Devil's Training at the Cliff's Edge, Ling Yun's Moment of Enlightenment

Early in the morning, the back mountain of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was freezing cold.

Ling Yun peered down at the bottomless cliff below, feeling uneasy. He couldn't help but complain, "Teacher, you dragged me to this wretched place so early in the morning. Are you planning to make me stand on the edge of the cliff all day as punishment?"

Chen Xin didn't even lift her eyelids, just glanced at him sideways. "What? You chickened out, kid?"

"Not at all." Ling Yun shrugged nonchalantly, casually flashing a rather elegant sword flourish. "I was just thinking, with my exceptional intelligence, you should at least teach me some of your most treasured skills, right? Like the unique techniques of your Seven Kill Swords, or some kind of super sword technique that can shake the heavens and earth with a single strike."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xin not only wasn't angry, but instead smiled inscrutably, "Alright. Since you're so confident, this old man will have a good look at you today and see just how capable you really are."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Xin raised his right hand. With a "hum", a silver longsword appeared out of thin air in his hand. This was his signature Martial Soul - the Seven Kill Sword.

Immediately afterward, Chen Xin flicked his wrist so lightly that even the Sword Qi was barely visible, and suddenly three thin red lines appeared on an old pine tree on the edge of a distant cliff. These three lines were as thin as hair, each hanging from a different branch, less than half an inch apart. When the mountain wind blew, the three red lines drifted back and forth in the wind, sometimes touching each other, sometimes separating, making it dizzying to watch.

Chen Xin sheathed the Seven Kill Sword and said calmly, "See those three red threads? Use your Water-Cooling Sword to cut the middle one."

Ling Yun craned his neck to take a look, nodded, and said, "What's so difficult about this? No problem."

Chen Xin added, "Remember this: you can't even scratch those two lines, and you can't leave a single sword mark on that old pine tree."

Ling Yun's smile froze instantly. He quickly took another closer look at the three red lines swaying wildly in the wind. Good heavens, what kind of requirement was this? This wasn't cutting lines; it was Acrobatics! The three lines were so close together, and the wind at the cliff edge was strong and turbulent. Even the slightest tremor of the hand would definitely hit the other two. Besides, the old tree itself was swaying wildly in the wind, making the target's position completely unpredictable. To cut accurately with a single sword strike, the angle, force, speed, and prediction of the target's position all had to be perfect—even the slightest error would be disastrous.

"Teacher, are you testing my swordsmanship or my eyesight?" Ling Yun asked with a pained expression.

Chen Xin completely ignored him and simply raised her hand. The next second, the mountain wind, which had been gentle, suddenly became as fierce as a knife. The howling wind rushed up from the bottom of the valley, making the old pine tree rustle loudly, and the three red lines were blown all over the place, making it impossible to see their original shape.

"Enough talk, let's begin," Chen Xin commanded.

Ling Yun's lips twitched twice, inwardly cursing the old man for being so ruthless. But despite his complaints, he didn't hold back. He gripped the Water-Cooling Sword tightly with his right hand, a ghostly blue light flashing in his eyes. A chilling aura immediately emanated from the sword. He lightly tapped the ground with his toes, and his whole body shot out like an arrow.

The first sword strike, with a whoosh, sliced through the air, sweeping across with a streak of icy blue light. But what happened? There was no sound of the threads breaking; instead, a thick layer of frost formed on all three red threads.

Ling Yun landed back on the nearby rock, looked down, and said dejectedly, "I messed up."

Chen Xin said expressionlessly, "We failed."

Ling Yun turned around and said, "Of course I know I failed. I used too much force just now."

Chen Xin shook his head. "You don't know anything. You're not just using too much force, you don't even understand what this sword in your hand is for."

Ling Yun frowned, not understanding the meaning of these words. Chen Xin continued to lecture him, "Your Water-Cooling Sword has an inherent extreme cold attribute, so every time you use it, all you think about is how to release the cold energy. But think about it, sometimes you don't need to use cold energy at all when using a sword. Your task today is to cut that thin thread, not to freeze the entire tree into an icicle."

Ling Yun froze after hearing this, looking down at the sword in his hand, pondering deeply. The old man was right. Ever since he got this sword, he had been thinking about how to unleash the power of ice and Water Flow, and all his moves, big and small, were related to cold energy. But what Chen Xin wanted to test him today was not destructive power at all, but that kind of extremely precise control.

"What are you daydreaming about? Keep going," Chen Xin didn't give him time to daze.

For the next few minutes, Ling Yun suffered terribly. The second sword strike failed. The third sword strike failed. The fourth sword strike failed again... Time passed second by second, and Ling Yun tried more than ten times, but failed even once. Either the sword missed by half an inch, or he swung the sword too fast and didn't find the right spot, or the old pine tree suddenly swayed, and the target changed completely. The worst part was that the more he practiced, the more tired he became, and his right wrist began to tremble uncontrollably.

Chen Xin; he had already noticed that Ling Yun couldn't hold on any longer. Only after Ling Yun landed again did he calmly ask, "Tired?"

Ling Yun shook his aching wrist. "There is a little bit."

"Then let's take a break."

Ling Yun looked at him with a ghostly expression. "Teacher, did the sun rise in the west today? Why are you being so easy to talk to?"

Chen Xin rolled her eyes at him. "Old man, I'm just afraid you'll cripple your claws before you've even learned how to use a sword."

Ling Yun chuckled, "So, it turns out the teacher still cares about me after all."

"Stop joking with me." Chen Xin turned her back to look at the distant valley, her tone becoming serious. "Ling Yun, your Greninja Martial Soul is fast and has strong senses. Plus, you know that thing called Aura, so you can always detect danger before others in a fight. But this easily leads you to develop a bad habit—you rely too much on your senses, your speed, and your superhuman reflexes."

Chen Xin turned his head and stared intently at Ling Yun: "But remember this, the true way of the sword isn't about always competing for speed, being faster than others. It's about knowing exactly where your sword should land, even if you're not as fast as others."

Ling Yun fell silent. These words struck a chord with him. In the past, he had cheated by using his Aura to predict his enemy's movements and then overwhelm them with speed, defeating them before they could even react. But this kind of fighting style couldn't really be considered swordsmanship. He nodded seriously. "Teacher, I understand."

"Understanding is one thing, being able to do it is another," Chen Xin said calmly.

Just then, a clear voice called out from the mountain path, "Brother Yun!"

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Ling Yun quickly sheathed his sword and greeted them with a grin.

Xiao Wu angrily shoved the lunchbox into his arms. "I was just worried you'd starve. I heard from Sword Grandfather that you came here early this morning to practice swordsmanship, thinking you'd go back after a while. Who knew it was already past noon and you still hadn't come down." As she spoke, her gaze fell on Ling Yun's bright red wrist.

Dugu Yan didn't say anything, but walked over and grabbed Ling Yun's right hand, carefully squeezing it. She said with concern, "Your wrist is swollen, and the tendons are taut."

"It's nothing, nothing serious," Ling Yun said with a laugh.

Dugu Yan glared at him and said irritably, "When have you ever said the same thing? Last time you came back from outside covered in injuries, you said it was nothing serious, but you ended up lying in bed for days, needing to be taken care of by others."

Ling Yun awkwardly touched his nose. "That was a special case last time."

Xiao Wu immediately chimed in, "That's right! If you dare to be so reckless again, I'll tell Teacher Erlong and have her deal with you!"

Ling Yun was so frightened that she quickly raised her hands in surrender. "No, no, no, ladies, I swear I will never be stubborn again today, okay?"

Chen Xin watched the three young people chatting and laughing, and couldn't help but smile. He thought to himself, "My disciple is so arrogant outside, but he's as docile as a kitten in front of these two girls." He coughed to interrupt them, "Alright, alright, let's eat first. We'll continue practicing this afternoon after we've eaten."

Ling Yun's eyes widened. "Still practicing this afternoon?"

"What? Trying to Slack Off?"

"No, no, I'd be more than willing." Ling Yun agreed faster than anyone else, but his eyes couldn't help but steal glances at the three deadly red lines, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

Xiao Wu covered her mouth and laughed, while Dugu Yan opened the medicine bottle, applied some cooling ointment, and carefully massaged his wrist. Ling Yun looked at the two of them and boasted with a grin, "You two just watch the show. Once I've mastered this move, if you ever run into trouble, I can take care of all the bad guys with one sword strike."

Xiao Wu snorted, "Then you'd better hurry up and master it."

Dugu Yan smiled gently, "I don't expect you to be incredibly skilled, I just ask that you learn not to hurt yourself first."

Ling Yun felt a warm glow in her heart and softly said, "Okay."

After a satisfying meal, afternoon training resumed. The wind on the cliff had subsided slightly, and Ling Yun stood before the old pine tree once more. This time, instead of frantically hacking away as he had in the morning, he took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

The blue Aura spread out like ripples on water. At this moment, everything around him became incredibly clear in his mind. He could clearly feel how the wind blew, how the leaves swayed, the frequency of the three red lines trembling in the wind, and even the air vibrations caused by a bird flying far away.

He suddenly had a breakthrough. All morning he'd been chasing the red thread like a fool, but the thread was moved by the wind! Once you figured out the wind's pattern and calculated which way it was going to blow, there was no need to guess the thread's position.

Having figured this out, Ling Yun opened his eyes and called out, "Teacher."

Chen Xin looked over. "Have you figured it out yet?"

Ling Yun nodded. "It's almost there."

"Then let's get started."

Ling Yun didn't waste any more words, and firmly gripped the Water-Cooling Sword with his right hand. This time, there was no frightening chill on the sword, only a thin layer of blue light flowing on the blade. He breathed steadily and waited quietly.

A mountain breeze blew by, and the old pine tree began to sway. Just as the red line in the middle was about to drift to the right, Ling Yun moved. He didn't use any exaggerated Soul Skills, nor did he unleash any earth-shattering Sword Qi. He simply and casually sent it forward.

With a soft "hiss," the red thread in the middle snapped in two and floated shakily to the ground. The two threads beside it remained intact on the branches; the old pine tree wasn't even scratched, and not even the surrounding fallen leaves were stirred up by the sword wind.

The edge of the cliff was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Xiao Wu's eyes widened. "Wow, it worked!" Dugu Yan also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled happily.

Ling Yun sheathed his sword and stared intently at the blade. He felt that the previous strike was unremarkable, but he knew very well that his control over the sword had reached a new level.

Chen Xin slowly walked over and glanced at the broken wire on the ground, then surprisingly nodded. "Hmm, not bad."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yun immediately perked up. "Teacher, you're a senior, can't you praise me a bit more so I can show off a little?"

Chen Xin coldly poured Chilling Water: "Being able to cut the thread only means you've just learned how to hold a sword. You're still a long way from being a true swordsman."

Ling Yun's smile froze on his face; he was speechless. Xiao Wu giggled beside him. Chen Xin completely ignored them, pointing to another old pine tree nearby. Good heavens, that tree was already covered with ten colorful threads.

Ling Yun's eyelids twitched wildly. "Teacher, what are you up to now...?"

Chen Xin turned and left, leaving behind a despairing statement. "Tomorrow's task: ten threads. When you can cut all ten designated threads in a raging wind with a single sword strike, without damaging the remaining nine, I'll teach you the next move."

Ling Yun stared blankly at the ten lines dancing in the wind for a long time, finally squeezing out two words through gritted teeth. "You win."