Activating the Heart-Trial Stone required a certain amount of time. Liu Changfei sat beside Song Zhizhi, enthusiastically pulling her into a chat that ranged from her father being henpecked to which restaurants in Ten Thousand Swords City had chefs with the best skills, successfully talking Song Zhizhi into hunger.
Song Zhizhi touched her belly, somewhat puzzled: that shouldn't be right. She had only eaten a Fasting Pill that morning; normally, eating a Fasting Pill meant not feeling hungry for three days, but why was she getting hungry so quickly now?
Could the Fasting Pill she bought be a fake or substandard product? This bottle of Fasting Pills cost one middle-grade Spirit Stone, which was one-tenth of her current household wealth, yet the effect was so utterly pathetic. Were there any Food and Drug Administrations in this Cultivation World? She wanted to file a complaint about someone selling fake medicine!
"What fake medicine?" Liu Changfei asked in confusion, and only then did Song Zhizhi realize that she had accidentally spoken her inner thoughts out loud.
Song Zhizhi took out that bottle of Fasting Pills and simply explained the matter.
"To actually sell fake pills in Ten Thousand Swords City? That is simply going too far!" Liu Changfei was filled with righteous indignation. Hailing from Medicine King City, she had dealt with all kinds of elixirs since childhood and detested anyone selling fake medicine the most: "Tell me, which shop sold them? I'll have a word with my father tomorrow. From now on, Medicine King City must never cooperate with such black-hearted shopkeepers!"
Almost everyone in Medicine King City was an alchemist, monopolizing nearly seventy percent of the elixir business in the Cultivation World. If Medicine King City spread word that they would not cooperate with a certain person, that person would find it practically impossible to continue working in any industry related to elixirs.
Song Zhizhi recalled for a moment, "It seemed to be called Chunhui Workshop, right?"
"Chunhui Workshop?" Liu Changfei widened her eyes. This Chunhui Workshop was a shop opened by her own Liu Household, and because its goods were fine and prices cheap, it was found almost all across the entire Cultivation World.
Could it be that the boss of the branch in Ten Thousand Swords City was passing off inferior goods as superior ones?
With a solemn expression, Liu Changfei took the jade bottle from Song Zhizhi's hands and carefully examined the pattern on it. Sure enough, it bore the mark of Chunhui Workshop. She poured out a Fasting Pill onto her palm, sniffed it, and then placed it into her mouth to taste it carefully.
Huh? Why did it smell and taste like the most ordinary Fasting Pill? There were no corners cut, nor were there any other substances added that shouldn't be there.
Since there was nothing wrong with the elixir, the one with the problem was the person herself.
Just as Liu Changfei was about to say something, the Heart-Trial Stone suddenly emitted a ray of light that enveloped everyone, and immediately the scenery before everyone's eyes changed.
Song Zhizhi found herself isolated within a dim
space
where there were no people around, nor any other objects.
An aged voice resounded from the depths of the darkness.
"Those who successfully comprehend the Heavenly Profound Sword Art within thirty-six double-hours may pass the trial."
The Heavenly Profound Sword Art was the basic sword art of the Sword Sect, which everyone knew. Although it was a basic sword art, learning a complete set of sword arts within thirty-six double-hours was no easy task.
This trial tested comprehension and sword-dao talent.
However, Song Zhizhi did not have the absolute determination to enter the inner sect. As for the Heavenly Profound Sword Art, she would learn it if she could, and forget it if she couldn't; she would never do something so unrewarding as damaging her Divine Sense by forcibly studying a sword art.
In the pitch-black Void, golden points of light outlined a phantom. Holding a sword, the phantom silently gestured through the moves of the Heavenly Profound Sword Art.
It was said that the Heavenly Profound Sword Art was a set of sword techniques created by the founding patriarch of the Sword Sect. It was composed of dozens of actions such as chopping, sweeping, thrusting, and lifting. Sometimes it was like a spring breeze turning to rain, and other times like a violent wind and driving rain. Every single sword strike could branch into millions of variations. After watching for a moment, Song Zhizhi involuntarily recalled that sword strike she had seen outside Ten Thousand Swords City half a month ago, in which the shadow of the Heavenly Profound Sword Art was faintly visible.
Recalling the feeling of that night, a snowy longsword materialized in her hand unconsciously, and she began following the phantom's gestures.
"Eh? This little girl's sword moves actually carry two parts of the shadow of the Mingxiao brat," a surprised murmur rang out from the depths of the Void. Staring at Song Zhizhi's figure, the other party narrowed his eyes for a moment: "Her bloodline..."
Song Zhizhi seemed to have entered an extremely wondrous state. Following the phantom's movements, she went from clumsy to deft. She did not know how many times she had repeated the same set of sword moves, but every time she reached the conclusion, there was always an obscure and obstructed feeling in her meridians, like a rusted machine that had forgotten to remove its rust and apply lubricating oil.
Another set of sword moves came to an end. On the final movement, Song Zhizhi seemed to realize something and pressed down the originally upward-lifting movement by a fraction. At that instant, the blocked movement seemed to become unobstructed. Practising the previous sword moves once more, she felt her movements unprecedentedly smooth, as simple as eating and drinking.
Song Zhizhi put away her sword and let out a breath.
"Song Zhizhi, comprehension of the Xuanxian Sword Art completed, total time taken: twenty-four double-hours."
That voice sounded in Song Zhizhi's mind once more, and she dizzily came to her senses: she had actually passed the second stage of testing?
However, she was not the first person to comprehend the sword art this time.
Song Miaomiao possessed an Innate Sword Heart and also held a single Ice Spirit Root; it took her only sixteen double-hours to grasp the essence of the sword art. Song Zhizhi felt immense admiration: it would be a ghost story if the female protagonist didn't take first place.
"Congratulations to you, Song Miaomiao." Song Zhizhi smiled toward Song Miaomiao. When she smiled, her eyes curved like crescent moons, and her cheeks flushed with a hint of excitement, completely different from the silent Song Miaomiao who always wore a cold expression in Song Miaomiao's impression.
Song Miaomiao was startled, and unaccustomed, she said, "Thank you."
Having practised the sword inside the Heart-Trial Stone for two days, Song Zhizhi felt as though her body was almost hollowed out. She ate a Fasting Pill and dozed off sitting nearby.
Half-asleep and half-awake, she seemed to smell a familiar cool fragrance, which made her involuntarily recall that person from a month ago.
Xie Xiuji?
No, he should be in the Heavenly Feather Sect; it must have been an illusion.
Mhm, so sleepy. Whatever, I'm going to sleep.
Without realizing it, Song Zhizhi found a comfortable spot, curled up on the ground, and fell asleep.
"Uncle-Master Mingxiao," Meng Ping glanced at the fluttering-robed, extraordinarily handsome young man, and intentionally offered an explanation for Song Zhizhi: "Junior Sister Song probably exhausted her Divine Sense in the Heart-Trial Stone and fell asleep from exhaustion."
Mingxiao looked at Song Zhizhi's small face resting on her arm, which emitted a rosy glow, and let out a scoff.
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