I May Be Invincible

The first day after entering the academy dawned with a sky full of rosy clouds and a gentle, pleasant breeze.

Looking down from the mountainside, yellow leaves drifted down, signaling the deepening autumn. Faint morning light scattered across the white marble path, making it gleam.

Here, the newly admitted disciples had risen early and gathered in the Dao Comprehension Ground.

Legend had it that in the era of darkness and ignorance, the Heavenly Dao bestowed a Heavenly Tome upon the first human sages to enlighten all beings. The sages then established the Celestial Academy, with the first sage becoming its first headmaster.

When a student comprehends the Dao in the Dao Comprehension Ground, if their comprehension is exceptionally high, they can establish a connection with the Heavenly Tome.

Establishing a connection with the Heavenly Tome means establishing a connection with the Heavenly Dao, making cultivation twice as effective.

There were also rumors that students who had not yet reached perfection, while unable to sense the Heavenly Dao, still had a chance to sense the Heavenly Tome.

This would allow them to gain profound insights in advance, bringing endless benefits.

For thousands of years, no one had seen where the Heavenly Tome was, nor did they know if it was actually a book. However, there were indeed students who would suddenly be bathed in spiritual light, waking up and exclaiming ecstatically, "I've seen the Heavenly Tome!" This suggested it was not mere hearsay.

Thus, from dawn until afternoon, disciples led by Chu He and Lu Qingqiu were striving to comprehend the Dao and sense the Heavenly Tome.

The only one absent was Ji You, the third person to achieve Perfection of the Lower Three Realms this year.

Although the Outer Court disciples all said Ji You was a rogue cultivator from the countryside who hadn't used any rare herbs or spiritual medicines to advance, and might not break through to the upper five realms within a year.

Still, he was someone who had cultivated to Perfection of the Lower Three Realms on his own, so his whereabouts naturally drew attention.

"Where did that Ji You go?"

"Haven't seen him. I just guessed if he followed other students to the White Jade Platform to learn that Grand Principle of the Origin of the Dao?"

"He's already at Perfection of the Lower Three Realms, with a solid foundation. Such things are useless to him, why would he go there?"

"Hey, I heard someone saw him leave at the hour of the snake and head to the Sword Testing Forest after breakfast."

Upon hearing this, Chu He and Lu Qingqiu both slightly opened their eyes, their expressions indifferent.

Others, upon hearing that Ji You hadn't come to the Dao Comprehension Ground on his first day but had gone straight to the Sword Testing Forest, showed expressions of astonishment. This included Fang Ruoyao, who was diligently trying to sense the True Spirit.

"He wants to dual cultivate martial and cultivation arts?"

"He must be aiming for dual cultivation."

Chu He slightly opened his mouth, "Even focusing solely on cultivation, I feel time is not enough. Wasting time on martial arts."

Lu Qingqiu also opened her eyes and turned to Fang Ruoyao beside her, "Ruoyao, does your fiancé always act so erratically?"

Fang Ruoyao paused upon hearing this, then nodded, her expression a little uncomfortable.

Yes, she had told others herself that Ji You was her fiancé.

In Yuyang County before, Miss Fang was the County Magistrate's daughter, a chosen disciple of the Celestial Academy, a celestial crane in the clouds that everyone looked up to.

But after arriving at the Celestial Academy, she realized her family background couldn't compare to these people, nor could her status. She had suddenly become the most ordinary disciple, and the disparity in her feelings was immense.

Especially last night, after returning to the female dormitory, she saw her roommates laughing and chatting happily, but she didn't dare to join in.

Until she mentioned she was Ji You's fiancée.

A rogue cultivator who reached Perfection of the Lower Three Realms before the age of twenty was already the focal point of conversation on the first night of admission. At that moment, all eyes turned to her.

Then she suddenly realized that the identity she had once despised had now become the only thing she could boast about...

"Dual cultivation of martial and cultivation arts..."

"The students in the academy are all desperately trying to comprehend the Dao and break through their realms. Why practice martial arts? Do you plan to fight someone to the death in the future?"

Meanwhile, in the Sword Testing Forest behind the mountain.

The bamboo sea remained a lush green, undisturbed by the arrival of autumn, swaying in the wind with a rustling sound.

Ji You was currently holding a wooden sword, practicing basic sword forms with Wang Xin'an, an instructor for dual cultivation of martial and cultivation arts in the academy.

Slash, thrust, stab, parry, chop, block, lift, cut, sweep.

One set after another, the instructor taught continuously.

Perfection of the Lower Three Realms already allowed for external spiritual energy control and the manipulation of objects with Qi. Most sword techniques in the Qingyun World were not flashy.

The simplest sword was the most direct killing move.

Ji You weaved through the forest, repeating these twelve characters over and over, one sword strike after another, constantly ensuring his hand was steady and his mind quick when drawing his sword.

According to Instructor Wang, to face an enemy with a sword, one must first break their Qi. However, if the sword strike is unstable, the entire Qi force of the sword will be dissipated upon the first collision.

Thus, Ji You kept searching for the feeling, then letting his entire body's muscles engrave the movements with this feeling, allowing it to bypass the barrier of thought and become an unconscious action.

"Hoo..."

"It's quite tiring."

Ji You found that doing too many repetitive movements could easily lead to fatigue, but if he pushed through the fatigue, he would gradually begin to feel a sense of flowing grace.

Wang Xin'an, standing beside him, looked at this newly admitted disciple at Perfection of the Lower Three Realms with a peculiar expression.

In all the years he had taught disciples, none had rushed to the Dao Comprehension Ground on their first day to try and sense the Heavenly Tome. He had never seen one head directly to the Sword Testing Forest.

He had initially thought Ji You was just seeking novelty, but he hadn't expected him to work so hard.

Wang Xin'an snapped back to attention, "Open your hands and let me see."

Ji You opened his hand, revealing no deep red, nor any excessive sweat pooling in his palm.

"Alright, you're not dead, so put some effort into it. Remember the instant-release power, keep going!"

"Remember, when you release your sword, you absolutely must pay attention to your breathing. Don't let it become an obstruction to your sword strike. Know that if your rhythm is broken, it's over in an instant!"

"Once you've mastered the basic sword forms, you'll slowly develop your own swordplay habits. And for cultivators, their methods of controlling energy also vary."

"The coordination between your energy control habits and your swordplay habits will ultimately form a thousand variations of sword moves, allowing you to act according to your will and strike with ease!"

Upon hearing the words "act according to your will," the peerless bandit's brow furrowed. He connected several of the moves into a sword flower, which then shot out from his hand, circling his body like lightning for three rounds before he swiftly caught it and followed up with another sword flower.

Just as Wang Xin'an was momentarily stunned, he saw spiritual energy surge from beneath Ji You's feet. The young man spun like lightning in place, his wooden sword forming a circle around him before thrusting forward fiercely, causing bamboo leaves to fall like rain in the forest.

Having finished his combo, Ji You leaned on his sword and wiped his sweat. When he looked up again, he saw Instructor Wang's face filled with astonishment.

He seemed utterly taken aback by the combo Ji You had just performed and was unable to snap back to reality for a long time.

"Have you seen a master wield a sword before?"

Ji You wiped his sweat and replied, "Yes, when I was young, I was indeed fortunate enough to witness it firsthand."

Wang Xin'an narrowed his eyes. "Which master was it?"

"Meng Xinghun."

"?"

After cultivators can externally control spiritual energy, many seemingly impossible moves can be performed.

Flying swords can be linked to different sword techniques, creating a myriad of variations. They could even replicate moves from the "Meteor Butterfly Sword," which was a pleasant surprise for Ji You.

Afterward, he looked at the other teaching wooden sword in Wang Xin'an's hand and a sudden, whimsical thought struck him. "Instructor, can a cultivator only control one sword?"

"That's not necessarily true. With the spiritual energy of your Perfection of the Lower Three Realms, even ten swords would be no problem."

"Ten thousand?"

Wang Xin'an chuckled at the question. "Naturally, that's possible too, but it's meaningless. You must understand that the strongest energy control comes from refined spiritual energy. Spreading it out naturally makes it weaker. Unless your Spirit Core can supply you with an endless stream of spiritual energy, making each sword rich with power, it's all just a show."

Ji You pondered for a moment. "Perhaps I will be invincible..."

"Ji You, the instructor wants to ask, where can that Meng Xinghun be found?"

"Yanliu Island, Stalactite Cave, A Thread of Sky, Jinhua City..."

"?"