The Daoist Boy's blue robe billowed at its wide sleeves, and the cross-collar gave him an air of ease. Yet he wore a savage bronze demon mask and gripped a Beast Slaying Saber nearly a zhang long.
The saber's long hilt rested across his shoulder, lending his walk a lazy, easy air.
This was Daoist Boy Ning Xuan.
At that moment, he had taken up his weapon and was walking with Celestial Master Ugly Slave through the old mountains outside Star River County.
Suddenly, Ugly Slave stopped and glanced at a spot not far away.
There was a mountain there, with a gorge presumably behind it.
But unless someone climbed the mountain beside it or entered the gorge, no one could know what lay within.
Ugly Slave, however, seemed able to see straight through the mountain and glimpse the scene on the other side. He said, "There's a pack of wolves in this gorge, and a nest of pythons. The wolves are to the east, resting by the water. The pythons are to the west, devouring a few unlucky prey. These two creatures have harmed countless travelers over the years. Truly despicable. Qingfeng, go and rid us of these two scourges."
Ning Xuan knew his big brother still wasn't at ease about him and wanted to put him to the test, so he replied, "Yes, Celestial Master."
He didn't take a detour, but headed straight up the mountain. With his arms stretched out, he moved like a spirit ape in the depths of the mountains, bounding more than ten zhang in just a few leaps. A few more bounds carried him to the summit, where he surveyed the gorge below.
The gorge was thick with lush forest, its verdure blocking much of the sunlight and casting the place in a gloomy, oppressive darkness. Somewhere in the distance, he could faintly hear the trickle of running water.
He examined it carefully.
At last, he had to admit that he couldn't see a thing.
When Ning Xuan turned back, he saw golden light welling up beneath the cliff beside him. Ugly Slave suddenly appeared at his side.
His curiosity only grew.
He could clearly sense that Ugly Slave's blood-and-qi strength was vanishingly weak. To put it plainly, if it came down to a contest of physical strength, there was no need to call over even a particularly burly house guard. Any random servant could beat Ugly Slave to a pulp.
In other words, Ugly Slave's extraordinary perception and ability to travel quickly had nothing to do with his physical strength.
Noticing Ning Xuan's curious gaze, Ugly Slave said, "Don't get distracted."
Ning Xuan answered, then rushed straight into the woods below.
He already understood these wild beasts very well.
If he summoned the Heaven Demon Scroll, he would take on a demonic aura. The beasts would sense his intrusion through the scent of his kind, just as demons did, and flee.
But if he didn't summon the Heaven Demon Scroll, then no matter how strong he was, the beasts wouldn't react in advance. Instead, they would gather at the scent of a human, ready to eat him.
He cut his way through them in short order, breaking the wolf pack. He slew the lead wolf, scattering the pack, then chased the fleeing wolves down and slaughtered them.
The pythons caught the scent of blood and came slithering over from afar. Looking at these "training ropes" he dealt with in his daily practice, Ning Xuan made quick work of them, cutting them in half with his saber.
For someone who had wiped out the entire nest of the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon, this was child's play.
Still, he had gained something from it.
When training on his own, Ning Xuan never went out of his way to slaughter wild beasts in large numbers. Only after fighting them today did he realize that it could be rewarding.
He discovered that although wild beasts were just that, each strike, retreat, and dodge they made contained the most primal, efficient, and direct techniques for killing a person.
When facing these techniques, if he deliberately held back his own strength and focused solely on responding to the moves, he gained a great deal.
For instance, when he had first charged into the fray, he had spent the first half-incense stick's time bent on "finishing the task" and wanted to end things as quickly as possible. But after realizing this, he changed his approach.
He wanted to cherish these beasts that were using their lives to feed him moves.
The fight lasted a full hour and a half.
When he returned to the cliff, Ning Xuan felt that his "Four Swallow Return Cuts" had begun to "blur at the edges."
Looking up at Ugly Slave, he clasped his hands and said, "Celestial Master, sorry to have kept you waiting."
Ugly Slave regarded him with a strange expression, then said, "There's a saying that the strongest killing technique in the world is a general's casual slash after a hundred battles. I used to doubt it, but today I've seen it for myself.
"Qingfeng, since you've gained some insight, why not sit down and contemplate it at your leisure?
"Don't rush off.
"Striding forward is merely the muddled instinct of the body. Only when you sit down do you seek the Way.
"Once you find the Way, then you've truly set out on the path. Only then are you truly making your way."
With that, he smoothed his purple robe, sat cross-legged by the cliff, and pointed into the distance. "Sit."
Ning Xuan found it amusing. Big brother really is the Celestial Master. He even talks like one. At a glance, you can tell he's an upright man who wouldn't touch drinking, gambling, or whoring. For all we know, he's lived to a ripe old age without even having a sister-in-law. Ah, big brother, what a tragic life.
But big brother had been right about one thing.
He had indeed gained plenty of insight.
Last time, when he slew the bear, he had used "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse" in nearly every move. Today, he had acted on instinct. The former had been tense, the latter relaxed. Combined with responding to different moves, it truly felt as though something had been "gestating" within him.
He didn't fuss about it.
Big brother had told him to sit, so he plopped right down and entered a state of contemplation.
In his mind, the three forms of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber, along with the Swallow Return Step and the fourth form he had worked out himself—the "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse," which could be blended into any of the other forms—began to merge.
He realized that moves had two purposes.
First, they gave him the initiative, letting him catch his enemy off guard. "Flying Swallow Chasing Wind," for instance, was all about speed. "Swallow Piercing Raging Waves" shifted from speed to ferocity, aiming to take the enemy by surprise and leave them unable to defend. "Skillful Swallow Returning to Roost" worked the same way.
Second, they allowed him to bring a certain kind of power to bear. For instance, in his earlier fight against the bear demon, he had needed to maintain a high level of exertion and sustain a state of explosive, high-speed movement in order to use "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse."
If he could sharpen his reactions and hide a follow-up in every casual slash, then even if he struck after his opponent, he could still seize the initiative completely.
If he could unleash maximum speed over the shortest possible distance, he could avoid large movements and go even further.
Ning Xuan recalled the postures of the wolf pack and the pythons.
His flesh began to writhe.
Every movement of his flesh was aimed at unleashing that mysterious force in "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse"—the force he had glimpsed through demonic arts.
A long while passed.
Then a while longer.
A soft cry suddenly rang from Ning Xuan's arm. It vanished in an instant, but the air around his arm seemed to take a savage impact and suddenly ballooned outward.
Boom!
A sharp blast rang out.
Ugly Slave opened his eyes too and looked at him.
"Swallow Cry Force," Ning Xuan said.
He had given the secret art he'd developed a name.
Ugly Slave asked in surprise, "Swallow Cry Force?"
Ning Xuan walked over to a boulder, lifted it with both hands, and tossed it upward. Then he stood beneath it.
Just as the boulder fell, he suddenly stepped forward. His flesh began to writhe, and with that single step, the motion sent a torrent of power surging at high speed into his left shoulder. His left shoulder unleashed "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse" over an extremely short distance.
The boulder fell, and the instant it touched his left shoulder, an unfathomable force suddenly tore it apart.
Bang!
The boulder shattered, and clouds of dust billowed.
From the running required for "Bear Prowess Mountain Collapse," to the short-distance acceleration of "Swallow Return Step," and now to "Swallow Cry Force," which he could unleash through sheer physical strength without even summoning the Heaven Demon Scroll—
Ning Xuan felt he had gained quite a lot.
Ugly Slave watched him for a long time before finally commenting, "I don't know what realm you're in. You seem to fall outside the realm system I know."
Ning Xuan asked, "May I ask what realms you know, Celestial Master?"
He had been curious about this for a long time.
Ugly Slave said, "The Alchemist Realm. Those in it can crudely wield Dragon Qi, and people outside usually mockingly call them True Persons. After that comes the Celestial Master Realm.
"The Celestial Master Realm has three minor stages.
"First, the Mountain Moving Realm. It doesn't literally mean moving a mountain, but the ability to use a soul-suppressing mountain to pin a person's body and soul down so they can't move.
"Second, the Earth Evasion Realm. By merging with the Dragon Qi of the mountains and rivers, one can shrink distance to a foot, taking a step for a mile and a hundred steps for a hundred miles. One can also foresee distant scenes across the land.
"Third, the Celestial Master Seal. The great seal differs from person to person, but only once you have your own seal can you be considered a true Celestial Master.
"I have... barely mastered my own Celestial Master Seal."
Ning Xuan asked curiously, "Then, Celestial Master, what do you think of my aptitude? Can I cultivate this too?"
Ugly Slave shook his head. "You can't. Your blood and qi are too vigorous, and your body is too strong. You can't touch Dragon Qi."
Ning Xuan asked again, "Then where does Dragon Qi come from, and where can it be found?"
Ugly Slave said, "Once the task is complete, Mister Taiyi will tell you himself. Let's go."
Before you continue