Innate Artistic Conception

After freshening up, Feng Qingmo brewed a cup of tea and stood on the second-floor balcony, bathing in the morning sun.

"This senior, Bian Xiangqing, is truly a talent of heaven-sent proportions..."

After practicing sword techniques all night, Feng Qingmo felt immense admiration for the predecessor who had created the Wind-Washing Sword.

Even the World Destroyer spear technique created by Hong, the world's strongest, had an unknown force amplification, but it should be slightly inferior to Thor's Thunder Blade Nine Layers; otherwise, Thor would not have earned the titles of fastest and having the strongest physique.

However, the secret manual created by Bian Xiangqing had a force amplification even stronger than the Thunder Blade Nine Layers.

Countless people across the world practiced the two ultimate manuals created by Hong and Thor, yet it was never heard that anyone had reached the realm of Hong or Thor, which showed just how difficult these two manuals were to master.

Although no one could master them completely, there were likely many who had succeeded in the first few layers.

But the Wind-Washing Sword was different. Not to mention the whole world, even within the Huaxia military, many practiced it, but those who could truly enter the threshold were fewer than ten. Among those who entered, those who could master the second layer were even rarer—this was according to Guan Chenglong himself.

Although Guan Chenglong had also purchased the third volume of the manual, he had made no progress after many years of practice, and had long since changed his focus to other sword techniques.

Back when Guan Chenglong practiced this sword technique, he had mastered the first layer within a few months, and it took nearly two years of coincidental opportunity to master the second layer, but he had failed to master the third layer even after three years of practice.

Although Guan Chenglong's footwork had reached the Perfect realm after becoming a Wargod, and his sword technique had also reached the Consummation realm, it had nothing to do with the Wind-Washing Sword; rather, he had achieved those breakthroughs while fighting Lord-level monsters after switching to other techniques.

Of course, Guan Chenglong himself said that although he practiced other techniques, the benefits brought to him by practicing the Wind-Washing Sword were still endless, making him feel that he achieved twice the result with half the effort when practicing other techniques, and his force amplification also benefited from the Wind-Washing Sword, allowing him to be considered a formidable fighter among Wargods.

Feng Qingmo had a guess as to why it was so difficult: this sword technique likely carried its own artistic conception, and it was inevitably a wind-attribute artistic conception.

Having read the original work, Feng Qingmo knew that after breaking through from the Student level to the Planetary Level, the body's genes would undergo a leap, and in the process of this genetic transformation, one would gain a talent, or special ability, which basically indicated which attribute the person was suited to cultivate.

For instance, Luo Feng was of the metal attribute, Hong was light, and Thor was of the thunder attribute.

This attribute inclination was likely related to genes, meaning it was basically determined from birth.

This immediately excluded the possibility of all non-wind-attribute martial artists practicing this sword technique. Furthermore, once the third layer of this technique was mastered, one's footwork and sword technique would inevitably enter the artistic conception realm, but without comprehending a trace of the wind's artistic conception, it would likely be very difficult to master the third layer.

"Guesses are just guesses after all; how it actually works will have to wait until I master the second layer..." Feng Qingmo rubbed the teacup, his unfocused eyes staring at the morning sun on the horizon.

"Fortunately, during yesterday's Trial Tower challenge, I entered the Perfect realm of footwork once, which made my progress in footwork very obvious during last night's practice..."

A smile appeared on his face as he drank the tea in his hand in one gulp, then turned to head toward the Central Building. Although he hadn't slept all night, he was still full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue.

"Looking at you today, you feel a bit different..." Guan Chenglong slashed with his sword one strike after another, yet they were easily neutralized by Feng Qingmo, leaving him somewhat surprised.

"I passed the first floor of the Trial Tower yesterday!" Feng Qingmo said with a smile.

"Oh," Guan Chenglong's eyes lit up, "You passed? It seems you've improved again. No wonder you're handling it so easily today, even though I'm using the same strength and realm as yesterday..."

As he spoke, the strength in his hand gradually increased, and his sword technique became more exquisite, once again making Feng Qingmo feel the pressure from before.

After half an hour of intense combat, Guan Chenglong stopped his sword. Feng Qingmo took the opportunity to bring up the parts he didn't understand after reading the manual last night.

"You bought the second volume of the Wind-Washing Sword?" Guan Chenglong keenly noticed that these questions were not present in the first volume of the manual.

"...Yes." Guan Chenglong did not know about the goals and rewards Jia Yi had set for Feng Qingmo, and Feng Qingmo did not intend to publicize it.

"You sold those materials, and with the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, the contribution points were enough, but although I got you a high price of 500 million for the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, adding those materials only makes it 600 million plus... It seems your parents gave you all their savings..."

Feng Qingmo remained silent, letting him fill in the blanks himself.

In fact, after receiving the money from the military, he had transferred 300 million back to Feng Jiansong, as his parents needed to keep some emergency funds on hand.

"When did you get the manual?" Guan Chenglong stopped dwelling on how Feng Qingmo had bought it; as long as he had it, that was enough.

"Last night."

Guan Chenglong pondered for a moment and said sincerely, "Qingmo, you haven't had the manual for long, so it's normal to have these doubts, but my advice is to try to find the answers to these questions yourself first. If you haven't found the answers after a month, shall we discuss them then?"

"Discuss?" Feng Qingmo was a bit puzzled as to why Guan Chenglong used that word.

Guan Chenglong showed a nostalgic expression, "My teacher once said something that I think makes a lot of sense: cultivation is actually a very private matter!"

"Everyone's physique, soul, and genes are different, and their cultivation habits are worlds apart... This leads to the same sword technique being mastered by some, while others cannot; some can advance by leaps and bounds to a profound realm in a day, while others make no progress and keep spinning in circles outside the door..."

"If it's something basic, a teacher can certainly teach it, but when it involves more profound doubts that will affect your future path of cultivation, it is best to seek the answers yourself. When you find the answer, you will naturally advance further in the martial way; if you cannot find the answer, you might just stay in place..."

"What you say makes sense!" Feng Qingmo nodded.

"But!" Guan Chenglong said seriously, "If you ask others for advice, the person being asked will definitely answer according to their own understanding. But as I just said, everyone is an independent individual, and their insights into cultivation are different. Theirs may not suit me, and mine may not suit you—sometimes, instead of getting an answer, you might end up taking a detour without even realizing it!"

"This is why I suggested you practice for a while and seek the answers yourself! Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand," Feng Qingmo said gratefully, "Thank you, Teacher Guan!"