At the Cold Pool behind the mountain estate, a slender figure leaped and darted about like an agile wildcat racing across the jumbled stones of the Rocky Shoal. Suddenly, a keen sword left its sheath, its cold gleam dancing.
Metal rang out in a brisk, ringing chorus. As the techniques flowed, the deadly blade gathered radiance, and within moments, blades of energy enveloped an area several yards across.
"Yi Shoots Down Nine Suns!"
Suddenly, the figure stopped short and thrust her sword. Amid the flashing Sword Radiance, a streak shot forth like an arrow, punching a fist-sized hole deep into a boulder a hundred feet away.
This figure was none other than Han Li, the nominal disciple Li Chen had recently taken in.
Li Chen had originally intended for her to cultivate the Puppet Dao and master the Art of a Hundred Crafts. Unexpectedly, however, her talent lay in the Sword Dao. With little other choice, he had taught her the "Long Song Poetry Sword Formula" and "Song of the Sword Dance."
The results had delighted Li Chen beyond his expectations. With proper nurturing, she had fully unleashed her innate gifts, and her willingness to train diligently had caused her swordsmanship to improve at a visibly astonishing pace.
Even before Li Chen had gone to pay his respects to Demon Empress Zhang Hua, she had already learned the "Twenty Forms of Mortal Swordsmanship," bringing those ordinary techniques of the mortal realm to great completion. Now she had entered the realm of a true Sword Cultivator. Combined with her Qi Refining cultivation, she had raised her mastery of the "Song of the Sword Dance" cultivation method to thorough mastery and had also learned Yi Shoots Down Nine Suns.
After quietly sensing the movement of energy within her body, Han Li steadied