Hu Xiaotian's hand floated in midair as though it no longer belonged to him. He watched his five fingers move in turn, like a dancing octopus. They had never been this nimble even when he used to play the guitar. Suddenly, the buoyant force vanished without a trace, and his hand dropped heavily again.
The old monk asked, "What internal cultivation art have you been practicing?"
Hu Xiaotian said, "An old eunuch in the palace taught it to me. He called it the Avici Art."
The old monk said, "Strange. This energy feels somewhat like it, yet somewhat unlike it!"
Hu Xiaotian asked cautiously, "What do you mean, Master? I don't understand."
The old monk asked, "What is the name of the old eunuch who taught you?"
"Ji Feihua!" Hu Xiaotian had meant to say Li Yuncong, but on second thought, Li Yuncong was merely a eunuch hiding away in the Imperial Palace's Library Pavilion. Other people might not even know who he was, so naming him would hardly lend the story credibility. Ji Feihua was different. His name was known to everyone throughout Great Kang, and his martial arts were formidable. No one would question the claim that he had taught Hu Xiaotian this internal cultivation art.
At the mention of Ji Feihua, the old monk's eyebrows stirred. Evidently, he did not doubt Hu Xiaotian's words. He said softly, "To think that someone so young has already reached the level of External Sword Qi."
Hu Xiaotian answered truthfully, "I don't know how it happened either. In my desperation, I swung once, and somehow it unleashed that much power."
"Few among the younger generation anywhere in the world could drive back Qi Changguang, an elder of the Sword Palace, with a single strike."
At the words "Sword Palace," Hu Xiaotian