Chapter 33: Testing new sword moves

Xuefeng woke up early, dressed quietly, and left his room, careful not to wake the ladies. The streets were almost empty at this hour.

"Greetings, Young Master," the guards at the gate of the Clan Leader's Mansion greeted him politely. He nodded and entered the mansion. Passing by the kitchen, he grabbed something to eat before heading upstairs to his father's study. Wherever he went, servants greeted him with bows. Initially, he found this odd, but he had grown accustomed to it.

Arriving at the study, he found it empty as expected. His parents were probably still asleep. He sat on the sofa and, to occupy himself, started reading the new Spirit Art Ling had modified. He had already absorbed it into his mind before leaving his courtyard.

The manual detailed nine sword moves, building on the basics of the Rank 5 Sword Serpent Steps Spirit Art, but adding four new moves. Each move was stronger than the last. From a distance, they might seem simple, but they were actually hard to comprehend. Even with Ling's help, he struggled to understand the correct Spirit Qi patterns.

After reading through it again, it was time for practice. He had noticed earlier that his father's study was quite spacious, with a large black wall marked with scratches that were clearly sword marks. If even his father's sword couldn't destroy this rock, he reasoned, it would be safe to train his moves on it. His first art created by Ling was already overpowered, and he didn't want to risk testing it near Wuying.

Not wanting to damage anything in the study, he opted not to use his Black Flames Slayer sword. Instead, he summoned a Rank 3 practice sword he got from the Spirit Treasury. He had transferred all his Spirit Artifacts from Ling's Space into his Storage Ring, allowing him to access them freely. Artifacts under Rank 4 could be stored in the ring, while those in Rank 5 had to remain in his dantian.

Before starting, he activated his Rank 4 Endurance Aura. Practicing sword moves drained both his Spirit Qi and stamina, but with the Endurance Aura on, he could withstand more training.

Unbeknownst to him, a man stood silently in the corner, watching his performance. His father had been there since Xuefeng arrived, hidden from his sight.

Xuefeng turned towards the black wall, focusing on the blade in his hand. He visualized the first move and his body responded. Using only his physical strength, he tried it out. His sword cut elegantly through the air, creating a swoosh sound. He repeated the motion several times to familiarize himself before adding the unique Spirit Qi patterns.

Instantly, the sword blackened from the dense Black Spirit Qi around it. Xuefeng executed the move again, this time producing a wild cry, like a flying serpent, that echoed through the room. The powerful strike's Spirit Qi wave crashed into the wall, shaking it for a moment. The Clan Leader's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Wow, so powerful," Xuefeng commented aloud, looking at his hands in disbelief. He felt immense power during the attack. Checking his Spirit Qi status, he noticed he had only lost about one-twentieth of his total capacity—an impressive efficiency for such a powerful strike.

"I need to test its power on something. If father can only make scratches on this wall, and I can too, it means I'm as powerful as him. Let's try this again," he said to himself.

Liu Xiaobei wore a strange expression. If his son could outdo him on his second day of cultivation, it would be shameful. Even with his own recovering cultivation, his superior Spirit Arts remained intact.

Xuefeng lifted his sword, approaching the wall. Pouring even more Spirit Qi into his move, he swung again. The blade, now even darker and larger from the dense Qi, roared louder than before. The tip hit the wall, engraving itself 10 centimeters deep before stopping. The resulting wave rebounded, hitting Xuefeng. Fortunately, his Endurance Aura kept him grounded, and the sword, stuck in the wall, anchored him. The strike's power shook the entire mansion.

"What a sturdy wall. I could only make a small hole in it. I hope my second move can make a complete mark," he frowned, preparing for his second attempt.

"Cough, cough…" Liu Xiaobei couldn't contain himself any longer and coughed, revealing his presence. Xuefeng turned, surprised to see his father stepping out of the corner.

"Oh, you're awake already. I was using your wall for training. Did you see my attack just now? I learned it today," he said excitedly, eyes shining as he pointed to the hole in the wall.

"Yeah, I saw everything. Where did you learn an art like this?" his father asked curiously. He knew all the Spirit Arts in the clan, but this was new to him. "It somewhat resembles the Sword Serpent Steps, but I don't remember it being this powerful."

"Yeah, I remodeled Sword Serpent Steps a bit and this is what I got. It should be more powerful now," Xuefeng said casually.

"What do you mean by remodeled?" The Clan Leader's left eye twitched. Creating a spirit art requires great knowledge, and modifying one even more so.

"Well, I shouldn't say it's entirely my doing. I received help from my master. She helped me change some Spirit Qi patterns so the art can run more smoothly," Xuefeng admitted honestly.

Liu Xiaobei looked at his son, unsure what to say. His little boy, who knew nothing about cultivation until the day before, was now creating his own arts in a day—something many cultivators spent their lives trying to achieve. It didn't matter if he received help; what mattered was that he could benefit from it.

"Do you know what this rock is called?" he asked, touching the hole Xuefeng had made.

"No idea," Xuefeng replied, shaking his head.

"It's called Black Lava Rock. It's tempered with earth flames all year round under volcanoes. It's the hardest rock you can find in this country. Now you can imagine how hard it is even to scratch it. Even the best experts in the Kingdom would struggle to destroy it," Liu Xiaobei explained.

"So if I manage to do it, I'll be better than most experts in the Kingdom?" Xuefeng asked excitedly. He felt his new Sword Spirit Art was capable of that.

"Not really. Experts like that know a lot of tricks that can help them in battle and would crush you in seconds. If you can't even hit your enemy, then even a powerful Spirit Art is useless. You need a lot of battle practice to use that art correctly," the Clan Leader warned him.

"Okay, I will work hard. By the way, I came to see you because I need Spirit Stones. I can increase my practice with them," Xuefeng remembered his original purpose.

"Yeah, I already prepared them for you but didn't have time to deliver them. Here, take them into your Ring," he said, waving his hand as boxes filled with small blue crystals appeared on the ground.

Xuefeng, unaware of their value, simply took them all into his ring. If his father could produce this much, it wasn't a huge amount, at least in his mind.