Pointers

Only after Zhou Buping had left did Li Gan begin making lunch.

He made a simple meal: porridge, though it contained plenty of ingredients—various medicinal herbs used in Medicinal Meals, along with Exotic Beast Jerky.

At last, a large pot of thick Medicinal Meat Porridge was ready.

As for the taste, it was hard to say.

In any case, he ate at least one bowl a day. After eating it for so long, he had gotten used to it.

The main thing was that it was packed with nutrients, providing his body with the nourishment and energy it needed for cultivation.

Li Gan polished off the entire pot.

Not long after he finished eating, he heard footsteps outside.

"Brother Gan."

A moment later, the door swung open, and Chen Yong walked in, his face wearing its usual honest, simple expression.

But there was a large purple bruise across his face.

"What happened to your face?"

Li Gan asked in surprise.

"I was sparring with someone and got punched by accident."

Chen Yong scratched his head. "Brother Gan, I blocked with Intercepting Sword, but the other guy's Hooking Sword hit me. I couldn't dodge it no matter what I did. His Sword Piercing Fist wasn't even much better than mine."

As he spoke, he began demonstrating the moves in the room.

Li Gan spotted the problem at once. "Your Internal Force must be getting held up when it passes through Zhongfu and Tianzong Acupoints. That would slow your punch down by just a fraction, and your opponent's Hooking Sword happened to exploit that weakness. I suspect it's related to all that heavy training you did carrying logs on your shoulders. It probably affected those two acupoints."

Half a year ago, Li Gan had happened to give Chen Yong some pointers on his fist technique.

Ever since then, Chen Yong had often come up the mountain to seek his advice.

Chen Yong was only proficient in Sword Piercing Fist; he hadn't even reached Minor Accomplishment. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had such a weakness.

With Li Gan's Sword Piercing Fist at Perfect Mastery, giving Chen Yong pointers was more than within his abilities.

"That does sound familiar. So how do I fix it?" Chen Yong asked with a frown.

"It's easy enough. The Chore Hall has masseurs, doesn't it? Find one with skilled hands and get a full-body massage. Have them focus especially on those two acupoints."

Li Gan said.

"Their prices are way too high. One session would cost me more than half a year's stipend."

Chen Yong shook his head like a rattle drum.

He sent his entire stipend home to support his family.

After all, they were poor. They didn't have money to spare.

Li Gan smiled and stepped closer. He had Chen Yong assume the Fixed Sword Stance from Sword Piercing Fist, then pressed his fingers against several acupoints on Chen Yong's body. As his Internal Qi flowed through Zhongfu and into Tianzong, he massaged them back and forth.

"Ah!"

Chen Yong grimaced in pain, but he couldn't move at all, as if he had lost control of his body.

A little while later, Li Gan released him.

Chen Yong dropped onto the floor.

But when he moved his arm, he found that the spot that had been stinging earlier now felt warm and comfortable.

"I've worked out the problem for you, but you'll need to rest for a few days. Don't practice your fist technique for now."

Li Gan said.

"Brother Gan, y-you used Internal Qi just now?"

Chen Yong stared at him in disbelief.

Only Internal Qi could enter his body.

Internal Force couldn't do that.

"Is that so strange?"

Li Gan replied calmly.

"Brother Gan, you've actually become a Ranked Martial Artist!"

Chen Yong's voice trembled.

There were quite a few Ranked Martial Artists among the Menial Disciples, but they were usually much older.

For a Menial Disciple like him, opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians would probably take several more years. He might never manage to open the final Ren and Du Meridians at all.

Yet Li Gan had become a Ranked Martial Artist in just four short years. That was an astonishing pace.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Could Brother Gan already have become an Inner Disciple?

After becoming a Ranked Martial Artist in just over four years, passing the Inner Sect Re-examination should be a breeze.

Seeing Chen Yong's reaction, Li Gan sighed inwardly. Now that Chen Yong knew he was a Ranked Martial Artist, things probably couldn't stay as simple between them as before.

Sure enough, Chen Yong became much more reserved after that.

After all, Li Gan was a Ranked Martial Artist and had a very good chance of becoming an Inner Disciple. The gap between him and a Menial Disciple like Chen Yong had suddenly widened, leaving Li Gan feeling far out of reach.

Time flew by, and before long, more than half a month had passed.

The day of the True Disciple Selection was drawing closer.

Talk of the True Disciple Selection had gradually become more common within the Divine Sword Sect.

None of it had anything to do with Li Gan.

He lived up on the mountain and rarely interacted with the outside world.

Boom!

The clear peal of a bell shattered the Divine Sword Sect's quiet.

Before dawn, Li Gan was already practicing the Heartless Sword Art to the lingering echoes of the bell. As his sword swept through the air, it moved like a dragon circling his body. Invisible Sword Intent spread around him, and the air seemed to ring with the constant cry of swords.

After completing a set of sword forms, Li Gan felt refreshed from head to toe, and his understanding of Heartless Sword Intent deepened a little further.

Whoosh!

Li Gan exhaled deeply. With a thought, he summoned the System Panel.

Host: Li Gan.

Cultivation Base: Postnatal Realm (Ninth Layer 99/100).

Sacrificial Tool: Chen Bell (Tempering 451/10000).

Martial Arts: Sword Piercing Fist (Perfect Mastery), Heartless Sword Art (Perfect Mastery).

Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent (Virtual Image 31/100).

Secret Technique: Myriad Transformation Sword Qi.

His cultivation had reached the Postnatal Realm Ninth Layer, just shy of perfection.

He now practiced swordsmanship only to comprehend Sword Intent. He had stopped cultivating his inner arts.

That way, his cultivation wouldn't break through into the Xiantian Realm.

As long as I can comprehend the Flawless Vajra Method of the Heartless Sword Art in the Sword Grinding Cave this time, I'll have a chance to achieve Perfect Xiantian.

Li Gan pondered.

At daybreak, Li Gan descended the mountain.

He first went to Yanmen Valley.

"Let's go."

Zhou Buping said, heading toward an exit.

It was one of the entrances to the Inner Sect.

In the Inner Sect, the plaza outside the Divine Sword Hall was packed with Official Disciples.

After all, this was the True Disciple Selection.

Though ninety-nine percent of the Official Disciples weren't even qualified to participate, it was undoubtedly one of the Divine Sword Sect's most important selections.

Becoming a True Disciple meant crossing the threshold into the upper ranks of the Divine Sword Sect.

The Peak Masters of the Seven Main Peaks, the Five Directional Sword Envoys, and even the Divine Sword Sect Master were all certain to be True Disciples.

The highest position an Official Disciple could reach was that of a Power-holding Elder.

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

"Who do you think will win a True Disciple spot this time?"

"My guess is Senior Brother Chang from Dishui Peak. I've heard he comprehended Sword Intent before even reaching the Xiantian Realm."

"Senior Sister Bai from Lingxu Peak comprehended Sword Intent too, and she did it even earlier than Senior Brother Chang."

"I think Senior Brother Nangong from Guiyi Peak has a pretty good chance as well."

"Senior Brother Nangong only comprehended Sword Intent recently. He still falls a bit short compared to Senior Brother Chang and Senior Sister Bai."

"Maybe there's a hidden expert among the others."

"That seems unlikely. The True Disciple spots will probably go to one of the same few people."

In front of the Divine Sword Hall, the Divine Sword Sect Master, the seven Peak Masters, and numerous elders had already arrived.

More than ten Inner Disciples were there as well, all qualified to participate in this True Disciple Selection.

The requirements for the True Disciple Selection were extremely strict.

Candidates could be no older than twenty-five.

They had to have comprehended at least one Secret Technique.

And they couldn't already be Xiantian Martial Artists.

Among the Inner Disciples, only one in a hundred could meet those requirements.

Even so, so many were still qualified to participate in the True Disciple Selection—a testament to the Divine Sword Sect's profound foundations.