Quick Sword

Among the skills on the back of the Wind and Moon Mirror, the most useful was undoubtedly the Great Idol Spirit Method.

Sister Lan, at the master level, was a huge help to him in every respect: cultivation, alchemy, and combat.

Gao Xian had always felt that the Great Idol Spirit Method was the most important skill, and upgrading it should be his highest priority.

The problem was that upgrading the Great Idol Spirit Method required more than 4,900 Humanity Aura. That was far too extravagant.

He didn't have the ability to upgrade it just yet, so he could only set it aside for now.

Second to the Great Idol Spirit Method was the Lightning Dragon Hand.

This skill he'd been born with made his hands both fast and steady. It helped him enormously, whether he was forming hand seals or refining pills.

A little over 400 Humanity Aura would be enough to raise the Lightning Dragon Hand to the master level.

Based on his past experience, once a skill reached the proficient level, every subsequent level brought a tremendous improvement.

Gao Xian was also full of anticipation for the Lightning Dragon Hand.

As for the True Yang Spear, it was certainly useful too. He just didn't think there was any need to raise it to the grandmaster level—not yet, at least.

His last battle with an Evil Spirit had already proved that the True Yang Spear was powerful enough.

If he hadn't performed so poorly, he could have dealt with the Evil Spirit on the spot.

After weighing his options, Gao Xian still decided to upgrade the Lightning Dragon Hand.

He poured in just under 300 Humanity Aura, and the Lightning Dragon Hand leveled up.

Lightning Dragon Hand: Blindingly fast hands. Both arms contain the power of lightning, bringing those they touch an intensely pleasurable sensation. (1/2000 Master)

The description of the upgraded Lightning Dragon Hand had changed.

Before, it had said his hands moved blindingly fast when performing fixed, simple movements. Now the limitation of "fixed, simple movements" was gone; it simply said his hands moved blindingly fast.

Before, his hands were imbued with the power of lightning. Now both arms contained that power. The effect of the technique had also gone from "intense" to "extremely intense"!

It was an across-the-board improvement!

Sister Lan in the Wind and Moon Mirror stretched out her arms. Bolts of lightning coursed through them as the bones and muscles in her hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and arms rapidly shifted and moved.

Her arms looked like two nimble serpents, incredibly flexible and supple, yet exceptionally fast.

As Sister Lan changed, Gao Xian's arms felt as if they'd been struck by lightning. They tingled and itched, swollen and sore.

It took a long while for his arms to return to normal. He looked them over, but there was nothing unusual on the surface.

Yet he could feel that every muscle and bone, from his fingers to his shoulders, had changed. They were stronger and tougher, brimming with power yet astonishingly agile.

It felt as though his arms had come to life.

Gao Xian spotted the Little Black Cat nearby, watching him warily, and suddenly got an idea.

He reached out and grabbed for it. The Little Black Cat sensed danger, its fur standing on end as it tried to spring away. But before it could leap, he had it pinned down.

The Little Black Cat's sharp cries turned at once into soft, sweet meows. Its body went limp as a puddle, its glossy black eyes filled with blissful contentment...

The upgraded Lightning Dragon Hand had subdued the Little Black Cat in an instant.

Gao Xian was quite pleased, too. He and the Little Black Cat had been more than seven feet apart, yet he'd grabbed the little rascal in one go.

They said a cat's reflexes were seven times faster than a human's! That showed just how fast he was now.

It wasn't just his arms that moved faster. His whole body seemed quicker, including his reflexes.

Sister Lan's blessing could make his reactions lightning-fast. But this time, she hadn't helped him at all. His reflexes had improved entirely on their own.

His reflexes were faster, his movements quicker, and his judgment sharper. Taken together, it was easy for him to catch the Little Black Cat and play with it, petting it to his heart's content!

Gao Xian chuckled smugly. "Why aren't you meowing anymore? Why aren't you putting up a fight? You've fallen into my clutches. I'll make you feel like you're in heaven! Let's see if you're going to surrender..."

The Little Black Cat had its eyes blissfully closed, its little paws spreading their toes in comfort. Completely lost in pleasure, it paid no attention to what Gao Xian was saying.

After petting the cat for a while, he'd left it limp as a puddle, too weak to stand.

Gao Xian glanced at the Wind and Moon Mirror. His master-level Lightning Dragon Hand's proficiency hadn't changed at all.

Clearly, the master-level Lightning Dragon Hand was much harder to improve.

At least petting a cat was a great stress reliever. Even if it didn't raise his proficiency, it was still worth doing.

Gao Xian took his sword out to the courtyard. He drew a deep breath and swiftly unsheathed it. The three-foot blade flashed through the air in a dazzling streak of cold light, then became a stream of light slipping back into its sheath.

The sword was sheathed, but the sharp whistle of the blade cutting through the air still echoed in Gao Xian's ears.

He practiced drawing and sheathing his sword every day, and the movement had become smooth and familiar.

But he had never been this fast.

He had no precise way to measure it, but by his estimate, this strike was more than ten times faster than before.

More impressive still was how easily he controlled it. After swinging the sword out at speed, he could draw it back without effort. His command over the sword had reached an entirely new level.

Upgrading the Lightning Dragon Hand to master level had an immediate effect on his swordsmanship!

Fighting with a sword required coordination across his entire body, but drawing and striking only involved his arms. Most sword forms relied mainly on coordinated force from the wrist, elbow, and arm.

Gao Xian didn't know much about swordsmanship, but he did know one basic fact about physics: the faster something moved, the more kinetic energy it had, and the greater the damage it could inflict!

If he'd had these abilities during his fight with Old Wang, he could have waited for Old Wang to attack and then drawn his sword to kill him.

Gao Xian found a piece of firewood about as thick as a finger and a foot long, then casually drew his sword and struck. The stick split cleanly down the middle into two even halves.

Gao Xian was very satisfied. Being able to do that proved his sword was not only fast, but accurate.

He flicked the tip of his sword upward, sending one half of the stick into the air, then swung in a flurry. As the sword flashed, the stick was cut into eight even pieces...

In the instant before the pieces hit the ground, Gao Xian had struck seven times and kept every cut perfectly precise.

In truth, he felt he could go even faster. But if he moved too fast, he'd lose control of the sword.

The sensation of using a quick sword was exhilarating. It felt incredible.

Holding his sword, Gao Xian wandered all over the courtyard, wanting to cut at anything he saw.

Even flies and mosquitoes that passed in front of him couldn't escape their fate.

As it turned out, a sword that was both fast and accurate had no trouble cutting down flies and mosquitoes.

One strike was enough to smash them to pieces against the speeding blade.

Gao Xian played around for most of the day, until his arms ached so badly he could barely hold the sword. Only then did he reluctantly return to his room to rest.

He threw together a haphazard meal. His arms were still weak and limp, and at last Gao Xian could sit down in peace and cultivate the Five Elements Technique.

When he emerged from meditation, his mind was completely calm.

He went out to the courtyard to test the Ice Arrow Art and Flame Bomb. Since he could form hand seals faster, both spells came out noticeably quicker.

If chanting didn't take a little time, he could have cast them instantly.

Gao Xian spent the whole day testing things out. The improvement to his Lightning Dragon Hand had sent his combat strength soaring.

With his quick sword, he felt he could hold his own even against a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

But combat was too dangerous. Unless he had no other choice, Gao Xian didn't want to fight anyone.

The Humanity Aura on the Wind and Moon Mirror had a little over 150 points left. After considering his options, Gao Xian put it into the Heavenly Gui Pill.