On a deep winter night, the wind had picked up.
Chen Qinglin lay on the roof, quietly feeling the chill the wind brought.
As he looked at the two full moons in the night sky, he wondered if this world was a planet, and whether the two moons were its nearby satellites, revolving around it.
Today, he had taken a master and met several senior brothers and sisters. With Senior Sister Ling Ling's help, he had also met Su Yuexing and Senior Sister Chang Yan, and delivered his master Xie Feng's letter to Xie Jingyun. At last, he had lived up to his expectations.
Tomorrow, he would visit the Hidden Martial Pavilion. Now that he had advanced to the Inner Qi Realm, it was time to find a new cultivation art.
The next day, Chen Qinglin first went to see his master, Fu Shenxing, and told him that he wanted to visit the Hidden Martial Pavilion to choose a cultivation art and martial techniques.
Outer Sect Disciples could choose one cultivation art for free from the first floor of the Hidden Martial Tower, while Inner Disciples could choose two for free from the first and second floors. This was the perfect chance to claim both at once.
Fu Shenxing listened, fell silent for a moment, then said to Chen Qinglin,
"Qingyun Peak has its own Qingyun Art and Qingyun Sword Art. Unfortunately, only True Disciples and members of the peak lord's lineage may cultivate the art, though every Qingyun Peak Disciple can learn the sword art. You can first visit the Hidden Martial Pavilion and look for a cultivation art other than a sword art."
"The art I cultivate also came from the Hidden Martial Pavilion. But years ago, I came across a Light Body Step elsewhere. I can pass it on to you."
"Go take a look at the Hidden Martial Pavilion first. My Light Body Step is mainly for speed over long distances. I'm not particularly skilled at dodging and shifting around in a fight."
"Yes, Master. I'll take a look first, then decide which art to cultivate," Chen Qinglin replied solemnly.
His talent wasn't some point-allocation panel. It was merely an ordinary Proficiency Panel.
He would have to keep studying and training hard to make any progress.
For that reason, Chen Qinglin didn't plan to learn a whole heap of cultivation arts in the early stages.
He would focus on mastering one thing.
Only by specializing could he improve his cultivation speed more quickly.
He hadn't yet reached the point where he could take in a vast range of martial arts and master them all.
Cultivating every art would only hold back his progress.
He first needed to cultivate his main arts to a high level. Then, from that strong foundation, he could quickly learn the rest.
Once his Iron Sword Sword Art had reached perfection, for instance, he could quickly pick up any Mortal Grade sword art and master it in a short time.
All methods led to one. Martial arts shared common ground.
After comprehending Wind Intent, he had sensed that he would gain an advantage when cultivating wind-attribute arts.
The Hidden Martial Pavilion had four floors. Inner Disciples could enter the first and second floors to exchange for martial arts.
Disciples came and went. Some newcomers had arrived to claim their cultivation arts, while others—disciples and stewards alike—had worked hard to complete their assignments and earned enough Merit Points to qualify for an exchange.
When Chen Qinglin entered the Hidden Martial Pavilion, an old man was reclining by the first-floor exit.
He only stirred when a disciple brought him a martial art to register.
When Chen Qinglin came in, the old man glanced at him, then paid him no further mind.
The pavilion was spacious inside, with racks of cultivation arts arranged throughout. A soft white glow shrouded each one as disciples searched for arts that caught their fancy.
Chen Qinglin joined them in the search.
[Stone Splitting Fist: Human Tier Low Grade fist art, explosive strikes, heavy and forceful...]
[Life Taking Sword Art: Human Tier Low Grade sword art, perilous moves, crafty and unpredictable...]
[Divine Wind Leg: Human Tier Low Grade leg art, nimble footwork and incredibly fast...]
There were so many cultivation arts that Chen Qinglin's eyes began to swim. After making a round, he went up to the second floor.
He used his disciple Jade Token to open the formation protecting the second floor. There were noticeably fewer people up here.
Chen Qinglin went in and examined the cultivation arts one by one. Most were Human Tier mid-grade.
He had originally hoped to find an art among them that was immensely powerful yet difficult to master.
After searching the floor, he couldn't say he'd found nothing. He'd found absolutely nothing. It seemed he wasn't destined to be the protagonist.
He sighed, then settled on a goal.
The signature sword, fist, blade, and palm arts available to Inner Disciples from each peak were all Human Tier mid-grade, no different from those on the second floor of the Hidden Martial Tower.
Chen Qinglin wanted to test his guess, so he planned to find a wind-attribute sword art to cultivate. He had also intended to find a wind-attribute cultivation art, but then he spotted one that suited him even better.
[Origin Returning Art: Human Tier mid-grade cultivation art, no attribute, pure and abundant True Qi...]
This art had no attribute bonus, but it did have one special trait: the True Qi it produced was exceptionally pure and plentiful.
Quite a few disciples chose this art, though among Human Tier mid-grade arts, it was also one of the hardest to cultivate.
As for sword arts, he looked at [Wind Chasing Sword Art] and [Wind Riding Sword Art], and ultimately took out [Wind Riding Sword Art].
[Wind Chasing Sword Art] had incredibly fast moves, each strike faster than the last, overwhelming enemies with sheer speed.
[Wind Riding Sword Art] wielded the power of the wind, allowing its sword moves to change in endless ways with the wind's force.
After taking out the sword art and reading through it, Chen Qinglin couldn't help marveling at the creator's ingenious ideas.
At first glance, the art seemed unremarkable, just an ordinary Human Tier mid-grade sword art. But if its practitioner was fortunate enough to comprehend Wind Intent, Chen Qinglin suspected its power could rise without limit.
It seemed that the martial arts master who had created the art had placed great hopes in it. He wondered whether the man had comprehended Wind Intent himself.
He must have at least brushed against its threshold. According to the text, when he had used the art, its power had already rivaled that of a weaker Human Tier high-grade sword art, making it one of the best among Human Tier mid-grade sword arts.
Carrying [Origin Returning Art] and [Wind Riding Sword Art], he went downstairs, picked up [Divine Wind Leg] as well, and handed them to the old man to register. The old man showed no expression. Perhaps these arts were commonly practiced.
"Return them in a month," the old man said flatly, then let him leave.
Once he had the arts, Chen Qinglin could hardly wait and hurried back to Qingyun Peak.
Fu Shenxing looked over the arts he had chosen without saying much, then passed on a set of [Moon Treading Steps] as well. He told him to practice hard and left.
Chen Qinglin returned to his quiet routine of martial training. Senior Sister Ling Ling came by to see him now and then, but the other senior brothers and sisters were either away or busy with their own affairs.
For a time, it was as if Chen Qinglin and this little courtyard had been forgotten. Most of the disciples on the peak didn't even know he existed.
Chen Qinglin was happy to enjoy the peace and lived each day in his own way.
He didn't feel lonely or bored in the slightest.
Deep winter had arrived, and white snow blanketed the entire mountain. Qingyun Peak naturally didn't stop the snow from falling; the wintry weather benefited disciples who cultivated arts and techniques of that kind.
These were scenes of heaven and earth, and even highly skilled martial artists could benefit from them.
Beneath the thick white snow, a figure in blue practiced swordsmanship. As he moved, a subtle aura seemed to linger around him.
Looking closer, it was Chen Qinglin, practicing [Wind Riding Sword Art].
Just as he had sensed, he was making rapid progress with this sword art.
His progress with [Divine Wind Leg] was just as astonishing.
He opened the panel and looked:
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