My Swordsmanship Has No Upper Limit

An idea came to mind, and Qi Hong immediately stood up.

Seeing his movement, Zhong Ming struggled to stand as well, but Qi Hong stopped him.

"You should rest for a while. Balancing work and rest is also part of cultivation."

Zhong Ming replied, "Yes, Senior Brother."

Heeding his advice, Zhong Ming lay back down and listened as his senior brother explained, "Your talent is immense. You shouldn’t limit yourself to the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique. In the end, that single move is too extreme."

"Unfortunately, I only excel at the Sword-Drawing Technique. As for Longxi Peak’s Stepping Technique, Mental Method, and Water Technique, I’m merely adept, not what you’d call an expert."

"Fortunately, we have plenty of idle hands on Longxi Peak. I’ll go get them now."

Zhong Ming felt a little embarrassed by this.

"Ahem, Senior Brother, won’t this be too much trouble for you all?"

Qi Hong replied, "Not at all. For us good-for-nothings, this is about the only use we have left."

After this bitter remark, he quickly recovered and said with a smile, "If you really feel bad, then just give it your all during the Seven Peaks Grand Competition. Improving Longxi Peak’s standing... you could say it’s an obsession of ours."

"Besides, teaching you is a good thing for my friends. Your future is definitely bright. They should be the ones happy to be connected to a prodigy like you."

"Er... Senior Brother, you’re too kind." After a moment of humility, Zhong Ming’s expression turned serious. "Please don’t worry about the Seven Peaks Grand Competition, Senior Brother. Longxi Peak is my home now. Even if only for my own sake, I will give my all in the assessment at the end of the month."

Qi Hong said, "In that case, I’ll be looking forward to it."

After receiving a satisfactory reply, Qi Hong left with a smile.

Watching him leave, Zhong Ming thought about Qi Hong’s dedicated instruction and Senior Sister Mo Shuying’s kindness toward him. He truly began to see Longxi Peak as his home.

’This atmosphere of mutual support... This is how Renowned and Righteous Sects are supposed to be.’

Of course, Zhong Ming also knew that a large part of the reason others were willing to help him was that he had demonstrated his talent and been rated A Class.

Without talent, you were just a beast of burden, even in a Renowned and Righteous Sect.

But this didn’t change his opinion of Longxi Peak. After all, in the Demon Sect, you’d have to live in constant fear, daring not to reveal your talent even if you had it.

...

Qi Hong’s kindness stirred emotions in Zhong Ming, but he quickly calmed his mind.

As he rested, using his breathing to recover his Heart Power and Magical Power, Zhong Ming opened his status panel to check his current condition.

[Zhong Ming]

[Cultivation Realm: Early-stage Qi Cultivation]

[Reading: Fourth Realm Minor Achievement (739/13,600), Traits: ①Scholarly Aura, ②Calm Heart, ③Mind Reading]

[Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique: Third Realm Refinement (3,678/13,600), Traits: ①Quick Eyes and Swift Hands, ②Flow of Water]

[Longxi Breathing Method: Second Realm Insight (2,110/8,100), Traits: ①Flow of Water... Dragon Flood Dragon Dao Rhyme (Fragmented) (4.1%)]

[Longxi Swordsmanship: Second Realm Insight (837/4,900), Trait: River and Sword Convergence]

[Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique: Second Realm Insight (652/4,200), Trait: Water Attraction]

[Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step: Second Realm Insight (778/4,800), Traits: Water Stepping, Body Like a Stream]

[Spirit Stream Finger: Jie Technique: Uninitiated]

After reviewing his skills, Zhong Ming noticed that his Reading skill, which he had learned before even starting his cultivation journey, was at the highest realm. However, it was also now the most difficult to improve.

’Normally, if I want to raise this skill to the Fifth Realm of Master, I’ll have to spend at least one or two years reading thousands of books and truly understanding them.’

Zhong Ming’s talent was Heaven Rewards Diligence, not Add Points, and certainly not Check-in.

Therefore, upgrading his skills required time and effort—as the saying goes, you reap what you sow.

And reaching the Master Realm in just one or two years was by no means slow.

In fact, for an ordinary person, they would be more than willing to spend twenty, thirty, or even fifty years to reach the Master Realm, let alone just one or two.

Most people, even if they studied diligently their entire lives, would get stuck at the Third Realm of Refinement if they lacked the necessary comprehension or fortunate encounters. They would find it difficult to even reach the Fourth Realm of Proficiency.

’But one or two years is too slow for me... I can only pin my hopes on the True Intent Map.’

...

The fact that it would take him one or two years to advance his Reading skill from the Fourth to the Fifth Realm, even with his Heaven Rewards Diligence talent, showed Zhong Ming just how difficult the Master Realm was. It made him understand why those who reached it were called "Masters."

’They are one in ten thousand.’

After a moment of reflection, Zhong Ming turned his attention to the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique.

Compared to other Cultivation Techniques, this one was simple and easy to practice because it consisted of only a single move.

Although he had been repeatedly defeated in his Iaido duels with Qi Hong, the extreme pressure, combined with his senior brother’s demonstrations, had caused his progress in the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique to skyrocket.

’If I can keep up this pace, I might really be able to grind this technique to the Fourth Realm of Minor Achievement before the end of the month.’

’Speaking of which, Senior Brother Qi Hong’s Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique is at the Fourth Realm, too... and it’s ’alive’!’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

At this thought, Zhong Ming’s eyes lit up.

’When I was reading the Cultivation Insights, one of the past sages mentioned that the requirement for the Fourth Realm of Longxi Swordsmanship was to be ’alive.’ I originally thought ’alive’ just meant things like Living Spring or Huoxi, and that the requirement was Qi Circulation. It seems it’s not that simple.’

Zhong Ming recalled how, when Senior Brother Qi Hong drew his sword, it had felt like a venomous snake.

’The essence of a living creature...? For this step, I don’t need to imitate Senior Brother Qi Hong. The Sword-Drawing Technique may be for assassination and surprise attacks, but a venomous snake doesn’t really suit me. I’ll stick to imitating the essence of a dragon...’

’Learn from others to live; resemble others and you die. I need to have my own style, my own insights.’

[You have gained an insight into the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique. Technique progress +100.]

The notification made Zhong Ming pause.

’That’s a lot... It seems having your own style is crucial for advancing from the Third Realm to the Fourth Realm.’

After this realization, another idea suddenly struck Zhong Ming.

’Speaking of which, since advancing the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique to the Fourth Realm requires my sword to have a living essence, and I’ve defined that essence as the Dragon Flood Dragon...’

’Then if I get to contemplate the True Intent of the Dragon Flood Dragon, will my Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique gain a massive amount of experience?’

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. This made him look forward to his plan involving Yi Yunya with great anticipation.

’I hope it succeeds. If I’m lucky, two viewings could net me two thousand experience points directly, maybe even more...’

...

After the Longxi Sword Drawing Technique was the Longxi Breathing Method. Its progress was also rapid, already a quarter of the way complete.

More importantly, for this Basic Technique, Zhong Ming also had a shortcut to increase its progress.

With this in mind, Zhong Ming moved his gaze down again, looking at the Longxi Swordsmanship, Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step, and Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique.

’If things go as expected, when these three skills reach the Third Realm, the trait I gain from each of them will be Flow of Water.’

’Three plus the existing two makes five instances of Flow of Water stacked together. The trait will likely undergo a qualitative change. If that change can then be applied back to the Basic Technique, the Longxi Breathing Method...’

The more he thought, the brighter Zhong Ming’s eyes became.

What excited Zhong Ming even more was that he could rapidly improve all three of these skills.

And Qi Hong was even helping him by finding seniors who were experts in these techniques to instruct him.

’With their help, I can get all these skills to the Third Realm of Refinement in two or three days at most...’

...

"Comparable to Senior Brother Xiao with his Innate Sword Heart? Qi Hong, are you sure you’re not joking?"

While Zhong Ming was thinking of Qi Hong, the latter had also called his companions over.

But clearly, these people didn’t believe Qi Hong. They didn’t think Longxi Peak could be lucky enough to produce another super-prodigy.

Faced with their doubts, Qi Hong didn’t argue. He just smiled and said, "Don’t believe me? That’s fine. Just do it as a favor to me and properly teach Junior Brother Zhong Ming."

This response, however, only made Yang Chen, Shi Yun, and Lin Shuyu more suspicious.

Exchanging a glance, Yang Chen secretly sent a voice transmission, "Something’s off."

"I may be a cripple, but I’m not blind..." Shi Yun said, frowning. "Don’t tell me what Qi Hong said is true. Did our Longxi Peak really get a super-prodigy?"

Lin Shuyu shook his head. "It’s not that easy. Besides, if a prodigy like that really joined Longxi Peak, shouldn’t we have heard some whispers about it by now?"

"However, you all know Qi Hong’s personality. He’s quite proud and aloof. For him to acknowledge someone and swallow his pride to ask us to teach them... that Zhong Ming must really have some talent."

"Of course, he still can’t compare with Senior Brother Xiao Yichen. That one’s a True Inheritance disciple."

"Let’s hope so," Yang Chen said. "Longxi Peak shouldn’t be allowed to decline on our watch."