A Fulfilling Day, Soaring Progress (Please Bookmark and Follow)

As Shi Yun and the others talked in amazement, another change arose in the arena.

Having built up his power to the utmost, Yang Chen drew in the moisture of heaven and earth out of thin air.

The next moment, he poured all the force he had accumulated, along with the water vapor, into a slash aimed at Zhong Ming.

"Extreme Shark, Slash!"

"Boom!"

With his furious chop, the force and water vapor transformed into a vicious shark.

At that moment, the shark bore incomparably immense power as it crushed down upon Zhong Ming.

The sight made Zhong Ming's pupils contract.

Yet he did not falter. Gripping his sword with both hands, he braced himself against the charging shark with all his strength.

Even as he held it back, Zhong Ming circulated Water Flow, trying to divert the shark to one side, while retreating at high speed like flowing water.

He meant to lessen the giant shark's impact through successive backward steps.

Unfortunately, everything Zhong Ming did was futile.

Though the charging shark had left Senior Brother Yang Chen's Long Sword, it was like a living creature, capable of making minute adjustments to its posture. This rendered Zhong Ming's attempts to deflect its force, retreat, and shift sideways utterly useless.

No matter how he adjusted himself, the shark would twist its body and attack Zhong Ming from the most savage, sharpest angle.

"Rumble!"

Like that, with Zhong Ming braced against it, the shark sent him flying more than thirty meters.

Its sheer force smashed apart Zhong Ming's stance and finally struck his body.

"Hu, hu, hu..."

Although the shark's force had dissipated before it touched his body, the duel that had lasted more than an hour had already left Zhong Ming utterly exhausted.

As the shark scattered away, he collapsed onto the ground as well. At that moment, he did not even have the strength to move a finger.

Yet Zhong Ming's face held no disappointment. Instead, it was filled with delight.

"Detached Sword Qi that moves like a living thing... so that's what the fourth stage's 'living' means... What a living sword, what a living sword!"

Though he had been defeated by Yang Chen, Zhong Ming was not discouraged in the slightest. Instead, he praised Yang Chen's swordsmanship. This surprised Yang Chen and made him think even more highly of Zhong Ming.

"With such a mindset, even without this peerless talent, he would never be an ordinary man."

After sighing inwardly, Yang Chen saw that Zhong Ming truly had no strength left to continue training and was not simply being lazy. He no longer forced the matter. "The sparring ends here. Rest for a while first."

As he spoke, he tossed a flask of wine to Zhong Ming.

"This is Hundred Flowers Brew. It can restore your stamina, body, and spirit. This flask is yours. Drink more if you need to."

"Uh, that wouldn't be right, would it? Senior Brother's instruction has already helped me so much..."

Before Zhong Ming could finish, Yang Chen waved a hand. "You were quite straightforward when practicing swordsmanship. Why have you become so fussy now? If I tell you to drink, then drink. It's only a flask of wine. Your Senior Brother can afford it."

"..." Since he had put it that way, Zhong Ming could not refuse. "Thank you, Senior Brother."

While Zhong Ming drank the Hundred Flowers Brew to recover his strength, Yang Chen walked toward Shi Yun and the others.

The moment he reached them, before he could speak, Qi Hong smiled and said, "Yang Chen, how was Zhong Ming's performance? Did he satisfy you?"

Yang Chen rolled his eyes at that. "Do you think I'm qualified to comment on his talent?"

After saying this, Yang Chen glanced at Dragon Stream Peak, and a relaxed expression appeared on his face.

"I thought that after Senior Brother Xiao passed away, our Dragon Stream Peak would gradually decline. I never expected heaven would still favor us."

As he said this, his expression grew solemn again.

Looking directly at his friends, he said seriously:

"Junior Brother Zhong Ming is immensely talented, but he has yet to grow. He needs even more guidance. From now on, when you teach him, I hope you will give it your all and hold nothing back!"

The moment those words fell, Shi Yun and Lin Shuyu were immediately displeased.

Lin Shuyu said, "Yang Chen, what kind of person do you take me for?"

Shi Yun said, "Did you really need to say that?"

Even Qi Hong objected. "If I truly wanted to hold back, I wouldn't have called you all here."

Qi Hong and the others had already decided to bring out the treasures they had kept at the bottom of their chests and teach Zhong Ming.

Aside from treating Dragon Stream Peak as their home and not wanting to see it decline, the more important reason was that they had witnessed Zhong Ming's talent and acknowledged his future.

When one person attained the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascended to heaven. In the cultivation world, this was no joke, but the truest depiction of reality.

As long as Zhong Ming became powerful, they early investors would reap endless benefits.

At the very least, Dragon Stream Peak's ranking in the Seven Peaks Grand Competition would rise. The sect's resources would tilt in their favor, and their own benefits and treatment would improve somewhat.

At a higher level, Zhong Ming would mature completely. By then, he might even be able to heal their injuries and allow them to walk the path of immortality once more.

"With Zhong Ming's talent, so long as he does not die midway, he will definitely become a Golden Core expert. Even if he focuses on the sword path and has no healing ability himself, the cultivators he befriends will surely include alchemists. By then, if he merely mentions it, my injuries can be completely healed."

"No, I must teach Zhong Ming well and make him remember me..."

"Zhong Ming is weak now, but that is precisely my opportunity... If he truly grows up, a half-crippled man like me will not even be qualified to approach him."

As they thought this, all their gazes burned with fervor.

Once they had reached a shared decision, everything afterward became simple. When Zhong Ming had recovered through the Hundred Flowers Brew, Lin Shuyu immediately came before him and began teaching him the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps.

"The first three stages of the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps are about making your body move like water. But from the fourth stage onward, the emphasis lies on the word 'leap.' To leap, you must store force. That is also the foundation of Wave-Treading Triple Fold... Come with me. Do you see that waterfall? Next, you will leap from beneath it to above it..."

Under Lin Shuyu's instructions, Zhong Ming repeatedly leaped upward from beneath the waterfall.

At times, Lin Shuyu would race him, while at others he would have the other three continuously throw stones to test Zhong Ming's ability to evade.

Under his guidance, Zhong Ming's progress in the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps rose rapidly.

You completed a full cultivation session of the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps and gained insight. Technique progress +11

You completed a full cultivation session of the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps and gained insight. Technique progress +23

You completed a full cultivation session of the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps and gained insight. Technique progress +79

You completed a full cultivation session of the Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps and gained insight. Technique progress +8

"But from the third stage onward, you must condense living creatures. At the fourth stage, those creatures must possess artistic conception... Only when they are vivid and lifelike can the water you command bring great trouble to your enemies..."

You listened to another's instruction and gained insight. Spirit Stream Finger · Water Dragon Art progress +9

You...

When Shi Yun taught him, he did not rely solely on words either. He and Zhong Ming would stand on opposite sides of the stream, shaping the stream water into all manner of weapons and animals, then making these mimicked creatures battle one another.

Combat, running, shaping water, leaping ravines, and cultivating the heart... Under the guidance of several Senior Brothers, Zhong Ming was incredibly busy that day.

But it was also a deeply fulfilling day for Zhong Ming.

After the day's cultivation ended, Zhong Ming's Dragon Creek Swordplay, Spirit Stream Finger · Water Dragon Art, and Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps had gone from:

Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps: Stage 2: Proficient (778/4800)

To:

Dragon Creek Swordplay: Stage 2: Proficient (2799/4900)

Leaping Wave Dragon Creek Steps: Stage 2: Proficient (2673/4800)

"They've all reached halfway. If I'm lucky, all three of these skills can advance tomorrow, and I'll obtain three more Water Flow."

"Hu... Five Water Flow should be enough to stack into Dao Rhythm, right?"