Gentle Wind Sword Art

The next morning.

Fang Han arrived outside Elder Fang Yuan's Quiet Room. After the servant announced him, he gently pushed open the door and entered.

Sandalwood incense curled through the room. Rather than sitting at the table sipping tea as usual, Elder Fang Yuan stood by the window with his hands behind his back. Hearing the footsteps, he slowly turned around.

A gratified smile rested on his usually stern face.

His gaze burned brightly as he scrutinized Fang Han from head to toe like an unparalleled uncut jade, nodding again and again.

"Good boy! You have truly given this old man a heaven-shaking surprise. The Breeze Sword Art has actually reached Perfection Realm!"

Elder Fang Yuan's voice was strong and resonant, unable to conceal his excitement.

"And with Bone Refining Mid-Stage cultivation, you even defeated Lin Hu, who was at Bone Refining Late-Stage, across a whole realm!"

He strode forward and clapped Fang Han hard on the shoulder, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Well done! You have greatly raised the prestige of our Fang Clan. Lin Hu ranks second among the Lin Family Inner Hall disciples. By crushing his spirit this time, you have truly made a name for the Fang Clan Inner Hall!"

"You overpraise me, Elder. This disciple merely won by luck."

Fang Han could feel the Elder's heartfelt joy and pride. He bowed slightly as he spoke.

"No need for excessive modesty."

Elder Fang Yuan waved a hand to interrupt him. The smile on his face faded somewhat, becoming deep appreciation.

"Strength is strength. Where does luck come into it?"

He paused, his gaze growing profound, as though he had already seen the Fang Clan's bright future. His tone carried boundless expectations.

"Keep it up. Your future will never be confined to this small corner of Liangshui City."

"This disciple will certainly work hard and not disappoint the expectations of Elder and Lineage."

Fang Han answered respectfully.

With the System Panel, he also believed he would never remain confined to Liangshui City. Still, rice had to be eaten one bite at a time, and roads had to be walked one step at a time. He had lofty goals, but he could not aim too high and reach for what was beyond him.

He changed the subject and brought up the main purpose of his visit.

"Elder, this disciple's Breeze Sword Art can advance no further. I wish to request permission to cultivate a higher-grade Sword Art."

"Mm. This old man had anticipated this matter long ago and already prepared something for you."

Elder Fang Yuan seemed to have been waiting for those words. A smile of "just as expected" appeared on his face.

He turned and took a yellowed manual made from tanned exotic beast hide from the rosewood cabinet behind him.

Four vigorous characters were written on the cover—Gentle Wind Sword Art!

"The Gentle Wind Sword Art is one of the several low-grade Sword Arts collected by our Fang Clan, renowned for its speed and ferocity."

Elder Fang Yuan solemnly handed the manual to Fang Han.

"This Sword Art attacks like a violent storm, wave after wave without end. Its power is far beyond that of a basic Sword Art."

With certainty in his eyes, he continued.

"This old man has considered it carefully. This Sword Art should be the most suitable graded Sword Art for your current realm and Sword Art foundation. It can bring out the advantages of your Perfection Realm Breeze Sword Art to the fullest."

"Thank you, Elder, for taking such care in selecting it for this disciple!"

Fang Han accepted the manual with both hands. As Elder Fang Yuan had said, this truly was an exceptionally suitable Sword Art for him.

"Do not thank me in such a hurry."

Elder Fang Yuan stroked his beard, then changed the subject and spoke thoughtfully.

"Though Sword Art is sharp, movement techniques cannot be neglected. In your battle with Lin Hu yesterday, although you narrowly won through your Perfection Realm Sword Art, your transitions in movement were rather sluggish. You failed to fully display the nimble essence of the Breeze Sword Art—Wind Without Form."

"If supplemented by a light-body technique, making your movements faster, nimbler, and more unpredictable, working together with your Sword Art, your strength will surely rise to another level!"

At those words, Fang Han suddenly saw the light. Elder Fang Yuan's words had awakened the dreamer with a single remark.

He had previously been immersed in improving his Sword Art and had never considered supplementing it with a movement technique.

The Breeze Sword Art was already known for its lightness and swiftness. Pairing it with a movement technique would undoubtedly be like adding wings to a tiger.

Moreover, if he cultivated a movement technique, he could verify one of his earlier conjectures.

He immediately bowed and asked sincerely:

"What Elder says is absolutely right! This disciple has learned much. Does Elder have any recommended light-body techniques?"

Elder Fang Yuan clearly had an answer prepared and replied without hesitation.

"In the Fang Clan Library Pavilion, there is a basic footwork technique called Gale Step. It consumes relatively little qi and blood when used and excels at shifting, dodging, and sudden bursts of speed over short distances. It is highly suitable for use alongside Sword Art."

"Moreover, its name, 'Gale,' follows the same vein as the 'Breeze' and 'Gentle Wind' of your Sword Arts. Their Artistic Conceptions are connected. Cultivating them together may yield twice the result with half the effort. You should be able to grasp it more quickly."

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder!"

Fang Han immediately decided to cultivate Gale Step.

After speaking a few more words and carefully memorizing several key points Elder Fang Yuan had given him about cultivating the Gentle Wind Sword Art, Fang Han treasured the Gentle Wind Sword Art manual in his robes and respectfully took his leave.

Leaving the Quiet Room, Fang Han did not return to his Grade A No. 10 Martial Dao Room. Instead, he turned and headed for the heavily guarded Library Pavilion of the Fang Clan.

Using his Inner Hall disciple Identity Token and Elder Fang Yuan's written authorization, he smoothly found the Gale Step manual on the first floor.

After completing the borrowing procedures, Fang Han held his two newly acquired techniques, his heart brimming with anticipation, and quickly returned to his private Martial Dao Room.

The heavy iron-bound wooden door slowly closed behind him, shutting out all the disturbances of the outside world.

"Gentle Wind Sword Art."

Fang Han first sat cross-legged and took out the beast-hide manual for the Gentle Wind Sword Art.

Opening its pages, he found not only incomparably detailed written annotations, but also vivid diagrams of figures wielding swords.

The force application of every form, the circulation of qi and blood, and the variations in each sword move were all analyzed with utmost clarity.

Fang Han settled his mind and immersed himself completely, studying and comprehending it with care.

After roughly the time it took for one incense stick to burn, he had committed every move in the manual to memory.

Naturally, he could do so this quickly because of the Fourfold Sword Art Talent Amplification. So long as it was related to Sword Art, he possessed extraordinarily high talent.

"Whoosh!"

He rose to his feet, picked up the Azure Edge Sword, and followed the manual's instructions and Elder Fang Yuan's guidance to attempt the first form of the Gentle Wind Sword Art—"Wind Rises."

At first, his movements were somewhat unfamiliar and stiff. He felt rather unaccustomed to the more complex coordination of qi and blood and force application.

As the sword moves flowed, they were far less smooth and natural than the Breeze Sword Art, and their power seemed insubstantial.

However, under the Fourfold Sword Art Talent Amplification, after practicing them repeatedly a few times, they immediately became smooth.

Many obscure and difficult points suddenly became clear. Many force application techniques that had been difficult to coordinate revealed their key after only a few attempts.

Two hours later, he had raised the Gentle Wind Sword Art to the Beginner stage in one go.

"So quickly?"

Waking from his absorbed cultivation, Fang Han could not help but feel astonished.

This was a graded Sword Art, far more difficult than a basic Sword Art. Yet unexpectedly, he had reached the Beginner stage in merely two hours.

Even with the Fourfold Sword Art Talent Amplification, it should not have been this fast.

The feeling was as though... as though he had long ago laid an incomparably solid foundation in the sword path.

Cultivating this higher-grade Sword Art now was not like building a tall tower on level ground, but constructing at a higher level upon an existing solid foundation!

"It is because of the Perfection Realm Breeze Sword Art!"

A look of realization flashed through Fang Han's eyes.

The Perfection Realm Breeze Sword Art had laid an incomparably solid and profound foundation in the sword path for him, giving him an understanding of the sword far beyond that of his peers.

This gave him an extremely high starting point and exceptionally strong adaptability when cultivating higher-grade Sword Arts of the same type.

Together with the powerful comprehension brought by the Fourfold Sword Art Talent Amplification, that was why his progress had been so fast it left people dumbstruck.