Three Saber Arts—Fast, Fierce, and Wicked!

"Clatter!"

Cao Feng had barely finished speaking when the glistening chicken leg in Zhao Tianxing's hand dropped straight to the ground and rolled several inches away.

Chu Fan's heart gave a similar thump, like a heavy object plunging into water.

Ever since his Twelve Forms Boxing had broken through to Minor Accomplishment, he had never told Cao Shi about it.

Even after breaking through, he had never performed the complete set of boxing techniques before Cao Shi.

Who would have thought that Cao Shi had noticed it after all?

However, Cao Shi had said Minor Accomplishment, not Major Accomplishment.

After all, yesterday afternoon, Chu Fan had already cultivated Twelve Forms Boxing to the Major Accomplishment stage.

"Chu Fan, you've done very well."

The corners of Cao Feng's mouth curved slightly as he slowly said, "In just half a month, you achieved Minor Accomplishment in all Twelve Forms. With such talent and strength, you could cause a tremendous stir within the Seven Star Gang."

"Yet you didn't become conceited. Instead, you concealed your sharpness, kept a low profile, and endured without revealing yourself. You didn't even tell me..."

"You've done exceptionally well!"

"I once told you all that, in the future, you must remember to conceal your cultivation and strength and not trust anyone easily... I am no exception."

"I also told you that in this world, apart from your birth parents, there is no one you can trust without reservation!"

"That's exactly how it should be!"

"Wait... Cao Shi, hold on!" Zhao Tianxing's eyes went round as he hurriedly asked, "Cao Shi, when you just said that he had achieved Minor Accomplishment in Twelve Forms, did you mean Twelve Forms Boxing, or all Twelve Forms?"

"What difference is there between Minor Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing and Minor Accomplishment in Twelve Forms?" Cao Feng cast Zhao Tianxing a sidelong glance and said indifferently, "Could they mean anything different?"

Zhao Tianxing instantly froze where he stood, as though petrified, unable to move!

Chu Fan had achieved Minor Accomplishment in Twelve Forms?

All twelve forms?!

How was that possible?

It had only been half a month...

How many times could he practice Twelve Forms Boxing in a single day?

After a long while, Zhao Tianxing finally blinked and turned his gaze toward Chu Fan. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Did I hear wrong, or did I misunderstand?"

"Cao Shi said you achieved Minor Accomplishment in Twelve Forms... Did you really achieve Minor Accomplishment in all of them?"

Actually, I've already reached Major Accomplishment... Chu Fan pressed his lips together and said vaguely, "Perhaps, probably, maybe... I suppose I've achieved Minor Accomplishment in all of them."

"How can you be so vague about such a major matter?" Zhao Tianxing felt a fire rise in his heart and nearly went mad. "Those are the Twelve Forms! I've only achieved Minor Accomplishment in three forms so far..."

"Your talent is enough to make anyone despair!"

"Compared to you, I feel like nothing more than a fool..."

"There's no need to belittle yourself so much." Cao Feng laughed loudly and said, "I deliberately told you about Chu Fan achieving Minor Accomplishment in all Twelve Forms because I wanted to suppress you a little and put some pressure on you, so you would understand that there is always someone better and a higher sky beyond the sky."

His original intention had been to put some pressure on Zhao Tianxing.

He had never meant to crush Zhao Tianxing completely.

Therefore, he had no choice but to offer a few words of explanation now.

"That's not putting pressure on me. You clearly sent me straight into the abyss..."

Zhao Tianxing was like a deflated ball, his entire body hunching over as he said bitterly, "Earlier on the road, he told me that he felt no fear when killing people and was even a little excited. I already thought he was a monster!"

"Now it seems he really is a monster!"

Seeing him like this, Cao Feng could only gently console him. "Although your Twelve Forms Boxing is inferior to Chu Fan's, you have your own advantages..."

"Your qi and blood are abundant, and your sinews and bones are strong. Not only will breaking through the Blood Nourishment stage be easier for you, but your speed in breaking through the four stages afterward will also far surpass that of ordinary people."

"Besides, your archery was already powerful enough to kill a Blood Nourishment-stage martial artist before you even broke through to Blood Nourishment!"

"Once you break through Blood Nourishment in the future and learn Moon Eclipse Arrow, you may find few opponents within the same stage!"

So the archery Cao Shi taught Tianxing is called Moon Eclipse Arrow... Chu Fan's expression shifted slightly as he silently committed the name of the archery technique to memory.

After hearing Cao Feng's words, Zhao Tianxing immediately straightened his back, and his spirits returned to his face.

It was as though the deflated ball had been pumped full of air once more.

Just as Cao Feng was wondering whether he should praise him a few more times to lift his spirits further...

Zhao Tianxing suddenly bent down and picked up the chicken leg that had fallen to the ground.

Chu Fan and Cao Feng: "..."

"Forget it." Cao Feng shifted his gaze away from the chicken leg and said solemnly, "Let's discuss serious matters."

He took two worn-out Saber Manuals from his robes and handed one each to Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing.

"This is the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber Manual passed down through my Cao Clan."

Cao Feng slowly explained, "Although it is a copied version, its contents are identical to the original."

"You two don't need to go to the Training Ground to practice boxing today. Read the Saber Manuals here."

"No matter what method you use, you must memorize the contents of the Saber Manuals as quickly as possible."

"I'll come over this afternoon and personally teach you from the first saber strike onward."

"Thank you for your guidance, Cao Shi!" Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing cupped their fists together and bowed deeply to Cao Feng.

In the past, after chopping firewood, Chu Fan would always go to the Library Pavilion to read the Fist Manual.

Now that he knew the Twelve Forms Boxing Manual by heart, he could just as well increase his Literacy Technique experience by memorizing the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber Manual.

Cao Feng turned and walked into the house.

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing followed closely behind.

After two steps, Zhao Tianxing couldn't help asking, "Cao Shi, I've heard someone say that the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber, the Blood Soul Nine Swords of the Blood Saber Sect, and Senior Sister Qingxue's Seven Stars Bead Cut are the three strongest saber arts in Qingyang Ancient City..."

"Among these three saber arts, which one is the most powerful?"

"To ask such a question in front of me..." Cao Feng sat down in a chair inside the house and said indifferently, "Do you think I would tell you that the other two saber arts are stronger than my Cao Clan's Ninefold Thunderclap Saber?"

Zhao Tianxing immediately put on a smiling face and hurriedly said, "Actually, disciple knew long ago that the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber was the strongest."

"Disciple was only curious about the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three saber arts."

Cao Feng glanced at Zhao Tianxing and smiled faintly. "The path of martial arts is divided into lower-grade, middle-grade, and upper-grade techniques, as well as the legendary Divine Skill."

"I have never seen a Divine Skill. Lower-grade, middle-grade, and upper-grade martial arts are each further divided into three stages: from low to high, they are the First Stage, Second Stage, and Third Stage."

"The Twelve Forms Boxing you have already cultivated is a Second Stage lower-grade martial art."

"The Blood Soul Nine Swords and Seven Stars Bead Cut are also Second Stage lower-grade martial arts."

"But this Ninefold Thunderclap Saber is a Third Stage lower-grade martial art."

"Judging by grade alone, the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber is far superior to the Blood Soul Nine Swords."

"But a martial artist's strength ultimately varies from person to person. If your cultivation realm is profound enough... even with Chu Fan's firewood-chopping saber technique, you could easily defeat an opponent wielding the Blood Soul Nine Swords!"

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing nodded repeatedly, engraving these words deeply in their hearts.

"Each of these three saber arts has its own specialty."

Cao Feng continued, "The characteristic of the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber lies in the word 'fierce.'"

"The characteristic of the Blood Soul Nine Swords lies in the word 'wicked.'"

"The characteristic of Seven Stars Bead Cut lies in the word 'fast.'"

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.

The "fast" of Seven Stars Bead Cut was the easiest to understand.

But the "fierce" of the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber and the "wicked" of the Blood Soul Nine Swords were things they had been unable to fully comprehend for the moment.