Righteous Qi Sword, a New Sword Art

Ji Shu nodded.

Yue Lingshan was astonished. "Mother, Ji Shu's current cultivation is already catching up to yours?"

"His swordsmanship is already far stronger than mine."

Ning Zhongze was open-hearted and answered truthfully, "Coupled with his Huashan Heart Method, which is clear and refined, his inner qi is deep and exceptionally balanced! With his sword qi, I might not even be Ji Shu's match in a short battle. But if the fight drags on, Ji Shu's weakness of insufficient inner strength cultivation will be exposed, and he may no longer be my match. So if Ji Shu faces an enemy, he must end things quickly! He cannot let others see through his true condition."

Ji Shu nodded, seeming to gain some insight.

He was still a novice on the path of martial arts. Having someone nearby to guide him was like having a bright lamp show him the way, allowing him to avoid many detours.

"So impressive." Yue Lingshan's face was full of admiration and envy. "Is this what an unrivaled genius is like? In barely more than a day, he's improved to the point where he can rival you, Mother. That's outrageous!!"

"It truly is outrageous." Thinking it over carefully, Ning Zhongze was also left clicking her tongue in amazement. "I'll go to the Library Pavilion in a moment and pick out all the swordsmanship Secret Manuals for you, Ji Shu. With talent as extraordinary as yours, it would be a terrible waste not to cultivate your swordsmanship to its peak. There are very few true swordsmanship experts in the Mount Hua Sect now. It was only in recent years, after I studied sword arts such as the Three Immortals Swordplay, that I realized I still had a long road ahead in swordsmanship. But..."

But Senior Brother was obsessed with "cultivating qi."

He was highly resistant to sword practice.

If he learned that I was teaching an Inner Sect disciple to focus fully on swordsmanship, he would probably blame me.

Ning Zhongze thought this, but did not say it aloud. Still, she could not afford to care about that now.

Mount Hua had rarely taken in such a heaven-defying prodigy as Ji Shu. If she failed to seize this opportunity and win him over, she would truly be letting down the sect's ancestors!

After saying a few words to Yue Lingshan and Ji Shu, she left.

Yue Lingshan left as well.

She was going to the kitchen to brew medicinal soup for Ji Shu. In her words, "Ji Shu, you'll still be practicing swordsmanship later. What if you accidentally damage your qi and blood? That won't do. I have to brew more Great Medicine so you'll be prepared for anything!"

Ji Shu was deeply grateful for this.

Yue Lingshan and Ning Zhongze truly were among the few good people in the world of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

Being acknowledged by these two women was a rare blessing.

Ji Shu continued lying in his reclining chair, constantly drawing the Qi Mechanism into his body to replenish the essence, qi, and blood he had expended while practicing swordsmanship.

This Old Sophora Tree could be traced all the way back to the Era of Jiang Ziya!

Ning Zhongze had said so.

As for the exact year, Ning Zhongze did not know either. She had learned the truth by chance while reading a damaged ancient book.

And throughout Mount Hua, this was the only exceptionally ancient Old Sophora Tree.

There were Old Sophora Trees in other courtyards as well, but none as ancient as this one.

Ji Shu did not know how much Qi Mechanism it held or how long he could keep drawing it in. He only knew that as he continuously drew the Qi Mechanism into his body, his inner strength cultivation kept increasing.

In just a short while,

his inner strength increased by more than a dozen strands.

When he had been practicing swordsmanship earlier, it had not increased. The Qi Mechanism he absorbed had all gone toward replenishing his depleted essence, qi, and blood.

Now that he was no longer practicing swordsmanship,

the rate at which his inner qi grew was exceptionally impressive.

At this rate, in just a few days, I'll probably bring the Huashan Heart Method to great completion. There'll be no further room for advancement.

Ji Shu slightly closed his eyes.

The eleven sword arts in his mind were continuously being analyzed and fused.

With the aid of his Supreme Comprehension, these sword arts showed signs of merging into one.

In particular, Ji Shu could observe inwardly the "Righteous Sword Qi" within his Dantian. This sword qi had devoured twelve special forms of qi, including Baji Quan, Xiyi Swordplay, and the Ning Family Sword Style.

The more he observed the circulation of this qi,

the faster the dozen or so sword arts in his mind were dismantled and fused.

In the end,

all sorts of complex, razor-sharp sword qi began circulating unpredictably around Ji Shu's body.

But after circulating for only a moment, the sword qi all sank into Ji Shu's Dantian.

Ji Shu's bones crackled, and he suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them as he comprehended it. "So that's how it is!"

As the dozen or so sword arts completely fused,

Ji Shu's swordsmanship reached an entirely new realm.

His sword now resembled the Righteous Sword Qi in his Dantian. It possessed the intricate transformations of the Jade Maiden Swordplay, the thunderous swiftness of the Ning Family Sword Style, the fierce power of Baji Quan, the vast emptiness of Xiyi Swordplay, the treachery of the Three Immortals Swordplay...

"This feeling is truly wonderful."

Ji Shu was moved.

Was Supreme Comprehension Talent really this heaven-defying?

It had actually allowed him to fuse Baji Quan and all those sword arts into one in such a short time, ultimately creating a new sword art.

Ji Shu named it: Righteous Qi Sword!

At the very least, when used, it gave off a vast and majestic aura of righteous qi! Of course, that was merely its outward appearance.

Beneath that righteous qi lay all kinds of ever-changing traits. It was enough to kill others before they could defend themselves!

It seems Supreme Talent isn't as simple as it appears!

Comprehension was like this.

His Inner Strength Talent must be the same.

Ji Shu had asked Ning Zhongze about it. She said that a person's Dantian could generally store at most one type of inner strength attribute. Otherwise, it was easy to suffer Qi Deviation.

For example, after cultivating the foundational method of the Mount Hua Sect, one could smoothly switch to the sect's more orthodox and profound Internal Cultivation Methods. At their root, they all belonged to inner strength with the same traits.

But if one cultivated the Huashan Heart Method and then cultivated the methods of another sect, if the attributes of the two kinds of "inner strength" were incompatible, they would most likely clash like fire and water, making one's life worse than death and causing Qi Deviation.

Yet Ji Shu seemed not to have this problem?

At the very least, the "Righteous Sword Qi" and "Balanced Inner Strength" were two completely incompatible forms of "qi," yet they were clearly distinct while existing together in remarkable harmony.

If that's the case, I should be able to cultivate several Internal Cultivation Methods in the future!

Ji Shu committed this matter to memory and continued drawing the Qi Mechanism into his body, increasing the inner strength cultivation of the Huashan Heart Method.

Who knew how much time passed.

Ning Zhongze and Yue Lingshan arrived together.

Yue Lingshan had brought Great Nourishing Soup.

Ning Zhongze carried a bundle in her hands.

The two entered the courtyard and called, "Ji Shu."

Ji Shu immediately got up and called, "Master Yue, Martial Mother."

Yue Lingshan smiled with her eyes. "The medicinal soup I brewed for you this time is many times stronger than the last one. No matter how many sword arts you practice, I reckon that once you drink this medicine, it'll be impossible for your qi and blood to become depleted!"

Ji Shu thanked her.

Yue Lingshan beamed.

Ning Zhongze was much more direct. She set the bundle aside and opened it, revealing stacks upon stacks of books.

"These are all the swordsmanship manuals of our Mount Hua Sect. Ji Shu, come and take a look."

Ji Shu's spirits rose, and he was overjoyed inside, though he appeared quite composed. After thanking her, he walked over to the books and casually picked one up.

"Morning Sun One Qi Sword."

"These are all the foundations of our Mount Hua Sect. I brought them all." Ning Zhongze's expression was solemn as she said, "Many of these sword arts are inheritances of the Sword Sect. Senior Brother usually forbids us from practicing them. I'm allowing you to practice them now because I've seen your extraordinary talent. But remember this well: before Senior Brother, do not mention swordsmanship too often. In the future, just display your talent and cultivation in internal arts before him."