Gale Swift Saber Reached Perfection, Nurturing Origin Stance Naturally Entered Minor Accomplishment

At this moment, the sun hung high in the sky, and the spring breeze brushed across their faces, carrying a touch of warmth and fervor.

Liu Yunche stood with saber in hand and began practicing the Gale Swift Saber beneath the sunlight.

Though his foundation was still shallow, making his initial movements somewhat stiff and preventing him from executing them in one smooth flow, the saber-path experience imprinted upon his soul continuously fed back into him. Every swing and every change of stance was rapidly refined and improved.

Before long, his saber forms gradually became fluid. Every trace of previous sluggishness dissolved away, and the transitions between moves now possessed the flowing grace of drifting clouds and running water.

After one complete round, his Gale Swift Saber had already advanced from beginner to minor accomplishment!

Such progress would have been shocking even on a martial artist blessed with extraordinary talent.

"So this is the ability of a Saber Grandmaster?"

Liu Yunche murmured inwardly, his grip around the saber hilt tightening slightly.

Gradually, all distracting thoughts vanished from his mind, leaving only the long saber in his hand.

In a daze, he seemed to sense the spirituality inherent in the weapon itself.

It was the sonorous iron bones forged through hundreds of hammer strikes, tempered a thousand times over; it was the fierce will of a blade quenched in cold water, condensed into a frost-like edge.

The entire saber no longer seemed like an inanimate object. The instant his palm fitted against its hilt, every minute detail—the blade's center of gravity, the thickness of its edge, every point through which force traveled—was clearly reflected in his mind.

Liu Yunche did not stop. His figure shifted continuously beneath the sunlight as he once more swung his saber through its forms.

His attacks grew ever swifter. The wind howled, and the saber shadows gradually thickened.

He had completely grasped the true essence and underlying thread of the Gale Swift Saber. The subtle stiffness and flaws in his exertion of force were corrected one by one beneath the insight of the saber path.

More than that, he no longer confined himself to the fixed moves recorded in the saber manual.

Following the habits of his own body, breathing, and force, he quietly altered the angles of his strikes and the momentum of his transitions, making the entire saber technique better suited to himself—and sharper and swifter as well.

Time flowed on, and the sun shifted westward.

Liu Yunche sheathed his saber and stood still. The clear breeze brushed his face, while the branches and leaves of the ancient trees rustled softly.

He imitated the stance Liu Wangzhou had displayed that afternoon. When his father had drawn his saber that day, a cold gleam had flashed past, and everything around him had been cleaved cleanly in two.

He had secretly envied that sight then. Now, practicing it in imitation, he had no other reason than that this posture most closely matched the image of a saber wielder in his heart.

Liu Yunche suddenly had an idea. He grinned and muttered softly:

"Watch closely. This next strike... will be very handsome."

As it happened, a dead leaf drifted down with the wind. In the next instant, white light burst forth, as though white light had arisen in an empty chamber. The cold gleam blazed, and every fallen leaf around him was cut into two.

Gale Swift Saber, perfection!

"If I were to fight Lin Liang and Zhang Yong now, a single strike would be enough to decide life and death. After all, neither of them has entered the Skin Tempering Realm yet. They cannot withstand the sharpness of weapons."

Liu Yunche stood where he was, quietly savoring the sensation. Only after a long while did he slowly return his saber to its sheath.

"Gale Swift Saber at perfection is ultimately only a skill for self-defense. If I want to gain a foothold in this world, I must enter the Skin Tempering Realm as soon as possible. That is the true foundation."

"Nurturing Origin Stance can stir the skin membrane throughout the body to achieve the effect of Skin Tempering. This is internal training. If I want to progress faster, perhaps I should seek opportunities elsewhere..."

The next day, the night had not yet fully faded.

Liu Yunche rose early and began practicing the Nurturing Origin Stance. Though he had rested for less than three hours, he remained full of vigor.

Though Nurturing Origin Stance was not a saber art, under the Saber Grandmaster's ability to draw inferences from one instance to another, Liu Yunche still progressed at a tremendous pace.

Relax the waist and tuck the hips, slightly draw in the tailbone, hollow the chest and lift the back, like a bridge being raised. The secrets of the Nurturing Origin Stance flowed through his mind.

Some vague points of force application were being corrected. After every improvement and every completed round, Liu Yunche could sense it from the size of the flame arising in his abdomen.

By the time the sun stood high overhead, Liu Yunche was forcing himself through the final round of Nurturing Origin Stance.

His expression was blank, his teeth clenched tight, and his legs weak. His clothes had long since been soaked through with sweat.

At the final moment, a flame slightly larger than before appeared within his abdomen in his perception.

It then turned into streams of flowing light that battered his skin membrane, as though nail hammers were striking flesh. The pain from each blow was not severe, but he could not endure the rainstorm-like torrent of flowing light.

The agony in Liu Yunche's eyes was plain to see, yet he endured it by force and did not let out the slightest cry.

This was a battle of his will. A martial artist needed unwavering conviction and an unyielding fighting spirit to practice martial arts.

Where did such things come from? Naturally, they were accumulated bit by bit during ordinary cultivation. These thoughts flashed through Liu Yunche's heart one after another.

Only after three full breaths did the pounding finally end. Liu Yunche stood in place, joy rising in his heart. With the Saber Grandmaster's ability to draw inferences from one instance to another, the Nurturing Origin Stance had reached minor accomplishment!

After quite some time, he slowly withdrew from his training.

Chunyan, who had been waiting respectfully nearby for a long time, hurriedly brought over the Nourishing Origin Soup that had long been prepared at the side when she saw Liu Yunche finish practicing.

Taking the bowl, Liu Yunche drained it in one gulp. The gentle medicinal power of the Nourishing Origin Soup wandered through his body, nourishing his exhausted frame.

At last, all the medicinal power gathered in his Lower Dantian, providing qi and blood for his next session of stance training.

Liu Yunche walked toward a pavilion not far away and sat down to rest. Before long, the servants arrived carrying lunch.

As he ate, Liu Yunche suddenly found himself missing the flavors of the past.

The previous cook had felt guilty over Liu Yunche's poisoning and had left the Liu Household of his own accord.

Of course, he had been allowed to leave unharmed because he had nothing whatsoever to do with the poisoning.

The current cook had retired from the county's foremost restaurant—Jingyuan Tower.

His cooking was beyond reproach. It was only that Liu Yunche had eaten the same flavors for sixteen years, and with the sudden change, he had yet to grow accustomed to them.

After lunch, Liu Yunche carefully assessed his own Skin Tempering progress. According to the martial manual, if one trained without cease and possessed decent talent and bone structure, it could be achieved in three months.

With medicinal soups for nourishment and guidance from a renowned master, one might enter the Copper Skin Realm within a month.

Liu Yunche had both. If he could train his stance technique to great accomplishment, he would presumably enter Copper Skin even sooner.

That afternoon, Liu Yunche was the only one left in Cloud Perch Courtyard. Standing beneath the shade of a tree, he swung his long saber as silver gleams abruptly flashed around him, each strike faster than the last.

The Gale Swift Saber at perfection formed an impenetrable circle in his hands.

A servant's voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard. "Young Master, the Master requests your presence."

Liu Yunche sheathed his saber, pushed open the courtyard gate, and asked the servant with the sharp aura of saber practice still in his eyes:

"Do you know what it is about?"

Seeing that piercing gaze, the servant's heart tightened. He hurriedly bowed and replied, "Hall Master Shi has arrived."

Liu Yunche nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. After tidying himself up and changing into a black robe, he headed for the reception hall.

When he arrived at the reception hall, Liu Wangzhou was chatting with a middle-aged man dressed in a light spring robe.

The middle-aged man was tall, and his powerful muscles could be seen through his clothing. His entire bearing was fierce and robust. He was Hall Master Shi—Shi Xiuyan.

Behind Shi Xiuyan stood a youth in brocade. Upon seeing Liu Yunche arrive, the youth smiled and winked playfully at him.

That was Shi Qingyue, Liu Yunche's childhood companion. The two were as close as brothers.

"My worthy nephew has arrived." Shi Xiuyan turned toward Liu Yunche, his eyes carrying an elder's concern for a junior.

"I was away for a month and only then learned that you had been poisoned. Seeing that your complexion has returned to normal now, I can finally rest easy."

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Shi." Liu Yunche cupped his hands in salute, then walked over and stood behind Liu Wangzhou.

Shi Xiuyan asked, "Have you found out who struck from the shadows?"

Liu Wangzhou shook his head, his expression slightly darkening. "There are still no leads. We are investigating."

"You and I are as close as family, and I watched Yunche grow up as well. I will investigate this matter too." Shi Xiuyan spoke without hesitation.

Changing the subject, Shi Xiuyan's gaze fell on Liu Yunche. He then asked, "I heard that my worthy nephew has begun practicing martial arts?"

"That is so. After walking through life and death once, I finally realized the benefits of martial arts." Liu Yunche sighed.

"Good! You have finally seen the light. If you did not practice martial arts, who would inherit your father's martial skills?" Shi Xiuyan's tone was hearty and unconstrained.

"As it happens, I obtained a century-old precious ginseng root upon returning from the prefectural city. It is perfectly suited for laying a foundation in martial arts for my worthy nephew."

With that, Shi Xiuyan took a brocade box from his sleeve and placed it upon the table.

"Brother Xiuyan, how can I accept this?" Liu Wangzhou's expression changed as he hurriedly tried to decline.

"Using such precious ginseng to lay Yunche's foundation is truly wasteful. Besides, Qingyue is about to break through to the Flesh Tempering Realm. This is precisely when he needs nourishment."

Hearing this, Liu Yunche's gaze fell upon Shi Qingyue, and a flash of surprise passed through his eyes. His childhood friend was already nearly at this stage.

But upon further thought, it was only natural. After all, Shi Qingyue had practiced martial arts since childhood.

"Ah..." Shi Xiuyan waved a hand. "Brother Wangzhou, why are you being polite with me? Qingyue has eaten plenty of good things over the years. He does not lack this one."

"Yunche is different. He has only just recovered from a serious illness. Without precious ginseng to nourish him, his progress in martial arts will certainly be affected."

Shi Qingyue also chimed in, with a hint of pride in his voice. "Uncle Liu, rest assured. Breaking through to the Flesh Tempering Realm will not be difficult for me. Yunche's health is more important."

"You brat, daring to boast so wildly here. If you fail to break through, I will break your legs." Shi Xiuyan scolded him with a smile.

"Brother Wangzhou, I have made you laugh."

"Haha... what are you saying, Brother Xiuyan? Qingyue's flesh is firm, his bone structure exceptional, and his foundation deep. He must have put in no small amount of hard work."

Liu Wangzhou turned to Shi Qingyue and smiled warmly. "Qingyue, then this uncle will await your good news."

"Brother Wangzhou, just accept this. If you had not saved my life back then, how could I possibly have today?"

Liu Wangzhou smiled helplessly. "Fine. Since Brother Xiuyan has put it that way, I will accept it."

Liu Wangzhou paused briefly before asking Shi Xiuyan, "Brother Xiuyan, did your trip go smoothly?"

"This trip..." Shi Xiuyan was about to answer when he seemed to recall something. He glanced at Liu Yunche and Shi Qingyue.

"Qingyue, you have not seen Yunche for a long time. Go take a stroll together."

Shi Qingyue curled his lips upon hearing that. "Understood, Father."

He turned and waved at Liu Yunche. "Yunche, let's go out and have a look around."

Liu Wangzhou nodded. "Go on. It would do you good to get some fresh air today."

Hearing this, Liu Yunche followed Shi Qingyue outside.