This maid is named Yuzao

Wang Chong passed the maid whose brows and eyes were full of charm, whose glances sparkled with grace, and whose every movement was bewitchingly lovely. He handed her the sword and smiled. "Thank you, sister. I still haven't learned your lovely name." The maid glanced at her young mistress. Only after Su Luoyan gave a slight nod did she break into a smile and answer softly, "This maid is named Yuzao!"

Wang Chong thought, A great fox spirit?

He did know that yuzao referred to the jade ornaments on an emperor's crown, and that Yuzao-no-Mae was the great fox spirit. But this maid gave him the impression of foxlike allure to the bone, with a sort of youthful yet commanding air. He raised his hands in thanks again without saying more. Chu Qiuzi, however, remembered this maid quite clearly. After all, Yuzao had stolen her job: she should have been the one to hand over a sword and let Wang Chong defeat Qian Luoyi.

Well, Chu Qiuzi had not noticed that Qian Luoyi was injured, but she was certainly bound to favor Wang Chong somewhat. Since Qian Luoyi had abandoned the fight and left, in the eyes of Qingcheng's second senior sister, he had naturally lost the exchange.

Chu Qiuzi had never imagined that Wang Chong's martial arts could be so accomplished! She wanted to ask him all about it, but with so many people and prying eyes around, she could only bottle it up.

Su Luoyan was much more reserved. She knew that Wang Chong gave only his name and never mentioned his lineage, and there had to be a reason. She thought, I know a few sisters on Wudang Mountain, too. I refuse to believe I can't find out where you come from.

No wonder the Purple-Green Jade Maiden, for all her great renown, looks so eager to throw herself at him. She already knew that Young Master Wang Chong's identity and background were extraordinary, and that his literary talent and martial arts were both outstanding.

On the way back, Wang Chong did not speak again. He had already keenly sensed an entirely new change in his internal cultivation! His originally mild, harmonious internal power had separated into yin and yang and was discarding impure Qi and Yin Qi strand by strand, leaving only True Yang Qi. This transformation was called-Yin Deficiency Giving Rise to Yang!

At the same time, he finally remembered the name of the internal art he practiced: the Innate Pure Yang Formula!

At the outset, this cultivation method produced incomparably harmonious internal power, following the orthodox path of the Daoist mysteries.

This internal art had no distinguishing features at the beginning, and progress was slower than with other schools' methods. But once sufficient power had been accumulated, there was a threshold: precisely the "Yin Deficiency Giving Rise to Yang" that Wang Chong had just crossed. From there, the internal power transformed, gradually shedding its dregs and becoming pure yang.

Wang Chong also finally understood why his original self knew the Candle-Bearing Sword Technique. This sword technique was not merely a supreme sword art; it also relied on internal power. Only when paired with the Innate Pure Yang Formula could its sword strokes kindle candle flames and illuminate the eight wildernesses.

After returning to the garden where Su Luoyan was staying, Wang Chong asked for a quiet room and went into seclusion.

This seclusion lasted fourteen to sixteen hours.

By the time he had comprehended the crucial points of his internal cultivation and swordsmanship and emerged from the quiet room, the moon was already high overhead.

Wang Chong looked around, picked up a dry twig from the ground, and thrust eight times in succession. On the seventh thrust, wisps of smoke curled from the tip of the twig, followed by flame. As the eighth thrust shot out, the twig burst with a bang and shattered into drifting ash.

In the end, it was only a dry twig. How could it withstand the supreme pure yang internal power of the orthodox Daoist tradition!?

Wang Chong discarded the twig. An indescribable delight rose from the bottom of his heart, and he wanted to dance and shout wildly.

Whether this sword art or the Innate Pure Yang Formula, his breakthroughs had not come with his transmigration; he had achieved them through his own understanding. The rewards gained through such effort brought even more boundless joy than a vast fortune falling into his lap.

A woman in white, her person like pale snow, her beauty exquisite, and her floating grace that of an immortal, spoke in a voice like a jade zither, clear and lingering, every word and phrase rippling through the heart. "Young Master Wang Chong, you've made another breakthrough in swordsmanship. This truly deserves congratulations!"

Chu Qiuzi had just been about to speak when she felt herself outshone. She opened her mouth twice, only to feel slightly stifled, then simply said nothing. She leaped down to the ground and took Wang Chong's arm, all smiles and delight, showing still greater intimacy.

Wang Chong felt a little awkward. It was the middle of the night, yet neither woman was asleep, and both had appeared here. There was surely something indefinable going on!

But no matter what, he could not spell this out. He could only say vaguely, "I behaved thoughtlessly, practicing my sword in the middle of the night and disturbing your sweet dreams. I'm deeply ashamed."

Su Luoyan smiled faintly, like ten thousand flowers in brilliant bloom. She had already seen Wang Chong use a dry twig as a sword, kindling candle flames with his strokes. With her discernment and knowledge, how could she not know how difficult that was? Whether attaining pure yang internal power or swordsmanship of miraculous mastery, either made one a talent chosen from ten thousand, an outstanding figure of the age!

She said serenely, "Young Master Wang, now that you have mastered the Innate Pure Yang Formula, your next step should be to advance to the Pure Yang Sword-Refining Formula, shouldn't it?"

Originally, Wang Chong had not had the slightest related memory in his mind, but Su Luoyan's words brought countless cultivation methods, secret formulas, and martial insights rushing in. In a flash, he remembered the origins of the internal cultivation method he practiced.

The art he cultivated was divided into four volumes. The first was the "Innate Pure Yang Formula," which required cultivating all his internal power to pure yang, purging every yin impurity, and advancing into the Innate Realm. The second was the "Pure Yang Sword-Refining Chapter," which required discarding the coarse and retaining the essence of Yang Fire Qi, refining a strand of supremely yang, supremely fierce Sword Qi, and taking another step forward within the Innate Realm.

He pondered for a long time, then suddenly felt that something was amiss. This internal cultivation method was several times more precious than the Candle-Bearing Sword Technique, and even surpassed the Seven Routes Divine Sword. It was a supreme art that guarded Wudang's mountain. How could an ordinary person have learned it?

I'm probably not that rapist White Chrysanthemum, but I can't be Mo Yuncong either. Surely I'm not the Wudang Sect Leader's illegitimate son? That old man is pretty advanced in years. He probably can't father children anymore...

Wang Chong sighed without saying anything. But in Su Luoyan's and Chu Qiuzi's eyes, he was sighing over the hardships of the martial path and the difficulty of every step, and both could not help feeling some admiration.

Su Luoyan thought, He just fought Qian Luoyi to a draw, and his swordsmanship has made another breakthrough, yet he remains modest and restrained, without any arrogance. His family must discipline him very strictly to have nurtured such a disposition.

Chu Qiuzi, meanwhile, secretly pondered, Our Qingcheng has a secret method for condensing a virgin's Primal Yin to help a man break through a bottleneck. When I first heard of it, I was quite scornful... Once I return to Qingcheng, I'll quietly practice it!

Wang Chong suddenly thought, I ought to get myself a sword.

Originally, he had worried that White Chrysanthemum knew the Candle-Bearing Sword Technique, and so did he-what if his sword technique matched that rapist's? But now "White Chrysanthemum" was dead, whether that was true or false. His internal cultivation had made a breakthrough along the pure yang path, so he could not possibly know the Ice Soul Finger. There was no longer any need to conceal his sword technique.

Su Luoyan was exceptionally clever. Wang Chong had only a Folding Fan and wore no sword; when fighting Qian Luoyi, he had even borrowed one from her maid Yuzao. After returning, she had made preparations. Smiling, she presented a long wooden case and said, "Little Brother Wang Chong, you don't seem to have a sword. As it happens, your sister has a newly commissioned one here. After receiving it, I found it a little too heavy and unsuitable for my use, so let me give it to you."

Wang Chong was not one for affected politeness. He immediately reached out with a cheerful smile and accepted it. Opening the case, he found a sword lying inside, adorned with gold and jade, extraordinarily magnificent.

...Bitter Tea Daoist: I have one junior martial sister and three disciples. I really don't have an illegitimate son...