Sparring Practice, Accumulating Artistic Conception

Xiao Rang suppressed his strength, keeping his cultivation at the same level as Lin Heng's, and launched an attack with the Heavenly Star Sword Technique.

Even so, Lin Heng still felt an immense pressure.

This was the difference in their spiritual realms.

The joy Lin Heng felt over his soaring cultivation quickly subsided beneath the aura of a Great Grandmaster.

His expression grew focused, devoid of sorrow or joy, as he began wielding the Ethereal Immeasurable Sword Technique to meet the attack.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

A dense chorus of clashing steel rang out.

In an instant, their swords had crossed an unknown number of times.

The countless collisions merged into one continuous sound. Lin Heng immediately felt streams of condensed sword qi rebounding back at him, leaving his bones weak and his muscles numb, unable to control himself for a moment.

Then, a sword was already laid across his throat.

With the same cultivation, Lin Heng was defeated in fewer than a hundred exchanges. Xiao Rang, meanwhile, was completely unharmed.

But Lin Heng was not discouraged. His opponent was, after all, a Great Grandmaster.

And this ability to effortlessly cut down opponents of the same realm from renowned sects within a few dozen moves was precisely the kind of combat ability Lin Heng needed to cultivate and master next.

Closing his eyes, Lin Heng began replaying that brief yet intensely contested battle in his mind.

Before long, he had summarized the reasons for his defeat.

At that moment, Xiao Rang also spoke, pointing out the flaws Lin Heng had revealed during the fight and confirming them one by one against Lin Heng's own reflections.

"Master, your Heavenly Star Sword Technique has only its form. At its core, it is still the Ethereal Immeasurable Sword Technique."

Before their second round began, Lin Heng asked curiously.

He had not noticed it during the fight, but as he reviewed the battle afterward, Lin Heng realized that Xiao Rang had actually used his own sect's Internal Cultivation and methods of exerting force to wield another sect's sword art.

Compared with Heavenly Star Valley's Heavenly Star Sword Technique, it only resembled it in appearance. Its inner essence was entirely the Ethereal Immeasurable Sword Technique.

"Yes. Other sects' martial arts are not so easily stolen. Being able to imitate their outward essence after seeing them once is already quite good."

"Of course, there is no need to rack your brains trying to steal other sects' martial arts. It is enough to know how to deal with them. The principles of martial arts throughout the world are interconnected. Once you have cultivated our sect's martial arts to Great Completion, you will be able to do as your master does—upon seeing any martial art, you will grasp it."

Xiao Rang answered.

Lin Heng gained little insight from those words. He was still at the stage of learning by following established methods, not yet at the point where he could cast off the old and create the new.

So, he temporarily committed Xiao Rang's words to heart.

Then the second round of sparring began. Xiao Rang still attacked Lin Heng with the Heavenly Star Sword Technique.

This time, Lin Heng lasted a little longer, but he was still defeated.

After that, Lin Heng would summarize the reasons for his loss, Xiao Rang would offer guidance, and they would continue sparring, repeating the cycle over and over.

Through repeated defeats, Lin Heng relied on his extraordinary comprehension to quickly find a way to counter the Heavenly Star Sword Technique.

Throughout this process of constant defeat, Lin Heng felt as though he were an unfinished sword artifact being hammered and forged.

The lack of precise control over his internal strength caused by his sudden surge in cultivation vanished. He reached the level of applying force with microscopic precision, and his combat instincts continued to improve.

The potential within his physique was also drawn out and put to use in battle by Lin Heng.

This improvement was visible to the naked eye. Lin Heng began to hold his ground beneath Xiao Rang's attacks without being defeated, then gradually managed to counterattack. In the end, he could even respond with ease, fighting Xiao Rang—who maintained the output of a Grandmaster Thirteenth Level—to a standstill.

At that point, Xiao Rang did not continue.

He used force to knock Lin Heng back, then said with a smile, "Your progress is swift, disciple. We'll stop here for today. Tomorrow, I will demonstrate Heavenly Star Valley's Sect Suppressing Sword Technique, the Stars Sword Technique."

Appropriate combat was beneficial for stirring a Martial Artist's potential. But excessive combat could damage the physique, drain one's qi and blood, deplete Essence, and shorten one's Lifespan.

Thus, spending half an hour each day teaching the practical combat application of one martial art was enough. Learning more would bring no benefit.

"Alright. Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Lin Heng understood this principle as well.

He nodded in agreement and calmed the churning qi and blood within his body.

Xiao Rang still had sect affairs to handle, so he left directly afterward.

Watching Xiao Rang depart, Lin Heng returned to Empty Bright Hall for a meal, then took out and swallowed another Snow Heart Pill.

Afterward, he went to the cliffside behind Cloud Sword Palace to watch the sea of clouds.

Sitting at the edge of the Cliff, Lin Heng's mind became empty and clear, his breath merging with Heaven and Earth Nature as he watched the clouds below roll and unfurl.

His mind seemed to merge with heaven and earth, wandering alongside the sea of clouds. The Internal Breath within his body circulated naturally, breathing together with the world.

For Lin Heng, the next stage of cultivation in the Grandmaster Realm only required steady, step-by-step accumulation. He would naturally reach the Great Accomplishment Realm of Grandmaster Twenty-Seventh Heaven.

However, to break through from Grandmaster to the Great Grandmaster Realm, a Martial Artist needed to grasp an Artistic Conception.

There were countless Artistic Conceptions in the world, each representing a Martial Artist's understanding of Heaven and Earth Nature and the myriad states of mortal life.

Ordinary Martial Artists might remain stuck at this stage for a long time before finding an Artistic Conception that belonged to them, using Intent Sublimation to elevate their Spiritual Power until they could influence Heaven and Earth Nature in a Single Thought.

But for Lin Heng, who came from a Martial Arts Holy Land and possessed a top-tier martial arts inheritance, none of this was a problem.

The predecessors of his sect had long since blazed this path, summarizing a complete method for comprehending the Ethereal Artistic Conception. Lin Heng could directly elevate the sword intent he had comprehended in the second layer of the Ethereal Immeasurable Sword Technique into a Sword Domain, thereby entering the Great Grandmaster Realm.

By taking Snow Heart Pills every day and continuously practicing his swordsmanship, Lin Heng had accumulated formidable Spiritual Power, giving him the qualifications to begin comprehending a Sword Domain.

And now, Lin Heng was undergoing this process of elevation.

This was not something that could be achieved overnight, but Lin Heng was in no hurry. He still had plenty of time for accumulation.

The next day, Lin Heng continued sparring with Xiao Rang.

This time, Xiao Rang demonstrated the Stars Sword Technique. This sword art, whose variations were endlessly intricate, was far stronger than the Ordinary Heavenly Star Sword Technique and gave Lin Heng quite a hard time. Fortunately, Lin Heng eventually learned how to counter and break this sword art.

After the sparring practice ended, Lin Heng went to the cliffside again to watch the clouds roll and unfurl.

For some time afterward, Lin Heng's life settled into this new rhythm.

Every day, he either fought Xiao Rang and learned about the Hundred Schools Martial Arts of the Jianghu, or watched the clouds roll and unfurl behind Cloud Sword Palace.

Of course, he did not cultivate without pause. Sometimes, Lin Heng would read books or listen to the Maid beside him play the zither to relax.

As time passed, Lin Heng's cultivation steadily rose, and his strength grew deeper with every passing day.

At the same time, the transcendent aura around him, ethereal as drifting clouds and mist, grew increasingly dense. His whole person seemed as though he might undergo Feather Transformation and ascend at any moment.

And amid these quiet days, two and a half years passed in the blink of an eye.