Luo Qingyue's long-standing problem had finally been solved, and she was instantly overcome with excitement. Her cheeks flushed pink as she left the courtyard and eagerly began training, determined to break through to the Tendon Refining Realm as soon as possible.
Her departure from the courtyard was also spotted by a group of disciples who wanted to see what was going on but didn't dare press their faces to the wall and spy.
Seeing Senior Sister Luo Qingyue leave with excitement written all over her face and her cheeks flushed, they stared in astonishment.
"Good heavens, what did Senior Sister Luo and Junior Brother Liu Chu do in that courtyard? Why is she so excited, with her cheeks all flushed!"
"It's over, it's over. Has my Senior Sister Luo been taken by a pig? Wuwu, my heart is breaking!"
"Ugh, I never thought that kid Liu Chu would be so charming. In such a short time, he's already bewitched Senior Sister Luo..."
"Junior Brother Liu Chu excels at combat, while Senior Sister Luo isn't good at it. They complement each other perfectly, so it's no surprise. But, was Junior Brother Liu's time a little short?"
"That makes sense. Senior Sister and Junior Brother Liu were in the storage courtyard for only a few breaths, and she came out with her face all flushed... It really was short!"
The disciples gathered in twos and threes, whispering and murmuring among themselves.
Liu Chu had no idea their thoughts were so filthy. Watching Luo Qingyue leave in high spirits, he shook his head, completely baffled.
Did I break something in Senior Sister? Those few casual words of mine were only meant to comfort her. Why does she look as if a great truth has suddenly dawned on her...
Liu Chu was puzzled.
What he'd said was nothing more than common wisdom. By rights, it shouldn't have had much effect.
He didn't believe Hall Master Yang Wenhuai had never said anything similar to Luo Qingyue.
In fact, Yang Wenhuai had said such things more than once. But Luo Qingyue had been defeated by someone of a higher realm, costing him face.
Even his words of comfort had been insincere, delivered in a stiff, icy tone.
They had done nothing to console her.
Perhaps, deep down, Yang Wenhuai still blamed Luo Qingyue to some extent and wanted her to keep working hard at the Combat Technique so she could win back his face.
That had only made Luo Qingyue feel worse, and stubbornly push herself to master the Combat Technique so she could wash away her humiliation!
But after sparring with Liu Chu again and again, her stubbornness had been shattered completely.
She'd realized she had no talent for combat at all!
Continuing to train would only waste her time and energy.
And with Liu Chu offering comfort at just the right moment, the timing had been perfect. No wonder Luo Qingyue felt as if a great truth had suddenly dawned on her!
Never mind. This is for the best. These days, ordinary Tendon Refining Realm martial artists can't last ten moves against me. Senior Sister Luo has stopped being a useful opponent for testing my strength...
Liu Chu didn't dwell on it. He walked out of the courtyard.
He had sparred with Luo Qingyue to test his own strength.
But as he gradually brought the Combat Technique and saber technique together, his strength had improved enormously. Luo Qingyue could no longer help him test his moves.
"Junior Brother, Junior Brother, over here!"
As soon as Liu Chu stepped out of the courtyard, Chen He pulled him over to a corner.
His furtive manner made Liu Chu frown in confusion. "Senior Brother, what's so secret?"
Chen He shushed him, then pulled out a small bottle and lowered his voice. "Junior Brother, this is called a Dragon-Spirit Tiger-Vigor Pill. Take one at a time—don't overdo it. Take them for fifteen days, and it'll cure your hidden ailment..."
Liu Chu's expression turned incredibly strange. He stared at Chen He, looking utterly taken aback. "Senior Brother, I practice the Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice. I've already reached Great Accomplishment, so I don't need your pills!"
"The Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice has that kind of effect?"
Chen He blinked, unconvinced. "Then why did you and Senior Sister spend so little time in that courtyard?"
Liu Chu couldn't help rolling his eyes. "We only exchanged a couple of words. What were you thinking?"
Chen He still didn't believe him and pretended to put the pills away. "You really don't want them?"
"Keep them for yourself!"
Liu Chu couldn't be bothered with him. He turned and headed for an empty patch of ground to practice his saber technique.
"Huh? Did I really get it wrong?"
Seeing how decisively Liu Chu had turned him down, and that he didn't seem like someone with a hidden ailment, Chen He scratched his head.
He hurried after Liu Chu to apologize. Liu Chu naturally didn't hold it against him, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Senior Brother Lin Bei still seems to be dealing with the matter of the cultivation method being leaked?"
"Yeah. He's been busy with it all this time. Even Master has been going out often."
Chen He sighed. "I hope nothing goes wrong."
Liu Chu also felt the matter seemed to be heading in a bad direction.
By rights, with Senior Brother Lin Bei at the Tendon Refining Realm and several Skin Refining Realm disciples accompanying him, this sort of problem shouldn't have been hard to resolve.
Yet even after all this time, they still hadn't dealt with it.
Master Yang Wenhuai had even been drawn into it.
Forget it. There's no point in overthinking it. I should hurry and bring my saber technique to mastery!
If nothing unexpected happens, I should master it today!
Liu Chu put the matter aside and continued practicing his saber technique.
As he trained, his saber whipped up gust after gust of wind. Its momentum surged like crashing waves, dragging trails of afterimages behind it. Combined with his footwork, it was both domineering and nimble.
His movements looked rough and bold, his saber strokes wide and sweeping, yet every move concealed profound subtleties. A thunderous slash could change direction in an instant, flowing as naturally as clouds and running water.
He repeated the saber forms over and over.
Until, at a certain moment, his saber rang out with a sound like a tiger's roar and a dragon's cry. The blade sliced through the air like dragons and tigers charging forward, its might suddenly rising to a whole new level—enough to leave ordinary Tendon Refining Realm martial artists shaken!
"My saber technique... has reached mastery!"
A streak of purple lightning seemed to flash through Liu Chu's eyes. His aura surged, as if he and his saber had become one, the blade sharp to the utmost.
Every strike contained extreme speed and power—enough to overwhelm Tendon Refining Realm martial artists by force, while Skin Refining Realm martial artists wouldn't dare stand against him!
"Now that my saber technique has reached mastery, my force-control skills have improved to a new level. Even if I keep unleashing strength on par with a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist, I won't damage my tendons!"
Liu Chu's saber swept like raging waves, and he struck dozens of times in the blink of an eye. His eyes gradually brightened.
He could feel that once his saber technique reached mastery, his force-control skills had become far more refined. One part of his strength could unleash three parts' worth of power without damaging his muscles, bones, or skin.
He no longer needed strong muscles, bones, and skin to support him. Even so, he could unleash strength on par with the Tendon Refining Realm—or even the Bone Refining Realm!
"So that's how it is. Whether it's Skin Refining, Tendon Refining, or Bone Refining, the essence is to strengthen the body. While cultivating power, you also shape the body into a vessel capable of withstanding greater strength."
"Martial techniques, meanwhile, use the skill of their moves to master more refined ways of exerting force. That lets one part of the strength within the body unleash several parts' worth of power without damaging the body that contains it!"
"In that case, even if the body hasn't grown stronger and one's strength remains weak, the techniques of the moves can still bring out greater power from that meager strength..."
Liu Chu's eyes shone as he finally understood the difference between cultivation realms and martial techniques.
As expected, only reaching a higher realm could bring deeper insight!
Before, he'd only had a vague understanding. He knew that the higher a martial technique's level, the easier it was to defeat an opponent, but his understanding had been limited to anticipating and countering moves.
"Wait. When I mastered the Combat Technique, I didn't feel this way. I could unleash fearsome strength on par with the Tendon Refining Realm, but I couldn't sustain it. Otherwise, I'd damage my tendons..."
Liu Chu suddenly frowned, puzzled.
Earlier, although mastering the Combat Technique had let him unleash tremendous strength, he hadn't been able to maintain it for long.
"Could it be because the Combat Technique is a simplified version?"
Liu Chu quickly figured out the reason.
The Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique had ultimately been simplified from the Dragon-Tiger Blade-Breaking Technique. It wasn't complete, even if the difference in power wasn't great.
But it focused on explosive combat in an instant and wasn't suited to prolonged battles.
Perhaps that was why, even after the Combat Technique reached mastery, its techniques weren't as refined as those of the Duanmen Saber Technique!
"That also means my strength has improved much more than I expected now that my saber technique has reached mastery!"
Liu Chu's eyes gleamed, and delight showed on his face.
Originally, he hadn't expected mastering the saber technique to improve his strength by much. After all, his Combat Technique had already reached mastery, and stacking martial techniques couldn't produce the effect of one plus one equaling two.
Perhaps his strength would increase from one to 1.2 or 1.3.
But from the results, it had increased to at least 1.5!
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