However, after hearing what these people said, Yun Shu found himself curious about his Senior Brother.
Five Spiritual Roots. That kind of cultivation aptitude was practically a dead end.
Of course, if all five Spiritual Roots were top-grade or supreme-grade, then Yun Shu took that back.
A Body Refining prodigy.
It seemed like he hadn't appeared in the story at all.
"Does Steward Lin know who they mean when they talk about a Body Refining prodigy?" Yun Shu asked.
"Oh, the Body Refining prodigy they're talking about vanished without a trace ten years ago. He was attacked while out on a mission, and no one knew what became of him afterward." Steward Lin spoke with some regret. "Back then, we were competing with the Golden Cauldron Sect for an Ancient Mine. The two sides fought fiercely, and both lost many disciples. Even elders fell."
"His name was Chen Hong. He was an extraordinary talent. Though he had five Spiritual Roots, his Earth Spiritual Root was top-grade, and his Body Refining Talent was exceptional."
"Chen Hong..."
Yun Shu suddenly remembered who Chen Hong was.
He was the madman the Female Protagonist rescued in the Ancient Mine, a man who had lost his mind. Using her Alchemy skills, she refined a supreme-grade pill that restored his sanity.
In the end, he became one of the Female Protagonist's super-powered enforcers. His talent as a Body Cultivator was astonishing; he was practically a human titan. Even after she became an immortal, he could still keep up with her.
His master's claim that Yun Shu's talent surpassed that man's was a joke. Chen Hong's Body Refining Talent was rare in the world. He had not only a top-grade Earth Attribute Spiritual Root, but also a Special Physique. It was simply unlike other Special Physiques and difficult to detect.
Special Physiques had been rare since ancient times. Once their owners matured, their power was unfathomable.
Senior Brother Chen Hong had been killed in a trap set by the Golden Cauldron Sect before he could fully grow into his potential.
As for whether he had secretly loved the Female Protagonist, no one could say. She was loved by everyone, after all. Anyone who saw her would fall for her.
So that meant Senior Brother Chen Hong was still in the Ancient Mine?
Yun Shu would have to find an opportunity to get him out. Having him in his own hands would be far better than letting him spend his whole life devoting himself to the Female Protagonist.
As for how he'd do it, he'd figure that out later.
The Ancient Mine was surely perilous, or perhaps the place where Senior Brother was trapped blocked all senses. Otherwise, with his master's ability, he would have hauled him out long ago.
Yun Shu had been in the Inner Sect for two days now.
He had already adjusted to life there. He had his own spacious residence on Spirit Sword Peak, halfway up the mountain.
A status he could scarcely have imagined before—he had attained it in little more than a month.
He had truly taken his place among the Nine Great Peaks, and had even become the True Disciple of an Old Monster.
It all felt like a dream, but it wasn't.
Spirit Sword Peak had more than two hundred Inner Sect Disciples. They were the cream of the crop, and every disciple had an elder personally guiding their cultivation. By rights, Yun Shu's talent should have been the very worst among them.
His master couldn't show his face in public, but had given him cultivation techniques and insights. Yun Shu could only figure things out for himself. In this Inner Sect, crowded with prodigies, he naturally couldn't afford to slack off.
At dawn, Yun Shu arrived at the Training Ground.
Spirit Sword Peak's Training Ground was even larger than the Outer Sect's.
In the usual sense, the Inner Sect referred to the Nine Great Peaks.
And of the Nine Great Peaks, Spirit Sword Peak was the foremost.
At the height of its power, Spirit Sword Peak had produced some of the most outstanding figures in the Ten Provinces.
Now it had fallen into decline. Even the Sect Master was only at the Golden Core Stage. But a centipede, even dead, never falls over.
No matter how far it declined, its foundations remained.
The immense Training Ground alone made that clear.
The Training Ground was practically a world unto itself.
It could hold tens of thousands of people.
It must have been a Formation Array, though its core was missing. Besides, the array required so many Spirit Stones that the Myriad Sword Pavilion could no longer afford to power it.
So it had been left dormant.
Rumor had it that if the great array were activated, the entire Training Ground would be divided into countless isolated spaces, each enclosed by walls of immeasurable thickness.
Even if someone practiced an earth-shattering sword technique inside, it wouldn't cause the slightest damage, nor disturb anyone else.
As things stood, all one could say was that the Training Ground was vast and wondrous.
Its wonder lay in this: only when you actually stepped inside could you understand how big it was. From the outside, it looked no larger than an ordinary Training Ground.
As for its other mysteries, they could only be taken as legends.
They had no practical value at all.
Yun Shu walked straight to the front.
The Transmission Elder was explaining some cultivation insights while waiting for the others.
Soon, people arrived one after another, filling the rows of steps.
The Transmission Elder began to explain the methods of cultivation.
"First, I'll talk about the Sword Path," the old man began.
Yun Shu glanced around. Most of those attending were newly admitted Inner Sect Disciples. Their auras weren't especially powerful, and there were only a few dozen of them.
A few had rather powerful auras. They were probably there because something had gone wrong in their cultivation, and they were waiting to ask the elder questions afterward.
The Transmission Elder was a kindly old man. Yun Shu didn't know how strong he was, but guessed that he was at least at the Foundation Establishment level.
"The most basic stage of the Sword Path is condensing Sword Momentum. You can refine Sword Momentum through sword techniques. The better the technique, the stronger and quicker the momentum you form. As you practice, you'll gradually grasp that momentum."
"Does that mean you can't understand it without a sword technique? No. Even an ordinary person can condense it by using a sword often and mastering all kinds of sword arts."
As he spoke, the old man flourished his sword. Everyone could clearly feel a heavy pressure radiating from the Long Sword.
It was still the same sword, and the old man hadn't even actively channeled anything. It was as if a kind of "momentum" had taken shape with nothing more than a casual movement.
"Still, Sword Momentum ultimately relies on an external force. It's honed through sword techniques, and the more you practice them, the better you'll understand this momentum."
"If Sword Momentum is something a person grasps through years of repetitive practice, then the Sword Intent I'm about to discuss comes from understanding with your own heart. That takes extraordinary talent."
"With a Long Sword in your hand, you can feel it move as naturally as your own arm. When that happens, the sword's power grows much stronger. Sword Intent is when your heart and the sword are in harmony—it's your ability to control the sword!"
"Sword Intent can strengthen your sword techniques and even amplify the power of your strikes!"
"Each person follows a different path in the art of the sword. For example, if you see a rushing torrent and unite its flow with the sword in your heart, you might comprehend Water Attribute Sword Intent. Then the Sword Intent you wield will flow endlessly, like water."
"The Sword Intent each person comprehends will enhance their sword techniques in different ways."
"With the purest Sword Intent, even First-Tier Sword Intent can double the power of a sword technique."
"Second Tier can multiply it several times over."
"Tier 3 and above can almost elevate a sword technique when put into practice."
"As for how something as intangible as Sword Intent can be assigned a tier, there is a standard. Measuring it by how much it enhances a sword technique may be a little too broad, but it is the most straightforward method."
"If you've comprehended Sword Intent, you can go to the Sword Testing Stone on the Back Mountain and test it. Those with Tier 3 Sword Intent or higher will receive a corresponding reward. This was left behind a thousand years ago, and it will help you greatly."
"Still, even comprehending First-Tier Sword Intent is difficult for ordinary people, let alone Tier 3."
"Today, we won't discuss how to comprehend Sword Intent. I'll first teach you how to comprehend Sword Momentum."
The Transmission Elder continued speaking from the front.
Yun Shu fell silent below.
He thought the Transmission Elder was right, yet somehow, something about it felt off.
The improvement of Sword Intent came from understanding. As far as he could tell, its tier was just the system's rating. In the real world, measuring it by the boost it gave was indeed very apt.
Because Yun Shu could truly feel his strength multiplying whenever his Sword Intent advanced a tier!
What seemed wrong to him was this: how could other kinds of Sword Intent be measured in the same way?
Still, Sword Intent was ultimately something intangible, and Yun Shu didn't speculate further.
Once he achieved it himself, he would understand.
The Transmission Elder's words had made one thing clear to him: there were other kinds of Sword Intent to learn. It wasn't only pure Sword Intent that needed to be improved.
Got it.
Time to grind!
The Transmission Elder went on and on about how to condense Sword Momentum, but after listening for a while, Yun Shu got up and left.
It wasn't that he was arrogant.
He had already made some progress in understanding Sword Intent, so there was no need to keep listening to how to condense Sword Momentum.
After leaving the Transmission Elder, Yun Shu found an open spot in the Training Ground.
As usual, he planned to increase the power of his Body Refining Technique.
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