Within the Forbidden Small World, Ian Song felt his cultivation reach the peak of sixth-layer Qi-Refining.
"Master, I've completed the three movements: slash, lift, and thrust. Do you have any other instructions?" Ian Song put away his wooden sword and respectfully asked Darren Fang Easton.
At this moment, Ian steeled his mind and drove his true qi to break through to the seventh layer of Qi-Refining.
"Yes, Master."
Pop! Pop! Pop! A series of muffled sounds echoed inside him as acupoints opened and filled with true qi.
This meant Ian Song had officially stepped into seventh-layer Qi-Refining.
The tea was a clear, vibrant green and its aroma alone was enough to refresh the mind.
With one sip, Ian felt a cool sensation spread from his stomach, instantly reaching every part of his body. He felt completely clear-headed and refreshed, and even the fatigue in his body vanished without a trace.
After breaking through to seventh-layer Qi-Refining, Ian found he still had plenty of strength left, so he decided to push ahead and try for the eighth layer.
An hour later, all the acupoints for the eighth layer were opened, forming a new internal circulation. Ian's cultivation rose to eighth-layer Qi-Refining.
Ian's body felt perfectly fine, and his meridians could easily bear it. He was confident he could break through to the ninth layer without issue.
However, Ian chose to restrain himself and not rush another breakthrough.
He sank his mind inward, using true qi to temper his flesh, meridians, bones, muscles, and even his internal organs.
Perhaps it was the Martial Enlightenment Tea, but Ian felt his true qi was highly spiritual and obedient, without the loss of control that usually comes with rapid breakthroughs.
Two hours later, Ian Song walked out of the room feeling refreshed.
Darren Fang Easton was still sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea.
When Darren saw Ian Song, his eyes lit up, but then his face darkened. He hadn't expected Ian to break through two realms in just a few hours.
But soon, a look of surprise appeared on Darren's face. Although his disciple had broken through two realms, his aura was unusually stable, so he beckoned Ian over.
After checking, Darren found his disciple's cultivation was extremely solid, which made him both gratified and shocked.
To break through two realms and still have such stable cultivation shows how deep Ian Song's foundation is—far beyond ordinary people.
In other words, he had already reached the peak of sixth-layer Qi-Refining.
"Time to break through!"
Song Yan's mind sharpened. He guided his true qi to impact the seventh-layer barrier.
"Pop! Pop! Pop!"
A series of explosions rang out inside his body. In just a few breaths, several acupoints were opened, and true qi surged through his meridians, filling them to the brim.
At the same time, this meant Song Yan's cultivation had officially stepped into seventh-layer Qi-Refining.
Again!
After breaking through to seventh-layer Qi-Refining, Song Yan found he still had plenty of strength left, so he simply pressed on, driving his true qi to charge the eighth-layer barrier.
One hour later.
All the acupoints for the eighth layer were opened, forming a new internal circulation in Song Yan's body. His cultivation also advanced to eighth-layer Qi-Refining.
His body felt perfectly fine, and his meridians could still bear it. Song Yan was sure that even if he pushed for ninth layer now, he wouldn't have much trouble.
But he chose to hold back.
He sank his mind inward, using true qi to temper his flesh, meridians, bones, muscles, and even his internal organs.
Maybe it was the Martial Enlightenment Tea, but Song Yan felt his true qi was highly spiritual, without any of the usual loss of control that comes with a sudden surge.
After two hours, Song Yan emerged from the room feeling clear-headed and refreshed.
Darren Fang Easton was still sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, sipping tea.
When he saw Song Yan, his eyes lit up, but then his face darkened. He hadn’t expected Song Yan to break through two realms in just a few hours.
But soon, a hint of surprise appeared on his face. Even though his disciple had advanced two realms in a row, instead of being unstable, his aura was exceptionally steady. Darren beckoned Song Yan over.
After a round of inspection, he found his disciple’s cultivation was extremely solid. Darren was both gratified and shocked.
To break through two realms and still have such a firm foundation—his disciple’s roots were far deeper than ordinary people’s.
"Alright, today’s assignment: three hundred thousand sword slashes, three hundred thousand lifts, three hundred thousand thrusts. No stopping midway. Time limit: twelve hours!"
Originally, Darren only planned to assign two hundred thousand of each movement, but recalling how monstrous his disciple was, he raised the numbers.
"Yes, Master!"
Song Yan picked up the wooden sword again and started swinging at the air. With two realms of cultivation gained, his physical strength had increased a lot, and his slashing speed had at least doubled. Still, finishing three sets of three hundred thousand movements in twelve hours wasn’t enough time.
So, Song Yan began to ponder how to increase his speed.
Frequency? Or rhythm?
Thinking as he practiced, Song Yan realized that even with perfect rhythm, he still couldn’t finish in the allotted time.
That made him realize that purely seeking breakthroughs from body control wouldn’t work.
If the body was no longer the answer, he’d have to look elsewhere.
Clairvoyant Vision!
With a thought, Song Yan activated his Clairvoyant Vision, eyes locked on the wooden sword in his hand.
He brought the wooden sword down.
Using Clairvoyant Vision, Song Yan saw the sword slice through the obstructing air—and the wind in the air as well. The sword cut through both, but at the same time, air and wind pushed back against the wood, creating resistance.
Suddenly, everything clicked. The real speed limiters were air and wind.
Without air resistance and wind resistance, my sword swings would be much faster.
How could he make air and wind resistance disappear?
Create a vacuum?
Obviously impossible.
For a moment, Song Yan’s mind blazed with inspiration.
Why does wind block me?
Why does air create resistance?
Because they’re everywhere.
At that thought, Song Yan’s eyes flashed with divine light. Suddenly, the empty space before him magnified endlessly in his vision.
Air currents and wind streams—normally invisible to the naked eye—became clear before him.
After careful observation, he found that both air and wind moved along definite trajectories and patterns.
If he followed the wind and slashed through the vacuum-like gaps between air currents, resistance would shrink to almost nothing.
Song Yan subtly changed the angle of his sword swing.
Then he slashed out.
It was almost effortless, with barely any rebound.
He’d done it!
A surge of joy rushed through Song Yan. He slashed dozens of times in a row and found his speed had increased at least fivefold.
In other words, not only could he finish his master's assigned task in the allotted time, he could finish ahead of schedule.
Nearby, Darren Fang Easton’s eyes went wide as he watched. He thought to himself, This kid’s comprehension is... is simply inhuman! He actually grasped this principle so quickly.
Back when I first understood this, it took me three whole years—and my master called me exceptionally gifted.
My eldest disciple took over two years, my second disciple more than three.
Compared to this third disciple, we’re worlds apart.