Four days later would mark the end of the three-year period. As luck would have it, the sect would be holding its assessment then.
As for the Phoenix Feather Gold, it was a more valuable spirit material than Jade Cyan. Yu Xiu planned to exchange it for contribution points after entering the Inner Court.
Still, he couldn't afford to waste these four days. Fortunately, he had seventy of the hundred contribution points he'd gotten for the Jade Cyan left. So he made a trip to the Library Pavilion and spent twenty points on twenty more basic sword manuals.
Basic sword manuals were cheap: just one contribution point apiece. But they could only be obtained with contribution points, so before this, Yu Xiu had practiced a full sixteen basic sword manuals.
Keep developing.
In the Qingwei Sword Sect, basic manuals weren't even worthy of names. The Outer Court had three hundred and forty-two basic manuals, simply known as the Three Hundred and Forty-Two Basic Manuals.
Their names were utterly plain.
[Basic Sword Technique, Manual Seventeen: Minor Mastery (26/100)]
With 149 comprehension, all it took to reach Minor Mastery in a basic sword manual was one read-through.
Once my comprehension breaks two hundred, then five hundred, I might reach Great Mastery—or even Perfection—just by glancing at a basic sword manual.
Yu Xiu was exhilarated. His sword spun in his hand, already sweeping out layers of sword light.
Basic Sword Technique, Manual Seventeen +50
[Basic Sword Technique, Manual Seventeen: Great Mastery (24/100)]
Basic Sword Technique, Manual Seventeen +50
[Basic Sword Technique, Manual Seventeen: Perfection (Sword Sense +1)]
Comprehension +1
Lifespan +1
Just four repetitions. He had practiced a basic sword technique only four times, and already he'd perfected it!
"149 comprehension really is beyond the ordinary." Yu Xiu took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement.
No. His comprehension was no longer 149. It was 150 now.
Practicing a basic sword technique four times took Yu Xiu hardly any time at all. He could finish in a little over fifteen minutes.
Twenty basic sword techniques meant 20 comprehension and 20 years of lifespan. He could earn them all in about three hours.
If only he had enough contribution points...
Unfortunately, he didn't!
Otherwise, if he practiced eight hours a day for the next three days, Yu Xiu's comprehension would break three hundred and charge straight toward the four-hundred mark.
"I need contribution points. I need a lot of contribution points!"
Yu Xiu couldn't help looking at the wooden box in his room, which held the Phoenix Feather Gold.
But in the end, he held back. Developing was important, but he couldn't neglect his strength.
He had to save the Phoenix Feather Gold to exchange for cultivation pills after entering the Inner Court and boost his strength.
Only with enough strength could he earn more contribution points quickly, exchange them for more manuals and sword arts, and gain even more comprehension and lifespan.
It was a virtuous cycle.
Moreover, every time he broke through a realm, he could choose one manual and one sword art for free. Those would also increase his comprehension and lifespan.
And the higher the manuals' level, the more comprehension and lifespan they granted!
Still, Yu Xiu couldn't resist. That afternoon, he returned to the Library Pavilion and spent the fifty contribution points he had left on fifty basic sword manuals.
The following night.
[Basic Sword Technique, Manual Eighty-Four: Perfection (Sword Sense +1)] [Basic Sword Technique, Manual Eighty-Five: Perfection (Sword Sense +1)] [Basic Sword Technique, Manual Eighty-Six: Perfection (Sword Sense +1)]
He had exchanged seventy contribution points for seventy basic sword manuals, and he had perfected every one of them.
Comprehension +70
Lifespan +70
Sword Sense +70
[Comprehension: 219 (149+70)] [Lifespan: 16/294 (224+70)] [Sword Heart: Hidden Edge (2/500)]
My comprehension has broken two hundred, and my lifespan is about to break three hundred!
Yu Xiu felt his mind growing clearer and clearer, as though flashes of inspiration were constantly flaring within it. When he ran through a sword art, all kinds of ideas sprang up: what could be improved, what could be cut, what could be fused into a single move...
If I practiced Qi Circulation Realm manuals now, I'd probably progress much faster.
Even with Qi Sea Realm manuals, just one glance would surely be enough to get started.
He was eagerly looking forward to entering the Inner Court and practicing Qi Sea Realm manuals.
Two days later.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
Three bell tolls rang out in quick succession early in the morning, echoing throughout the Outer Court.
Across Mianzhu Mountain, some disciples looked nervous, some pale, some pressed for time, and others confident and eager as they strode out.
The vast majority headed for the mountaintop as soon as they heard the bells.
"Is it time for the assessment again?"
"Those senior brothers who joined three years ago are about to feel the pressure!"
"If they haven't broken through to the Flawless Realm in three years, then bitter cultivation alone probably won't do them much good. They'd be better off heading out to gain experience sooner."
"Heh, Shadow Demons and fiends are everywhere beyond the mountain. What use would Flawless Realm disciples be if they went out to gain experience?"
"One careless slip, and they'd be dead. If they haven't reached the Qi Sea Realm, no one wants to go out and gain experience."
"Some people break through both the Flawless and Qi Circulation passes within three years and can enter the Inner Court directly!"
"Others reach the Flawless Realm within three years but just spin their wheels there, without making the slightest progress. The difference between people is enormous!"
"I hear three disciples who joined three years ago are exceptionally talented. They broke through both the Flawless and Qi Circulation passes in just one year and went straight into the Inner Court. Three years have passed since then. They must be close to breaking through the Four Ascending Dragon Passes and entering the Main Sect by now!"
"You mean Senior Brothers Zhu Wenjiu, Feng Zhiyuan, and Zhang Yundu, right?"
"People like them are beyond us. We can only look up to them. They're destined to become peerless figures who reach the Four Great Passes, or even surpass them. You might not see a handful like that among the Outer Court disciples in ten years!"
"But there are also Senior Brother Shan Yu, Senior Brother Liu Qingchuan, Senior Brother Zhao Hong, and Senior Sister Xu Rou. They broke through both the Flawless and Qi Circulation passes within three years. They're still goals for us to strive toward—we might be able to catch up to them!"
"Even if we can't catch up to people like them, we should at least avoid being one of those who fail to break through to the Flawless Realm in three years. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to go out and gain experience, with our lives hanging in the balance!"
The disciples gathered at the mountaintop training grounds.
Some had reached the end of their three-year period and had to take the assessment; others had simply come to watch. The crowd was an enormous, surging mass.
When Yu Xiu arrived, he couldn't even squeeze into the front. He had to queue near the back.
Just then, the crowd stirred and automatically parted to open a path.
A tall, straight-backed youth walked through. His looks were ordinary, but he carried an icy, swordlike air that kept people from approaching.
"It's Liu Qingchuan, Senior Brother Liu! He'll be entering the Inner Court after this assessment, right?"
"Exactly. I hear he broke through the second pass, the Qi Circulation Realm, and entered the third pass, the Qi Sea Realm, a month ago!"
"There's no one stronger than him in the Outer Court now."
Yu Xiu watched Liu Qingchuan pass through the crowd, which parted on its own, and head straight to the very front. Not a single disciple showed the slightest dissatisfaction. Instead, they looked at him with respect and envy, or watched him with shining eyes, hoping to follow in his footsteps.
He considered following Liu Qingchuan and squeezing toward the front, but stopped himself. He didn't want anyone saying he was forcing his way into the spotlight by basking in Liu Qingchuan's glory.
He didn't much care what people thought, but he had no desire to invite trouble for no reason.
A little while later, the crowd stirred again.
Another young expert, Shan Yu, arrived. Compared to Liu Qingchuan, Shan Yu was more powerfully built, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He looked less like a sword cultivator and more like a body cultivator.
"Senior Brother Shan Yu gives off such a strong sense of pressure!"
"Senior Brother Zhao Hong and Senior Sister Xu Rou are here too."
A young man and woman walked over together. The man was handsome, the woman beautiful, and the two chatted with easy smiles. They looked just like a pair of wandering martial heroes, drawing envious glances.
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