Top-Tier Sword Art, Azure Lotus Sword Art!

That night.

The moon shone bright, and the stars were few.

Jiang Yuan was still practicing his swordsmanship outside the courtyard, waiting for Guan Ling to arrive.

Before long, Guan Ling appeared beneath the moonlight in a blue robe. She poked her head out to look at Jiang Yuan, seeming livelier and more playful than usual.

"Senior, Guan Ling is here!"

Jiang Yuan put away the branch in his hand and said with a warm smile, "You truly are punctual, miss. You came at just the right time."

"Your Shadowless Sword Technique—this old man has already cultivated it to mastery. We may spar."

Had anyone else said that, Guan Ling would certainly have scoffed at them.

Even within the entire Azure Profound Sect, there were only a handful of disciples who had cultivated the Shadowless Sword Technique to mastery, much less Jiang Yuan, who had practiced it for only a few short days.

But if that person was Jiang Yuan, Guan Ling felt that it somehow made perfect sense.

"Congratulations, Senior. This junior will not make a fool of herself."

Guan Ling smiled shyly. She had not come today to spar with Jiang Yuan.

She had long been unable to wait for Myriad Swords Return to the Source.

It had been the greatest concern in her heart these past days!

Jiang Yuan knew what she was thinking. He shook his head. "You silly girl. One who practices the sword should keep their heart as still as water. The more desperately you seek something, the harder it becomes to find."

As he spoke, he did not keep Guan Ling in suspense any longer. He took a book from his robes and handed it to her.

"Take it."

"This is the Myriad Swords Return to the Source that this old man painstakingly researched. Though it is not yet complete, it should be enough to give your brother some inspiration."

He truly had painstakingly researched it.

To write this Myriad Swords Return to the Source over the past few days, he had scratched out several white hairs.

It contained both the cultivation incantations for Myriad Swords Return to the Source from the storybooks and some insights he had formed by combining them with his own understanding of the sword.

When the two were combined, it truly looked rather profound.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Guan Ling accepted the book with barely concealed excitement and impatiently opened it.

Several lines of small writing came into view.

All qi arose of itself; the sword rushed through the ruined acupoints. Return to the origin of martial arts; the sect's legacy ran deep and long.

Cultivation incantation: qi left the wrist meridian and flowed instead to Taichong; heaven and earth turned upside down, softness transformed into hardness...

Hiss!

After reading those lines, Guan Ling subconsciously sucked in a sharp breath.

Was this the cultivation incantation of Myriad Swords Return to the Source?

It was so profound that she could not understand it.

One had to know that even a great sect like the Azure Profound Sect had never heard of any sword art that someone with ruined cultivation could still practice.

Yet Jiang Yuan had one!

And the ink on it had not even dried. It had clearly been written only in the past few days.

Just what kind of existence was he?

She continued flipping through it. What she saw next were sword moves that even beginners in the sword could understand and practice: White Horse Offers Hoof, Left and Right Reclining Fish, Hawk Pierces the Forest...

Was this not a little too slapdash?

Could it be that the old senior had not mastered Myriad Swords Return to the Source himself, which was why the sword moves were so haphazard?

Impossible!

Guan Ling silently shook her head, cutting off that thought.

Who was the old senior?

Though he said he had not mastered Myriad Swords Return to the Source, it was extremely likely that this was a test for her or her brother—a test of whether the practitioner had the courage to continue cultivating this sword art!

That had to be it!

There could absolutely be no problem with the sword art the old senior had bestowed!

"Well?"

Jiang Yuan watched Guan Ling with a beaming smile, though his heart was beating a drum. He was terrified that the girl would spot something amiss.

Whoosh!

Guan Ling took a deep breath, closed the book, and solemnly bowed to Jiang Yuan. "Thank you, Senior, for your generous gift!"

"It is nothing."

Jiang Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior."

Guan Ling raised her head, her clear eyes fixed on Jiang Yuan. She then took out an exquisitely made sword manual and respectfully offered it to him.

"Senior, this is the Azure Lotus Sword Art, a sword art created by my mother herself."

"I offer it now in thanks to you, Senior!"

"Azure Lotus Sword Art?"

Jiang Yuan froze. "Was not what you intended to exchange with me the Shadowless Sword Technique?"

At that, Guan Ling also paused, then smiled. "Senior must be joking. How could a petty trick like the Shadowless Sword Technique possibly enter Senior's eyes?"

"Senior learned it at a glance. Why would Guan Ling need to teach it to you?"

"This is Guan Ling's true token of gratitude. Please, Senior, do not refuse."

"Oh..."

Jiang Yuan accepted the sword manual in a daze. So he had secretly studied the Shadowless Sword Technique for half a day, yet they had not thought much of it at all.

He had truly stumbled into royalty~

Guan Ling secretly glanced at Jiang Yuan, a trace of amusement appearing on her face. "If Senior does not mind, this little woman also has some spirit stones, pills, and treasures that I can offer together with it, as thanks for Senior's unstinting guidance these past days."

"Cough, cough, cough!!"

Jiang Yuan coughed heavily twice. Countless painful memories from this lifetime flashed through his mind, and only then did he barely manage to suppress the corners of his mouth. "Then... many thanks for your kindness, miss."

Damn, he'd struck it rich!

She really was a little rich girl!

Time passed like a white colt flashing through a crack, slipping away in silence.

More than two months passed.

Besides storytelling during the day and practicing swordsmanship at night, Jiang Yuan cultivated tirelessly, forgetting food and sleep.

He had a premonition that something major was about to happen in Jiangning City.

The premonition had no basis, yet it was exceptionally strong.

Fortunately, he now had some means at his disposal.

The Azure Lotus Sword Art truly deserved to be one of the Azure Profound Sect's top sword arts. Cultivating it had sent his attainments in the sword soaring by leaps and bounds. His skill was no less seasoned than that of sword masters who had practiced their entire lives.

Now, when facing Guan Ling, he was like an old man playing with a child, crushing her in every respect.

It had nothing to do with cultivation; it was entirely the gap between their realms of swordsmanship.

The Azure Lotus Sword Art was a method that balanced offense and defense. It had three realms: sword qi, sword aura, and sword intent. Its moves emerged one after another without end. Once cultivated to profound heights, a single sword could hold back an army of thousands.

The first realm focused on sword qi. With a single opening move, one could release thousands upon thousands of strands of sword qi, surging forth like an elegy.

The only flaw of this move was that it consumed too much true qi. If he had not cultivated the Everlasting Spring Technique to the second realm, he feared he would not even be able to unleash a hundred strands of sword qi.

During this time, Jiang Yuan had not forgotten his agreement with Guan Ling. Every night, he still sparred with her in swordsmanship.

Jiang Yuan's sword intent was absurdly powerful. Though his cultivation was clearly close to Guan Ling's, he could easily suppress her.

His understanding of the sword left Guan Ling awestruck, as though she had seen a celestial being.

Every sentence he spoke was like enlightenment poured over her head.

Guan Ling felt that the progress she had made these past days exceeded that of the entire previous year.

What she did not know was that Jiang Yuan was improving as well.

During every nightly spar, he secretly observed Guan Ling's sword moves. After all, she was a proper sword cultivator with solid foundations, and there were some techniques he could learn from her.

The old man and the young girl each took what they needed.

At the same time, Jiang Yuan had also used their conversations to gather quite a bit of information.

"Miss Guan, you did not come to Jiangning City merely to sightsee, did you?"

Jiang Yuan asked casually.

Guan Ling hesitated briefly, but did not hide it from him.

"Senior Jiang, you may not know this, but we came to Jiangning City to investigate a demonic sect."

"A demonic sect?" Jiang Yuan frowned.

"Yes. This demonic sect acts in secrecy, and its methods are exceptionally cruel."

Hatred flickered in Guan Ling's eyes as she gritted her teeth. "A year ago, they slaughtered several disciples of my Azure Profound Sect in order to seize a treasure."

"My brother's cultivation was crippled at that time as well."

"A demonic sect..."

Jiang Yuan murmured, his expression grave.

Demonic sects were heretical cults that cultivated sinister and vicious methods. They were as incompatible with righteous sects as fire and water.

Most demonic sects moved in secret, enjoyed killing people for treasures, and were skilled at concealing their identities, stirring up all kinds of strife throughout the martial world.

Their influence could even be found stirring trouble within the imperial court.

Having lived so many years, Jiang Yuan had heard no shortage of tales about demonic sects.

Guan Ling's expression turned solemn. "Senior Jiang, we have received word that a group from a demonic sect may have appeared in Jiangning City recently."

"This time, we descended the mountain to follow some leads."

"I see."

Jiang Yuan nodded.

Jiangning City was likely about to become anything but peaceful.