Leaps and Bounds

Leaps and Bounds

In a valley strewn with jagged rocks, more than thirty Wind Wolves the size of calves bared their fangs and brandished their claws as they surrounded a sword-bearing figure.

That figure was Ye Yun. More than a month had passed since his last injury.

During this time, Ye Yun fought Monster Beasts by day to hone his martial skills, then cultivated his inner qi at night to break through his acupoints. Both his cultivation and martial skills had advanced by leaps and bounds. Once his injuries had fully healed, he consumed the Essence Fruit. With its effects and his hard cultivation over this period, he had already opened his ninety-sixth acupoint. He was only twelve acupoints away from completing the Body Tempering Realm. At most, within two months, he would open every acupoint and advance to the Qi Refining Realm.

As for martial skills, obtaining Treading Snow Without Trace and the Profound Yin Twelve Swords had greatly broadened his offensive options. His shortcomings had also been remedied. In just over a month, he had cultivated Treading Snow Without Trace to the beginner level and the Profound Yin Twelve Swords to the minor mastery stage.

Intermediate martial arts truly could not be compared to low-grade martial arts. Merely cultivating the Profound Yin Twelve Swords to minor mastery had already made it as powerful as the Layered Waves Fist at full mastery.

Once martial arts reached the intermediate grade, they were divided more finely. There were cultivation methods dedicated to cultivating true qi, as well as martial skills used to fight enemies. True qi was the transformed form of inner qi after one entered the Qi Refining Realm.

Ye Yun looked at the Wind Wolf pack surrounding him without the slightest panic. Having gone through countless battles, his will had been tempered by blood and combat until it was as solid as a rock. No matter what predicament he faced, he remained unruffled.

Wind Wolves were gregarious first-grade mid-tier Monster Beasts. Generally speaking, even Qi Refining Realm martial artists would not lightly provoke a Wind Wolf pack.

"Awoo!"

At that moment, a wolf with dark azure fur emerged from behind the pack. It was noticeably larger than an ordinary Wind Wolf. This was the Wind Wolf King. Judging by its aura, it was a first-grade high-tier Monster Beast, a relatively powerful existence even among first-grade Monster Beasts.

The Wind Wolf King let out a roar, and the pack seemed to receive some sort of command. In an instant, they all revealed savage glints in their eyes and pounced at Ye Yun.

Facing the attacking wolf pack, Ye Yun did not draw his sword. Instead, he continuously used the footwork of Treading Snow Without Trace to evade them.

Through his training these days, Ye Yun had come to understand a principle: no matter how powerful a martial skill was, if one merely practiced it, then even reaching full mastery would only be the result of practice. Only by repeatedly undergoing life-and-death battles, continuously digesting and absorbing one's training experience in combat, and combining different martial skills into one's own style of fighting could one become stronger and travel farther down the path of martial arts.

Thus, he was now using the Wind Wolf pack to temper his movement technique. Under the siege of more than thirty Wind Wolves, he was initially unable to evade them all. Their sharp claws struck him, shredding his clothes into tatters and leaving wound after wound across his body. He looked thoroughly bedraggled, but gradually, Ye Yun began to familiarize himself with the speed and rhythm of the Wind Wolves' attacks.

Afterward, as he continued to dodge, he grew more and more relaxed, more and more at ease. His movements became as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water, a delight to behold.

His understanding of Treading Snow Without Trace continued to deepen within his mind. His body was like a willow branch brushing in the wind, swaying with every breeze. As his insights accumulated, it seemed as though he had reached a critical point.

At a certain moment, Ye Yun's Treading Snow Without Trace broke through to the minor mastery stage. His speed abruptly increased by at least fifty percent. As he flashed through the pack, he left an afterimage at its center while his true body rushed toward the Wolf King at tremendous speed.

In an instant, Ye Yun drew his sword. When he struck, layers upon layers of afterimages trailed behind it as it stabbed toward the Wolf King. Before the Wolf King could react, Ye Yun's sword tip had already pierced its forehead.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Within a single breath, three swords pierced the exact same spot. The Wolf King did not even have time to let out a scream before it collapsed dead to the ground.

By the time the wolf pack came to its senses, it was already too late. They howled mournfully without cease, then all pounced at Ye Yun in a frenzy.

Ye Yun moved, charging into the wolf pack. Thrusting sword, cleaving sword, striking sword—move after move from the Profound Yin Twelve Swords was unleashed.

In less than two minutes, Ye Yun was the only one left standing in the battlefield with a sword in hand. More than thirty Wind Wolves had all died.

Ye Yun breathed heavily. Although he had defeated the Wind Wolf pack so quickly, the expenditure had been immense. Only twenty percent of the inner qi in his body remained.

After a long while, once he had recovered a little, Ye Yun began cleaning up the battlefield. Wind Wolf pelts were extremely valuable. The ladies and young misses of the Great Chu Dynasty's great clans had no resistance to such beautiful furs. When killing them earlier, Ye Yun had deliberately preserved the pelts' integrity.

When he reached the Wind Wolf King's corpse, Ye Yun first skinned off its dark azure pelt. Then, out of habit, he reached into the Wolf King's skull and felt around. Before long, he pulled out a milky-white crystal core.

"Oh? My luck isn't bad!"

Ye Yun said with a hint of surprise. This was the second Monster Crystal Core he had encountered.

In nearly two months, he had killed several hundred Monster Beasts yet obtained only two Monster Crystal Cores. One could well imagine just how rare they were.

Before long, the battlefield had been cleared. Ye Yun placed the Wind Wolf pelts he had collected into his storage bag, then turned and left.

At night, a bonfire burned inside the cave.

Ye Yun stood at the cave entrance, looking at the large, round moon in the sky. He murmured, "It's been nearly two months since I left. I wonder how Grandfather has been lately. If he knew about my current cultivation, he would definitely be very happy."

Two months might not have meant much to others, for most people drifted through life in a muddled haze. But for Ye Yun, they had brought earth-shattering changes. Not only had he made tremendous progress in martial cultivation, he had also come to understand the direction of his path in martial arts.

Some people could not find their direction even after a lifetime. They could only take detours everywhere, crash into walls at every turn, accomplish nothing in their lives, and die full of regrets.

Now, Ye Yun had found the direction of his martial path. No matter what hardships and dangers lay ahead, as long as he continued onward step by step, he firmly believed that one day, he would reach the summit of martial arts and see what kind of scenery lay there.

"It's time to return. There's not much point in continuing. Soon—before long, I'll reach the Qi Refining Realm. Then I can give Grandfather a surprise." After a brief moment of longing, Ye Yun made the decision to leave.

Before returning, however, he had to visit Azure Sun Town to dispose of the Monster Beast materials he had accumulated over the past two months. He would also buy an Aperture-Opening Pill to prepare for his breakthrough into the Qi Refining Realm.

The next day, dawn had just broken.

Ye Yun had already finished packing. Looking at the cave where he had lived for two months, he deeply etched it into his mind. This was the place that had witnessed his transformation.

After doing all this, Ye Yun turned and left the cave, hurrying toward Azure Sun Town.

(End of Chapter)