The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's outer sect training ground was already filled with figures swinging their swords before the morning mist had fully dispersed. Ling Yun chose the bluestone platform in the farthest corner, with the Sky-Rending Sword planted at an angle beside him. Its blade was wrapped in coarse cloth, making it look no different from ordinary iron at first glance. Following Sword Elder's instructions from the night before, he repeatedly practiced the basic sword moves—Cleave, Thrust, Lift. He did not seek speed; with every strike, he only felt the fit between his fingertips and the hilt, trying to catch the faint Sword Qi drifting through heaven and earth.
"Yo, isn't this our great disciple Ling with 'no spiritual roots'? Still practicing moves that even three-year-olds understand?"
A mocking voice came from behind him. Three outer sect disciples crowded around Zhang Meng as they approached, their eyes falling upon the cloth-wrapped sword at Ling Yun's side, brimming with scorn. Zhang Meng was a distant relative of an outer sect steward. Though he possessed only a low-grade earth spiritual root, he often lorded his status over new disciples.
Ling Yun sheathed his sword and stood still without turning around. "The path of cultivation begins with the basics. What distinction is there between high and low?"
"Ha! Basics?" Zhang Meng stepped forward and planted a foot on the sword marks Ling Yun had just left behind. "Without spiritual roots, you can't even draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, yet you talk about catching Sword Qi? I think you're just here to loaf around and wait for death! Senior Sister Murong Shuang demonstrated the Three Forms of Flowing Clouds on the sword platform yesterday—that was what a sword cultivator should be! You'll never catch up to her in your lifetime!"
The other two disciples joined in the laughter, their words dripping with contempt. Ling Yun's hand tightened slightly at his side, his knuckles turning white. It was not that he could not retort, but Sword Elder had repeatedly warned him that before the Chaos Sword Body stabilized, he needed to hide his edge and avoid the blade, never revealing his strength too early.
He silently bent down, picked up the Sky-Rending Sword from the ground, and turned to leave.
"Stop!" Zhang Meng reached out to block him, but the instant his fingertips touched Ling Yun's sleeve, he jerked his hand back as if scalded. The coarse cloth sheath around Ling Yun's sword had grown faintly warm, and a thread of pale blue light flashed through a gap in the wrapping—so fast it seemed like an illusion.
Ling Yun did not stop again. He walked straight through the training ground and returned to the servant quarters assigned by the outer sect. The room was cramped and damp, but at least it was quiet. After shutting the door, he placed the Sky-Rending Sword on the table. The moment he sat down, Sword Elder's voice rang out in his mind. "Why didn't you strike back just now? With your current foundation, though you have not entered the Swordsman Realm, you could still withstand three of Zhang Meng's moves."
"Sword Elder, you said the Chaos Sword Body must be tempered in secret and must not be flaunted." Ling Yun's fingertips brushed over the coarse cloth on the sheath. "Besides, arguing with him would only waste cultivation time."
Sword Elder's voice carried a trace of approval. "At least you understand. While practicing your sword earlier, a strand of Sword Qi had already entered your body. You deliberately suppressed it, however, and failed to guide it into the sword. The foundation of the Qiankun Sword Canon does not lie in absorbing spiritual energy, but in 'fusion'—using the Chaos Sword Body to accommodate every kind of Sword Qi between heaven and earth. Even the faintest qi of grass and trees can be turned to your use."
As soon as his words fell, the Sky-Rending Sword suddenly trembled softly. A gentle radiance seeped from the blade beneath the coarse cloth. Following Sword Elder's guidance, Ling Yun sat cross-legged with the Sky-Rending Sword laid across his knees. He closed his eyes and no longer deliberately pursued "absorption," instead allowing that faint thread of Sword Qi within him to circulate with his breathing.
Gradually, he seemed able to "see"—as the willow branches outside the window swayed, pale green strands of qi drifted in; beneath the moss in the corner of the wall, moist vapor gathered. When these fragmented traces of energy neared the Sky-Rending Sword, the blade drew them in, slowly guiding them into his meridians, where they merged with that thread of Sword Qi.
"This is the advantage of the Chaos Sword Body." Sword Elder's voice held a smile. "Ordinary sword cultivators must rely on spiritual roots to sift through Sword Qi, but you can embrace all things. That will be enough for today. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the opening stance of Heaven and Earth First Form. Once you can condense this thread of Sword Qi at your sword tip, you will have truly stepped across the threshold of the sword path."
Ling Yun opened his eyes and looked at the Sky-Rending Sword on his knees. The blade beneath the coarse cloth seemed a little brighter than before. He tightened his grip around the hilt. The forbearance and unwillingness in his heart were gradually replaced by a yearning for the sword path. Let the outer sect mock him; let others look down on him. One day, he would use the sword in his hand to prove that he was no one who merely loafed around and waited for death.
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