Yun Qianyue's Invitation

A month later.

The windows and doors of the quiet room were tightly shut.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The sounds came from within Qin Jue's body, one after another, like muffled thunder rolling deep within the clouds, shaking the surrounding tables and chairs until they trembled faintly.

Five Viscera Thunder Sound!

Over the past month, he had taken the three bottles of fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk in batches. With the immense medicinal power aiding him, he had circulated the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record day and night without pause.

"Breathe in—breathe out—"

As Qin Jue's chest and abdomen rose and fell in a steady rhythm, the muffled thunder grew ever more frequent.

He furiously compressed the medicinal power within his body, gathering every last bit into his kidneys.

The kidneys governed the bones and produced marrow.

His kidneys were like two erupting volcanoes, pouring out a steady stream of pure kidney qi. It surged like a boiling current, climbing against the flow along his spine and flooding into all 206 bones throughout his body.

"Crack... crack..."

Nourished by the vast quantities of kidney qi and the essence of Stone Bell Milk, the pale golden patterns on the surfaces of his bones grew ever deeper. Deep within his bone marrow, old blood was continually expelled, while the newly formed blood grew viscous as mercury, brimming with astonishing vitality and explosive power.

The Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record, fourth revolution, mastered!

Qin Jue's tightly shut eyes snapped open, and a flash of cold lightning streaked through the quiet room.

He slowly ceased his cultivation. The rumbling thunder within him gradually subsided, and the dark red tint on his skin faded, returning to its normal color. Yet his skin looked smoother and tougher.

"So this is what it means to master the fourth revolution..."

He rose and casually stretched his muscles and bones.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

His joints burst with a series of sharp pops. Qin Jue clenched his fist, feeling the power gathered in his hand.

"Peak Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer. I'm just one step away from the Bone Penetrating Force of the fifth layer. Fifty-year-old Stone Bell Milk really is potent. It not only helped me completely stabilize my Jade Bone foundation, but also pushed the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record to mastery of the fourth revolution. With my physical strength alone, I can now crush ordinary Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer martial artists."

Qin Jue looked at the empty jade bottle in his hand and furrowed his brow slightly.

"Still, Stone Bell Milk is no heavenly wonder like Earth Vein Stone Marrow. If I take too much, it'll leave my foundation unstable."

Resources were important, but the process of absorbing them mattered more. It was like eating: too much, too quickly, and you'd ruin your appetite. He needed time to thoroughly press the medicinal power into the depths of his bone marrow through real combat and arduous cultivation, making it his own. An unstable foundation meant that the higher you built, the faster you fell. He understood that better than anyone.

"Too bad Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures like Earth Vein Stone Marrow are impossible to find unless fate smiles on you. If I had a few drops, I could try breaking through to the fifth layer." Qin Jue considered this. "Breaking through to the fifth layer will probably take a while if I rely on cultivation alone."

Just then—

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

A rapid knocking suddenly sounded from outside.

Qin Jue furrowed his brow. "Who is it?"

Outside stood a young woman in a moon-white dress. She was pretty, but her brows carried an air of innate arrogance. She was Yun Qianyue's personal maid.

The maid looked at the shabby little courtyard before her, disdain in her eyes.

So this was where Qin Jue, the one who had defeated Ning Zhiyuan, lived? It was awfully dilapidated.

"Master Qin, my young lady, Yun Qianyue, invites Junior Brother Qin to the Listening Waves Pavilion to discuss the sword." The maid spoke haughtily, as if it were only natural that receiving Yun Qianyue's invitation was a tremendous honor for Qin Jue.

Inside, Qin Jue's brow furrowed even more deeply at her words.

Yun Qianyue?

The image of the white-clad young woman he'd glimpsed at Silver Moon Bay flashed through his mind. Seventh on the Outer Prefecture battle rankings, and the Yun family's legitimate daughter.

But Qin Jue had no desire to deal with any of this right now.

He was at a critical point in his cultivation. How could he possibly let himself be distracted by some so-called discussion of the sword?

"I'm busy." His voice was calm, with a trace of impatience.

The maid froze.

She had never dreamed Qin Jue would refuse! She had assumed that once she announced Yun Qianyue's name, the young man inside would immediately open the door, overwhelmed with delight. After all, who was Yun Qianyue? She was a heaven-blessed genius, seventh on Qingcang Academy's Outer Prefecture battle rankings and a jewel of the Yun family! Throughout Skywind Martial City, countless young talents longed to meet her and never got the chance.

Suppressing her anger, she raised her voice. "Did you not hear me? It's my young lady, Yun Qianyue! She admires your swordsmanship, which is why she's giving you this opportunity. Do you know how many people in the Outer Prefecture are begging for a chance to meet her?"

But the voice from inside was even more impatient.

"I don't care if you're Yun Qianyue or Shui Qianyue. I'm in seclusion and have no time. Go back and tell your young lady that I, Qin, have no interest in drinking tea. If she wants to discuss the sword, we'll meet at the Grand Competition."

"You..."

The maid outside was left speechless. She had served Yun Qianyue for years and had seen countless young talents fawn over her. Never had she encountered anyone so unyielding, so utterly "clueless about romance."

In seclusion? No time?

He was treating her young lady's invitation like an interruption to his cultivation?

"Fine! No time, is it?" The maid stamped her foot in anger. "I hope you're still so unyielding at the Outer Court Grand Competition! When you lose miserably, don't blame my young lady for not giving you a chance!"

Inside, Qin Jue had already closed his eyes again.

To him, this was no more than a brief interruption. Yun Qianyue? Seventh in the Outer Prefecture? So what?

On the path of martial arts, only one's own strength truly mattered. Rather than attend some insincere tea gathering and listen to people sing one another's praises, he'd be better off practicing his swordsmanship a couple more times.

"Women only slow down the speed at which I draw my sword."

Qin Jue said nothing. He then resumed circulating the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record and immersed himself in cultivation.

Three days later, at dawn.

Deep within a secluded stand of purple bamboo in the rear mountains of Qingcang Academy.

The terrain here was treacherous, and a thin mist shrouded it all year round. The spiritual energy was no denser than in the cultivation rooms, and the complex terrain made few disciples willing to come here and suffer.

But to Qin Jue, this was a perfect place to practice swordsmanship.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Sword light spilled through the bamboo grove like quicksilver.

Holding the Cold Iron Sword, Qin Jue darted between the strange rocks like a phantom. His sword was not fast; each thrust landed with the weight of a thousand catties, and the quivering tip sent fierce ripples through the air around it.

This was the third form of the Tide Rising Sword Technique—the Tidal Stance.

It was neither a simple attack nor a rigid defense, but a kind of "momentum." Like the ebb and flow of the tide, it surged without end, swallowing the enemy's force, neutralizing it, then returning it twice as strong.

"Looks like I've absorbed about seventy percent of the Stone Bell Milk's medicinal power." Qin Jue lowered his sword and studied the strand of cold light that clung to its edge without dispersing, lost in thought.

With his swordsmanship, ordinary Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer martial artists were no match for him now. And with his Void Clarity Sword Heart's ability to spot weaknesses, if he faced Ning Zhiyuan again, he was confident he could kill him in a single move.

"Clap, clap, clap."

A crisp round of applause came from behind the bamboo grove nearby.

Qin Jue spun around. As the morning mist parted, a slender figure walked out at an unhurried pace. Her skin was as white as snow, and wisps of hair fell beside her cheeks. Her beauty was so cold it seemed otherworldly, like a snow lotus blooming atop a high mountain.