Sword Art Proficiency

Early the next morning, Liangshui City had yet to fully awaken as a thin mist enveloped the Fang Mansion, leaving the blue flagstone paths damp with the chill of night dew.

Stepping into the morning light, Fang Han walked into the inner hall martial arts arena with steady footsteps that landed without a sound.

"Fang Han is here!"

The moment Fang Han appeared, a subtle ripple stirred through the martial arts arena, where the atmosphere had previously been condensed as everyone practiced on their own.

The eyes of the disciples who had entered the inner hall at the same time as Fang Han were drawn like iron filings to a magnet, instantly locking onto him.

Subconsciously, Fang Lin tensed his body, sweeping a complex gaze over Fang Han.

Fang Tao, Fang Chen, and the others carried faint traces of awe—an awe that, half a month prior, had belonged to Fang Lin.

"Is that Fang Han?"

Some of the older disciples who practiced in the inner hall even spared a few glances for Fang Han now, their eyes carrying a hint of probing curiosity.

In just a short span of time, Fang Han, a collateral-branch disciple who had initially been completely unremarkable, had already accumulated a not-insignificant little "reputation" within the inner hall.

Even though they ranked higher than him, none of them dared to underestimate him.

Fang Han's expression was as calm as water, completely ignoring these overt and covert gazes.

He walked straight toward the corner where he usually practiced.

Although he had never spoken of it, everyone else had already consciously marked off this spot as his exclusive training area.

"Hoo... hah..."

After coming to a stop, Fang Han immediately dropped his center of gravity and settled into his stance, striking the opening posture of the Crane Stance.

Circulating his stance training, he felt a difference compared to before.

The biggest difference lay in the tendons connecting his bones and flesh, which maintained the transmission of power throughout his entire body.

During past training sessions, blood and Qi had acted primarily on his skin and flesh; while his tendons had also benefited, they had not been the main focus.

Now, as the stance training deepened, he could distinctly "feel" torrents of scorching, condensed blood and Qi intentionally splitting off into trickles.

Like countless tiny, invisible hammers, they precisely and forcefully struck, permeated, and nourished every vital meridian throughout his entire body.

Each time the blood and Qi washed over his tendons, it brought a wave of subtle yet distinct tingling warmth, accompanied by an unspeakable sensation of stretching and increased resilience.

It was as if the "strings" supporting the power within his body were being continuously tightened and reinforced, growing tougher and much more elastic.

The tendons—this was the primary direction of reinforcement for the Tendon Refining Realm!

"Hoo—"

Finishing his stance training, Fang Han slowly withdrew his posture.

The surging blood and Qi within his body calmed slightly, but that sense of newborn enhancement originating from his tendons settled in, leaving him thoroughly comfortable, as if he had shed an invisible set of shackles.

He walked over to the weapon rack and picked up a refined iron longsword.

The sword blade felt cold, yet holding it brought a sense of familiarity, which showed that his attainments in swordsmanship were growing steadily higher.

A true swordsman could even achieve the unity of man and sword, where the sword became an extension of his hands and feet, though he was still quite far from that level.

"Breeze Brushing Willow."

The tip of the sword trembled slightly, carving an ethereal arc through the air.

Fang Han's mind was completely immersed in the sword art.

Under the amplification of the twofold Sword Art Talent, the various understandings of the Breeze Sword Art within his mind were like ignited sparks, continuously bursting forth and chaining together.

The harmonious fluidity he had possessed at the minor accomplishment stage was now transforming toward a deeper level.

The subtle changes in every single form and movement, the crucial pivots of transitioning force, the perfect coordination of physical exertion...

Countless insights surged into his heart as naturally as clear streams.

The sword forms grew faster and steadier in his hands.

He no longer pursued mere speed or strength, but rather sought an innate, seamless rhythm.

The sword light resembled a drift of snow, wrapping around his body as the sound of the blade breaking the air gradually shifted from a howl to a deep, resonant hum—the manifestation of highly concentrated power and air compressed to its absolute limit.

At a certain moment, inspiration struck Fang Han, and he thrust out with a form known as "Breeze Piercing Forest".

At the tip of the sword, a single point of chilling brilliance suddenly flared with intense light!

"Chi—!"

The air was swept along, unexpectedly transforming into a gale of blade-force that shot out sharply from the sword tip, leaving a faint trace on the ground several feet away.

Fang Han pulled back his sword and stood upright, looking with quiet joy at the faint mark.

Although the power was not overwhelming—at most leaving a slight trace on the flagstone, far from enough to break through the toughness of his current skin—the significance was extraordinary.

Because this meant the Breeze Sword Art had reached the Proficiency Realm!

"Two months..."

Fang Han muttered to himself.

Spending two months, his swordsmanship had risen from the initial threshold of minor accomplishment to the officially entered realm of proficiency.

It had taken more time than leveling up his stance training. Part of the reason was that the Sword Art Talent Amplification was only a twofold multiplier, but another part was that improving swordsmanship was inherently more difficult than advancing stance training.

Stance training was divided into four major realms—skin, flesh, tendons, and bone—with each major realm further split into three minor realms, making twelve realms in total.

Meanwhile, martial techniques were divided into only five realms: beginner stage, proficiency realm, greater accomplishment, perfection realm, and aperture opening. Even with fewer realms, the difficulty of each individual realm was correspondingly greater.

"Generating blade-force?!"

"His... his Breeze Sword Art... has broken through to proficiency?!"

The unusual commotion from that corner drew the attention of the other disciples, and numerous gazes shot straight toward Fang Han.

Discovering that the cause of the anomaly was Fang Han's swordsmanship breaking through to proficiency, every one of their faces revealed looks of sheer shock.

They knew Fang Han possessed considerable talent, advancing at a blistering pace in his stance training.

Yet that sort of training talent related to stance training manifested mostly in realm progression, whereas comprehending martial techniques relied far more on innate enlightenment.

Who could have imagined that while advancing in leaps and bounds with his stance training, Fang Han would also possess such extraordinary talent in the path of the sword?

Envy, jealousy, astonishment, disbelief—all manner of complex emotions intertwined within those gazes.

"His stance training leaps forward by bounds, and he actually has this kind of talent in swordsmanship too?!"

Watching this scene from afar, Fang Lin felt an even greater trace of fear grip him as he looked at Fang Han.

Fang Tao, Fang Chen, and the others were left gaping, their gazes toward Fang Han filled with heightened awe.

Even many of the veteran inner-hall disciples completely changed their expressions when looking at Fang Han, shifting from their previous scrutiny to deep wariness and solemnity.

Deep within the inner hall, the quiet room.

Sandalwood curled upward in wisps as Elder Fang Yuan sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind while his fingers slowly twined a string of smooth jade prayer beads.

Aware of Fang Yuan's focus on Fang Han, an instructor hurried over with footsteps that could not mask his excitement, rushing to make his report.

"Elder! Fang Han... while practicing sword arts in the martial arena, his realm broke through, and his Breeze Sword Art has already reached the proficiency realm!"

Fang Yuan's fingers abruptly paused in their rotation of the beads, his eyes snapping open as a piercing light flashed within them.

"Swordsmanship has reached proficiency?"

His deep voice carried a trace of hard-to-suppress fluctuation.

"Aperture opening, he has definitely undergone aperture opening!"

He struck his palm with a soft sigh, a sincere smile blooming across his face while his eyes filled with gratification and anticipation.

First his stance training broke through rapidly, and now his swordsmanship realm had broken through rapidly as well. Such a blistering pace of improvement firmly cemented his judgment that Fang Han had experienced an "aperture opening".

Fang Han had definitely opened his apertures!

"What a pity, what a pity..."

After the initial joy faded, an even deeper sense of regret arose in Fang Yuan's heart. If Fang Han had only undergone aperture opening a year or a half-year earlier, he surely would have already stepped into the Tendon Refining Realm by now.

How could he be in his current position, where—despite clearly possessing talent surpassing Lin Jiao of the Lin family—he was still suppressed in realm by Lin Jiao, forced to simply watch the Lin family "flaunt" their prowess?