A Lone Star Accompanies the Moon, One Saber Stroke Splits the Heavens

Lotus Grotto-Heaven, Changsheng Hall.

Click~!

With her back to the bed, Ye Luoxue put on her form-fitting battle armor and tall boots, finally fastening her Tang-style straight saber at her waist, looking exactly as she had upon arrival.

Yet it was not hard to see an added trace of seductive femininity in her charm.

"Remember to bring me books next time you come!"

"Otherwise, don't even think about getting any more of the Divine Yang Sacred Physique's origin essence."

Leaning against the headboard with his chin propped on one hand, Xu Changsheng spoke to Ye Luoxue's retreating figure while studying her with interest.

He had to admit...

When this female general, normally cold as frost, lofty and aloof, and decisive in slaughter, revealed a young maiden's dazed infatuation, she truly had a distinctive charm.

Hearing Xu Changsheng's words, Ye Luoxue paused slightly, her white-jade earlobes flushing faintly.

But she neither turned around nor spoke, simply leaving.

Only after the heavenly gate had closed completely and Ye Luoxue's figure was no longer visible did Xu Changsheng withdraw his gaze, unable to resist grumbling:

"Seriously..."

"Throwing me away once she's done with me, just like that wicked woman Qi Zhaoyue."

Still, grumbling aside, Xu Changsheng was not dissatisfied at all.

After all, not only had he taken Ye Luoxue's first time, he had also copied the A-rated Lone Star Moon Slaying Saber Instruction, resolving his most pressing need.

However he calculated it, he had come out ahead in this deal.

"Oh well!"

"What leaves me behind is yesterday, a day I cannot keep; what troubles my heart is today, a day of worries deep..."

Xu Changsheng smiled freely, no longer dwelling on these trifles of romance.

He stood and strode out of Changsheng Hall.

Before the hall lay a white-jade plaza.

Xu Changsheng walked to the edge of the white-jade plaza and casually snapped off a length of green bamboo as thick as his wrist.

The bamboo felt slightly cool in his hand and was extremely resilient. Although it could not compare to a real saber, it was more than sufficient for testing moves.

"Whew!"

Xu Changsheng drew a deep breath, a trace of anticipation flashing through his eyes as he looked at the green bamboo in his hand.

"Let me test the power of the Lone Star Slashes the Moon Instruction!"

Xu Changsheng closed his eyes and began recalling the knowledge of the Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction in his mind...

As its name suggested, the Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction followed a path of solitude, icy sharpness, and decisive slaughter.

Every stroke carried the lofty solitude of "throughout heaven and earth, I alone stand." Its moves were vicious, every strike lethal, without the slightest empty flourish-a saber art born purely for killing.

Once Xu Changsheng had fully digested all this information.

Clang-!

His eyes snapped open, and the green bamboo in his hand rose instantly.

Though he clearly held green bamboo, a piercing metallic sound rang out as it cut through the air.

"First form, Lone Star Points at the Firmament!"

The green bamboo became a streak of green light in Xu Changsheng's hand, slashing forward with an indomitable sense of utter solitude.

Swish-!

White Saber Qi slashed out, tearing the air apart.

"Not bad! Keep going!"

Xu Changsheng nodded in satisfaction and swung his "saber" again. "Second form, Waning Moon Rises!"

A white saber gleam shot skyward.

"Third form..."

Saber shadows overlapped across the white-jade plaza.

As the green bamboo danced, it stirred gusts of fierce wind that sent Xu Changsheng's robes snapping.

Because this was a copied talent, Xu Changsheng's initial mastery of the Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction had already reached Ye Luoxue's current level.

Thus, his movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest stiffness, every move and form incomparably precise.

In fact, the more Xu Changsheng practiced, the more effortlessly it came to him.

With every slash, the Qi and Blood within him surged wildly, and the muscles, sinews, bones, skin, and membranes throughout his body underwent unprecedented tempering.

The sensation was utterly beyond comparison with tempering his body through basic fist techniques.

At the same time...

Xu Changsheng could also clearly sense that the upper limit of the Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction lay far beyond this.

Clearly, Ye Luoxue had not perfected this saber instruction either.

She lacked a trace of its spirit, that supreme artistic conception of "a lone star accompanies the moon, one saber stroke cleaves the heavens."

If perfected, could this be an S-rank talent?

Xu Changsheng silently pondered as he swung the green bamboo in his hand.

He thought it was very possible.

After all, the difference between saber instructions often lay in comprehending that final trace of artistic conception.

Once that trace was comprehended, the power and level of the entire martial skill would undergo a heaven-and-earth-shaking transformation.

Soon, however, Xu Changsheng stopped dwelling on the question.

He gathered his thoughts and immersed himself completely in the saber art.

For a time, saber shadows grew denser over the white-jade plaza, and sharp Saber Qi crisscrossed, slicing the air with piercing hisses.

"Fourth form, Lone Star Pursues the Moon!"

"Fifth form, Star Falls into the Long River!"

"..."

"..."

Xu Changsheng performed each move and form, flowing from the first to the thirteenth in one breath, without the slightest pause.

The green bamboo seemed to come alive in his hand, becoming a green flood dragon that churned and roared across the white-jade plaza.

Only after completing the entire set of thirteen saber forms did Xu Changsheng stop.

"Huff, huff, huff-!"

Sweat covered his body, waves of tearing pain ran through his muscles, and he gulped down fresh air.

"An A-rank martial skill indeed!"

Xu Changsheng lowered his head, sensing the changes in his muscles.

He could clearly feel every muscle in his body trembling faintly. Every inch of skin brimmed with explosive strength, and his skin and membranes had become tougher and thicker.

Practicing the complete Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction just once had tempered him as much as half a month of arduous practice with basic fist techniques.

This feels amazing!!!

Xu Changsheng tilted his face toward the sky, his heart filled with delight.

But just then, Xu Changsheng grew somewhat curious.

After all, the Accumulation Over Time Talent should only have been able to copy talents, so why had a saber instruction counted as one?

With this thought, Xu Changsheng curiously asked the Laying Low to Become a Sage System in his mind:

"Keep-a-Low-Profile System, why can moves like this saber instruction, which are clearly martial skills, count as a talent?"

[Ding!]

The system's cold, mechanical voice rang out in Xu Changsheng's mind.

[As long as a martial skill is practiced until it becomes bodily instinct, merges into the blood and marrow, and becomes an inseparable part of oneself, it can count as a talent.]

"Is that so?"

Xu Changsheng nodded.

"That makes sense!"

After all, once a martial skill had been practiced until it became bodily instinct, it was no different from an innate talent.

Just like Ye Luoxue...

Even without consciously thinking about it, her body could naturally perform the Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction. It had already become part of her bodily instincts.

Xu Changsheng stopped dwelling on it.

He lowered his head to glance at the green bamboo in his hand, which had already begun to crack, and used the spiritual power he had cultivated today but had yet to store in his talent to annihilate it into ash, leaving not the slightest trace of saber intent to be detected. Only then did he contentedly snap off another fresh length of green bamboo...

And continue practicing his saber art!

This practice lasted a full six hours.

Until he collapsed limply on the ground, until he could not move even a finger...

Xu Changsheng lay on the white-jade plaza, gazing excitedly at the sky.

"At this rate..."

"Forget fifteen days. Maybe I can break through to the Second Realm: Bone Refining Realm within ten!"