Flowing Cloud Sword Art

For the next half-month, Su Yu devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Flowing Cloud Sword Art.

The more deeply he studied it, the more certain he became that the Flowing Cloud Sword Style was indeed a simplified version of the Flowing Cloud Sword Art. The two shared the same principles of swordsmanship, but their might was worlds apart.

The Opening Stance, Cloud Rise Startles the Mist, immediately caught Su Yu's eye.

Unlike the purely defensive moves in the Flowing Cloud Sword Style, this stance formed a Wind Pressure Barrier while concealing a wisp of razor-sharp wind within the blade. Its opening move was already a killing strike.

As Su Yu tested his sword in the courtyard, purple Sword Qi surged forth and sheared a corner off the stone rockery three zhang away.

What a clever move, hiding a deadly threat!

Su Yu lowered his sword and stood upright, full of admiration for the ingenious design of the stance.

It completely overturned his understanding of an opening stance.

So offense and defense could be fused so perfectly.

The next three moves showed Su Yu even more of the mysteries of Yellow-tier Martial Skills:

Flowing Clouds and Water emphasized an unbroken sword momentum, as changeable as the drifting clouds in the sky and as ceaseless as a rushing stream.

As Su Yu practiced, the path of his blade left streaks of purple cloud marks hanging in the air, lingering for a long time.

Wind Sweeps Clouds was a wide-area slaughtering technique.

Purple Sword Qi surged like a gale, sweeping every fallen leaf in the courtyard into the sword's momentum and shredding them to pieces.

The power of this move in a group battle was easy to imagine.

What amazed Su Yu most was Cloud Conceals, Star Sinks.

The instant his figure vanished like mist, his Sword Light plunged down like a falling star, delivering a fatal strike from an unbelievable angle.

He practiced this move over a hundred times, yet always felt that something was missing and that he couldn't fully bring out its essence.

As for the final move, Nine Clouds Transform into Dragon, Su Yu still didn't dare attempt it lightly.

According to the sword art's description, he had to condense nine streams of Cloud Qi Sword Qi into the shape of a dragon, accompanied by a thunderous dragon's roar, with earth-shaking power.

With his current cultivation, forcing it would likely injure his meridians.

Relying on his foundation from cultivating Wind-Swept Flowing Cloud Sword, Su Yu took only five days to reach Initial Accomplishment in the first three moves.

Even so, he couldn't help but marvel at how difficult it was to cultivate a Mid-grade Yellow-tier Martial Skill.

Without those two boosts to his comprehension, he probably wouldn't have even made it through the door in half a month, Su Yu thought to himself.

During the next ten days of arduous cultivation, Su Yu pushed the Flowing Cloud Sword Art to the peak of Initial Accomplishment, just one step away from Lesser Accomplishment.

But Cloud Conceals, Star Sinks still lacked a trace of its spirit, as if it needed some kind of opportunity to break through.

During breaks in his cultivation, Su Yu began to take stock of his martial arts:

Lone Peak Sword Art remained his strongest killing move, and it still had room to improve.

Even after reaching the Perfected Realm, its power would continue to grow as his cultivation advanced.

Though Thunderclap Fist was powerful, it was ultimately a cut below his swordsmanship.

But for now, he had no more suitable fist art to replace it with, so he could only keep it as a supplementary technique.

As for Wind-Swept Flowing Cloud Sword, after he reached Initial Accomplishment in the Flowing Cloud Sword Art, it had already paled in comparison.

The potential of a Mid-grade Yellow-tier Martial Skill was far beyond that of a Human-tier Martial Skill.

After careful consideration, Su Yu decided to give up cultivating Wind-Swept Flowing Cloud Sword and focus on perfecting the Flowing Cloud Sword Art.

In the path of martial cultivation, refinement mattered more than breadth.

Looking at the sword marks he had left across the courtyard, Su Yu fell into thought.

He knew the road ahead was still long, but he had to make every step count.

The morning mist had yet to clear when Su Yu was practicing the Flowing Cloud Sword Art in the courtyard. Suddenly, a sharp shout came from outside:

Su Yu, come out! Let's fight again!

The booming voice shook the old plum tree in the courtyard until its branches rustled.

Su Yu furrowed his brow. He had no acquaintances in the inner sect. Who had come looking for trouble?

He opened the courtyard gate. A burly figure stood in the morning light. It was none other than Yuwen Jie.

He wore a fitted black outfit, his arms bulging with coiled muscle. He looked even more formidable than he had during the outer sect Grand Tournament.

When Su Yu came out, battle intent blazed in Yuwen Jie's eyes, and spiritual power surged around him. His cultivation had clearly stabilized at the first layer of the Spirit Condensation Realm.

Sure. Shall we go to the arena? Su Yu asked calmly.

Right here! Yuwen Jie said in a low voice.

The inner sect's rules were different from the outer sect's. As long as their private sparring didn't cause widespread damage, the Disciplinary Hall usually wouldn't interfere.

After a moment's thought, Su Yu understood Yuwen Jie's intention—without going to the arena, the match wouldn't count toward the rankings.

It seemed his opponent was afraid another loss to Su Yu would affect his inner sect ranking.

Make your move.

Su Yu rested his right hand on the hilt of the Lone Swan Sword. This was just the chance to test out the newly learned Flowing Cloud Sword Art.

Yuwen Jie roared. A metallic sheen spread across his fists as he pushed the Vajra Art's spiritual power to its limit.

Over the past month, he had not only cultivated the Mad Demon Fist to the verge of perfection, but had also begun training in the Low-grade Yellow-tier Martial Skill, Mad Demon Shakes Heaven Fist.

Though he had yet to reach Initial Accomplishment, his strength was already nothing like before.

Yet just as he stepped forward, he saw Su Yu's blade turn in a smooth arc.

Cloud Rise Startles the Mist!

In an instant, a terrifying pressure of wind swept toward him like raging waves.

Yuwen Jie hurriedly changed his stance to defend, only to see a razor-sharp wisp of wind hidden within the purple Sword Qi, striking straight for his throat from an unbelievable angle.

What?! Yuwen Jie's pupils contracted. This sword move had perfectly fused defense with a killing strike.

He barely managed to twist aside in time, but the tip of the Lone Swan Sword had already stopped three inches from his throat. Purple qi curled around the blade, its chill biting.

You've lost. Su Yu sheathed his sword and turned back toward the courtyard.

The match had been utterly dull. Yuwen Jie's strength was even worse than he had expected.

Outside the courtyard gate, Yuwen Jie stood rooted to the spot, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.

He couldn't believe that after more than a month of arduous cultivation, he couldn't even withstand a single sword strike from Su Yu.

The pressure contained in that purple Sword Qi reminded him of the helplessness he had felt when he hadn't dared face it.

How could this be...? Yuwen Jie murmured to himself, his eyes filled with frustration and confusion.

He had thought his previous defeat was a fluke. Only now did he realize that Su Yu's strength had long since left him far behind.

In the courtyard, Su Yu had already resumed his sword practice.

To him, the match had been nothing more than a minor interruption.

The goal of reaching the inner sect's top hundred was the real challenge that demanded his full effort.

The morning sun rose, stretching his shadow long across the ground. The Lone Swan Sword traced streaks of purple through the light, like clouds unfurling and drifting across the sky.