Aptitude Breaks Two Thousand

'Being in the same Five Viscera realm, the first of the Four Great Passes, even if their cultivation and realm are higher than mine, they still cannot withstand my sword arts, which have surpassed the Great Perfection!'

Indeed, the widely circulated saying that 'the Dao of the Sword is the pinnacle of slaughter' is no exaggeration!

The claim that a single strike determines life and death is also entirely accurate.

Yu Xiu had already experienced this for himself!

This Old Ape possessed muscles of steel and bones of iron, and its strength was truly formidable; even Luo Fuyi, a disciple of the Lingyang Sect, was no match for it.

In fact, many practitioners at the peak of the Five Viscera realm, the first of the Four Great Passes, would likely be unable to defeat it.

Yet, in his hands, it could not even survive a single move.

His sword was not a fine blade, but with the augmentation of Sword Qi, cutting through metal and iron was merely a trivial feat.

'As expected, nothing of value was left behind.' After searching the cave, Yu Xiu finally understood why the demon ape had been so enraged.

There were no spiritual objects, no precious medicinal herbs, no spiritual weapons, and not even a trace of gold or silver to be seen.

Only some scrap metal and broken iron remained, along with some basic techniques and manuals for the first two stages of the Ascending Dragon Four Great Passes. All other valuable items had been cleared out, leaving nothing at all.

Fortunately, Yu Xiu was not picky; as long as they were techniques or manuals, he would take them all.

There were seventy-four basic techniques and sixty-three flawless techniques. Although he could not yet practice the Qi Circulation realm techniques, Yu Xiu still read through them; there were forty-eight of those.

In total, there were over three hundred basic, flawless, and Qi Circulation martial arts.

'If I practice them all to perfection, my comprehension might increase by a thousand!'

The harvest was immense.

It was not just a thousand points of comprehension, but also a thousand years of lifespan.

Without taking these techniques and manuals with him, Yu Xiu did not linger and drifted away.

At the summit.

The demon creatures had all been slain. Luo Fuyi sheathed her long saber, while not far away, the middle-aged, burly Zhu Heng kicked the demon ape at his feet.

The two exchanged a glance, both frowning: "The Old Ape is not here?"

If that were not the case, they would not have had such an easy time.

"Search." The group moved together with tacit understanding and began to scour the mountain.

Half an hour passed, with no results.

Someone suggested searching the cliffs, which was how they found the narrow fissure.

Once they entered the cave, Luo Fuyi and Zhu Heng immediately looked at the Old Ape, whose head had been severed from its body, and both felt a jolt in their hearts.

"Killed in one strike—a master!"

"Sword intent..."

"Hiss, the sword intent and Sword Qi are still lingering; this is undoubtedly the work of a master from the Qingwei Sword Sect!"

'Qingwei Sword Sect, Brother Yu?!' Luo Fuyi's heart skipped a beat.

Others might not know, but she was aware that Yu Xiu had come with her, only to vanish in the blink of an eye. Looking at it now, this Old Ape was most likely Yu Xiu's handiwork!

'He truly is a master of the sword!' Luo Fuyi's pupils constricted, and her heartbeat quickened.

This Old Ape was stronger than her, yet it could not survive a single strike from Yu Xiu!

In other words, she would not be able to survive a single strike from him either!

"All the good stuff has been cleared out. Who did this?" The others searched around, and finding absolutely nothing of value, they began to grumble in dissatisfaction.

Zhu Heng frowned, stood up immediately, and kicked the grumbling man over: "Does the Qingwei Sword Sect's business concern you enough to be dissatisfied?"

That was someone who had comprehended sword intent; even within the Sword Sect, such a person was rare.

[Tongbei Technique Five Chapters: Perfection]

[Shaoyang Technique Ten Chapters: Perfection]

[Midnight Technique Ten Chapters: Perfection]

[Silk-Twining Power Ten Chapters: Perfection]

[Armor-Breaking Technique Ten Chapters: Perfection]...

Comprehension +760

Lifespan +760

[Comprehension: 2189 (1429+760)]

[Lifespan: 16/2264 (1504+760)]

"Comprehension has broken two thousand; it's getting faster and faster!"

At the foot of the Qingwei Sword Sect, Yu Xiu let out a long breath.

After leaving Cloud Mountain Cliff, Yu Xiu traveled for three days before returning to the sect, stopping periodically along the way to practice his techniques.

He had already practiced all seventy-four basic techniques he obtained from Cloud Mountain Cliff, each consisting of five chapters, to perfection.

Of the sixty-three Flawless Realm techniques, he had mastered thirteen, and he had brought every one of the ten chapters in each of those techniques to perfection.

How astonishing was it when his Comprehension reached 1429?

For basic techniques, he only needed to read them once to reach minor success, nearing major success; a second reading brought them to perfection, rendering further practice unnecessary.

Thus, he perfected the three hundred and seventy chapters of the seventy-four basic techniques with incredible speed.

With this level of Comprehension, gaining lifespan was no different from picking it up off the ground.

As his Comprehension stacked, he found that he could reach minor success in Flawless Realm techniques after a single reading, major success after two more, and perfection after practicing them just once.

He estimated that once his Comprehension grew even higher, he wouldn't even need to practice Qi Circulation techniques; a few readings and some mental deduction would likely be enough to bring them directly to perfection.

In this way, he could bypass the actual cultivation of Qi Circulation techniques, avoiding any concerns about conflicting internal energies while still reaping the rewards of Comprehension and lifespan.

This trip had been well worth it.

Furthermore, he discovered that the techniques from Cloud Mountain Cliff did not grant him traits like 'Sword Sense +1' or 'Lightness +1'.

Perhaps it was because they were too miscellaneous and lacked focus; the basic techniques were purely for tempering the body.

They were unlike the techniques of the Sword Sect, which focused on the sword from beginning to end.

I suppose a trip to the Law Enforcement Hall is inevitable.

Having returned to the Inner Court of Emerald Bamboo Mountain in peace, Yu Xiu steeled himself.

He had wiped out Fang Jiming and the other eight, so it was impossible for the Law Enforcement Hall to remain indifferent; at the very least, they would have to conduct an inquiry.

But since they hadn't arrived yet, Yu Xiu resumed his training.

To be precise, he was performing deductions within his mind.

Because he had already read through all the martial arts manuals from Cloud Mountain Cliff, they remained recorded on his panel.

[Jade-Shattering Technique Chapter One: Perfection]

Comprehension +3

Lifespan +3

[Jade-Shattering Technique Chapter Two: Perfection]

Comprehension +3

Lifespan +3

[Jade-Shattering Technique Chapter Three: Perfection]

Comprehension +3

Lifespan +3

With Comprehension exceeding two thousand, there is no longer any need to practice Flawless Realm techniques!

Recalling them once and deducing them once was enough to reach perfection—the progress was shockingly fast.

Just then, two young disciples dressed in dark red martial attire approached, swords in hand, their expressions cold.

"Inner Court disciple Yu Xiu, you are summoned by the Law Enforcement Hall," one of them said, his voice devoid of emotion, his face showing no expression.

Law Enforcement Hall disciples had always been this way; if they weren't ruthless and cold, they wouldn't be able to suppress the wicked thoughts in the hearts of the many disciples.

Here it comes. Yu Xiu had anticipated this, so he didn't ask questions and followed the two toward the summit, arriving at the main hall of the Law Enforcement Hall shortly after.

It was worth noting that ordinary disciples who had committed offenses were not qualified to enter this Hall of Law Enforcement.

This was a privilege he had earned only by slaying nine Inner Court disciples with his sword.

Inside the hall, behind a desk, a stern, middle-aged man with a short beard and a humorless expression slowly set down the file in his hand, his eyelids lifting slightly to sweep over Yu Xiu standing below.

He has indeed reached the Viscera Realm, the first of the Four Great Passes!

Such Comprehension and speed of cultivation were truly rare!

"Do you know why you have been summoned?" Su Wenjin asked, his face expressionless.

Yu Xiu cupped his hands in a salute: "I know."

"Speak," Su Wenjin said, straightening his posture, one hand resting on his knee, his calm, deep gaze fixed intently on Yu Xiu.

An invisible pressure, like a mountain torrent or a tsunami, surged toward him.

This was no illusion; it was a tangible pressure, a shockwave directed at the spiritual level.

As a master like Law Enforcement Hall Chief Su Wenjin, his cultivation of spiritual will was already extremely profound. Once he focused his mind, a spiritual phenomenon would manifest—invisible to the naked eye, but anyone facing him would find their spirit swept into it, whether they willed it or not.

Fortunately, Yu Xiu had already forged a Sword Heart, which naturally isolated him from the impact.

Hm? A flash of surprise crossed Su Wenjin's eyes, though he remained composed.

Yu Xiu, his face neither flushing nor his heart racing, opened his mouth and began to spout nonsense: "Previously, this disciple went to Guiping County in Donghe Prefecture to slay demons alongside Senior Brother Zhao Zheng and the others. Unexpectedly, the Shadow Demon was ferocious and wounded Zhao Zheng, Qin Shu, Ruan Fei, and Zhang Yun. Fortunately, Fang Jiming and the others arrived, but the Shadow Demon was truly formidable and wiped out all the senior brothers and sisters!

"The senior brothers and sisters, mindful of this disciple's youth, sacrificed their lives to save me, which is the only reason I was able to escape!"

There are some things you can do, but you cannot say; everyone knows the truth, and if you play the fool, the matter passes.

But if you insist on stating it righteously, that is an entirely different matter!

Fang Jiming, Zhao Zheng, and the others sacrificed their lives and were all killed by the Shadow Demon? Su Wenjin nearly laughed in anger.

And that glaring Sword Qi of the Qingwei Sword Sect—was that also unleashed by the Shadow Demon?