Chapter 695: The Sixth Sword Holder
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious. "What I want to know even more is whether the ten-layer Great Perfection of Sword One is already her full strength? Could it be that the power Qi Feiyu has displayed so far is merely the tip of the iceberg of her true strength?"
Just as Zhang Ruochen and Gai Tianjiao were discussing this, a pleasant female voice came from behind them: "Senior Sister, Junior Brother Lin Yue, are you two also going to the Sword Pavilion?"
Zhang Ruochen and Gai Tianjiao both stopped in their tracks, exchanged a glance, then turned around to stare at Qi Feiyu not far away.
They had just mentioned her, and now she appeared—quite a coincidence.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Senior Sister Qi, I trust you've been well?"
Qi Feiyu's steps were light as she caught up from behind. A faint, subtle fragrance emanated from her, and a slight smile appeared on her clear, beautiful face. "Starting today, I will enter the Sword Pavilion for secluded cultivation, focusing entirely on comprehending Sword Two. On the ninth day of the ninth month, I might represent the Liangyi Sect in the Sword Discussion Assembly."
Qi Feiyu had originally been one of the seeds the Liangyi Sect had selected. Now that she had demonstrated the sword path strength of Sword One's Great Perfection, she would naturally receive focused cultivation.
Gai Tianjiao made no mention of the Moon Worship Demon Sect and said without changing her expression, "In that case, let's travel together."
The three of them arrived at the Sword Pavilion together.
This time, the person Zhang Ruochen met was not Zangyue Sword Saint, but the Sword Pavilion's sixth sword holder, Qi Hong.
Qi Hong appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in simple cloth garments. Although he was a Half-Saint of esteemed status, he carried none of the authority befitting a Half-Saint; instead, he resembled a gentle, mild-mannered teacher.
Qi Hong's gaze fell upon Zhang Ruochen and Qi Feiyu, and he smiled. "Excellent, truly excellent. Both of you have already cultivated Sword One to the ten-layer Great Perfection. At the Sword Discussion Assembly, you are destined to make a name for yourselves."
"However, you both also bear the significant responsibility of defending the Sword Pavilion. Therefore, merely reaching the ten-layer Great Perfection of Sword One is far from enough."
"My task is to help you cross the threshold of Sword Two as quickly as possible, reaching its first layer, 'Yin-Yang Alternation.' Now, I will explain to you what Yin-Yang Alternation means. At the same time, I will tell you how to integrate this insight into your sword path."
Zhang Ruochen and Qi Feiyu sat cross-legged below, both wearing expressions of focused concentration.
As for Gai Tianjiao, due to her unique physical constitution, it was difficult for her to successfully cultivate Sword Two, so she did not attend the lecture.
Qi Hong said, "Yin-Yang Alternation can be understood as the mutual transformation of yin-attributed power and yang-attributed power. For example, the change between day and night, or the transitions at dusk and dawn each day—these are moments of Yin-Yang Alternation..."
Qi Hong lectured for a full two hours.
The content he taught was quite similar to what Zangyue Sword Saint had written in the Sword Two notes, though he elaborated on certain parts in more detail, making them easier to understand.
According to Qi Hong's explanation, to reach the realm of "Yin-Yang Alternation," one must first sense its true essence, then integrate that insight into one's own sword path.
The deeper the insight, the stronger the sword path would naturally become.
"For the next month, you may cultivate either on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion or go to the second floor. Whoever can reach the realm of 'Yin-Yang Alternation' ahead of time will be rewarded by me with a piece of Sword Soul Ice Crystal," Qi Hong said with a smile.
The Sword Soul Ice Crystal was a rare treasure unique to the Sword Pavilion. Consuming it could elevate a sword cultivator's sword path realm.
Zhang Ruochen naturally understood the value of the Sword Soul Ice Crystal. If he could obtain it, he would be able to elevate his sword path realm to the peak of Sword Heart Illumination more quickly. At the same time, the Sword Soul Ice Crystal would greatly aid his cultivation of Sword Two.
A bright light flickered in Qi Feiyu's eyes. She glanced at Zhang Ruochen and smiled faintly. "Junior Brother Lin Yue, from now on, we are competitors. Within a month, I will definitely cultivate Sword Two to the first layer."
In truth, Qi Feiyu had already reached the first layer of Sword Two, "Yin-Yang Alternation," long ago. At that time, however, she had not wanted to participate in the Sword Discussion Assembly, so she had only outwardly displayed the eighth layer of Sword One.
Now that she had decided to join the Sword Discussion Assembly and also wanted to suppress Lin Yue, she naturally would no longer hide her cultivation.
A month later, she would directly reveal her first-layer Sword Two realm and claim the Sword Soul Ice Crystal. With its assistance, she might even have a chance to reach the second layer of Sword Two before the Sword Discussion Assembly.
Because Qi Feiyu had already reached the first layer of Sword Two, she understood better than anyone how difficult it was to cultivate Sword Two.
She absolutely did not believe that Lin Yue could reach the first layer of Sword Two in just one month.
This competition had already been won before it even began.
"One month should be enough."
Zhang Ruochen looked at Qi Feiyu's flawless, beautiful face and also issued a bold statement.
Qi Hong was an elder of the Qi Clan and naturally knew of Qi Feiyu's attainments in the sword path.
In Qi Hong's view, even with the abundant resources of the Sword Pavilion at his disposal, it was impossible for Lin Yue to achieve much in Sword Two within a month, let alone reach its first layer.
After all, even Qi Hong himself, with his Half-Saint realm and decades of hard cultivation, had only reached the fourth layer of Sword Two.
The reason he had offered the "Sword Soul Ice Crystal" as a reward was essentially to pass it to Qi Feiyu in a roundabout way.
...
After Qi Hong's lecture, Qi Feiyu headed to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion.
The time ratio on the second floor of the Sword Pavilion was three times that of the outside world, while the first floor had a ratio of two times. Naturally, cultivating on the second floor was more advantageous.
Zhang Ruochen, however, remained on the first floor. He borrowed two more Sword Two notes and went to Room Eighteen of the Xuan Character Section.
Room Eighteen of the Xuan Character Section was further divided into thirty-six small rooms. Five of these small rooms had their doors closed, indicating that sword cultivators were in secluded cultivation inside.
Zhang Ruochen randomly chose a room near the corner, walked in, activated the room's formation, and closed the door.
The small room was a completely independent space, ten zhang in both length and width—roughly the size of two basketball courts. The door and walls of the small room were inscribed with formation inscriptions, making them impenetrable even to spiritual power.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen threw a full-power punch at the left wall, sending ripples of energy spreading outward. The formation on the wall quickly neutralized his fist's force entirely.
"Such strong defenses—even a Half-Saint probably couldn't break through the formation in this cultivation chamber."
Completely at ease, Zhang Ruochen took out the two Sword Two notes, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to peruse them.
These two notes were compiled by Xuanji Sword Saint and Jiuyou Sword Saint respectively. They shared many common points with Zangyue Sword Saint's notes, while also containing the two Sword Saints' own unique insights.
After finishing these two notes, Zhang Ruochen borrowed six more Sword Two notes compiled by six talented Half-Saints and continued to study and analyze them.
The Sword Two notes compiled by Sword Saints were naturally profound and unfathomable. However, the notes compiled by talented Half-Saints also had many merits worth considering.
Zhang Ruochen was not in a hurry to begin cultivating Sword Two immediately, nor did he want to blindly copy a single Sword Two note and follow its content.
He wanted to read more, learn more, and ultimately, from the notes of his predecessors, distill a sword path that was uniquely his own.
A month passed, and Zhang Ruochen finally finished reading all six Sword Two notes. Then, he sat cross-legged in the cultivation chamber, entered a meditative state, and began to organize and summarize.
The time flow on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion was twice as slow, so even though a month had passed inside, only half a month had passed in the outside world.
Since he was inside the cultivation chamber, no one discovered that Zhang Ruochen had reverted to his original appearance.
Qi Feiyu stood outside Zhang Ruochen's cultivation chamber, a look of confusion in her eyes, which were more beautiful than the stars. "Half the time has passed, and he's been staying in the cultivation chamber the whole time, just reading Sword Two notes written by others?"
"Correct."
A mass of Saint Qi condensed beside her, manifesting into Qi Hong's form.
Qi Hong smiled. "Reading one Sword Two note is enough. That way, your thoughts will be clear, and you'll have a definite direction. Reading too many will only create confusion. In severe cases, the vast amount of sword path knowledge might even drive a person mad. Right now, Lin Yue is probably on the verge of going berserk, wouldn't you say?"
Qi Feiyu nodded, quite agreeing with Qi Hong's view.
The Wordless Sword Manual was a sword path that simplified complexity, merging the countless sword techniques of the world into a single move, divided into Sword One, Sword Two, Sword Three...
Lin Yue had been too clever for his own good. Seeing the notes of legendary figures, he wanted to read and learn from them all, only to complicate what was simple.
Wanting to learn everything would ultimately result in learning nothing.
"It seems I really overestimated him."
Qi Feiyu bit her red lips, feeling quite disappointed in Lin Yue. She had thought he would be a worthy opponent, but he had ended up crippling himself.
Qi Hong said, "Without him as your competitor, the Sword Soul Ice Crystal will naturally go to you. With the aid of this treasure, you still have a good chance of reaching the second layer of Sword Two before the Sword Discussion Assembly."
"Hua!"
The formation light on the door of the cultivation chamber in front gradually dissipated.
Zhang Ruochen opened the door and walked out. Seeing Qi Feiyu and Qi Hong standing outside, he revealed a slight smile. "Senior Qi Hong, Senior Sister Qi, are you two also going into seclusion?"
Without paying any attention to their astonished expressions, Zhang Ruochen hugged the six Sword Two notes, returned them all to the bookshelf, and walked straight out of the Sword Pavilion.
Qi Feiyu clearly saw that Zhang Ruochen's spirit was exceptionally full, and his sword path realm seemed to have advanced further—there was no sign of him going berserk at all.
Her long, slender brows furrowed slightly. "His sword path realm has advanced a great deal again. How strange! I'll follow him and see what he's up to."
Qi Feiyu turned into a blur of afterimages, chasing after Zhang Ruochen as he rushed out of the Sword Pavilion.