Hard Training

Under the Mind Mirror state, every movement, muscle twitch, and glance from the opponent is amplified. Qin Jue can see their intentions half a breath before they do, which is the essence of anticipating the enemy's moves.

He felt this sense of control and then closed his eyes, letting the silver-white light recede.

Although the Mind Mirror only lasted a few breaths, the mental toll was immense.

Qin Jue adjusted his breathing, recalling the descriptions of subsequent realms in the martial arts manual.

"This is only the first layer, [Mind Mirror]. If I could cultivate it to the second layer, [Body Follows], where the body moves before the mind even conceives it, or even the third layer, [Selflessness], which discards consciousness and relies entirely on instinct... what kind of realm would that be."

"But that's for later."

He suppressed the thought. "One step at a time, no need to rush."

"With [Mind Mirror], my swordsmanship can truly unleash its power. However, this mental cultivation technique consumes too much mental energy and cannot be maintained for long. I can only use it at critical moments."

Qin Jue stood up from the ground, stretching his body, which had become stiff from sitting for so long.

"With the mental cultivation technique complete, the next step is Startling Swan Flash."

The first layer of Startling Swan Flash is Floating Light. Its core principle is a unique 발력 technique that instantly transmits force from the toes throughout the entire body, allowing one to move like floating light and land without a sound.

The training method for this movement technique is quite interesting—[Treading Leaves]. It requires moving at high speed on a ground covered with fallen leaves, pressing them down without making a crisping sound.

Qin Jue glanced at the ground. Instead of finding a pile of fallen leaves, he directly stepped onto the thick layer of withered bamboo leaves.

"Crack!"

The first step he took caused the withered leaves beneath his feet to instantly shatter into powder.

Qin Jue shook his head.

"Too much force." With his strength at the Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer of the Jade Bone Realm, if he didn't control it, he could crush not just bamboo leaves but even stones with a single step.

The core of [Floating Light] is lightness and speed. Light as a feather, fast as lightning.

To make this force lighter, one needs extremely strong control over every part of their body.

"Again."

"Crack!"

"No, the point of force application is the Yongquan acupoint. The force should be as gentle as flowing water, not too aggressive..."

"Crack!"

"Still too heavy."

In the bamboo forest at dawn, the sound of withered leaves shattering echoed continuously.

Qin Jue tirelessly repeated the motions of stepping, sprinting, and stopping. After each failure, he would pause to think for a moment, correcting the slightest deviation in his force application.

After an unknown amount of time.

The sun reached its zenith, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, illuminating Qin Jue's sweat-drenched back.

At this moment.

Qin Jue's figure suddenly moved.

This time, there was no familiar "crack" sound.

His body, light as a feather, slid forward three zhang without any warning. His toes touched the withered leaves like a dragonfly skimming water, separating instantly.

"Swoosh—"

There was only a faint rustling sound.

Qin Jue stopped three zhang away at an old bamboo tree and looked back.

On the path he had just taken, the thick layer of withered bamboo leaves remained as it was. Only a few leaves seemed to have been pressed down by the wind, slightly indented, but none were broken.

"Floating Light... I've barely managed to get started."

Qin Jue looked at his feet, the satisfaction in his eyes quickly fading.

"The first layer of Startling Swan Flash, [Floating Light], is already like this. There's still the second layer, [Fleeting Shadow], and the third layer, 'a glimpse of a startled swan, leaving no trace'..."

Then, he shook his head, his expression turning serious again.

"I'm thinking too far ahead. This level is still not enough. Although I can land without a sound, there's still a slight hesitation when I change direction. This might be fast enough for ordinary martial artists, but in front of a true master, this momentary pause can be the difference between life and death."

Qin Jue stopped, frowning. Simply practicing the movement technique had reached a bottleneck. To eliminate the final hesitation, he needed to hone it in more complex dynamic situations.

"Since practicing the movement technique alone cannot break through, I'll add something to it."

Qin Jue drew the Cold Iron Sword from his back, his gaze sharpening.

"Startling Swan Flash focuses on evasion and footwork, [Selflessness] focuses on anticipating the enemy's moves. Add my original swordsmanship to that."

"Next, I will perfectly fuse these three and transform them into my own combat power before the Outer Prefecture Grand Competition."

Qin Jue narrowed his eyes, leaned forward, and assumed his starting stance.

"Movement technique is the wave, the sword is the water. The wave pushes the water forward, the water borrows the wave's momentum."

With a thought, Qin Jue moved.

"Startling Swan Flash · Floating Light!"

The fallen leaves underfoot made no sound, yet his body shot out like an arrow, covering ten meters in an instant.

"Tide Surging Stance!"

The originally gentle and continuous sword momentum, amplified by the explosive force of his movement technique, carved a sharp trajectory through the air. The sword's edge sliced through the void, emitting a roar like waves crashing against a shore!

"Chii!"

A green bamboo stalk, as thick as a wrist, was severed at the waist with a clean cut.

Qin Jue stopped and glanced at the cut, then shook his head.

"Too rough. My movement technique was too fast, and the sword couldn't keep up. To match the speed of my movement, I forcibly sped up the sword's rhythm, which disrupted the flow. Although this strike was powerful, the subsequent 'momentum' was broken. If I had missed, I would have exposed a momentary weakness."

"Again!"

This time, he didn't rush his sword. Instead, he entered the "Mind Mirror" state once more.

A silver light flashed deep within his pupils.

He exerted force with his feet, his body moving evasively. As his body moved, his sword seemed to become a part of him, no longer something he deliberately swung, but flowing naturally with his body's momentum.

Swish, swish, swish!

Three consecutive strikes. The first was swift as the tide, the second circled back with hidden danger, and the third was the union of body and sword!

Three green bamboo stalks fell in response, and remarkably, they all fell in the exact same direction.

"This is getting interesting," Qin Jue smiled slightly. "Now for the main event."

He adjusted his breathing, and the Qi and Blood within his body began to vibrate at a peculiar frequency. This vibration traveled down his arm to the sword. The originally cold and somber Cold Iron Sword began to emit a faint "humming" sound, like the chirping of cicadas.

Cicada Wing · Flap Wings.

This was the most difficult move to control – maintaining the high-frequency vibration of the sword while moving at high speed, all while locking onto the target with the Mind Mirror. It was akin to dancing on the tip of a knife.

"Let's test my limits."

Qin Jue's gaze locked onto a fallen bamboo leaf drifting in the air.

The moment the leaf reached mid-air, he moved.

This time, he held nothing back.

Void Clarity Sword Heart, fully unleashed!

The world instantly slowed down. The falling bamboo leaf was almost stationary in his eyes, the path of every vein clearly visible.

His Startling Swan Flash erupted from his feet, and he transformed into an afterimage, charging forward. The Cold Iron Sword in his hand vibrated to its extreme, emitting a sharp whine.

"Hiss!"

They passed each other.

Qin Jue's figure appeared five meters beyond where the bamboo leaf was falling, holding his sword-drawing posture, motionless.

Behind him.

The dried bamboo leaf continued its descent. However, the instant it touched the ground...

"Puff."

Struck by the high-frequency vibrations of the sword blade countless times in an instant, it was directly pulverized into dust.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Qin Jue slowly sheathed his sword, his face a little pale, but the light in his eyes was terrifyingly bright.

Selflessness Stance leaves the opponent nowhere to hide, Startling Swan Flash aids in instantaneous close-quarters combat, and Cicada Wing · Thousand Layers is indestructible.

Under such thunderous methods, let alone the Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer, even a master of the Blood Melting Realm would have to drink his fill of regret under his sword if they underestimated him.

"However, the consumption is too great."

Qin Jue felt the nearly thirty percent of his Qi and Blood that had been depleted and gave a wry smile.

"With my current Jade Bone foundation, I can only use this level of burst for about three times. After three times, I won't need anyone else to attack; I'll collapse on my own."

"My foundation is still not deep enough."

He took a deep breath, calming the surging Qi and Blood within him. If not for the powerful foundation brought by the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record, he probably would have fallen apart after using it just once.

"Again!"

Qin Jue did not rest. He closed his eyes again, adjusted his breathing, and let his mind sink back into the Mind Mirror of the Selflessness Stance.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.