Devout Training, Dragon Stream - Sword Drawing Technique, Advancement!

Having realized that the only way he could be rated Class A was by relying on cultivation techniques—and that even if his technique broke through, he was not guaranteed a Class A rating—Zhong Ming could not be certain that a breakthrough would necessarily grant him a trait, much less that the trait would speed up his cultivation.

Still, despite all these troubles, Zhong Ming did not feel much negativity welling up inside him.

"At least I still have a sliver of hope. That already puts me far ahead of everyone else."

With a resolute gaze, he carried his Long Sword to one side.

"Breathe..."

Standing still, Zhong Ming first took a deep breath to settle his emotions. Then he lowered his body slightly, one foot forward and one behind, taking up a half-crouching stance.

As he crouched, Zhong Ming gripped the scabbard with his left hand while his right hand hovered over the hilt, ready to draw at any moment.

As he assumed this posture, Zhong Ming also turned his body slightly, concealing the sword at his waist behind himself.

This was another characteristic of the Sword Drawing Technique—hiding the Long Sword with one's body made the draw more sudden, and the path of attack harder to predict.

"The Sword Drawing Technique truly makes ambushes an art form."

After that sigh, Zhong Ming remained half-crouched and did not immediately draw his sword.

"Breathe..."

He first drew in a deep breath.

As he inhaled, he visualized a stream, visualized a Dragon Form, imagining that what he drew was not a sword, but a rapidly flowing creek—a... soaring flood dragon.

Only when his momentum had been built to its peak did Zhong Ming suddenly draw his sword from its sheath.

Clang!

As Zhong Ming drew his sword, a sharp flash of cold light flickered across the mountainside and vanished in an instant.

But this still was not a complete round of cultivation.

"Exhale..."

Only after finishing the draw did Zhong Ming slowly release the breath he had taken earlier.

At the same time, he slowly slid the Long Sword in his hand back into its scabbard.

Ignoring the prompt in the system log, Zhong Ming stood up after sheathing his sword, then crouched again and repeated the previous movements.

His training in the Sword Drawing Technique had officially begun.

"Exhale, inhale..."

Clang!

"Exhale, inhale..."

Clang!

"Exhale, inhale..."

Clang!

Once, twice, three times, ten times, a hundred times...

With a devout attitude, Zhong Ming repeatedly lowered his body and drew his sword.

And every time he drew his sword, he gave it his all, pouring every scrap of his Mental Strength into his visualization.

To make every draw perfect, Zhong Ming did not draw particularly quickly.

Inhaling, crouching, drawing, exhaling, sheathing the Long Sword... completing this entire sequence took Zhong Ming at least half a minute.

Yet Zhong Ming's progress was not slow at all with this method of training.

—He knew that the core true meaning of the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique was the dragon. Thus, whenever Zhong Ming drew his sword, he visualized the dragon's bearing and might.

This visualization, which pointed directly toward the true meaning, already made Zhong Ming's progress in the Sword Drawing Technique extremely swift.

More importantly, his devout attitude ensured that Zhong Ming made no mistakes with any of his draws.

Each time, Zhong Ming gained 2 to 3 proficiency points.

As Zhong Ming trained, flashes of sharp, cold light bloomed one after another on the mountainside of Dragon Stream Peak.

...Not many people noticed this scene.

The main reason was that by afternoon, everyone's meridians could no longer withstand the circulation of Spiritual Energy. Thus, nearly all the disciples had stopped cultivating the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique and turned to practicing various sword arts and techniques.

Mixed among them, Zhong Ming did not stand out.

But he only appeared unremarkable—before even an incense stick's time had passed, Zhong Ming discovered that his Dragon Stream - Sword Drawing Technique... had advanced.

The speed was so astonishing that even Zhong Ming was somewhat stunned.

"So fast... As expected, simple moves like this suit me best and bring out the Heaven Rewards Diligence trait most effectively."

Zhong Ming's amazement did not last long.

The instant he advanced, a sudden realization surged up from within him.

At that moment, he knew how to draw his sword in a way that made it faster, swifter, and sharper.

At the same time, the information concerning Dragon Stream - Sword Drawing Technique on his status panel had changed.

Skill Trait: Quick Reflexes

"Quick Reflexes—it actually enhances neural reactions... Extraordinary Sword Art truly deserves its name. Just reaching Stage 2: Proficient has already given me such a surprise."

At this point, Zhong Ming grew even more curious about what trait Stage 3, Mastery, of the Dragon Stream - Sword Drawing Technique would grant.

"I hope it can form a synergy with the cultivation technique..."

But as soon as that thought arose, Zhong Ming frowned.

—Although Zhong Ming possessed the Heaven Rewards Diligence System, that did not mean he could casually practice and see his cultivation technique progress rise endlessly.

His cultivation had to be done with focus, completed in full, and performed correctly before it could increase the technique's progress.

It was like reading. If Zhong Ming read only half a book, or skipped or misread more than a dozen characters, then no matter how much he read in such a careless manner, his skill proficiency would not increase by the slightest bit.

Zhong Ming had to read the book in full and read it correctly.

And as his Reading progressed through its stages, Heaven Rewards Diligence's requirements would rise like the tide.

At the beginner stage, Zhong Ming could gain proficiency by reading the same book over and over.

But upon reaching Stage 2, he needed to read new books.

At Stage 3, he needed to read books that were useful and meaningful before he could increase his skill proficiency.

Now that he had reached the fourth stage, Minor Accomplishment, Zhong Ming needed to comprehend certain principles from books—so long as he activated the Intent Reading talent, Zhong Ming would certainly be able to comprehend some principles.

Reading was like this, and the Dragon Stream Sword Drawing Technique was no different.

"To advance from Stage 2 to Stage 3, I can no longer simply draw my sword. I need to strike a high-speed moving object for it to count as one complete session of cultivation."

"And the faster the moving object, and the more accurately I strike it, the faster the Dragon Stream - Sword Drawing Technique will progress."

Zhong Ming did not complain about the increased requirements.

With Heaven Rewards Diligence, he was already countless times better off than everyone else.

Under normal circumstances, let alone striking moving objects, even striking people and engaging in life-and-death duels would not increase skill proficiency by much.

"Still, it'll be inconvenient if I'm the only one handling high-speed moving objects."

Thinking this, Zhong Ming looked toward Dong Hai.

He had also finished cultivating and was resting. Seeing this, Zhong Ming greeted him.

"Dong Hai, can you help me with something?"

"Of course."

Dong Hai was a hundred percent willing to help Zhong Ming. Ever since entering the Seven Mysteries Sect and learning that he would face life-and-death danger, he had been living in constant fear.

And Zhong Ming was practically his only hope of survival.

Under such circumstances, he was terrified that Zhong Ming might abandon him.

Now, discovering that he could still be of use to Zhong Ming made him so happy he nearly jumped up.

Seeing that he was willing, Zhong Ming immediately stated his request.

"Throw rocks at me?"

"That's right. The faster you throw them, the better."

Urged on by Zhong Ming, Dong Hai still felt somewhat uneasy, but he went to the stream and picked up several pebbles.

The next moment, with a whoosh..., a feebly thrown stone landed in front of Zhong Ming.

"..."

This scene left Zhong Ming silent and deeply helpless.

"Dong Hai, don't be afraid of hurting me. I'm not that fragile. Throw them hard."

"Alright."

After realizing that Zhong Ming was not joking, Dong Hai put much more strength into his second throw.

Whoosh! This time, a stone flew at high speed... past Zhong Ming's side.

Even though Zhong Ming had said he would be fine, Dong Hai still did not dare throw directly at him.

Fortunately, this stone was still within Zhong Ming's attack range.

"Breathe..."

As the stone came flying toward him, Zhong Ming had already lowered himself into a half-crouch, one foot forward and one behind. His right hand rested on the hilt, ready to draw his sword at any moment.

But against a moving object, Zhong Ming's strike needed not only speed, but precision.

Therefore, he did not draw immediately. Instead, he fixed his eyes firmly on the direction from which the stone was coming.

Hum...

With his mind focused to the extreme, coupled with the Quick Reflexes trait, Zhong Ming locked firmly onto the stone.

Before even a breath had passed, he had predicted the pebble's trajectory. And at the instant he did...

Clang! As Zhong Ming's arm suddenly swung, a crisp sword cry rang out.

Along with that cry came a cold flash of light, fierce and swift.