Sword Maniac

The hustle and bustle of Donghu City were far behind, the trees lining the official road gradually thinning out, revealing the distant, rolling mountain ranges.

Yun Hu's steps were unhurried, each one steady and firm.

The brief but perilous fight he'd just experienced replayed endlessly in his mind.

The angle of his sword strikes, the circulation of his true qi, his opponent's openings – all presented themselves with perfect clarity.

He could feel that after this battle, the Pure Yang True Qi within him had become even more refined, and his swordsmanship seemed to have touched a new level.

Combat, indeed, was the best way to hone one's sword skills.

He recalled his elder brother, Yun Long's, parting words before his first departure for Donghu City.

"This trip, use the Qi Nourishing Pills as bait to probe the Lu Family. There will surely be hidden dangers."

Venturing alone into a dangerous situation was Yun Hu's own choice.

Once the news that the Yun Family could refine Qi Nourishing Pills leaked, even if the Lu Family didn't make a move, other families would sell them, whether for their own use or to target the Lu Family.

Wanfang Lake was currently turbulent, with intertwined forces; a storm that would engulf everyone could erupt at any moment.

Yun Hu's thoughts drifted back several months, to a conversation with his elder brother, Yun Long, in a secret room.

"Ah Hu, I've registered with the court that our third sister possesses a Spiritual Root, while you do not."

"Therefore, it's not advisable for our third sister to be seen publicly before she begins Qi Refining. Among us three siblings, only you are most suited to travel outside."

"With your martial arts cultivation talent, your slow progress is, in retrospect, a good thing for the family."

"Didn't you dream of becoming a Sword Immortal since you were a child? The Qingcheng Swordplay passed down from our ancestors is by no means ordinary. From now on, you will be the Yun Family's 'Sword Maniac,' letting the world know that you, Yun Hu, intend to knock on the gates of immortality with a mortal sword!"

At this thought, Yun Hu's usual carefree and unrestrained demeanor quietly vanished, replaced by a deep smile.

"Big Brother, I am the Sword Maniac."

He murmured to himself, his tone firm.

"I swear I will not begin Qi Refining until I can cultivate Sword Qi! Our Yun Family, starting with my generation, will have true Sword Cultivators!"

Among the three Yun siblings, his cultivation speed was indeed the slowest, and the matter of not having a Spiritual Root had become a widely known "fact."

If he were to forcefully advance to the Qi Refining Stage with the help of elixirs after breaking through to Xiantian, it would only arouse suspicion and expose numerous flaws.

His elder brother's arrangement was, on the surface, to cover for him, but in reality, it was to ensure he built an incredibly solid foundation.

With the Yun Family's profound heritage and legacy, entering the Qi Refining Stage was only a matter of time.

As for the so-called Sword Cultivators and Sword Qi mentioned in the ancient texts sent by the Ning Family, they were initially just words his elder brother used to mislead outsiders.

However, Yun Long never anticipated that these words would become a spark, completely igniting Yun Hu's deepest, ultimate desire for the Way of the Sword.

"From now on, I, Yun Hu, am the Yun Family's Sword Maniac."

To become a true Sword Cultivator, to reach that legendary realm where one sword strike could cleave mountains, sever rivers, and pluck stars, he would fear nothing, even if he had to wade through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

A sharp, resolute glint flashed in Yun Hu's eyes, and the surrounding air seemed to turn colder.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the bluestone street a warm yellow.

Yun Hu walked in the shadow of the sunset, passing familiar street corners, and turned into his family's mansion.

The front courtyard was quiet.

Elder brother Yun Long was not practicing his breathing exercises in front of the ancestral hall as usual. Instead, he stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, his figure stretched long by the setting sun, as if he had been waiting specifically for him.

Yun Hu's heart suddenly warmed, and his pace quickened.

Yun Long turned around, his gaze sweeping over Yun Hu. Seeing that his clothes were neat and his aura steady, the tense corners of his mouth relaxed slightly.

He nodded, said nothing, and turned back towards the ancestral hall, sat down cross-legged, and continued his unfinished cultivation.

Yun Hu smiled silently, walked through the front courtyard, and headed towards the back.

Before he even stepped through the moon gate into the rear courtyard, he heard Yun He's crisp laughter and Shi Chen's slightly simple and honest agreement.

"Second Brother is back!"

Yun He, with her sharp eyes, was the first to spot him and ran over, bouncing, with Shi Chen, also full of anticipation, following behind.

"Second Brother, did you bring anything good today?" Yun He tilted her small face up, her eyes full of slyness.

She was unaware of the dangers Yun Hu had faced in the city today, thinking it was just a normal outing.

Yun Hu reached into his robes and pulled out two strings of candied hawthorn, their crystal sugar coating glistening. The bright red hawthorns looked particularly appealing in the evening light.

"Here, I bought them on the way."

He handed the candied hawthorns to Yun He and Shi Chen, watching them happily accept them and begin to chew with contented sounds.

After playing with them for a while and sharing some interesting anecdotes from the streets, Yun Hu finally excused himself and returned to his secluded little courtyard.

On the stone table in the courtyard lay several scrolls of yellowed sword manuals.

These were the precious ancient texts he had exchanged for the Qi Nourishing Pills from the Ning Family.

He first sat quietly, concentrating on reading the diagrams and text in the sword manuals, his fingers unconsciously tracing the movements of sword stances on the stone table.

After a long while, he stood up and drew his sword.

Sword light flashed in the courtyard as dusk deepened, sometimes light and agile, sometimes heavy and powerful.

Pure Yang True Qi flowed through his meridians, infusing the sword body, emitting a faint hum.

He practiced the newly learned sword forms over and over, feeling the power and changes in each move and stance.

Sweat soaked his clothes, but he was completely unaware, lost in the world of swordsmanship.

Night deepened, and the sky was filled with stars.

After an unknown amount of time, an extreme sense of fatigue washed over him.

Yun Hu leaned on his sword, his body swaying, and he slumped onto a stone bench in the courtyard. He tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep.

The night breeze was cool, stirring the hair on his forehead.

A figure appeared silently at the entrance of the small courtyard.

Yun Ji looked at his son sleeping soundly on the stone bench, his brow furrowed slightly.

He tiptoed over and gently draped a soft, thin blanket he was holding over Yun Hu.

Yun Ji stood by, gazing at Yun Hu's tired sleeping face for a long time, and sighed deeply.

Yun Long had grown up and could share the family's burdens.

Yun Hu had also grown up, taking on his own share of the weight.

It was just that this growth had come too quickly, and was too heavy.

Yun Ji sat quietly beside Yun Hu.

He looked up at the boundless night sky. The stars were brilliant, but they couldn't illuminate the gloom in his heart.

An indescribable bitterness and self-reproach washed over him like a tide.

This heavy burden, this burden that shouldn't belong to a boy, should have been carried by him.

Ah Hu, his Ah Hu, was only eighteen this year.

Yun Ji's fists clenched suddenly, his knuckles turning white from the extreme effort, as if he wanted to crush something in his palm.

Everything, in the final analysis, was because he was too weak!

If only he could break through smoothly and step into the coveted Qi Refining Stage...

With his age and experience, it would be the most stable and appropriate for him to represent the Yun Family and handle family affairs outside.

However, reality was a resounding slap in the face.

He still hadn't fully comprehended the profound mysteries hidden within the Wudang Xiantian Gong.

With the help of the elixirs meticulously refined by He'er, accumulating True Qi was indeed not an insurmountable hurdle for him.

In fact, the True Qi in his body had long since reached its absolute limit, becoming saturated.

There was no possibility or hope for further growth.

That invisible threshold, that barrier separating Xiantian and Qi Refining, was like an insurmountable chasm lying before him.

As long as he could cross it, as long as he could break through that barrier!

He would immediately break through the realm, leap like a dragon through the gate, and achieve Qi Refining!