Feng Mu

"Sister Ruo, I didn't expect you to have such an appetite. My wallet is crying!" Guan Ning said, feigning heartbreak.

"Don't give me that. You think I don't know you made a killing recently? My mom told me everything." Zhao Ruo said with a grin.

"Aunt Qian really..." Guan Ning said, looking frustrated.

"Little Ning, is it true what my mom said? That your movement techniques and sword skills have both reached the second realm?"

Zhao Ruo recalled what her mother had told her about Guan Ning and still found it hard to believe. After all, she had been in the Elite Training Camp for two years, guided by War God-level instructors and aided by precious ancient civilization ruins, yet she had only reached that level herself. She couldn't fathom how Guan Ning had managed it.

"Of course, I'm a genius!" Guan Ning said proudly.

"You little brat, calling yourself a genius..." Zhao Ruo hated nothing more than this precocious act of his; it was particularly annoying.

"How about we spar?" Zhao Ruo said, eager to verify it for herself.

"Fine." Guan Ning nodded, "But you have to control your strength."

Zhao Ruo nodded.

The two headed back, preparing to spar in the basement of Zhao Ruo's villa. After all, the challenge rooms in the Nine-Story Tower were extremely popular; the slots for Luo Feng and William were already booked until tomorrow.

Guan Ning suddenly remembered Zhong Xuan and spoke up: "Sister Ruo, did you know Brother Xuan has a girlfriend?"

"Of course I know. It's all over the residential area; how could I not?" Zhao Ruo replied.

"You and Brother Xuan grew up together—childhood sweethearts in the truest sense. Have you never thought about..." Guan Ning raised an eyebrow.

"Are you looking for a beating?" Zhao Ruo said with disdain. "Forget it. Why would I ever like a weakling like him?"

Indeed!

Zhong Xuan was still a high-level student at the martial arts school and would likely only ever reach the level of a fighter at best. Zhao Ruo was different; as a student of the Elite Training Camp, the minimum requirement for graduation was the War God level. The two were no longer on the same level.

As they spoke, the two returned to the Jiangnan Pavilion.

Once ready, they began their spar.

"Bang!"

After a dozen exchanges, the blade in Zhao Ruo's hand was knocked away by Guan Ning.

Zhao Ruo stared blankly at her empty hands, unable to accept the result for a moment.

"Sister Ruo, I..." Guan Ning hadn't expected his current strength to be so overwhelming. Seeing Zhao Ruo fall silent, he spoke up hurriedly.

"Again!"

Hearing Guan Ning, Zhao Ruo snapped out of it, picked up her combat blade, and shouted sharply.

"Clang!"

This time, Guan Ning deliberately held back, but in less than a hundred moves, the Qingming Sword was pressed against Zhao Ruo's throat.

"Again!"

Zhao Ruo increased her strength to the mid-level Warlord rank and held on for over a hundred moves.

"Again!"

This time, Zhao Ruo gave it her all, yet she only lasted two hundred moves.

"Clatter!"

Zhao Ruo dropped her blade to the ground, looked at Guan Ning, and muttered to herself: "Two years of bitter training, and this is the result?"

Seeing Zhao Ruo's dejected state, Guan Ning felt a pang of heartache. He placed a hand on her shoulder and comforted her softly: "Sister Ruo, your strength isn't low; it's just that my situation is a bit special."

Seeing that Zhao Ruo remained listless, Guan Ning shouted sternly: "Zhao Ruo, was your original intention for walking the path of a martial artist just to compete with others?"

"Think of those pioneers during the Great Nirvana period who carved out a sanctuary for humanity in the darkness!"

"Think of those martial artists who fight monsters in the wilderness to protect humanity!"

"Think of those martyrs who died during the beast tides!"

"Now look at yourself. Are you worthy of them? Are you worthy of your parents who hoped you would become a phoenix? Are you worthy of yourself?"

Hearing Guan Ning's deafening, soul-stirring words, Zhao Ruo finally recovered from the blow.

"You're right. Never forget why you started, and you will achieve your goal. Little Ning, thank you."

Once those words left Guan Ning's lips, not only was Zhao Ruo awakened, but his own heart was stirred as well.

The excitement and trepidation of first encountering the world's information;

The despair upon receiving the news of his parents' deaths;

The bold words spoken when stepping out of the shadows;

The future threat of extinction by the Golden Horned Beast;

The terror the Nolanshan Family brought to the people of Earth;

Student, Planetary, Stellar, Universe, Domain Lord, Sector Lord, Immortal...

Yinlan Empire, Black Dragon Mountain Empire, Ganwu Universe Country, Virtual Universe Company...

Human Race, Demon Race, Machine Race, Ancestral God Religion, Star Alliance...

The Primordial Universe, the Universe Ocean, the Origin Continent...

Everything, whether it had already come to pass or had yet to occur, flashed through the mind of Guan Ning one by one.

Guan Ning's gaze gradually grew dazed, lost within this magnificent yet perilous universe, unable to find the path back, unable to find the end, and even less able to find the beginning.

He knew not whence he came, nor whither he was going.

"The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao... Water benefits all things and does not contend..."

At the critical moment, the wisps of pale blue mist within his sea of consciousness flickered slightly, and passages of the Dao Scripture flowed through his heart. Guan Ning's eyes gradually regained their luster until they shone with a piercing, soul-captivating brilliance. He laughed aloud: "I understand now. Today, I have finally attained enlightenment."

"What are you shouting for? You're noisy as death." Zhao Ruo had initially been worried about Guan Ning, but she relaxed once she saw his eyes regain their spark. Who would have thought he would start giggling the moment he woke up? Zhao Ruo asked with concern: "What do you understand? What have you attained?"

"It's nothing." Guan Ning didn't know how to explain it. To say he had seen his true nature felt inaccurate; he could only say he had realized his own self, understood why he cultivated, and rediscovered his original intent.

On March 31st, Luo Feng defeated William, won a 5-billion bet, and also had a conflict with Candice.

That evening, in the courtyard of the Jiangnan Pavilion, the evening breeze blew, dispelling the faint warmth of early summer and scattering the restlessness in people's hearts.

"Luo Feng, this is Teacher Jiang. For the next five years you spend in the training camp, you will follow Teacher Jiang," Shi Jiang introduced. "Guan Ning, this is Teacher Feng. You will follow Teacher Feng from now on."

Luo Feng's teacher remained Jiang Fang, a tall woman dressed in a purple training suit, whose maturity revealed a hint of wildness, her phoenix eyes carrying an unquestionable majesty.

Beside her was Teacher Feng, who looked to be in his thirties with a melancholy expression, though his world-weary eyes suggested this man was certainly more than he appeared.

Teacher Feng?

No way, could it be that everyone who practices the sword is monopolized by those surnamed Feng?

"My name is Feng Mu." Dressed in a cyan training robe, Feng Mu's entire aura shifted drastically. He had been a melancholy prince, but the moment these words left his lips, he became like a longsword drawn from its sheath, sharp and piercing.

"For the next five years, I am your direct teacher," Feng Mu continued. "There are currently three students following me; you are the fourth."

"Teacher Feng." Guan Ning stood straight and gave a slight nod in greeting.

From that display of aura just now, it was clear that Feng Mu had the skills to be a teacher at the Elite Training Camp.

"Teacher Jiang, I'll be going now. Guan Ning, take your sword and follow me." Feng Mu exchanged a greeting with Jiang Fang, ignored Guan Ning's etiquette, and turned to walk away immediately after speaking.

For these geniuses, standard etiquette constraints were simply inappropriate.

Guan Ning didn't say much; he picked up the Qingming Sword and followed Feng Mu out.

On the way, Feng Mu smiled slightly: "Your movement technique and sword technique have both reached the second realm?"

"Yes." Guan Ning nodded.

"Not bad!"

Feng Mu nodded, then fell silent, focusing only on walking ahead.

Guan Ning was left completely bewildered by Feng Mu's behavior, unsure if he should speak, but he kept close behind him nonetheless.

Before long, the two arrived at one of the training rooms in the Nine-Story Tower. Feng Mu drew a longsword from his waist: "Come, Guan Ning, use your sword technique to attack me! I will use no more than your level of strength and speed! Let me see your ability."

Hearing this, Guan Ning felt a surge of spirit, thinking that Teacher Feng would surely be taken aback.

"Teacher Feng, please guide me!" As he spoke, Feng Mu had already attacked.

Feng Mu slashed down at Guan Ning with a clean, efficient stroke. Guan Ning dodged, and with a flick of his wrist, Feng Mu angled his longsword for a diagonal strike, the angle extremely tricky.

Through this buffer, the Qingming Sword in Guan Ning's hand had already left its sheath, and with a "clang," it perfectly parried Feng Mu's blade.

Having failed to land a hit, Feng Mu tapped his feet, his figure beginning to flicker, his longsword becoming elusive and unpredictable.

Clearly, this teacher before him had begun to take things seriously.

Guan Ning smiled slightly, his figure also becoming erratic, the Qingming Sword transforming into a streak of light.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The two figures chased each other within the narrow training room, one moment the cyan figure pursuing the white, the next the white pursuing the cyan, the sound of weapons colliding ringing out incessantly.

Guan Ning felt more and more exhilarated the longer they fought. Aside from the time Yang Hui tested him as a special envoy, Guan Ning had never exerted his full strength, and even then, it had only been a few moves, hardly a sparring session.

Now it was different. Feng Mu was suppressing his strength to engage in an evenly matched spar with Guan Ning. They had already exchanged over a hundred moves, and Guan Ning felt increasingly comfortable. The Qingming Sword felt more agile, as if it had merged with him, an extension of his own arm, flexible and free, as if they were one.

"Not bad! You've already reached the Great Perfection of the second realm."

At first, seeing Guan Ning's movement and sword techniques, Feng Mu had nodded to himself, but as time passed, the pressure Feng Mu felt grew heavier. He had to concentrate, and though he was still suppressing his strength, he no longer had the energy to offer commentary.

While Feng Mu was surprised by Guan Ning's solid foundation, he didn't show much emotion; in the training camp, he had seen all kinds of geniuses, and a mere second realm in movement and sword techniques really didn't amount to much.

However, as Guan Ning entered his current state, Feng Mu's expression became as if he had seen a ghost. He could never have imagined that Guan Ning was already touching the edge of sword technique perfection.

When sparring, if one's sword technique could be coherent, natural, and continuous, it could be called mastery—the second realm of sword technique.

As for the third realm of perfection, it was the fusion of sword and body, also known as "Man and Sword as One."