellent. You're a genius."

Lu Ming nodded. This aligned with his own deductions.

"But don't get arrogant."

Old Man Zhao changed the subject, "A fast start doesn't mean much. This world is full of geniuses. Some are brilliant in the beginning, and their cultivation and breakthroughs are as easy as eating and drinking."

"However," he paused here, looking at Lu Ming with a clear warning in his eyes, "After reaching a certain stage, they suddenly stagnate. Some can't advance further, while others fade into obscurity. While there are many reasons for this, it also shows that geniuses aren't always geniuses."

"Or rather, they are only geniuses for a certain stage. How far they can go takes a long time to determine."

After hearing Old Man Zhao's words, Lu Ming was shaken. He felt a hint of the cruel reality: geniuses emerge in droves, a hundred boats racing against each other. Martial arts not only require battling oneself but also others.

The difficulty was imaginable.

However, he quickly became resolute. He feared nothing more than a challenge.

"Thank you for your reminder, old sir. I've taken note of it."

Composing himself, he quickly replied.

Sensing the change in Lu Ming's mindset, Old Man Zhao nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, go read your books."

"Yes."

Lu Ming quickly retreated to the study.

In the afternoon, Lu Ming's fatigue gradually dissipated as he read. After freeloading a meat-filled lunch from Old Man Zhao, he returned to his own courtyard.

He was going to continue cultivating.

First, he would thoroughly master the basic saber techniques. Then, he planned to officially practice the first three forms of the Heavenly Saber Saber Art.

These three forms were Gale Style, Pouring Rain Style, and Flying Sky Slash.

Gale Style was a thrusting saber strike, emphasizing speed and swiftness.

Pouring Rain Style was a rapid series of slashes, emphasizing dense saber momentum, like pouring rain. It could be used for both offense and defense.

Flying Sky Slash was a concentrated strike using all of one's strength after the rapid slashes of Pouring Rain Style.

Leaping into the air, one would slash downwards with full force.

These three forms were sequential, naturally incorporating various footwork, body techniques, and basic saber techniques in between.

Lu Ming carefully recalled the details of the saber art and then went to the center of the courtyard to begin practicing.

For convenience, he imagined an enemy directly in front of him that he needed to attack.

First, he assumed a stance, legs apart, holding the wooden saber horizontally in front of him, one hand gripping the hilt and the other resting on the blade.

His gaze was sharp, observing the enemy's every move.

"Hah!"

Without wasting time, with a light shout, Lu Ming pushed off his right leg, stepping forward and suddenly thrusting forward.

This was Gale Style, a move that also served as a probe.

He imagined this thrust being blocked and immediately followed up with the second form, Pouring Rain Style.

The courtyard then echoed with a series of shouts. Pouring Rain Style's rapid slashes emphasized swiftness and urgency, combined with body techniques, targeting the enemy from all directions with upward, downward, diagonal, and reverse slashes, as well as chops to the waist.

Each strike was meant to be lethal, forcing the opponent to defend exhaustedly and reveal an opening.

Then, naturally, he would seize the opening and follow up with the third form, Flying Sky Slash.

In the courtyard, Lu Ming shouted again, leaping into the air before switching to a two-handed grip on the saber and slashing down.

With this, the three forms were completed.

Leaning on his saber, Lu Ming knelt on one knee, panting slightly. The reason was that Pouring Rain Style didn't specify a number of slashes; as long as one had the strength, they could continue slashing.

He had just performed over twenty slashes.

Furthermore, this was his first time practicing. He was mainly familiarizing himself with the forms, so he hadn't channeled his inner energy to cooperate, causing his stamina to deplete rapidly.

Panting, Lu Ming didn't rush into a second practice. Instead, he rested while summarizing the areas where his practice had been lacking.

Overall, it was due to one unpracticed movement, which caused many of his slashes to be inaccurate.

This was easily solved; more practice was needed.

Having identified the problem, Lu Ming began his second practice, third practice...

Until several days passed.

After days of practice, including the basic saber techniques, Lu Ming became increasingly proficient, even reaching a point where he handled them with ease.

Gale Style!

In the small courtyard, Lu Ming once again practiced the Heavenly Saber Saber Art, this time incorporating his inner energy.

With the coordination of his inner energy, his body became light and agile. As he pushed off with his right foot, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, thrusting out with a wooden saber.

A few meters in front of him stood a wooden board half a finger thick. As his wooden saber struck, a "bang" sounded, and the wooden board was immediately pierced by the wooden saber, leaving a large hole.

It was pierced, not shattered, which meant the force of his thrust was perfectly controlled.

Without pausing, he flipped the wooden saber in his hand, turning the blade upward, and flicked it up. The wooden board immediately had a gap sliced into it.

Then, using the momentum from the upward flick, he leaped into the air, switched to gripping the saber with both hands, and brought it down in a chop.

"Bang!"

Instantly, the board split in two, and his wooden saber also broke.

"Not bad."

Looking at his handiwork, Lu Ming was very satisfied. Although the saber broke, it proved that his saber art had been mastered.

He would also need to get a real saber next.

As for how he would get one, he had already made up his mind.

"It's time to settle the score."

Lu Ming dropped the broken saber and looked towards the layered buildings across the ditch. He planned to find the beggar who had controlled the original owner as a slave to get revenge.

He would also get some money to buy a saber.

As for his strength, he wasn't worried. As far as he knew, that beggar was only at the Inner Qi First Layer, and only knew two or three moves of the Grass-Parting Cudgel Technique.

The beggar had often shown off in front of the beggars he controlled.

Therefore, with Lu Ming's current strength, he could completely defeat him.

Moreover, he was confident he would break through to the Third Layer of Inner Qi tonight.

Yes, as his physical functions continued to recover, his cultivation speed could no longer be suppressed.

Coupled with him reaching the fifth layer of the Heavenly Saber Art, the speed of refining inner energy had further increased.

Therefore, breaking through again in just a few days was only natural.

Having made his decision, Lu Ming finished his dinner early and entered his cultivation.

This breakthrough was still very easy, as if there were no bottlenecks, and he smoothly became a martial artist at the Third Layer of Inner Qi.

Lu Ming wasn't too surprised by this result. After feeling his deepened inner energy, he simply went to sleep.

In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. He didn't rush to carry out yesterday's decision but continued to cultivate as usual.

However, there was one more thing to do: sharpen his saber.

He found a chopping knife. It was a bit short and, having not been used for a long time, was covered in rust.

However, being short had its advantages, such as being easy to conceal.

As for the rust, it could be polished away.

After sharpening the saber, Lu Ming, to be on the safe side, practiced his saber art with this short saber again. He needed to get familiar with this weapon quickly so it wouldn't fail him at a crucial moment.

By the time he was completely familiar with it, it was close to dusk, which was the time he had chosen to strike.

So, he quickly hid the short saber in his sleeve and went out.